[PRP] Don't Let Them In (Eshe x Bekh)

[Neon Fly]

Location: Temple Ruins; the center of the fracturing pride lands.
Time: Late Afternoon; the sun has already peaked and begun to make it's descent.

What the hell do you think you're doing?! Get out!

The walls still felt as if they carried the echo of Bekh's outraged roar. Maybe it was the otherwise deafening silence that caused his voice to leave such an extended impression, just as his breath seemed to be the only thing instilling life into a land that had been abandoned. Breath that came in quick, harsh pants after chasing a trespassing leopard from one of the den chambers within the sprawling complex. He'd sent her tumbling end over end with a heavy swat to the rump, but she'd managed to get a decent swipe in before disappearing across the sand muttering obscenities about his lack of hospitality.

Bekh happened to think himself more than generous, after all, she would have been easy to track and on the shifting dunes he had the advantage in battle, but he let her escape with her life. s**t, in these desperate times he had been downright noble!

An ear twitched idly. He felt more than saw the blood beginning to pool beneath his cheek from where he lay upon the cool stone floor, leaving a wet sensation against his fur. For such a shallow wound it was certainly proving to be a nuisance, a weary sigh pulling at the length of his ribcage. A great deal of consideration was given toward the idea of bathing in the lake that existed within the temple grounds, overshadowed only slightly by the thought of how many times his mother had scolded him in the past for attempting such things. With a small snort of disdain Bekh rolled off his shoulder, pulling his long frame upright.

There was an immediate androgyny about him. Still wearing the long legs of adolescence his shape remained an ever disconcerting thing. Not quite possessing the slender shapeliness that presented itself in most Dawnwalker females, yet neither was he quite so broad or muscular in build as the pride's males--in spite of his best efforts to obtain the desired mass. Of course whatever he had resembled in the days of plenty had diminished greatly over the months, leaving a physique that continued to grow more skeletal with each passing day.

Strangers arrived almost daily now to encroach upon the Tuait'tekem. Occasionally they succeeded in taking bites out of the land, at least until the lone Guardian discovered them and fought to take it back. How much longer could he last? His body wore the story of a futile battle in slowly mending wounds. How much longer before there were too many to hold off? Before brute force and sheer numbers overpowered his agility and warrior prowess?

The dark lion, dappled in rosettes and stripes that mimicked the colors of the edge of dawn had meant to head into the oases where he could wash the layer of dust and both fresh and old blood from his fur where it was relatively well concealed, yet he found himself staring down yet another trespasser. Hard, dark eyes unyielding as Bekh lifted his head and squared his shoulders tightly, mentally fortifying himself.

What do you want?

Cajanic

Sorry for the wait!

 

[Cajanic]

How long had it been since she had been home? Since she had seen the familiar sights of a home she had grown up in? Since she had felt comfortable and safe in a location? It felt like it had been an eternity since such things had been a truth for her. Since having to leave her home, she hadn't had any contact with her family. With the friends she had once loved and trusted with her heart. When everyone had scattered, those ties had been lost in the jumble, and she had been left to try and find her path all on her own, something she had not been prepared for. Never would she have given a thought to living the rogue life- she just wanted to find home again.

But as she looked around the abandoned pride, it was clear she would not find a home in the place she had once loved with all her heart. Without the presence of everyone she had known warming the ruins, the lands just seemed... kind of creepy. Cold.

It left her feeling very disheartened. Perhaps a trip down memory was not the best way to spend the day- the pain was still too fresh for her.

She found herself sitting before her former home, head dangling as she whimpered softly to herself, lamenting all the things she held in her heart. All the regret and fear- the despair of not knowing what she was going to do with herself. As she sobbed her sorrows away, she felt a presence creeping up on her. There was a scent in the air- blood? It was faint, but it was there all the same. She raised her head just in time to see another lion moving towards her, standing some distance away. It wasn't long after that the lion demanded what she wanted. Getting to her feet, she turned to face the other, feeling her shoulders and legs grow tense.

"Do not speak to me in that way," she told the other sharply, "I mean no harm! I'm just... visiting an old home. What about you? What are you doing here?" She could see that this lion had been a member of the pride, too. He wore the same kind of jewelry she had been given, though it was for the other gender. An interesting thing to note, since she was having a difficult time figuring out if the being in front of her was male or female. She tilted her head, though did her best not to let her confusion void her caution. This lion was male, yes? He had the attitude of a male, though he was thin and clearly not in his best condition. Still... his voice... and his mane... something was a little different.

She had too much else to worry about to really focus on it, though. Since this lion, male or not, was looking at her like an intruder, she had to make sure she didn't end up in an unwanted fight.

"I was born here," she tried to explain, "this land is very important to me."

Neon Fly

 

[Neon Fly]

He recognized her as a Dawnwalker immediately even if he didn't know her, the trinkets of their pride decorated her pale body, white as the snow that capped the mountains. White like his brother's fur except for radiant, curling lines of gold that looked a lot like sun beams. Normally her appearance would have sedated him, she seemed to represent everything that was important to him in one body. Now it only infuriated him. As did the tone she used to answer him. The snap of her voice did little to soothe the bitterness that festering in his heart for his own kind.

They had left him. All of them. Given up and moved on to try again elsewhere. They hadn't even fought. Hadn't even tried. As if the Tuait'tekem meant nothing to them! Oh sure, there were stragglers out in the sands, who lingered close to the only home they had ever known and he tolerated them as best he knew how, but it was the ones who had left that he could hardly bare to look at when they dared to show their faces here again.

His own tone remained tightly restrained as he circled the unfamiliar lioness, cold and unwelcoming. I'll do as I damn well please.

So she was visiting? Visiting a dead pride as if it were some type of spectacle? Is that what they had been reduced to? An attraction for passing rogues? Like an elephant graveyard?! Something to gawk at in horror and pity and gratitude that such misfortune had not befallen them? The thought of it made Bekh sick to his stomach with rage and frustration and a helplessness that he refused to admit to. Lifting his gaze from where his claws sheathed themselves in the sand as if it were a body he could rend to pieces--though he couldn't remember looking down or flexing his paws--the lion brushed off her questions as if they were of no consequence. After all, wasn't it obvious why he was here? He had never left. This was his home and he wouldn't abandon it like so many others had.

Instead, he struck right to the heart of the matter, with a cruel, unsympathetic stare. If it's so important, why'd you leave?

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Eshe felt her anger mounting as she heard the lion snap back at her, informing her that he was going to do as he pleased. Well, that was just rude! She frowned, doing her best not to let her fear show as she continued to watch the other. She frowned in distrust, eying him up carefully. She was being circled, and she didn't like it- it made her feel like she was going to be attacked at any moment.

The attitude she was getting didn't help much, either.

"We had no choice but to leave," she hissed back, "there was plenty of reason to go! This pride is dead, buddy, and not all of us wanted to die along with it! Besides, what business is it of yours why I left or why I'm back? My life is my own and I will do with it as I please- it's not your place to tell me what I'm doing right or wrong! I wanted to come back and show my old home some respect! Excuse me if that's somehow a crime!" She stomped her paws, holding her ground as she watched the other.

This was not going well, she supposed, but she wasn't going to just run away because someone told her to! It was a bother.

Neon Fly