kasai
What had he done...? To say Aldan slept well that night would have been quite an overstatement. The adolescent found himself twisting and turning in the small den he had basically been forced into with the former pridelander by the other reaver. What the adolescent had done was wrong. But when he tried to outweigh the lesser of two evils, he felt he did the right choice.

And still it felt wrong.

The lion must have dozed off slightly, he didn't know when the female had left the den. When he awoke, her pale form was gone. Aldan's eyes widened as he rose to his paws. "No. no no no." What if Kristanf had gotten to her? What if he didn't keep up with his end of the deal? All of what happened just wasted!

Aldan exited the den, practically crashing into a darker form as he headed out.

"Easy Ald. What's the rush?"

"I gotta find her." He muttered, ignoring Ciro, catching the scent of Yorshka, and it still was relatively fresh.

Quirking an eyebrow, the captain followed the adolescent up the worn path. The sound of waves crashing hit his ears, louder and louder as they neared the cliffs. Golden eyes narrowed as he spotted a pale lioness just before it.

"Yorshka!" Aldan cried out, but it was Ciro who prevented him from moving forward.


Screaming was all she could hear when her eyes closed, perception felt warped and abnormal. No matter how hard she clutched her teeth together the noise still rang on in interleaves of three, humming in her head like a hive of bees. Flashes of bright lights and mist came at once, images of blood, salt, sea, and sand. If Yorshka focused hard enough she could see Aldan's eyes and hear his voice, his words echoing over and over. "Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me." The pain felt unreal. Yorshka's paws would shift beneath her, though she would never notice, lost within the calamity that was her mind.

Feathers fell all around her as her mouth filled with blood, pouring out of her like a stream of water, pooling at her paws until she was engulfed by the red abyss. The lioness opened her eyes and could see a silver pendant as clear as day, dangling from a dead tree branch, thunder dancing in the sky above. Two small orbs circled each other at it's center, shining brightly before she felt herself collapse. Everything went black. Everything went silent.

When she woke everything felt different and she knew in this moment her life would never be the same. Aldan once told her of the visions that plagued him and how all seers experienced them differently. Was that what this was? Why... why now? After all these years... what changed? "......." Wide blue eyes shifted down as she frantically searched herself over, inspecting every fine hair for traces of injury or maim, yet she bore no physical scars. She could see no change, except...

It was all coming back to her now. Aldan and what he had to do. What Kristanf made him do. As quickly as she could the lioness moved herself to the cliff side, unaware of how she even got this far outside undetected. Had she been in some sort of trance? What was happening? Tears started to stream down her white cheeks as the masked female stood still, peaking over the edge at the drop below. The waves kissed the rocks seductively, as if telling her to join them. It would only take a few steps now...

But someone was calling her back. The lioness turned her head, tears still strung along her face.

"Go away!" She demanded, her voice raspy and unhinged.
kasai

Aldan glanced at the paw that stopped him. "Please. Ciro." He pleaded, ready to rush towards the older lioness.

The Captain shook his head. "Why don't you go home." He didn't know what happened, but he was sure he could assume something. The male had been in enough situations to know the scent of sex. There was no doubt the young male had participated in such act, and it looks like this female could have been his partner. The question was what happened to make the female this upset.

"No..."

No? The captain looked at his once reaver student. "Fine. Stay here."Ciro commanded quietly, not wanting the male to bring out anymore unwanted emotions to the already emotional lioness.

He glanced towards the lioness, walking slowly over to her."

"Now, I don't know what is going on, or what happened, but where you are standing is pretty dangerous. Would you mind stepping down from them. I surely would hate to have to jump in after you." Ciro said with a small frown, trying to make light of the situation at hand.


"You back the hell of." She hissed, moving herself even closer to the cliff's edge. She could feel the mist from the ocean against her face. it would only take a second and... Before she could rationalize anything she was feeling Yorshka's eyes moved to Aldan's figure, baring her teeth as she called out, crying.

"Why can't you stand up for yourself? Why did you let him do it? Why? Why?" The lioness could have asked that question one hundred times over, yet she knew any answer he gave would never be enough to explain his lack of backbone. He was a coward, why didn't he protect her? Why?

"I trusted you." The words came pouring out without warning.

"I trusted you...." Silence fall over the lioness as she lowered her head. Yorshka didn't know what to think or feel. In truth she could hardly remember much outside of the visions she experienced and the trance she seemed to find herself in after. Still, she could smell Aldan on her and she knew. She knew.

"Make him leave." Her words were firm, eyes masked in a blanket of tears.

"Make him ******** leave."
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Ciro found himself freezing as the lioness hissed.

"I...I didn't...If...If I didn't he would've...and...I didn't want that...Please..." Aldan found himself pleading.

His eyes narrowed as he glanced back towards the younger male. Let him do it? Do what? And the stammering. "Aldan." Ciro said firmly. "Unless you want that reaver status pulled from you right now, you better go home. You are not to come near here or her without my consent. Do I make myself clear?" The Captain asked.

Aldan gasped. Everything he had worked hard to accomplish could be pulled from him. But, it wasn't about losing the rank. He could see the hurt. He could hear the hurt. If he stayed, it would only make things worse. He understood that.

He nodded. No more words as he turned and fled.

Once Ciro was sure he was out of ear range, he turned back towards Yorshka.

"He's gone." He said softly. He took another slow, careful step towards the pale lioness. "I promise you, I will not hurt you." The captain said, another cautious step forward. "Your name is Yorshka? I am Ciro~" another step. It was like he was treading on thin ice. He just needed to get the female away from the edge.

"Why don't you take a step away from there. I can take you to a small waterhole to clean up?" He offered,


"I am fine right here." She wouldn't move, no matter how many times he asked. This was the one thing she could control, so she would keep it. That control mattered.

"I don't want to talk, Ciro. I am so sick of being talked at, it's like I don't even matter. I hardly exist, unless someone wants to hurt me." Her eyes started to dry as she looked back toward the ocean, her fur dancing against the breeze.

"This is the first time I've ever seen the ocean, you know? I should be crying out of happiness, I mean, look at this sight. It's stunning. Truly, I don't think I could ever sum up the beauty of this spot right here." Carefully she took a paw over the edge, feeling the hard stone against her claws, each digit tracing every curve of cold earth she passed.

"I just wanted to be his friend. I trusted him... but he let that b*****d take me. He took me from my home, Ciro. From my mother and family." Her voice cracked under the weight of those words.

"Aldan was my friend... right? I mean, I thought he was. I wanted so badly for us to be close..." This time she withdrew her hand from the cliff side and turned to face him, her back to the sea.

"But if I was going to be that close with him, it should have been up to me. That was my choice, not ******** Kristanf's." Yorskha had never been one to curse, yet here she was, cursing his name.

"...He thought he could spare me, I know, I do. He kept saying he was sorry. I know he is." This moment of self-awareness settled in her as she gave him an empty smile, this stranger was the first lion to even look at her like her life mattered, here in this God-forsaken place.

"It was my choice..."

kasai
Well, if she was fine right there, than Ciro would just have to continue his slow, methodical steps up until he reached her and would be in a safe grabbing distance should she decide to take a step off.

He paused his step, watching her foot step off, before it returned back to the earth. He let out of breath he didn't know he was holding in. "This isn't the ocean that you would want to really be happy seeing." Ciro said quietly. "There are many more in this world that will help bring a smile to your face. Those, will make you cry in happiness." The male stated, another step towards the female. He was closer to her now, but still too far to safely nudge her from the ledge.

Ciro was understanding what happened. She was brought into the thrall life, not willingly it seemed. At this, the dark lion sighed and shook his head. "I grew up in this pride, and I still don't understand why some take others from their homes." While some came over willingly, there were few that was against their will. Yorshka seemed to be one of them.

"Aldan...he is a good kid. But he is just that, still a kid. His mane hasn't completely grown, and until it does he will always be young, naive even." Ciro tried to explain. "It seems he was thrown into a situation more suited for an adult." His ears perked, head tilting. "Kristanf?" Was that a tone of disappointment? He was the cause of this?

Now his ears swiveled, hearing her almost recollect the past evening. He rose a paw to stop her from saying anymore.

While he didn't close in on the female, he nudged his head in the direction of the woods. "Come with me." Ciro offered quietly. "While it is probably a hard reason for you to trust anyone in this pride, I give you my word not only as a Captain, but also a father. I promise I will not harm you, or have anyone else harm you. You will find that thralls are...not my forte." He said with a frown. No, Judeau did not count, even though the bird was bonded to him.


Her head hurt far more than anything else. The lioness just wanted the noise to settle so her mind could rest. Rest. The word felt so foreign. She had not slept in days, and when she tried to last night all she could do was stare at Aldan's back, burning holes into his skin without him even noticing. Maybe he was too afraid to notice.

"If I come with you... will you protect me from Kristanf?" Her question came with a somber expression, her body waving like a leaf in the wind.

"I have to know that you won't let him hurt me... or Aldan." No matter how upset she was, it was hard for her to blame Aldan for every action he made, when he had Kristanf behind him, threatening him with every word he spoke, every action made. He was the cause of this, and sadly she and Aldan were just play things to him, things he could torment and abuse.

"If you promise me this I will come with you." She would keep her word if he could keep his. Before he could reply she turned to face the sea once more, taking in the salt air with a deep breath.

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Ciro couldn't help but chuckle. "My dear, you will see surely not everyone here is...fond...of Kristanf. I have a bond. His name is Judeau. Kristanf tried to kill him one day. Probably would have succeeded if I didn't step in." He probably was over-dramatacizing that. "But, let's just say after that encounter Kris...doesn't come around my den very often." He gave the female a sheepish grin.

"I promise he won't harm you." He'd have to stalk out Aldan. "I will have to find Aldan to make sure Kristanf stays away from him too. However," Ciro let his gaze linger on the female. "Do you wish to see him?" He could always have Judeau or Saki watch Aldan to make sure Kristanf didn't do anything to the poor boy.

When she turned towards the cliff again, the male took a step, now to stand by her. "I promise this is not the best beach in our lands either. I can show you one that holds so much more beauty to it." There was no underlying meaning to his words as he normally would have with a female in his sight. Instead, his 'fatherly' tone was showing.

"Come." He said quietly. "We will get you cleaned up. Maybe grab a new pelt on the way back." Ciro was sure she didn't want to lay in /his/ bed, nor on his well worn pelts.


Of course I want to see him. Just... not right now." No matter what they were forced to do the lioness knew that in time she would want to see him again. Just, right now she needed to be alone. Well, as alone as Ciro would allow. She was his ward now, until he saw fit to allow her to be on her own... or to whom ever she belonged to. This... this was a hard fact to face. She was still just a thrall here.

"Alright. I'll come with you." Yorshka didn't trust much right now, but something about the way he spoke made her think of her mother, and how she would have done anything to protect her as well. Maybe feeling this connection helped her trust this dark lion, even though she knew nothing about him.

"Thank you..." The pale female wasn't thanking him for talking her down from the edge, or making Aldan leave, she was thanking him for treating her like she mattered.

That meant everything to her.

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Ciro shook his head. "Don't worry. You won't have to see him right now. I'll send Judeau or Saki out to find him. Make sure Kristanf is being good." Ciro advised with a small smile.

"He...really is a good kid." The captain left it at that. There was no need to discuss the previous night with the female.

He smiled when she finally agreed to come with him. "Stick with me kid, no one will harm you. They'd have to get through this all-mighty captain if they tried." Ciro puffed out his chest, but as he left it instantly deflated. He had grown well in his years. Perhaps it was his children that had mellowed him out more so than that actual aging process.

Regardless, he was now here to help this poor female.

"There's a small water hole nearby. It's pretty quiet and secluded, so you can wash up there with no worries, and then we will head back." Ciro informed.

"Don't worry Yorshka, life has a funny way of working out in the end." He gave the female a smile, taking a step forward with a small glance behind him to make sure she was following.