Word Count: 1078
She'd never been in a tree before, in fact, she'd never been at this height before. There were no mountains or hills in this region of note and as such, she'd never had this experience before. It was both exhilirating and terrifying as she gazed down upon the lion beneath her and the three cheetahs creeping up behind him. One step at a time they drew ever closer, but rather than lunging for them, the lion merely bowed his head and closed his eyes. In those moments, the world seemed to fall silent for Noona, who marvelled at his inner calm, and yet remained fearful that he was out numbered.
She needn't have worried, because what came next could only be regarded as a masterpiece of expressive dance (though she wouldn't tell this to the lion). As each of the cheetahs approached, backed away and then regrouped in preparation for their attack, she caught wind of the delicate hum of music escaping from the lion's lips. Eyes still closed, he then waited and when the trio bounded forwards, he swept, twisted and flipped out of their grasp. For such a large creature he was exceedingly flexible and agile, more so than she had ever seen from the local dancers in the community!
Her lips parted in awe and her eyes widened, as without flinching he struck out one by one at the group. However this time there were no second chances, no opportunities for them to run away and with both fascination and horror, she witnessed just how dangerous this entity was. In her mind he was no mere mortal, a being who could fight with his eyes closed and still escape without a scratch - he was beyond this world and with each definitive and deadly strike, he proved this. In her mesmerised state she didn't even hear the sickening crunch of broken bones, or the snap of the spine and necks of two of the participants.
...One well aimed blow to each, and they were gone.
Leaving just one.
Alas, deep down a part of her knew what would happen next, the third would perish as well, but she hadn't expected the lion to be quite so brutal. The other two had been instantly killed, but the third and final one...it was almost as if he drew it out. It took her few moments to realise why, and then she recognised that the cheetah in question had been the one from before. Her lips parted a little more as she watched him twist and writhe under the weight of the lion's paw around his neck and then it all seemed to come to an abrupt end - when he stopped moving, the lion twisted his paw and gave the neck a final snap.
Those cheetahs hadn't stood a chance and the lion hadn't broken a sweat. It was only when they had been defeated that the humming ceased and the eyes of the lion opened, to glance up and regard Noona's shocked expression. Well, it was something between shock and admiration, but she still seemed to have no inclination to come back down from the tree just yet.
"You can let go, Noona," the lion called, lying down beneath the tree so that she would have something soft to break her fall. "Don't worry, you will land on your feet," he murmured after a few moments. After some time to consider his words she finally came to the conclusion it was wise to do as she was told and obediently, she dropped to the ground, sailing through the air and landing squarely on his shoulders - he didn't even flinch.
"What are you?" she whispered breathlessly, her eyes still wide as she regarded the lion. "You are no mortal, your eyes were closed, how did you see?" she continued and shook her head, to which the lion closed his eyes and sighed softly.
"I see everything, Noona," he replied and glanced back at the feline on his back. "But I am still mortal," he reassured her and pulled himself to his feet, disregarding the fact that she was still on his back.
"You - you need to collect the trinkets, um...Lion," she murmured, gazing at the bodies of the fallen contestants.
"Gideon," he finally introduced himself and then frowned. "Why?"
"Honour, glory, trophies - they're proof that you bested them," she explained and shook her head as if that should have been obvious. The lion paused briefly at this and then abruptly knocked her from his back.
"They're yours, I dislike gameplay," he was curt, leaving no room for argument and she tentatively picked up the trinkets; a green stone, a dried (and very large) butterfly and what seemed to be a preserved flower. Wrapping them round her neck so that they clink gently against her seashell necklace (her own token), she then padded after Gideon and pursed her lips. In the space of forty five minutes this entity had destroyed three of the contestants and she had done nothing, yet here she was, bearing the trophies of her former 'friends'.
"But I didn't kill them," she pointed out.
"And you wouldn't have - but as fate would have it, I did and I am in your company," he paused briefly and then shrugged his shoulders. "It is not your fault that you were lucky enough to find a 'weapon' capable of making up for your vulnerabilities, is it?" he enquired softly and shook his head. "In fact, I would argue that was incredibly intelligent of you," he added as an afterthought.
...She refrained from mentioning that he had picked her up and she had been under the impression he might kill her too!
"So, with three down and yourself as the fourth, how many other contestants are there?" he mused, motioning for Noona to follow him as he swept through the jungle again.
"Twelve, the games always have at least sixteen participants," she replied softly, causing him to murmur gently to himself in distaste. That being said, he still elected to remain by her side (puzzling to say the least) and still seemed prepared to cut down the rest of them if need be - for the life of her she couldn't understand why, but would she dare question it? For all she knew, this entity or 'Gideon' as he called himself, could have been the favour granted to her by the gods...
