The first thing she became aware of was the stabbing, throbbing pain along her side, as if her bones had been pulverised along with her muscles. Wincing she tried to shift, instantly regretting the tiny movement as the pain flared, sweeping through her before seeming to settle in her shoulder. The throb matching the beat of her heart, a fact she was suddenly aware off as her pulse started to pound in her ears.
Where was she?
She lifted her head, or tried to. The barest twitch of muscle tore through her battered body, and she would have screamed had she the strength for it. Instead she froze, eyes squeezed tightly shut as wave after wave of agony rolled over her. Once it finally settled back to an almost bearable level she took a careful breath, not willing to risk the return of that much pain. Finding she could breathe so long as she kept it shallow, she opened her eyes, almost jerking again but managing to catch the impulse. Her vision swam in a sickening blurry motion so she closed them again.
She had no idea how long she laid there, trapped by the bone-deep agony. But gradually she became aware of another sensation, that of cold. It must be getting dark, she reasoned. Panic hit her almost as strongly as the pain had. She was alone in an unknown territory, unable to move, let alone run. Willing her breathing to slow and her heart to cease its battering of her ribcage, she focused on what she could do. And that was to listen.
It was full dark by the time she heard anything at all, a fact she knew as she had finally been able to open her eyes without feeling like her stomach was going to turn inside out. There had been no bark of hyena or wild dog, for which she was grateful. But when she finally pin-pointed the sound that had disturbed her, she felt a shiver run down her spine which woke up the pain afresh. Of course.
Rolling her eyes in an attempt to see whoever it was, as they were approaching from behind, she let out a warning growl. Instantly hating how weak it sounded. Way to go Kyou…. Advertise how much you can’t move…
The footsteps stopped just behind her and she braced for sharp fangs tearing into her, but when nothing happened she carefully opened her eyes and rolled them backwards, finally being rewarded with the up-close view of a mane-covered chest and a pair of up-side-down forelegs. He was practically standing over her… Then her vision was filled with a face. It took a long moment for her fear to ease enough to realise it wore a kind and rather worried expression.
“It’s alright.. I’m not here to hurt you.” The voice was .. nice. Warm and friendly and also somehow reassuring. It, or rather the lion, for that was certainly what this male was, seemed to be examining her as his head disappeared from her limited view but she could hear him padding round her prone form. He spoke up again from somewhere by her front paws and she opened her eyes again, surprised that she had let them close. “You are pretty badly hurt. Can you move at all?”
“.. I don’t think so…” She answered, shocked at how breathless and thin her voice was. Wincing mentally she tried to look for him again, and was relieved when he moved back into her field of view. Standing in front of her this time.
“Try and wiggle your toes..” He said, turning to stare at her feet intently. When she managed it, albeit with a huff of pain, he nodded. “Now your tail.. just the tip.” Again she managed to do as asked, and the pain stayed at the sub-agony level it had fallen to during the day. “Well, I don’t think your back is broken, and your legs look ok, though they are badly battered.” In fact, she looked like one huge bruise, but it wasn’t the swelling that worried him, but the smeared blood under her and the deep lacerations over her shoulder. He could see the muscle beneath and what looked suspiciously like bone, but the blood had pooled in the wound and he couldn’t be sure without touching her. Something he was reluctant to do just yet as she seemed to be in some kind of shock.
Lifting his head from his study of the female he looked around. They were in the middle of nowhere, rocky mountains rose up in the distance, mud surrounded them obviously from the recent flooding. She lay amid the debris as if dumped, covered in mud and leaf litter. He had very nearly walked right past her, but the blood scent had worried him. Lucky for her he had caught the scent, faint as it had been. She didn’t look like she was moving any time soon…
Dropping his gaze once more he hid his worry behind a friendly smile. At least she had relaxed, evidently realising he wasn’t going to eat her. But she was starting to shiver.. no doubt from shock and now the cold as the night drew in. He studied her again. The wound needed tending, and she would need to eat, but he was in unfamiliar territory and had no hope of finding the right plants in the dark. Hunting would take several hours and e honestly wasn’t sure she would survive that long. If the cold didn’t take her, a scavenger certainly would. He was kind of surprised he had beaten them to her if he were honest.
Finally he did the only thing he could, moving to lay down behind her, shielding as much of her with his larger body as he could. Flank pressed to her back he turned and looked down at her. “Try and rest. It is going to be a long night.”
When he had lain down behind her she had tensed, prompting a wave of fresh pain but at least it was mostly bearable. Her surprise took longer to fade as he settled and spoke. Apparently he was going to stay…
All of a sudden exhaustion swept over her and she couldn’t have kept her eyes open if she had tried. Letting her body go limp, and intensely grateful for his warmth behind her, she passed out once more.
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