A Shadowed Past

[genie]

Cheabosa smiled to Bahreeka as he layed there, what ever was going to happen, at least he wouldn't be alone and of that he was glad, who ever decided that cheetahs lived alone he didn't know but it was a lonely existence.

[Kirsui]

Meri smiled again.
"Lets get walking then" she suggested, picking up a random direction and starting to walk. She looked at Amaiza as she walked.
"Maybe it's best if we stay near the cave" she said. "Jus in case something happens."
She didn't really expect anything dramatic to happen, but one could never know. And Meri had learned to be careful, being a half blind loner had been hard.

[Deleted]

"Yeah, alright..." Amaiza nodded in reply to staying close to the cave. "You never know what might happen out here.." She said and looked around. "I hope Cheabosa is okay, back there with Bahreeka.." She said quietly to herself but loud enough for Meri to hear.

[Kirsui]

Meri looked at Amaiza from her eyecorner. She then turned to forward.
"I'm sure he'll be fine..." she said. She then turned her head slightly to right so that she could see what was on that side of her, then turning her head back forward. She just so badly hated being half blind.
But what if I was fully blind? she thought. A cold shiver ran through her and she quickly shook that thought away.

[EvaJanus]

Eva noticed that Zander seemed to be troubled by something. She wanted to inquire about it, yet she held her tongue. She hardly knew this lion and so it was probably wise to refrain from asking too many questions. She also saw that Zander was waiting for her to move. Quickly, she took a step forward and looked off in the direction that she believed to hold prey for them to hunt. Moving silently yet swiftly, she bounded across the grasslands, following the moisture she sensed in the air. She breathed a prayer that her senses would not fail her in her search.

[Lorien]

When Eva bounded off, Zander followed quickly behind. He looked in the direction of the cave, where the cheetah was, and hoped that they would find something soon. If they didn't, he hated to think of what would become of him and how it would affect his growing group's morale.

He then looked back to Eva, making sure to look around the area as well for any potential prey. He kept his eyes peeled and tailed Eva until she found her destination point.

[EvaJanus]

Her body moved swiftly, her paws carrying her across the land before her. In almost no time, her nostrils picked up a familiar scent: gazelle. This encouraged her and she excitedly raced forward. Coming upon a small grove of trees, she paused to scan the area. There was an entire herd of gazelle not too far away. This was it. They had a chance to catch some food and bring it back to the starving cheetah. Eva glanced at Zander. "How do you want to go about this? Shall I be the decoy or will this be an all-out charge?"

[Lorien]

Zander looked at the herd, a smile coming to his face. He then remembered his injuries that he had suffered just two days before. He looked to her. "If you can take one down, I will act as a decoy." He looked to the ground, a bit ashamed. "My body isn't in the best of conditions at the moment. Not sure that I should try a full hunt until I've regained my strength." He then thought that he didn't really want to do anything until he regained his memory, but it was inevitable. He looked back to Eva, seeing if the plan was alright with her.

[EvaJanus]

He spoke of being injured, Eva thought. Yet she didn't mind doing the work. Nodding, she smiled a little bit. "It's alright." Then she turned her attention back to the herd and took a quick whif (sp?) of the air. Luckily they were already downwind. "Okay, we're downwind right now. If you could just sneak up on them, coming out of those trees there," and she motioned towards the grove, "and get them to run this way, I can bring one down. Just as long as they don't go into the trees, it should work out alright." As she told all this to Zander, her eyes began scanning over the herd members, singling out which one she was to take down. She glanced at Zander to be sure he heard everything she said, then she moved slightly in the opposite direction. Her body crouched low to the ground among the brownish grass as she silently began to creep closer to the herd. Her ears and eyes remained alert, awaiting the perfect time to strike after Zander had got the gazelle moving.

[Lorien]

Zander nodded at Eva's instructions. Then, as he saw her get into her own position, he took his leave and headed toward the grove of trees. Once there, he slowed to a halt and waited for his oppertune time to take charge. Taking a deep breath, a pang of the old pain came rushing to his head. He shook his head and brought his paw to it, trying to make it go away. As it did, he focused back on the herd, his eyes narrowing. Alright, Zander...1...2...3! And with that he leaped from the closure of trees, making his way toward the herd. He was running in a direction that would send them toward Eva so that she could make the kill. As he got closer, the pain came back full blast, taking his vision from him. He roared out in pain and this got the gazelle really moving.

Zander fell to the ground, his paws on his head as the pain surrounded him, closing off all senses. Once again his saw the figure of the black-maned lion, his purple eyes staring down on him as his voice boomed throughout his head. "Zander! You must move quickly! Danger is quickening upon your heels." Then, everything was gone: the lion, the darkness, the pain...and he was back in the grasslands, the sun shining down upon him.

[Kirsui]

As Meri had been walking along with Amaiza, she suddenly heard a rather loud voice.
It was a roar. And a loud one too.
And she recognized the voice.
"Zander..." she qhispered and turned to look at the direction where the voice had come from. She could see a cloud of dust, gazelles running. Her eyes widened. What had happened to Zander?
"Come on, Amaiza!" she shouted and turned to run to the direction of the running gazelles. "Something's happened to Zander!"
She looked back at Amaiza, to see if she followed her.

[Fire]

Fire turned his head towards the sound of Meri's distress call. It did not sound good as he saw from a distance that Zander wasn't moving. He decided upon himself to go rush over and help Zander regain himself. He remembers the last time he was doing something like this.. He didn't want to happen again. It scared him to see Zander in an unconscious state like that. He was there after a few minutes of sprinting to where Zander was, breathing a little more rapidly and looking down at him. "Zander... Wake up... Come on..."

He turned to the rest of them, or who was there. "Get him some water... He's going to need it."

[Deleted]

Amaiza rushed after Meri when she heard Zanders roar. When they get there Fire was already there. She bent down next to him. "Fire.. what happened is he okay?" She blurted out the questions at him. As he mentionted the need of water she ran to the same place where she had got some for Cheabosa. She hurried back and dropped it next to Fire and Zander.

[Lorien]

Zander lay there for a few seconds as he heard the voices around him. Slowly, he blinked open his eyes as they slowly came into focus. He saw his friends around him, all looking down at him with worried expression upon their faces, and this brought a smile to his own. Slowly, he got to his feet and shook his head of the dizzyness. He then looked down and saw the water, so he bent and lapped it up, enjoying the coolness on his parched tongue.

Lifting his head again, he looked around at his friends. "No worries, guys. I'm alright." He smiled warmly and then sighed, remembering the vision. "But I think we need to hurry. As soon as the cheetah is in better health, we need to leave."

[Fire]

He hears Amaiza beside him and answered her question. "He must be having one of his visions again... Man, that blow to the head really messed him up..." Fire shook his own noggin and watchedf as he saw Zander drink the water that was given to him, at least knowing now that he was okay.

The cheetah was the only thing that was slowing the group down, and he wished that she didn't have to come. Yet, he also had the different part of the spectrum in his mind. He was very glad that the cheetah came to them. It would be another opportunity to have another one join their party. The more they had, the more chance that everyone in the group... survived, to put it in the worst-case scenario.

[Kirsui]

Meri approached Zander. Fire and Amaiza had been quicker than she, and Amaiza had even managed to get water.
And now Zander was awake again.
"You sure you're ok?" she asked quietly.
She had a worried expression on her face. Zander was her friend, and seeing a friend in that condition made her feel bad.

[Lorien]

Zander smiled at Meri, seeing the concern on her face. "Yes, I'm fine. Just a little...spell is all." He stretched out his legs in front of him and leaned down for another drink of water. He then remembered the reason he was out here in the first place. He looked to the running herd and wondered if Eva had brought down one of the gazelle.

He then looked to his friends. "We should have food for the cheetah shortly. I met another lioness and she should be able to bring something down." He looked to the area near the cave, and the look on his face looked grave. He didn't want to see the cheetah die and would do anything within his power to ensure that it didn't happen.

[Deleted]

Bahreeka tried reassuring the cheetah again. "Look... i'm sure they are on their way right now." She said and smiled at him.

Amaiza nodded in agreement with what Fire was saying. Zander started speaking and she felt relieved that he wasn't unconcious.

[genie]

Cheabosa laid on his side, it was hard to tell now if he even heard what was said, his eyes were looking glazed and his breathing shallow, it was almost like he was a vacant lot waiting for a new owner to occupy

[EvaJanus]

At the right moment, Eva sprung forward and ran at full speed. Her eyes remained locked on her target and headed straight for it, muscles tensed and carrying her swiftly across the plains. The gazelle were startled by the prescence of another lion and turned in all directions. Completely focused and filled with the rush of the hunt, Eva raced after her prey. Within moments, she was atop the poor gazelle and her jaws immediately sought out its neck. Taking hold, she quickly bit down and felt the last struggles of the animal as it slowly died. Once finished, she let the limp body drop to the ground. Her eyes quickly scanned her surroundings for danger... Where was Zander though?

Suddenly alarmed, she bent down and grabbed a hold of her kill. The gazelle was a young one and so it wasn't too heavy to carry. Dragging it along the grass, she hurried as fast as she could to where the grove of trees was. The only reason she was able to physically endure so much action and strain at once was her longing to be around others. She didn't want to be alone again...

As she continued heading back, she caught sight of other forms gathered near the grove of trees. She couldn't make out who they were, but she knew they had to be other lions. Hopefully Zander was among them... Slightly overjoyed and partially frightened, she proceeded quickly.

[Lorien]

Zander looked around the area, keeping an eye open for Eva. Finally, he spotted her and thankfully she had a gazelle by the neck. He looked to his friends, a smile on his face despite the fact that he was so unstable of late. "There she is." He stepped out to meet her, the smile still on his face. He wasn't going to let his condition get him down, wasn't going to let his visions damper his spirits, although he probably should have been wary of them. He didn't know what was in store for their little group and surely couldn't. Adding to the vision's prophecy, he had a gut feeling that something bad was going to happen if they didn't move soon, and he really didn't want to stick around to see if it would actually happen...

[Deleted]

Amaiza stood up and bowed to the new lioness. "Nice to meet you, I'm Amaiza." SHe said and smiled. "Now if you don't mind, we really need to get that food back to camp. So if you will follow me.." She said before starting to run in the direction of Bahreeka and Cheabosa.

[Fire]

Fire turned his head for not the first time today and saw the new lioness drag the food to the group, nodding along with Amazia's comment. "Mhmm. There are others that will love to have that food as well."

((Eep. Sorry for short post... Brain-fart moment. ))

[Kirsui]

Meri looked at the new lioness aswell. She smiled on a friendly way.
"Hello there" she said, bowing her head slightly.
"Welcome to the group. I'm called Meri."
She then turned her eyes to Zander, once more making sure that he really was fine. She didn't really know why she was doing that. She shook her head slightly, and looked then at Amaiza who was running back towards the cave.
"Yes, we propably should go..." she muttered, starting to walk calmly after Amaiza.

[EvaJanus]

Feeling more at ease, Eva managed a little smile. She nodded her head to everyone who greeted her, yet she turned her attention to Amaiza who beckoned her to follow after. She quickly did, glancing at Zander a moment. He was smiling and so it made her feel even more at ease. She smiled a little bit herself and continued after Amaiza. She hoped that everything would go well from here on out. She just wanted to have a family again...

[Lorien]

Zander nodded as the group made their way toward Cheabosa and Bahreeka. He walked near Eva and looked down at her with a smile. "I want to thank you again. This really means a lot to my group." He smiled again, but on the inside, he was still a bit worried. They needed to move, but he wouldn't allow it until the cheetah was in better condition. He couldn't bare the thought of just leaving it here to either die or survive on its own. They would stay a while longer...even though it meant that danger could be on their heels.

[Fire]

Fire noticed his kindess towards Eva and smiled as it reminded him of when Amaiza and himself found Zander. He walked over to him and sat down beside him. "Heh heh. I guess you know how it feels to not leave friends behind.. How you have to wait for everyone to heal and catch up before the group progresses... It's like the other end of the spectrum." He chuckles lightly.

[Lorien]

As they came upon the cave, he saw Fire sit down beside him and speak. Chuckling, he added, "Yes, it sure is." He looked to the cheetah on the ground and hoped that they weren't too late. "Bahreeka, how is he faring?" He looked to his cheetah friend, a worried expression on his face. He no longer thought of himself or his journey. All his focus was bent on this Cheabosa getting better.

[Deleted]

Bahreeka smiled as the group started coming near. "See.. i told you they would be here soon." She said and smiled to Chea. "He's a bit worse since when you guys left." She replied to Zander. "Tuck in.." She then said to Cheabosa as she saw the meat.

[genie]

Cheabosa came to a bit at the sound of the voices and the smell of fresh meat, weakly and slowly he tore at bits of meat, it was't easy in this state, but he was so hungry, soon his body stated dealing with the food, giving off much needed energy and stuff to his body, and he became more aware of his surrounding and the others.