- 4. You are attacked and manage to subdue your attacker. (Bonus +2 points to total))
Dina wasn't one to sit by idly and let everyone else do all the work, despite how desperately Chazama begged her to do so. She had rested as much as she could and had even waited for the cover of nightfall so her daughter wouldn't worry so much about the sun getting to her again. But that was all Dina was willing to do. She had to help. She had to find some way to help the pride out of its current situation. So, she had grabbed the nearest warm body she could find, as that was another thing her daughter had insisted on. She had managed to find the young enda Siphiwe, and practically forced him to join her on a night excursion. He had recently suffered some injuries, she'd noted, but they seemed to be healing fairly well and he had a bounce in his step that Dina liked. He certainly had more spunk than she had expected. "Keep up, youngster!" Dina prompted, despite not needing to do so.
Siphiwe felt dizzy. How had he been dragged into this again? Yes, bonelands lionesses could be pushy, but Dina was taking it to a whole new level! She had practically dragged him by the ear, despite his protests, and now they were out in the middle of the night to search for... uh, something? Anything he guessed. He had just recovered enough from his outing with Liyana to be on his paws reliably, and now he found himself out with yet another lioness and vulture pair. He glanced over his shoulder at her with that comment, a look of bewilderment crossing his face. But he-, she... she was behind him!
Bora kept a lazy circle above her Dina, her feathers ruffled slightly at the cool breeze of the night air. She gave the poor lion down below a pitying look. When Dina had an idea in her mind, nothing could seem to shake it from her. The little white vulture dipped her wings to circle closer to Ndleleni, the dark avian companion of Siphiwe. "Sorry about this," Bora whispered apologetically, with some small hint of amusement glinting in her eye.
Ndleleni merely shook his head at the scene below, somewhat concerned for his friend, Siphiwe. He had just recovered enough from their last outing to be out again, and the vulture was dubious of their surroundings. When Bora drifted closer to him the larger vulture eyed her with some suspicion as well. "Your lion is crazy," he groused, returning his gaze to tall grasses around the pair of lions.
Dina simply grinned a toothful grin at the young Siphiwe when he turned to look at her. Good, at least he wasn't arguing. This was the only way her daughter would let her out and about anyway, so she needed Siphiwe to cooperate. "We won't go far," Dina promised, eyeing the healing wounds he sported on his shoulder. Curiosity got the better of her. Of course, she had heard the gossip around the pride, as word tended to travel fast amongst the lionesses, but she wanted to hear it straight from his maw. "So, what happened to you and Liyana the other day?" Everyone had seen their wounds, and word of a 'rogue attack' had spread like wildfire.
Siphiwe shrugged, wondering if keeping his maw shut would get them to wherever they were going faster. She was an older lioness, and one he didn't know terribly well, but he was familiar with Dina at least in passing. When she asked him about his last outing with Liyana, however, he visibly grimaced and took a sweeping look around, as if reminded that the tall grass may not be safe. "Two outside males jumped us," he told her, the fur along his spine rising. He did not want a repeat of that experience.
Bora gave him a look, her blue eyes narrowing. "She's motivated", the vulture corrected. "Which is more than I can say for yours." Such disrespect from such youngsters!
Ndleleni flared his wings and pulled up short, catching an updraft so he was no longer circling next to Bora. "Take that back!" he grumbled at the older avian. How dare she judge Siphiwe! She didn't even know him! "He's plenty motivated!" Uh... right? He chanced a glance down at his lion and saw how diligently Siphiwe was looking around for, uh, something. "See!" He pointed out in triumph.
Dina watched him carefully, taking in his body language as well as his words. He was an ahluke, so she didn't expect any sort of heroics out of the young male, but he was an enda. So, he had to have some sort of experience with rogues out on his own. "It's a good thing neither of you was seriously injured," she told him with a grandmotherly nod. She often wondered what might have happened to her own sons that had left to make a name for themselves outside of the pride and wondered if they too often dealt with attacking rogues.
Siphiwe was also glad neither of them had been terribly injured, but he still felt guilty for not doing more during the encounter. A better male might have been able to fend off both attackers, he supposed. He did not wish to speak any more on the incident, so he turned his attention to their surroundings. Up ahead there was a small clearing with a cluster of rocks, but not much else seemed to be in the area this night. That was disappointing, but perhaps Dina would be satisfied, and they could head back soon.
Bora sharply turned her gaze on Siphiwe as Ndleleni pointed out how dutifully his lion was looking around. Bora grumbled. Of course, the youngster would point out the only possible time his lion was actually searching for something. She opted to remain silent as she gave her wings a few flaps to put some distance between herself and the pesky young avian.
Ndleleni remained triumphant, his head held high as he watched the other vulture leave his space. At least he wouldn't have to listen to her insult his dear friend anymore. And maybe now he could concentrate on keeping an eye on their surroundings like he was supposed to. Not that he hadn't been before, it was just easier without Bora to berate him.
Hmm, maybe she'd hit a nerve with that question? She was used to males dealing with outside threats she didn't think it would have bothered Siphiwe. But of course, he was an ahluke, she had to remind herself. He wasn't as strong as the inselelo or the umholi. In fact, she wondered if he'd have been able to survive on his own in typical bonelands tradition, and perhaps that's why he'd decided to stay as an ahluke and an enda. She might have picked his brain about these very personal choices, if her sharp eyes hadn't spotted movement close to the rock cluster, he had been leading them towards. "Hold it!" she hissed just as Siphiwe stepped closer to the nearest formation.
If Siphiwe could have read her mind, he would have been very insulted, even if he did agree with most of it. However, she had not voiced those opinions, and his mind was on different things. Like wanting this to come to an end before they got jumped by rogues again. Her voice cut him off mid-step as he froze in place, his ears drawing back in panic. "What is it? he questioned, all manner of seriousness entering his voice. He barely had time to react when he spotted his attacker a moment too late. A large snake had managed to slither its way into his path, just below the rocky overhang, and obviously took offense to almost being stepped on. It struck out with lightning quick reflexes that Siphiwe was barely able to dance away from, but that didn't seem to be enough. It clearly was after him!
Bora saw it just as Dina called for the other lion to halt. A snake, and a big one at that. The vulture had a particular disgust for the strange creatures and was always careful to check her trees before finding a perch for just this reason. For as much as she disliked Ndleleni, she hoped his lion wouldn't get seriously injured from this. Not that she would admit that.
Ndleleni was one of the last ones to spot the snake, well after it had struck at Siphiwe for the first time. Oh, yikes! He was much further back than Bora, so he had to flap his wings a few times to actually gain any ground towards his lion partner. There wasn't much he could do, though, not without potentially getting in Siphiwe's way as he danced away from snake strikes.
There wasn't much that scared Dina nowadays, especially not what all the pride had endured over the past several years. So, when Siphiwe took to 'distracting' the snake and keeping its attention, the lioness crouched and went into hunting mode. She'd have to time it just right and wait for just the right moment when the snake had its full attention on Siphiwe. She didn't hesitate when she saw her opening, just charged in and pounced on the slithery thing. Her jaws delivered a precise bite to the back of its head, but the lioness was quick to move away just in case. "Get out of there," she urged Siphiwe as she too moved as far and as quickly as her paws would carry her. She might not have killed the darn thing, but it was certainly distracted enough for them to get away.
She didn't have to tell him twice! Siphiwe was not keen on getting bit by a potentially venomous snake, so he followed after the orange and white lioness with quick steps. Behind them he saw the creature writhe and twist around itself, and he wondered if it would survive. Regardless, he was thankful for Dina's distraction which had allowed him to get away. "Thanks," he offered sincerely. He decided then, that he would stay out for as long as she wanted to look for anything. It was the least he could do.
Bora was relieved neither of their lions had been hurt, but that didn't stop her from shooting Ndleleni a smug look. Her lion had saved his, and that was worth something. She didn't bother to savor the young vulture's haughty look, she simply flapped her wings and moved to get ahead of him. She would be leading this excursion.
Ndleleni was fuming at Bora's look, but he swallowed back any retort he might have thrown her way. The truth was her lion had saved his, and he needed to respect that. Grumpily the larger vulture spilled some air from under his wings and moved to take up the rear position to keep an eye on things behind them. It was going to be a long night.
((Word Count: 1,834))