How far had he come? Had he even moved since the fight ended. It all felt like a blur, or something. Was his memory fading, or had what he experience been nothing but an odd dream. Dhalven sat there, staring up at the tree tops, with clouds drifting overhead. Everything that happened to him the last couple days seemed to odd to be real. Couldn't things go back to being simple?

He had given up fighting years ago. If he needed to fight he could get others to do it. However there was a time when he loved fighting and would do so just for fun. It wasn't until he realized his actions had consequences that he really stopped and thought about why he fought. Even having others fight for him made him feel, dirty? Dirty wasn't the best word, but it would do for now.

It wasn't like he thought that he was some sort of good guy. He had always been a terrible guy. Even as a cub he was pretty horrid, though not quite to the extent he was now.

Though, if he tried to think back hard enough, he was sure he wasn't born bad. It just happened. His mother, was kind hearted, much like his old love Leenah-Sesi was. If he thought hard enough he could almost picture his mother looking down at him, with a smile on her face. When he was with her, he was happy. She was the reason he was good, that he wasn't terrible.

It made sense now why he became the monster he did today. Once his mother died, all the innocents that she gave him died with her. He was raised by his father, who could care less about him. His father was more or less the same as him. A father who never cared about his cubs, and would abandon them given the chance.

As he let his mind wander, he thought he heard foot steps. Though as he tried to listen carefully he found his mind drifting even farther away.

Jolanka enjoyed their trip so far. The mountain had been a struggle to climb, but it was worth it. On the peak of the mountain was a beautiful landscape. This is where they decided to rest up. It was an odd experience for Jolanka. She had thought that the two of them would get closer. However the trip was almost spent in silence. The only time they talked was when they stopped to rest or hunt. She was worried that she upset Ankou in some way.

So far the adventure was a bit uneventful. She was hoping something would happen. Anything would be better than the silent travel that happened between them. Now that they were at the top of the mountain she had thought that maybe something eventful would happen. But no. Ankou was resting in the cave they found. She was completely awake and wanting action. The only reason she had stayed put was because she thought it was rude to just walk off while Ankou was sleeping. However despite this she was debating if she could leave, just for a little bit and return before Ankou woke up.

She knew that she could get back fairly quickly. It wasn't like her to get lost, so that wouldn't be an issue. 'Alright, I think I'll do it!' She got up from her spot and started to venture away from Ankou's sleeping spot. She was quiet at first, to make sure she didn't wake up Ankou. However the further she got away, the louder she allowed herself to become.

It was when she reached the dense trees that she realized something was wrong. Looking around she noticed the trees had been scratched at. There were no chirping birds around, unlike where she was earlier. Than she noticed droplets of blood on a leaf of a plant. She realized there was a trail leading off. Quickly she followed the trail, hoping whoever was at the end was okay.

Than she saw the body of a cheetah. He was curled up and looked to have just lost a fight. She rushed over to him, not thinking about any of the dangers, but worried for a stranger who could be seriously hurt. “Are you alright?” She asked.

He could hear a voice sorta. It sounded more like noises then actual words. He wanted to say something, anything, but nothing was coming out when he opened his mouth. Instead it was more like a gasp for air. How much did that fight affect him? Had he lost the ability to talk from it some how. No that didn't seem right. He must have been so weak. There was much blood shed in the fight and if he remembered properly the majority of it was his.

Why did he fight in the first place? He decided a long time ago to give up on fighting, that even if he was a terrible cheetah, that didn't mean he had to fight. His desire to fight died years ago when he realized how destructive he was. It was never really his desire to fight in the first place. To his father, his only use was to fight. He had convinced himself early on that he loved fighting, that it was just a natural part of him.

But he thought that maybe some of his mother's more innocent behaviors stayed with him, that it made it harder for him to keep wanting to fight. Than after meeting Leenah he thought that maybe the little innocence in him grew, just a bit. After meeting her his desire to fight had practically diminished and instead he got others to fight for him.

It still didn't answer who he had a fight with. Was it someone from his past looking to get revenge? Or just a random encounter with an angry fighter? He wished that his memories would just clear up so he could figure out what had happened.

Jolanka saw movement in the cheetah's mouth. It looked like he was going to say something. However all he did was gasp for air. She saw up close all his wounds. The biggest was on his head. It looked like it had been cut open. She was panicking, not sure what she should do. When she was little she had minor cuts that her mom would put some sort of herbal mix on and it would get better. However she didn't know how her mother made it. Nor did she think it would help him anyways.

“Wake up please?” she asked, nudging him with her head. “If you do, you can tell me what is wrong and I can fix you.” She wished that there was a quick fairy tale fix to this. However she was sure there were no gods around to magically fix this. The only thing she felt that she could really do at the moment was hope that he would wake up.

He heard it again. A voice. This time it was clearer, though now he was fairly sure he was dreaming. She sounded like someone he met before. Someone close to him. He knew it couldn't be her though. She hated him. If she had ran a crossed him in this state she would just think he deserved it and go on with her business.

A smile appeared on his maw. Though there was always a chance that he hadn't changed her as much as he thought he did. Perhaps even now she had her innocents intact. That losing him did not mean she became as filled with hatred as him. He thought that it would be nice if she stayed as sweet as she had been when they first met. Those cubs, all six of them would be in luck if she stayed like that. Any darkness he put into the cubs would vanish because of her, he was sure.

He thought that if it was her he would like it very much to see her, even if it was the last time. As painful as it was, he opened his eyes and saw, not Leenah, but a tan lioness looking down at him. He was a bit disappointed, but she wasn't such a bad sight at all. It wouldn't be terrible if she was the last thing he saw. “Hello.” He was hardly able to say. When he spoke he could taste the iron like taste of blood.

He wondered if he ever hurt anyone this badly, and prayed silently to the gods that he did not.

Jolanka could hardly believe it! He smiled than actually spoke. She let out a sigh of relief. It was terrifying to think that he might die in front of her. She was sure that she could not handle that. “How are you doing? Is there anything I can get you?”

She sat down next to him, to sort of comfort him. “If you can stand up I can take you to the river and help you clean up.” she spoke quietly, not wanting to upset him. “Your wounds look bad and I don't want you to hurt. I think it would be good to clean them up.” She didn't want to force him, she just worried about him.

She had never had to deal with death first hand. Of course she had seen death, she had to hunt and get meals which meant death to her prey. However it was different. She didn't see them as anything but her next meal. Other felines however were different. She felt sympathy toward other felines and thankfully never had to witness another felines death. If she had to witness one now on her first travels she was sure she would just give up and go home.

So she hoped that he would get better, almost in a selfish way.

Dhavlen thought that perhaps it would help to clean up the blood. It couldn't do any damage at least. He slowly and painfully got up, when he remembered the cold eyes of his attack. It was starting to come back to him. He didn't worry about his attacker though. By now that lion was long gone. He leaned on the lioness. “I, think I would like to clean them. Take me there please.” His voice was hardly above a whisper when he spoke. It hurt even when he spoke. He guessed that no matter what he did he would be in pain.

They walked together until they reached a creak, which he was thankful wasn't too far away. He spent most of the time thinking about how pathetic he must have looked. Part of him felt disgraceful, though another part thought that maybe this was good for him. That perhaps he would learn something from the encounter.

“Thank you for helping me.” he said as they reached the creak. He laid down in it, the water stinging his cuts. It did nothing to comfort him. In fact he thought it was more painful than before. He didn't allow the pain to show on his face though. His face showed a relax look. He closed his eyes and rested. “Please stay here, just for a little bit. I do not want to be alone.”

Jolanka didn't mind helping him there. She kept a close eye on him once he laid down in the creak. As he rested she thought about Ankou and how she just left her friend there. She had good reason of course, but she still thought it was rude of her. And now this cheetah wanted her to stay with him. She should go back to Ankou and at least tell her what happened and then return, but she was scared to leave the hurt cheetah alone for too long.

“I will stay here, but I do need to get back to my friend. Once you are doing better I will leave, but I will return with her.” Jolanka promised. She stayed close to the cheetah as he rested. This was an adventure of sorts, she thought, reflecting on the day. However she wasn't sure this would be one she would tell her cubs. Seeing death was terrifying for her and she knew that she was close to seeing it today. Heck she knew that there was still a chance that the cheetah could die now. He wasn't doing that great. But at least he was awake. She hoped he would get better and maybe tell her what happened.

Until then she would just keep her eyes on him.

WC= 2,107