Username: lennon;
Lion name: Hide of the Beast // Hyde
Lion Gender: DMAB Agender
Link to pride: Madalla Pride
Pride Status: Warrior
Prompt: Their somber eyes met those of purity and innocence, and immediately they were intrigued.
Their journey had nearly ended a few miles back - something out of a Lovecraftian horror novel had charged them. Fight or flight had kicked in - initially they had fought tooth and claw with the beast, only to quickly be overpowered. Now they were running - how did they end up here? The last thing they remember is-
They gasp. The poachers.
Yes, yes... It was starting to come back to them now. The poachers, and their fire pellets - a blink was all it took before there was a sudden, stinging pain in the center of their forehead, and then... silence. They'd awoken hours - days? maybe even months - later, the lush yellow grass of the savanna now a distant memory; in its place were the charred, blackened trees, the ever dying plant life, the smoggy air. Where were they? They'd gone searching for any signs of life, calling out to see if there were any other lions here - and that's when they'd run into the monster.
Now, here they were, trudging through the burnt grass, ready to collapse at a moment's notice - and they saw the most peculiar thing: the mismatched eyes of a cub watching them from behind a dead tree.
They stood - both proud and kind, offering a soft grin to the child. "Why hello there, little one," they cooed, tilting their head gently as the cub hesitantly approached them. "Are you lost? Where are your parents?"
The cub watched them for a moment, intrigued - then:
"Tag! You're it!"
They blinked as the cub darts away, giggling childishly. They called out - "Wait!" - but the cub had already disappeared. Sighing, they sat down to catch their breath and gather their thoughts.
It was only then they noticed the red warmth trickling from their forehead.
Standing quickly, the lion gave a shout of surprise before quickly covering their mouth once they realized their mistake. Their breath now shaky, they tried to figure out what exactly was going on. How had this happened? Why weren't they dead yet?
...Were they dead?
They felt something prod their side in the midst of their panic, and as they looked down, their eyes met that of the innocent cub's. He tilted his head at them, pouting slightly. "You're supposed to chase me!"
"Who are you? W-where are we?"
The cub, seemingly surprised by the questions, paused for a moment before happily chirping out, "I'm Llyovii! I'm the king of the Madalla Pride, see!"
They blinked yet again. "You? The king? But where are your-"
It suddenly sank in, and the lion paled. Llyovii trotted around them, sizing them up before quickly offering, "You're really big. Do you wanna join my pride?"
The lion stays silent for a moment. Llyovii tilted his head, confused as to why his new friend wasn't talking as much. "You're the first lion I've seen here," he murmured softly. "I was hoping we could be friends - I-I don't exactly know where 'here' is... But I'm sure we could figure it out together!"
They solemnly nodded. It wasn't like they had a choice, after all.
[526 words]