wild summer gone —

Vëalíre,

Lioness of Prideless

Played by pine

---

water — dark, tumultuous waves churned both beneath her and around her, ripping the lioness’ weightless form to and fro. she pawed frantically at each rising wave in an effort to keep her head above water, and yet, her efforts were in vain. again and again, the waves crashed down upon her, thrusting her beneath the surface with thunderous roar. each time, vëalíre broke through the water’s surface with a sputtering gasp, her head thrown back in a desperate attempt to draw in air. she was growing weaker, though. she could feel the energy slipping from her with each passing moment until, at last, vëalíre drifted into n o t h I n g.

water — it was the last thing vëalíre saw before succumbing to the darkness, and it was to water that she, at long last, awakened. with the gentle rush of an incoming tide, water pooled around her. it lapped at her water-worn form, flitting across each cut and bruise with a salty kiss. the lioness shifted, groaning as the movement sent a wave of pain rippling throughout her muscles. blearily, she cracked open her eyes and blinked, wincing as the light struck her face. where am i?

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code to pine

Kilian,

Lion of Junior Member

Played by vae

---

Kilian found that he kept coming back to the beach. It was relaxing, and the sand put his mind at ease. At the end of the day, despite any posturing, he was a simple lion. Like a cub who savors the sweet scent of their mother, he craved the warm feeling of sand beneath his paws. Today, though, he saw no jellyfish - unlike his last trip here. Instead, his eyes were on the horizon as he stood on the beach, glancing out past the waves as far as his eyes could see. The sea was beautiful but terrifying. He could not imagine succumbing to its fury.

Yet something would catch his eye: a dark shape among the cerulean waves. He strained to see what it was, even took a step forward to allow his vision a better chance at adjusting. It took him several, tense seconds, but eventually, he came to the frightening conclusion that it was not a 'what' at all but a who. Kilian's heart dropped, and he sprinted closer to the shoreline. His fast and heavy pawsteps upset the sand, which flew in all directions. He was about to throw himself into the arms of the ocean when the sea, instead, sought mercy and deposited the stranger onto the shore. He wasted no time rushing over to them, fearing the worst.

"Are you okay?" he asked straight-away, trying to curb the anxiety rising in his throat. "I can help pull you away from the water if you need a paw." Kilian didn't want to assume, nor did he wish to bruise her ego (if she had one).

@Vëalíre

Vëalíre,

Lioness of Prideless

Played by pine

---

note, vëalíre suffers from a sizable graze spanning her left side, a diagonal cut across her left shoulder, and a variety of cuts and scrapes littering her face and legs.

where am i? — without looking at the shoreline that stretched before her, vëalíre knew that the sands upon which she had moored were not the lands of her birth. they were different somehow—in the waves lapped against the shore; in the cries of the birds overhead; in the feel of the air itself. and yet, there was little time to concern herself with such things right now. shadow descended upon her, rousing the drunken consciousness of vëalíre’s mind, and a weak surge of alarm coursed through her hazy senses.

ears pressed against the curve of her head, and with much effort, vëalíre rose to her feet. she swayed dangerously, the edges of her vision blackening in perceived warning ( a warning of over exertion, which vëalíre noted with delayed concern ), but what else was she to do? vëalíre knew that she was much too weak to truly fight off an attacker, but at the same time, she refused to let herself be an easy target. lips curled weakly atop ivory fangs, and a low sound of warning rumbling within her chest as the lion neared. however, the impending attack she was certain would befall her did not come — and rather belatedly, she registered the rush of his voice. while vëalíre could not yet process the exact words that spilled from foreign lips, she could just detect the evident concern lilting through his voice. she blinked ( perhaps, stupidily, even ) and felt a ripple of uncertainty dance upon her face. ”come again?” she breathed cautiously, ignoring the trembling in her legs, as she lifted her gaze to meet his.

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code to pine

@Kilian

Kilian,

Lion of Junior Member

Played by vae

---

Kilian was no healer, but he did have eyes. A single once-over of the beached lion's body, and it was very clear that she was wounded. Now that the scent of the ocean was beginning to lessen, he could also smell blood. His brow furrowed deeply. He was new to this territory and had no way of knowing where a healer was, or if one even existed at all. Kilian's mothers and his extended family had taught him a lot of tricks; however, herbs and medicines weren't on that list. The most he knew was how to stop bleeding, which he supposed was better than nothing at all.

Unsurprisingly, she took his presence as a threat. He didn't blame her. If he was injured and approached by a stranger, he would have reacted much the same. Such was why, when she drew back defensively, he took a decisive step backward. "Easy," he attempted to soothe her without coming off as condescending (but he did understand her fear). "I will not hurt you." Kilian kept the newly imposed distance between them (about a lion's length apart) in an effort to give her some space.

"My name is Kilian, and I asked if you needed help," he answered again, patient and mild.

@Vëalíre

Vëalíre,

Lioness of Prideless

Played by pine

---

”oh,” she offered in breathy reply, and promptly sat down, the weight of her body having proven too much for her trembling legs to bear. Although she maintained a wariness about her as striped lion drew back, Vëalíre felt some of her tension ease. ”Thank you,” she added belatedly, sage eyes studying the stranger—@Kilian—before her. Here and there, Vëalíre could feel the tightness that accompanies injured flesh—biting cuts upon aching limbs and worn face—but it was the throbbing that resonated across her left shoulder and side that spoke of the worst. With a tiny tilt of her head toward the left, Vëalíre sought her companion’s gaze. ”How bad is it?”
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note, don’t mind the shortness and the bleh-ness!! || vëalíre suffers from a sizable graze spanning her left side, a diagonal cut across her left shoulder, and a variety of cuts and scrapes littering her face and legs.

code to pine

Kilian,

Lion of Junior Member

Played by vae

---

In his mind, he was formulating a plan of what he could do to help her. Freshwater could be a good start, for her to drink and to wash out those wounds. He had seen water be used to clean wounds before, and it also just made logical sense. If worse came to worst, he could always fanagle her onto his back and carry her. His mismatched eyes travel over her body again. He had no idea what had happened; all he knew was that it wasn't good.

"The worst of it is on your left side, here," Kilian very carefully stepped forward and gestured with his maw just above where the wound was. He was cautious not to touch the wound. His movements were deliberate and slow, as he was trying to permit her the time to watch and understand what he was doing. "Your shoulder is pretty cut up, too, and lots of smaller ones... pretty much everywhere." A severe expression came over his face. He wanted to ask what happened, but now wasn't the time for that. "Let's get you away from the water. Can you walk? You can lean on me if you want." Kilian nearly offered to carry her, but he wasn't sure how she'd respond.

@Vëalíre
ooc: you never have to apologize for length or content <3

Vëalíre,

Lioness of Prideless

Played by pine

---

i

n spite of @Kilian's obvious concern, instinct urged vëalíre to move away—to retreat—at the lion's careful approach; and yet, she did not. she simply didn't have the energy—nor the strength—to do so. the lioness could feel her body swaying, rocking in time with the push and pull of the ebbing tide that lapped at her paws; she shivered, then. but vëalíre knew not if the quiver stemmed simply from the growing chill that accompanied time spent in the water; or if it was something m o r e, something rooted in the aftermath of — of what? came her sudden thought, frown tugging at her lips and furrowing the taut lines of her battered face. how did i get here?

and suddenly, she was falling — plummeting head over heels in a cascade of rocks and bodies. she could hear screams ( distant sounds echoing in her ears — far off, and yet, so close ), and in them, she knew there was death she could feel her own cry building, bubbling and boiling, within her throat, and as she crashed into another, ricocheting off something hard and j a g g e d, vëalíre screamed. the ocean roared beneath her, waves churning in a hungry dance, and she crashed into its gaping maw — vision darkening as she disappeared beneath the surface into unearthly silence.

vëalíre awoke ( if one could call it that, emerging from the grips of a haunting ) to find kilian's inspection complete, the clinical hum of his voice—words she had not quite caught—fading within her ears: away from...water...walk? exhaustion, pain, and a sense of disorientation washed over her, and though vëalíre could not fully process what had been said, the meaning was clear. sanctuary — a refuge from the sea and all that she had lost. "please," she whispered, lifting her weary gaze to meet his, "take me away from this place."

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code to pine

Kilian,

Lion of Junior Member

Played by vae

---

For a long while, she fell silent. Despite knowing that he needed to get her to a more comfortable setting, he didn't dare disturb her. Kilian had already seen firsthand just how uneasy she was. Whatever she had been through, she didn't need him compounding that any further by pressing the matter. So, he waited. His amateur assessment was complete, leaving her to decide how she would like to proceed. He wouldn't speak again until she had made her decision. Keeping a slight distance between them, he waited patiently for the water-logged lioness to make her choice. All it took was one simple command, and he was back at her disposal with the same, gentle bedside manner.

"Of course," he bobbed his head, which tussled his mane slightly. "I can carry you," it was both an offer and a fact. Kilian wasn't unusually strong by any means, but he was confident that he would be able to manage her weight without any difficulty. "Here." He spoke the word as he settled on his stomach and inched toward her slowly. Using the forelimb closest to Vëalíre, he sought to slip it beneath her so that he could encourage her onto his back. If she accepted his aid, he was going to have her sprawled out with her belly flat on the curve of his back. Otherwise, he was happy to simply shoulder the majority of her weight as they walked together. Whatever she chose, he would ultimately rise to his feet, waiting for some silent or verbal command that she was ready.

Before long, he would start to take her up the beach and away from the water. He took his time, not wanting to rush her. Each step was a decisive liberation from the salt-water prison from which she had emerged, and Kilian only started to slow his already sluggish pace once they were far enough away from the sea that it couldn't recapture her again, even at the highest tide. He found a patch of some of the bluest grass she has ever seen and attempted to guide her to it to rest. Though he was partial to sand himself, he imagined that grass made a much better bed to most.

"If you're hungry, I can hunt," and he hoped that was true. Hunting wasn't a strong suit of his, either, but he knew enough to survive with his brother as a rogue.

@Vëalíre