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LORE
Screams of anguish were heard from every corner of the graveyard. Another one…another one was taken, a sacrifice worth the cause for sure. There was no other way around this, the gods must be appeased, it was what they lived for, what they had to do. Their king was so kind, so generous, he was doing this for them, all of them, it had to be done, there was no other choice.
Soulless white eyes peered from behind a gravestone, with small pupils and a bloody hue to complete them, these eyes were of one that had given their entire being to the Worship, her pride, or that’s what they call it. Ever since she was a young cub, she had to perform trial after trial to prove herself, to the king, to the gods, to the Worship, that her intentions were pure, her path righteous, and her loyalty strong. In turn, the trials she underwent changed her, her once beautiful eyes had lost colour, her pupils stayed permanently contracted, and always bloodshot, as if she had never blinked in her lifetime. Her once silky black coat had turned blue, slowly spreading over her body as she aged. She had wondered whether she would live to see herself become fully blue one day, since she would soon be the next sacrifice.
However, that day never came. Her mother, the lioness that gave birth to her, screamed at her, suddenly accusing her of betraying the Worship, that she had given her loyalty to the devil, her path now dark and distorted. Ink was confused, what was this old hag talking about? It only took a second, she was kicked out in an instant, left for dead in the outskirts, a youngling that barely knew the outside world, to fend for herself, but as the gates closed, the view of her mother being dragged away as her replacement, the smile on her face as she looked at Ink, and her mouthing the words, ‘Live…I love you’.
In that instance she understood, her mother had used her last resort to save her, to give her a life. With tears in her eyes she turned and ran, never looking back. She ran for days and nights, never stopping, not knowing where she was going, or where she would end up, she just knew she had to go, somewhere, anywhere, to survive, to live. It wasn’t long before she had used up all her energy, and collapsed under a rather large tree, providing her some shade.
When she awoke from her long slumber, she was shocked to find some lionesses surrounding her, upon some questioning after her initial shock, she found out that they were a passing group of lionesses that were out hunting. They had found her unconscious, and decided to wait for her to recover before questioning her, and planned to take her with them, to feed and provide her shelter. It took them sometime to convince the youngster, but eventually she relented, knowing that if they tried anything like her previous pride, she would be out within a heartbeat. Ink determined that they were allowed some trust, as they had nursed her while she was out like a light, instead of leaving her for death.
As she quietly follows the huntresses to her new abode, she looks back towards the horizon, where she had come from, where she was trapped, sheltered, and afraid. Would she have made the same choice if the circumstances were different? She would never know, and she hopes that she would never have to find out.
~ Credit: Nyra Zombie (#490644) ~
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