Username: Firedancer77
Lion name: Maji (Swahili for “water”)
Lion gender: Lioness / Female
Pride: Isle of RosesPride status: Soldier
REACTION HERE It was supposed to be a normal walk. Kusafiri was going to the river, getting a drink, and then returning to his den to sleep. After all, it was incredibly late to be out alone.
That's when he heard the singing.
"Hearts long for what they want
"Tongues lie for wicked schemes
"But for one night, let's just pretend
"That this is all one lovely dream."
It had an unearthly beauty to it unlike anything he'd ever heard before. Kusafiri didn't even realize his paws were dragging him over to the riverside till he realized the water was lapping at them. He took a few steps back, caught off guard at how close he'd come without realizing it.
"Kusafiri," the voice was singing again, slow and prolonged. Almost mournful. How did it know his name? "Kusafiri."
"Who is out there?" The lion shook his head, hoping to get a clearer vision through his long mane. "How do you know my name?"
There was movement in the water. Against his better judgement, Kusafiri stepped into the water. Was something in there? There weren't typically crocodiles in this part of the river...
"Kusafiri," the voice was louder this time, more insistent.
"Who are you?" He questioned once again, looking around for some sort of answer, but the voice was suddenly silent. There was not a sound to be heard in the darkness. "H-hello?"
In a flash, Kusafiri felt something push into his side, knocking him down into the deeper part of the river. He thrashed about as his head went under, struggling to stay afloat when he had barely ever swam before. It didn't help that his mane so easily absorbed water, becoming even heavier. He sputtered as he bobbed back up to the surface, paws still flailing as he tried to swim back to the river bank.
That's when he saw her.
Black eyes, as dark as the abyss itself, stared back at him, cocooned in tendrils of bluish gray hair. She was gorgeous in the most frightening way possible, and yet those eyes. Those eyes made him shudder, made him feel like any warmth he had left from his fall into the river had been sucked out of him. They were dark. Sinister. Perhaps even lifeless?
"What are you doing?" The lioness just stared back at him, a blank expression on her face. "What are you?"
Once again, there was no answer as she suddenly dove at him, once again pushing him under the water. She was stronger than he had expected; the two tussled under the water, she trying to keep him down and he trying to get back up. Coughing for air as he surfaced again, Kusafiri looked about wildly. Where had she gone?
He heard the sound of something surfacing behind him, and on instinct spun around and dove at it, managing to grab the mysterious lioness by the throat. She thrashed about under his hold, but he managed to drag her to the river bank.
"Kusafiri," her voice was more of a croak now than the beautiful thing it was now, and yet on instinct he almost released her, "let me go."
"No. I refuse." He stared down at her as he kept her pinned down despite her thrashing.
Suddenly, she seemed to calm down. He blinked in confusion, wondering if he should release her, only for her to begin flailing at full force, an awful hacking sound coming from her mouth. Kusafiri could only stare in horror at the sight as tears began to stream down the lioness' face, and on instinct he released her.
She roses to her paws, hacking and gagging, and Kusafiri only had a moment to register how dumb what he had just done had been. He readied himself, preparing for the next onslaught, only for it to never come. Instead, he watched wide-eyed as the lioness coughed up something blacker than the night sky himself. This went on for a minute, and then suddenly she rose to her full height, all traces of the black liquid gone from her muzzle.
"Thank you," She breathe, and Kusafiri was surprised to see blue eyes, not black ones, staring back at him as the lioness smiled.
He couldn't stop himself from asking, "Who are you?"
"My name is Maji. An evil spirit tricked me, taking residence in me to lure others to their doom so it could feast. You...you saved me." Her eyes were filled with wonder. "Where did you come from?"
by MySpoons » Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:11 am 
