[PRP] The Best Intentions

[MangoMeow]

Noctis cringed as he tried to hurry as quickly as he could to find some shelter from the rain. He refused to admit it aloud... but Car had been right. About a lot of things, actually.

The most glaringly obvious one was how they should have bunked in for the day. The clouds from earlier that morning had evolved into a rough downpour of rain, and with the mist along with it, he couldn't make heads or tail of any sort of shelter around them. So not only was his injury flaring and aching, but he was now soaked to the bone too.

His back still hadn't quite recovered from the falling rock incident and the lion found himself hobbling about still, but he had been insistent on continuing. He didn't like sitting around, not doing anything, and besides, he wanted to put more distance between him and the Pridelands. Not that he had anything against them, of course! It's just... they had enough problems to deal with right now. One more injured lion wouldn't do them any good.

Of course, Car had continually tried to get him to stop, and the lion sighed as his friend started up once more. He'd been enjoying the silence.

The small jackal had to run to keep up with Noct, causing him to slip and slide every now and then, but he was a determined soul. Oh, he knew that they should have stayed put for the day! He should have tried harder to convince Noctis of it too. Alas, there was nothing that could be done of it now.

"Noct, you need to stop somewhere!" Car rushed to keep up with him, wet tail making a plopping noise against the ground as he waddled closer. "Do you see anything we can hide under?"

The answering shake of the lion's head made him groan. This couldn't be good for his wounds, he thought worriedly. Carbuncle didn't want him to get sick on top of being injured.

Zingling

 

[Zingling]

The rain had been a welcomed gift by the lioness, her body and mind weary after the events that had taken place between her, her friends and the Viking group. Cool waters washed away any traces of blood that still may have been lingering on her fur. The stone rain that had caused so much damage to her and several others had thankfully only cut her somewhat. It was the wounds she had been given from the over eager albino that stung as they grew wetter.

Taking a deep breath in and then out, Hesper realized again she was alone in the world and on the run again. Midas told her to run and she had, told her he’d see her again, but where? She didn’t want the troupe following her back to the swamps… back to Seiki, Raaisel and Kivati. No. She had to wander on her own and hopefully not get caught up in some sort of turbulent event.

Stopping, Hesper lifted her head to scan the area around her- She had just picked a direction and ran, not really paying much mind to where exactly she had been going. Bad move. A dark hobbling lion stood out like a sore paw and the soft grey jackal that seemed to be pestering him only offered more animation and drew her eyes further to them both.

Drawing a sharp breath in, Hesper backed up a couple pace, hoping to find cover to hide from the two, however nothing could be found. Dread now replaced the need to hide as she realized that other than the rain, nothing truly covered her from being seen. Taking another step back, the lioness looked for a way out. He was hobbling, surely if she ran he wouldn’t be able to follow?

Peering at the pair for another moment, Hesper weighed her options, something compelling her to stay where she stood rather than run.

MangoMeow

[I apologize for the delay]

 

[MangoMeow]

He would later admit that it was the flaring pain in his back that kept him from noticing the lioness not too far from them, as well as the rain mucking up their visibility. Perhaps it was just as well, because he didn't care much for seeking anyone out anyway. She didn't know it, but she had nothing to worry about when it came to him. He had no intention of chasing after her.

That said, he also had no intention of blacking out, but he couldn't exactly control that.

As he sat there idly thinking to himself, Noctis ignored the initial signs of something wrong. The ringing in his ears that slowly grew as Car spoke to him should have been the first sign, followed by the spots appearing at the edge of his vision, but what really caught his attention was the slight numbing of his back. Huh, was it finally leaving him alone?

And then he pitched forward, and landed with a thump to the ground.

Which, of course, sent a shock of horror through his jackal companion. "NOCT!"

Scrambling closer, Carbuncle started running his paws over the lion's face and mane, all the while chittering frantically to try and get him to wake up. All he got for his efforts was a groan, and the little canine whined at the lack of response. What did he do... What did he do?!

In the end, he did what his kind were very good at: yipping frantically. "Help, anyone!" He couldn't move Noct by himself, he was too small, and maybe there was someone nearby who knew what to do.

Zingling