The Pride Days (IC): Hurt

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:03 am

After a long age of pain and pushing, Layla finally managed to get the first cub out. The second came a few moments after. She was panting, not knowing exactly what to expect. Shebla had fetched a bit of water from outside with large bowl-like leaves upon Layla's request. And at the end of the contractions and pain, Layla began to feel better.

"Thank you, thank you all so much" she murmured as her head rested on its side, viewing the new cubs as Shebla and Mabel stood at them. She knew they'd have to inspect them. But moreso Mabel because of Shebla's dark memories that bound her from the major roles.

Zalika still sat in the darkness and she watched all of this. She knew Gamba had gone out to track down the sound. For a moment she suggested going out to find him, kill him if possible. But she figured all alone it was too risky. Or maybe she just didn't feel like going out in the rain. Her body was well protected from the water within the branches of the trees. Now her crimson eyes just watched like a thief in the night.

But she was aware of one thing:

As soon as the rain cleared, her own scent would return. It had washed away the masking dung on her claws.

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Mon Feb 10, 2014 2:15 am

Gamba arrived back at camp, and slowly entered the den he and Layla shared, seeing his two new children, and immediately feeling a flood of guilt, that he had not been able to witness the exact moment that they had come into the world; however, had he not left, one life would have left it that night. Gamba came into the den, the pitiful-looking cub held by the scruff in his jaws, and gently, as though what he were carrying were the most fragile thing in existence, set him down, where he immediately began to mew again, urgently wanting assurance that he wasn't alone. "He was abandoned in a clump of reeds, he would have died in the storm, had I not found him." Gamba said, gently lowering his head to nudge the small cub with his snout. The cub fell silent again, but at this time, his two newborn children began to mew, the signs of life as they filled their lungs with breath. Seeming to think for a moment, Gamba carefully nudged the strange little lion cub so that he was amongst his two litigon children. "Mabel, please, inspect him, too."

Mabel looked up, and nodded, before walking up to the three cubs, looking at them all. At this time, the rainstorm, still strong, did not dissipate, but the same powerful wind that made it so violent began to blow it away from the camp, and soon, only a light trickle was coming from outside. Mabel first looked at one cub, a boy, "This one was born first, he's healthy, a nice, loud mew, his lungs are clear of fluid, and I don't see any birth defects." She said. She then slowly padded over to the second, a girl, and listened to her, before looking at her from every possible angle, "She's healthy, also, her lungs are fine. I can't see anything wrong with either one of them." She then walked over to the third cub, a pure lion, clearly a runt, and looked him over. "He's weak, he shows clear signs of malnutrition, and he's a runt of the litter. His mewing is quiet, but his lungs are clear. He's soaked, though, and freezing, he can't be more than seven days old." She then inspected the cub's paws, "Ah, he's smaller than average, now, but something tells me if he survives to adulthood, he'll be big enough to rival Ammon. Look at the size of his paws, they're just as big as the twins'." She said. Indeed, one could get an idea of how big a cub would be as an adult by looking at its paws. It seemed the litigon twins had inherited the same great size their father had, and this young runt was one who would have it by chance.

The male twin, the first-born, and the female second-born twin, were both obviously siblings. With pale brown tufts on their tails, and golden-orange fur, they were clearly Gamba's children, as indicated by the faint, yet defined stripes that were visible past the small spots lion cubs possessed. Gamba looked at them, "Which of them was born first?" He asked, having not been present, as he had been retrieving the small abandoned cub.

Mabel flicked her tail, "The boy, the girl came a few seconds after. I know not the exact time this little one was born, but I still say seven days." She walked over to the brindle-furred cub. "Come on, let's get him warm and dry, and name the twins, while we decide what we should do with him. This is a compassionate pride, we can't just let him die." She then curled around the cub's shivering wet frame, letting the water soak into her fur, and waiting for some warmth to come back into him. Gamba, no less wet than the cub, lay down a short distance from Layla, still wanting her to stay dry. "We discussed their names earlier, we didn't have many, but we mentioned names for both boys and girls. We agreed that we would name the girl Kakra, and that if we had a son, Atsu." He slowly flicked his tail, "Now this third cub that I found, I was the only one who heard him crying, and he was so far from camp, it is strange that I did, but I found him in our territory, alone, without a mother. He's been abandoned, and if he doesn't have milk, he will die. Such a thing would rest heavy on my heart." He took a deep breath, and looked Layla in the eye.

"I think we should adopt him, he has a greater chance of survival if he is raised among cubs younger than him. His slightly older growth will make him capable of holding his own, but he wouldn't have to fight to nurse, because there would only be three of them. I cannot help but feel responsible, because I found him, and though I thought to only bring him here so he could be safe, I now feel as though we must take care of him. Against my better judgement, I already have a name to call him by. I thought to call him Omari, because I felt he would flourish if our pride took him in. I never thought that by simply finding him, I would feel ownership, as though he were my own flesh and blood, as much as our twins."

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Tue Feb 11, 2014 7:27 pm

"Mommy! Mommy! When can we go hunt?!" Begged a tiny, dark-furred hybrid child. There were two of them. They resembled leopards or lions. But more so leopards. The black-furred mother nosed them.

"Not today, not today" she giggled. Zalika smiled at her children, her head slightly tilting. They snuggled up close to her as the wind chilled them. The tall grasses tickled them in their playing field. It was a moment of true happiness, one that... That she seemed to truly possess. Before her giving up that ability. She found herself in a world of joy. Her tail was flicking here and there, unable to contain it.

Then a leopard rose from a rock she was leaning against. He was male, fully grown. And his eyes were a deep amber. But he wasn't standing there... He was being thrown over the rock. His bloody body fell in front of her and her children. She shrieked.

"Murba!"

"Za...Zalika..." He croaked out. Then a large male lion stood on the rock, Zalika backed away with her cubs, horrorstruck. Other lions formed a ring around the area and watched.

"You are trespassing on Yellow Pride territory! For it a punishment is well deserving!" said the leading male. "Leave immediately while you can!"

"But--but this is our home!" she cried out.

"You dare protest me? Show her a lesson, bring me the berries!" The male commanded his warriors. One snaggle-toothed female with mangy fur brought out in her paws a clutch of black-colored berries that had a strong odor. One of the males tore into Zalika, trying to pry the cubs from her. She started screaming and fighting back. But the male was too strong and ripped the wailing cubs from their mother.

The female forcefully shoved the berries down their throats and pawed them back to their mother with a forceful kick of the back leg.

Zalika wept loudly. "What... What have you done to them?" She yelled. The lions all seemed to grow strangely wicked smiles. It took many long minutes. The cubs began to grow dizzy, they coughed. They began to bleed from the corners of their eyes. They fell on the ground, breathing heavily. Zalika was screaming. Her cubs finally breathed their last after a few long moments of suffering. She nudged them mournfully and threw a fit at the lions. But they forced her down, a few tackled her.

"Let her go" the male said. "She can warn outsiders of our power once she has left Yellow's domain. Come now, and leave her to her travels." The leader began to turn away, but then he looked back at Zalika. The others already began to leave.

"Remember that this was done in the name of the three great kings, King Volminar, King Star, and King Malfus. And never... Never come here again." With that he left. Zalika turned to her mate, calling out his name. But by now he was dead too. She screamed, wailing in sorrow. After her desperate cry had been finished, she gritted her teeth, bared her fangs, and made a horrid scowl. It was the type of scowl that only hatred could conjure.

She had simply sat in that spot for a few hours. Staring at the corpses of her family. Dazed. How had it all happened so fast? How could she have possibly gone into someone else's territory without knowing it?

At that point, when the sun was setting, another figure came from some bushes and tall grasses behind. She turned around, hissing. The figure that emerged was a tall male lion and had a thick, black mane. His eyes were green. His face had many scars.

"If you're going to kill me you'd better get it over with! I don't care about your Yellow Pride rules anymore! Just do it!" She shouted.

"Yellow Pride? I am not residing of the Yellow" said the figure in a soft voice.

"Then whom do you belong?" Zalika asked.

"I am rather a loner. I belong to no single pride. For I am an outcast... I am tired of the corruption that runs through the veins of these prides. The corruption that seemingly affects you" he said staring down at the dead bodies.

"I bet you're just like them though. All lions are! Just kill me! I'll be with my mate and children sooner!"

"Oh but I couldn't do that. Not in front of my own children" the man said. Suddenly from the grasses behind him, two tiny cubs emerged. Both with green eyes. They hid behind his back paws, one of them jumping up at him.

"Settle down Var!" Snake hissed back, kicking Var a bit with his back paw. This cub obviously had a strong future. His features were already foretelling strength. Large paws and a robust structure already. Jaw form was also predictably large.

"You... You have cubs" said Zalika.

"Indeed. I haven't properly introduced myself, forgive me. I am Snake. Born of Ridge Pride many moons ago. But their corruption got to me. I deserted them when they tried to execute me for the crimes of their prince, Jali. They said I abused many, but no. Their prince was the culprit. To keep from having an uprising, to keep from his reputation to be spoiled, he pushed all of his crimes on me. I took my son and left as soon as I could."

"I... I'm sorry then" Zalika said. "I've just had a really bad day. I'm Zalika. By the way. It's nice to meet you."

"Come along with us, we'll travel with you as you head for the border" Snake said as Zalika took to the side and the four individuals began walking away.

____________________

"You'd be doing the right thing" Snake said. Zalika nodded. They stood on a high ledge, and looked out at a strange pride camp... Yellow Pride.

"It's what must be done. For my children. For my mate. It must be done" Zalika said. Her unmistakable snarl formed as she looked on. It was obvious she'd been speaking to Snake a lot and his corruption and evil had sunk into her skull coupled with her own brewed hatred.

"Well, I wish you good luck then. And may the spirits guide you" he said. Zalika nodded as she tapped the enormous pile of black, malicious berries beneath her paws. She scooped them up ad took them down with her as she walked down towards the camp.

She had rubbed dung on her, always her way of getting into a pride's camp. Now as she passed the sentries, she hid in the bushes. Nobody was out at the moment. All were asleep as the night was full. She crept forward towards their fresh kill pile. And quickly she began to pound the berries into pulp, smashing them with her paws. Then she rubbed the pulp all over their food... For then to find later. Unexpected and unstoppable.

Then she slunk back into the bushes and merely waited. As dawn approached many individuals came to have their breakfast. It looked to be about half of the pride. Dead at the same time, in mere minutes.

That was when the male she'd encountered before arrived. He seemed to be the leader of the warriors in the pride. Highly respected and highly feared. He began screaming something, shouting at everyone and demanded them to step away from the kill pile. Which people had already been doing after watching their friends die. Zalika had taken out about three fourths of the pride already. Perhaps more. The fact that they all ate on the same schedule, unable to wait and see the effects, made things all but easier.

"Everyone get back in your dens! We'll sort this out, find out who's responsible" the leading warrior said. "Brotarij, come with me!" And he and another male started into the woods. Zalika followed not far behind.

As they got further from the camp, Zalika was silently pounding more pulp as she moved and dragging it with her. She coated her paw with it. The two males stopped.

"Who did this Domikar?" asked Brotarij.

"I... I don't know. But I'm not resting until they are found" he replied.

"Consider it a job done then," Zalika announced as she rose from the prowling position in the bushes. The two lions looked at her. Domikar had a glare that told her he recognizes her. And it morphed into a scowl. A horrible scowl.

"You... You did this? You!"

Zalika laughed, "quite cleverly wouldn't you think? I used the very same berry that you used... to murder my cubs in cold blood" she said as she waved a pulp covered paw at them.

"You mongrel! I can't believe this! How dare you?!" He shouted.

"Interesting, I used the same words a few days ago. Doesn't feel nice to have your loved ones poisoned to death, now does it? Oh, and beaten to death. I suppose I can fill Murba's place with you two..." Then she sprang onto Brotarij. Before he could truly react, she had already pried his jaws open and stuck her pulp-covered paw down his throat. Then she retreated before his jaws could trap it. He coughed as he sat up and looked at Domikar. The leader's face already seemed doom struck.

Finally Brotarij fell... And Domikar sprang into Zalika in pure hatred. He was going to kill her. But the unthinkable happened. Zalika flipped him over, nearly blinded him by clawing his eyes. Then she clamped her jaw over his, forming a painful kiss. He tried to pull away, even biting her and ripping the flesh around her mouth and snout away. After a few escapes she clamped down on him a final time. Her snout bloody and flesh exposed. Finally a certain light left Domikar's eyes and his body went lifeless and limp.

Zalika got up, sneering at his dead body. And as she pulled away she began to laugh insanely. Like someone truly mad. The insanity in her voice was undeniable and inexcusable for anything but madness. And now she pulled away into the darkness of an early dawn....

________________________

Layla soaked things in. She glanced at the new cub and her mate, as well as her own twins. Then her gaze fell to Gamba. "Yes, it would be the right thing to do. I couldn't live with myself knowing I had the chance to save a cub but let him die... We must take him in. I'm sure he'll flourish, like you said." She nudged each of her new children gently, and cooed to them. She brought Omari in closer to soak in her heat an recover from the wetness, beginning to lick him and dry him with her fur. Then she looked up at Gamba and simply smiled. She then gave an affectionate lick to his snout.

Shebla suddenly felt something burning over her shoulders. She felt the gaze of some other figure burn her back from behind and nervously looked over her shoulder where she could feel it coming. Though it was hard to see in the rain, she made out the crimson stare beneath the branches and soon identified it.

"Gamba..." she said directing his attention out at the figure with her paw. "She... She's staring right at you..."

Zalika's blood-tiled stare burnt from the trees like fire. It seemed to shine even through the rain, almost like a light. Her malevolent stare burnt right into Gamba, never leaving him, never blinking.

Darkness in her stare. Death in her lips. The memories floated in her head as she had witnessed the new cubs. She tensed at the thoughts. The memory of her entire world crumbling around her. Her love being crushed beneath her paws. Her first encounters with the one who injected pure evil into her flow of blood. And how she earned the death-lovingly scars.

Her stare was so unfeeling that it wouldn't be surprising if she could kill someone with it. Her claws flexed on the branch below her as her eyes looked on. Absolutely locked onto Gamba. The one who had once broken her jaw. The one who had made her flee. Her rival. Her adversary. Her enemy...

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Tue Feb 11, 2014 9:10 pm

Gamba didn't cower, even though Zalika's gaze would have frightened even some of the strongest warriors. He wasn't going to allow the presence of any foe, not even one as dangerous as this one, to spoil a precious moment. He returned her gaze with his own stare, gleaming amber eyes that seemed to be filled with sparks of fire, one of warmth and life, and one of boundless energy and unbreakable will. "She should know better than to begrudge me, when she is the one who came seeking to do harm to me and my family." He could see the hatred in her eyes, the absence of light that seemed to suck away at the life around it. It wasn't hard to tell she was still angry about him breaking her jaw, but he wasn't going to let himself regret what he had done. He slowly flicked his tail, "She is the one who put the curse mark on the tree, and the one who came with the original intention of killing. I am not to blame if I defend the ones I love, and if she is furious over the things I did to protect them, that is not my problem, but hers, for forgetting that I have every right to do so." He spoke with the intention of Zalika overhearing him, and in many ways, he spoke to her.

Gamba was not a hateful person, and something had been done to the female, if she did not attack, but watched this. He felt it in the marrow of his bones, and he was not willing to fight her if she was not planning on doing so. His eyes never left hers, and while she did not blink, neither did Gamba. It was a direct challenge, daring her to shout out in denial, to give herself away, to try and prove him wrong when she would be going against an absolute truth. She was not going to blame him for her own mistakes, and he meant to hold her accountable for it. He would force feeling to the surface, with his own gaze, he would see into the very heart and soul of this female, if she let him, because he had that power in him. His eyes could destroy the numbness, melting the coldness away with blazing, sun-like energy. He would not be the one at fault.

Mabel, after watching this stare-down, flicked her tail, and flattened her ears, not frightened, but at any rate, annoyed, despite the obvious danger of it. Mabel was well-known for being completely fearless, even when the nature of her fearlessness was to the point of foolhardiness, because she would try to face foes that everyone knew she couldn't fight. It was obvious, because people still told stories about how when the whole of Sunset Pride passed through her previous territory, she had boldly threatened to fight Jali, when the king could have easily bested her. "Gamba, you can say what you like, but if she doesn't leave in the next five seconds, I'm shouting for the warriors to chase her. I don't care who she is, I didn't spend the whole night trying to deliver two litigons during a thunderstorm just to have her show up and complicate things. What she should know is that I'll do it. I'm counting right now, and then I'm going to scream, and the entire camp will wake up."

She then began to count, "One, two, three..."

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Tue Feb 11, 2014 10:54 pm

"Four, five, six, seven, eight" Zalika's malevolent voice growled out at Mabel, loud enough to hear. Her gaze still remained a brick wall to Gamba, not allowing him any entrance to her emotions. Completely unreadable, aside from obvious hatred and blood lust.

Layla looked up. "She's not leaving... And she's not afraid of anyone here. She'd just curse everyone again... She'll have to leave eventually. She can't stare forever. And if she's alone, she won't dare attack. Just don't let her bother you. She probably wants you to be troubled by her presence" she said before turning back to her cubs. Shebla could spot Zalika's eyes slightly narrow. Anger boiling.

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Wed Feb 12, 2014 1:54 am

Mabel flicked her tail, and snorted, "Well, fine by me, then, if warriors won't chase her off. Blinking was invented for a reason, without it your eyes would grow infected and sore. I won't mind ignoring her one bit, and if she thinks she can come and chomp on me because I'm small, she'll realize that I'm much more dangerous than I look." She then turned and continued to examine the cubs, saying nothing else. She went over to Atsu and began looking at him more closely, opening his mouth, checking his gums, not seeing any teeth, yet, though they would grow in. She looked at the spaces between his toes, even the tuft at the tip of his tail. Then, after a pause, she got under him, and, with some effort, as he was large compared to her, flipped the little male Litigon over on his back, and began examining his stomach, before beginning to poke and prod, which caused Atsu to start pawing the air and mew in protest.

Gamba, finally deciding to stop watching Zalika, turned and looked at Mabel, "May I ask what it is that you're looking for?" He inquired, flicking one ear. He wondered if when he had been that young Zanita had done the same thing when she was examining him. It didn't look comfortable, but at the same time, he wouldn't remember it, considering that he was too young to retain any memory of it. Mabel didn't respond for a moment, still looking Atsu over intensely, and Gamba wondered if the wildcat planned on responding at all to his question. Having been mentored by her, she might expect him to already know the answer. It was something to be expected from her, considering her personality. He waited for a second more, and flicked his tail, "Please, Mabel, that's my son you're examining, I have a right to know. Perhaps I forgot one of your lessons, but Atsu is very important to me."

Mabel flicked her tail, "I know, but I'm trying to concentrate." She paused and turned to look at Gamba, "As you know, because of the fact that they are a combination of two different creatures, male hybrids are generally at a high risk of infertility. You were lucky that you were capable of having cubs at all, Gamba, but you knew you could have children, even before you were old enough to do so. That is because it is possible through a careful inspection to tell if a cub is going to mature properly into a fertile adult. That is what I am doing now, I am trying to make sure Atsu will be capable of having children when he is older." She then turned back to the litigon, and continued to poke and prod for a little bit more.

Finally, finished with her inspection, she flipped Atsu back over onto his stomach, and the cub continued to mew indignantly. "Well, it looks like your son is another lucky hybrid male. He'll be able to have cubs when he's older, of course, that won't be for some time. You can rest easy, though, knowing this ahead of time." She said, before nudging Atsu over to Layla. He immediately stopped complaining when he came in contact with his mother. Mabel flicked her tail, "Sorry that I had to violate him to do that, but it's over with, and he's too young to remember, thank goodness, I would feel guilty if he did."

Gamba flicked his tail, "There's no other inspections, right?" He asked.

Mabel shook her head, "No, Omari is a pure lion, so he should mature properly, and female hybrids like Kakra almost always have the capability to bear cubs, there's not even a need to check the two of them. She then looked over at Omari, who was finally starting to take on a fluffy appearance as his fur started to dry out, "I would keep a close eye on him, though, to make sure he's not getting worse. He's very thin, he'll have to have almost twice as much milk as Kakra and Atsu, until he's back to a healthy weight. Once he fills out he should be fine, but he's in a very fragile state, right now, very sensitive."

Mabel then turned to Shebla, "Shebla, can you please go fetch some herbs we can mash into a paste? I hate to give it to a cub so young, he should strictly be on milk, but we need to give him something to make sure that bout in the rain doesn't make him sick. Malnutrition is enough to deal with. I want you to go get them right now, this boy's life may depend on not catching a cold, he's too weak to fight one off, if he does." Mabel then turned to Gamba, "Gamba, you're dry, now, you help Layla keep Omari warm, he might be older than the twins, but he's much, much weaker.

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Wed Feb 12, 2014 8:16 pm

Shebla races off to the medical den immediately, passing the eyes of Zalika which were in a tree just outside its entrance. They recoiled back into the dark upon her arrival, not allowing her the privilege to get too close. Shebla passed Ammon on we way in, pushing out a smile to him to lighten the mood. Kamuzu had always told her a single smile can brighten a situation and make one feel happier almost immediately. "Try it" he had told her. And she'd been using that technique ever since. She was very happy for Gamba an Layla, and lovin the idea of new cubs in the pride. But the sight if birth always brought up Vilela. She focused on we task, and kept an eye on the area she suspected Zalika was lurking in. She brought out a few herbs and quickly carried then out to Gamba and Layla's makeshift den.

As Kamuzu and Mabel were both out, and Ammon was as of current, the only one in the medical den, a rustling came in the bushes. The slippery figure of Zalika oozed out like a liquid shadow. She approached Ammon, giving him a dreadful sneer. "Hello whitey. Still taking the rat of the last battle?" she scorned, liking her scarred lips.

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Thu Feb 13, 2014 2:59 am

Ammon looked at the jaglioness with something approaching disgust, seeing the scars on her face that indicated she had used a forbidden fighting technique that no respectable warrior would use. His dark eyes, despite clearly showing that he thought ill of Zalika, had no other expression that could be read in their depths. He slowly began to flick his tail at the tip, as he raised his head, a sign of preparation. Beneath pure white fur and skin, muscles bunched up, preparing for quick action that they were unlikely to handle, the Barbary Lion's body still in shock from his last clash with the warriors. His snout wrinkled slightly, in the beginnings of a snarl, though he didn't bare his teeth. "I take it well enough, this is not the first time I've been locked in a den before, last time, though, it was a pack of wolves." The answer he gave was the kind of response given as if he had been asked a serious question, rather than a scornful taunt. In many ways, Ammon danced around it, effortlessly avoiding being made a fool, because though he clearly didn't like Zalika, he didn't fall for the act of her baiting him. Ammon didn't doubt his strength, but he wasn't the kind of lion who made foolish promises he couldn't keep. He was quite skillful, when engaged in a battle of wits.

He then proceeded to flick one ear, as though he were carrying on a conversation with someone who wasn't intending to do him harm, "Whitey, I will have to remember that one, I have quite a long list of nicknames, now. That's a new one, quite clever, considering Albino is the other one, you actually know I'm not an albino, but that my pelt is simply faded to the point of being white." He slowly flicked his tail, a pretense of calm before a very violent reaction, "Now, tell me, Queen of the Scavenger Birds, why exactly did you come here? Did you come to see my rival's cubs, and why are you talking to me, of all lions? Most creatures do not enjoy my conversation." In many ways, it was a subtle, baiting remark, a carefully done taunt in response. Indeed, Ammon's wit was as smooth as a river stone.

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Thu Feb 13, 2014 3:46 pm

Zalika sneered. Evil delight was seemingly the only happiness she could feel. She felt it touch her toes and course through her body. "It's perfectly business. I don't care much for a battle. Now it's merely about elimination. If you're dead, you won't be of as much a problem to my a accomplices. So, sorry it had to be this way, whitey. Goodbye!" She pounced, springing forward with her claws unsheathed.

She found herself in the dirt. Her face smacked hard against it. What had hit her? She looked up to find Shebla standing over her, pinning her to the ground. Shebla had a certain... bloodthirsty look in her eyes. As though Zalika had crossed a line that should never have been touched.

Shebla grabbed her by the throat and slung her into one of the trees nearby. Zalika fell on her rump and soon plucked herself up. "Shebla get out of here, you maggot!"

"I was about to say the same thing to you" Shebla snarled. She pounced into Zalika, tearing her claws into the jaglion's blackish pelt. Blood came out. Zalika caught Shebla in the side of the face with her terrible claws, leaving a huge bloody slash in their wake. Zalika managed to claw Shebla's shoulder and a bit of the underbelly. She also ravaged between Shebla's shoulder blades and along the flank.

There was a horrible look Shebla's eyes as she bit Zalika's hindleg. She gave her a kick in the head and Zalika spun back onto the grass.

"You get out of here before I change my mind! And if I ever find you trying to harm my friends again, I'll kill you."

Zalika snarled, her fur standing on edge. A raven or two was watching from the trees. "You don't have the guts!" Zalika snarled out, a bit of drool coming from her depraved maw.

"Do you really want to bet on that? And what are you doing attacking Ammon? Last I heard he and I are Aziza's targets. She'd kill you if she knew you were planning on killing him yourself. You know how that wretch is with her enemies" said Shebla.

Zalika' eyes widened as though she'd forgotten about that. Oops... she thought. Her eyes narrowed again. "This isn't over" she scoffed before she leapt away, a trail of blood in her path.

By now Shebla was covered in blood. Most of it her own, but a hint of Zalika's was splashed in there, blending invisibly. She slightly limped or walked in a hunched way from we underbelly. Her face was seeping with the slash. Luckily it wasn't deep enough to leave any major scars, but it was certainly enough to make her lose a hefty amount of blood.

"Are you okay? Did she hurt you?" Shebla asked. It was an instinct of hers to check on her patients before anything of her own wounds was even considered. Now she made certain this instinct was active. Eventually she had to fall onto the ground in front of him, terribly wounded by the horrid raven empress.

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Thu Feb 13, 2014 4:36 pm

Ammon's eyes widened with a strange emotion that had seldom been seen in them, but could have easily been recognized as concern, and maybe even worry, though he remained calm. "She didn't touch me, but you're covered in wounds, now." He then moved his paws beneath him, and, with a heave, rose to his feet, having rested enough to regain his ability to walk, though he knew he still could not run. He was far from hunting and combat, still, but he needed to be able to walk. "Stay down, don't move any more, I'm going to try to stop the bleeding, you're in no position to do that, and there are some places your paws won't reach well enough." Having been in the medical den for long enough, with nothing to do but observe, he knew by now where every herb was kept, and also knew the place where cobwebs were stored. He padded over and got some out, before going over to Shebla with them.

He carefully began placing cobwebs over each wound, the largest wads being over the joints where congealed blood might crack and break, bleeding again with movement. The swiftness at which he did this was incredible, and the pressure as the cobwebs were pressed into the injuries was no more than what was needed, incredibly delicate, despite the gigantic size of the paws that performed such a task. Ammon had clearly done this many times before, for only experience could result in such careful, yet speedy application. He then carefully, as though dealing with something so fragile it might be damaged with even the slightest bump, rolled Shebla over onto her side, and pressed cobwebs into the wound on her belly. He then stood back to inspect her work, making sure that the blood wasn't staining through the cobwebs, which now covered a large portion of the lionesses' body. It was clear he had been treating her injuries, because his paws were stained bright red. "I think I've got the most of it, but hold still, for a few seconds, I don't want anything to come loose. I'm going to have a look at the wound on your face, now."

He walked over to the pool of water in the medical den used for washing off blood, and did so, getting the blood off of his paws, before coming back over and examining the side of Shebla's face. "I'm going to wash this, wounds on the face always bleed badly, but it's already clotting over, I'm not willing to be so daring with your other injuries." He went over and got some moss, soaked it in water, and came over, gently sponging away the blood, and examining the cleaner cuts of the claws, "She didn't get your eye, or the corner of your mouth, which is good, you won't have to worry about blindness, or drooling because of the damage." He finished, and then discarded the moss, "I'm not going to put cobwebs on that, but the bleeding's stopped, so there's no need to. Just let that wound breathe, you don't want that scarring."

With nothing left to do, Ammon walked back over to his spot and lay down again, looking at her, and slowly flicking his tail, "I am in your debt, now. Though I hate to admit it, you saved my life, leaping in to battle like that." His ears lowered slightly, as though he disliked the prospect of trying to repay Shebla for such a great thing. "I wouldn't have been able to fight that jaglioness off, not right now. I simply cannot believe that any creature could be low enough to not wait for an honorable fight, though I should know better than to think such things do not exist. It sickens me, all the same."

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Thu Feb 13, 2014 8:11 pm

Shebla had sighed as Ammon finished, tried to relax as it would be best for her wounds. But as was too troubled to have the ability. "The only thing that matters to them is their mission. theyll do anything to finish it quickly. And you don't need to say you're in dept. I don't expect a single thing in return. Besides, if anything, you've already paid it off by helping me like this. Thank you" she said. She laid in an awkward position, trying not to pain herself any further. A bit of a giggle came from her, but she stopped when it hurt. "It's been quite a while since I've had someone dress my wounds. This means a lot to me, thank you again" she said licking a bit of the blood from her paws. It still coated her fur, but not nearly as much as it had.

"Ugh, I still have to go help Gamba an Layla and Mabel. They'll need someone to fetch water and herbs still" she said trying to get up, straining whatever energy she had to stand. But she fell back again.

____________________

"What in the world happened Zalika?!" Aziza growled. She watched the bloody Zalika approach with a few ravens fluttering around her shoulders.

"I got caught up in a fight with your nemesis. She found me and attacked me" said Zalika.

Aziza's eyes burst into fury. "Is she dead? Is she and the albino still alive

"They are alive. I was in the woods, watching the pride from a distance. Shebla sniffed me out and attacked me first. I'd never attack or kill one of your targets, Aziza" she said. Aziza gave a suspicious nod and turned away.

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Fri Feb 14, 2014 1:32 am

Ammon stood back up, "No, you will stay here, and rest, you can scarcely stand without someone to aid you. I have enough strength to walk, and I have no wounds to speak of. I am only in this medical den because my system must recover from the shock it has experienced. You, however, are covered with injuries, and have lost a great deal of blood. You need to regain your strength, before you consider trying to run back and forth between here and another den. I cannot run, but I can walk briskly enough." He slowly flicked his tail, "I will fetch the herbs and water, for now." With this, he walked over to where the herbs were stored, and poked around until he found the correct ones, meant for use in such a situation. Without another word, he vanished outside the medical den. He padded across the camp to the den where the smells of childbirth came from, and slowly poked his head in.

Gamba turned, and looked at Ammon, surprised to see him there, and even more confused by the faded smell of blood on his fur, and the fact that he was holding medical herbs. "Ammon, what are you doing here? Where's Shebla?" He asked, suddenly feeling alarmed.

Ammon set the herbs down for Mabel, who immediately took them and began to mash them, and looked slowly between Gamba and Layla, "The jaglioness arrived and engaged Shebla in combat." He said, his ears flattening somewhat, but his eyes remaining dark and impossible to read, yielding nothing. "She is alive, but badly hurt. I patched her injuries and left her in the medical den. I will take over her duties, from here." He slowly flicked his tail. "You may not fully trust me, but you have nothing to fear from me, I dare not harm your cubs." He slowly sat back on his haunches, "If herbs or water is needed, I will fetch it."

Gamba's eyes widened with surprise, and then anger, "Zalika attacked her?" He growled.

Ammon's expression did not change, "Actually, she was attempting to have a cheap victory, by killing me. Shebla was simply there and was able to intervene, but she has lost much blood. I stopped the bleeding, but she is weak from it." A soft growl came in his throat, "The jaglioness came in without being seen, it should never have been so easy for anyone to approach a medical den without being spotted. Now a medical lioness, one who is not meant to be harmed, is staying in that den, injured. Shebla would have continued to fetch water and herbs for you, even in her current state. I can't allow her to do that, she can't afford the wounds breaking open again. I owe my life to her, now."

Gamba tilted his head to one side, his eyes narrowing, "Has she not told you that any respectable creature would do that and not expect the other one to repay them? Why is it that you measure life by the debts you supposedly owe people, when they don't want you to repay them? Friends sacrifice for their friends, that's a part of friendship."

Ammon's eyes narrowed, but didn't show much emotion, still, "The last thing I wish for is to owe somebody anything. No matter what is said, I am indebted to her, for what could I possibly do that would repay for saving my life? I will repay those that I owe, I will not be a slave to my debts."

Gamba flicked his tail, aggravated by the hole in Ammon's logical process, "Nobody wants you to be a slave, you're only a slave because you see it that way."

Mabel then proceeded to cut the conversation short, "You two can stop talking to each other, now, if you're going to start arguing." She snapped.

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Fri Feb 14, 2014 2:03 am

Layla had to interject. "Shebla would never expect you to repay her. I'm sure she's thankful you dressed her wounds. And she's too kind an selfless to ask anything of you. I've known her for quite a while. She's a very lonely person... The few friends she does have... She will protect them if we very life is put to the test. She will never allow a claw to touch them, never allow harsh words or actions against them go unpunished. She takes friends very seriously, because she has none. Though she is complicated. I've offered my friendship, yet she seemed like he just wanted to be alone. It was back an forth. She wants to be alone because she's afraid of the damage she may do, but she also wants to be loved. She wants to feel friendship and compassion, kindness... Though the greatest of these is love." Layla looked up at Gamba and Ammon, but mostly Ammon.

"She is a mystery to many of us. But I think to you she may seem clearer. So Ammon, I hope you realize what a special person you have found. She is strong and relentless. Her love ropes like a vine. Her kindness like a very strong scent. And her strength is demanding, unwavering. Protective. Unable to allow harm to come to the people she cares about. Consider yourself lucky that you've stumbled on such a medical lioness. There could be no greater one. One with her values and personality... None can compare with her." After that Layla went back to licking her cubs, snuggling up to them to keep them warm.

Meanwhile in the medical den, Kamuzu slowly walked back into it, smelling blood. He gasped when he saw Shebla. "Shebla! What in Africa happened to you?!" He said approaching, constantly demanding what had happened.

Shebla began to explain it to him, slowly an steadily. Then he looked out the entrance, trying to find Ammon.

"He's with Gamba, Layla, an Mabel. Don't bother him right now." She said licking up some water from the edge of the lake, which she had scooted over to.

"Shebla..." Kamuzu began. "Please tell me what's been going on. I know you're keeping something from me. I can tell."

"Alright listen" Shebla said, "all you need to know is that I was told not to tell anyone. And I will follow that rule."

"Who told you?" asked Kamuzu.

Shebla thought for a moment, but just decided to go with, "someone out there."

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Fri Feb 14, 2014 3:10 am

Ammon pondered this, and slowly flicked his tail, "Shebla is a kind lioness, and is treated badly, though I do not understand why. You are not the first to say these things to me, though I fail to see how my involvement can possibly help the situation. Others feel threatened and uncomfortable, when I am around, and though I may have been trapped in this camp for three whole moons, I am still not trusted, and am carefully watched. What do I know of love and compassion? I tell you, I do not know, because my life had none. How could I possibly help Shebla, in such a way, when I cannot even begin to wonder how to go about it?" His dark eyes glinted, black pools that reflected stars in their depths, mysterious, hiding secret thoughts that nobody could see, though they searched for them. The confession resonated with some hidden truth in it, a sad truth that made one's heart ache with pity, for Ammon truly didn't believe he understood the concepts he spoke of, even though he had on many occasions shown love and compassion. He just didn't recognize it in himself, because, having never received it, he struggled to understand it.

Gamba slowly flicked his tail, "You have a heart, you just don't know it." He told his rival, "You have shown compassion many times, you have shown friendship, as well, you just don't understand it, and you don't even know you've done such things, half of the time. Even when you know you show friendship, you cover it up, because you don't want to be obligated, when it has its own reward. You have shown compassion, because you took in Kyra when she was young, and raised her as an adoptive daughter. Does that not strike you as the fact that you do understand it, that you just don't know you do? Perhaps you do understand it, but don't want to, because you think it's a weakness that you can feel selfless concern for another creature."

Mabel flicked her tail, and looked up at Ammon, "Gamba's right, you put up these walls, and you won't let anyone know what you're thinking. You talk to Shebla, though, I've seen you, you two actually carry on a pleasant conversation, but you can't do that with anyone else. You two have far more in common than you think you do, and like it or not, you were made for each other. Don't tell me you don't care a wink about that lioness, because if you didn't, you wouldn't have bothered to take the time to seal her wounds and save her life, and then come over here and take her place so that she could rest, as well. You just don't want to put your heart out where others can see it and break it, if they decide to." This seemed to get a reaction out of the white lion, for his snout wrinkled, and his eyes narrowed, anger flashing in their depths. Mabel flicked her tails, and then twitched her ears, "Ah, I think we just hit a sore spot. Well, there you have it, then. You need to learn how to trust others, Ammon, you can't always rely on yourself, and as a lion, you weren't meant to live alone. Lions are social creatures by nature, and they need to be around others, because something in life is missing, otherwise. Maybe after three moons of living here, you're finally starting to remember that empty space, because I'm pretty positive you buried it deep so you wouldn't notice."

Mabel then abruptly turned and began looking over the cubs again, mostly inspecting so Ammon wouldn't get the last word. Gamba slowly flicked his tail, "It's probably safe to say we won't need any more water, for awhile, and the same could go for herbs. Why don't you leave and cool off, for a bit?" He said, casually referring to his rival's flaring temper.

"I'll be glad to, I'll be waiting right outside, though, regardless." Ammon growled, his voice dark, before he turned and walked out of the den, stopping a bit away from the mouth of it, so he couldn't hear the conversations inside, but could be reached if someone were to exit it and request something.

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Sat Feb 15, 2014 2:01 am

Someone was running down the camp. A young male. He passed Ammon, the wind in his wake breezing by. He made it into the medical den. It wasn't seen at first, but upon inspection one would notice there was a large amount of blood on the lion's fur.

"Shebla! Kamuzu! There was an attack on the night hunting party! It's horrible! We need assistance immediately!"

Shebla rose, but immediately Kamuzu shook his head and nudged her down to rest again. "No, I'll go. Don't you dare go anywhere. You mean too much to me."

"Alright" Shebla groaned. "Be careful."

He nodded before he and the warrior left. They were gone for a while... Shebla grew increasingly worried for her friend and mentor with each moment. She wondered what was taking so long. Then, just as dawn was approaching... the unthinkable happened...

Shebla had called Ammon over to help her walk over to the water, just as he'd arrived...

Taru blasted into the medical den once more, nearly tearing apart the entrance. There were a few warriors behind him, they all flooded the medical den.

"Oh, Taru. You're back. Is everyone alright?" Shebla asked. Taru had a horrified face and it worried her.

"Aziza arrived and..."

The warriors laid down a body before Shebla and she gasped in absolute terror when she realized... it was Kamuzu.

The old medical lion lay, brutally injured. He was covered in blood. He looked up at Shebla with eyes she knew all too well to see anything but death in the future. He whimpered out, "Shebla..."

"Kamuzu!" Shebla cried out, getting to him as quickly as she could. She sat down next to him, held his paws... His blood coated paws. He had horrendous slashes and bruises all over him. He coughed up a bit of blood as it leaked from his mouth onto the ground. His eyes were full of tears. He knew what was coming. Shebla's eyes were a flood of tears. Not an inch of her face remained dry of them.

"Kamuzu, no... Not you. They can't take you away from me too..." she sobbed. She put her forehead into his shoulder, trying to make these last moments count.

"Sh-Shebla..." He said. She raised her head to look at him. He then went on, "I want you t-to be st-st-strong. No matter what, d-do not give up. Don't let this world get the better of you. And-d change yourself. Be fearless. Don't let your fears like childbirth and the one named Aziza, get to your head. For there are worse terrors out there..." He coughed. Shebla licked his ear affectionately.

"Kamuzu... What am I going to do without you?" she said solemnly.

"Be strong" he wheezed. After a few moments he said, "please, sing me that song... What was its name..."

"The Lily in The Stones..." Shebla sobbed. He seemed to nod, but barely. Shebla went on, singing in a beautiful but weepy voice.

"And here I stand, I stand today
Among my kind
In the shadows I lay.

I lay among the lilies and the stones to decay
Sleep my dear child, for tomorrow you wake
Let me help you grow stronger
For without you I ache.

The Lily in The Stones was a beauty indeed
Like my child it's a light in the dark
Shining brightly, for I know my words he'll heed.

The Lily in The Stones was a beauty to me,
She reminded me of what I had lost and what I had gained
For no treasure was ever worth the friendship she gave.

I want you to know, my dear friend
I'll love you to the end
Whether dead or alive, no weeping or sorrow, crying or dread
But rejoicing that you lived the life that you did
Happy that you are in the world of the spirits, my old friend."

Kamuzu was beginning to fade. Finally he breathed out, "Be strong..."

Shebla nodded, finally giving him one last lick on the head before he was gone. At his last breath, Shebla turned hysterical. She screamed out into a terrible series of wailing as she began to walk away. Taru and the warriors began to pick up Kamuzu's body and take him away.

Shebla had her back turned to them now. None of the other warriors comforted Shebla or told her anything else. They didn't seem to care that she was in deep distress.

Shebla was sobbing to extremes. She'd never in her life cried this hard before. It was almost screaming, she couldn't control herself. She moved to a corner of the den where she thought nobody would notice her, where she tried to seem invisible. But with all the noise she was making, it was impossible.

Other than Ammon, Kamuzu was the only friend Shebla had ever truly had... And now he was gone. All thanks to Aziza. She for a long moment began to shout out Aziza's name.

"I'LL KILL YOU AZIZA! THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOU, YOU ARE DEAD!! YOU DISGRACEFUL MONGREL! YOU MUTT! YOU PIECE OF FODDER!!" she shouted. She grunted heavily for a few minutes, angrily. Then she began to calm down and just sat in silence for a few moments.

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Sat Feb 15, 2014 3:33 am

Ammon gave Shebla a few seconds to scream out in anguish, to let the stage of anger in grief pass, before going over to her, in case his presence made things worse. "There are many evil, sickening presences in this world, I have known this since the very beginning. I often told myself I would rather be alone, that be forced to stay in the presence of such revoltingly vile creatures. The difference, however, was I often found I enjoyed being alone. Such a thing is not the same for you, however, for you have some that care for you, and you treasure them as though they were the most prized possessions you had." He looked over at where Kamuzu's body was being dragged away, a kind of solemn look in his eye. It was not that he didn't care, but that he had seen this so many times before, he was numb to it. "I cannot say I fully understand it, I cannot say I can feel this pierce my very heart and soul, for such things are lost to me. It disturbs me, that I cannot feel the same pain as you, for I forgot how it felt, because so much did hurt that way, at one time." He slowly flicked his tail, his manner calm, trying to provide some pillar of stability in the chaos that now ensued from the combination of newly-born cubs, and the deaths and injuries of others. "I often cursed my own existence, questioning why I was ever born, wishing I would die. It was only until I was given the freedom to choose my own fate, that I realized how powerful the will to live truly was, and how much I could do, because I finally had the opportunity in front of me. Even when I did not feel like there was any hope, I surpassed what was expected of me, I was not going to be bested by anyone."

He slowly flicked his tail, "Kamuzu was a good lion, and I may dare to say it, a great one, for he was wise and clever as a lion ever could be. He was capable of this compassion everyone speaks of, though I still do not understand it, though I know it exists. What was done to him was a cruel thing, but you made his last moments meaningful, and that made all the difference." He looked at her, "He wanted you to sing for him, but he also meant that for you. He does not want you angry or broken, because of this, though you have every right to be furious because of this. He will watch over you, for he is not truly gone, but in a different place. He wanted you to think of that, because he wanted you to remember him, and not how he died." He looked over the trees as the sun began to rise, "I cannot even pretend I can make this better for you, perhaps my words do not help at all, but I mean to try to make it better, for I know that to you this hurt, and you are not a lioness that I know to feel pain, for as surely as that lion said, you are brave."

He then looked and scanned the treeline, "They are dangerous, so I must say this, they must be killed, them and all the legacy they hope to create, for it is a twisted one that grows like a bramble, choking out all the life around it. Either that, or they must be changed, though they are surely too far gone for any hope to be in such a solution." He flicked one ear, "We have been awake the whole night, and surely, you are tired, from all of this." He looked at her, "Try to rest, that is all that can be done, for now." He said.

Ammon then turned and slowly padded back into the medical den, leaving Shebla to consider his words.

There was a gust of wind, and to Shebla, words would have been carried on it. It was Egret's voice, "It is time to dream..."

If Shebla slept, Ammon's mother would be there to greet her.

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Sat Feb 15, 2014 3:58 am

Shebla sniffed, walking back to her den which was connected to the medical den. She passed Ammon, giving him an affectionate nudge on the shoulder with her head before she turned to her bed. His words meant a lot to her, had helped her. She wanted to thank him more clearly, but she had something else to do.

She had managed to limp over to her den and lay there. But it took hours for her to fall asleep. The horror of Kamuzu's death still fresh. The realization he was truly gone slowly sinking in. She cried herself to sleep, finally falling into it and being deep in slumber.

First... Nightmares haunted her. She oddly heard Snake's voice. "He will have died in vain, dear daughter of the forest..."

"Leave her alone."

There was an assortment of growling and Shebla saw blood. Then Kamuzu's face appeared. He was holding back an enormous black snake. Keeping it from attacking. Then Shebla fell into Egret's world...

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Sun Feb 16, 2014 2:05 pm

Once again, Shebla found herself in a white Limbo, visibility being in a perfect circle around her, the rest of the blank world obscured by thick white clouds. As she had appeared before, Egret, a snow-white lioness with a small dot over her heart, red like blood, emerged across the circle from the medicine lioness. She came over to Shebla, and sat back on her haunches, the spirit looking at her in a somewhat sorrowful manner, "I saw what happened, and though I cannot do anything, I am sorry for your loss." She said, acknowledging that Shebla had lost Kamuzu. She then slowly flicked her tail, "Snake tried to slither his way into your dreams, but Kamuzu isn't gone. He stopped Snake before he could do anything. He is gone from the world of mortals, but here, his spirit remains strong, and in perhaps a different way, he is very much alive." Egret said this solely for Shebla's benefit, for knowing that Kamuzu had stopped the one who was trying to give her nightmares would help provide a deeper sense of relief than anything else. It meant he was still in existence, still doing things, even if he wasn't a mortal lion anymore.

Egret sighed, "Well, regardless, I have more to show you about my son. You have managed to break through the walls around his heart, you are the only one who has ever done so. He senses it, though, and Ammon is desperately trying to rebuild them, though he cannot bring himself to. He denies that he knows anything about compassion, but he does care about you. I hope you realize he has never tried to comfort anyone in his life before, but he did it for you." She looked around at the blank mist around them, "I want to show you something about him that will tell so much. It isn't some gigantic event, but an average day from his childhood. It would tell you a lot about him, and though there is another event that would prove my point, I don't think it would be good for you to see it, considering the things you have just experienced. Unless you are willing for me to show you both memories, I will not force you to watch the second one, unless you agree to it. Some things are incredibly hard to watch, this is one of those situations where you decide how much you want me to show you."

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Sun Feb 16, 2014 9:17 pm

Shebla thought for a minute. I'm over being weak, she thought. She remembered Kamuzu's dying words, the word that woul encourage her throughout the rest of her life. The words that had some sort of meaning that plunged into Shebla's heart and strengthened her.

"Show me everything. It may be hard, but I'm going to stay strong. Kamuzu's last words were 'be strong'. He would want me to do this. Show me everything that is necessary. Everything that will help" she replied to Egret. "I care about Ammon, a lot. And I want what's best for him."

________________________

Aziza stood on a large rock, overlooking a large crowd of lions, cheetahs, hyenas, and vultures. Kavis stood on the ground behind her. She stood proudly, blood dripped from her lips almost like drool... It was Kamuzu's blood. She'd never bothered to wipe it off, because she loved the feeling of having the blood of Shebla's most loved friend on her.

"We have inched closer to their surrender. Their eldest medical lion and the closest friend of Shebla... Is dead!" Aziza shouted out.

The lions let out triumphant roars. The hyenas gave out victorious whoops. The cheetahs let out conquering shouts. The ravens sounded caws of pride. The cheering went on for several moments, then stopped.

"It won't be long before she goes insane! Not even that pathetic albino can stop her from giving in... to her own mind" Aziza said narrowing her eyes. "We have gained another spirit to fight, but he is weak and cannot last against us... So, we shall begin our expansion."

She reached out and pointed at a group of hyenas. "You, go to the lake-side border of their pride. About half a mile from the rim of their lake. Can't miss it. Set up your camp there." She pointed at another group of lions and cheetahs. "And you go to the west end, there's a strip of forest just between Jali's borders and Zanita's. Settle there." She began pointing at other random groups. "Go to the north tree points. And you, go to the south border corner. The rest of you scatter yourselves out along the border. Don't leave any blank spots. We want them completely trapped. Later I'll give the signal to start slowly moving inward and capturing territory until nothing remains. When our circle reaches their camp, we kill all that remain."

"Show no mercy to these fools, kill them all for their defiance of our great guider, Dalmaa The Dark. Dalmaa The Powerful" Kavis spoke up. Aziza nodded.

The wounded Zalika crept into the crowd. A few ravens sat on her shoulders.

"Now, go," Aziza said. "Snake guide you." The crowd split apart, Zalika limps forward. Aziza lurches forward to hear the servile jaglion.

"My spies say Shebla has taken terribly to Kamuzu's death. They say she is wailing, screaming. A hysterical mess" she croaks. Aziza smiles somewhat.

"Good," said Aziza, "that is merely the beginning of my plan to make her suffer. She'll pay for every drop of blood spilt from my dear sister. Every bone that was crushed in that horrendous elephant attack. Anything else, dear?" she asked Zalika. The jaglion nodded.

Zalika goes on, "they say they've seen something new tonight. A new connection has formed between her and the white lion. They are growing rather close. He could be used as a weapon against her. But..." Zalika chose her words carefully, "Shebla will not allow Ammon to be harmed. I doubt she will leave his side. Especially since... Kamuzu's death, it probably will make her guard her friends to extremes."

Aziza nodded. "I will kill him. As soon as I get the chance. I may make a trip to their camp tomorrow or in the next few days to kill him while he is weak. She will be crushed. We must make this as torturous as possible for her, don't you agree, King Kavis?"

Kavis hesitated, but nodded. Aziza then looked back at Zalika. "Keep a good eye on both of them. We won't do anything for now, but very soon I will act."

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Sun Feb 16, 2014 10:40 pm

Egret took this in, and slowly nodded, "They say you are broken, but you have not been shattered, but forged by what you have seen. I can think of no better to entrust my son to, for you can far better understand than anyone else." As she spoke, the area shifted and changed, as they were once again transported into a scene in the past, in what Shebla now knew from Ammon's stories of travel as his home pride in the Barbary Mountains of Morocco. They once again sat on the edge of the Starclimb Pride's camp, looking into it, as a scene unfolded before them. There was a large, elder warrior, snow-white, with five cubs sitting in front of them. There were two girls, and three boys, but the one who stood out the most was the one on the far right, closest to where Egret and Shebla were watching. This cub, compared to the others, who were white, like the big male lion, was colored normally, although the tuft at the very tip of his tail was white, as was the tip of his snout, and his toes. It was clearly Ammon, for his dark, glittering eyes were distinguished from the dead-looking black eyes of everyone else. The others had eyes like polished river stones, but Ammon's eyes, even as a cub, were filled with stars. All the cubs seemed to around the age they would start learning how to hunt properly, and actually be expected to make kills, no longer dependent on milk, but expected to eat meat.

The sun was setting, as though they had spent the entire day doing something. Upon closer inspection, Shebla saw that each of the cubs had small kills in their mouths, though they were small, consisting solely of mole-rats. The Warrior scanned their faces, "So, you've all returned from the rodent fields? What have you gotten?" He asked, demanding them to display their kills, as proof that they were learning to hunt. Each cub deposited a single mole rat, save for Ammon. When he walked up and set his kills down, it was revealed that he had actually killed two, twice as much as everyone else had brought down, in the same amount of time. The warrior saw this, and growled, "I only asked each of you to bring one. Ammon, why have you made two kills?" He asked, a somewhat threatening tone in his voice.

Ammon flicked his ear, "You asked us to bring a minimum of one, you never said we couldn't bring more." he said, looking up at the warrior. It seemed that his eyes lacked the same innocence and naive nature that characterized the others. There was a dark look in his eyes, the kind that had seen horrible things and had grown numb to it, and already, Shebla could see that he was just the same as a cub as he had been when she had met him as an adult. He had learned to be this way from the very beginning of his life. The warrior did not say anything, and Ammon continued, "Muddied blood, or not, I will be the best lion here, what's so special about white fur, anyway?" Anger creeping into his voice, as though he were frustrated that he had not impressed his mentor. "It's just a way you look, it doesn't do anything, if anything, prey and enemies can see you from miles away, how do you hide when you're practically glowing in the dark?" He continued.

The semi-white cub was cut off as the white warrior growled, and slammed his paw right down onto Ammon's back. It wasn't enough to kill the cub, or break bones, but it was enough to be extremely painful, and cause a great deal of bruising. He cried out, from a mix of shock and the hurt he felt from the blow, but then he made no other sound, as the warrior had him pinned beneath his paw, applying so much pressure the cub couldn't get up. Shebla saw Ammon bare his teeth and clench them, past the storm of anger and pain in his eyes a steely defiance, one that wouldn't give in to this tormentor for anything. Ammon wouldn't cry, and no tears came, as the other cubs, despite their supposed 'innocence', began to laugh at him, and as they began to mock him, Shebla realized they were none other than Ammon's adoptive brothers and sisters, who had the same hatred for him as everyone else had in the last vision. The warrior pinning Ammon growled, "What did you say about white fur, dirt-blood?" He pressed down harder, and Ammon gritted his teeth, but said nothing. "Answer me!" He roared, the sound shocking even the other cubs into silence.

Ammon said nothing, and the warrior flicked his tail, "I'm waiting." He growled.

Ammon finally managed to open his mouth, despite most of the air being crushed out of his lungs, "It's not helpful in hunting...but you can probably find a different way to get around it...it's only white fur...things have survived with white fur before..." He said. He refused to take back what he had said, but his calculating mind warned him against blatantly arguing with his mentor. Even now, Shebla could see Ammon was calculating and clever, perhaps the only thing that kept him alive, if nobody protested such cruel treatment of him. It seemed that they even encouraged it, from the way Ammon's adoptive siblings had reacted.

The warrior growled, and took his paw off Ammon, allowing him to get back up, and take deep gulps of air. "Drop your kills off at the kill pile. Ammon, you are forbidden to eat any kills from it for the rest of the day, which means no dinner for you." He said, as he began to walk away, the other cubs trying to pounce on his tail, as though still a bit immature. "Everyone will be watching, don't think you can sneak up when nobody's looking. You're useless." With this, everyone dropped their kills off at the pile, and the warrior put Ammon's on the pile as well, to ensure he didn't go near it.

The sun was setting, and it was getting dark, so Ammon padded over to a shady area at the edge of camp, and watched the others as they went and got some of the different kills to eat. It was clear he was hungry, but the set of his jaw suggested he didn't dare give them the satisfaction of seeing him suffer. More time passed, and others withdrew into their dens for the night, but when the sun had sunk low below the horizon, the small cub looked up at the gathering stars, and did a strange thing. He began speaking to them, "They think I'm weak, but they're the ones who think they can get away with the least amount of work." He growled, and it seemed that he had developed this out of a habit, as lonely, yet social creatures sometimes developed a tendency to babble to inanimate objects, or to themselves. His voice was quiet, as though he were whispering it to someone close by, though nobody was there to hear him. "I'll show them, I don't need their stupid kill pile."

With this, he rose, and turned to dash into the woods, and time dizzily began to speed up, as Shebla and Egret were transported to a different location. Here, there was a somewhat-flat, yet sloped area, filled with multiple holes, as though there was some sort of small, ground-dwelling animal. The moon was higher in the sky, but Shebla could see it was only later that night on the same day. Ammon, visible because of the small white patches of fur beginning to form on his body, was crouching behind a bush, holding something in his mouth, that when looked at from a certain angle, would completely blot out his appearance from that perspective. Ammon was, in a way, using a unique form of camouflage, which completely concealed his paler colors, which would give him away to prey. He slowly crept up on his belly, and then rose up and dashed out, grabbing something by a hole, dropping the brush as he did so, and there was a dying squeak, as he lifted up a mole rat. That quickly, he had made a kill, and the time it took to get to the field was perhaps the only reason he had only gotten one just now. Ammon was able to kill a lot more, at this speed, although for now, one mole rat was sufficient prey.

He slowly padded over to a shaded crag of rock, and sat down to eat his kill, having gotten around the withheld food that the warrior had tried to punish him with. As he tore into the meat, he looked up at the stars, "I told you, they can't beat me." He said, as though affirming to the stars that he had proven what he had said he could do. He hadn't needed their kill pile to satisfy his hunger, after all.

Egret slowly flicked her tail, "Ammon did not follow all the orders or conform to the society of Starclimb Pride, and he would often speak to the stars, when he was younger. They never mentioned much of spirits in the pride, but somehow, he sensed that they were a presence that listened. The stars are considered the many spirits watching over the mortal world, and Ammon spoke to them, because they were the only ones that didn't hear his words and mock him, or punish him for what he believed. He stopped talking to the spirits when he was older, but for much of his life, he had no presence to comfort or truly guide him. He had to find his own confidence, without others to help him, and he had to come up with creative ways to survive in Whitestrike Clan, because the punishments would have made him starve to death as soon as he was able to eat meat, because there were so many, and so much that involved withholding food. The reason that he was punished, was because, due to their pure white pelts, his brothers and sisters were lucky to get even one mole rat. Ammon killed two almost immediately, making sure they didn't spy and learn how he himself did it, he wouldn't let them take credit, not when he has many reasons to hate them. He spent most of the day amused, watching them all fail over and over again to catch something. Ammon was punished, not because he was being rude, but because he spoke a truth that everyone wanted to ignore, although there was no way of doing so. The truth was what made my son strong, because he never gave into the others, as he knew much of their beliefs were founded on lies."

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Mon Feb 17, 2014 12:27 pm

Shebla soaked in the information like a wet rag. Like a sponge she took in what she'd been given to see. She looked up at Egret. "After my mother died, I often spoke to stars and trees too. But mostly the moon. Because its beauty just reminded me of her..." She was silent for a while. "Ammon is strong. He is brave. If I lived in that society... I would have gone insane. I wouldn't be able to properly hold myself. We can merely hope that no such societies exist today."

Shebla flicked her tail, her ears flattened sadly for a minute. "Ammon inspires me. It's like a message to keep strong. But also one that warns to keep from allowing prejudice to corrupt one's heart. A society such as he's seen can transform a person gradually. It can destroy every shred of compassion and knowledge of that compassion, within a cat."

There was a stillness in her. Something that spoke of her power to break through walls formed from years of hatred. Years of infliction, being mistreated.

_______________________

Kavis prowled across what was the bloody battle. There were still a few bodies on the ground that the Sunset Pride warriors hadn't gotten to yet. Now the dark, cloudy sky was thick and completely black. The sun had barely risen and the fields were still cast deep in the dark. Light rain was falling again. The rim of Kavis's mane was moist with the droplets. His scarlet eyes looked down at the few bodies. He stepped across them one by one, seeing if any were still alive.

He stopped for a moment, tasted the rain. Closed his eyes. Breathed in the sweet scents of early dawn. And he heard a small mewling from the scattered bodies. A very young lion, in early adolescence.... lie on the ground with a bloody cut in his side. He was still alive and would probably survive.

Kavis's powerful paws stepped over the dead bodies to this live one.

"H-help..." the child said. Kavis slowly reached forward with his paw, and or a moment this young boy thought he meant to extend a paw to help him.

Kavis grabbed the cub by the throat and gently raised him up a few inches, and a little closer to him. Then he brought him up some more, closer to eye level. There was no look of hatred, not anger or wickedness in his eyes. But calmness. He was calm. Completely. Calm. And that was the only readable emotion.

"A world where only the strong survive... And the weak die. That is where we live. Unfortunate... for you at least. For you have proven yourself to be the weaker one on this night. Forgive me, child. Forgive me... But you can't take back what you've done..."

It seemed that in those last words, Kavis wasn't meaning this for the cub, rather for himself. And it seemed odd. The cub looking up at his black-furred face in fear. Kavis placed his free claws over the cub's eyes, and with one gentle, swift swipe... The cub was dead. He let him fall.

Three bodies in total now lay on the ground. Five had been killed that night... Kavis looked up at Zalika who was sitting on a gray rock, petting her ravens. She looked over at the horizon and gave him a signal with her tail that the enemy lions were coming.

Kavis's enormous paws stepped in the mud, leaving giant tracks. Then he heard a few lions emerging from bushes behind him.

"Stop right there!" shouted the voice of Taru.

Kavis turned around, his black mane blowing around his body in wild motions with the wind. He almost cracked a smile, but his emotions fell and the same stillness, emptiness, calmness remained.

"I know you... You were in the battle the other night!" Taru growled.

"And I presume you wish to attack me?" Kavis asked. "Give me your all."

Taru growled. "I'll give you a chance to run. And you'd better do so. There's five of us and only two of you."

"Five?" asked Kavis, seeing only Taru, another male, and two females. All snarling at him.

Subira emerged from the tall grasses. Her appearance immediately shot an emotion into Kavis. It was almost sadness, almost desire, almost curiosity. He was silent.

Taru caught it. He looked back and forth between Subira and Kavis. "I see. The Wicked Prophecy. Eh? Do you honestly think a young, peaceful, beautiful lioness such as Subira is going to waste herself on the likes of you?"

Kavis seemed to have one emotion now. It was a look of slight sadness. His gaze fell to his paws.

Taru shook his head. "You're a disgrace to lion kind. Get out of here before I change my mind in letting you go."

"Subira" Kavis slowly uttered. She growled at him in response. "I never did get the chance to talk much to you."

"And you never will" said Subira

"...Alright" Kavis said quietly as he began to turn. "Should you ever change your mind... Come to the Shadingtree at midnight. Any night."

"In your dreams" said Subira. Kavis stopped walking. He looked back at her, and for a moment it was as if he didn't believe anyone else was standing in the area.

"If only..."

"If only what?" she asked.

"If only that was in my dreams... I'm only taunted by nightmares now. Well... Farewell, Subira..."

With that he'd slipped away. Zalika had also vanished and her ravens were flying away. Taru looked at Subira, and she looked at him.

Kavis stomped in the high grasses. His head hanging low. The emotion of sadness was more emphasized now. He sighed as he prowled along. Before he knew it he'd made it back to the Shadingtree. That horrid, leafless tree. He laid down at its trunk while a few of Zalika's ravens sat on his back and embellished the limbs. It was going to be a long day.

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Wed Feb 19, 2014 12:10 am

Egret watched Shebla carefully, as she spoke, and nodded, "This destruction you speak of, that is what they did to him. The longer he went without anyone caring, the less and less Ammon felt that he could trust others. You saw, that even as young as he was, he was already beginning to believe that trust was a foolish thing, for no cub who has been treated kindly would have such a hard look in his eyes. Ammon survived because of only one thing, and that is because despite how many people might find his stubborn pride ridiculous, even idiotic, at times, it was also his greatest strength. As long as he believed he was capable of greater feats than his brothers and sisters, he would not give into despair. In truth, his belief in himself was what made him capable of so much in his life, for he has forged himself into a powerful warrior, and willed himself to keep fighting against those that oppress him. You have heard many say that he can appear and vanish as though he were nothing more than a phantom, and this show of defiance, becoming independent from the kill pile, was the first step he took towards his remarkable stealth. There are lions who have paws that let them take steps anywhere, and never be heard, but my son was precise, and learned silence as though it were an art, for being larger, he weighed more, and therefore would naturally sound louder. His precision is what makes his power as a warrior, as a healer, and as a hunter so incredible."

She lowered her ears, "Well, then, it is time for me to show you that other memory, from when he finally left this place. This is perhaps the greatest feat he ever did. It is the origin of the scar he bears on his shoulder, and I will tell you, before you see it, that no enemy or other thing inflicted it. It was Ammon himself who made that mark. It was a very deep, excruciating wound, one that without very careful attention would have become infected, and eventually killed him. However, that wound, in many ways, kept him alive." Egret flicked her tail, "Around this time, an outbreak of the disease that killed Snake, called Rabies, swept through the camp, and the lions rapidly succumbed to it. It was highly unlikely for one to escape death, once infected. Ammon was the only lion in existence, aside from Dalmaa himself, to survive becoming infected with it, but it had nothing to deal with spirits, but his own calculations, his own reaction. Had he not timed himself precisely, he would have been poisoned mentally, but he suffered no ill effect."

With this, the scenery began to change, and once again, they were back at the camp. There was a new moon, and so the sky was dark, but something in the area immediately struck Shebla as wrong. It was as though the air were charged with tension, and there was a sickening reek of blood that wafted about the air. The kills in the pile were festering, more of the meat rotten, than edible, and flies swarmed around it, filling the air with their hum. Blood, some bright red, the rest old and black, stained the ground in multiple places. It was enough to make one retch, for no sensible lions would let their kill pile become so putrid. Eget nudged Shebla with her shoulder, "Look in that direction, try not to breathe through your nose, I know you can smell the memory, too, so no sense saying it's not already revolting." She advised. As Shebla looked over, she saw two lionesses emerge from a den, one normal, another white.

"How long have they been like that?" The white lioness asked the other one, the medicine lioness, Shebla would realize. She would also notice that this white lioness could only be Ammon's adoptive mother.

The medical lioness flattened her ears, "They were all bitten. They're suffering the early stages, there's nothing else we can do for them, I don't even know why we're staying in this forsaken place, almost everyone is gone, the King, the Elder. Only a few of us are left." She flicked her tail, "I must advise you to do the right thing, help me roll a stone over and seal them inside, so they cannot spread it to anyone else."

The mother lowered her ears, "But that only leaves me with Ammon..." She said, horrified. Shebla would now realize that all four of his adoptive sisters had been bitten by something or someone who was infected with the disease.

The lioness shook her head, "I am done complaining about color and purity, there's nothing left for us to continue the bloodline with, what does it matter, anymore? I can't help them, they can't drink water, and if I get bit, I'll be infected, too." She then took a deep, shuddering breath, "Please, help me trap them so they cannot get out."

The mother flattened her ears, "You fool." She snarled.

The conversation was abruptly cut off, as a pure white lion, save for a single, thin ring of color around his midsection, padded up. It could only be Ammon, almost all of his pelt having gone white, by now. She could see the beginnings of a mane, just at the base of his neck, and around his chest. He looked between the two lionesses, already big enough to rival them in size. He took a deep breath, but when he spoke, he did not address them by name, as though he couldn't bear to speak to them, "How are they?" he asked.

The medical lioness lowered her ears, "They are infected, they are beginning to foam at the mouth, we must trap them inside, before-"

She was cut off, as there was an insane snarl from inside, and then cries of pain, as a pure white male in the same stage of life as Ammon charged out, and tackled his mother, biting deep into her neck, staining both of their pelts bright red, as she screamed in agony. The wound was a fatal one, it had bitten deep into her jugular, there was no hope of survival. The medical lioness screamed, and then rammed a large stone by the mouth of the medical den in place, trapping the other raving lions inside, so they couldn't get out. But the one cub, Ammon's stepbrother, was still alive. The medical lioness, a loving soul at heart, tackled the son, sacrificing herself as he tore into her leg. She looked at Ammon, and spoke through gritted teeth, "Please, I know I don't deserve to have you listen to me, but please, please know I am sorry for all that I did, wasting excess medicine on the others when they were hurt, and giving you none." She screamed again as the rabid lion bit deeper. "Please," She pleaded, closing her eyes tightly, "Run, live! Don't die with us, you are stronger than all of us." She then felt teeth bite into her throat. "Ammon..." The medical lioness choked off, as light began to fade from her eyes. It was a mercy, to die of blood loss before the disease took hold.

Ammon seemed affected by this, by the use of his name, by the one kind thing that had been said to him in many moons. He looked at the dead lioness, and then at his rabid brother, before turning, and fleeing. They darted into the woods, and the landscape moved, allowing Shebla and Egret to follow the pursuit, without ever having to walk. It began to rain, as clouds blew in, and Ammon found himself cornered on a cliff side, the same one where Egret had spoken to the wretched mate that was Ammon's father. Ammon turned, and saw his brother charge, and then leap. As his brother's paws left the ground, Ammon's gaze hardened, and he sidestepped, receiving a small nip on his left shoulder, as the lion sailed right over the cliff, plummeting to his death.

Ammon turned and stared down, breathing hard, and dripping wet, from the rain, before he looked at the small wound. He then bared his teeth, and growled, at no one in particular, "I will not die alongside you, even this will not stop me, now." He said, as he raised his right paw, unsheathing his claws. To Shebla's horror, he ripped into his shoulder with them, making a very precise, surgical-looking cut, as he intentionally ripped out a large hunk of his own flesh from around the bite. It was very deep, and the injury bled rapidly, but Ammon moved fast, and soon, he tossed the discarded tissue over the cliff, before lifting his head to the sky, crimson staining his legs, and roaring at the sky in pain, so great that it might have rattled with the sound. He then hung his head, and his eyes opened, clear, despite the pain, "This will purge the disease from me, I am sure, it cannot travel through me if it has nowhere to go." He said, clenching his teeth, as he limped over to a rock, as the wound hurt him, and flipped it over, revealing thick tangles of damp cobwebs beneath it. He reached his bloodstained paw in, and ripped it out, scrubbing it, to get out the dirt, and placing it thick in the wound, until there was enough to block the flow of blood, though the web still turned red with it.

Ammon growled, and continued to clench his teeth, as he slowly limped away, towards a path leading down the cliff. He would not return to Starclimb, for it was surely dead, now.

The scene then abruptly faded out, and Shebla and Egret were once more floating in a white void, Egret looking down at her paws in despair, her ears flattened, "I cannot...watch that easily..." She gasped, before taking a few moments to compose herself. Eventually, she did, and she looked back at Shebla, "As he said, he cut out all the tissue around the bite, and so, the disease with it, making it unable to spread through the rest of him. However, the injury was painful, and for a long time, he did nothing but try to heal it, until it was sealed into a scar that would not rip back open. He would carry that one scar with pride, but he will never likely tell you of how he got it, because such a memory tortures him, for it was agony, to cut it out, and more so, that he did it to himself."

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Wed Feb 19, 2014 7:53 pm

Shebla cried dryly. She'd been sobbing all night, to the point that even in a dream world her eyes were dry. Ear flat, tail droopy, she looked up at Egret.

"I... I feel so bad for him." After watching it she made the involuntary move to clutch her own shoulder, as though she could feel it as she watched him too. It seemed almost immediately her care for him intensified. Far more than it had before. And it was obvious by her sudden silence and the look in her eyes.

"Why... why do these things happen to good people? Ammon... He doesn't deserve any of that... That putrid Dalmaa, if he wouldn't have introduced sin into this world, this would never have happened to him." Shebla looked at her paws for several long moments. She quietly said to herself, "Ammon."

Outside of the dream, Shebla was in her den. As she lie asleep, she mumbled Ammom's name repetitively in her slumber. It got to the point where he would hear it.

She, within the dream, just stared back at Egret. "If... If you're showing me such deep things... Egret, what kind of plan do you have in mind? What is it that you're trying to cause?" Shebla knew she shouldn't ask spirits this, as they liked to keep their plans to themselves. She figured Egret would answer with something vague or a hazy riddle. And she knew she'd never get a straight answer. Never. But she couldn't help but ask.

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Thu Feb 20, 2014 1:04 am

Egret slowly flicked her tail, "My son, deep down, is lonely, and beneath the cold, stony shell that he has built, he wishes to be more open with people. He wants to feel and give compassion, he has great capability inside. However, he does not even remember how to do so, for he forgot what should have come to him naturally. He begins to feel things that are normal, but such feelings like selfless concern and love; they frighten him, more so than any foe he could face in combat. Ammon grew up, learning to question innocent things, to be suspicious of offers of friendship, to never trust that what was offered to him did not come with strings attached, or a price to pay. When the walls he built up began to break, he denied that he cared, and would try to seal them up again, to never let anyone know who he was. He would grow furious, when others noticed, because he wages battle against his own nature." Egret looked Shebla in the eye, "The reason I am telling you these things, is because you were wounded by the past, as well, and no one else in Sunset Pride can understand Ammon as deeply as you do. You have the ability to heal the wounds of the past that were inflicted upon him, the damage to his heart that the wicked world has done. Likewise, there is something that you desperately need, but do not have, that my son can give you, but he will not unless he thinks he can."

Egret looked into the white void, "You may think this strange, that I would tell you so precisely, but I am not so much an enigma as the other spirits. I will tell you honestly, that you have power that no one else does over my son. You are able to speak to him, when others would have misgivings, you dare to tread where others would be fearful. You do not fear him, though as a lion, and one that few know, he is a very dangerous creature. You hold the key to unlocking his heart."

Subject: Re: The Pride Days (IC): Hurt Thu Feb 20, 2014 3:03 am

"I see" Shebla says. "I've always been able to reach into people. Twist a few things. But that's usually natural for a medical lioness. It's not only a mission to heal physically, but to mend whatever emotional wounds an scars are left. But when I met Ammon... he was different. I couldn't grab hold of what it was, and I couldn't reach into him. His walls were strong. Very strong. After three moons I had begun to lose hope for him. Until you arrived just in time."

Shebla sighed, recalling something else. "Aziza wants to kill him. He's very strong, powerful, handsome, and brave. These are all traits that attract Aziza's attention. And she will kill anyone who poses a threat to her, or who is what she isn't." She sighed again, looking at Egret. "And he's been seen with me now. It will only make Aziza more determined to kill him. And even though Ammon is strong and clever... Aziza is also these things. Even despite her overwhelming blood lust. Aziza is strong, she is crafty. And sneaky as the night wind, as it creeps up on one's neck. And... And I will not take her from me. I will not let her take me from him. Though I'm never sure whether this is or Ammon or for me, I always feel myself growing more and more attached to him. I feel like I'm the one being mended. And I won't let Dalmaa's evil get between us."

She said this strongly and confidently. Slowly she grew eager to crawl back into the real world to speak with her friend. But then she would have to face the pain that was in reality. What had just happened. Kamuzu's death. The idea made Shebla cry every time she thought of it. It was worse than losing her own family, because Kamuzu had been an entire family to Shebla, all wrapped up into one person. And though she knew he was on his last leg, about to die anyways, the fact that he died the way he did, at the claws and teeth of Aziza the wicked, only made things unbearable for her. Aziza had bunt wounds into Shebla's heart that the lioness figured were unrepairable. Se was haunted by the thought that a medical lioness would never come to her aid, to heal her heart.

She looked at Egret. "I've been asleep long. I must return to reality, to face the loss of Kamuzu and speak to Ammon again. It's probably past noon by now. I'll see you again tonight, Egret. Until then, I must go."

With that the dream world faded. Shebla blinked her eyes open and breathed in the scents of the noon. For a moment she'd forgotten about Kamuzu, even despite her dream's recollection. But with another dose of moments the pain hit her again. A few tears slipped out. She limped out of her small den and into the medical den. She looked around, making sure nobody was in need. The only patient there was Ammon.

She tried to hide her tears. Not only did she hate crying, find it to weaken her, but it embarrassed her and it was obvious. She quickly tried to dry them and came over to Ammon. She sat down next to him.

A butterfly fluttered onto her paws. Usually she'd play with it, nose it, be playful and friendly. But she simply looked at it. Almost out of boredom with her, it floated away.

Her battle wounds made her ache and shot pains through her as she tried to sit. She laid down on her flank to ease some of it.

Jali came into the den. He had a large scratch on his forehead that gushed blood. Shebla sat up again in surprise.

"What in the world happened?"

"One of Zalika's vultures tried to get inside the den, tried to get near Sira and the cubs. So I warded it off, but it wasn't as gentle or scarce as most winged creatures" he said leaning forward for Shebla to get a good look at it. Then he suddenly noticed her cobwebs.

"But a better question is, what in Africa happened to you, Shebla" he asked.

Shebla limped over, grabbed some herbs, and limped back to him in great difficulty. "Zalika came here during Layla's childbirth. To pry in on her and Gamba's lives. Try to torment them both. Still angry after he broke her jaw. She got in here and tried to attack Ammon, like a coward. Poor guy can't even fight in the state he's in" she said turning her head and smiling to Ammon. Then she looked back to Jali's forehead as she applied some of the herbs.

"So, I heard some odd voices coming from in here from outside. I went in to see what was going on. And I was able to stop her before she harmed him" Shebla said finishing up. She stretched a small slice of cobwebs over the cut to seal it after she'd applied the herbs. "There you go. Good as new."

Jali put a paw up to his forehead to touch it, Shebla smacked it back down. "Don't you dare" she said. Then laughed. Something to distract her from all the heartbreak,

The king rolled his eyes. "You seem to be in... rather good spirits, since last night. Anyways I also came to discuss something with you. I... I'm not sure if you want to talk about it though. It's about Kamuzu."

Shebla's emotions immediately dropped to sadness. She nodded. Jali went on. "We're going to bury him and the others that died last night, up at Mourning Hill. I know how close you were to him, and I just feel like you should be there. Say a few words if you like."

Shebla nodded. "That is something I could never in my life refuse" she said seriously. "Kamuzu has been like a father, brother, cousin, uncle, and grandpa all in one. Anything I can do for him, I will do. I want to go and say a few words before we put his body in the ground."

"Alright, I was hoping for that" said Jali. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Shebla. I know how much he meant to you."

"It's fine Jali, blame no one but Aziza" Shebla said shakily.

"I'm beginning to worry you don't have enough room inside of you for any more heartbreak. Sira and I both worry for you sometimes. You handle stress so well, always seem so happy, despite all of the sadness. We just worry," Jali says flattening his ears.

Shebla smiles. "Well thank for your concern. But I'm alright, I really am. We all get used to losing people after a while. It's only a matter of time till we're so numb and emotionless we don't have a tear left to fall."

Jali made a sad face. "Heartbreaking, but... undeniably true. So much death simply numbs one's emotions." He sighed, looking at the ground, then back at Shebla. "Well I just came to tell you about tha as to get this scratch fixed." His attention fixed back on Shebla's wounds. "You're skills in the medical realm continue to astonish me Shebla. Such amazing cobweb coverings. And how you got them in some of those places, I'll never know."

"Oh I didn't do these. Ammon treated my wounds" Shebla said as she limped over to the lion's side and sat next to him. Jali seemed surprised.

"Well, very impressive work, Ammon. Thank you for caring after our medical lioness. Don't know where this pride would be without her" he said smiling. "Well the burial is at dusk. Do you need someone to help you get there? You seem weak to walk."

"I'm sure Ammon could help me," she said. Jali nodded.

"Alight. I'll see the both of you then. Bye," he said before leaving.

"Bye" Shebla replied. She sighed and dropped back onto her side again. The temporary happiness that ha she filled herself with for display was gone. Shebla was very good at pretending to be happy even when she was dying inside. And she didn't admit her feelings, not even to herself. She would t ever think to realize that she might need help. Help either recovering from Aziza's damage, or help destroying Aziza herself. Either way, she needed help.

For now her head laid on the ground, and she looked at Ammon. She gave him a quick smile.

"How are you feeling? Gaining any more strength yet? Anything I can get you or do for you?" She asked, remaining selfless through and through. Nothing, not even crippling wounds, would stop her from doing her job.

» The Pride Days (OOC)
» And Whatever Days May Come: "I love zombies. If any monster could river dance, it would be Zombies."
» Pride Days II
» The Lily in The Stones Lyrics (A Pride Days Song)
» And Whatever Days May Come -IC- "What'cha think? Zombie kill of the week?"