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Woo Aeo returns! Here he is fighting off an AWD to get them away from Kujali.

Kujali sighed in contentment as she stretched out her forelegs, extending her toes and sticking her tail straight as a stick behind her before rolling to her side and using one paw to rub an itch from her nose. She turned her blue eyes up to the grey sky and flipped her tail tuft a few times before settling it across one of her hind legs. The lioness was much more at ease since joining the nomadic pride, and the fact that it always moved from place to place kept things interesting and new. She loved it. The pride was also low in number, which suited Kuja just fine due to her shy nature. As the caramel colored lioness rested, she was unaware she was being hunted. In the grasses surrounding her, six pairs of eyes watched her. It was the barest rustle of grasses that alerted the lioness, and she lifted her head to gaze about curiously. Baako? Her nose twitched as she scented around, slowly pushing herself into a standing position. No, Baako's scent was not here. She turned to head for higher ground when the dogs emerged, drooling and snarling. The lot of them were glaring at her hungrily, advancing in a circle around her. Kujali flattened her ears and lifted her lips in a growl as she slowly turned this way and that..trying to keep her eyes on each individual. "Go away, I'm not prey!" she growled, snapping her tail from side to side fearfully. Kuja was not an experienced fighter. One of the dogs, the leader she assumed, laughed a guttural laugh. "You are when you are alone." he said as he ran his tongue over his wet maw before lunging..leading the pack into an attack. Kujali swung around, striking her paw out and slapping the leader down. But it had been a hesitant attack, and little enough force was behind it. As the leader rolled to his paws, two others leapt into the fray. One sank teeth into Kuja's shoulder while the other latched onto the offending leg that had struck their leader. Kujali roared in pain, flinching back and curling her head to bite at the one on her leg, catching ahold of one of the huge ears and chewing and tugging on it. But the enemy wouldn't be swayed though he yelped and howled past the hunk of flesh between his jaws. With the lioness distracted, the leader lunged forward and bit into the side of her neck..his jaws sinking into muscle..and the remaining three divided between leaping upon her back and grabbing and tugging on her hind legs to effectively pull her to the ground. Kujali roared, snarled, and thrashed in a desperate attempt to get away. She realized the one that had torn open her shoulder was no longer there, but with the leader biting at her neck in an attempt to find her jugular...which she did her best to fight off by tucking her chin in and shrugging her uninjured shoulder up..she could not see where the other had gone. It was clear enough, though, when a lancing pain jolted through her body as the dog sank teeth into her soft belly and began to tug and pull to try to rip it open. Kujali's legs flailed, teeth grinding in pain. One hind leg managed to pull free from a set of jaws and kick out...digging into the canine on her belly and ripping him free...tearing her own skin and flesh in the process. The dog squealed painfully before the dislocated duo leapt upon her front half to help their leader chew upon her neck..trying for that jugular or windpipe that she was not making easy to get at. However, she was weakening from pain and blood loss..and her defense was slowly lacking more and more. Seeing this, the leader barked out to his pack..calling off the attacks...and they stepped back to circle with diabolical grins. Wishing to see her die while regaining their energy for the feast.

The last time which the skies had been grey and cracking with bursts of thunder and lightning Aeolus had been drooling over the queen of the former Nyandaza, his young heart fluttering enough to plant his paws in place and allow her time to space off, no matter how his soaking, windblown pelt suffered from the cold, how his bones were chilled from the very wind that he lived for. His olive hues left the gloomy atmosphere overhead, a small smile formed on his very squared maw, his bangs stricken with ribbons of beige-grey that flowed through his thick furs. It seemed like so long ago which he had escaped the horror that was the great quake, was he one of the only ones left who still remembered? New lions came and went, just as he did, and through his travels about the lands, after departing with longtime friend Kujali some years ago, he had observed the young and the old. And it seemed that he was climbing up the ladder of ages. Hopefully he would have quite some time until he reached the top, time he could make memorable. There was no closure yet in his life, he again traveled alone, though that was of his own fault, and he felt the burden of the events of many years ago upon his shoulders, a guilt for his weakness. Ignorant of the dangers, Aeolus travelled throughout the savannah without trouble for a good portion of his journey, wandering aimlessly just like as he was raised- restless to the very core that compelled him to keep moving. Perhaps this is what had willed him to stay in the moorlands (which he had not returned to since being chased out), the openness of the entire region which he could wander and still feel at home. His paws were taking him too far here, within an hour or so he could have crossed a territory, where it would take longer in the moor. Unaware that he was being followed, the aging male pressed forward with his lithe form, hardened muscles glistening under his water covered coat with each shifting of his body. His narrow shoulders parted the grasses that stood in his path, mud covering the underside of the long tailed lion. Mud slushed beneath his unsheathed claws, his mane plastered in some places to his back and flanks and it was only when an erect ear twitched behind him did he realize that he had paused some few seconds previous and the slushing, swiveling sounds he had been hearing were not his own. He remained still, staring straight ahead though he was fully aware now of the heavy pants some feet away, concealed by the very grasses that he had just padded through. Whatever had been following him must had realized that it had been noticed for there was an air of silence, too calm for the noises he had just heard. Aeolus’ red and green eyes slid to the left with a cautious glance, holding his breath. A splurging sound hit his ears just moments before a multicolored canine figure hurled itself at him, missing an attack on his shoulders as Aeo ducked away, whipping his slender body around to be facing fully the dog which squirmed to its paws in the wet ground, its horrendously disgusting teeth bared further and further with every snap that it aimed at his flanks and mane. Aeolus, unsure of what to do with the attacks, shifted quickly out of the way of the snaps, taking a leap of face with a well-aimed blow that connected with the dog’s snarling face, his paw sending the canine sprawling into the mud, its own momentum taking it down. Confidence grew within the lion and soon he lunged for the species that his Felidae relatives had a hate rooted so deeply for. The dog yelped as he found the tables were turning, managing though to roll out of the way from Aeolus’ paws as he had risen his torso slightly to stomp his forepaws upon the animal’s neck, managing to grip the wanderer’s foreleg with its dirty jaws. Aeolus roared in pain as blood flowed from the wound, mixing with the mud that covered him. The light pelted lion swung his head about suddenly, landing a lucky blow to the back of the dog’s neck before it had much time to react. With a great deal of effort the lion ripped the dog away by its nape, then closed his jaws down with as much pressure as he could until the animal ceased in its snappings. When the body fell limp Aeolus dropped it, panting heavily. Though his foreleg was bitten, it was not very deep, just messy. Thanking the stars that he did not encounter a worse ordeal the lion quickly hurried away before the dog’s pack would stumble upon the carcass, only to find himself bursting through the end of the tall grasses to an encounter of six more dogs surrounding some poor, unfortunate soul at the center of their ring. Aeolus, already surely noticed for he was not exactly quiet in his flight, grit his teeth and mustered a bellow of a roar, taking his element of surprise and perhaps even shock to launch at the largest one.

Kujali growled weakly at the dogs that circled her so menacingly, trying to lift herself but finding her body wracked with pain that she flopped back down with a huff. One dog trotted in to snap teasingly near her face, and Kuja made a desperate bite of her own but missed by a mile. Breathing heavily, she just knew it. This was the end. So she closed her eyes and focused on calm, on serenity..and suddenly a screaming yelp pealed through the air. Kuja's eyelids tiredly pulled open to see a familiar lion tearing through the pack. The leader lay fallen, limp, head at an odd unusual angle. Her eyes roved to the scene of the fight, and she gasped softly when she realized just who this familiar lion was. Her paws pressed against the ground weakly, but she was not strong enough to try to lift again. One by one, each dog fell beneath the male's paws and Kujali just laid there motionlessly..watching.

The mane was a blessing that a lioness did not receive, for many of the wild dogs attempted to snap at his neck and, even if they succeeded, many had only managed to rip out some of the fur in their snaps, Aeolus’ thick mane, though wet, finally came in useful for something other than overheating in the sweltering sun. With their leader gone the vicious animals had only been slightly phased, enough of a distraction for Aeolus to use his superior size to down another, the length of his body and the mass of his developed muscles, though far from as heavy as thick lions, was still enough to provide him with a force just greater than what most lioness’ could muster (under no terms would he ever consider himself more powerful though). When the last dog lay limp, Aeolus bloodied and bruised from their teeth, he allowed himself groans and hisses of pain, deep breaths as his shaky legs struggled to hold him up after the rush he had just received. “Dumb little shits,” the lion cursed out of pain, “They have claws, and they only use their teeth. Screwing themselves over,” he stated, quickly walking over to the lioness who was motionless. Was she dead? Her flanks were hardly rising… but there was motion. Aeolus did not recognize her face at first for his eyes scanned over the injuries, ears flat as the most he could do was to lap them clean.

Kujali just watched with her eyes as Aeolus moved closer, the barest of smiles flickering across her muzzle. She hardly flinched when he began to clean her wounds, for she lacked the strength even for that, but hissed through her teeth at the agony of it. "Well..I once cleaned your wounds...now you..clean mine." she said between heavy breaths, heavy lids blinking slowly over her blue eyes as she moved her gaze up to the sky. Her neck and abdomen bore the worst of the injuries, as the canines had tried to hit the most fatal areas, and briefly she wondered if they'd ripped open her abdomen for it sure felt like it. Of course, they hadn't, but the severity of the wounds deemed that they had come close.

Aeolus, careful with his tongue for he heard the hisses of pain, continued to rasp along the wounds, making sure that the neck was not to terrible before cleaning the much more sensitive, and important, belly wounds. He was by no means a healer, though he did know just as any other lion that there would be no helping a wound to the gut when it was too far gone. However with the weak comment, Aeolus froze and angled his head to face the lioness’ face, his ears raising slightly. Cleaned his wounds? Who had… Conscious of the scarred up hind leg he lugged around Aeolus placed a face to the injured being, his olive eyes widening so roundly, almost like a cub’s. “Kujali! What are you doing out here?” He paused, then added on quickly, “Don’t answer, save your breath. I don’t know a thing about healing,” he added, more worried now.

Kujali couldn't help the weak smile that came over her again before it faded away. She would not argue with his words, nope. So she just closed her eyes and relaxed. Well...relaxed as much as she could anyways...if you could count borderline unconsciousness that. I could ask the same of you she thought gently to herself, though she of course was glad to see him. Especially with the timing that he had, she was double glad to see him. But suddenly, her eyes cracked open again as a thought came to her mind. "Baako." she rasped out, moving her head ever so slightly to look at Aeo as best as she could. "M..my Chieftain. She..can help." She wasn't sure if Baako knew any healing, but she knew she had to know more than Aeo did.

“Backo?” Aeolus mispronounced the name at first, rolling the sounds about in his tongue until he finally corrected himself with a murmur. “Baako… chieftain…” Both the title and the name was unfamiliar to him, nonetheless he did not even know what to look for beside a female who went by the name of Baako! The Savanna was awfully larger than the moor, and injured he could not run so fast to search for one by that name, that is if he would even leave Kujali. Aeolus pressed his ears flat, grinding his claws into the muddy ground. Wet dirt dripped from the tip of his chin and he stated, “I cannot leave you. This place is just too big, and there are sure to be more of them around,” he motioned to the dead dogs, keeping alert. Not only dogs, but if he left Kujali, then other predators would come around in search of an easy meal. And a roar… would that help, or harm? He seemed hesitant to try, but if it was Kujali’s only chance… Aeolus heaved his chest in exhaustion, managing to keep up on his tired paws somehow.

The wild dogs that had been sauntering around around the savannah had Baako considering taking the pride elsewhere, but they were in hardly a place to travel very long distances, considering the whole reason they had stopped and made a camp among the brown grasses being the few lionesses that were pregnant and giving birth. Prowling along the border, checking for any missing pride mates, or even an easy kill to bring back to the small clan, the roar that bellowed across the dry lower land and sent birds flapping away in panic was enough to surprise the lioness, standing erect at her full height and eyes searching for the source frantically. It was close... Not terribly, but certainly not miles away with that volume. And without haste, she bounded on her paws in its direction, the smell of blood slowly beginning to permeate the air and feed what she was beginning to fear... until Kuja's chocolatey brown pelt stuck out from the tawny grasses, alongside a male that stood over her, whom Baako would promptly snarl at as if Kuja's injuries were his doing.

Perhaps luck was on her side, for it wasn't long after Aeolus summoned up his roar that Baako had found them. Unfortunately, she hadn't thought of this scenario..where the Chieftain would react aggressively. She could see why, though. "No..Baako...." she breathed out. It was hard for Kujali to speak much anymore. She was so tired, she just wanted to sleep, but knew it would be a bad idea. She might not wake up. Her toes gripped weakly at the bloody ground beneath her before she slowly and painfully pointed out with one paw towards a wild dog carcass. Even that exhausted her and her leg fell to the ground heavily. Perhaps if she closed her eyes..just for a moment. Yes..that felt good.

A snarl was returned when the approaching lioness came close, on natural instinct to defend even though there was not much left that Aeolus could give of himself. Exhaustion dragged his paws, but he was no where near as tired as Kuja. However the lion made no move of aggression towards Baako, soon backing off when the caramel colored lioness spoke her name. “The Chieftan!” he muttered under his breath, motioning to Kuja. “Help her,” he almost demanded, nudging carefully when the injured lioness began to drift off.

"Did you do this?!" the lioness urged, lowering her head to Kujali, affixing her body between them as a means to push the male away from her, "What have you--" she began to growl, cutting her words short at her injured pride mate's low utterance, and her temper seemed to fade. "Kuja... What happened.." Without another word, her neck had maneuvered its way underneath her, and she slowly began to heft her on her shoulders, casting a wry glance to the male as she began to walk, towards their designated 'camp' along the border. "Explain...."

Kujali's eyes flicked open again as Aeo nudged her, and she flicked one ear towards him...about the only thing she could muster to thank him..and bit back moans of pain plenty of which escaped as Baako worked her onto her back. How embarrassing, how foolish she felt, oh how she could drift away. No..stay awake! She opened her muzzle, wanting to apologize for the blood that she felt dripping out of her wounds and surely down Baako's pelt but no sound came. She needed something to focus on, something to keep her mind awake, so she locked her eyes on Baako's ears, wishing the journey didn't feel so much like a rollercoaster ride.

“Of course I did not,” Aeolus protested, taking a step back though stood at the ready to aid the chieftain if Kujali was to suddenly fall from her back. Always assume the worst will happen… usually that would make one the most prepared. And so he followed, keeping pace with the lioness who carried Kujali and quickly spurted, “The wild dogs. I ran into them, she was already downed. Can you heal her?”

Baako scowled. If it wasn't him, then who? Possibly those damned dogs that have been plaguing the savannah like a wildfire. But she had never seen them down a fully grown lioness before... Perhaps there was an exceptional number. As Kuja slowly sank into unconsciousness, her pace slowed, knowing full well that her passenger wouldn't be able to grip and hold on, and risking dropping her. "I... I'm not particularly well-versed in healing... But I can at least stop her bleeding, for now," she said, stepping into the flattened opening in the grasses where her pride made their encampment. Lions steadily appeared in number the closer they drew, until the entirety of the small pride was visible with the few nursing mothers and new cubs that were born in the passing season. Minding Aeo carefully, the nomad never entirely trusting of strangers on a whim, Kuja was placed among two elder lionesses, who would certainly tend to her wounds much better than Baako could. She would ask Aeo to properly explain and introduce himself later, the weary glare towards him communicating that, before she would usher him away to let the lionesses do their work.

~~~

Aeo (c) me
Kupali (c) Meoquanee-xx

Description
Woo Aeo returns! Here he is fighting off an AWD to get them away from Kujali.

Kujali sighed in contentment as she stretched out her forelegs, extending her toes and sticking her tail straight as a stick behind her before rolling to her side and using one paw to rub an itch from her nose. She turned her blue eyes up to the grey sky and flipped her tail tuft a few times before settling it across one of her hind legs. The lioness was much more at ease since joining the nomadic pride, and the fact that it always moved from place to place kept things interesting and new. She loved it. The pride was also low in number, which suited Kuja just fine due to her shy nature. As the caramel colored lioness rested, she was unaware she was being hunted. In the grasses surrounding her, six pairs of eyes watched her. It was the barest rustle of grasses that alerted the lioness, and she lifted her head to gaze about curiously. Baako? Her nose twitched as she scented around, slowly pushing herself into a standing position. No, Baako's scent was not here. She turned to head for higher ground when the dogs emerged, drooling and snarling. The lot of them were glaring at her hungrily, advancing in a circle around her. Kujali flattened her ears and lifted her lips in a growl as she slowly turned this way and that..trying to keep her eyes on each individual. "Go away, I'm not prey!" she growled, snapping her tail from side to side fearfully. Kuja was not an experienced fighter. One of the dogs, the leader she assumed, laughed a guttural laugh. "You are when you are alone." he said as he ran his tongue over his wet maw before lunging..leading the pack into an attack. Kujali swung around, striking her paw out and slapping the leader down. But it had been a hesitant attack, and little enough force was behind it. As the leader rolled to his paws, two others leapt into the fray. One sank teeth into Kuja's shoulder while the other latched onto the offending leg that had struck their leader. Kujali roared in pain, flinching back and curling her head to bite at the one on her leg, catching ahold of one of the huge ears and chewing and tugging on it. But the enemy wouldn't be swayed though he yelped and howled past the hunk of flesh between his jaws. With the lioness distracted, the leader lunged forward and bit into the side of her neck..his jaws sinking into muscle..and the remaining three divided between leaping upon her back and grabbing and tugging on her hind legs to effectively pull her to the ground. Kujali roared, snarled, and thrashed in a desperate attempt to get away. She realized the one that had torn open her shoulder was no longer there, but with the leader biting at her neck in an attempt to find her jugular...which she did her best to fight off by tucking her chin in and shrugging her uninjured shoulder up..she could not see where the other had gone. It was clear enough, though, when a lancing pain jolted through her body as the dog sank teeth into her soft belly and began to tug and pull to try to rip it open. Kujali's legs flailed, teeth grinding in pain. One hind leg managed to pull free from a set of jaws and kick out...digging into the canine on her belly and ripping him free...tearing her own skin and flesh in the process. The dog squealed painfully before the dislocated duo leapt upon her front half to help their leader chew upon her neck..trying for that jugular or windpipe that she was not making easy to get at. However, she was weakening from pain and blood loss..and her defense was slowly lacking more and more. Seeing this, the leader barked out to his pack..calling off the attacks...and they stepped back to circle with diabolical grins. Wishing to see her die while regaining their energy for the feast.

The last time which the skies had been grey and cracking with bursts of thunder and lightning Aeolus had been drooling over the queen of the former Nyandaza, his young heart fluttering enough to plant his paws in place and allow her time to space off, no matter how his soaking, windblown pelt suffered from the cold, how his bones were chilled from the very wind that he lived for. His olive hues left the gloomy atmosphere overhead, a small smile formed on his very squared maw, his bangs stricken with ribbons of beige-grey that flowed through his thick furs. It seemed like so long ago which he had escaped the horror that was the great quake, was he one of the only ones left who still remembered? New lions came and went, just as he did, and through his travels about the lands, after departing with longtime friend Kujali some years ago, he had observed the young and the old. And it seemed that he was climbing up the ladder of ages. Hopefully he would have quite some time until he reached the top, time he could make memorable. There was no closure yet in his life, he again traveled alone, though that was of his own fault, and he felt the burden of the events of many years ago upon his shoulders, a guilt for his weakness. Ignorant of the dangers, Aeolus travelled throughout the savannah without trouble for a good portion of his journey, wandering aimlessly just like as he was raised- restless to the very core that compelled him to keep moving. Perhaps this is what had willed him to stay in the moorlands (which he had not returned to since being chased out), the openness of the entire region which he could wander and still feel at home. His paws were taking him too far here, within an hour or so he could have crossed a territory, where it would take longer in the moor. Unaware that he was being followed, the aging male pressed forward with his lithe form, hardened muscles glistening under his water covered coat with each shifting of his body. His narrow shoulders parted the grasses that stood in his path, mud covering the underside of the long tailed lion. Mud slushed beneath his unsheathed claws, his mane plastered in some places to his back and flanks and it was only when an erect ear twitched behind him did he realize that he had paused some few seconds previous and the slushing, swiveling sounds he had been hearing were not his own. He remained still, staring straight ahead though he was fully aware now of the heavy pants some feet away, concealed by the very grasses that he had just padded through. Whatever had been following him must had realized that it had been noticed for there was an air of silence, too calm for the noises he had just heard. Aeolus’ red and green eyes slid to the left with a cautious glance, holding his breath. A splurging sound hit his ears just moments before a multicolored canine figure hurled itself at him, missing an attack on his shoulders as Aeo ducked away, whipping his slender body around to be facing fully the dog which squirmed to its paws in the wet ground, its horrendously disgusting teeth bared further and further with every snap that it aimed at his flanks and mane. Aeolus, unsure of what to do with the attacks, shifted quickly out of the way of the snaps, taking a leap of face with a well-aimed blow that connected with the dog’s snarling face, his paw sending the canine sprawling into the mud, its own momentum taking it down. Confidence grew within the lion and soon he lunged for the species that his Felidae relatives had a hate rooted so deeply for. The dog yelped as he found the tables were turning, managing though to roll out of the way from Aeolus’ paws as he had risen his torso slightly to stomp his forepaws upon the animal’s neck, managing to grip the wanderer’s foreleg with its dirty jaws. Aeolus roared in pain as blood flowed from the wound, mixing with the mud that covered him. The light pelted lion swung his head about suddenly, landing a lucky blow to the back of the dog’s neck before it had much time to react. With a great deal of effort the lion ripped the dog away by its nape, then closed his jaws down with as much pressure as he could until the animal ceased in its snappings. When the body fell limp Aeolus dropped it, panting heavily. Though his foreleg was bitten, it was not very deep, just messy. Thanking the stars that he did not encounter a worse ordeal the lion quickly hurried away before the dog’s pack would stumble upon the carcass, only to find himself bursting through the end of the tall grasses to an encounter of six more dogs surrounding some poor, unfortunate soul at the center of their ring. Aeolus, already surely noticed for he was not exactly quiet in his flight, grit his teeth and mustered a bellow of a roar, taking his element of surprise and perhaps even shock to launch at the largest one.

Kujali growled weakly at the dogs that circled her so menacingly, trying to lift herself but finding her body wracked with pain that she flopped back down with a huff. One dog trotted in to snap teasingly near her face, and Kuja made a desperate bite of her own but missed by a mile. Breathing heavily, she just knew it. This was the end. So she closed her eyes and focused on calm, on serenity..and suddenly a screaming yelp pealed through the air. Kuja's eyelids tiredly pulled open to see a familiar lion tearing through the pack. The leader lay fallen, limp, head at an odd unusual angle. Her eyes roved to the scene of the fight, and she gasped softly when she realized just who this familiar lion was. Her paws pressed against the ground weakly, but she was not strong enough to try to lift again. One by one, each dog fell beneath the male's paws and Kujali just laid there motionlessly..watching.

The mane was a blessing that a lioness did not receive, for many of the wild dogs attempted to snap at his neck and, even if they succeeded, many had only managed to rip out some of the fur in their snaps, Aeolus’ thick mane, though wet, finally came in useful for something other than overheating in the sweltering sun. With their leader gone the vicious animals had only been slightly phased, enough of a distraction for Aeolus to use his superior size to down another, the length of his body and the mass of his developed muscles, though far from as heavy as thick lions, was still enough to provide him with a force just greater than what most lioness’ could muster (under no terms would he ever consider himself more powerful though). When the last dog lay limp, Aeolus bloodied and bruised from their teeth, he allowed himself groans and hisses of pain, deep breaths as his shaky legs struggled to hold him up after the rush he had just received. “Dumb little shits,” the lion cursed out of pain, “They have claws, and they only use their teeth. Screwing themselves over,” he stated, quickly walking over to the lioness who was motionless. Was she dead? Her flanks were hardly rising… but there was motion. Aeolus did not recognize her face at first for his eyes scanned over the injuries, ears flat as the most he could do was to lap them clean.

Kujali just watched with her eyes as Aeolus moved closer, the barest of smiles flickering across her muzzle. She hardly flinched when he began to clean her wounds, for she lacked the strength even for that, but hissed through her teeth at the agony of it. "Well..I once cleaned your wounds...now you..clean mine." she said between heavy breaths, heavy lids blinking slowly over her blue eyes as she moved her gaze up to the sky. Her neck and abdomen bore the worst of the injuries, as the canines had tried to hit the most fatal areas, and briefly she wondered if they'd ripped open her abdomen for it sure felt like it. Of course, they hadn't, but the severity of the wounds deemed that they had come close.

Aeolus, careful with his tongue for he heard the hisses of pain, continued to rasp along the wounds, making sure that the neck was not to terrible before cleaning the much more sensitive, and important, belly wounds. He was by no means a healer, though he did know just as any other lion that there would be no helping a wound to the gut when it was too far gone. However with the weak comment, Aeolus froze and angled his head to face the lioness’ face, his ears raising slightly. Cleaned his wounds? Who had… Conscious of the scarred up hind leg he lugged around Aeolus placed a face to the injured being, his olive eyes widening so roundly, almost like a cub’s. “Kujali! What are you doing out here?” He paused, then added on quickly, “Don’t answer, save your breath. I don’t know a thing about healing,” he added, more worried now.

Kujali couldn't help the weak smile that came over her again before it faded away. She would not argue with his words, nope. So she just closed her eyes and relaxed. Well...relaxed as much as she could anyways...if you could count borderline unconsciousness that. I could ask the same of you she thought gently to herself, though she of course was glad to see him. Especially with the timing that he had, she was double glad to see him. But suddenly, her eyes cracked open again as a thought came to her mind. "Baako." she rasped out, moving her head ever so slightly to look at Aeo as best as she could. "M..my Chieftain. She..can help." She wasn't sure if Baako knew any healing, but she knew she had to know more than Aeo did.

“Backo?” Aeolus mispronounced the name at first, rolling the sounds about in his tongue until he finally corrected himself with a murmur. “Baako… chieftain…” Both the title and the name was unfamiliar to him, nonetheless he did not even know what to look for beside a female who went by the name of Baako! The Savanna was awfully larger than the moor, and injured he could not run so fast to search for one by that name, that is if he would even leave Kujali. Aeolus pressed his ears flat, grinding his claws into the muddy ground. Wet dirt dripped from the tip of his chin and he stated, “I cannot leave you. This place is just too big, and there are sure to be more of them around,” he motioned to the dead dogs, keeping alert. Not only dogs, but if he left Kujali, then other predators would come around in search of an easy meal. And a roar… would that help, or harm? He seemed hesitant to try, but if it was Kujali’s only chance… Aeolus heaved his chest in exhaustion, managing to keep up on his tired paws somehow.

The wild dogs that had been sauntering around around the savannah had Baako considering taking the pride elsewhere, but they were in hardly a place to travel very long distances, considering the whole reason they had stopped and made a camp among the brown grasses being the few lionesses that were pregnant and giving birth. Prowling along the border, checking for any missing pride mates, or even an easy kill to bring back to the small clan, the roar that bellowed across the dry lower land and sent birds flapping away in panic was enough to surprise the lioness, standing erect at her full height and eyes searching for the source frantically. It was close... Not terribly, but certainly not miles away with that volume. And without haste, she bounded on her paws in its direction, the smell of blood slowly beginning to permeate the air and feed what she was beginning to fear... until Kuja's chocolatey brown pelt stuck out from the tawny grasses, alongside a male that stood over her, whom Baako would promptly snarl at as if Kuja's injuries were his doing.

Perhaps luck was on her side, for it wasn't long after Aeolus summoned up his roar that Baako had found them. Unfortunately, she hadn't thought of this scenario..where the Chieftain would react aggressively. She could see why, though. "No..Baako...." she breathed out. It was hard for Kujali to speak much anymore. She was so tired, she just wanted to sleep, but knew it would be a bad idea. She might not wake up. Her toes gripped weakly at the bloody ground beneath her before she slowly and painfully pointed out with one paw towards a wild dog carcass. Even that exhausted her and her leg fell to the ground heavily. Perhaps if she closed her eyes..just for a moment. Yes..that felt good.

A snarl was returned when the approaching lioness came close, on natural instinct to defend even though there was not much left that Aeolus could give of himself. Exhaustion dragged his paws, but he was no where near as tired as Kuja. However the lion made no move of aggression towards Baako, soon backing off when the caramel colored lioness spoke her name. “The Chieftan!” he muttered under his breath, motioning to Kuja. “Help her,” he almost demanded, nudging carefully when the injured lioness began to drift off.

"Did you do this?!" the lioness urged, lowering her head to Kujali, affixing her body between them as a means to push the male away from her, "What have you--" she began to growl, cutting her words short at her injured pride mate's low utterance, and her temper seemed to fade. "Kuja... What happened.." Without another word, her neck had maneuvered its way underneath her, and she slowly began to heft her on her shoulders, casting a wry glance to the male as she began to walk, towards their designated 'camp' along the border. "Explain...."

Kujali's eyes flicked open again as Aeo nudged her, and she flicked one ear towards him...about the only thing she could muster to thank him..and bit back moans of pain plenty of which escaped as Baako worked her onto her back. How embarrassing, how foolish she felt, oh how she could drift away. No..stay awake! She opened her muzzle, wanting to apologize for the blood that she felt dripping out of her wounds and surely down Baako's pelt but no sound came. She needed something to focus on, something to keep her mind awake, so she locked her eyes on Baako's ears, wishing the journey didn't feel so much like a rollercoaster ride.

“Of course I did not,” Aeolus protested, taking a step back though stood at the ready to aid the chieftain if Kujali was to suddenly fall from her back. Always assume the worst will happen… usually that would make one the most prepared. And so he followed, keeping pace with the lioness who carried Kujali and quickly spurted, “The wild dogs. I ran into them, she was already downed. Can you heal her?”

Baako scowled. If it wasn't him, then who? Possibly those damned dogs that have been plaguing the savannah like a wildfire. But she had never seen them down a fully grown lioness before... Perhaps there was an exceptional number. As Kuja slowly sank into unconsciousness, her pace slowed, knowing full well that her passenger wouldn't be able to grip and hold on, and risking dropping her. "I... I'm not particularly well-versed in healing... But I can at least stop her bleeding, for now," she said, stepping into the flattened opening in the grasses where her pride made their encampment. Lions steadily appeared in number the closer they drew, until the entirety of the small pride was visible with the few nursing mothers and new cubs that were born in the passing season. Minding Aeo carefully, the nomad never entirely trusting of strangers on a whim, Kuja was placed among two elder lionesses, who would certainly tend to her wounds much better than Baako could. She would ask Aeo to properly explain and introduce himself later, the weary glare towards him communicating that, before she would usher him away to let the lionesses do their work.

~~~

Aeo (c) me
Kupali (c) Meoquanee-xx