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 Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:17 pm
Quella had gotten her again. Sahen wouldn't dirty his paws with punishing a slave, but Quella would. Quella enjoyed punishing. It was no wonder that Haji was limping, scratches still trickling blood down her shoulder, her body stiff. Each movement was difficult, even agonizing. But she had to help the slave girl escape that night.
Besides, she was used to this. It happened more often than she cared to count. But she needed to find a place to nurse her wounds and recover enough for tonight. She limped into the trees outside of the weeping lion to hide and lick her wounds.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:33 pm
Saengdao had watched the lioness limp away from her perch in the eye. She remembered the events of the past that had led to this female's enslavement, and while her heart ached for her she could not help but feel a certain resentment. They had put the Shatkona more on edge than ever before, without anything to show for it. But that wasn't Haji's fault, it had been a combination of problems that lead to the collapse. Taking in a breath she followed, looking over her shoulder to check where her Ligi guard would be following. Nowhere she could see it, but she knew it was there. It was always there. "Haji," she called out, speeding up to catch the lioness, "Wait."
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:44 pm
Haji stopped, taking a deep breath and turning to the golden lioness. "Yes, Zahama?" she asked, lowering her head. "How can I serve you?" Which was ridiculous, considering her state, but she had been put firmly in her place once again.
The blood was trickling down her leg, She ignored it. Her body was screaming for her to lay down and die already. She ignored that, too.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:50 pm
"I came to see if you were alright," she said softly, dropping her voice low enough that she could not be openly overheard but not so low as to arouse suspicion. There was nothing wrong with being kind to a slave, especially one who had come into the station through good intentions. "Which I can see, you are not," she admitted with a bit of a sad laugh, "Come with me to the stream, there are some herbs there that might help, and cool water to wash your wounds." She paused, looking back at the weeping lion. Sahen might be offended by the gesture, but she could simply tell him her mothering instincts had kicked in. After all, she would not attempt to shake her follower. "No one will disturb us, you may have some peace," she added, leaving out her obvious distaste for the individual who had injured her.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:58 pm
She hesitated, looking around to see if someone was watching, then she nodded, slowly turning to limp in the direction of the stream. "Thank you," she said quietly. She wasn't crying. Even with all the pain she wasn't close to tears.
She had been foolish, chasing after the brothers. She would forget about them and wait patiently, carefully observing Sahen at all times--
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:02 pm
"They are always this rough with you?" she asked patiently as she walked beside the other lioness, keeping one eye on her though she turned to face forward. She had learned that it was best to be nonspecific, there would be little for the Ligi to report if they did not have names. They would not pass on baseless accusations against the Zahama. "Or have you gone and picked a fight?" she added with a laugh, thinking it was something her own daughter might do. She hoped Nandi would never end up in this position, even with rare kindnesses the life of a slave would be difficult.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:07 pm
"Hah," Haji said roughly, collapsing next to the stream. She couldn't have gone farther even if she wanted to. For a moment her eyes closed and her breathing grew shallow, then she seemed to shake it off. "I was... punished," she said simply. "I was... bad."
And she was, she thought with a hint of self disgust. She should have been more careful. "In the... future... I will... be more careful," she whispered. It could be taken in any way, but she was talking to herself.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:12 pm
"We all have our regrets," Saengdao mumbled to herself as she began to pull plants from the bases of neighboring trees. She laid a few in front of Haji, leaving others off to the side on a rock. "I know very little about medicines," she admitted with a laugh, "But I learned a few tricks when I was young and fought with my sister. Chewing on those should numb the pain, these I'm going to mix with some water to stave off the sickness." She picked up a smaller stone in her mouth, rubbing it against the herbs on the rock. It was a messy pulp, but it would function. "You'd do well to learn a bit yourself."
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:21 pm
Haji focused on what she was doing with intensity. Anything that could numb pain was important. Those plants... yes, she thought. She knew those plants. She had grown up playing next to them. But she had never realized that they were useful.
"Thank you," she said, even though it hurt her jaw to speak. "You shouldn't... though."
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:09 pm
"I am the Zahama," she said with feigned offense, deciding that this might work best if she played the part of the self-righteous leader, "I do what I wish to do, and do not interfere with the workings of the others." Much as she might like to guide this slave out of Sahen's grasp she had already been seen with her. She would keep an eye though, should the situation change course.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:28 pm
"Then... thank you," Haji said, leaning forward to take the plants into her mouth. She chewed them for a moment, trying not to make a face at how bitter they tasted, then closed her eyes as the pain slowly became less prominent. She wanted to ask where the Zahama had learned such things, but she had a mouth full of grass, and she doubted she could speak properly around it.
So instead she turned her head slightly, watching the golden lioness carefully. She wasn't even from the Zahama's house, yet she was still caring for her. Haji wished, just for a moment, that she could have seen the time when peace ruled. When lionesses like this oversaw joyous, and sad occasions instead of the horror that took place now.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:13 pm
Saengdao smeared the pulp across her paw and stepped toward Haji, tentatively reaching to rub it onto her wounds. "This shouldn't hurt," she said, the motherly tone slipping into her voice again. Nandi had never needed much of this type of care, though she remembered doing it for herself during her childhood. Quella had always been violent. "Drink some water if you can," she added, settling a few feet away.
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 10:25 am
"In a little bit," Haji said, her eyes closing as she methodically chewed on the plants. She couldn't survive like this, she thought. If she went on much longer, Quella would definitely kill her accidentally. Or maybe she would just call it an accident and have the ligi haul her body away.
Oh, she hoped it was Jahi that had to haul her, she thought maliciously. If he even cared, that was. Slowly her chewing slowed and her breathing did as well. Soon the wounded lioness had fallen into a healing sleep.
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:25 am
She smiled, settling down herself as she watched the lioness fall asleep. It wasn't uncommon for her to watch Nandi like this, but somehow it was sad this way. Even slaves were once safe, now no one was. Still she felt secure in the fact that the lioness would rest undisturbed so long as she remained under her care. For that reason, Saengdao had decided to sleep in the woods for the first time in a long while. It was almost refreshing.
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