[PRP] Full Circle

[Neon Fly]

After an hour or two of stalking the sunny rocks Menthe had managed to capture two more Hyraxes though their deaths had been awkward and ugly as she struggled to pin down the squirming, screaming beasts. Her kills had not been the stealthy, effortless ones of the lioness who had shown her the location of the easy food source and though they were easier to hunt than the herd beasts, Menthe lost the same amount of energy with her ungainly methods. Still, she was pleased with the results, bloody and maimed though they were, and had celebrated by nibbling what little leathery flesh she could pick off the carcass she had originally intended to bring back to Semanggi.

It didn't silence the hunger in her belly, but it at least staved it off a bit longer. Now she need only get back to her father and brothers before nightfall. She'd already been gone too long and her father was not, nor had he ever been, a patient lion.

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

The big Captain stalked along, tail flicking this way and that as he growled low under his breath. There was a reaver in his band that was driving him slowly crazy and he didn't know how to handle it. She was too good to just kill off, not only would he loose her skills, but actually killing her would be something of a difficulty. She hadn't made Reaver for no reason. She was viscous, skilled and deadly. The fight would be messy and he would risk real injury. So no, he couldn't kill her. Nor did he want to just dismiss her. She would take those impressive skills elsewhere, and besides, he preferred to keep his enemies close, where he could keep a close eye on her and that blasted thrall of hers. The stupid air-headed female was so loyal to her reaver master it almost made Ragnvard ill.

Growling in frustration he stalked forwards, nearly running into the slinking frame of a lioness. Jerking himself back he lashed out with a front paw reflexivly. "Watch it!" He snapped, golden eyes fixing on the green painted female.  

[Neon Fly]

Unlike the large, umber coated lion, Menthe had been watching where she was going. The moment she had spotted the stranger on the horizon her eyes had never left, blue and baleful and uncertain as she tried to skirt around him and avoid being noticed, her mouth full of pelts from the heavy bodies that made her head droop low to the ground, straining already weak neck muscles. Unfortunately, her effort to avoid crossing paths with him had been a pointless one as he walked right into a collision course, oblivious to her presence. Or, he had been, he certainly wasn't now.

Dropping her precious cargo when he's reached out to swat at her, Menthe craned backwards, sitting on her haunches with an almost frantic look. Should she say she was sorry? She tried not to draw attention to the plump prey laying on the ground now. Stammering with her ears pinned tightly against her head, head ducked low between bony shoulders where fur too loose on her thin frame gathered in wrinkles at her scruff. S-S-Sorry.  

[Tanakako]

Ragnvard hadn't been paying attention, simply lashing out at whom ever was in his way as a reflex. But as the lioness dropped a bunch of meat and cowered backwards, stammering out her apology, Ragnvard finally actually looked at her. For a single second he considered taking her as a thrall, after all she would hardly put up a fight. But it was a long way back to the pride and she was so.... skinny. He highly doubted she would even make it half way before dieing on him from starvation. Wrinkling his nose at the idea of a corpse following him about he huffed, lifting a paw and mildly pushing her a little further back, his sneer visible.

"Just get out of the way. What are you even doing here?" He didn't really care, but she was in such a bad state that he honestly wondered how on earth she was even still alive out here in the roguelands. Remembering the things she had dropped he glanced down at his paws, as the furry bodies had damn near fell on his feet. Lowering his head he snapped one up, crunching briefly before swallowing. Not bad, he supposed....  

[Neon Fly]

Feeling herself pushed across the ground, further away from where her hard earned game lay before the stranger like gifts at the feet of a God, Menthe quivered. She wanted to push back, but she knew better, instead keeping her head low. Answering quickly so as not to further incite his rage as she had learned to do with her father. I am on my way home.

It was an intentionally vague answer. The less she spoke about her family situation, the better off everyone was. She'd learned that at a young age when an idealistic cheetah had tried to help rescue her from her plight. Semanggi had nearly killed him—and he would forever be left with the memory of his foolish choice to play a hero with the limp he had gained as a result.

From where her head ducked low she could see the lion's muzzle drop to the ground, grab up one of the brown rodent-like beasts and nearly swallow it whole, her eyes suddenly widening. Horrified and terrified at the same time. Crying out with a desperate plea before she could stop herself. No! Please don't!  

[Tanakako]

"Home hu...." He muttered, only half paying attention as he spat out a couple of bones, completely Ignoreing her cry for him to leave her dinner alone. The bodies didn't come to much, not for a lion who lived on a diet of big game. But he was hungry after having forgot to eat earlier, thanks to the frustrating matter of his reaver problem back in the pride. So instead he lowered his head and casually crunched up the rest of the small haul, leaving only the larger bones and the fur.

Once done he licked his muzzle free of blood and spat out a lump of hair. "You know, those aren't very filling. You should catch something a bit bigger. You certainly need it." He remarked lazily, eyeing her half-starved state sceptically.  

[Neon Fly]

Watching the hyraxes disappear one by one and in quick succession until there was nothing but a pile of heavy bones and wet fur left in a pile on the ground Menthe sank onto her belly. Her forelimbs sliding out to stretch around the remains she had struggled to obtain to appease a malevolent father figure. Why? Why had this happened to her? Naheed had made her believe that maybe things could change, but as quickly as hope had blossomed in her chest it was struck down by this stranger who assured her that nothing in her life would ever be different.

This was her destiny and she could do nothing but embrace it.

Frantic eyes tipped upward, searching the male's face for any hint of humanity, of which she couldn't seem to find anything. Didn't he understand this was the best she could do? That not only was the hunting poor in this area of the rogue lands, but that she was not physically capable of bringing down anything bigger than the plump, but small game he had eaten without even asking permission. Why.. why would you do this?

Menthe's voice quaked, tears hot at the corners of her eyes. She was so tired. Too tied to try again, but the thought of returning to Semanggi terrified her and it reflected in those wide, blue eyes.  

[Tanakako]

Ignoreing her snivelling the large Captain stood, already bored with the encounter. As she crawled pitifully forwards to gather up the soggy remains of the carcasses, Ragnvard swotted her away. "Oh shut your whining." He snapped as she continued to sniffle and wallow before him, her plaintive cries for an explanation piquing his temper.

"The world is a tough, hateful place. If you can't survive in it, then why even bother trying?" His low growl was dark with promised violence, though his only action was to push her aside again, stepping past and up onto the low rock where he wouod get a better vantage point. He had to decide what to do about Kizuka, but the itch for blood and pain was like an army of ants under his skin, biting at his flesh unceasingly. The cowering female behind him would be no match for his ability and worse yet, killing her so easily would only make the itch worse. What he needed was a real fight. Something that would make him hurt, and banish the maddening itch, at least for a short while. Head swivelling he strained to pick out any features in the landscape that would hint at worthy prey.  

[Neon Fly]

The world is a tough, hateful place.

If that was true, then why did they continue to bring new generations into it? There had to be happiness somewhere, right? No. Myabe the stranger was right, after all the little lioness knew nothing of her mother. Semanggi said she hadn't wanted the burden of caring for her, but maybe he had only said that so he could keep her as a servant as she was now. Maybe parents on continued the generations so that they had someone they could use for their own bidding in the future.

If that was true then Menthe would never have children. She didn't want to enslave her cubs to her the way she was to her own sire. Sadly, she couldn't give up, because she lived for someone other than herself and he would not accept her resignation so easily.

Rolling onto her side as she was shoved aside again, Menthe moved easily for the lion. Gathering herself back onto her paws without looking back at him, her retreat was quiet and slinking. It was better that his attention had strayed. He seemed irritated and if she left now, maybe she could escape without him taking his aggravation out on her hide. Besides, the sooner she returned to Semanggi the sooner her punishment could be dealt and she could go on with her shadow of a life.  

[Tanakako]

As the mint coloured female slunk away, Ragnvard had already forgotten about her and her hopeless hunting skills. He gave no thought to where she was going, or what would become of her, half starved as she was. Too weak to be of any use to him as anything other than a furry rug, his mind was firmly fixed on his immediate future.

The urge to fight was burning through him, making his fur shiver across the hard muscles of his brawler's body. Violence was not a hobby for the scar-marked Captain, it was a necessity. Jumping down from his perch he set off across the dry landscape, following the faint trail of scent he had caught. Eyes narrowed and muscles moving smoothly under sleek fur the rust hued male lost himself in the stalk. One that would take hours and cover many miles, but would calm the burning desire in his blood for pain and violence, that would bring him peace, if only for a little while.