[PRP] Illusions, Delusions? (Priya x Vincenzo)

[Sabra Knight]

Priya was lost in a maze of glittering illusions. At first the lioness was amazed at the tall dunes of sand which seemed to dance beneath the sunlight, but now she was missing the stability of the rogue lands. Out here things were different…she felt different. One second she would be looking towards an old tree and the next it was moving closer to her and then shifting into a lion! What was going on here?

Was she going insane?

No. Priya shook her head. That wasn’t it. Something about this place where there was only sand caused her mind to see things. Was it the brilliance of the sun scattering her thoughts? Her mouth was dry again. Why was it that she had only been here for a day yet it felt like it had been weeks? The pads of her paws were burning and stiff already. Priya was genuinely worried. How much longer could she survive out here? And if he was out here…was he even still alive? She shook her head quickly. This was not the time to worry about him. He was nothing to her after all!

Turning she squinted into the evening sky. Already it was getting dark and much colder than before.

 

[Painted Moose]

Never in his life had Vincenzo been more miserable than he was now. The only reason he had left home in the first place was to get to know his old man better, and thanks to a freak sand storm, he couldn't even find the codger. Weeks spent searching sand dunes, and fighting heat stroke had landed him in a near pathetic state. Near meaning that while he lacked food, water, and general company, he had shade in an abandoned den below the sand. It wasn't perfect, and often leaked sand if he moved around too much, but it was cool.

He looked down at the pads of his paws, cracked and bleeding, irritated from the hot sand, and wondered if Fiore was fairing any better. Just as soon as tears started up, he steeled himself. No! If he started wussing out now, there'd be no telling when he'd get out of this hell hole. The Gods could take their sand and shove it; he was getting out of here!

Puffing himself up, the young male slipped out of the larger den area to the much smaller entrance dunnel, barely scraping through on his stomach, until he saw the light of stars. And for the moment, he was content to keep only his head visible, just gazing at the stars.

 

[Sabra Knight]

It was cold now. Shivering under the starlight the lioness stubbornly trudged on. Honestly she was afraid to stop now. What if she fell asleep? Would she never wake up here? Or would this all be some twisted dream? Still the thought of being trapped in the desert should she stop now kept the female moving. She was not about to lose herself here! Already the sands were still messing with her mind.

Maybe if she focused on something other than the sands instead…

The stars. Looking up at them made Priya feel a bit more at ease. The stars were always a stable comfort to her. Since when had they ever changed? The thought made the lioness smile. Weary as she was even now she could find happiness in small things such as those. It kept her strong and alive. And it pushed away the memories of the home lost and the male that screwed it all up for her. “How ni-“ Breaking off in mid-sentence the lioness stumbled over something large and fluffy and went straight into a pile of sand.
 

[Painted Moose]

"SON OF A-" Vincenzo coughed on a mouthful of sand, grasping at the loose ground in an effort to keep his head clear before the entrance collapsed on him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to get his body out of the hole, but at least the taste of sand was starting to leave.

"Watch where you're going, idiot. You could have- " It didn't seem like Vincenzo would ever get to finish his thoughts. At least, not when he saw the spotted lioness from his past. Most would have forgotten her, especially with the years that separated them, but he couldn't, and hoped he never would. "Priya! What are you-? How did you-? .....Are you okay?"  

[Sabra Knight]

Coughing Priya shook the sand from her mane before twisting around to see what had happened. Was she hearing things now? But after a minute the lioness’s eyes adjusted and she just stared. And stared some more before letting out a high pitched shriek, “Y-you!” It was a head! A talking head out here in the middle of the desert that….looked familiar? Taking in deep breaths the lioness forced herself to look back and see…there was something about those eyes. They were his eyes. “Vincenzo?”

Was it possible?

Her gaze softened and the lioness took a step forward before pushing her paws against the head, “No! No! You can’t fool me you stupid sands! I’ll not have it! Go back, back!” How dare the sands try to tease her with his image! And to think he was just a head! Tears filled her eyes. She would much rather never see him then to have to see what had become of him. She hated this place and wanted to go home. To sleep and open her eyes to a new day where he hadn’t left her and hadn’t been taken away. Sniffing she pushed one last time against the head. Why wasn’t it going away? “Vin-cen-zooo” The soft cry came out of her mouth before she laid on the ground and covered her bowed head with her paws.
 

[Painted Moose]

"Oh hey, babe. It's been- wait, what are you-? MRRH!" Vincenzo's minty eyes widened in surprise and fear when she started pushing him back into the sand. Not yet, not yet! She could kill him if she wanted to, but there was no way he was going to suffocate! "Priya! Stop, please! I - oh Gods, I have sand in my eye. It Buurrrnnnss." He closed his eyes against the onslaught and shook his head around her waiting paws, spitting out sand and spotted fur as he went.

What happened? One minute she was trying to kill him, and the next-? Seizing his oppurtunity, Vicenzo pulled his upper half out of his sandy coffin, sprawling out on the ground infront of her. His eyes softened, and instinctively, he placed his nose against hers like he had done in childhood when she was upset, and smiled. "Shhh, it's okay. I'm right here, okay? Just move your paws and see."
 

[Sabra Knight]

She closed her eyes tightly. How was it that the sand was even copying his voice now? Oh by the gods was she really going insane now?! But she felt sane. Then again would an insane lion realize that they were insane cause they were already gone…oh no. Priya shook her head. No, no! It was just this stupid desert messing with her, that was all! There was no way that she had lost it…not so soon. She was still herself right? It wasn’t like she was talking to herself now, but then again her mind was running in so many different directions.

“Shut up please, sand!” She cried out and looked up just in time for him to press his nose against hers. Instantly her eyes widened as she looked at him. “Vin…cen…zo? Are you really here?” Sniffing she just stared again and blinked. How was it possible? “You were just a head. And the desert – you can’t be out here. Right? So you’re just another illusion or delusion or something!” Nodding she pulled back from him and turned away. It was getting scary. The sand about had her tricked into believing it was him. Could sand get into your memories and mess with them? That feeling of familiarity it sent chills down her spine.
 

[Painted Moose]

Vincenzo smiled nervously as he waited for her reaction. He had no idea what was going on in that pretty little head of hers, but he knew it wasn't going to end well for him. He could hope, but that had already proven a bad idea. So, instead, he just stayed there, awkwardly pressed up against her like a creeper.

"Priya, honey, the sand isn't talking." And then she looked at him. Those eyes - they were the same as ever, even if she had grown. "Woah, woah! Before you do something hasty, look at me. I'm the real Vincenzo. See?" He flipped his paw over to show her the cracked and bloody pads. "Illusions can't bleed."
 

[Sabra Knight]

The feeling of familiarity was so warm. Priya had to shut her eyes again to focus on not focusing. The stupid sand was really in her head now if she could actually feel the warmth coming from his body now. Was this how the sand took lives? By tricking them into seeing the one that they missed mos- No! Even then the sand was wrong. She was lost and stuck out here because of him. There was no way that her heart should be clenching each time he got close.

“If it’s not then why can I hear words?” She retorted sharply, though in her head it was making sense. Her heart was just afraid to admit that this lion was actually Vincenzo. But he was alive…still he shouldn’t be out here in this horrible place. If she died then that was fine, but for both of them to suffer the same fate after all these years? It was an awful image. And then he showed her his paws. They were awfully bloody and cracked…a lot like hers. Looking down at her own paws the lioness looked back up to him before speaking softly, “If an illusion was smart enough to talk to me couldn’t it look like it was hurt as well?” Still after another look at his eyes the lioness threw herself against him with a sob, “I would rather you be an illusion though, Vincenzo! What’s the point in both of us dying out here?”
 

[Painted Moose]

Every time she denied his existence, Vincenzo felt it like a stab in his heart. He had assumed that they had departed on good terms, but what if he was wrong? If she wasn't even willing to believe it was him and not a mirage, what right did he have to stop her? Granted, he didn't look so hot, with his body drawled in from lack of a proper diet and his once pristine fur filthy after days of slipping in sand, but she had to know. Right?

"Okay, I give," his smile was sad, but resigned. "If you believe it so, then I shall be your illusion. Just don't walk away, okay?" When she threw herself at him, he relished in her warm and held her tight, as he had wanted to do from the first moment he saw her. "We're not going to die, okay? I've been out here for a while now, and I'm - well, you're just not going to die, so don't talk like that. We'll figure a way out of this; jus the two of us, got it?"  

[Sabra Knight]

Priya leaned against the other lion with a quiet sob. Not only was he trying to comfort her, he looked so haggard as well. How long had he been out here in this place? She was barely stable after just a day here. Could she make it through another? Still there was a calm inside of her, a small joy, at the fact that she really was next to him and that he was alive. Maybe not for long, but for now he was here right next to her.

“You believe that?” She whispered softly pulling back to look at him, “Can we really get past the sands? Every time I walked some where I ended back right where I had started.” A small frown flickered over her features, “But I swear we better find a way out.” Else he was going to get it good. Especially if they died. And with that the lioness pushed away and started walking.

Somehow they would get out of this mess.

END

WC: 2049