Siavash sprinted over the marshy ground- he found that the faster he went, the less time there was for the swamp to try to envelop his paws and suck him down. He was panting hard, and the lion felt increasingly like a scared prey animal- or like the half-exposed, decaying zebra that his troupe of reavers had passed only moments before. The haze was growing increasingly thick, it felt almost like it was sentient- choking him.
He heard another scream up ahead. It made him pick up his pace and surge on ahead.
"Hang in there! I'm on my way! Just hold on!" he shouted as best he could, but his voice was weaker than he expected, even amidst all of his exercise. He furrowed his brows and was forced to slow to a lope, then a jog, then a brisk walk- though he picked his feet up quickly. The mist was so thick that he could see only a few feet ahead of him and he still could not catch his breath for the life of him. But at least the ground seemed to be getting firmer... He slowed his pace and tested the ground uneasily. The black lion threw a glance over his shoulder though he knew it'd do him no good. It was impossible to see Eikthyrnir and Ylevä where he had left them. His uncle and the experienced reaver were lost behind the thick curtain of white. He shivered, and continued on towards where he thought the scream had come from. The ground seemed to be sloping down, and he felt he was being channeled down into a trap. Or a regular cave, he couldn't tell. The walls grew around him, oozing water and what looked like primordial sludge. Vines and other plant life clawed up the wall, fighting each other for whatever scarce life ever came through when the haze cleared. The walls narrowed and the plants buffeted him in the face, further obstructing his view.
"Hello?"
"Hello!?" The reply was much closer than he would have thought. He stumbled over his own feet before realizing he'd entered into a large chamber, complete with its own roof. He must truly be underground now. That could be the only reason he felt like the air was too thin. At least the mist was less intense; now he could actually see the one calling for help.
It was a lioness of diminutive-medium stature. She was finely adorned- maybe she was a noble from somewhere? Something about the fur of her cape seemed familiar to him but he couldn't place where it was that he felt he recognized it.
"Are you hurt? You are the one who was calling for help, aren't you?" He looked around for another entity, trying to spot who her tormenter was.
"A little- and I am. Oh, I'm so glad you got here in time, I think you scared them away. I-.... I..." The lioness threw herself into Siavash and broke down into tears. The lion was far from expecting this sort of response, and his heart skipped a beat. Why was it so hard to catch his breath?
"...Who?"
"These... these brutes!" More crying. "They stole me away from my pride- a group of lions and hyenas... I think they're called the Nergui? I don't know what they call themselves but..." She looked up at the black male, noting how enormous he was. God blood. Her teary purple eyes searched his pink ones, before she broke down into more crying.
Siavash was feeling too light-headed to think of a response. That, and Stormborn reavers were leagues away from the ones in tales told to cubs about valiant heroes rescuing damsels in distress. The Mrysky Stynyt pride was more likely than not to be the reason individuals were in distress. Thralls suddenly came to mind. But could he be that dishonest? What about a half-truth? Or he could use force... This lioness was wrapping herself around him- she'd literally thrown herself at Siavash.
"Please, help me, take me with you, anything to get me away from here!" She begged, burying her face into Siavash's dark mane. She breathed in his scent deeply, but hid it amongst her sobs. Yes, this was going according to plan. She had to hide her pleased expression in Siavash's fur.
"I... Yes, come with me. I'll take you back to my pride- you'll be safe from the, what did you call them? Nergui? there, and you'll be under my protection... Then... Then we can go from there. They'll call you my thrall-"
"Thrall?" She asked, innocently, her tears finally through as she batted her lashes at her rescuer.
"Just don't worry about it. Let's get out of these caves and get some fresh air. Aren't you dying down here?" He looked at her, trying to build their relationship by relating over the smothering atmosphere.
"Oh! Absolutely," she said, nodding earnestly. "My crying only made it worse. It was so hard to breathe- much less call for help. I thought surely I would faint before anyone arrived to rescue me..." She looked at the ground, shyly. Siavash found himself enraptured by this bewitching stranger.
"We can go out the way I came in but-"
"I know a way," she offered. She went on to explain, noting his shocked look. "They led me in a different way than the one that you came through. I couldn't always understand them, but I think the side you came in is through a swamp? That's why there were no guards or scouts there. They were over-confident that no one would come through that way so they left it unprotected. The way we came through lets out into normal, dry ground, though it's still unfamiliar to me."
"But won't they be waiting for us?" Siavash looked where she'd indicated with a quizzical expression. The lioness shook her head in an adamant 'no.' He raised his brow at her. How was she so sure?
"The cowards..." her breath caught again and she succumbed to another bout of crying. Siavash offered his shoulder for her to lean on again, not minding the opportunity to be so close to her. She had a few scrapes and some hairs out of place, but she was quite lovely. Were her captors intending on ransoming her? He thought it inappropriate to ask now, he didn't want to thrust her into more distress, but he would ask later.
"Ok, if you're sure..." She nodded again, and he took the lead towards the opposite tunnel. He looked one more last time over his shoulder at the way he came- where his uncle and Ylevä were waiting for him, and continued on, the lioness out of sight behind him, but almost giddy with anticipation.
Why couldn't he breathe?
the end
1,135 words
1,135 words