Secret Places {Private Hyper and Accalia}

[Accalia]

Aleila saw Xoren's gaze move to his open wound and a pang a guilt filled her, causing her to shiver. Her smile faded and a tear came to her eye, "no, i can find us water... Stay here!" she gave Xoren a small reasuring smile before slipping away into the trees on her small quest to find water.

Aleila took about ten steps into the wild forest before she did as Xoren had done and dragged her claws down the thick bark of a tree, making sure she could see a scratch at all time. Aleila hopped that Xoren would stay put, but she had a feeling he wouldn't do that, so she franticly ran about, desperately trying to find water for the two of them.

[Hypercube]

Xoren took Aleila's smile and stayed put as she trotted into the trees, waiting for her to be out of sight before he followed. He had no doubt she would be able to find them water, but he didn't want her to go alone. Listening to her footsteps, Xoren waited until she was far enough away that she would not hear him behind her.

After a few steps into the woods, he watched her copy previous actions, attempting to cure the wounds that she must have been hiding from him. As he watched her, a strange feeling fluttered about in his stomach, something that he had not encountered in many years. Was it the warmth that comes with a great friendship? The joy that is brought with the togetherness of siblings? Or could it even be... Before Xoren could complete his thought, Aleila began to run frantically through the forest, seemingly to prevent him from following. Determined not to lose her, he followed safety behind, skilfully jumping from rock to rock and root to root as to not make a sound.

[Accalia]

Aleila continued flying between the trees for a good long while, until she came to a sudden stop and gave a long stretch and scratched her now head and floppy mane against the rough bark of the nearest tree. As she did so she checked her surroundings, the eerie feeling of someone else's eyes settling over her fur, enveloping her. The endless thought of her life filled her mind, not leaving much space for the possible others around her to make much of a difference to her thought train.

She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. She collected herself and tried to use her instincts to find the closest water source. After feeling the direction of the wind and the slightly wet water under foot she opened her eyes and checked the surroundings once more before setting off in the direction she hopped to be the closest water source.

[Hypercube]

Xoren came to an abrupt halt, nearly falling from the stone he had jumped to. As Aleila took a short rest, he looked to his surroundings, still attempting to find any sign of where they may be in the forest. There was something different about the forest though, almost as if it was sinister in nature, surrounding him with uncertainty, the antithesis of the normal calmness the trees normally brought him. His mind continued to wander, causing him to feel less and less comfortable with the jungle. It was as if the trees had eyes, and that a single pair of them maintained a chilling stare upon him at each second in time. It's just my imagination Xoren attempted to reason with himself, nothing about these woods has changed...

After he had become calm, he observed Aleila as she moved intently away from her resting place. Tailing her a bit more closely than before, Xoren followed, still wary of the eyes he still felt pierce his fur.

[Accalia]

Aleila continued to wander towards the water source, her mind beginning to be emptied, leaving holes in her train of thought. With the holes now filling her mind the trees seeped in screaming ar her, crying and pleading for them to help her. Aleila managed to continue at a normal pace for a short amount of time before it all seeped in and she began shaking her head and slowing down, wishing her powers didn't exist.

Aleila closed her eyes and continued walking forward slowly, trying to evict the screaming voices from her mind. A large shiver flew up her front leg as cool water surrounded her green paw. Her eyes snap open and, after a moments hesitation, submerged her whole body under the cool water, letting the blood wash off from her tired body. She filled her lungs with fresh air and lowered her head under the water, letting her, what she then knew, tense body relax in the clear water. In this moment her life was peaceful, almost perfect. Everything was silent, calm and she was alone, there was no worry as to if she might kill Xoren or anyone for that matter. She let out a peacefull sigh after she had resurfaced, her body dripping with cool water.

[Hypercube]

Xoren followed the cat, his mind wandering to the future. As he ran through the many scenarios, he noticed one thing: they all included Aleila. At first, this notion bothered him; he believed that it was condemning himself to pain in the future if something did go wrong. Xoren stopped on a root and looked up into the small rays of sunlight that peeked through the thick canopy of the forest realizing that those thoughts were not what he believed at all. For once in his life since he lost his true family, he felt a kinship with someone, a bond that could not be broken.

After a few silent moments of starring at nothing, Xoren heard a small splash of water just beyond the shrubs that blocked his view. He padded slowly to the threshold, keeping his presence unknown as Aleila submerged herself and eventually re-surfaced, her beautiful purple mane covered in shimmering orbs of water. He could see that she was in a state of bliss, nothing to cause her any discomfort and no one for her other self to harm. Not wishing to disturb her happiness, Xoren laid on the soft bushes and watched the feline as she exited the pool.

[Accalia]

Aleila flicked the water from her paws as she took deep, relaxed breaths as she walked towards a bush with particularly large leaves. She lowered her head and placed it in the cool water, filling it with the clear liquid. She tried to pick it up without it spilling, but she couldn't manage to find a way to, and so she decided to run back and get Xoren. Hesitantly she left the pool of water and followed the scratches she made.

After a frantic run she was dry and had arrived at where she had told Xoren to stay, but he was no where to see, and nor was his thought train. She called for him franticly, her eyes wide and frightened. She collapsed and started thinking about all the things that could have happened to him, and she felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she felt as if he had actually died, not just possibly or in her head but as if he had actually left her alone in the world.

[Hypercube]

As Aleila ran back to the spot she had left Xoren, he raced with her, attempting to stay out of sight while managing to get in front of her. He was a few paces ahead, just about to reach the clearing at which she would look for him, when suddenly a silent blue bolt of electricity ricocheted off of the nearby trees and into Xoren's flank, knocking him down and leaving him disoriented. With the remaining conscious he had, Xoren closed his eyes, desperately searching for what had attacked him.

In the canopy just beyond the spot at which Aleila was now collapsed within stood a body filled with a radiant blue aura that shot back and forth from each edge of the feline's frame. Aware of it's sinister nature, Xoren attempted to stand or shout or doing anything to warn Aleila of the impending danger, but it was as if his energy was completely lost. There was nothing he could do rather than watch as the creature slowly reached the ground rather than release small cries of Aleila's name which where completely lost to the ruffling of the trees.

[Accalia]

Aleila heard a crash and lifted her head suddenly, her eyes wide and red with fresh tears. She lifted her frail body and ventured further away from the clearing, desperately searching for any sign of Xoren or life. As she leant her head forward a cool gush of air flushed her face of colour and she snaps her head back, slowly backing away from everything. Aleila now suddenly feeling small and extremely frightened let out a tiny squeal and clenched her eyes shut, trying to shut everything out and see this beings past and feelings. She desperatly tried to imagine the calming things that he would do or say and she tried to calm her now rapid breathes. "Help me Xoren.." she pleaded quietly, her body trembling and shocked, her eye begging to burn as her muscles tense, but somehow she knew she wouldn't be able to fully fall victim to the demon within as the sight of Xoren's blood on her paw would haunt her for the rest of her life.

[Hypercube]

Xoren had been slowly inching forward along the ground, still stricken with intense fatigue when he opened his eyes and saw the strange blue-marked cheetah that stood between Aleila. His heart stopped, his mind filled with the terror of loosing her to this beast. Calling upon all of his will Xoren managed to open his mouth and vibrate his vocal chords. "Aleila!" he shouted with pained stress, "look out behind you!"

[Accalia]

Aleila heard the calling of her name and the warning following it and the familiar voice that called it, she looked behind her suddenly, but only caught a glimpse of the yellow pelt and blue spots, feeling a sharp pain in her hind and she spun around again, trying to scratch the being that was teasing her. She felt her claws dig into something soft and she gripped hard before dragging her paw down, a vicious smile curling around her lips as the warm blood trickles down her paw. Xoren doesn't leave her mind, she wasn't sure if it was her imagination or he was actually there, she continued circling, throwing random strikes at the attacking cheetah as she brooded within her calm frame of mind.

[Hypercube]

The stranger danced with Aleila in a flurry of unsheathed claws, both drawing fresh blood from each other. Xoren could do nothing but watch the horrifying grins on each of their faces as they inflicted pain upon each other. Beginning to regain his energy, Xoren shakily stood and leaned against a tree, breathing heavily as his muscles began to respond once again. As his energy neared it's normal level though, he could see that the cheetah's was doing the same. "Aleila!" he screamed into the fray, "she's getting stronger! Watch out!"

[Accalia]

With Xorens words and his now visasle face she felt like she was about to explode, with anger, fear and relief. "Why don't you just come fight like a true feline and stop being such a coward" she said hoping that would be enough to entice her from the shadow. She felt a pain in her back and saw the blue dots; obviously not enough. She continued flailing with her claws unsheathed, but she knew that if she continued like this the cheetah would obsoletely win. *If only Xoren were here...* she thought, distraught! from the flighting glimpse she had caught of him and the way his voice was hoarse before she guessed the Cheetah had done something devastating to him and he wouldn't be able to fight this battle.

[Hypercube]

Xoren continued to regain his strength at a slow yet steady rate as he watched the two felines fight. It was obvious that Aleila was uncoordinated with her attacks and that her combatant was becoming more controlled by the moment. Jumping just beyond the range of Aleila's claws, the cat raised her right paw, creating a zipping blue energy sphere around it. Xoren realized that that must be the lightning attack he had suffered. Before he was even aware of what he was doing Xoren pounced on the cat, forcing her to release the bolt randomly into the forest, its loud cracks resonating as it whipped between the forest trees. Still weak, Xoren was unable to stop the feline from pushing him from atop her as she jogged towards the brush, clearly fatigued.

[Accalia]

Aleilas blue eye reflected the burning ball of energy as she became frozen, feeling as if time itself had slowed and her death was right before her eyes. She saw a zip of orange that could only be Xoren and she cried out his name relieved. She felt the energy fly past her shoulder and shudder through the trees and ground, hearing the pained cries of the trees she ruthlessly had killed. She watched as the cheetah jogged towards the bush and growled, relentlessly following her, snapping at her heels. "Why are you here?!" She growled after the blue dotted cheetah. Aleila didn't want to leave Xoren in his fatigued state, but she didn't want to have to deal with this irritating cheetah anymore. She sped up and flipped the cheetah upon her back, snarling loudly.

[Hypercube]

Xoren had heard Aleila pursue the cheetah, but he himself could not do much rather than roll himself to his stomach and watch them run into the brush. He was still nowhere near recovered from the initial attack, but he did manage to stand and slowly shuffle towards the two cats.

---

The cheetah smiled wickedly, as if amused by Aleila's attempt to interrogate her. "I'm not here for any reason," she said in a smooth voice, "I'm here because I want to be." With the completion of her sentence, the cheetah used all of her strength to push against Aleila, allowing her to slip out from beneath her as she once again ran into the forest a bit faster than before.

[Accalia]

Aleila roars at the cheetahs reply and diggs her claws into the fleeting animals hind, dragging her backwards and towards her "Uh uh uhh, not so fast she says with a cold mocking tone, "I haven't finished by questions." she says her tone changing to a hard snarl. "Why do you want us" she says, digging her claws deeper into her yellow fur, blood oozing down her leg. Aleilas eye lightened to semi-white and her teeth spread into a harsh, menacing smile, her body posed and her muscles defined.

[Hypercube]

The cheetah, now clearly trapped in the clutches of the stronger feline, had no choice but to act compliant to the interrogation until she had the strength to run. "There's no reason!" she cried out in feigned pain, hoping to trick Aleila with her lies, "I've told you that already!" The way she spoke did not match her personality perfectly though; there was always a hint of evil in her voice, no matter how much she tried to conceal it behind a mask of fake emotion.

[Accalia]

Aleila smiled as she dug her claws deeper into her pelt "There is a reason for everything in this world." she said Curley as she awaited the reply she wanted, this cheetah had know they were there and she wanted to know what had corrupt her soul. She growled into the felines face and gave her a fake smile "If you want to keep your pathetic life you better start answering my questions with a proper answer." Aleila was exhausted and upset by everything going on, but she knew if she collapsed now her life would probably come to an end, and she still had questions about this world, other beings and about herself. She let out a sigh and looked the cheetah straight in the face "Your lying , and I know it, stop trying to mask your feelings." Aleilas tone was harsh as she took in this being aura and saw the flashing images of her past.

[Hypercube]

The cheetah cried out as a result of the sharp pain caused by Aleila's claws, her eyes widening as the blood started to stream onto her pelt. "I'm here..." she said, her heavy breathing interrupting the thought, "I'm here because you are." As these words escaped her lips, the creature's expression changed from one of pain and distress to one of calculated success. With almost full energy returned to her, plans raced through her mind of how to escape the entrapment, her body positioning to attempt an escape from Aleila's grasp.

[Accalia]

Aleila began deteriorating from the inside, her mental stress and the pain she was causing was resulting in the collapse of her mind. The cheetahs refusal to answer caused a half demonic and corrupt look to pass over her face, she began shaking and gritting her teeth. She began to growl once more but didn't say a word, simply planted the animal to the ground for as long as she could, trying hard to formulate a plan.

She felt the cheetahs body shift beneath her and dug her claws deeper, as if that would stop it from its inevitable escape, she took a deep breath in and looked deep into the animals eyes "Why are you here?" she said calmly, her voice deflated and bored. Her claws were embedded within her pelt as Aleila clamped her in place.

[Hypercube]

"Because I like to see you squirm!" the cat screamed, her voice now replaced with something demonic and brutal. With one of her free paws, she conjured a bolt of brilliant blue light and swiftly swung it towards Aleila's flank; this time though, Xoren was not around to stop it. As the paw made contact, a loud crack echoed throughout the woods, a bright blue path of electricity fluttering through Aleila's pelt. As her holder flew from atop her, the cheetah stood, blood dripping onto the burnt leaves, and scampered deeper into the woods.

Xoren, still collapsed upon the forest floor had watched the altercation from through his mind, and had hated himself as he watched Aleila fall to the ground. Still remaining logical though, he focused on the fleeing blue energy that had attacked them as it coordinately jumped through the forest, eventually meeting with the energy of the first lion they had encountered as a team. Before he could make sense of the meeting, Xoren watched in awe as the two merged, becoming a single, darker aura before the product raced away out of his vision.

[Accalia]

The bright blue sphere was the only thing Aleila could she and she wished she could run away from it, but she couldn't, and so she was forced to stare at it, stare at pain in its primary form. She wished she could scream, but her throat was dry and all that came out was a strangled groan. As she felt the hard paw upon her and the momentary wait for the agony to shudder through her body. What felt as if was a lifetime passed and then, it happened, a loud cracked echoed through her mind her body shuddering and collapsing backwards, her eyes are wide frightened and glazed over. She felt the electricity fill her whole body and she gave a slight twitch, her ears forced downwards. Her mane was static as she lay on the floor all her thoughts and others echoing in her mind, for a moment she didn't think, she was silent.

A cloud of thoughts, feelings and memories flooded her mind and her whole body twitched as she tried to move towards Xoren, hoping he would give her comfort or help, but she could not, she was forced to stay in place and think of... Everything... Yet nothing. She lay there, looking more dead then alive, stuck inside her mind and pool of thoughts. She could sense Xoren and let out a shaky sigh and she thought of his sacrifice and hurt he had and felt like crying, only she couldn't.

[Hypercube]

Xoren saw Aleila's collapsed body through the shrubbery, twitching and seizing in horrid ways. Feeling nothing but numbness, he picked up his injured body and forced it to carry his weight to the other lion; it wasn't until he reached her that Xoren had realized he was dragging one of legs along with him due to a lack of energy. When he had reached her, the pain was to great and he collapsed beside her with a loud thump. "Aleila..." he said breathing heavily against his own agony, "are you okay?" Despite his body's obvious calls of distress, he ignored his own issues and focused only on whether or not Aleila was alright.

[Accalia]

Aleila gave a heaving giggle through her twitching face and said with great difficulty "Hey... Don't worry about me, im fine now your here." she said a faint smile curling her lips as she slowly regained control of her twitching frame. She felt his heavy breathing and through her blurred vision his collapsed frame and a deep pain passed her face and she managed to painfully move closer to her and rest her head next to his, breathing heavily, yet at peace, she always is when she is beside Xoren, he brings her comfort.

[Hypercube]

He did not respond to her; his body would not allow him. Instead, He moved his head such that his mane was intermingling with hers, their broken bodies one in the same. For a while he just laid, feeling Aleila's heavy breaths against his own, her pain within his own. "I'm sorry..." he said with a soft voice.

[Accalia]

Aleila slowly gained control of her twitches, but not enough to move her body again and so lay there felling Xorens mane and fur against her own, she closed her eyes and at Xorens apology gave a long breath out wards and gave him a faint, almost painful looking smile "I am too." She felt as if this could be the end and they would die side by side, never found until they had become the dirt they lay on, but her will was too strong to be broken that easily and she fought to stay alive.

[Hypercube]

Xoren felt Aleila's body begin to control its spasms and he managed to put on a dull smile to express his relief. He too was unable to move from his position, making him feel nothing but another fallen branch lying upon the ground in the woods that have now become some sort of endless maze. He laid with Aleila, watching the trees as the wind raced through their leaves, causing a few to fall to the ground in a playful dance - but something was off. As the leaves fell, they did not mimic the changes of the wind, but rather attempted to recreate the motions they should follow naturally. "Aleila," he said wearily, "something about this forest isn't right..."

[Accalia]

Aleila weezed a laugh and said in a dreary voice "And you only just noticed?!" she gave him a light smile and said quietly "I don't care any more.." she too watched the spiralling leaves and felt the wind through her mane and sighed "how did we get here again..." her voice was quiet and distant as she tried to remember how the two of them met and how and why they had come through this dreary place. She had given up on fright a long time ago, or maybe it had given up on her, but Aleila was too tired and weak to do a great amount of anything and so she lay there as the dancing leaves lulled her eyes closed

[Hypercube]

"Well we walked into the forest," Xoren said to her with a serious tone, "but it was the forest that chose to hold us." Xoren had began to feel a bit better and he attempted to stand. As he placed his weight on the leg he was dragging though, he fell back to the ground and let himself rest upon his belly, his eyes now looking into Aleila's. As he raised his head to catch a glimpse of the sunlight that slipped through the cracks in the canopy, Xoren spoke to the other lion; "Aleila, I need you to know something."