[PRP] Angels and Demons (Bozi x Stari)

[SilverLutz]

It wasn't often Bozi was told he'd be going on a march. They were usually reserved for the slaves that didn't know their place, or that had done something wrong in the pride. Bozi, as slaves went, was very good at what he did. He helped the demons when they needed it, be it gathering herbs for things or hunting for prey, he was their verbal and physical punching bag, he was a cub sitter at times...a jack of all trades. Of course, he got nothing from the things that he did for the demons other than bruises and scars.

Marches, though...marches were simply a means to reinforce the idea that slaves were worthless, below dirt, and could be killed at any moment for no reason other than the passing demon felt like it. They instilled fear into the hearts of the lighter-colored lions, and Bozi was not immune to that. This march hadn't been too bad so far, but when the large male chaperon approached him while he was drinking at a stream, he knew the 'training' was to begin.

Bozi took the beating well, only crying out a few times in pain as claws raked deeper than he was used to. After just a few minutes of attack, the demon moved off to satisfy his thirst further down the river. Bozi lay on the ground where he had been left, too afraid to get back to his feet. His shoulder was bleeding and some other areas on his body had shallow claw marks that would certainly bruise. Keeping his yellow eyes squeezed shut he trembled, wishing he could disappear from this place.

Talencia

 

[Talencia]

Stari was having a pleasant day. The sun was shining, the bees were buzzing, birds were calling, and a lion was groaning. Wait, what? She stopped dead in her tracks, ears swiveling. She could hear water, a small stream trickling. An especially chipper male bird, brightly colored, swooped by, singing his song mightily. In fact, it almost covered the faint noise she heard again. A soft moan, coming from the same direction as the stream.

This was definitely not right. She broke into a lope, whiskers spread to bring scent to her nose faster. Before she reached the stream, she was smelling not only lion, but also blood. For this reason, she slowed to pad as quietly as possible, sneaking up closer until she could see. To her surprise, there lay a male lion, bleeding from his shoulder and other, smaller scratches. She sucked in a breath, glancing around for his attacker. With noone in sight, she slunk up to him.

"What happened?" she asked, keeping her voice low. Who knew when his attacker might return? "Can you get up? We'd better move, in case they come back!" Her voice was soft but urgent, and she was nosing him, hoping he'd respond by at least opening his eyes or talking to her.  

[SilverLutz]

With all his trembling and squeezing his eyes shut, Bozi didn't hear the approach of the lioness until she was nearly right beside him. Thinking it was the male back for more, he turned his head to the ground so he could protect his eyes, nose, and mouth, his ears pressed flat against his head to try to hide amid his mane. His back and haunches were much stronger than those delicate bits, and one scar across his face was more than enough for him.

The prodding was different, though, than what he had anticipated, as was the voice. It was female, first of all, and quiet. Even concerned, if he had the presence of mind to think that word. Hesitantly, Bozi lifted his head and peeked at the female, still shaking in his fur. What was she saying? Move? Get up?

"Move?" he said hesitantly, finally registering that she was mostly pale in color. The dark purple stripes on her body might have offered her some protection from the demons, but that off-white base...there was too much light to appease the lions he served. The thought flashed through his mind that this could be a trap, and he instantly ducked his head again, fearing more blows.

"No, I can't get up," he said weakly, curling in on himself. He physically could, of course, he hadn't been that badly injured, but mentally....no. He had to stay here until the lion returned, either with more pain or with the promise of returning to the relative safety of the pride. He hoped the passed whatever test this might be.

Talencia

 

[Talencia]

She stared at him disbelievingly. What in the world was wrong with him? She ran her nose over him carefully, from tip to tail. As far as she could tell, he surely was capable of moving... so why didn't he? She tried to put more urgency into her voice. "Come on! You can do it. Just a little ways, so that whoever did this to you doesn't find you when they come back." She gave him a light shove and then a nuzzle, trying everything she could think of to encourage him to move.

Failing that, she began to clean his shoulder wound herself, licking it clean of debris and giving the blood the proper space to ooze into a scab. Though it was somewhat deep, it wasn't debilitating. Still, perhaps he needed some looking after? She wasn't entirely certain why he himself hadn't cleaned it yet, but that was the only thing she could think to do. Meanwhile, she remained actively alert, eyes shifting along the horizon, ears perked to catch the smallest indication of someone returning. She couldn't say why she thought they would, but if they beat up this male, who was she to stand up to them?!  

[SilverLutz]

Bozi could feel the gentle, nearly not there touch as the female sniffed along his body. This certainly was some odd kind of test, he thought to himself to try to distract his mind from the thoughts of running. Surely by now they'd have tried to hurt him more. This lioness was projecting nothing but true concern and urgency, though, so maybe she wasn't actually testing him. Just a passing rouge who heard him or smelled the blood or seen the demon leaving the site.

A rough tongue on his shoulder made him jerk in surprise, and he lifted his head with an alarmed look on his face to stare at the female. His heart pounded in his chest from the lingering fight or flight response that he had suppressed, tail twitching nervously.

"What are you doing?" he asked weakly. Questions were quite rare from him, but she had startled him so much that his years and years of training had slipped his mind. He'd never felt a tongue on him without teeth that preceded or followed, save for his own. He had learned not to lick his wounds until the beatings were over, though, so as not to further enrage the demon that had caused the marks.

Talencia

 

[Talencia]

She stopped to consider him intently, confusion and assessment mixed in her gaze. "You seem incapable of caring for yourself," she finally said bluntly, though keeping her voice low still. "You remind me of a frightened cub, to be honest, and if I found a wounded and scared cub, I wouldn't just leave it to bleed." She cocked her head to the side, eyes roaming his face as if looking for answers. "How did you get into this condition?"

His coat and weight indicated that overall he'd been in good condition until this apparent attack, but the attack alone was not sufficient cause for his weak and defeated attitude. He was truly a puzzle to the free-hearted lioness. She wasn't entirely certain still what to make of him. Too many possibilities flicked through her head to keep track of. She'd only be able to untangle it if he himself gave her some answers or clues to the reason for his state.  

[SilverLutz]

Bozi looked around for the demon, but he was nowhere in sight. That didn't mean he couldn't come around the hills in just a moment or so, but that wasn't to say that he would. It was a dangerous guessing game that they were playing at, and he figured if he gave this lioness the truth she'd be scared off and wouldn't suffer the same fate that he endured.

"I am a slave," he said quietly, his voice still weak and fearful, although there was a look of desperation on his face. Not for himself, but for her. She was so healthy and beautiful and young...they'd snap her, even if it took quite some time. Beat her and bleed her and very nearly kill her, and then she'd submit to them. He'd seen it done before.

"There are lions that live near here that have demons inside of them. They all have very dark pelts...and those with lighter markings are shunned. I was born into the pride and have been a slave my whole life. I do things for them, run errands, hunt, allow them to vent their anger...but they take slaves out on marches sometimes to...remind us that we are not them. That we're weaker and stupid and cowering fools."

There...perhaps that would make her leave. Her kind touch and concerned words made his heart ache to run with her, but he knew that if they were caught, they'd both be killed. He couldn't bare the thought of that.

Talencia

Whoops, didn't see your post

 

[Talencia]

She stared at him blankly as he spoke, crouching as he spoke of other lions. However, as her eyes turned to scan the horizon carefully, she began to frown. No-one was in sight. Not a soul, demonic or not. She turned the frown to him, examining him closely again. Was she missing something here? Her ears canted backwards in growing displeasure. "So you just sit here, with the open lands all around, and wait for these demon-lions to come back and beat you up more?" She spread her whiskers and frowned more fiercely. "You just let them do what they want, because... why?" It completely baffled her how any strong male such as he clearly was could even remotely put up with such treatment.

Unbelievably, she was beginning to regret stopping to help. Help was for those who needed it, and this strange, 'fraidy-cat male apparently didn't need it. He could run, there was none to stop him. He could fight back, but as far as she could tell, his paws were clean and well groomed. He simply chose this life of service and abuse. She bared her fangs slightly. "If this is what you want for yourself, I suppose I just have to leave you to it," she told him in a soft growl, not bothering to disguise the disgust in her voice. He was beyond both her help and her understanding.  

[SilverLutz]

As the female's tone changed, Bozi instinctively curled in on himself and ducked his head. He couldn't expect outsiders to understand the way things worked within his pride. He had no way of sharing how desperately he wanted to leave, but at the same time knowing that would bring certain death to him and whoever helped him. And, while death wouldn't be a bad option, he knew he'd never be able to forgive himself if his own selfish desires were the reason someone else was murdered.

He kept those thoughts to himself even as she pestered him, averting his gaze. He knew the demon would be back soon, and if she were still here he'd probably try to capture her as well. With her current attitude he had no doubt she'd put up a fight, but his tormentor was a very large lion and there wasn't a kind bone in his body. It went without saying that if the female didn't die, she'd certainly be very badly injured for her efforts.

Shaking his head to clear the thought, Bozi risked a glance up at the pale female. "No slave wants this," he said weakly. "But better I than someone else." Slaves were either born or captured, for the most part, and the captured slaves were generally treated worse than the born slaves. They had to have their freedom beat out of them, after all. Pale cubs born into the pride were taught that they were worthless and so they believed it. They were far easier to maintain.  

[Talencia]

Her lips relaxed to cover her teeth again as she considered what he had to say. It still didn't make any sense to her, but it seemed to make some sort of sense to this odd, weak, pitiful male. She still held him in contempt for the most part, but his words having a grain of truth in them gave her pause. Even so, she couldn't see how remaining behind helped the other slaves whatsoever. Who knew, perhaps this cowering, sniveling lion was some sort of hero to the slaves of his pride. He could not, however, ever be a hero in Astari's eyes.

She shook her head, ears still angled backwards. "I can see I won't be able to get you to move yourself, to save yourself or anyone else," she said with more acid than she had intended. Something about the way he submissively and willingly underwent this kind of thing gave her the creeps, and the fur along her spine was beginning to stand up with chills that made her shudder her hide. "I would wish you well, but you don't seem to wish yourself well." She regarded him soberly for another moment, still utterly baffled at his attitude. But, if this was what he chose, who was she to force him otherwise? Would that not make her just as guilty of bullying as his captors were? No, that was not who she was. "I will at least wish you the best life you can manage," she finally concluded. What else could she say?

"Farewell," she concluded, turning to slip through the grasses, back the way she'd come. At least she knew no-one was, or had been, back that direction. She'd certainly watch herself and creep carefully away for many miles before trusting that these demon-lions had not discovered her. Swift and silent, that was the call for the rest of the day. Without another word, she was gone from the slave lion's sight and life, hopefully never to return.  

[SilverLutz]

Bozi remained where he was as the female spoke, his head and ears still down out of respect. She was free, after all...how could he not respect that? Glancing up at her as she gave her mixed farewell, he nodded just a bit and watched her go. It was better that she didn't stick around...if she had been caught, she probably would have been killed by the demons. A strong personality like that never went well in the life of a slave.

He lifted his head once she had gone and let a quiet sigh leave his lips. She was safe, at least. No sooner had he gone to take another breath, he heard the footsteps of the demon returning. Good. She was gone just in time. He turned back to his submissive position and prayed that the beatings would be over and they could return to the pride.

FIN