What is Left for Me?

[phantom]

Solitude and desperation trailed behind the drudging lithe appendages that caressed the earth so lightly with each extension they stole. Like a river bed dried, stained dampened trails ran down his features where tears once fell. No more did they fall, for only the moonlight fell upon the ridges of the savanna - Mount Kilimanjaro seemed to smile condescendingly upon the frail excuse of a creature. Even the bickering of the lowliest of all seemed as an insult, for a mindless warrior such as himself could not feel.

Perhaps, all the savanna would do was cater to his longing to see another's blood splattered against the ground. What a sickening scene his mother would have said, but she had left him as the others had. Leviathan loathed it...loathed them all for the suffering they had inflicted. Just when he felt its malicious sting had abated, more followed, flooding him like a current of pain and suffering. This putrid world was insufficient for him, for no friendship could be seen on the horizons. Friendship? Even to mention the word in the least brought a bitter taste to his mouth. Leviathan hadn't considered the consequences of what 'trust' had done to him lately, and he would not relive the ever waking horror that was defined as his childhood. Violently, his claws retracted into the earth as he grasped for the last bit of sanity that his mind offered to hold.

Was anyone around? Levi was sickened by the state of affairs in this terrain, and he already craved for war. Ripping at a demolished leg bone, already broken in half by the needling of his sharpened fang-like ivories. Each of them was like a dagger, filled with poison and inflicting it upon his hopeless victims. They would be like rag-dolls, limp, like his father laid in the end.

Laughing sadistically, Leviathan continued upon his ways until he found a massive fallen log and a suddenly abundant area of grass, bodies of water, and rolling fields of antelope. Was this terrain the place of heaven?

Lingering was his soul, left in the heart of his old home. How could one change...change and become part of a new life? Could one put the scars of the past behind them and move forward without the use of bloodshed? Was life truly worth living under these circumstances and in this period of time? How he wished he knew the answers to so many questions that raced through his mind as it wandered beyond the rolling satin clouds. His mind, wilted like a flower in scorching August, soaked in all the possibilities of escape. Levi was not looking from escape from where he physically was..but from where his past had led him too.

A cliff hung off to the side, covered by a barrier. Golden pools glanced down at a deep gorge, dust rising from the center as a lone wolf scampered through hastily. Small, pointed rocks laid at the basin of the cliff. "I shall suffer no more...." he whispered, front paw hanging off the side as his muscular form stood like a stone hedge. Finally, a conclusion could be made for him.

ooc; so he's a little wacky xD. but it's not his fault..could be interesting

[Deleted]

Ooli glanced out of her cliffside cave at the creature who stood at the top of the gorge, one paw suspended over mid air. Instantly her mouth began to water: she was a lone lioness, but since she'd found this place and chased off the local scavengers, life had become extremely easy. The gorge wasn't called "Troubled Pass" for nothing. Its steep, straight descent and collection of sharp rocks made it a popular site for suicidals. A short trip down a winding path meant that Ooli had a constant supply of food! Of course, she felt a little bad eating the bodies of those that had thrown their lives away, but she supposed it was better than stealing the life of the living. And it meant she never needed to hunt! Indeed, life could not get any better.

That said, doing nothing each day but eating and sleeping had definitely taken its toll on Ooli's body. She'd always been a little chubby, even when she lived among her own tribe, but now it was unlikely her former sisters would even recognise her. She looked more like a bear than a lioness, with a huge, soft belly that nearly scraped in the dirt as she waddled along, and a tail so thick with fat that rings had formed about its base. Huge back legs seemed to compete with her tummy for space, and the fat on her neck and chest was so great that it partially enveloped her front paws as she sat. Despite this, she still had her sparkling blue eyes and a smile that had won her many friends when she took to using it, but they didn't make the daily trip into the gorge any easier. However they did, on occasion, prevent her from having to make the trip altogether, which was why she decided to approach the bereaved cheetah.

With a mighty effort she pushed herself to her feet, then waddled forward a little out of the shadow of her cave and said in a clear, soft voice, "Hello, suffering one. Would you like me to end your pain?" She smiled at him her pretty little smile, cocking her head to one side, knowing from practicing in reflections of nearby lakes that her chubby face made her look cherubic. Despite her girth, many a creature had mistook her for an angel, come to take one into the loving arms of the ancestors. "I can kill you more surely than this fall can. And I promise to be gentle."

[shalion]

Fauzi followed the lonely trail through the lonely rugged mountains. He’d been on her trail for weeks now, sniffing out rumor and holding his head high for the barest whisper of her scent on the wind. His missing sister... her absence was like a scorched wound in Fauzi’s heart that refused to heal. But now, Fauzi hoped to heal himself, though either by becoming whole again or cauterizing the wound he didn’t know yet. He hoped that he was not too late.

Two days ago, while he had been out hunting to sustain his long march and at a time when he’d thought that all trace of her passage through this place had long since evaporated, his intended meal had given him the tip he’d been waiting for in exchange for its life. “The cliff.” the antelope had said, “That’s where saddened creatures go to die in this country.” The antelope waxed on about the reputation of the cliff and the trail leading up to it. It was a semi-mystical place by now, heavily romanticized so that any creature with heavy heart and no more will to go on usually made the last pilgrimage to the sacrosanct cliff. If Saida had indeed passed this way, she would have found the rumors irresistably for Saida was a troubled lioness.

Fauzi and Saida had been recently orphaned. A new male had killed thier father and taken their pride over. He’d been unusually violent, killing their mother outright as well for showing the least sign of reluctance at his advances. Fauzi had been only a few months away from peacefully ascending to pride leader from his father who’d gone grey and wanted to pass on his title. Of course, there was no place for him after the slaughter began. He’d fled right away, he was no fool and truthfully, he wasn’t a fighter as well. Fauzi preferred to think about things and daydream, he wasn’t one for lifting his paw unless it was necessary. Why some had even called him lazy.

Not anymore of course. There was no one left in Fauzi’s life now and he could never go back. Well, no one left save Saida, who somehow ended up also fleeing the pride the night their father was murdered. Fauzi had caught sight of her running through the tall grass. Amazed that she was still alive he’d given her chase, calling her name. Maybe she thought he was the rogue male who’d slaughtered half their family, but she didn’t stop. And Saida was more crafty at woodcraft and stealth than Fauzi was so she eventually lost him, though he followed ever in her wake as best he could. Through rumor, he learned of a lioness always ahead of him who moaned and wailed in her sleep, crying out the names of their mother and their father. Fauzi could only assume the worst about her mental state. If only he could find her! Show her that he at least still lived! But he’d never even so much as caught sight of her again and now he was approaching what seemed to be the end of his beloved sister’s terrible flight.

The place did have a serene beauty to it, as Fauzi started to climb down from the mountain pass. Lush trees lined the trail, and birds sang. There was naught but rodents and squirrels and such living here as the soil was thin, but still there was a peaceful air to the area without larger creatures. Almost a sense of detachment. Or perhaps Fauzi was simply extrapolating from the stories he’d been told. There was a tiny glade at the base of the stone trail leading up to the cliff which was truly majestic in its appearance. The angle of the terrain lent both a view of the sheer cliff and the unforgiving rocks below it. But here in the glade, plant life was abundant. A quiet place for the woebegone travelers to sit and ponder their fate one last time before making the final ascension. To Fauzi, this place was quite disturbing. “There are ghosts here...” he murmured.

Fauzi did not linger long in this place. After sitting for a few minutes, he resolved himself to climb the stone path leading to the cliff. He would climb the trail, and then if necessary, search the rocks below for Saida. ‘Ancestors, do not let me be too late!’ thought Fauzi as he steeled himself and made for the trail.

The path was winding, long and scenic. It was also a surprisingly gentle slope, maybe what made the place so famous in the first place as even aged or ailing creatures could make the trip up without much difficulty.

It took Fauzi about ten minutes to make the cliffside. He’d been expecting a whistling, empty space, like so much that he’d found before. In his head he knew that his timing could not possibly be so good as to catch Saida before the act, but in his heart he’d been hoping until the last minute. There was no Saida waiting for him at the top, however there were two figures. One was a cheetah, the fur on his face stained black with tears who was standing near the edge. However, the other... The other was quite honestly the heaviest lioness he’d ever seen in his life.

She was standing at the head of what was, in fact a continuation of the path, leading around a corner of the mountain and out of sight. She was so fat that her tummy rested liberally on the ground under her where she sat. She seemed to be talking to the clearly distraught cheetah and as she did, her whole body rippled gently. Fauzi was stunned, he simply couldn't take his eyes off of her. That gently billowing flesh, so much on one lion that he couldn’t even fathom how she’d gotten so large in a world where survival hinged on what you could bring down by your own strength. Fauzi for once was rendered speechless as he looked on from afar.

The lioness finished speaking and silently, Fauzi waited to see what would happen next.