Baya: Demon of the Desert

[Baya]

Warning: This fanfiction contains somewhat graphic material. I'd say PG-13 would be the rating for it
.

The desert. A dry, sand filled, hot and unforgiving terrain. It claimed many more lives than it could ever sustain. Be it a creature's misfortune to ever be forced to endure the trials of the plain desert. It stretched out for miles and miles, connecting to the out lands. Bones were a common sight, and so were the corpses of various creatures. There would be an oasis every few miles, and perhaps even a palm tree that gave off a tiny bit of cold, forgiving shade.

The wind would blow the hot sands into miniature tornadoes. For whom they were putting on this great show, it is never clear. At times, the wind would get more violent. They would become borderline deadly to any creature not prepared for the storm at hand. Though what creature could not be prepared? All those that roamed the desert were accustomed to it. The sandstorms were the least of the worries of unaccustomed nomads of the desert.

Vultures, snakes, scorpions and rogue lions. These were the horrid creatures that roamed the godless desert. The vultures, with their hooked beaks and grotesque appearance struck fear into those new to the desert. Though after awhile, travelers of the desert realize that the vulture would never attack them whilst they live. They merely picked at the corpses of the dead. The snakes, and scorpions were a different story. They could kill without a second thought. One bite from a snake, could have one unconscious for a few hours if not dead within a few minutes. A sting of a scorpion would have a nomad suffering for hours, before the sudden and merciful embrace of death.

The single most terrifying thing about the hot desert, was the rogues. Lions and lionesses forgotten, driven out, defeated or just plain shunned. The harsh desert created harsh creatures out of the rogues, who would fight and kill without a second thought if food or water were at stake. Some rogues had a sense of mercy, and would merely drive away competition from a possible hunt or a source of water. Though not all shared this sense of humanity in an inhumane terrain.

The rogue lions and lionesses spoke of him briefly to one another. Though they never form prides, rogues always get information from one another be it as warning or a threat to strike fear. His claws were permanently stained red from all the victims he slaughters. His muzzle, long and slender with a pair of lower incisors jutting out because of his mild under bite. His eyes an eerie icy blue, with no hint of compassion or mercy in them. His mane is short, and frizzy at the tips with a raven black color. The scars he bore from the countless victims he dragged into the fiery sands and laid to rest there.

//

A rogue lioness walked the desert at night, the white shine of the moon gleaming off her dull green eyes. Her skin was stuck against her ribs, having no food or water for quite some time. Her large paws made small prints in the soft and hot sand that she stepped upon. Her brown fur, seeming black in the night, was covered with sand as she had collapsed earlier and didn't bother to shake it off.

She had forgotten her name, her mother and her father. She had forgotten what pride she had once belonged to, or who she once fell in love with. After a struggle for leadership, she was chased off because she was seen as a threat to the new pride alpha. Now she roamed the deserts, at the mercy of the sun and the males that would forcibly mate with her. Right now, she carried a cub within and she did not know what she was going to do once it was born. She didn't have enough food to provide it with milk, so it would only wither and die within a few hours. Something else she would never get to keep or remember in this barren desert.

Her heart was filled with bitterness towards everything. Males being top priority on that list. They forced her from her land. They forced her from food. They forced her from water. They forced her to mate. She felt so out of control, and weak. It made her just want to give up, and die. On that thought, the female rogue took a whiff of the air. Her heart hammered. Another male. She quickly began to trot, looking around in the dark sporadically. She didn't think she could be taken anymore. It would kill her cub, or her.

She began run, as the scent was only getting stronger. She panted heavily, the weight of the cub she carried only being more of a problem. Her eyes widened as she noticed a small cavern. No scent came from there, so she figured she could hide there until morning. She slowly made her way in the confined cavern and let out a sigh of relief. She laid down on her side, and laid a paw on her stomach. "We will make it. Some how...we will make it..." She murmured weakly as she gently rubbed her stomach. She could feel the cub's heartbeat, and its gentle movements within. A smile weakly was spread across her muzzle. Perhaps she really would be ok.

Her eyes widened as she felt a cold paw wrap around her from behind and pin her down to the cold dirt ground. "N-No. No! Yo-"

"You think I'm going to take advantage of you? I don't indulge in such activities, don't you worry my dear..." A cool, dark voice purred into her ear as the claw pressed against her throat.

Her mind raced as she realized who this could possibly be. She had caught word of him at a watering hole not too long ago. A lioness rogue who was missing an ear spoke with her briefly.

"A pretty thing like you should be careful. When you carry a cub, it is far more of a hassle. You should beware of the one who took my ear. He does not want to mate. He does not want to feed. He does not want to drink. He wants to kill, and that is his only goal in this desert. Some say, he crawled from a hole that directly lead to hell. That is why he is called...

"B-Baya, the demon of the desert." The female gasped.

"It seems you know whats going to happen if you know my name my dear..." The voice growled as claws extended out from his paw and tore into the flesh of her collar.

"Please...I have a cub...D-Don't kill me." The female said, feeling tears start streaming down her face and muzzle.

"That cub follows you to the grave..."

There was no sound, there was no suffering. The female met death swiftly. Baya slowly made his way out of the cave, cleaning his rough bloodied claws along the sand. He shook his mane and began to make his way across the desert which he had grown so accustomed.

His eyes glowed an elegant green in the dark as he slowly made his way to a nearby watering hole. He had been there the last few nights, so one dared to tread there. His vicious legacy was somewhat of an immunity against being pestered. He laid by the side of the small watering hole, a nearby baby palm tree swaying in the warm breeze of the desert. Baya dipped his blood soaked paw in the water, and watched the ripples for a short while. When they settled he traced along his scars with a claw on his right paw, whilst his elbow rested against the ground.

There was a low growl behind him, making his right ear twitch. He turned his gaze lazily to what looked to be an angry lioness. Her face looked quite roughed up, and she stood with her tail betwixt her legs. This meant she really wanted to fight him. Baya's lips curled into a grin along his muzzle as he stood and stretched. He and the female circled one another for a moment.

"Not even going to bother to court me? You are quite arrogant." The female cackled. She sounded young and restless.

"Oh, you were expecting me to bow down to such a hideous specimen? I've seen better looking Lionesses being picked at by vultures." Baya purred at the thought of that scenario playing out with her.

"Quite a mouth on you. Let's hope you can back it up with some bite!" The female snarled as she jumped at him. Baya roared as she bit into his shoulder and rolled him onto the ground. He bit down on her right front ankle. This forced the lioness to let go of his scruff to let out a howl of pain. He pushed her down near the watering hole. She slashed him along the left side of his muzzle, forcing him to let go of her ankle.

Baya jumped back, still in fighting stance. He licked his muzzle free of her blood and cackled as his own blood dripped from his face. The lioness snarled as she stood slowly, gazing at her ankle. She jumped at him again, claws extended.

"And you commented on MY arrogance!" Baya cackled as he moved out of the way of her claws and slashed at her throat upon her landing. The lioness gripped at her throat,and then looked at her paw stained in her blood. She began to panic, as the bleeding would not stop.

"All I wanted...was a mate..." She murmured as her eyes began to grow weak.

"There are no mates out here my dear. Only death." Baya cooed in a cold way as he placed his paw over her eye lids and closed them for her. With another battle won, he wiped a smudge of blood from his face.

He sighed as he looked into the pool of water once again, cleaning his paws and facial wound. This was beginning to bore him. He wanted more of a thrill. He wanted someone to be able to pin him down,and have him at their mercy. His eyes closed for a moment. Was he lonely? Did he want to be beaten at something he found such pleasure in?

Baya opened his eyes once more. He would have to cross to the main lands soon. The desert just got boring for the demon.

[Azdgari]

Goodness. That's rather dark. It's sort of curious for a oneshot, you spent an awful long time talking about the setting and talking up a character for him to have such a brief time in the spotlight. But it works, in an irreverent, dark sort of way. You did a nice job of detailing the desert, I especially liked the line about sandstorms being a show for nobody. There are a lot of sentence fragments in there; they're used stylishly, but you can only use so many before it starts to look sloppy, so keep that in mind. And remember that they're lions; humanity doesn't really work as a phrase. xP

[Baya]

^ Thank you sir. I was just bumped up on inspiration. I'll try to figure out something about it later.

That was the point btw, of him being in the spot light only briefly because this was only a day in his life. Would you really want me detailing his cubhood, and what he had for breakfast? I want to know so I could possibly add it later on. If thats what the reader wants I suppose :3

[Azdgari]

Yes, I demand to know if he has Corn Chex or Rice Chex!

Nah, I was just throwing out my two cents. I meant that you spent a lot of time building him up which is awesome but then his actual scene was pretty brief. Which is fine! But if you were to change it, I would think about maybe fleshing that out a little bit? No need to add pointless things like his breakfast, but if you can think of relevant information, or perhaps prolong that scene, it would be fine. Not that it isn't already! ^^

[Baya]

Ty very much dude ^^ When I'm slammed with more inspiration I might just add some flesh to the bone

[Azdgari]

Didn't take long! Looks good! One thing... you said he 'successfully won'. You don't really need 'successfully' there... is there any other way to win? =P

[Baya]

^ Fixed et. Woot \;o;/

[Baya]

The Demon's Disciple

The hot sun was a great wake up call to many creatures of the desert. It meant it was time to go on the defensive. Baya's back was the only portion of him to feel the sun's warm good morning. This was because he was half covered by the cool and secure embrace of the palm tree's silhouette. His eyes were sealed shut, not even slightly concerned of his surroundings due to the illustrious reputation he had painted for himself with the blood of many fallen rogues.

Baya never usually slept too late into the morning, considering he liked to be on the move searching for battles when ever he could. It was usually the sun that woke him, but something else was going to start off his day this fine morning. At first, he thought it was a pesky bird or a little desert rabbit. When he opened his eyes for a moment, it was a furry blur. His eyes focused on what was pawing at his face in such a rough manner, and they widened. It was a little golden brown cub, with unique magenta eyes. He cackled at the cub female, and her feeble attempts at swatting him away, as if he were a fly.

"I want to drink from here. Fight me for it!" She growled as she got into a fighting stance. Baya slowly stood with a groan, and stretched as if the little cub wasn't even there. The cub looked confused for a moment, and then she huffed in frustration when Baya walked towards the watering hole. Before he could dip his muzzle into it for a morning drink the cub charged at one of his arms, falling backwards with a thump. She stood again and began to paw to no avail at Baya's much larger right paw.

"You are a pest..." Baya growled. Of all the cubs he had seen in the outlands, none of them had such...guts. They were always quivering and crying or hiding behind their mothers. This one was just so bold, and battle ready. She reminded him of himself. That was probably why he hadn't decapitated her yet. "But an uppity little pest." Baya said with a smirk as he stopped her paw and pushed her backwards.

"Pfft. You aren't anything! Just you wait!" She said as she got up quick and charged at him again and again. After many failed attempts, Baya finally rolled his eyes. This was just getting sad now. Even for his standards.

"Go ahead and drink. I don't care." Baya said in a monotone as he laid down on his side for a moment, dipping one of his paws in the water. The cub frowned and slowly made her way to the watering hole, not taking her magenta eyes off of Baya. She began to drink, and Baya stared at her.

"Wheres your mother?" Baya asked, expecting no answer really. She seemed quite distant, but with a strong will.

"Dead." She replied as if it was nothing. "Where's yours?" She spat with a snort following shortly after. "Didn't teach you to groom yourself , did she?"

Baya cackled. "My, oh my. Such a mouth on a little lady. Tell me, do you know who I am?" Baya asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. You are that Baya lion that everyone is so afraid of. You didn't look so tough to me. I guess its all just for show huh?" She said with a little grin. Baya smirked and stood. He approached her slowly, and towered over her so much that his shadow completely sheltered her. He placed his paw on her head.

"What is your name?" Baya asked with a tilt of his head. The uppity little cub pushed his paw away and stepped back.

"Tupa." She murmured hesitantly. Baya nodded his head as a warm desert wind whipped past, making his mane dance.

"Tupa...I'll remember that." Baya murmured as he turned and simply began walking away. He would make sure to fight her when she grew up, and to do that he needed her name. She would be a very worthy challenge.

He didn't wander far off from the little oasis when he was face to face with two rogue lionesses for an already half eaten desert rabbit. The lionesses looked similar, so Baya concluded that they were closely related.

"Why hello ladies. I'd do the more courteous thing and let you have it, or give you the chance to run away...but I'm not a very courteous lion." Baya said with a grin. One of the lionesses growled.

"Doesn't matter how courteous you are. It's ours. Now either back away, or become dinner. That's your options non courteous lion." One of them murmured, baring her teeth. The other also bared her teeth, and flexed her claws. There was going to be a fight for sure. Baya cackled as he got into his fighting stance once more.

"Death is inevitable my dears. How about I help you both get there, so as to calm your fears?" Baya said as the lionesses circled him.

"Didn't know you were a poet. Not alot of males know how to court lionesses out here." One of the lionesses snarled. The other also jumped into the fray shortly after. Baya would simply push one off while he subdued the other.

"Baya!" A familiar voice called out in the middle of the battle. All the fighters' attention went to the little cub that stood near them with a look of worry.

"Tupa..." Baya said with a look of despair. Why did she follow him? Why did she come out so far from her source of water? Why did he care of her fate so much?

One of the lionesses grinned as she quickly held Tupa down and placed one claw firmly near her neck. Baya's usual grin of battle faded, and a simple expressionless face replaced it as he was subdued in the same manner by the other lioness. He needed to piece together a rough plan to kill the lionesses before they hurt the annoying little cub before him. Then he would send her off on her own, and not pay a second thought to her.

"Well look at this. I never even thought you could be a father. Such a cute little daughter too..."

"She's not my daughter. She's a pest that I met a few hours ago. Let her go. She isn't involved." Baya warned with a growl. The lionesses both cackled.

"She called you Baya didn't she? Baya of the desert? The same that kills cubs for simple sport? You honestly care for this cub? Then all the more reason for us to kill her." The lioness holding Tupa down said as she slowly applied pressure.

It all happened in a flash. Tupa closed her eyes, and there were snarls and growls. When Tupa opened her magenta eyes, she was still alive. The lioness holding her wasn't, and standing before her was Baya, with a blooded right side of his neck and crimson paws. He looked down to her, with that same expressionless face. He then began to walk away once more, pretending like nothing happened.

"B-Baya! Wait!" Tupa whimpered as she slowly ran after him. Baya kept on going. Tupa frowned as she kept on running after him.

"I want you to teach me! Teach me how to fight!" She called after him. Baya walked as if he didn't hear a word. "Please! I want to be like you! I want to hurt those that want to hurt me! I want to be strong!" Tupa shouted, her voice beginning to crack. Tears began rolling down her face as she ran. "I don't want to be alone!" She finally sobbed. She closed her eyes and stopped running, figuring there was no point. He was a heartless killer. How could she have ever hoped for a teacher or more in him?

"The first rule, is no crying." Baya's voice broke through her sobs. She looked up to see Baya staring down at her, with a stern expression. Her eyes lit up and she wiped her tears from her eyes with her paws.

"Yes sir." She said with a weak smile.

[Maleficent]

Wow, this is good! I suppose it's a little dark, but I like fics that way, tbh. You're doing a very good job with character development and the descriptions are very nicely written. Haha, the ending of this chapter was great. I hope you update it soon. :3

[Baya]

Plan on updating it as soon as I get an idea of what the next chapter will be. Thank you :3