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Description
She hadn’t meant to.

It was supposed to be a regular, routine working the coliseum. Her charge, a lion hybrid she had brought in with Rhydian’s help, was either broken or wise to the futility of fighting his need to be escorted from cage to coliseum and back.

So she was surprised when he stopped. Maia gave the chain a tug, then looked back. Looking back saved her from a large paw to the face.

Something had changed; something crazy shone in the cat’s eyes as he lunged and slashed. Maia twisted, parried, and snarled a warning. She had seen this cat fight. He wouldn’t last long before giving in and following.

His growing ferocity surprised her as they met again, this time each slicing through fur and skin as they grappled. A rush of anger fueled her as she aimed an unsheathed paw at the lion hybrid’s face. How dare he.

How. Dare. He.

Everything went black.

Sometime later, whether it was minutes or seconds or hours, Maia stumbled back. Her paws were slick with blood. A cat in a nearby cage was screaming, over and over and over again.

Her head hurt.

”Ezra!”

“Ezra!”

“EZRA!”

Maia shook her head and looked down. The lion hybrid lay, twisted at awkward angles, without moving. Thick blood coated his fur. His eyes stared at her, blank, unmoving, glazed over.

She had seen enough death to know that this cat was no longer among the living.

What happened?

Clearly, she had killed the lion hybrid. But how? And when?

“EZRA!”

“EZRA!”

“EZRA!”

She wanted to throw up. Something had happened, something had snapped.

Maia shook her head and tried to play her confusion off as irritation. She looked up, seeing the hybrid in hysterics for the first time. His paws stretched through the bars of his cage, reaching for the lion hybrid that lay dead at her paws.

A pang hit her gut as the reality of the last few minutes — seconds? Hours? — dawned on her. The hybrid was dead, and the hysterical cat had to be related somehow. She recognized the pain in that cry.

It was the pain of loss.

Ashla. Atara. The cubs that never were.

Maia shook her head again and backed up, feeling her legs shake beneath her.

The empires had taken her family. And now, she had seemingly taken an empire cat’s family. The vicious cycle continued, renewed.

Her head spun.

She needed to get someone…have the mess cleaned up, yes? Yes. Tiredly, Maia turned and padded away from the dead.

She hadn’t meant to.

So what had she done?

——————

I finally finished! The writing’s not where I would like it to be, but I’m still happy with how it turned out!!

Please note: At this moment in time, the only cat/person/anything that knows Maia is having…issues is Inky. No one else does!

Maia (c) Me
Hezekiah (c) Nyther-oh
Ezra (c) @HowlerHowlz

Description
She hadn’t meant to.

It was supposed to be a regular, routine working the coliseum. Her charge, a lion hybrid she had brought in with Rhydian’s help, was either broken or wise to the futility of fighting his need to be escorted from cage to coliseum and back.

So she was surprised when he stopped. Maia gave the chain a tug, then looked back. Looking back saved her from a large paw to the face.

Something had changed; something crazy shone in the cat’s eyes as he lunged and slashed. Maia twisted, parried, and snarled a warning. She had seen this cat fight. He wouldn’t last long before giving in and following.

His growing ferocity surprised her as they met again, this time each slicing through fur and skin as they grappled. A rush of anger fueled her as she aimed an unsheathed paw at the lion hybrid’s face. How dare he.

How. Dare. He.

Everything went black.

Sometime later, whether it was minutes or seconds or hours, Maia stumbled back. Her paws were slick with blood. A cat in a nearby cage was screaming, over and over and over again.

Her head hurt.

”Ezra!”

“Ezra!”

“EZRA!”

Maia shook her head and looked down. The lion hybrid lay, twisted at awkward angles, without moving. Thick blood coated his fur. His eyes stared at her, blank, unmoving, glazed over.

She had seen enough death to know that this cat was no longer among the living.

What happened?

Clearly, she had killed the lion hybrid. But how? And when?

“EZRA!”

“EZRA!”

“EZRA!”

She wanted to throw up. Something had happened, something had snapped.

Maia shook her head and tried to play her confusion off as irritation. She looked up, seeing the hybrid in hysterics for the first time. His paws stretched through the bars of his cage, reaching for the lion hybrid that lay dead at her paws.

A pang hit her gut as the reality of the last few minutes — seconds? Hours? — dawned on her. The hybrid was dead, and the hysterical cat had to be related somehow. She recognized the pain in that cry.

It was the pain of loss.

Ashla. Atara. The cubs that never were.

Maia shook her head again and backed up, feeling her legs shake beneath her.

The empires had taken her family. And now, she had seemingly taken an empire cat’s family. The vicious cycle continued, renewed.

Her head spun.

She needed to get someone…have the mess cleaned up, yes? Yes. Tiredly, Maia turned and padded away from the dead.

She hadn’t meant to.

So what had she done?

——————

I finally finished! The writing’s not where I would like it to be, but I’m still happy with how it turned out!!

Please note: At this moment in time, the only cat/person/anything that knows Maia is having…issues is Inky. No one else does!

Maia (c) Me
Hezekiah (c) Nyther-oh
Ezra (c) @HowlerHowlz