[PRP] Wandering Off (Hjalmar & Thulile)

[MangoMeow]

It was the middle of the night, but Hjalmar was far from asleep. No, he was too wound up from the day, too steamed to rest. Gods, that harpy was always stepping on his toes!

They were still out and about with their group, but Hjalmar had chosen to wander away from them to try and hunt on his own. He wasn't terribly worried about being attacked. He was large for his age, bulkier than most adolescents and were it not for his short mane, he would easily have been mistaken as an adult. Plus, he was a Viking, born and raised for combat. He would relish a challenge.

But for now, he would settle with finding something interesting - food, maybe something or someone else - and then he would head back to his band with his trophy. That aught to show Dreki just who was the better Viking! He puffed up with a smirk at the thought of showing her up.

(It didn't even occur to him that his father may not be so happy with him wandering off. Besides, if he caught something good, he probably wouldn't care.)

So, with narrowed eyes, Hjalmar scanned the area around him, trying to keep himself low to the ground and quiet.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Thulile sighed softly as she padded through the tall grass, moving further and further from the edge of the Bonelands. The pride she had grown up in was a nice place to be, but she needed to get out and stretch her legs from time to time. Today was one of those days - or nights, rather - but rather than turning around to head back at her usual spot, something drove her on. Tonight was a special night. The air seemed different, like change was on the wind. She couldn't put a paw on why, but whatever it was drew her on.

She kept her eyes peeled for anything new or dangerous but the night was still and welcoming, which in turn made her let her guard down. Perhaps she'd stay away from the pride for a few days, see what it was like on her own again. The last time she'd been a rogue had been during her adolescence and she hadn't taken well to it. Times changed, though, and perhaps what she was looking for was this. Freedom, a change of scenery, no one whispering about blue lionesses or only having a pawful of males to pick to breed with. A little break might be nice, she thought, as she continued to walk along.

MangoMeow

 

[MangoMeow]

Ironically, focused as he was, Hjalmar almost missed the brown form moving through the tall grass, but he thanked his lucky stars that he spotted her before he had run straight into her. Or worse, before he had lost her entirely.

His ears perked up excitedly at the sight of the lioness. This was exactly what he was hoping to find - a pretty lioness, by herself and completely unguarded. A perfect opportunity for a catch!

Hjalmar debated his options at that point. He could either walk right up to her and trick her, or simply chase her down and force her. He was never one to be subtle though. Over the years, the adolescent had learned that he was not the stealthiest of lions - his bulk usually gave him away - but it was night and his pelt was dark. If he was careful, perhaps he could get the jump on her.

So with careful steps, he moved himself closer and closer until he was only a few leaps away. Eyes narrowing, he braced himself and shuffled his hind legs to ready himself.

And then he flew forward, paws thudding against the ground and very obviously showing that he was coming, but he had got himself close enough that it only took one leap to land on her back.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Thulile's guard was down, that much was obvious, and she didn't notice the dark shape moving through the grass towards her. Night time wasn't a time in which lions should be nervous, she thought. She was alone though and obviously didn't take into consideration the fact that the hunter could become the hunted in situations like this. It wasn't until she heard the pounding of paws slightly to her left that she realized what kind of danger she was in.

She turned her head in time to see a young male flying through the air, his form slamming into hers before she could react. Despite his youth he was large, nearly as big as her, and she was taken to the ground out of surprise and power. Thulile let out a startled roar and her heart jumped into her throat as adrenaline kicked in, her fight or flight response telling her to get away. She had always been more of a pacifist than someone who would lash out and as such she struggled to toss the male off of her.

"What are you doing?!" she cried out, trying to squirm to get her paws under the male to shove him off. He was a solid weight against her though and she was making very little progress. "Get off!"

MangoMeow

 

[MangoMeow]

Hjalmar held on as tightly as he could, though a part of him mused over how similar this felt to rough-housing with his siblings. Well, he knew how to pin someone, in that case.

Ignoring her sputtering, he fastened his front paws around her neck and began kicking out his back legs in an attempt to knock her off balance. She wasn't putting up too much of a fight, so he wasn't worried about her bucking him off, but he would need to hold on until she tired out. A tired thrall was easiest to catch, after all.

Finally, he felt his back leg hit against something that gave way underneath him - one of her back legs - and the pair felt falling forward. Hjalmar held fast, putting all of his weight on her back to keep her in place as he waited for her to stop struggling.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Her cries did nothing to deter the strange lion from his attack and Thulile struggled to remain on her paws. One strong blow to her back leg sent her tumbling to the ground, though, and she knew that any chance she might have had against the surprise attack was now nil. Still she fought, struggling and swiping at the male, snarling and crying out for help but to no avail. She was too far from the pride, too far from anyone to hear her, and eventually exhaustion won out over adrenaline.

She finally fell still, panting heavily under the male, terror in her eyes despite her surrender. What kind of lion attacked another like this? He wasn't aiming to kill, that much was certain, but she was too tired and too terrified to speak again. Surely his will would be made known now.

MangoMeow

 

[MangoMeow]

Hjalmar didn't let up his assault until he was sure that she wasn't going to keep fighting, a choice that proved to be correct when she continued struggling. Finally, she stopped moving and all fell quiet, bar the exhausted panting from the lioness.

With a triumphant growl, he lifted his head up but kept his body weight pushing into her. Best not to give her any ideas, after all.

For a moment, he wondered what... he did now. Admittedly, he had never gotten this far before and his imaginations always carried him forward to when he was bringing home his trophy. How did one bring a Thrall back? If he could drag her back to his group, there would be no way for her to escape. He would have to play it by ear until then.

The male shifted slightly to place a paw in front of her face, "You're coming with me."

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

It seemed the male wasn't going to go for the kill. Instead he kept his weight on Thulile's side to keep her pinned even though she knew she wasn't going anywhere. He was far stronger than he looked and now that she was exhausted running away wasn't a viable option.

Some of the pressure was released from her side and she took a deep breath to try to get more oxygen into her body as a blue paw was placed in front of her face. The voice from above left no room for argument and she nodded weakly to let him know she had heard. Whatever was happening, she was going to do whatever it took to remain alive.

MangoMeow

 

[MangoMeow]

He could almost purr from satisfaction at her meek response. This was going swimmingly well, he thought. She knew who was in charge, and was going to follow.

Pushing himself up, Hjalmar kept close as he watched her get up, before nudging her forcefully in the direction he'd come from. Best to get moving while the night was still young.

Besides, he wanted to see the look on everyone's faces when they saw him return with a catch. Especially Dreki's. Oh, he was going to relish the jealousy from her.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

As she got to her paws Thulile knew today had been a very bad day to decide to wander off. She glanced back in the direction of the Bonelands but knew that she was on a new path now, for better or worse. She wasn't leaving any blood relatives behind so there was really no one to say goodbye to.

A rough shove against her rump got her moving further from the pride. She heaved a sigh and turned to walk in the direction she was being herded. Who knew, perhaps whatever life she was destined for now would be better suited for her than the Bonelands had been. Although with the attitude of her captor she still wondered what sort of life she was heading into.

MangoMeow

Fin!