Luris had been in the company of the lion for a day now. His captor made him stick pretty close to him and whenever he got a even a little distance away, the lion would fix that right away. They traveled slower then normal due to Luris leg. It had been a bit of a surprise to him that the lion did not try to push him to go faster, but part of him thought that maybe Akuva enjoyed being around him while he suffered.
“This is a good spot to rest,” Akuva said, stopping next to a cave entrance.
It was not a time to be picky, Luris thought as he entered the cave. He found a spot near the entrance of the cave and laid down. Akuva, however stayed out of the cave and was looking around.
“You haven't had food for a while. Stay here and I will go get something for you to eat,” Akuva said with a slight intimidating growl. He looked at Luris for confirmation and Luris nodded his head. It was enough for Akuva and he left while humming to himself.
Silently he watched the lion head into the dense forest.
It was the first time since he had seen Akuva that he felt a sense of relief. Being around the lion made him feel like he was constantly being threatened. Now he could actually think clearly and figure out a plan. Luris remained still and silent, listening for the lion. The only sounds he heard were bird tweeting and the wind blowing through the leafs.
'This is my one chance to run for it,' he thought as he slowly got up. Akuva wouldn't be back right away. He would have at least some time to get as far away as he could. Silently, he started to walk in the opposite way that Akuva had went.
For a little bit, Luris stayed on edge. Any sound caused him to stop and observe his surroundings. When he felt safe he would continue onward. Eventually he started to speed up when he was certain he was far enough from the cave. He ignored the pain in his leg, knowing that he couldn't allow it to stop him from getting away.
'I need to Miarel,' he thought. She wouldn't just give up on him. If she tried to save him now, she would only endanger herself, he thought as he continued. He needed to be near others though. Akuva certainly wouldn't go after him around others.
As he ran, for a split second, he thought he heard the familiar humming that Akuva would do when it was quiet. 'You are just hearing things,' he tried to assure himself as he kept pushing forward. He was focused on getting as far away from here as he could.
Suddenly, on his left side, he saw briefly the lion pouncing toward him. Like a scared gazelle, his eyes widened and he was stuck still with fear as Akuva tackled him to the ground. Akuva securely pinning him to the ground, his front paw on Luris' neck, with his claws extended.
“Not the prey I wanted to hunt.” Akuva said angrily. He slowly got off Luris, though he 'accidentally' stepped down hard on Luris' leg causing Luris' to flinch. “You were told to stay put. I thought you would have known that it was dangerous to travel alone. Look what happened to you before I found you.”
Luris wanted to say something, but the pain in his leg was becoming too much.
“Until someone fights for your freedom, you are traveling with me cheetah. You need to learn your place. Listening to me will make your life easier. While you are traveling with me you will be safe and provided food. All you have to do is simply follow my orders. Understand.” Akuva said, staring down at Luris, waiting for an answer.
“Yes,” Luris muttered, slowly getting up.
“You just wasted a good amount of time cheetah. I am afraid that it will be impossible for me to go hunting for food now. If you are hungry you can eat any of the plants in the area. Just try not to get sick.” Akuva said in a somewhat mocking tone.
Luris rolled his eyes, but his stomach let out a grumble at the thought of food. He hoped that Akuva did not hear it. There was a berry bush not too far and he was able to limp toward it. He could feel the lions gaze on him, but he did his best to ignore him.
“Do you think anyone is going to show up to save you?” Akuva asked, not in a cruel way, but in a more curious tone. It was the softest his voice had gotten since the two had met. It did not lighten the mood though. Luris carefully picked some purplish colored berries off the bush.
“Who knows. Are you regretting that you said that I am stuck with you until someone saves me?” Luris responded before eating some of the berries he gathered up.
Akuva was resting near a tree, watching Luris. “It would not bother me. I need a fight and if someone wants to fight me for your freedom then good. If no one shows up then I will make sure to get some use out of you. I have never met someone I consider useless. Even if your skills are just dancing, I am sure I can figure out some way to make use of that.” He explained.
Every moment he was in the company of Akuva, Luris felt himself dislike him that much more. The idea of him being nothing more then a skill to Akuva sickened him.
“Lets get going back to the cave. To make up for lost time, we are leaving early tomorrow.” Akuva's voice returned to the normal growling tone. “If you do better at following orders, tomorrow I might go hunting so I don't return you to your friend starved.” Akuva got up and stood next to Luris.
It would have been nice to eat some more berries, even if they didn't sedate his hunger, Luris thought as he got up. Akuva must have been hungry by now. By tomorrow Akuva might be hungry enough to forget about him. It was a hopeful thought. But so far he was unable to predict how Akuva would react.
Akuva started to head back toward the cave, his eyes would glance over at Luris who was moving at a decent pace, considering his hurt leg.
'I just hope Miarel is doing better then I am.' he thought as he followed his captor .
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