Sunrise. The time of day when everything is still asleep, nestled cozily in for the night before. When warmth and rest are all that pass through the awakened minds, and dreams or nightmares would pass through the sleeping ones.Orra had never woken before the dawn, so to find herself opening her eyes before the sky had lost its stars was fascinating the the quiet lioness. She rose slowly, feeling every inch of muscle and tendon in her limbs stretch as she allowed them to, going from relaxed to ready-for-action in moments. She gave a quick glance to her sleeping company and smiled softly, head tilting at the snort that escaped one of them.
Quietly as she could, Orra tiptoed from her sleeping arrangement, setting herself just right so that she could watch the sun come up. The sky had already begun its gentle tumble from dark blue to pale purples and pinks, and Orra watched it all with a sense of awe.
She was grateful to be alive to see such a sight, and she had very few to thank for it, but she would thank them wholeheartedly for as long as she lived.
Her brother Samsen had always been there for her growing up, and it saddened her to know that he had disappeared one day and it had almost cost her life. She knew not what had occurred to make him leave, but she knew in her heart that it wasn't intentional.
As she thought of him, she wondered if he too could see the same sky as she did in that moment, or if here were toiling away in dens and caves like a slave.
Considering her predicament, Orra was too a slave, wasn't she? But she thought of Azrael... the lion who had shown her kindness when she needed it, and his amazing sister Gabriel would would teach her what she needed to know as a lioness and unskilled adolescent.
She smiled softly. Azrael. The mere mention of the lion in her thoughts alone sent a shiver down her spine, but not of fear or loathing. If luck would have it her way, maybe she could reunite with her brother and tell him of Azrael with all the fondness and full trust she felt for him. She could almost picture it, the look on Samsen's face at seeing his sister again. And she would be able to hunt for him for a change! Oh, how that made her grin from ear to ear like a loon, hunting for her brother. She had never so much as lifted a paw without his say-so in the past, and to do something so out of her old character nearly made her burst out laughing, which she made sure NOT to to. No point in waking the others this early and risk them being upset with her.
A groan from behind her and she froze up, turning her head ever so slowly just in time to see her bunk mate roll over. Missing her warmth, most likely, and she frowned at the idea that she could cause someone else discomfort. It wasn't in her to do so on purpose; heck, it took effort for her to even hunt another living creature as it was. She was half-tempted to turn around and lay back down, but no. She wanted to see the morning sky, and so she would.
And with a little effort, she turned herself back around, wrinkling her nose at herself, and watched the sky. As it faded lighter and lighter with each passing second, she purred over it, absorbing the color that life had deemed her worthy of seeing with working eyes. Other animals had started to rise, as the movement of creatures in the grasses and cracks of rock spoke aloud their salutations.
She sighed, content for the moment, and turned back to the sleeping lions just behind her, snaking her way through limbs and tails to try and take back her previous spot. However, she must've been gone longer than she had originally thought. Her spot had already grown cold in her absence, and lying down on the cold stone sent a shiver spiking through her stomach, forcing her to jump right back into a standing position. A shifty look, and she attempted to rub the stone with her paws a little, hoping friction to be her savior in this instance. The company on both sides snored silently, a light twitch of the tail or flick of the ear letting her know they were still very much unaware of her intrusion, and she froze when a loud snort caught her off-guard. Thinking it over, she sighed and went back to where she'd been sitting to watch the sun. she would just wait it out until everyone else woke up. She doubted she could get much more sleep anyway; she'd had a full night's worth of rest, which wasn't too bad for a Thrall. And she knew what Thralls normally went through when it came to helping the pride or your specified master. She shivered. She really, REALLY was glad she met Azrael first, for that part anyway. He wasn't the type to be forceful or violent like some of these other pride members could be. And he had made it perfectly clear on the day they had met that she would never be controlled by the pride as a whole. Though she couldn't help but wonder what the true pride was like. She had no clue why these few had remained separated yet; she would learn in time, she supposed. But what she did know that these couldn't be half as bad as the main pride if they were separate as it was.
She glanced over her shoulder, eyes widened to see the figures at the darker part of the sky, and wrinkled her nose lightly. If they could just wake up sooner, she could have someone to at least talk to for the little while longer it took for everyone else to wake up.
[1,010 Words]