[PRP] Overlook (Kanai x Shavu)

[Hopefolly]

Kaelyndra

Once, not long ago, Kanai had scant experience and a shambling gait. In these times of uncertainty, she coped with a mantra of "just a." Just a cheetah. Just a wild dog. Just a lion. Her blood and bones were still young. So much younger than she felt now. Perhaps she had grown too quick, mentally speaking, and that had stunted her sense of empathy. This she pondered as her sisters rummaged through the den. Filched meat and strong-arm tactics... All part of their daily routine.

A lioness lighter than them and her trio of cubs stood near the entry, on the sidelines, shoulders taut in fear; heads bowed in submission. Kanai, assigned as lookout, lingered across the way, watching. She had glimpsed the female's past and found her to be a widow, a mediocre huntress, and aside from her cubs, alone. Their pilfered meal could mean the death of these rogue whelps, already too thin. Kanai caught the resentful, woebegone look in their mother's eyes and steadied her own gaze.

She was just a rogue.

On what day Kanai's means of enduring this repulsive lifestyle became stating fact, she couldn't say.

Raisa was undoubtedly the bellwether of her kin. She had the answers, and though her sisters doubted her at times, they found it easier to comply for their own sake. Their methods were brutal, but they did garner results.

Usually.

"There's only half an antelope left in here," Sadaka said. She scrunched back her nose, then turned to peer at the mother with striking blue eyes. "Less than half."

Raisa had her mouth full, her jaws clamped on the leg of the carcass and dragging it out into the open. A majority of bones had been picked clean, the most succulent meat and organs probably turning in the stomach of their captives.

They must not be hungry after all, Kanai thought. At least they'd die full.

Mother dearest had picked a prime spot to protect her brood, really. Bad luck alone had turned the odds against her. The copse of trees was so clustered it made them hard to navigate and their branches were covered in enough leaves to provide shield from the sun and prying eyes. Not just those of birds, but from any earthbound predator who may spotted their haven from the rocks above. Access to the cliff was not hard to find, and was in fact where Sadaka had taken notice.

Had a storm not passed through a day prior, had lightning not struck and felled a tree, their view would have been too obstructed. Just sheer bad luck.

A lot of that going around.

Raisa and Sadaka could handle the mother alone. The cubs cowered, but did not attack. As their assault became progressively ruthless, Kanai found her eyes drifting. Left. Right. Over her shoulder --

And there she saw him.

On the same ledge, in the same spot they had been not long ago, overlooking the gruesome scene.

Kanai tilted her chin up and stared.

 

[Kaelyndra]

Hopefolly

It had been that very same tree--the one charred black and ash white--which had initially caught Shavu's attention. He had crept closer to the ledge, tilting his head at the smoky remains, when he'd seen movement at the den's entrance. The rogue lands were a notorious mix of innocence and bloodthirst. Lions trampled it in every direction; prides seemed to sprout up out of nowhere.

Shavu boasted his way through the first, and tiptoed by the second. While he talked with proper arrogance, his lionhood was crafted of fruit, not steel.

That fruit turned to applesauce when two black and white splotches for lions emerged from a den, antelope held between them. He could just make out the echoing sound of voices. They sounded displeased, though the words escaped him.

His eyes had slowly moved back to the mother and what he could only guess to be cubs. Even at a distance, the female's submissive posture haunted the scene. Shavu crept closer to the edge. His mouth dried out.

He opened it. Closed it.

He could tell her to run. And then get shredded alive. Maybe the other lions were simply removing a rotten carcass for her. Shavu told himself a pluthera of lies to make it easy. As they descended on the mother and her cubs, he began to form stories. He would run down there and valiantly tackle one of the other lions. He would roar so loudly they scattered. The mother would escape with her cubs. She'd be eternally thankful. He'd get laid.

A thousand scenarios, each one better than the last. Each one he was going to do, just a few more seconds.

By the time he'd come to terms with the fact he would remain there, staring dumbly at an assault, life got impatient with him. It pulled him into action in a manner only gods should be allowed to do.

He made eye contact.

There, on his ledge, where he'd grown accustomed to his safety, Shavu became paralyzed with the same fear that the mother and her cubs must have felt. He could hear the numbing sounds of landed blows and exchanged vocals below, but he saw only a white muzzle staring up at him.

Maybe she was looking at a tree. Or another lion. Or the sky.

Shavu did not so much as twitch.  

[Hopefolly]

Kaelyndra

The most scholarly lions were not spared tricks of the mind in the conditions this male was subjected to. The sun blazed down, the distance between them was great, and the urge to pretend he was invisible must have been overwhelming. Kanai mouthed some of these things as she pondered them, so to an observer it would have looked as though she was speaking to her siblings. Beckoning them? Sounding the alarm? He had every reason to believe so.

In reality, Raisa and Sadaka were preoccupied with silencing the wailing cubs. They didn't notice Shavu or pay any mind to Kanai's sudden stride toward the hill. It was slow, then fast, then faster. Whether or not Shavu had moved, she was intent on pursuing him.

Eventually, she could hear them.

"Kanai?"

"Where in the name of the Gods is she going?"

The way back to the makeshift trail was laden with hazards from splintered trees to sharp stones. Determination alone would not make this trek a swift one, let alone possible.  

[Kaelyndra]

Hopefolly

The moment Kanai's eyes dropped away, Shavu began to shrink. His body lowered an inch at a time. The lion became convinced that his breathing was too loud, and the more effort he emplaced in controlling it, the more his lungs burned.

The ground tickled the base of his mane and Shavu nearly ejected from the confines of his own skin. One step back. One more.

Now, only his partially covered ears were his means of sight. They picked up on the echoing voices down below. Raised.

Shavu envisioned them to be alarmed, and he swallowed. Fear permeated into his muscles and he shook but he forced himself to take a step. For the life of him, the male could not decide whether it would be safer to hide or run. Both seemed equally as threatening.

So he crept, tenderly along the barren extent just inside the ridge until he felt brave enough to jog. He would be easily spottable in the opening, but his footfalls took him further and the most important idea on Shavu's mind was getting away.  

[Hopefolly]

Kaelyndra

Should any part of Kanai find sport in the hunt of her own kind, it was a small one. More of an echoing mimicry of Raisa than any fractured piece of her own self. Duty propelled her up the steep uprising surface, over the sticks and stones and all the things that didn't break bones near as well as she would when she caught him. She had her responsibilities to her kin. One loose end and it could all come tumbling down.

If he returned to his pride, they could put a bounty on their heads.

If he had no pride, then he was just a rogue.

Kanai reached the top and gazed down like the Goddess her mother was supposed to be, wrathful and mighty. In the verdant field he stuck out like a sore thumb.

He'd gained so much ground...

Kanai made her decision. She launched herself down to the grass, stumbling some, then took off in a brisk jog after him. Catching up was out of the question. Tracking him was not.  

[Kaelyndra]

Hopefolly

(( I kept capitalizing river. QQ ))

Whoever had told him that fear was to be abandoned as a weakness had never truly been afraid. Fear was a motivator, and it was keeping Shavu alive.

Shavu's eyes had begun to sting, for he'd been afraid to blink them. Instead, he'd hauled himself one footstep at a time even after his lungs had started to heave and his feet had started to cry out in anger. The rocks were not kind to them, and while he had hardly reached the point of blood, Shavu could feel the raw, tender pads quaking each time he took another step.

"Just another few feet. Just to that log," he'd whisper to himself. Only, when he got to the log and looked back, he found he could still see that charred tree a ridge away, or perhaps it was a different charred tree. Then, fear struck him again, and he went tearing down the sloped, earthy side of a hill. In his wake, the ground was heavily grooved and easily recognizeable.

The idea of being tracked did not even occur to Shavu. Tracking was not something he was familiar with, or did. He followed herds, chased them when he needed to eat, but never followed trails of blood, and certainly had never delighted in hunting down another lion. He left patches of dirt where he'd settled for a rest, footprints in mud, and save for the dumb-luck of having gone over hard rock in the first portion of his trip, Shavu's path was as clear as day.

By mid-afternoon, panting heavily, Shavu's fear was steadily replaced by exhaustion. Nothing had leapt out to get him, and his mind lulled its way into a slight sense of security. He came across a river, and on the hill, a huge talus of rocks which had fallen from a cliff face.

Shavu had lapped up his fill of water, and done so too fast, thrown up on the bank, and then crawled lamely to the foot of the rocks. The scramble was long, arduous, and he tripped several times, but at last he found a spot: a small cavity between several boulders maybe ten or twenty times his size. The lion lowered himself down and wedged his body in the rocks, confident no one could see him unless they nearly stumbled on top of him. Unfortunately, he neglected the fact that escape was impossible should they get so lucky.

Feeling as safe as one possibly could, he tucked his nose underneath his paw and shook. All he wanted was to be home, back in the pridelands, safe. What he wouldn't give to be a juvenile again, chewing on sticks and tails and playing at the base of pride rock. The most terrifying thing he'd done then was plotting to sneak into the King's den.  

[Hopefolly]

Kaelyndra

Fear was a motivator, and it was keeping Kanai from deserting this pursuit. She had no vacuous sisters, but Raisa was too arrogant for her own good and Sadaka at times too complacent. Their respective shortcomings meant loose ends didn't haunt them as they did her. Kanai's opinion of it was they wouldn't have worried at all. Waiting for them was wasted effort... and wasted time, and so she never stopped but to catch her breath, drink, or hastily inspect potential hiding places.

She hadn't expected her hunt's terminus would be two adjacent boulders. What kind of fool put their back to stone? Someone lacking forethought enough to tread heavy, rest often, and create no hazards or traps to dissuade her. The vomit abutting the water was suspect of being his too, though she was without means to prove it.

The trail ran cold as Kanai's blood. By process of elimination, she knew right where he was. Shavu's momentary saving grace was due to him being a son, not a daughter. If he were female, Kanai would have charged in immediately. Manes were a meddlesome advantage that need be considered.

She bided time to the right of his self-appointed prison, mulling over her options. Whether or not he had sensed her presence only he knew; she had been very quiet in positioning herself there, but complete silence was impossible.

Would she concoct a lethal method for handling him or would he meet her in the opening to fight boldly for his life?  

[Kaelyndra]

Hopefolly

It was not sound that alerted him, but smell. Another stroke of luck swept wind down the canyon, carrying her scent directly to his nose. The lion's stomach churned and his breathing slowed. Not even a muscle twitched. Had he always breathed this loudly?

Shavu tried to turn his head, but he'd squished it so tightly within the rocks that the motion would have made noise. So he lie there; rigid.

And then he prayed in his head. Prayed to every deity that had ever crossed this earth. Let a rock dislodge and crush his pursuer, let a crocodile writhe out from the water and snap her skull. A passing lion, a horrible, sudden case of aggressive sneezing. Anything!

The only advantage to his position was the effort that it had taken to squeeze underneath. Should Kanai desire to drag him out, she would be restricted by the rocks. On the other hand, females were also much smaller. When Shavu had first entered, he'd been certain the boulders were so massive they could not be moved, but now he wondered if they couldn't be shifted and end in his brains smeared onto the other rocks beneath him.

He would not fight boldly. Shavu remained, tucked securely like a lizard in a crack, waiting for the appearance of, what Shavu imagined to be yellow, eyes in the bright crack that was his only exit.  

[Hopefolly]

Kaelyndra

Kanai had two distinct advantages over your average vagabond: Firstly, the company of her sisters assured their hunts were frequently successful and their targets bigger game compared to what a loner could hope to take down. Add to that their willingness to pilfer meals from anyone — anyone — vulnerable enough. Moral of the story: Kanai ate well.

This near constant sustenance helped maintain her natural bulk. Her lineage showed for anyone familiar enough with the Gods' children. From afar, Kanai could be assumed lithe and lanky as any rogue lioness, but in reality she was hardly dwarfed by Shavu. While this gave her the upper hand in face-to-face confrontation many times before, it hindered her here. Squirming her way under and between the rock wouldn't give her much room to aim, and if he were facing forward, it stood to reason he might be able to claw or grab her throat in retaliation. Again, she had his mane to contend with.

Out in the open was one thing, but close quarters... No, thanks.

Kanai pressed her weight against the boulder experimentally. It didn't budge.

"I can end this quickly if you come out," she offered calmly. "I don't have any plans to torture you."  

[Kaelyndra]

Hopefolly

End this quickly.

Shavu's throat burned. The male's back strained against the overlying rock, his own breath coming back to him overly warm. It smelled stagnant and foul. His feet shoved against the earth as he tried to squeeze himself back further into the crack.

"I don't want to die," he rasped back, pitifully. The sound was distant, as though he were pleading with far more than Kanai--and he was. There were gods out there, so many lions in the pridelands had spoke of them. Why weren't they protecting him now?

"Please," he pleaded. "There has to be something I can offer you."  

[Hopefolly]

Kaelyndra

Kanai thought of the Gods herself. About how not even they would have anything to offer her. Her sisters had food, water, and each other. Immortality was unbecoming of their mother, and she could only imagine what it would do to them. In contrast...

"No one wants to die," Kanai mumbled thoughtfully. "And I don't have any right to force you to." She stayed standing for now, or rather, leaning against the stone as she stared up. "It's something I have to do to protect us. Please understand."  

[Kaelyndra]

Hopefolly

The calm, nearly friendly tone with which Kania spoke terrified Shavu. The lion could feel the weight of the rock pressing down on him. Any second, it might crush his ribs, leave him clawing and grasping. Or, Kanai's glinting teeth might secure itself in his throat. Maybe it would be her paws, instead, latching into his and dragging him out.

A gargled sound escaped the lion's throat in response. His mind had worked itself into a panic, one side screaming that he needed to leave and fear locking him securely into place.

"I'll forget all about today, I swear." He chattered out, teeth clacking. "I swear it, swear." That his plea earlier should have caused Kanai to stop and think encouraged Shavu to try again. "Please."  

[Hopefolly]

Kaelyndra

They swore.

They said please.

They tried bribery.

They used guilt, usually with their children as a foundation.

"Do you have any family?" Kanai asked. She stared at the stone as though she was speaking to it. He wasn't a real lion, he was just a rogue. So why did she bother with this? And where was Raisa? She always took care of the... public relations aspect of their lifestyle.  

[Kaelyndra]

Hopefolly

Would it helped if he did? Perhaps she would kill him, and then search for the rest of his made up children. A wife. Shavu shivered for the fate of a lion that did not exist. He wanted to lie, badly. For the first time in his life he needed to lie, but he could not (in a great stroke of irony) for the life of him, figure out what lie would save him.

"A mother." His eyes cast to his toes. "Forgive me," he whispered so lowly into the earth that Kanai would only hear it if her ears were trained to the sound of Shavu's voice. "A few siblings," the lion added more loudly. "They're far away."  

[Hopefolly]

What answer was the right one?

Shavu didn't know and Kanai didn't fully understand they were both trying to reach the same conclusion. His inability to answer correctly — whatever that entailed — had her fur stand on end. Of course he had a mother, everyone did. Siblings, Kanai heard. Siblings she could work with.

"Where?" asked Shavu's personal reaper, calm as ever.

Kaelyndra