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 Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 12:08 pm
 The group of four arrived at the pride boarder more than two days ago, but Kweu’Rasi was just getting to sleep. With Rhaen and her insufferable friend out on the hunt and his mistress, though he was loathe to call her by title, occupied with the dozen or more vicious ankle biters this pride called cubs, he had curled up in the farthest corner of his mistress’s den and closed his eyes, and that was that. He was too exhausted to fight sleep or suffer nightmares anymore, at least for today.
His mane was a smelly mess and his fur matted in places. Of course it was uncomfortable, and when it wasn’t fear keeping him awake it was the knot of fur pulling the skin between his shoulders. He hurt all over. It wasn’t lack of self-confidence that kept him from cleaning himself, though he had seen better days; it was the fear of letting his guard down. The new surroundings only made it worse.
Footsteps echoed in his dreamless sleep. Kweu shifted, blinking his tired eyes. No, not yet, he pleaded to whatever gods would listen. How long have I slept, an hour or two? This has to end.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 12:32 pm
Sleep had come more because she had forced it than because she needed it. When she'd woken, she'd kept her eyes on the little slave-boy's girl. Now that they were in the pride, she was an increasingly dangerous sort. But slave boy. . . oh, what little things she could get out of him would be wonderful.
Licking her lips, she stretched and quietly made her way towards the cozy area the female called 'home'. Peering inside quietly, she found the coast was clear.
Well, except for the lump of brown and puke color in the middle of the floor. Her lips parted and pulled back along her teeth. A smile? You could call it that.
She walked the rest of the way over and flopped down beside him. She gave him a look over and assessed how he sleeped. He jerked as she came closer and she could see him trying to wake up.
"Feeling a little out of place, are we?" she asked him with a low purr as her tail tapped on the ground and she watched him.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 12:56 pm
The den wall that had kept him cool while he slept prevented him from putting much needed distance between them. She was lying right in front of him, less than two feet away, so close he could smell her breath and yet there was not a damn thing he could do about it except to dig his claws into the earth. What does it matter? If I ran she would only chase me, and I haven’t got anywhere to hide in this damned pride.
He crossed his front legs, using them as a place to lay his head while he watched her, his tail curled behind his legs where she couldn’t n** at it. He blinked at her, arching a brow. Of course I feel out of place, you twit. I’m not insane like you are, he thought, amusing himself. The jokes, though he didn’t dare say them out loud, helped him keep his cool.
Though his fur stood on end, the anxiety and discomfort crawling through his skin amounted to less than fear. He was too groggy, too exhausted, and too accustomed to the feeling; in fact, part of him felt relieved. There were other lions in this pride, insane lions whose depravity he could only speculate about. At least he knew what to expect of Paiya.
Well, more or less…
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 1:10 pm
She chuckled at the raised brow. He was curled up like a little cub. It would be so easy to sink her teeth into his neck and. . .
She cocked her head as she watched his fur slowly curl up defensively. The smile was still there when she looked back to his face. For a little while, she let the silence linger around him. What must have it been like to be so tired and not be able to sleep. "Hmm," she said with a light rumble in her throat as she crawled her way a bit closer to whisper into his ear.
"Where's your mistress gone off to, slave-boy?"
It was a low, rich sound laced with subtle hints and challenges. Like everything Paiya said when she wasn't screaming insults and trying to rip out your throat, really.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 1:35 pm
Kweu drew back, chin sinking between his front legs. Just the thought of being touched by her made him sick to his stomach. To him her fur was a colony of dark maggots and worms, her eyes crimson beetles, shells glimmering, and her purr the buzzing of a thousand flies over a putrid carcass. He could not look at her without disgust. “Why do you torment me?” he growled, holding his breath.
He knew it was futile to ask. When Rhaen and her cohorts first captured him he attempted to use reason to win his freedom, for he could never forgive himself for striking a female, even a female as abhorrent as Paiya, but they only struck him while laughing at his pathetic words. This time the question was almost rhetorical. Paiya tormented him because she was evil and insane – simple as that. Still, he found it suspicious that she always brought up the subject of his mistress.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 1:40 pm
She clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth and moved a paw over to slid it along his slick mane towards his forehead and then down to his nose.
"Oh, sh, lovely boy, don't be like that," she said with a grin as she nipped at his ear. The growl didn't seem to phase her any if at all.
The way he moved away from her was reason enough to be happy. "The torment is only in your head. We walked miles together to get here. Your home now, I suppose. Aren't we friends?" The smile parted and broadened and she changed the amused purrs into a low cackle.
"Come on now. Tell me we're friends."
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 2:00 pm
“O-oh gods…” He shuddered under her touch and wretched dryly as her paw left his nose, burying his face between his paws. Somehow her touch left him feeling even greasier. As she tugged at his ear he gritted his teeth but made no sound.
Maybe if he indulged her stupid games she would leave him alone. They had played this game so many times before. He was tired of losing. He moved his jaw and tried to form the words, prevented by the taste of bile. If he had eaten anything in the past two days he would have vomited.
Damn Ardhi’Rasi! That greedy, traitorous b*****d! Damn him and damn his wretched kin! It was all Ardhi’s fault that these wenches had captured him and dragged him to this forsaken pride of lunatics and zealots. If Kweu’Rasi ever made it home he vowed to kill his brother for all the pain he put him through. ******** his home, ******** his pride! They betrayed him and he didn’t want them anymore. He would make a new home somewhere else, anywhere else but here.
All he wanted was to go back to sleep. That was all. There were so many other things he could have asked for: freedom, kindness, something to eat, his old life back – without Ardhi. But all he wanted was sleep. Just sleep. He shuddered, feeling tears pushing at the corners of his eyes.
“If you were my friend you wouldn’t play this game. I hate this pride! I hate you!”
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 2:09 pm
At first, it was as though nothing would happen. Paiya only had that gentle smirk on her face, but she shifted.
Right onto her haunches and when he finished his little rant, she snarled and pounced. She pushed her paws into his neck and shoved, extending the claws into the male's neck when she felt any resistance at all.
"It's not a game, slave-boy," she said hotly and shoved harder in an attempt to cut off his air. "If I can't trust you, I'll kill you. Just like that b***h of a master of yours. I doubt she'd even miss you. But I'd miss having you around, so don't make me. Maybe if we're friends, I can trust you. And I can trust you, can't I?"
The gentle purr was back in her throat again. It was easy to be happy when she was in control.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 2:33 pm
Kweu let out a short scream that died away as he felt her claws at his neck. He was in such a tight ball that she had to shove him onto his side before she could get on top of him and slip her claws around his throat. Trapped between the wall and a deranged lioness, Kweu made no attempt to move or attack once the shock wore off and gave way to cold, raw fear. He never put up any resistance when Paiya attacked. There was a time when he thought his refusal to fight would convince the three lionesses of the wrongness of their actions, but he knew better than that now. He had no choice but to submit.
And he felt so tired. His pounding heart was on the verge of collapse, but the fatigue on his mind was even greater. There was a moment when he wasn’t even sure who he was anymore. He wanted to be away from here with every fiber of his being. When he closed his eyes he could almost feel himself slipping away.
The pricking of her claws dragged him back from the brink. He gasped for air and turned his head, gazing into the pits of those insect eyes, reminded of the utter disgust he felt for her. His breathing steadily intensified, rising to a torrent. He wanted sleep, not death. The best part about sleep is knowing that you’re having it. No matter how much she tormented him, he knew he wasn’t ready to die, not yet. He wanted to live long enough to remember what it feels like to wake up from a full night’s rest.
He gulped and somehow managed to find his voice in the midst of his frantic breathing. “Y-yes.”
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 2:46 pm
She nodded and dug her claws in a little deeper to put some emphasis on her words.
"I knew I could." The claws were removed one of a time and she carefully slid from his frozen form and sat down a short distance away. Her tongue lapped up what little bits of fur and flesh had stuck under her nails as she watched him. "Good boy. See? Getting along isn't so hard."
Stretching out her body, she licked him along the cheek and chuckled. "My, you're so handsome when you're weak."
And then she gave him his space again. "I'll make sure no one comes in to disturb you, hm?" she said softly and trotted her way out to the cave's entrance passing him one wink as she went.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:34 pm
Kweu bit his tongue. When she licked him his body went rigid and cold. He watched her go, sneering while her back was turned, and tried to pull himself up again. His limbs felt weak and heavy. Panting, he finally gave into exhaustion. Even with his tormenter so close at hand Kweu could not stop sleep from overtaking him again. He did not even have time to hope she would be gone when he woke before consciousness slipped through his grasp like so much water, leaving him in darkness once more.
((Fin~))
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