Characters involved:
Ilizi(xxx)
Kefir (xxx)

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"What are you doing?" Kefir asked, clearly frightened. A strange female had been watching him for a good stretch of time now.

"I saw you lying there all alone. I thought I would come and keep you company for a while...if you don't mind?"

"You are...the Kaar Oma's daughter?"

Ilizi laughed, the sound strangely delightful in a land of such terrors. "No, no. I'm her niece, though I think she likes to treat me as such. No. I never knew my mother. My father took me from her when I was very young and I have been with him ever since."

He was silent and Ilizi sidled up close and lay carefully down next to him. "You are wounded but they tell me you have the gift."

Still silence.

"Your name is Kefir, isn't it?"

Still silence, but the female was not one to give in. He was just afraid and she was certain if she worked at him, that fear would drop away and he would let her in. She wasn't known as the Lion Charmer for nothing. Besides, Ilizi really didn't want him to die. She could be a manipulative sort like those she was related to, but beneath it all she had a rather gentle heart. It was just carefully guarded. "I don't really like it much here, either. Do you know what they call me? They call me an Abukemoseum. And do you know what that means?" Her voice was sad. "It means 'abomination', and if it were not for my aunt's reputation those Nergui would have killed me on the spot just because I am of mixed blood. They look at me as if they want to tear out my throat. My aunt has ensured my safety but I am trapped here just like you. And so is she. We're duty bound whether we like it or not, Kefir. Our lives are no longer our own."

"And you want to live like that?" He asked, surprising her somewhat with his question.

She leaned in close, resting her head against his shoulder. "Surely," she whispered, "a bad life is better than no life at all?"

The shoulder beneath her head shook as the lion suppressed a sob and she moved even closer, pressing her body against him. "If we are alive." Ilizi continued softly. "We always have that chance to escape. But if we give up and die then what is left to us, then?"

They lapsed into silence in which Ilizi set about grooming the wounds on his face and shoulders; slow and careful so as not to upset him too much. She did not know how long they remained like that but when he spoke again the muscles in her neck ached and she was glad to rest her head against him again.

"Do you miss her?" The unprompted question brought with it a moment of confusion.

"Sorry?"

"Your mother."

"I never knew her. It's hard to miss something you don't remember."

"I never knew my father. My mother tells me he was a god and that it was very likely we would never see him. But...sometimes I wish I could have met him. I miss that. I feel like there's a part of me I'll never understand and, if it's true about him, then he's the one who gave me this...this strange trait."

"It is a gift." Ilizi corrected. "It is the thing that has made my aunt powerful. The thing that ensures me very safety. You should use the tools you have in order to remain safe."

"And become like the Kaar Oma?" Kefir replied unhappily.

"Kefir. Dear Kefir. The only difference between us is that we play along with the Nergui. We do as they say and pretend to bend to their will so that one day, when their backs are turned, we can take back what is ours. If you do not do as they say they will kill you. And if you are dead, will you ever see your mother again? Or that of your father?"

"But these people...they are murderers."

"Yes." Ilizi agreed, snuggling close to him again.

"I can't trust them. I can't trust Kaar Oma. I can't trust you, either. You are one of them now."

"What can I do to prove myself to you? We are all the same. Can you not see that?"

"I was brought here to be broken when physical pain did not work." Kefir replied slowly. "You are doing what you are told. You are Nergui."

Ilizi drew back from him and he turned, startled at the disappearance of warmth, and looked at her. Her eyes were bright with tears, though she turned her head so he couldn't see. "I only wanted to help. I don't want to see anyone else die." She paused, still looking away. "Do you know...before the Nergui came, I was a sheltered creature. I thought I was queen of the world, untouchable and brilliant. And then we were captured and I was dragged to the ground before the feet of one of the Nergui warriors. They meant to kill me then and there without a moment's hesitation. My aunt called out for them to stop and, when they realised she had the god-blood in her, they backed away. But there was another prisoner with us." She swallowed and it was not hard to feign distress. "They killed him and left him for the vultures." Then, at last, she looked back and their eyes met with a blaze of emotion. "I did not know him. Not even his name. But that image has stayed with me ever since. Believe me. I know the Nergui are murderers."

"They have done more than you know." Kefir whispered, shaking again now and trying to curl in on himself.

Curious, she moved back to his side and curled up against him. Perhaps it was best not to push him too soon. If she was going to save his life and please her aunt, this would need to be done slowly. Some were not so willing to do what needed to be done in the name of survival.

"Do you mind if I stay here for a while?" She whispered, becoming the victim to strengthen him.

It took him a moment to reply and then, with a nod, he shifted closer. "You can stay. But if they come back you might get into trouble."

"It's worth the risk." She replied, tucking her face against his mane. "I don't want to be alone right now."