Jabari didn't see it coming. Usually she would have a vision, be one step ahead, but lately her visions were clouded. It was the leotah over, and over again. While she dreamt and saw wars and attacks, she was playing back steps the leotah was taking. It was consuming her every fiber and she growled annoyingly.. Well up until the stampede.
It was day break, and having such restless dreams... death. Blood spilled.. Screaming. It left her so out of it for the past few days that it exhausted her which was why when the rumble started, she had still been hafl asleep til she was jolted forward. It took a hoove stomp near her back leg to push ehr foward and they had already been upon her. In front of her, hooves jumped high above her and landed and she made a run for it. Going with the flow of traffic but enough to feel the adrenline pumping now. With the dust kicking up, she hadn't seen that the wildebeasts had turned and she ran straight off the cliff. Her paws slid, and when she had saw just a glimmer of absent dust and saw just air, her back claws slid against it and had left her swinging with her front paws grasping for salvation, but it ended when hooves stepped on her and she let go.. Along with her a few other wildebeasts joined her in the fall. In mid fall-
She grabbed on to a crying wildebeast and once they landed- she bounced off and smashed in to the ground- rolling and having flew off. Her own body kicking up dust as it continued to roll and her final destination, was her back smashing in to the wall of teh cliff...
Wildebeass beside her dead.. and if it hadn't been for her quick manuver, she would have followed them to the ever after.
[ Vision phase ]
"I think she would make a goooooood pelt~~~ don't you think?"
"Can I keep the bones?"
"Oh surely it would be fun to watch her scream~~"
-SCREEEEAAAMMMMMMMM-
[ Vision end ]
"No...Gotta...find...her.." Her mouth lipped...
After hanging around Chozi and the Koti Kaikille pride for a few days she had decided she would head back the direction she had come a few days before. It had been a day before that when she had run into the feirce lioness that had saved her neck that late evening. She would remember that moment and make sure to not allow herself to be placed in such situations. Though it wasn't anything she had done, it was just rare bad luck that had happened that night. The Koti had seemed like a nice enough pride but she hadn't exactly been looking for a place to call home just yet. It definitly had some friendly faces, though she didn't much like that they disliked fullbloods. She would come and see her new friend from time to time perhaps, but she would never call this place home.
As she moved through the swampy outskirts of the Kaikille she recalled what Chozi had said about the other prides in the area. She wondered how true they were. She was sure he wouldn't pull her tail on the matter, but it seemed so rediculous that she should fear for her life mearly because of whom her parents had decided to love. She must have been thinking a little too hard because her left leg sank as she found a spot that wasn't safe to pass and she pulled out a muddy paw and shook it before finding her stepping again and made her final few steps off their boundaries.
She headed in the direction she had belived she had come from initially and she felt the ground begin to thunder and she looked up to see some wilderbeasts stampeding in her general direction towards a rather cliffy section of the area. There was a medium size tree within sprinting distance and she knew she could make it there in time before the beasts were upon her and the cheetah in her took root as she raced towards it and leapt, climbing to the highest branch she could as they thundered below her. She watched the direction they were heading and it appeared to her that somehow, someone up ahead was about to get a nasty wakeup. Finding a spot to jump down from she thuded to the ground and fell into a rythem with the thundering animals and moved through them as openings appeared and made sure to keep away from the rocky edges as some of them made a terrible stumbled over the edge. As she watched, she noticed a familiar grey form dissapear over the ledge and she wondered if it was in fact who she thought it was.
She stuck to the back of the thundering animals and she moved to the edge once it was safe to peer down to see what mess lay below and after steep drop she saw a few dead beasts and a distance away another one with a grey lion not to far from it. She frowned and felt her chest tighten. Was that Jabari? Looking for a safe passage down she raced down the safest path she could find, which included her slipping a couple of times on the way down, and moved to the form of the fallen creatures. As she got closer the figure became more identifiable and she realized, much to her horror, that it was her. "Jabari?!" She didnt want it to be her. She came to the body and touched her face gently with her muzzle, it was an instant reflex for her to do. She wasn't sure if she was dead.
Chi Sohma
It was hours later that lioness finally awoke. First, her eyes slitted... looking about with a sense of 'lost' in her eyes.. Blinking, everything was blurry... When she was finally able to look at the world in clear light, it was the leotah.. but her visions had included her so much that she thought it was a vision/dream once again. Softly she lifted her paw and the sound of snapping made her arm go limp. once more. She cringed to the sound but she already knew she was probably half way dead or this vision was a lot more realistic.
Then she went to try and get up, and lifted with her other arm, then fell chin first. Pulling back a little in a curl.. She'd done a number it seems. Sighing, wondering if she could get out of this vision.. when really she wasn't. "You know.. its really hard to focus... when you got someone alive in your dreams.." Thinking she was talking the vision of the leotah.
Having waiting after realizing the other was alive she had kept as feirce a watch she could over the fallen lion. The time seemed to crawl by as she awaited for any kind of response from the female before her. She had been looking the other direction when she heard a snap and turned to see that she had stirred and was trying to rise up. This lion was a beast for sure, either that or she had a high pain tolerance. Either way there was probably no way she should be trying to get up right now. The last attempt made her cringe as she fell chin first and she realized she was going to have to help her get up if she could in fact stand. She was no healer and had no idea the extent of the injuries Jabari had sustained. She listened as the female spoke to her and she wondered if perhas she was out of it a bit? She gave a small smile in hopes it might make her feel a little better. "Perhaps your dreams are a way of your salvation. I am here to help." She grew close to the larger predator and offered herself as leverage to help her get up. She wasn't sure where was safe to touch so she was going to allow her to make the first move in this process. She was close enough to feel the warmth of her and she didn't know if Jabari was going to grab ahold and she drag her to her feet or if she was going to use her as leverage.
Chi Sohma
"No. You don't understand.. I'm suppose to save her." Shaking her head again and when the sight let her be in charge, she drew back a bit. Shaking her head... ears going down instinctively. "This is a first...." Wary of it. Then her brow raises and she shook her head harder til she reached out and grabbed ahold of the character. Then immediately pulled back. The feeling of warm fur... on her paws made her draw back.
"This is real." Quickly she tried to get up on her own accord and had fallen on a rock, but then noticed that she could push up on it. "Hadeth..." Getting herself together and softly smiled. "Im sorry...your here... I was looking for you.." Ears going down..
She didn't understand. Save who? She wasn't going to be saving anyone anytime soon that was for sure, at least no one other than herself. She noticed the hesitancy and had half expected it as Jabari seemed unsure of the reality of what was going on. She truly believed she was a dream. She watched as she extended a paw and then pulled back seeming to snap into reality and realizing this wasn't a mirage. She watched and then cringed as the serious of events followed her realization and she wished she would have just took hold of her in some way rather than try and be so prideful.
"I'm glad to say that this is real, though..." She gave a grimacing look. "I wish i could say differently about it.." It was sad to see her so hurt and yet try and play it off at the same time. Why was she apologizing? She flattened her ears slightly and listened as she told her that she had been looking for her. "Why are you sorry?" She asked moving closer to try and offer her some support in staying up. "Please let me help you. I'm sure you're not 'fine' as I'm sure you'll say you are." She recalled the last time she had asked if she was okay, so had skipped asking the question at all this time. Clearly she wasn't fine and she didn't want to give her the opportunity to play it off as a mear flesh wound.
When she was given support, she merely pushed against her and lifted up. It was scary to think that she could have spilled her secret so easily. "Just.. nightmares." She assured. "I'm fine really. Just that I was getting a bad feeling- just the nightmares really are making me restless. But, How have you been, are... you ok? Healthy?" All questions that slightly beamed an alarm in her voice, urgency to find out if the female was alright.
Her vision kept coming in and out as they spoke- and while speaking could see the pain and new wounds all over Hadeth. Shaking her head to kept the images away. "I think.. are you hungry? At all?" Distraction. "Maybe its because I haven't eaten in a few days." A partial lie to start getting the edge and spotlight away from her.
They were skinning her.. keeping her pelt- and using her bones. Her ears kept flat against her head. Feeling the overwhelming fear inside. To be skinned alive, her comrades, some suffered the same fate and she would not let it happen to another. Not while she was around.
None of what she was saying was really making any sense to her so she kind of just let it slide off her back so to speak. She gave the female a quizzical look and couldn't help but have a tone of laughter yet seriousness in her voice. "You're asking me if I'm okay? You just took one of the worst tumbles I have ever seen and you're asking me if IM healthy?" She gave a sigh and figured she'd humor the poor thing.
"I am a little hungry, what about you? I'm sure you're starving." Any kind of recovery her body had done probably made her ravenous and she listened as she seemed to think maybe she needed to eat. Hadeth was about to wonder about food when she remembered there was a dead herd beast or two down here with them. She had focused her main attention on Jabari she had forgotten about them.
"At least we don't need to hunt for our food." She tried to give the situation a positive outlook, even though she was pretty sure Jabari was hurt far worse than she was playing at.
"Thank you." She knew the game of humor. She'd done it to her brother and quite of few of her comrades. A sigh escaped her, at least she took that stress of her. When she finally took her attention to her surroundings rather than Hadeth, she found what Hadeth had been intenting to say about not having to hunt, because THANK THE GODS- she didn't have to, because her body wouldn't make it not one more stride if that were the case. "We'd need to find cover soon after. We won't be the only luck ones." She explained.
Turning to her. "I didn't think you'd still be around this area. I'm at least glad for that." Nodding. "And I get to see you." Slowly she raised her body again and slowly started to make her way over, and down the ledges. Sniffing around the ground and sighed. "Do you ever have the feeling like you were suppose to meet someone for a reason." Asking half heartedly. "Because, how I see it.... You saved my life." Which in her vision, Jabari would soon come to save Hadeth's life, well- that was what was in the vision. The screaming and skinning- because she was a 'hybrid'. She wouldn't let that happen.
"Plus- I miss how you sleep. All that drool everywhere." She chuckled.
She gave a nod in agreement to the lioness. They would have to indeed do that before the nasty critters came out to play. She frowned at the thought and hoped they didn't run into anyone. She glanced over at Jabari as she asked her a question. "I actually was taking a look at one of the prides that was around here. They're apparently all hybrids and I made a friend so I was being shown around." She had thought it wouldn't be a bad thing to get to know some of the lands around here. Though she had found out some terrible news while at it. "They did give me some disheartening news about some prides not to far from here though. It's not best to talk about them though, not while we're about to eat." The thought of what Chozi had told her made her nauseated to think creatures could do such horrible things.
She padded over to one of the beasts that had fallen and the smell of meat made her stomach grumble in response. She was pretty hungry it seemed. Worrying about Jabari had made her forget about the fact she needed food. She tore into it's flesh hungrily and couldn't help but smile at the lioness. "I guess we can call it even, after all you saved my life first." She wondered if Jabari had the strength to tear the flesh and contemplated if she should get some for her. She seemed prideful and didn't want to hurt her feelings but at the same time she realized she didn't care about her pride. She ripped some of the flesh from the body and brought it over to her and placed it at her feet.
"And I do believe there is a reason we meet those that we do." She gave the female a warm smile and then she flattened her ears and gave her a look that said 'oh no you didn't just say that'... "Not one of my finer moments, I'm sure." If you could have seen her skin she'd of been blushing for sure.
She couldn't help but feel the excitement in her chest building. Hadeth was something of a jem in her eyes. She was a hybrid, and beautiful in every right and not just in looks. "Were you going to be shown around today? If so, I'm sure- I won't get in your way." Nodding softly for reassurance. "Yes.. the other prides here. I was... just trying to find you because of that. Couldn't think of you out here alone, knowing those dangers are lurking." Her ears went down as she looked at her, a sigh as she scanned the area for any shelter. Anything. Not too far off was a set of bushes and trees, leaning towards the forest area not terrible far off, it was lightly wooded. Judging from the feel, the cold was coming out and that would also mean rain. "I couldn't save I saved your life before. I owe you twice over now, But I guess we can call it even." Shrugging it off and giving her a hint of a smile. She wasn't terribly in to smiling, her face just wasn't formed for that emotion but she sure was good for tough looking love. "I'm actually very fond of the memory..." She spoke low enough for the other's ears to be the only one to hear such confession.
As they neared, she gave a head nod. "Not too far off now, you see those bushes- I'm sure we there has to be a den somewhere in there. If not I can make us one for the night." Limping along but it was just sores, she'd be fine in the morning she hoped. Maybe go back to the brotherhood if Hadeth was no longer in trouble. She'd see to it that nothing would happen to her. If she'd let her stay around for that long. "When do you go see them? The pride I mean. If you don't mind me asking."
She shook her head and sighed at the grey lioness and then gave her a reassuring smile. "Actually, I had just gotten done seeing their lands. I was heading back towards the rouge lands to be honest." And she listened as she spoke about the other prides with a worried tone for Hadeths' safety and she felt the smile hit her eyes as she couldn't help but think how sweet she was, despite her rough exterior. There was some ooey gooey inside of her yet and Hadeth was determined to find it. "I thank you for being concerned for my well being, I was in safe paws until I left this morning. Then I happened to find you thankfully." She could only image what could have happened had something else came along before Hadeth had. She shuddered at the thought. Best not to think of stuff like that.
She would call it even then, she was content with that. She blushed at the females next comment and avoided eye contact momentarily. "Perhaps you'll get a chance to have another memory to add." She replied softly, still blushing. She cleared her throat and was glad when she mentioned shelter. She could help if there wasn't a den located in the safety of the bushes, but hopefully there was. Less work for both of them and Jabari definitely needed her rest. "I can help. No need for you to do ALL of the work when my paws are just as capable." She refused to allow her to work by herself, it was unnecessary. She looked over at her at the question. "This was my first time visiting them. I was thinking I'd come back here and there and see how my friend Chozi is doing. He's the one who showed me around the swamp lands." She really didn't know when she intended on coming back. It just really depended.
"I know it's never come up, but where are you from?" She asked curious about the females home. It never had been a topic of conversation and she'd drop it if she didn't want to talk of it.
"Which, until this morning. The prides nearby are what drew me to find you, like I said." Giving a nod of accepting such responsibility. When they made it over, she looked at Hadeth questionably. She -was- capable. Something she found in herself when she was just a young buck trying to impress her father, which led to his downfall. "I only came because I missed the drool but it'd be my honor to bare witness to more.. of your antics." Chuckling to herself and finally moved over a few of the bushes. Nothing. Sighing. "Alright, if your paws are capable. Start digging slanted." While she leaned up on the tree, with branches ever so hanging low enough for her to pull them down and bend them. The constant pull and release method bent the fragile tree branches enough to create a sort of roof. Where the branches that were too brittle broke, she used to make a pile. Which she continued on to start breaking branches of leafs off the bushes now. Piling them. "I come from the Brotherhood Pride."
Snatching branches of leafs and putting them to the side. It would make for the flooring so it doesn't have to be thick thick dirt upon them. Licking her paw and trying to straighten her back to relief at least some pain.
"It's a secret place.. A place where its peaceful and quiet. Not very many females, and those that are- must prove themselves." Looking at her. "It's not easy to prove yourself in my pride. But once you have gained it- its respect." As she started to help the digging along. Slanting it and making it shaped more like a hut of sorts. With her massive paws rushing out dirt by the pawfuls, and got up enough to push the dirt along the ton and continue shaping it. It was similar to how they made dens underground. She was thankful for the skill. "My remaining family lives in the pride, I miss it....at times." It took her a good few after constructing to even be able to stop. It hurt to move now, as she recoiled back and looked at what they were doing. It was definitely not the best work but it'd do..
"I'm usually better at this. Guess I'm getting old." A smile softly itched at the edges of Jabari's maw, letting out an exhausted chuckle.
She felt her face flush with mild embarrassment. She missed her drooling? She couldn't help the butterflies she felt within her breast and she gave her a soft smile and chuckled lightly as she started digging. "You flatter me Jabari." As things starting to come into place with the digging for a makeshift den and she looked over as Jabari began to speak of the pride she came from. The brotherhood? She wasn't sure if she had heard of them, perhaps in passing, but no one new of their location as far as she knew. Except for those who lived there. She helped place the leaves that Jabari had collected and she dug it out a little wider so they would both fit comfortably.
She listened as she spoke of its secrecy and how females had to prove themselves within the ranks. Interesting. Her ears perked a little as she mentioned that her remaining family resided within the prides lands. "Your pride sounds lovely." It seemed ideal, it was secretive and it offered security with that knowledge. She watched as Jabari tried to straighten out her back a bit and she shook her head as she said that she must be getting old. "I think it's as good as it's going to get. Lets lay down." She said wanting Jabari to lay down and rest. "Oh, you're not old." She said giving her a smile. "You're just injured."
