Hadaya was going to miss that red lion, now that he had headed off to continue his journey. At least, through that whole thing, he had met Jeshi, another member of the pridelands. It was always nice to make new friends, and he had a feeling that he was going to see a lot more of the young lion as he continued to learn more about himself and the pride. It seemed Jeshi was completely head over heels for a girl, and Hadaya wanted to hear how that whole thing went, some time.
He should have known better than to think things were going to be simple and normal today. Now that one weird event was over, it was just time for life to throw another one at him, not give him a break. That was a silly thing to think.
He saw a hyena running across the open plain, as he had passed into the rogue lands to go and find some food and a bit of new scenery today. It had been a strange impulse, and now he wondered if his Seer abilities were messing with him again, by putting him out in this sort of a situation. Maybe being a Seer had changed for him, and he was just getting impulses instead of visions? Except no, he still got visions, they just continued to not be useful at all. This was all just a fluke, and he was, once again, in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The green hyena was running as fast as she could, it seemed, but she was having a lot of difficulty as she loped across the grass. He could see blood staining her leg, and that was what was giving her such a drastic limp as she ran. It was clear from her form and her scrambling that this was not a hyena in the middle of a hunt: this was one being hunted. But what would possibly scare a scavenger like that so badly?
The large shadow that fell from the sky answered that thought soon enough.
Afriti, Goddess of Villainy, had promised she would hunt them all down, and she was making good on that threat. The first to suffer her rage was the green hyena, the one that had chased her off from killing that blue lioness. The interloper that had not had any business interfering in her fun. A lot of mortals had been getting too brave for her tastes, attacking her and pretending like they stood a chance. She needed to prove that this was not the case. She needed to show them all that their mistakes had consequences, and this hyena was going to be the first example. Afriti would catch her, and take her corpse back to her friends.
Then kill them all.
Gandama was running almost blindly, and only spotted the lion she was running toward when she was nearly on top of him. She did not want to drag someone else into this terror, but she had very few options in front of her.
“Help me, please! Or run! She’s going to kill me!”
Hadaya blinked at the green hyena, then looked at the goddess that was circling around. Afriti swooped down and landed heavily in the grass, growling as Gandama hurried to hide behind the unsuspecting lion she had unfortunately roped into helping her. She felt guilty, not wanting to rely on anyone, but she was too scared to really be thinking clearly. She crouched behind Hadaya, who was at least large enough to shelter her, though it did little good. Afriti knew where she went, and was not scared of one fluffy male lion.
“You need to give me that hyena, mortal,” Afriti said, growling lowely.
“Why are you chasing her?” Hadaya was focused and serious, watching the goddess without an ounce of fear in him. When before, when he was younger, he might have been terrified and his every instinct would be to run away, Hadaya was a father now. He was a loyal member of his pride, and he loved his friends. He knew what to stand up for, and though this hyena was a stranger, he could see that this Goddess was not helping anyone by hunting her down. Whatever this was, it was cruel and unnecessary. Hadaya felt immediately that he just could not allow it to happen.
Whatever that ended up meaning for him.
Gandama shuddered while hiding behind him, shaking her head. This poor guy was just going to add his name to the Goddess’ hit list, and it was all her fault! She had managed to save a lioness before, made a best friend that she loved dearly out of the whole thing. Two, in fact. But now she saw how much danger they were in, and what lengths the Goddess would go to in order to get to them. She was eternal: she could spend all the time she wanted hunting them down and it would make no difference for her. For them, though, it could be a lifetime of terror.
“What does it matter? Get out of the way,” Afriti said, glaring at him. There was something about this male that seemed familiar to her, and her eyes widened a bit as she watched him. He looked just like one of the gods she saw in the Haven, Failure. Of course. This must have been one of his spawn. How cute, a god breeding with a mortal and producing half blooded off spring. Not unheard of, of course. Rather common, and a tactic even Afriti considered to help better her plans against the mortals. But to meet one gave her pause.
She was not sure where she stood on half bloods. They had some god in them, and that was something that needed to be revered. They were useful, in their ways, because she knew they were left with small shadows of power from their noble lineage. Seers, they were called, and she liked the idea of them. This one, however, was annoying her.
“I’m not going to let you hurt her without knowing what you’re so mad about. I might not know this hyena, but I don’t know you, either, and you’re the aggressor here. I’m sorry, but I’m not going to let you have her unless I know what you want.”
Afriti considered for a moment. The longer she was out here, messing with these meaningless mortals, she was leaving her pride and her war to be won by the Toka. She was not interested in seeing Chivalry win out over her for that land, but she was also not the type to back down when she made a promise. She wanted to kill this hyena, but ultimately, it would accomplish her nothing, and did not really make her feel as villainous as her other actions in her pridal lands were. She sighed, watching the half god, wondering what use he might be to her some time.
“Very well. You can keep her, and her friends, if you like. Protect them. You are special, I can see that in you, and you have the blood of a God in you. I have no intention of hurting one of my own kind, even if it is just a part of one. But I will come back to make good on this debt you now owe me, half blood. When I think of a use for you, I will be back.”
Hadaya blinked. Wait, what had just happened? What was she saying, about being a God? She growled, grinned, and then took to the sky before he could ask any questions about the matter.
He watched her vanish in the sky, then looked at the hyena, who moved from behind him. She was giving him a strange look, glancing him up and down. To Gandama, he looked just like any other lion she had met.
Nothing God like about him.
“Thank you for your help,” she said, sitting down and heaving a heavy sigh. He sat down, facing her, tilting his head to the side and looking at her injured leg. “I mean… I don’t know what you did, but you made her go away…”
“I don’t know what I did either. But if you need some help for your injury, we can probably find you some inside the pride. There are those who are familiar with healing.”
“I think that would help, thanks. I’m really sorry to have put you on her radar. She’s not… she’s an evil creature, and I don’t know what she’s planning to do to you. I’m so sorry for getting you involved.”
“Hey,” Hadaya smiled at her warmly, “she’s gone now, and she said you would be safe. Whatever she thinks she might use me for, she’s going to be sorely disappointed. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Or I will, anyway. First, let’s just focus on getting you healthy.”
“Thank you. Really.” He might not have been a god, but Gandama thought he was one of the best lions she had ever met, and she would be in his debt for some time to come.
Word Count: 1,535 in Google Docs
