The old lion could feel his muscles were still tense after his last fight- it was a sign he was getting older. Always older. It was starting to get the better of him, it seemed, causing him to slow and weaken. However, it wasn’t enough to keep him from pulling off another victory. Though it helped, he supposed, that his opponent had been nothing but a young chump. A lion he had stumbled upon in his travels, who had been to brazen for his own good. He had challenged Angusho without knowing anything about him, probably thinking he would be an easy win with his age against him. The young gun had not seen a threat, so of course Angusho had to teach him a lesson. Their fight hadn’t lasted long- Angusho hadn’t even sustained any serious damage. Within minutes, the young lion was on the ground, begging for mercy as he bled over the rocks and grass. Too bad for him that mercy was not what Angusho was very good at- he preferred making sure he finished the job. The boy had come looking for trouble, and just because he couldn’t handle it in the end didn’t mean that he was exempt from the obvious outcome. So, even though the lion had been sobbing for his life, Angusho took his claws and cut them along the boy’s neck, watching the blood spray out with a smug sort of satisfaction. He had remained in the area to watch his enemy die, always pleased to see a slow end. Not that this one was particularly slow, but he hadn’t granted him an instant death, either. What had the boy been thinking in those final moments?
Angusho was almost a little jealous- he was aging and would likely die from his time on earth coming to an end. He wouldn’t get a warrior’s death. And why? Because none of these fools had enough skill to best him? Annoying. His own might would keep him from the kind of death he wanted. He would have mused about it more, but he found his thoughts interrupted by the appearance of a leopard. From his position in the bushes, he could see that she was surprised by the sight of the dead lion in front of her. She seemed angry, too. Good. Perhaps another opponent for him.
“Are you looking for me?” He asked, drawing himself from his hiding spot, his large body sliding over to her like it was on wheels. She tensed, watching him carefully with bright blue eyes. His grin widened.
“You’re the one who did this?” Arisia demanded, appalled.
“He was in my way- he deserved to die.” Was Angusho’s response. The leopard growled, feeling a little like she had fallen into some kind of trap. Maybe it was the naturally dark aura that seemed to be radiating from the lion.
“So I take it this was not due to the heat of battle- you killed him because you could, didn’t you? Lions like you shouldn’t be allowed to walk free in these lands! You should surrender yourself to me, so I can find a suitable punishment for this murder!”
“Murder?” laughed Angusho, “this is the rogue lands! There are no rules on who I can and cannot kill. I can kill him, or you, if I want to.” With that, he sprang forward, surprising her and catching her under his massive body. She let out a surprised cry, but his large paws on top of her kept her from being able to wiggle away from him. She snarled, and struggled to swipe at him, her paws in too awkward a position under her body to do her any real good. All she could manage was kicking up a bit of dust.
“Let me go!” she ordered.
“You like to act like you’re in charge,” he growled, “but you’re just a helpless little leopard. It’s time someone showed you who was boss.” He raised one of his paws, extending the claws before digging them into her side. She screamed again, this time in pain, and tried once more to free herself from him. Once again, it did her little good.
She couldn’t help but wonder if she had been wrong to leave Bro’dee- maybe she should have listened to him after all.
“Are you frightened?” The large lion hissed viciously, taking his claws and digging into her flesh once more, “you’ll be in no better a state than that lion over there, and there will be no penalty for me due to it. Your life is worthless out here- there is no law.” He smiled and watched her blood slip over the ground. Good thing she had come along- he would get to watch someone die slowly after all.
So it was getting to be a pretty good day, all things considered.
“You… you will be stopped,” Arisia growled, “and I’m not afraid of you! I have no fear! Even… even if you kill me, someone is going to get the better of you- evil never wins! Even if this place doesn’t have any law… you can’t run from your horrible deeds forever.” But her words only seemed to make Angusho sink his claws in deeper. Clearly she had been a fool to try and deal with him on her own. If only she had stayed with Bro’dee! He wasn’t strong, but he was clever. He would have been able to do something… anything… now her mind was starting to fog. She could feel only pain. Was this how she was going to die? At the paws of some unknown lion, just because he felt like killing her? How… anti-climactic.
Just as her mind started to black out completely, the lion was suddenly off her, sent rolling off to the side by some kind of thud to his side.
Angusho rolled, the wind knocked out of him, and barely managed to get himself back to his feet in time to meet another slam to his chest. Once again he was off his feet. Someone was using their speed against him- ramming him and ducking off before he could counter. It felt like getting slammed by boulders every time, and not being able to get out of the way. Sneaky fighting- he hated it. “You were lucky today, girl,” he snarled, before moving into the brush to make his escape.
Because he did not wish to fight, Bro’dee allowed him to go, his attention on more important matters than battle.
