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 Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:23 pm
All right. It was childish, but Vol was running away from the pride. Not really running away for real. And not really running away from the pride. But sort of. There was a sudden increase in young people in the pride seeking him out as an instructor or mentor, and that was mostly what Vol was really running away from.
Vol knew it was sort of flattering that he had been identified as a competent trainer of reavers and supposed that it must be based on how Ru had turned out, but that didn't mean he wished to fill the role of mentor. In Vol's mind, lions who became full-time mentors to other warriors were those too old, infirm, or washed up to go viking. Vol didn't see himself as any of those things, and so rather than being flattered he was actually mildly offended.
And it was just so damned inconvenient!
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Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:26 pm
Anima didn't know whose territory she was wandering by. The landscape was unfamiliar; the scents strange. So unlike those of home.
But those were silly thoughts, because her home was many miles and many seasons behind her. The lioness smiled sadly to herself. Oh, well. There was always something new on the horizon, even if more often than not it was trouble.
The land was rather cool and dreary. It didn't seem like the kind of place a pride of lions would reside, and indeed, Anima hadn't seen a soul. She had her guard down and didn't notice the approach of the dark male.
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Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:34 pm
What was this? A lone lioness wandering about within an easy walk of the stronghold? Someone was going to have a very bad day, very shortly. In the near future it would be this lioness. In the not-so-distant future it would be whatever reaver was supposed to be patrolling here but evidently wasn't. In his current mood, which a brave soul might have called "whiny" and a prudent soul wouldn't remark upon at all, Vol was positively delighted by the possibility of ruining several people's days in one fell swoop.
"What a pretty smile you have," Vol said, not bothering to conceal his approach. If she had the good sense to run he would enjoy giving chase. If not, well, he would enjoy that, too.
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Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:53 pm
What a pretty smile you have.
Anima flinched at the voice. So close it was, too! She shouldn't have been woolgathering, not in a strange place.
Whipping her head around, Anima saw what she should have seen quite a while ago: a very large, scarred brute of a male lion headed towards her. She shrank back instinctively, intimidated by his appearance. Anima was a friendly soul, but the lion coming towards her now looked like the very embodiment of menace.
His words didn't sound that menacing, though. Were they? "T-thank you, stranger," she said hesitantly. She tensed, her body telling her to run but her mind not quite wanting to believe that she was in danger. The lioness danced back a few steps uncertainly.
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Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:58 pm
Vol smiled. It was not a reassuring smile. None of Vol's smiles were particularly reassuring. Not unless you found it reassuring to know that somebody was going to be in pain soon, or perhaps was already in pain. There are some situations where that is exactly what a person wants to know, though, and in those situations one might call his smile reassuring. But this wasn't really one of those situations.
"You seem a little nervous. Perhaps you've forgotten the way back to your band?"
This question was not going to be followed by a sincere, Good Samaritan offer to help her find her way back. If any sort of offer followed, it would probably be for something a great deal less wholesome than guidance to her band, if she had one, which Vol doubted. It also wouldn't really be an offer, since offers imply choice and Vol didn't intend to allow her one of those.
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Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 8:03 pm
Anima was on her own, but she thought it wise not to mention in to this lion. He hadn't actually threatened her yet, but that smile of his was deeply unsettling and he looked altogether unsavory.
The lioness decided that, regretfully, this encounter was not going to net her a new friend.
"No, thank you," Anima said, her voice a little firmer this time. She backed away from him, intending to turn tail and flee once she was out of his reach. She didn't want to turn her back on the huge lion until she was safely on her way.
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Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 8:10 pm
He liked how she was trying to be brave while simultaneously preparing to flee. It was adorably hypocritical. And he hadn't even done anything to her. Yet. Given a little bit more provocation Vol would probably do at least one thing to her, and probably more depending on how shell-shocked that one thing left her.
"If you're sure," Vol said.
The words might have sounded solicitous and polite coming from someone else, like Vol's former protege Ru, who had some of the most beautifully floral manners Vol had ever seen when he chose to exercise them. When Vol spoke them they sounded like what they were, namely a mockery of gentlemanly good manners. The only people who got genuine good manners from the soot grey reaver were those he respected, and Vol had so far seen no reason to respect this timid lioness.
"Last chance."
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Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 8:14 pm
Last chance certainly didn't sound very friendly. Anima wasn't sure what was going on here, or why the grey lion was acting so ... so odd and intimidating without actually attacking, but she didn't like it. She had found that the best policy for a lioness on her own was to avoid trouble when she saw it, and this situation reeked of trouble.
"I'll find my own way," Anima replied. Judging that she had edged far enough away from the grey lion now, she turned on her heel and burst into a run. She didn't look behind her to see if the grey lion was pursuing.
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Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 8:23 pm
Some lions would have given the fleeing lion a bit of a head start, just to give her a sporting chance. But Vol was one of the Stormborn, and he knew that it didn't matter how much of a sporting chance he gave her. She was an outlander with flowers in her blood. She would never stand any sort of chance against him, sporting or otherwise, and so Vol saw no reason in wasting time with sporting chances.
Actually, it was a good thing she'd decided to run when she did, the reaver reflected as he bounded forward. Their conversation up until this point had pretty much exhausted his stores of pleasantries for the time being. At least if you wanted pleasantries applicable to the situation. He probably could have gone on a bit asking about her parents or her pets or her psoriasis or something, but what would be the point? This was much more fun. At least for him.
It didn't take him long to hit a good running stride that he could keep up for about an hour if necessary. He wouldn't be good for much at the end of that hour, but he didn't anticipate he would need to run that whole time. Panicked lions did stupid things, and he just needed to wait for that. And then he would pounce. And then, well, he'd decide from there. It was good to be spontaneous sometimes.
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Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 8:27 pm
Anima was keeping her gaze fixed straight ahead, but she could hear the heavy footfalls of the lion behind her. She was too ladylike to curse aloud, but a stream of quite inventive curses whirled through her mind.
Although large, male, and older than her, the strange lion didn't sound like he was growing winded. She risked a glance behind her. He was keeping up handily, pacing himself. She felt a flutter of fear in her stomach. How long could he keep up with her?
She swerved suddenly, breaking away to the right, hoping to gain some distance on him by confusing him.
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Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 8:36 pm
There we go. Something stupid. If she kept going to the right for too much longer she would find herself fairly well cornered. It wasn't obvious from this elevation, but the ground rose slightly to the right until it became a drop-off that wouldn't be all that pleasant to make by accident. On purpose it was perfectly survivable, but no one enjoyed surprise ten-foot drops.
Vol supposed he could wait for that, but then he would have to get down, and that would be a hassle. It would be much easier just to spring now and bring her down. He was close enough that his jump should at least allow him to hook his claws into her haunches and drag her to the ground. He outweighed her, so it wasn't likely she'd be able to run very far with him hanging onto her rear end.
Which looked fairly fetching from this point of view, Vol decided. Once he had her grounded, he would probably be screwing her. But first he had to bring her down.
He jumped, forelegs and claws extended.
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Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 8:45 pm
Anima would indeed have tumbled down the drop-off if she reached it, but that wasn't going to happen.
Either the grey lion was faster than he looked, or she had lost some speed making that turn. The lion's claws dug into her flanks and his weight dragged her down. Anima screamed in surprise and pain. She had been frightened, yes, but no one had ever physically attacked her during her time in the rogue lands.
The pain from his claws was searing, but Anima tried to kick at him. "Let me go!" she shouted. Why was he doing this? He had hunted her and brought her down like a gazelle!
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Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 8:51 pm
Casually Vol did as she had asked. With one paw. He now used that paw to deliver a chastising thump to her at the place where her tail joined her body. Nah ah ah. Kicking was not a good idea.
"This might go easier on you if you don't fight," Vol advised her. It was about as close to fair play as the reaver got. "But then again, it might not."
After all, Vol wasn't one of those weird lions who got off boinking corpses. He wanted some squirm in his squeeze. If a lioness was too traumatized by recent events, he had been known to encourage her to at least move with the not-so-tender application of claws and teeth. So really it could go either way for her as far as the not-fighting went.
Having given her as much warning as she was likely to get, he dug his claws in and pulled himself over her. This was turning out to be a much better day than if he'd stayed in the pride to be pestered by would-be students.
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