Ben Zi yawned and rolled over, but she was not interested in waking up just yet. She was having a good sleep, and her dreams were pleasant. She had met a few nice creatures recently, and was hoping to continue that trend. Her ears perked and she lifted her head, though, when she heard a growl nearby. It was enough to wake her up, and to chase off her ideas of having a nice, friendly day.
She saw the bushes nearby rustling and got to her feet slowly. She crouched down, backing slowly away from the bushes. Her tail swished behind her but she was not going to fight. It was only fear moving through her. Of flight or fight, she never chose fight. Ever.
And today was not the day she changed that.
Something large, fanged, and angry burst out of the bushes and she took off, as fast as her feet could take her. She thought she was running like the wind itself, but the thing was right behind her, almost close enough to take a swing with its massive paws and take her legs out from under her. Then she would be helpless. She could see it in her mind and it made her run harder, until she felt like her chest was going to burst. There was a small cliff ahead of her and she leaped into the ravine without thought.
She probably should have considered it first.
Above, the beast chasing her skidded to a stop, looking down into the ravine and snarling. The lion turned and walked back the way it had come, spotting her as she fell, bouncing off rocks on the way down. She got wedged in a small part of the ravine, where the two walls got closer again. The rocks opened up beneath and a short distance down was the bottom, where a small river ran. There was only a little space to walk there.
On that little path, there was another lioness. The green female looked up when a rock hit her on the head, and she saw the limp body hanging from the rocks above. A lioness, she recognized, but did not know who she was. It did not matter. Avya moved to climb the rocks. Thankfully, the unconscious lioness was not too high up. At least, from here to the floor. From the top of the ravine to the rock pinch, however, it was a different story. Avya climbed slowly to her, not wanting to dislodge any of the rocks and make the poor lioness fall some more.
She had no idea what had happened, and had not seen the chase above. Reaching with her teeth, being gentle with her touch, she took hold of Ben Zi and pulled her carefully from the rocks, as best she could. It took time and careful effort, but once she had the smaller lioness free it was just a matter of climbing back down with her. Avya managed to get Ben Zi on her back and climbed the rest of the way down with her that way, though she was tuckered out by the time her paws met the water's edge.
Rolling Ben Zi off her, she took a breath, then made to examine her.
The lioness had suffered some bruises in the fall, but nothing seemed to be bleeding and none of her fur was pulled out. She was all in one piece, and no bones were jutting out enough for Avya to seem them. She was not a medically inclined lioness, and she had limited knowledge of herbs and such things, but she would stay with the lioness to make sure she was alright. And do what she could in the interim, however small her efforts were.
She was close enough to the water to splash some of it onto Ben Zi's face with some light flicks of her paw. Then she sat down before the lioness and licked her head maternally. The poor thing had no business on her own, if this was the kind of care she took of herself! Leaping off of cliffs. What was in her head? Some reckless lioness with too much spunk, thinking she could make the jump, no doubt.
Avya shook her head.
As she was sitting there, judging the unconscious female, that same female began to stir and opened her eyes slowly. She looked around, then jumped a bit when she saw Avya beside her. But she realized it was not the lion that had chased her, and she looked around in wonder, then craned her head up, slowly, to see the distance from the top. She remembered everything vividly, at least, and let out a little eep.
"I fell from up there?"
Avya looked surprised, then smiled at the soft, timid tone that escaped Ben Zi's throat. Her opinion of the younger lioness changed immediately. This was no reckless dumby, this was just a shy female who had a great deal of bad luck.
"Not all the way, but the rocks that broke your fall were not that much nicer. I got you down from up there. How are you feeling?"
"You... wow. I feel... okay, I guess, for falling all the way from up there... thank you for helping me. A lion or... something... chased me, and I fell off... I tried to jump. I don't think I was even jumping for the other side, I just wanted to get away. I fell without even thinking... and then I woke up down here. But that lion didn't come down here?"
"I didn't see one. You'll be fine, just rest. I'll take care of you until the morning, okay? Do you feel like you can walk? I think I saw a little cave a short distance back and that will keep you safe. I don't think any lion will be coming down here. He was probably chasing you out of his territory."
"Maybe... uhm... yeah, I think I can stand." She pushed her feet under her and wobbled, and Avya moved to lean against her, letting her return the pressure, and supported her as she walked. She was not going to let the thing fall over, or walk if she could not really make it. They took it slowly, but soon enough they reached the cave Avya had seen. It was small but abandoned and cozy. It was still near the water, and they would be warm during the night.
As soon as they were inside, Ben Zi curled up and fell to sleep. Avya sat nearby, watching over her through the night.
(Word Count: 1,104 in Word)
