Pride of Exiles

[Ravvij]

Rav's awareness was almost gone and he knew he'd be asleed very shortly. He felt the young lioness crawl out from under him, but didn't seem to notice. Kaith did the same to Rav that Laini did. She purred loudly as she rested against her cub. She felt Laini's paw under her own, it felt rather small to her. "You like him." Kaith said bluntly, her voice no longer strained or shivering. He words were almost as soft as they were earlier that day. Rav was now out cold from exhaustion. Kaith looked over her son at Laini. Smiling, almost like a child with a secret.
As the storm passed and the clouds went away to the south, the last lights of the setting sun shown on the rocks of the mountains. The winds had calmed as well.
Kaith stood and signaled Laini to help her put Rav onto her back and cary him into the fading warmth.

[TheWhistlerify]

At first Laini didn't pay much attention to the fact that Kaith had done the same as her. All that was on her mind was helping Rav get warmer. She continued to lie against him, hoping that she was able to make a difference despite the fact that she was smaller than he was. It was impossible to not notice how muscular the male was. Even while he slept there was this air about him that was impossible to ignore.

The young lioness continued to silently stare at him and was caught completely by surprise when Kaith spoke to her. Despite the bluntness with which the older lioness spoke to her with, she felt her cheeks turn red at her comment. She once again looked down at the sleeping lion, mainly to avoid his mother's gaze. She'd only met Rav that day. So far he's been very kind to her, and there was something about him that seemed to draw her into wanting to know more about him, but did that mean she liked him?

Before she could think about the matter further, however, she noticed Kaith's signal. Looking outside, she immediately nodded before helping the older lioness carry him (as much as she could). The more time Rav spent in the sun before it disappeared (as weak as it now was) the better. When they placed him down she once again rested her body on top of his to help him stay warmer.

[Ravvij]

They lay beneath a large tree on the outside of the corridor ridden mountains. Kaith had carried her son quite a ways with Laini's help. They valley they were now in was vast and surrounded by hills and mountains. Greenery and small animals seemed more plentiful on this side of the mountain. Howls could be heard off in the distance. It seemed that even other predators preferred this side of the mountain as well.

Rav awoke to the two lionesses sleeping on him he didn't move much more than his eyes. He guesses that the sun had been down for a while now because the moon, which was a bit fuller this night, was nearly over head. He sighed and wondered how cold the other two must have been and then he scowled at himself for not protecting them more. This journey had taken it's tole on him, but he still believed he should be stronger. He shifted his weight a bit. This woke his mother, She yawned and licked his head before she spoke.
"Thank you, my love." came her gentle voice, "You've done more than you were required and for that, your actions are worthy of being a king."
Rav calmed a bit and took her compliments, "Thank you."

[TheWhistlerify]

Even though they were outside and despite there being an occassional blow of wind, Laini had somehow managed to fall asleep. Rav's body beneath hers and Kaith's next to hers did help a lot, but she was still mostly exposed to the cold. She awoke at some point after feeling Rav move underneath her a bit and after hearing him and his mother talking. It felt so good to know that she wasn't alone anymore. She barely knew these two, but at the same time she didn't even want to begin to wonder whether she would have made it through that storm on her own.

The young lioness slowly opened her eyes, becoming fully awake upon realizing that Rav was awake now. Because of bow badly he'd shivered while protecting her and Kaith from the cold, she was obviously glad to see that he was up. His shaking had ceased as well. "H-how are you?" she asked quietly, hoping that he was feeling as better as it looked like he was feeling.

[Ravvij]

Rav tilted his head slightly to look at Laini. "I'm doing fine. Thanks to you girls." he said with a smile. He truly was grateful for them caring for him. He then stood up slowly and stretched. Kaith strethed as well but she did not stand. Her regal demeanor seemed to show through again now that she wasn't dripping wet.
"You two should go hunt for our dinner. I'll wait here till you call." she said, obviously trying to push them together.

[TheWhistlerify]

Laini smiled when Rav told her that he was okay now. It was definitely a relief to hear that. She slowly got off of him and allowed him to stand up. Now that she wasn't completely soaked, she didn't mind not sharing her body heat with either one of her companions (even though she'd have happily continued to huddle with them some more if she could).

When Kaith mentioned hunting, the young lioness was glad to hear that she didn't want her to hunt alone again. She was unfamilliar with the mountains as well as what to expect from them, so the idea of having Rav join her seemed like a very good one and she didn't think much of the older lioness's suggestion. "I've never hunter in areas like this..." she commented, looking around at their surroundings. There was no tall grass to hide in, for example. This was going to be tricky, but the idea of a challenge excited her. Looking at Rav, she smiled. "Wanna go?"

[Ravvij]

Rav gave Laini an almost sinister smile and replied, "Yes!" and with that he darted off expecting his new companion to follow. The ground flew by under his feet as he ran. His body felt good to be free of the hardships that had befallen them only hours before. He felt a cool breeze rush over him as he ran forth and the scents of the field filled his large nose.
Rav stopped a good distance away from the tree they'd been under. He looked around and his cat eyes could see many things in the dark light of the moon.

Kaith's smile only got wider as she saw the two of them run off to the hunt. There was nothing she could think of that filled her with more pride than watching her cub hunt. She got up and walked around that spot for a few minutes, waiting for the call. She wondered how long it would take them to bring back food. If she guessed right, the two of them might make a special night out of it all and she'd have to find her own food. Still, she waited until she was sure she'd need to find her own.

[TheWhistlerify]

Laini didn't think much of the smile Rav gave him and followed. She was rather fast and agile for her size but he was faster thanks to his larger muscles and larger legs, but that didn't bother her much. She felt too relieved at being able to run without feeling like she was about to freeze to death. She arrived by his side a few moments after he'd stopped running and also looked around. "So have you ever hunted in a mountain before?" she asked, the enthusiasm clear in her voice.

Not only did the idea of hunting in a new area and possibly with a new method excited her, it was also hunting with somebody else that made it more thrilling.

[Ravvij]

His smile never left his lips as he searched for prey. Rav spotted a group of sleeping antelope and what looked like a few straglers.
"Only once. It was much easier than this is goung to be." he said quietly.
He nodded his chin toward the herd to show her what he'd seen. A plan was forming in his mind. Since the openness of their position wouldn't do them much good sneaking in close, he thought maybe a bit of chaotic confusion would work to their advantage. His stomach tightened from his hunger and and excitement.
"We'll sneak up on them as best we can. I want you to go to the other side of the herd and startle them any way you can. I'll stand still and pick off one of the healthier ones that runs by. Sound good to you?" he suggested.

Kaith climbed up into the tree to see if she could spot the two lions. She picked them out immediately and saw them conspiring in the dark light. "This is good." she said to her self.

[TheWhistlerify]

Laini frowned slightly upon noticing the open area in which their prey slept. It would be extremely difficult if not impossible to get close enough to one of the antelope without alerting the whole herd. However it should be possible to sneak to the other side of the group if she kept her distance and walked carefully. She was good at that. Smiling, she nodded in approval at Rav's plan. "Yeah. Let's do it." she said, already imagining what one of these antelope would taste like.

Without saying another word to the male she slowly stalked her way to the other side, going in a circle while staying as far away from the herd as possible. It's been a long time since she'd caused even the slightest noise while sneaking up on her prey, but it was better to be safe than to be sorry so she kept her distance to reduce the chances of the antelope possibly hearing her. Once she was on the other side, it wasn't that hard to think of a way to scare the antelope in Rav's direction. She took in a deep breath before roaring as loudly as she could.