[PRP] Flowers and Thorns (Cheza/Romaleos)

[The Captain Britain]

Romaleos crunched the small leg bone in half, enjoying the feeling of hard calcium cracking between his teeth. The antelope had been a decent meal, satisfying his hunger for food, but it hadn’t quite been enough to sate his bloodlust. Sure, the kill had been entertaining enough. Unlike most other predators, Romaleos was not in the business of going after the weak and sickly prey. Such food was beneath a superior being like himself. No, Romaleos only targeted the strongest, the fastest, the most spectacular of prey. The thrill of the chase, the adrenaline of fighting tooth and nail against horns and antlers, against something that could crack his skull with one one blow of a hoof, now that was a hunt. Going for the lame and previously injured was child’s play.
The large lion spat out the smaller fragments of the bone and snorted. The antelope had put up a good fight. Romaleos felt the sting of fresh wound on his cheek from where the thing had tried to gore him in the face. He’d left the thing alive for a little while as he ripped into its stomach for that offense. But it still wasn’t enough. He required something more, entertaining. He wanted the screams of pain and the whimpering of fear. He required something more...long term.  

[Kaliforneum]

Cheza stopped and put her nose to the ground, the trail of blood new once again. She’d been following the scent of a kill, her stomach grumbling with the thought of a meal. The truth was, Cheza was not a very good hunter. Separated from her parents, the young female had learned to survive from vultures and hyenas. She’d never had someone to learn hunting techniques from, so instead she’d resorted to scavenging off of the kills from others. Sometimes, this was advantageous. It was easier to just pick off something already dead than expend the energy to kill something herself. But on the other paw, scavenging meant she sometimes had to compete with packs of hyenas and wild dogs and all other manner to vicious creatures just as desperate for a meal. And if there was one thing that was worse at than hunting, it was fighting.
So here she was, sniffing out the remnants of something...actually not dead too long ago. A second whiff revealed that the kill was quite fresh. Indeed, the blood she was sniffing was not yet dried upon the hot savanna dirt. Momentarily, the lioness was worried the hunter might still be around, but Cheza only seemed to smell antelope. She supposed it was safe.

The Captain Britain

I literally have like nothing to do today, so I can totally knock a ton of tags out.
OR we could also start a Butterfly Brigade rp?

 

[The Captain Britain]

Kaliforneum

Lol. Thank goodness for holiday breaks, right?
We could! I need to up Rio's count. Pinta's too. All three of them together maybe? Would you mind starting it?

The lion’s ears perked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. He crept forward, slinking low across the ground. Romaleos peeked through his hiding spot in the brush, eyes locking on the intruder. Immediately, Romaleos’ eyebrows perked up. Not an intruder, but an opportunity. Clean white fur, sleek, slender build, the perfect prey. Oh how Romaleos wanted to turn that fur red with blood, to mar it with scratches and wounds. A personal pet to keep for himself, a flower to bottle up and call his own. Romaleos couldn’t help the wicked, toothy grin that spread across his face. He wouldn’t need to constantly go out and trouble himself with finding something else to torture. Now he could...have something to come home to, so to speak.
Romaleos stood up, making his presence known.
“My, my, my, what do we have here?” He drawled, his muscular body moving through the brush with ease. Blood from the antelope, covering his fur, brushed off on the leaves as he pushed through the branches.  

[Kaliforneum]

Cheza jumped, cringing back away from the large lion. His dark black fur was drenched with the antelope’s blood. The lioness supposed that was why she hadn’t smelled him. She looked at the stranger warily. He hadn’t made any moves to attack her, but his piercing gaze seemed almost feral in nature. It made her skin itch. Cheza settled for a small smile, muscles ready to bolt if she needed to run. “Apologies, um, sir. I didn’t mean to, um, bother your meal.” She mumbled, eyes downcast. Stay submissive. That was always the best approach. As long as she didn’t give him any reason to attack her, she’d be alright. It had worked for countless of other times. A lone lioness like herself couldn’t really afford to be getting in any fights. “I, um, couldn’t smell you over the antelope. I’ll just, um, be on my way then. Leave you to it.” The lioness began taking a few, tentative steps back, unwilling to turn her back on the male.

The Captain Britain

 

[The Captain Britain]

Kaliforneum

Can I just say, your posty-image-thingies are really pretty? It makes everything so colourful.
Also I remember now why I usually don't play evil characters. I'm creeping myself out lol.

No! She was getting away. Romaleos would never forgive himself if he let such a beautiful flower get away from him. How often was it that the perfect toy just stumbled into his hands? “No, no, please!” He bolted forward, but remained out of her personal space. “You’re not bothering me at all. In fact, I welcome the company.” The male said with another grin. “It can get rather lonely, here on the grasslands. Leaves me starving for...someone to chat with.” Oh, how his claws itched just imagining what it would be like to draw blood from this delicate desert rose. "Tell me, what is a lady such as yourself called?” Names were important, after all. Names had power. Romaleos could take a name, a memory of parents love for their child, and turn it into something that invoked fear into the hearts of his victims. The long-term ones, of course. His short-term ones...well...he generally didn’t care enough to learn their names before killing them.  

[Kaliforneum]

Okay, she was getting some seriously creepy vibes from this guy. Usually she had some sort of the same mantra, enjoying the chance to talk with others beyond the “get away from my food before I eat you as well” conversations she usually had with other scavengers. But this lion? Cheza wanted nothing more than to put an entire elephant’s herd between him and herself. No thank you. But the way he had practically pounced at her when she tried to leave? Perhaps she should indulge him a little before trying to run. “Um, I’m Cheza. Nice to meet you.” She smiled awkwardly, put off by the amount of teeth showing in the strange lion’s grin. Honestly it looked more like a snarl than a smile. “It, um, can get pretty lonely out here. Always nice to have, um, someone to spend time with.” Cheza laughed awkwardly, eyes darting back and forth, almost looking for an excuse to leave.

The Captain Britain

Doooooow. Thanks. heart
And LOL. You should be creeping yourself! Poor little Cheza.

 

[The Captain Britain]

Kaliforneum

YOU WANTED EVIL. YOU'RE GETTING EVIL.

Romaleos chuckled. “Yes, time.” He approached the female, angling himself to begin circling her. His eyes roamed over the lioness, sizing her up. She did have very beautiful features. Her fur was impeccably well groomed, despite the hardships that rogue life often imposed upon loners. She could do to gain a little weight, but she seemed relatively healthy. Underneath her small, slender frame, Romaleos saw the potential muscles and power. Though she didn’t show them herself, Cheza looked to have the genes of large, strong lions. Genes that Romaleos could use. He certainly wasn’t what one would think of as a family man, but the idea of siring children had long been growing in the back of his mind, children that he could teach the ways of pain and torture, children that he could send out into the world to continue on his legacy of fear. Perhaps this female could be of more use than just a plaything for his bloodlust. Perhaps Romaleos had just found the perfect vessel for bearing the next generation of monsters.  

[Kaliforneum]

Cheza swallowed nervously as the male circled her, silent, his eyes wandering all over. Okay. It was time to split. Obviously this guy, whose name she still didn’t know, was getting the wrong idea about what was going down. First off, who just wanders up to a stranger covered in blood? Sure, the lion had just been eating, but there was blood all over his body. It was as if he had just rolled in the antelope’s blood for kicks. Gross. He could at least make an effort to groom himself. Second, did he seriously think this seduction method was working? Because it wasn’t. He had said he wanted something to chat with, and know he wasn’t speaking a word, walking around her and looking at her like she was a juicy steak.
Ugh, food. She still hadn’t eaten. That was it. Cheza would just leave, put some distance between her and this creep, and hopefully find some food. “Well, um, this was nice, but I should probably be going…” The female began heading farther into the brush, tense and nervous.

The Captain Britain

 

[The Captain Britain]

Kaliforneum

Romaleos felt an involuntary growl bubble up within his chest. His desert rose, his pet, thought she could just walk away from him? Then she had made a very grave mistake indeed. Romaleos’ claws slipped out of their sheaths, ready to slice at flesh. Thankfully, Cheza wouldn’t need to be kept in pristine condition to produce strong cubs. A few surface wounds would make little difference. And it did appear as if she would need to be beaten into submission. “Actually, my flower, I don’t think you’re going anywhere.” With a roar, the male lunged and pounced, aiming to knock Cheza over and pin her down. There was a nice cave Romaleos had passed by a day or two ago. The lion would drag her, unconscious if need be, to the cave and lock her in there with a few well-placed rocks. In time, she would learn to stay put without such security measures, but in the beginning, Cheza would require training.  

[Kaliforneum]

Cheza’s scream of terror was cut off as the large lion sent her tumbling into the dirt. His weight knocked the breath out of her and she was left gasping for air. His claws dug into her fur, drawing blood. “Get off me!” Cheza shouted when she had regained her breath. She tried to squirm out of the lion’s grasp, but it only dug his claws in farther. The lioness scrambled at the dirt, her claws digging tiny trenches as she tried in vain to find traction to pull herself away. This was so not happening. She was not going to meet her end by begin another lion’s meal.

The Captain Britain

You are totally free to scratch her up before she runs in whatever way you’d like, so long as it isn’t fatal or super srs.

 

[The Captain Britain]

Kaliforneum

Thank you! That makes things a little easier. I can edit this though if you want. Tone it back a little. Also he is ready for her escape, so take it away!

The lion bit hard onto the female’s neck, shaking it roughly. He used his claws to flip the female onto her back, dragging his nails as he went and creating more scratches. Now her throat and stomach were exposed, perhaps she’d be a little bit more cooperative. With one might swipe, Romaleos bashed his paw into her face to try and quiet her screaming. “Now now, sweet flower, that’s no way to treat a friend. The world out there is dangerous. I’ll keep you safe, hmm? Wouldn’t you like that, flower?” He dragged a claw down her face and partially across her throat, licking his lips at the small red beads of blood that were forming. “You’ll be all mine, and no one else will ever be able to touch you.” Romaleos grinned, leaning in to sniff at the sweet, tangy smell of blood. “Except for our children, of course. You’ll like that, won’t you?”  

[Kaliforneum]

Cheza froze. Okay, this was worse. Children? She’d rather be eaten. She needed to find a way to get free, but there was no way she was going to be able to overpower the large male. And at this point, she didn’t think talking was going to work very well either. Cheza needed to think, and she needed to think fast. Her paws pushed against the ground, hoping to find some sort of leverage to maybe place a well-aimed kick right between the...the dirt! Her paws moved again, pushing the loose sand from side to side. This male was definitely stronger, but his muscles wouldn’t be of any use if he couldn’t see! “In your dreams!” She hissed, throwing her paws up into his face and rubbing dirt into his eyes. Now blinded and distracted, the lioness scrambled up to her paws and bolted, running as fast as she possibly could into the grass.

The Captain Britain

Naw bro, you are good! That is perfect! I'll probably see if I can get that scar edited on.
This is probably the last from me.

 

[The Captain Britain]

Kaliforneum

Then this is last from me as well! And then we can get the next one started.

He reared up and roared in pain, enraged at the betrayal of his flower. He rubbed at the dirt, trying to blink it away. “You think you can run from me, Cheza?” Romaleos snarled, water streaming down his cheeks from his irritated eyes. Through his blurred vision, he could barely make out the female’s white form bounding away. The lion shook his head, rubbing once more. “I know your scent, flower! We were meant to be! It was fate that brought you into my hands today.” He stood up, growling and snarling, his vision now clear again. “I’ll find you, flower. I won’t stop until you’re mine once more!” Romaleos took off after her, following her tracks, beginning the hunt.