[PRP] Healing Touch (Yhe x Bast'ion)

[Krysin]

"Are you Ska? I have an injured idiot asking for you."

A purple lioness with markings eerily similar to her own had approached her slightly out of breath. How the lioness had even managed to find her was a miracle, though when Yhe had looked behind her she had seen another lion acting as a sort of guide. Before she had time to really take in the purple female's appearance, she was hurrying off to see just what in the gods' names was going on.

She was led to where Bast'ion laid in his own blood. His white fur was stained red around his belly and mouth, but the most disconcerting thing to her was that he was passed out. The wounds seemed superficial at worst, and if he kept from moving around too much they would heal easily. The trouble was that she had to move him out of the elements to begin with.

Yhe could not help him, of course, but she simply wasn't the type of lioness to turn away from someone else's suffering. Rather, she was the type to take it all on herself, embrace their suffering and make it her own. Empathy seemed to be a rare trait within the pride, but she possessed plenty of it... even sometimes for Bast'ion. "I have to get him someplace out of the elements, help me." She instructed the lion that had come along with her.

It had been a struggle to move Bast'ion's large form between the two of them, but they managed to bring him into a nearby den. It was either unoccupied, or its inhabitants had been gone for quite some time. There she did what she could for her captor, not necessarily because she wanted to, but because it was the decent thing to do.

She wouldn't be able to recognize herself if she couldn't bring herself to help someone in need.

Yhe was still working on at least cleaning the blood off of him when she noticed the male start to come around. "...You'd give your daughters a heart attack if they saw you like this."

Alpaca Chobi

 

[Krysin]

Yhe watched silently as Bast'ion began to stir, and managed to only grimace a little as the lion coughed up congealed blood. It was the first time she had seen such injuries on a lion. The thought was unsettling, that this was what the pride members of the Myrsky Syntynyt willingly put themselves through. All this pain and suffering... for what? This benefited no one, and she could not understand this kind of brutality when the world was already so cruel.

"Relax," she told him with a weary voice. Already, she was quite tired of this pride and its lifestyle. There was no way she'd ever become suited to living a life such as this one.

"If you keep pulling these sorts of stunts, you'll put yourself into an early grave. You have young cubs now - you need to start thinking of them more than yourself." There was no better time to lecture Bast'ion then when he had absolutely no choice but to listen to her. He wasn't exactly in any position to roll up onto his feet and waltz out of the den. This would, perhaps, be the only time she could get him to listen to her without him getting mad enough to storm off into the distance.

"You'll be fine, though. You best not let your children see you like the miserable wreck you are." She had cared for him gently, but there was no mercy in her words. Yhe didn't care too much if it hurt him, or made him upset. At this point he deserved it all.

Alpaca Chobi

 

[Krysin]

"I almost loathe to say this, but you being dead is a far greater burden than you being alive. You have young cubs now, who would you have raise them when you're deceased? Zerrin? I am sure he deserves a life of his own that is not shackled by your mistakes." Bast'ion now had far much more to live for than himself - why was it that he could not understand that? If Yhe had her family, she'd do anything to put them before herself always. She was the type of lioness to sacrifice everything for the happiness of her family. When Bast'ion captured her, she didn't even try to run back in the direction her mother was for the fear that she could lead someone to her.

Yet here, in stark contrast, was a lion that was selfish in every sense of the word. He was her burden when all of the world seemed to want her to carry its weight upon her shoulders. The lioness sighed, "Wait here for a little bit, then. I'll try and find something for the pain." She hoped he didn't do something to open his wounds further. Yhe would hate to return to the den and find him deceased - she had the suspicion she'd be stuck raising his cubs then.

The lioness rose gracefully to her feet, and disappeared out of the den for some time. She was not the best at treating injuries, but after asking around a lioness managed to point her in the direction of something to help numb the pain. With some instructions on how to properly use it, she returned to Bast'ion's side with a small mouthful of plants. She may have accidentally ingested some, but she doubted it would hurt anything.

She dropped the greens in front of Bast'ion's face mercifully. He would not have to move far to reach them. "Chew on these, they'll dull the pain for a while. I don't think there's much to be done for the actual injury, but if you rest enough it'll heal."

Alpaca Chobi

 

[Krysin]

What Yhe didn't realize was that she had given Bast'ion a herb that most of the lions in the pride used to get intoxicated. Having ingested a little herself, it took longer for the effects to start to sink in. His words brought an unusual smile to Yhe's face, a smile that radiated warmth and kindness. A part of her mind could not understand why she was reacting in such a way, but also could not fight it.

"Because, when the world only shows you cruelty... do you just give in to it? Or do you fight against it by remaining yourself, by never changing to be someone you don't want to be. I..." It was a rare moment of vulnerability for her, and for a moment the depths of her eyes reflected all the suffering she had experienced in her life.

"Even when the worst happens to me, I want to be able to say that I stayed true to myself." She leaned down, looking at him with neither anger or pity... but sympathy. "I think the world changed you into someone you never wanted to be, but here you are, and you cannot change now. You do not know how to." It was sad, but also the truth that she believed. Unless he was born and forged into this cruel beast, something else must have happened to him to make him the way he was now.

He just hadn't been strong enough to remain true to his heart and soul.

"What am I even to do here, Bast'ion? I have no purpose now, no place. I am the lowest rank in a pride that I don't want to be a part of. And all I have is you and your family." She was lost, and her next words were whispered with a certain feeling of finality, "All I have is you." Because he gave her no other choice now.

Alpaca Chobi

 

[Krysin]

She took a couple of leaves of the herb herself, though she was in no physical pain. But, the emotional pain she felt now was enough to make her chest tighten to the point where she felt she could not breathe. Perhaps it was not too much of a jump to think that, even temporarily, the herb could help. There were open wounds in her heart that no herb would ever truly be able to heal, but for the moment it took the edge off of the pain.

Yhe was herself, but she also wasn't. "Not always, Bast'ion," she told him softly. Her tail curled around her legs as she sat, as if to hold her insecurities inside herself.

The compliment normally would have been brushed off, or worse, would have annoyed her. Now, it made her cheeks flush, and she laughed a little from embarrassment. "I'm not that beautiful," she told him with an amused smile. "Not nearly beautiful enough to make everything okay. I'm just..."

She sighed, no longer sure what she meant to say.

Her eyes rested on him, and for a moment she saw him for what he was. A vulnerable lion who had been wronged by the world, but would never be strong enough to do anything about it. But... perhaps with her strength, he could try? It was that vulnerability that drew her in, that made her think for a moment that she could save him.

She leaned close, bringing her nose to just barely touch against his cheek.

Then another whisper, soft and sweet, "My name's Yhe."

Alpaca Chobi

 

[Krysin]

The slight chill of his nose almost made her draw back, though it wasn't from the cold. It was such an intimate action that she had decided to engage in, and she couldn't fully understand why she had made such a choice. She should hate Bast'ion, loathe him for what he had done to her. But in this moment where he was helpless, she could not find it in her heart to hate him. He was a sad, broken thing. Why, she was sure she'd never know, and maybe that was too big of a hole for her to jump into blindly.

She'd rather let things be as they were now, where they were at some sort of impasse with one another. "I would hope so, after all, it is my name," she answered him softly, as if her words ran the potential of breaking their peace.

It was his weakness that continued to draw her in. Yhe was a bleeding heart, and though she had tried to steel herself and withdraw from the world, she could not turn away entirely from those that needed her. And he desperately needed her right now. She leaned down again, this time giving him the most tentative of nuzzles. "Please... don't tarnish my name, let it be everything that it is - my identity, my individuality, my hope."

Alpaca Chobi

 

[Krysin]

She wanted to believe him, and right now it would be so easy to. When they were like this, private and alone, she really could believe that her name would not be used poorly. Then again, this was the first time she had seen Bast'ion in such a way. It was as if a new light had been shone upon him, revealing different facets of his soul. Could she truly trust that it would be okay with him?

If she didn't trust it, why did she give her name away so easily?

The questions pounded in her head, threatening to drive her mad. Then, Bast'ion pulled her in close and the questions dispersed. The warmth of his body so close brought a vibrant flush to her dark cheeks. Her eyes diverted to the side, revealing her tender embarrassment and sudden shyness.

As if his whispered words were an invitation, she laid down next to him. The length of her body rested against him in a subdued, almost peaceful manner. Her tail brushed over his, a silent inquiry and perhaps from her an invitation in kind. If his warmth was enough to throw away her worries and her doubts, then how wrong was it of her to seek it out?

Alpaca Chobi