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 Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 8:15 pm
 Morrison hadn't been much help, other than telling Mikree to go find Reyes. Obviously, the young lion thought to himself as he trekked across the dry lands, the midday sun beating down on his back. Even if Morrison had told him to gather up intel first, to wait and see if another bird would be sent, Mikree would have ignored the orders and gone on his own. He wasn't waiting any longer than he had to. Thankfully one of the birds that brought a message from Reyes was back from her latest mission and she was more than happy to lead the way. She flew high above the agent, moving slowly so Mikree could keep up. Finally the signal came. The bird circled three times before flying back in the direction of the Watchpoint. Mikree watched her go before looking around, frowning at what he saw. There was nothing here. Off in the distance there looked to be a few rocky outcroppings, so he decided to start looking there. Plodding along, Mikree wasn't too concerned until the wind changed and the smell of blood hit him. Strong. Fear gripped his heart for a moment, and he broke into a run. His paws ate up the distance between him and the rocks which turned out to be a series of caves. He dashed in, giving no concern for who or what might be lurking within. "Reyes!" he called out. The smell of blood - dry and new - assaulted him. "Reyes, where the ******** are you?" Reyes might not even be in here, but something in his gut told him that he was here, or at least nearby. He ran through the different caves, backtracking and trying again when he hit dead end after dead end. Finally - finally! - one cave held exactly what he was looking for. He slid to a halt beside the broken form, his chest heaving from all the running and from the sheer distraught at seeing his commander bloody and barely breathing. "Reyes, you a*****e, if you're dead I swear I'mma kill you," he said, his voice shaking as he reached down to nudge his shoulder, one of the only places he could find that wasn't slashed open.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 8:36 pm
The body was stiff from the lingering effects of the goddess, cold from exposure, but Reyes' chest was still moving. He was still alive. For now.
Scarlet eyes cracked open, blinking back closed as they tried to focus. It was hard, impossible even, but he knew that voice. He knew that voice! With blood caked on his face, Reyes tried to speak. Tried being the keyword. "Mi...kr..?" The rest of the lion's name died on his tongue as his eyes slipped closed again. Fighting against the power that held his throat closed was a test of will, of strength that Reyes no longer had. What he had original had was now staining the stone beneath him.
"Is this what you came forrrr?" A new voice asked, purring loudly.
Golden eyes were the first things visible. From the stark darkness that loomed over the rocks came another body, as dark as the night sky. It leaped from a ledge it had apparently been waiting on. There was a practiced, but deadly, technique in how she moved and began to approach the pair. "She had been so sure someone would come. Lo-and-behold, it was our beloved commander's loverboy. Figures it'd be you."
"Draw, scruffy." It was the only warning she gave. He wasn't the one they had been hoping would show. Oh well, another kill count.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 8:43 pm
There. A voice. He wasn't dead...yet. Mikree circled Reyes frantically, trying to figure out the best place to grab to drag him out of the cave. He needed to get outside to assess the damage done and the blood lost to see if he needed to return to the Watchpoint for help, or if he could carry the lion on his own. Reyes would be nothing but dead weight, but Mikree was full of surprises.
He felt the fur along his spine stand on end as another voice filled the cave. He whipped around in time to see yellow eyes dropping down to his level, a black lioness emerging from the gloom. Mikree saw red as she spoke, teeth bared in a silent challenge that was met with her amused tone of voice.
His roar echoed around the cave as he charged forward, sounding as if a whole pride of lions had come with him rather than just himself. This strange dark lioness was quite large, but he knew now how to fight anyone that he came across, larger than him or smaller. The cave was small, thankfully, so she didn't have time to react to his surprising speed, and he barreled into her with claws and teeth flashing.
Mikree bit and tore, a whirlwind of strength and fury. For all he knew she had done this to Reyes, and by the gods, she was going to pay for it.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 9:02 pm
Claws tore into her. Teeth grabbed muscle. Blood. Laughter. Bitter and loud. The gloomy lioness' fangs shone brightly. Grinning. Her body pushed against his. Body turning, keeping her side or face to him. No words. Only the snarls of the protective lion and the threatening lioness.
Blood. Over her eyes, one golden orb closed, but her aggression didn't wane. Strike. Dodge. Hit. Stumbling. Snarls filled the air from either side, just the way the god-daughter liked it. She was raised for this, raised for fighting, raised for killing. Just like Mikree had been. The evenness of their skills thrilled her more than sparring against her littermate. The joy was evident on her face, by the wide, sadistic smile plastered all over her, in the way she moved almost playfully.
Pained moans broke out of Reyes throats as a stray paw struck his ribs during the clash of the twin furies. Whose paw he didn't know. Didn't matter. He couldn't do anything about it. His body was defeated, unable to defend itself and just the thought was infuriating for the head of Blackwatch.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 9:08 pm
Every laugh and smile fueled the fire burning within Mikree. He didn't feel pain as she matched him as they moved around the cave, teeth bloody and claws tearing at tan and black hides. It was almost like a strange dance, once that would only end with one standing if Mikree had anything to say about it.
He heard Reyes' moans behind him which gave him a burst of energy, powering forward despite the female's size advantage. He was going to kill her and get Reyes out of here-
Finally, an opening. Reaching forward with a powerful paw, Mikree struck the lioness across the face, claws raking through her flesh. He followed his movement, shouldering her in the chest to send her backwards into the hard wall of the cave. He didn't waste any time after that and moved forward, his paw stepping on her throat to crush her windpipe as claws sank into the tender flesh.
"Die," he snarled, teeth bared and just inches from her face.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 9:43 pm
A second body, equal in size to the first, joined the fray. Massive roars echoed in the small space as Rok moved to protect his sister, barrelling into Mikree's body. The contact sent the two of them tumbling away from the downed lioness. As quickly as they came together, they fell apart, righting themselves with the pitch black male snarling dangerously at his littermate. It was two against one now.
For a moment the equally as dark lioness froze, her body going rigid. It wasn't something that the newcomer didn't fail to notice. Their eyes met for a second. A nod. It was quick, damning and the reaction to it was instant. Both of the twins began retreating suddenly, keeping their backs to the tunnel system and their bared fangs to the pair of Blackwatch agents. As quickly as the two had come, they left, leaving the two alone for who knows how long.
"L..t the..mm...go." The words were drawn out, strained, nearly impossible to hear but in the sudden silence of the earthen sanctuary. Reyes' voice was light, faded, distant. His own dark body trying to move, mind willing it to co-operate, but still failing to respond more than slightly raising him from the chilly ground only to fall against the stone with a strangled cry as days old wounds burst open again.
The commander opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 9:59 pm
Mikree was about to reach in and tear the throat out of the female, but a dark mass barreled into him and sent him flying. They tussled on the floor for a moment before he found his paws on the ground again, staring down an equally dark male. And as quickly as he had come, the two black lions retreated into the halls of the cave. He was about to chase them down when the weak voice of Reyes met his ears, and instantly he turned to the wounded commander.
"Boss...Reyes, can you move? At all?" he asked, trying once again to figure out the best way to get him out of the cave. His heart was pounding, adrenaline still rushing through his system so he didn't notice his own wounds. He was bleeding freely from quite a few that littered his shoulders and hide and one on his face, but his neck was mostly untouched thanks to his mane.
"s**t...I'm gonna tan their hides," he snarled once more, glaring in the direction the two had disappeared in.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 10:13 pm
"Isi...lima..Wha...t do you think..." the words trailed off for a few seconds as Reyes breathed heavily, chest rising and falling harshly. "--I've been...trying to do?" It took effort, too much, far too much, to raise onto his feet. Whatever that fiend had done to him was starting to lose its effect allowing the Blackwatch commander to raise, carefully, onto his paws. The stone beneath him stained a sickeningly dark color from his blood, with fresh droplets joining them.
Would the kid even believe him if he told him that some winged lioness did this to him? That she was the reason he couldn't move? The commander laughed inwardly at the look he could picture Mikree giving him if he even whispered about what had happened over the last few days. It had been nearly three days since he had last been able to move, last been able to--...no. Oh god no.
Reyes' body pushed onward, a sense of urgency in his movements, but all of them were limited by injuries. Cries echoed, but he pushed on, gritting his teeth as he grinned and bore it. "We...need to leave. Get us.." the words trailed off again as Reyes struggled to steady his breathing. Mouth open, tail limit and eyes hazy as darkness began to creep into his vision. Focus was nearly impossible as he continued to bleed from the re-opened wounds on his sides and belly. "...out of here."
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 10:24 pm
Mikree alternated between worry and anger, looking over his shoulder from time to time to make sure the other lions weren't coming back for seconds. He'd hand them an a** whooping so good their parents would be rolling in agony as well.
As Reyes managed to get to his feet, Mikree moved to stand beside him to support the darker lion. "No s**t, boss," he said quietly at the order. "You focus on breathin', because I was serious. If you die I'm gonna ********' kill you. Comin' out here alone like some gods damn martyr. You're not that ********' stupid, Reyes! That's my job."
He started to walk, keeping his pace slow so Reyes could use him as a crutch. Once they got into the midday sun he could see his wounds better and decide their next course of action.
"Do you know how ********' worried we were? Morrison? No one knew where you were! That's a ********' rookie move, Reyes, and when we get back to the Watchpoint you're gonna wish those things ripped your damn ears off 'cause Morrison is gonna do it for you if I don't do it on the way back!"
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 10:39 pm
The amount of weight that Reyes put against Mikree was staggering, but given his condition, he couldn't do anything but rely on him. Of course, that was when the brat decided now was a good time to lecture him; right when his boss couldn't respond properly. Figured. Instead, he offered a stern scowl to his subordinate, silently indicating to shut up. He didn't need to hear any of this, not now. He'd hear it all when he was bleeding, leaving a scarlet trail from the puddle he had been laying in only half an hour ago. The reality hit him hard of the situation he was in and it didn't help that Mikree had brought up Morrison. If he had the strength, he would have bristled at the name. Where the hell was he? No. It was Overwatch. Mikree was alone. This wasn't a rescue mission. He knew that. But the name...it made his heart ache.
"You found me though." The statement was the first one that Reyes had been able to get out in the last few days. Right now, this was a miracle. How in the hell had Mikree managed to find him? The commander let himself let the tan lion carry a majority of his weight while letting himself fall silent as they walked.
"Thank you." -- Thanks was something Reyes hardly ever gave. He knew he would have died in there though without him.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 10:48 pm
Normally the aura of the other lion would be enough to get Mikree straightened out from teasing or goofing off, but not this time. He was too wound up from the fight, from being worried for weeks about the commander, and he was going to let Reyes have it.
A small flicker of surprise halted his relief and anger, though. He turned to look at the dark lion, his mane and fur caked with dried blood so he looked red rather than dark brown. Had he just thanked him?
It gave the younger lion pause as they finally made it out of the cave and into the sun. He squinted up into the sky, realizing he should have asked the bird to stay in case he needed to send a message back. Oh well. They'd make it. There was water between here and the base and it had only taken a few hours to get here. They'd be back within a day.
"Don't think that's gettin' you off the hook, isilima," he muttered, using Reyes' favorite nickname for him even though most of the bite had left his voice. Adrenaline was leaving him feeling hollow and weak, but he knew he had to be strong physically and mentally for the other lion. Normally he was leaning on Reyes, but now his commander needed him to take charge. "I'm still gonna chew you out."
Just maybe not as much as he had been going to.
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