Andromeda limped her way out into the roguelands, far away from familiar territory. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, now. Her injuries were too severe for her to do any hunting on her own and her entire family, her entire pride, was dead. She'd only gotten away herself at the sacrifice of another, buying her plenty of time to scurry away and hide, her grey pelt making it easy to hide away in the bushes as her savior took her last breath of life just a short distance away. Andromeda had had to close her jaw tightly against the need to yell in despair. So much bloodshed that she had never before seen in her entire existence. Not even during a hunt had there been this much carnage. And for what? She wasn't even sure. The pride had seemed like such a peaceful group. They'd never waged war with anyone else. Not until these strangers had entered their lives.
Andromeda hadn't been born in the pride. She'd come upon it when she'd needed refuge from a destructive family life. She'd only been an adolescent at the time and they'd accepted her easily, adopting her as if she'd always been one of their own, They'd always seemed so friendly, teaching her about morals and helping your fellows. Giving aid to your neighbors was one of the unspoken rules of the pride. No one would ever want for anything they needed.
But than the strangers had arrived. Strangers had approached the pride before and been accepted into their ranks lots of times before, so there was no problem with doing it, again. There was nothing off about them. Nothing to make you suspicious they would be harbinger's of such a massacre. The pride had always had an opening and accepting relationship with those from the roguelands. A ceremony was being prepared to welcome the new additions. On the day of the ceremony, hours before it was to begin, they'd been suddenly attacked by other cheetahs coming at them from all sides. Andromeda, being of a lowly rank, had certainly never saw it coming. She'd been in the residential area for most of the strangers stay, or out on a hunt. If they did anything to jumpstart this, she was clueless. Now that she thought back on it, it seemed likely they had done something. Sentries were placed on key parts of the borders for anyone hostile. It wouldn't be difficult for someone on the inside to get close enough to them to kill them, allowing easy access into the pride for an army.
And an army it had been. So many cheetahs, leopards, and lions had come out of nowhere. There had been no hesitation to their attacks. Andromeda had barely fled with her life after a fight with a few. It had been a week since than. Most of her wounds had closed on their own and what ones were having more difficulty in healing, she'd tried her best to treat. Her knowledge of herbs and healing practices wasn't the best. She just had the basic knowledge. She'd not eaten anything since the attack. Out here in the roguelands, all alone, she'd pretty much given up on life and settled down under a tree to await her death.
Today was not the day she would die, however.
Manahem, also all on his own, was wandering close to where Andromeda was dozing in the shade. He'd not noticed her and was in his own inner monologue. Being alone for him wasn't much of a strange thing. Even when his pack had been around, he'd chosen to be alone a lot. He made others a bit uneasy as a pup, with his fascination with the dead. So much so, that he'd often "play" with his food before finally eating it, picking it apart with his claws and studying what was inside. He'd even started to talk to the corpses, in place of anyone living he felt he could talk to. He'd always felt comforted by their presence more than a living thing. So when he got closer to where the cheetah was, he thought she was just another poor soul who had succumbed to the harshness of the world. He moved closer out of curiosity, noticing the thin body and all the wounds, assuming she'd suffered a great deal from all the bloodless. Some of the cuts were sealed, in the state of healing themselves. Others looked like they were becoming infected and could have easily let to this cheetah's downfall.
The closer he got, the more he realized what he thought was just the wind blowing the fur, was actually the slow rhythm of breath. This poor creature was still alive! But barely. Instantly, Manahem darted away, scanning the environment around him for the plants he knew would help. Though the cheetah could still be too far gone for even his training to help her. And if he couldn't help her, than his training also prepared him to help the dead find their final rest.
After finding what he needed, the wild dog returned to the wounded, dropping them on the ground at her nose. He quickly went to work while she was still sleeping, forgetting about the fact this was a stranger who might not take too kindly to his help. He'd cross that bridge when, or if, he came to it.
Manahem also forgot about his Seer powers, as his paw brushed against her as he was applying his medicine. A vision of screams, blood, and horror flashed before his eyes. So strong that he recoiled back from her, as if her touch had burned him.
At the contact, Andromeda finally stirred, opening her eyes slowly. She looked at Manahem and smiled sweetly at him, as if he were an angel come to take her away to a final peace. She was ready for it. She opened her mouth to speak, intending to say thank you for coming for her at last.
"You should not speak," Manahem told her quickly. The shock of the scene wearing off his mind, he went back to his work of patching her up. He'd never found much pride in being a Seer. It had never served him as nothing but a nuisance. A distraction. He never looked into the future. Rarely saw anything good. It was always some horrible death he viewed. He feared it was making him desensitized to cruelty. "Rest. You've used enough of your strength as is. I will bring you a bit of food later."
Andromeda merely nodded, or as much as she could nod. She did feel incredibly weak, now that she'd finally allowed herself to stop moving. She closed her eyes once more and went into a deep sleep.
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