[LOG] Knight and damsel [Shilo x Sira]

[honey.roasted.ferrets]

It had been a couple of days since that monster had stolen them away from her mother. Shilo had never been so terrorfied in her life... Everything here was dark and bloody, filled with evil. The young cub could hardly believe that that red monster was her father. It just couldn't be true! Only a monster so evil could manage to steal them all away, without her mother able to stop them... If it had not been for her siblings, she probably would not have lasted this long. They helped her manage... But the rare times that they weren't around, Shilo feared for the worse.

They'd left her in a small cave opening, one that only a cub could squeeze into. It was dark... but a good hiding place. One that she could crawl into and hide from those demons. Those monsters.

The draw back... was that it was cold here, and damp. It made it harder to breath for the cub, and she started to shiver uncontrollably. Silently she prayed for her brothers and sisters to return soon... She hated being alone.



Sira shifted a bit as he finished coming out of his meditation. The gray adolescent was finally starting to hear the true stirrings of his demon. Everything was finally coming to fruition, and soon enough...soon enough he would be an adult. And when that time came, he would finally be able to take his place among Sparda's knights. That thought caused a ghost of a smile to flicker across his lips. Even if he did not become Aran'shale in the future, serving his grandfather as an Arca'an would be more than satisfactory.
He stood and shook the last of his sluggishness away, then started for his favorite practice spot. Perhaps someone would be there that he could spar with. Maybe even his father. Oh how Sira wanted more lessons from his father. Perhaps he wouldn't have noticed the scent before...but he'd been this way hundreds of times, and never had there been another lion's scent like this one.
He froze, then started searching for the source. What in Sparda's name...And then he peered into a small nook...and blinked. What a very...strange...cub..."Little one, what are you doing in there?"


Footsteps... Shilo's eyes widened as she heard the adolescent walking towards her. Her breath caught in her throat, and she could feel her heart pounding against her chest rapidly. She was getting to upset...

She managed to choke out a strangled sob, backing away deeper into the hole, as far as she could until the tiny cave became too small. "P-please... Don't eat me!" Her voice was weak and stuttered, her breathing now turned into rapid gasps as she struggled to breath, her heart feeling like it'd burst through her chest.


Sira blinked and raised a brow. Surely he wasn't THAT intimidating? Even with his voice being fairly monotonous. "Little one, I have no interest in eating another lion, be they demon or mortal." Blood them, certainly...but only after combat. And Sira was NOT one to fight a cub so much younger than he. Especially not one as...weak looking as this one. Sparda's followers did not prey on the weak like Morifaer's.
"Now...come out of there before you cease to breath, little one. Such conditions are not favorable for any."


Could it really be true? Could she trust this lion? He sounded nice... Certainly nicer than the others here... She gulped and tried to make herself breath, but found that she couldn't. She didn't really have a choice now... it was either choke to death here, or possibly die at the paws of another. It was worth the risk...

Slowly she inched forward, still gasping for breath and whimpering. Her vision was getting a little blurry now... She needed fresh air! She poked her head out of the hole, her ears pressed back against her head. Shilo tried to climb down off of the rocks, but her paws were shaking so badly that she lost her footing and ended up toppling down onto the dry ground, now coughing through billowing dust.  

[honey.roasted.ferrets]

Sira tried to catch the little one...but could only really cushion her fall with his front paws. Who had brought such a weak one into the pride? Even as a slave she would be nigh useless. Sadly, considering the lions in the pride, asking would get him a 'none of your business' or a more violent reaction. Most demons did not like to be questioned. And if her...lion in charge was one of the more violent ones, he did not wish to get her in trouble by asking her.
"You must be more careful, little one. Even the land here is not kind. Especially for one like you." He carefully moved his paws from under her and dusted her off a bit. "And those like me are sadly few, so you will not find much respite in the inhabitants."



Shilo coward before him for a moment longer, eyes closed tightly as she fought to breath. But when pain did not come, she slowly started to calm down, one eye peeking open to star up at him.

Whenever she was able to breath she cleared her throat, her voice weak and miserable. Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him, still cautious.

"A-are you... a slave too...? You're n-not a monster..."



Sira shook his head. "No little one. I am not a slave. I am a demon training to be an Arca'an." He gave her something of a smile. "But I do not believe in harming those weaker than me without due cause. And you, little one, have given me no reason to harm you." The weak little cub seemed to be having trouble breathing...he sighed and lightly shook his head again.
"Take a deep breath, as deep as you can without choking. Then let it go slowly."



Shilo was too busy gasping to really concentrate on his words too much. But she did as he said, her chest puffing out as she took in a deep breath. She held it for a second, then shakily let it out. She still wheezed and coughed a little, but was able to breath much easier.

She glanced back up at him and frowned, ears still back. "...T-thank you... Y-you are...? But-t... you're not mean... or c-cruel...."



Sira chuckled, the sound almost as monotonous as his voice. "Not all of us are cruel to those weaker. Those who follow Sparda are not neccessarily kind...but we tend to keep to a code, of sorts." Even Hakuna, he'd noticed, had mellowed and grown less apt to harm weaker creatures.
"I am Mori'earsira. What is your name, little one?"



The cub blinked slowly, trying to comprehend what he was saying. demons really weren't all bad...? It certainly seemed like everyone here was evil... she had trouble trusting him. Maybe it was all just a trick...

She gulped and looked down, still curled up and cowering a little. "Sh-shilo... It's... it's nice to meet you..."  

[honey.roasted.ferrets]

The little one must have been nabbed to cause her such distress. He did not expect her to trust him...but he did not mind. It would be a folly for her to trust everyone, especially in this place of darkness. "It is good to meet you as well, Shilo." He looked her over, then went silent a moment. "Have you eaten recently?" Just because she was a slave didn't mean she was to be starved.



It had been a while since she'd eaten a real meal. But she never ate that much, so it didn't bother her really. She was mainly more concerned about being able to breath or move without injury.

"My brother brought me a lizard yesterday..." She said softly, her eyes still focused down on the ground, her legs still shaking a little.



The adolescent frowned and looked about. "Wait here...I'll bring you a rabbit." He took off into the grasses. She had a sibling here? Were there more of them? Ugh...they didn't have enough new demon blood! Who on earth was dim enough to bring more slaves into the picture?! The rabbit wasn't hard to find, thankfully, and part of his frustration was taken out with killing the creature. Feeling a little better, he brought it back to Shilo. "Here."


The thin cub blinked at the rabbit that was almost as big as her. To her, it was a feast! Her siblings had lived mostly on their own, since her mother could not hunt for them... They'd lived off of scraps of meat, or scraps they'd managed to scavenge from. This... was too much! Her eyes almost started to water with amazement. "T-thank you..." She whispered, then timidly stepped forward to pull the rabbit closer by the ear. She slowly started to tear into it, her appetite becoming more ravenous when it came in contact with the warm, fresh meat.

By the time she was finished, she was covered in blood and gore. She blinked suddenly, noticing her wet fur. She frowned and looked troubled.


Sira blinked, a bit confused. It...was just a rabbit...The demon had never heard someone be so...thankful(?) to him. "You are welcome, Shilo." He watched her eat, keeping an ear out for any of his more vicious kin. Thankfully, none passed by.
He raised a brow at her expression after eating. "Is...there something wrong, little one?"


"Nnn..." She squirmed anxiously, glancing back up at him, then down at her paws. "I've just... never had so much blood on me... It's gross..." She frowned and started to lick awkwardly at her paw, trying to clean herself off. Her stomach was swelled out at the sides, the tiny stomach swelled from the small amount of meat.

As she cleaned she shyly glanced up at him, though always quickly looking back down again. "Nnn... Um... So... Not all demons are... evil? I don't understand..."


Sira couldn't help but chuckle. "Evil is a matter of perspective, Shilo. But no...not all of us are evil. We are not a gentle pride...but there are those of us who think first, rather than strike out first." Despite his better judgement, he proceeded to help her clean off. After all...blood attracted things that would make her already seemingly frail health worse. And if she was to be a slave here, she needed every iota of good health she had.



"Oh... I see..." She mumbled, squirming a little as he cleaned her. The bit of physical contact, that was violent anyway, was welcoming. Her eyes become half lidded and she curled up closer to him, calming a bit. "But... you seem nice... Though I guess I haven't met many demons... But Father seems very evil..." She shuddered a bit and closed her eyes, frowning deeply. It was like some terrible nightmare that she was trapped in. Her father was the devil, and she was some poor trapped soul seeking salvation...

"I'm not a demon... Father doesn't think so either. He says that I'm so sick because I was born without one..."



Sira was very curious now. "Your father is a demon?" There weren't many males old enough in the pride to be fathers...He rather hoped his own father was not hers, though with her coloring it was highly unlikely. "Perhaps...but it could simply be a fluke of nature." He'd seen the other pridal slaves, and save for a few scars or injuries, they were perfectly healthy.
Once he was finished cleaning her, he looked her over for injuries that might be hidden. If her father was as she said, he hadn't done this himself. If one was going to take or make a slave, one should at least make sure they were in good condition.



She nodded a litle, still laying against him as he looked her over, not moving unless he pushed her away. It was nice to curl up against a body bigger than her's. Her siblings were great, they took care of her... But she longed for her parents, someone to protect her from the world. She nodded and looked up at him with a slight frown.

"Oh yes, my father is the King, he said... He's very scary... Nn... I don't know... I think everything happens for a reason..."



Sira frowned now. The King? Great...if it was who he was thinking of, no wonder the cub had been scared out of her wits...and health! "Is he a great black and red lion?" Now he saw some similarities in markings...He would have to talk to his father later. Perhaps there was some way he could lessen the pain and horror inflicted on her...He was still adamant that it was wrong to harm one so much weaker than you! Prey was one thing, but a fellow predator, demon or no, was another story.



She nodded a little, shuddering from the mere mental image of her father. "Y-yes, that's him... Do you know him?" She lowered her head a little and looked down, frightened now. "You won't tell him that I was hiding, will you? I don't want him to be angry..."  

[honey.roasted.ferrets]

Sira nodded. "He is only one of the kings. The other king is my father. He leads the side of the pride that is less likely to hurt you." He sighed. "I will not tell. You probably have enough problems without anyone else adding to them. And though I will admit I am not the nicest of lions, I will not be the stone that breaks your back, little one."



"Well... I think you're one of the nicest people I've ever met... But I haven't really met anyone other than my family..." She squirmed a bit, glancing up at him shyly. If lions could blush, she surely would be. "I... I should probably go find my brothers and sisters soon... You haven't seen them, have you?"



Sira shook his head. "I have not Shilo. But they can't have gone too far." He stood carefully, making sure she didn't topple over as he did so. "Be careful looking for them, though. No sense in hurting yourself looking for them" Yes...he would talk with his father later. And Iartuupe. He did not want to talk to Morifaer's chosen king...but he would need to. Especially if this one was his daughter. He would need a little time to gather together words that would not be construed as insult though. The LAST thing Sira wanted was to get a few new scars because Iar took offense.



She wobbled just a little, but managed to keep her footing otherwise. She nodded and smiled up at him timidly. "I will... thank you again! I'll be very careful... Um..." She looked down shyly again, feet shifting. "Can I see you again sometime? You'll be around here, won't you?"



The gray demon nodded. "I will be. In fact..." He pointed to where he had come from. "I meditate there shortly after sunset. If you do choose to go there, however...make sure I acknowledge you before trying to get my attention. I can be a bit jumpy when disturbed." And he didn't want to hurt the little one on accident. Those tended to be the hurts that took to infection and other nasty predicaments.



She nodded again, looking more energetic now. "Alright! I'll be good and careful when I come visit. Thank you again for the meal, it was the best thing I've ever eaten." Her tail twitched a little, then she gave him another big smile and turned away to slowly walk through the rocks. She stumbled a little occasionally, but tried very hard to be careful, knowing she was probably being watched. She didn't want to see so weak...



Sira smiled a bit as the cub started off. Such a large spirit in such a weak body. She was not a demon, but she was a bit admirable nonetheless. He stretched and started for his original destination. Training first, father later. The rank of Arca'an was not something to take lightly, and if he was going to have a non-demon under his care, he was going to need to be stronger.