A swift, thin purple body moved silently and deliberately though the moonlight. Her goal was in a leafy den, not far from where she was now.
Earlier in the day, Iluba had been traveling as she normally did. Quietly humming a tune to herself to keep entertained in the heat. It was hot out, the summer months did that to the area, and most creatures chose not to travel during these hours because of the sweltering heat. She, on the other hand, didn't get quite as hot as the other larger felines, like leopards and lions, because of her lower weight and higher surface area (not that she really understood all that). She was happy to travel in any weather, slender legs carrying her gracefully across the plains.
As she traveled, she saw a large dark figure lying motionless in the grasses. The body was partially obscured, but didn't look to be rotted. She was curious if it was a recently deceased water buffalo or other large, dark pelted prey. She prayed, herself, for an easy meal as she approached the body. But it quickly became obvious that this body wasn't prey of any kind, it was a male lion, his dark mane and coat looking similar to some prey. When she figured out the species of this creature she approached with a little more caution, a lion of that size could easily take her down if he could catch her. It seemed like he was ill though, his body was limp against the ground, and his breathing labored. Perhaps a heat stroke of some sort? Or maybe dehydration? He posed no thread to her the way he was currently.
She stopped at his side and he was definitely still alive, still clinging to life, just ill with a heat sickness of some sort. It's no wonder with his mass and colors. He should have known better than to be anywhere but home right now. She lowered her head and slipped the satchel from around her neck, this satchel held her essential ingredients for some botanical healing. She quickly fed him some bark, physically opening and closing his mouth herself, and then had him wash it down with some fresh rainwater from her pack as well. From there, all she could do was wait.
It was late now. That lion she helped, he awoke some hours later and was lucid. He was dazed, but completely there. Still weak, Iluba insisted that he accept her aid until he was better and the lion, surprisingly, agreed quickly. He was too friendly for his own good. She had already forgotten his name. She followed him back to a cliff face, where he had a den set up to protect him from heat and weather. It was a primitive home, but obviously a permanent one. He told her about his mate and how she was gone hunting for a while and he was just growing hungry. So he ventured out and followed some prey a little too far before he felt the heat sickness overtake him, and by then it was too late. He was obviously weak, not much of a fighter or handy on his own. Easy prey for a cunning cheetah. He accepted her offer to stay the evening to be sure he wouldn't need any additional treatments, to ensure his safety. She feigned interest and politely tried to give him advice for the future. She told him to stay closer to trees and water where he could cool down or stay cool, and to ration his food better so he wouldn't need to run off like that in the future. He took every word like candy, and agreed.
She pretended to sleep for a few hours, until it was clear the creatures in the area, including the lion, whose name she couldn't remember and didn't care about, were all asleep and silent. And that's when she made her move.
And this is where we meet her now, she silently crept toward the den. Her body was low to the ground now, close to the cliff face. The male was asleep before the den, she insisted he stay outside in case it got stuffy in there during the night time, which could be bad for his heat exhaustion. His head was facing away from her as she moved closer, and closer... She stepped over him, paws like feathers hitting the ground, without sound or disturbing anything around her. Her tail was pulled in under her, to be sure it didn't wag and touch someone and knock something over.
She took her first few steps into the leaf covered home of this stranger and let her eyes adjust slightly. He had little of value to her. Some large eggs, probably ostrich (she couldn't remember the last time she ate anything like that), sat in a small dug out at one side of her. And the den traveled back. She didn't realize just how large the home was. It was against a cliff face, but from the outside, the small entrance, you couldn't tell that it was a cave as well. She stepped carefully about the area, slowly, to ensure she didn't step in a puddle that makes noise or some dead leaves which could spell her failure.
The cave traveled back about 30 feet, it was almost pitch black at the far end, but the light of the moon illuminated it just enough to see the faces of items. There was not much there, some fruit, some stones (she wondered what meaning they had), a strange cloth of some sort... And then she saw it. It called to her like a siren. Beneath the cloth was a necklace of sorts... it seemed to be made of something she had never seen before, a shiny, cold substance. It almost glowed in the darkness of the cave. She carefully pulled it out from under the cloth, a pebble falling as she did so. She stood motionless, frozen in place for a moment, but realized it was barely audible even to her. She dropped the necklace into her satchel around her neck (ahh, it worked magic for her double life!) and returned out the mouth of the cave the way she came. The lion still slumbered calmly at the mouth of the cave. She wanted to laugh as she leapt over him and darted into the distance, but she dare not.
She now had her way in to all the lives she wanted; the things she learned about herbs, though a small passion at first, would prove invaluable for her true passion: her thievery. Her smile went from ear to ear as she fled the scene, off to find the next patient, or victim, of her tale.
((1131))