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 Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 10:43 am
Kiek stood up and shook his head. That had been a fantastic dust bath. He could tell because the fur down his spine was twitching all by itself to shed the dust still clinging to his coat. He yawned and stretched until his muscles were all taut. He held the stretch until it seemed he simply couldn't anymore. Straightening up was a delicious release.
He considered finding one of his brothers so that they could go hunting and bring back something for their poor, long-suffering mother. Even as he thought the description he smirked. Adisa had raised him and his siblings without any paternal assistance from their father, which was certainly very impressive, but he never thought she minded. He just liked to do nice things for her from time to time.
Or maybe not. Kiek was feeling too lazy to do anything as serious as hunting. Instead he thought he would just go for a stroll along the borders of the pride. That way he could work off some of the excess energy he'd accumulated by napping for most of the morning, but he wouldn't have to do anything as strenuous or serious as hunting.
Kiek had been walking the border for nearly an hour before he came to the conclusion that this was boring. But that was until he saw the lioness running hell-for-leather toward the pride.
"Interesting," he decided.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 6:10 pm
 Gliri was being chased. This wasn't one of those imaginary pursuers that she had once been afraid of as a youth. This was real pursuit, and the consequences were going to be bad if she was captured. She'd stolen part of the lion's meal accidentally, not realizing he would be back to claim it.
He had come back while she was gnawing on a meaty bone, snarling his rage and threatening her with violence. When she tried to apologize, to reason with him, he had lunged at her and slashed her side. It was a shallow cut, bleeding only a little, but he had nearly used that grip to drag her to the ground, and if he'd managed that, she could well imagine what would happen next. So she'd fled, struggling free from his grasp and tearing her flesh further.
Gliri hadn't expected him to pursue her for so far. Why did he care so much? She was too out of breath to ask, and it didn't matter anyway. She just had to get away. Ahead she saw the figure of a lion standing and watching her flight. Perhaps if she could get to that lion, she would be safe.
Using the last of her breath she cried, "Please, help!"
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Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 11:35 am
There were no pride rules preventing Kiek from crossing that invisible line between pride lands and rogue lands, but just the same he had never actually traversed that boundary in his life. The lands beyond had always seemed much the same to him, and he didn't see any reason to upset his mother by venturing into them. Probably he would have gone his entire life without leaving the Pridelands, if it hadn't been for the plaintive cry of the lioness running toward him.
For the time being he was unable to see her pursuer, but Kiek reasoned that nobody would run like that unless they were being chased by something that was either very large, very angry, very violent, or some combination of the above. Not really the sort of situation he wanted to insert himself into, to be honest, but he would not be able to live with himself if he failed to act on behalf of a lioness who requested aid. Not to mention his mother would probably beat him.
"Here," he called, moving swiftly to intercept her and interpose himself between her and her pursuer if necessary. "This way."
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Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 6:38 pm
Gliri hadn't realized that she had yet to figure out the gender of the lion she'd seen until she heard his voice calling to her. The matter had been unimportant, but if forced to guess she would have guessed that she was running toward a lioness, since the figure had seemed about the size of an adult lioness and lacked a mane.
She felt a pang of guilt when she realized it was just an adolescent male. It was unfair to bring someone so much younger into a potentially violent situation like hers, and yet she needed help. Furthermore, he seemed willing to offer her his aid, and it would be rude to refuse it at this point, particularly since she had cried out for it moments earlier.
All of these thoughts occurred to her in the space of a single stride, maybe two. In that time she altered her course so that she was running almost straight toward him, though with a slight adjustment so that she would pass him rather than collide with him. He was coming toward her, too, and so she did not have as far to run, for which her straining lungs and burning side were grateful.
The hope he gave her also provided just enough energy to propel her past her rescuer, but little further. She stumbled just a little behind him and dropped to the ground in a cowering position she sometimes felt she'd spent her entire life in.
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Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 6:50 pm
Kiek stared in some amazement as a petite lioness darted past him and then collapsed. She looked somewhat underfed in the flash he'd seen of her and then the longer look he had taken once she was still. Her sides were heaving and yet he could see her ribs faintly outlined beneath greyish hide. This was of less interest than the rusty brown gashes that oozed dark red blood and marred her pelt.
"You're hurt," he exclaimed, startled. Then he felt like an idiot. She had hardly needed him to point that out to her.
And now he was unsure whether he ought to keep watch for her pursuer or look to her. Ordinarily he probably would have chosen to watch for the greater threat, but the way her posture and manner screamed abject terror and submission struck him as more serious. His huntmaster would have been deeply disappointed by his evaluation, he had no doubt, but he figured his mother would have been proud.
"We're just at the border of my pride, if you can make it a little farther. You'll be safer there, with the hunters and warriors of the pride to protect you."
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Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 6:58 pm
Gliri was panting with fear and the tip of her tongue pressed against her incisors, but she was not insensate. She was aware that the young lion was watching her with concern and was more than a little dismayed to see her injury. Well, the injury was more than a little dismaying to her, too, but overall significantly less crippling than her fear.
"I'm sorry," she said. "This is my fault and I must accept what comes."
It hurt to force herself to her feet, but it must be done. She could in good conscience not lead an angry and violent lion into someone's pride. Instead she would have to be brave and face her pursuer, whatever vengeance he might decide to exact. There was also the possibility that he was part of the pride this youth had so blithely invited her to come to.
"Thank you," she whispered. It was the loudest she could speak with her mouth so fear-dry.
Maybe she was no longer being pursued. He ought to have emerged from the grass by now. That would have been nice. She didn't believe for a second that she would be so fortunate.
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 5:33 am
Kiek glanced over his shoulder to make sure no enemy was about to come bursting out of the tall grasses and attack before he moved swiftly to block the lioness's escape. Too late he realized that she might not interpret such a gesture in the best light and he tried to grin in a friendly, reassuring manner.
"Pardon me for saying so, but that's ridiculous. My pride is enormous, and every rogue in the near vicinity knows that if they threaten one of us, all of us will retaliate."
He tried again to grin and managed it better this time. He was on familiar territory here, talking about his pride. Not that he often got to explain his pride to rogues from outside, but he did feel that he knew a lot about the subject, having lived there all his life. He even knew more or less how a rogue could go about becoming one of the pride.
"So what do you think? Want to stay with us a few days? At least until you're healed up and you can be sure the b*****d who did it won't try again?" He made his grin extra appealing.
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 5:41 am
Gliri couldn't help yearning for the safety that this young lion offered her in his blithe invitation to stay with his pride for a while, but there were too many unknowns for her to accept without thought. No matter how charmingly he grinned at her. Her old friend Gintare had once warned her of an enormous pride where the males went out an kidnapped lionesses as part of their coming-of-age rites.
So there were issues.
For one thing, he was only an adolescent, and it was entirely possible that he didn't really have the authority to bring a lion into the pride. She also didn't know what sort of traditions or beliefs the pride held, and although her own beliefs were flexible and she had no traditions so to speak, there were certain ways of life she knew she could not endure. A martial one, for instance, or one in which females are subjugated by males, like the one Gintare had described.
More importantly though, "I'm really not very good with people. I think I would probably be overwhelmed by such a large pride. I thank you for your hospitality."
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 5:47 am
"I'm Kiek," he said, deciding to take a different approach. It seemed to him that the only sensible thing for her to do would be to join the pride, or at least stay with him and his family for a while. "What's your name?"
As he spoke he began to move away from the lioness, giving her space just in case he also fell under the category of overwhelming people. He was also moving in the direction of the pride so that if she wanted to continue talking to him she would have to walk that way, too. He wasn't tricky enough to do that on purpose, but it seemed to be working since she took a few steps in that direction, too, to tell him her name.
"Gliri," he repeated so that he would remember it. "You don't have to stay forever if you don't want to, but you shouldn't be on your own with a wound like that. And you don't have to see the whole pride at once. Probably you won't in fact. I bet you could go your whole life in the pride only knowing your hunting party and the lions whose dens are nearest yours."
He moved a little closer to the pride. They were still several dozen yards from that invisible boundary and it was unlikely he could sneakily get her to follow him so far. He changed tactics again and tried to look pitiful.
"My mother would beat me black and blue if I let you go off injured. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:03 am
"I'm Gliri," she had introduced herself, unable to be rude and ignore introduction courtesy. She found herself forced to start walking to continue talking to him, too, and wondered if he realized he was drawing her closer to his pride's border.
"I don't think your family would be too pleased with you bringing home a stray."
Actually, that was pure conjecture on her part. She knew that if any of Muscar's cubs had brought someone home in the way Kiek proposed to bring her home, he would have been warily accepting of the person, so long as they posed no threat to his family. Well, at least Gliri knew she wouldn't be deemed a threat. The thought of anyone finding her threatening was laughable.
And apparently his mother would beat him black and blue if he allowed her to leave while injured. That didn't sound very much like her family was in practice. Not while she had lived with Muscar, anyway. But now that she was gone, she imagined Muscar, who had always been more social, had less of a problem with taking in strangers for short periods of time. It was only because of her debilitating shyness that they had spent so much of their lives isolated.
"I wouldn't want that," she agreed. "But I will not impose on your mother. A pride as large as you claim this one is will doubtless have some out of the way place I can stay until I've recuperated, and I will stay there."
She couldn't help smiling at the irrepressible grin that threatened to split the young lion's face at her acquiescence. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. And if it was...she could always leave.
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:11 am
"Aw. Don't call yourself a stray."
He fell back to walk alongside Gliri, although he did not walk too closely. He didn't want to spook her or accidentally bump into her slashed side. As a hunter, he could tell she wasn't likely to die from the wound, but there was always the possibility it could turn septic, and then there would be real problems.
"I won't argue with you about staying with my family, since I'm not really sure there's room for a single extra body in the den - I've got a lot of siblings - but I'd feel a lot better if your out of the way place was sort of near my family's place so I can check up on you."
As they crossed into the pride he said, "And sometime you really should meet my mum. But that can wait if you like. I really do think you're making the right choice by staying here, at least temporarily."
From her expression, Kiek got the impression Gliri was hoping the same thing.
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