[PRP] Betrayal (Liang Hongyu x Reiseln)

[Tanakako]

Each step was a struggle as pain lanced through her battered body. Blood trickled freely, matting her crimson coat though was mostly invisible, blending in with her fur. Vivid jade eyes stared out, dull and listless.

The battle to escape the trap set for her and her small army of elite warriors had been brutal and deadly. Every single one of her males had been slain. Not only that but she had discovered her husband murdered and herself falsely accused of treachery. She knew who was to blame, of course. The selfish and hateful Empress, jealous of Liang's success and popularity, had hatched the entire plot. But right then none of it mattered... She was an exile, betrayed and abandoned by the pride she had treasured. Her mate dead, her body in tatters.

Now she wandered, lost and exhausted, near starved and dazed from blood loss. Surely her end was close, for she could feel death breathing against the back of her neck, a chill wind that caused her heart to stutter in her chest.  

[SilverLutz]

Rieseln was having a grand ol' time. She had been out in the rogue lands for only a few weeks so far, but she was loving every second of it. She was doing well hunting, she had made a few new friends, and she was getting to see the sights. So far there hadn't been anything too scary or unfortunate that had happened, aside from one really powerful storm that had scared her pretty badly.

She had just made a fresh kill and was dragging it to the makeshift den she had found for herself when the smell of blood caught her attention. It wasn't the blood from her kill, but that of a fellow predator. She dropped the small gazelle and looked around, spotting a red lioness not far from her. It took her a moment to realize it was coming from her and, after a moment's hesitation, she picked up the gazelle and headed in her direction.

"Hello!" she called out after slinging her kill over her back. "Hey, are you okay? You look kinda...limpy."

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

Having been so focused on just putting one paw in front of the other, she hadn't seen the stranger rapidly approching. It was the cheerful voice calling out to her that finally dragged her consciousness back to the immediate future. Lifting her head sluggishly she swung it towards the noise, jade eyes narrowed in an attempt to focus after so much blood loss over so long a period.

After staggering to a stop, her momentum almost overpowering her over taxed muscles, she stared blankly at the pale lioness before her exhausted mind managed to drag together enough cells to reply. "Not really.. " She finally managed, shifting back onto her haunches in order to rest one front paw. Though they all hurt badly, the pads cut and bloodied from constant walking, resting one was a small relief.

"Where am I?" She asked, her voice rough and broken.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

The reaction time of the other lioness let Rieseln know that she really wasn't okay. Anyone in the rogue lands that reacted like that to a new voice was in a big heap of trouble. She paused her approach and put her ears back, the smell of blood hitting her nose once again. Now she had found the source.

"Uh...nowhere, really. Kind of in the middle of the rogue lands," she said. Poor thing...had she been attacked? "What happened? You want some food or something?" There was no way she'd be able to eat her kill in one sitting and, rather than draw in hyenas or other scavengers, she wouldn't mind sharing with her. She looked like she needed it.

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

Jade eyes blinked slowly, dull and hazy the red lioness simply stared at the pale coated stranger for a moment, struggling to understand the words she was saying. Her mind, burnt out as badly as her body from lack of food and sleep, and the strain of simply escaping the Killing parties sent out after her.

Eventually her exhausted mind caught up again and she huffed a despairing laugh. “Roguelands… “ Closing her eyes she heaved a broken sigh. “I’m rogue now… “ Her focus was so broken it took her a moment to recall that the nice stranger had asked her a question and she swung her head heavily back towards the female. “Food would be… appreciated.” Clearing her dry throat painfully she swayed slightly, clearly close to the end of her strength. “Murder… “ Head lowering she trembled as grief for her lost mate Han Shizhong swept through her. She couldn’t yet focus on the deaths of her army. Each and every one of her soldiers had been her family, and their loss was more than she could bear.

Shying away from the thought of what had happened, she looked again at the female. She should introduce herself.. that was the correct thing in this situation right? Her broken mind scrambled desperately, clinging to the ritual of normalcy in an effort not to loose it completely.

“I’m Liang Hongyu… I suppose, ex- Archduchess of Yang.”

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Rieseln knew something very bad had happened as the lioness struggled to speak. The word 'murder' reached her ears and she felt herself gasp a bit, bringing a paw to her mouth. Dear gods above...

Moving forward, she nudged the fresh kill towards the larger lioness, suddenly realizing that she was in the presence of a very high-ranking lion. Well...ex high ranking lion. Still, she bobbed her head politely and sat back to let Liang take her time with her meal.

"Nice to meet you, Liang Hongyu. I'm Rieseln...ah...Seer, and rogue extrodinare," she said with a little grin, trying to make her smile. Her own title wasn't nearly as lofty as archduchess, but maybe she could put a spin on being rogue that didn't make Liang look so down.

"I'm sorry for what you've been through, but maybe the food and some rest will help? I'm not going anywhere in a hurry and I promise you I'm not gonna hurt you. So if you want to sleep after you've eaten I'll stand watch."

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

The displaced Lioness stared for a moment, struggling to process what the stranger had said, but finally understanding lit her gaze and she bobbed her head stiffly. "That is very kind of you Rieseln. I will take you up on your offer if you don't mind..." Barely having finished her words the exhausted female staggered forwards to practically collapse beside the proffered meal. Setting teeth to meat she ripped and tore at the carcass, weakly at first but with growing hunger as her body finally realised it was being fed.

She finished the entire thing off in record time and even licked her paws and the dead thing'so fur and bones clean of blood. Finally, the worst of her hunger sated, Liang settled her head on her paws and closed her eyes, falling deeply asleep right where she lay.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Rieseln nodded slightly and turned to let the other female eat in peace. When she turned to look at her all that was left was a skeleton and a sleeping lioness.

"Whoa...that was fast," she said softly. She let Liang sleep, moving around a bit during her snooze. She didn't ever go out of sight of the sleeping female, but she did let her have her space. Finally the sun was starting to set and she knew it would start to get a bit dangerous unless they moved to a more secure location.

"Psst...hey, Liang Hongyu," she whispered softly as the sun sank behind the horizon, leaving the sky a burning red color. "There's a tree not far from here that'll give you some protection from other predators if you want to move. I don't know how well I could keep all directions covered."

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

It took a few moments before the red female shivered, coming awake slowly and with great reluctance. She could have slept for a week and still not wanted to wake back up. Eventually one tired green eye cracked open, staring blankly at the pale rogue before recognition dawned.

"Rieseln .." The fire-coloured lioness started to say but then cracked a huge yawn, fangs gleaming, her whole body twitching with the force of it before she relaxed again. ".. sorry..." She finally added blearily. It took another moment or two before she heaved herself to her feet, unable to hide a wince of pain as her sore paws protested. Finally straightening she looked back at Rieseln, her green-eyed gaze once so sharp and clear, was now dull and tired. "Lead on..." She responded, voice quiet and rusty. It was obvious the short nap wasn't nearly enough and the lioness was almost swaying on her paws as she turned to follow her white rescuer.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Rieseln waited patiently for the red lioness to get to her feet. She knew she was exhausted, so she walked slowly as she led the way to the safe place not too far off.

"Just follow me, you can go right back to sleep once we get over there," she said cheerfully to try to keep Liang's attention. "Just a quick walk, that's all!" They arrived after just a few minutes and she managed to get the lioness into a low-hanging branch so she could sleep with at least some protection. The branch was wide enough to let her stretch out and was a small drop to the ground in case she did slide off.

That done, she sat at the base of the tree and glanced out to the horizon. She'd stay until she needed water or food.

Tanakako

Last from me!

 

[Tanakako]

Liang walk-hobbled along bheind the white female, her head hung low and tail dragging limply across the ground. The effort to climb up even a short way sapped the last of Liang's strength and as soon as she was reasonably balanced she fell into a comatose-like sleep, trusting in the kind stranger to keep her safe. Once, Liang would have been the one on guard, supporting and looking after her army. But now, alone and beaten, she was forced to trust in others.

Later, once she woke up again, she would express her deep gratitude to Rieseln. But for now the lioness slept, deep and still.

SilverLutz

Done!!