Image: http://i67.tinypic.com/2yjt3jl.jpg

Name: Safa

Gender: Female

Age: 5 years

Personality: Focused, independent, sassy, wary, distant

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(Sorry for being gone so long)

"That lion just killed the head scientist! What are we gonna do!?!?!"

"He was the most dangerous in the lab. We have to hunt him down, immediately."

"Yes, but you know how lions are! He'll call for a pride of deranged wild cats to come after us!"

"Cut off the head of the beast, and it dies. Remember?"

"But what if were too late!? What if he's already heading out to collect pride members?"

"Ha ha ha... well then, I can assure you, he won't get far..."


That conversation was the last thing SkOrCh remembered from when he escaped the lab. A whole year later, and not a scientist to be found. Were they to much of cowards? Or are they still planning some way to kill him? Should he have killed them when he had the chance? These were the thoughts he thought every day, every hour. His deranged, psychotic mind was only matched by his intense depth of thought for the lab. 24/7, he couldn't stop trying to comprehend what would happen next. Was he really bound to die, by some awful human? No, no he wasn't. He wouldn't /let/ himself. Not by a puny human. He rather stick a knife through his own chest than have the light fade to darkness because of a two-legged idiot.

He was wandering around Vipered Valley, as they called it. Deranged lions from the lab had founded Vipered Valley. It was where all the 'experiments' housed themselves. They conducted trades and bargains, set up assassination systems, and much more. There were often robbers, murderers, and deranged mad-lions stalking the lands of the Vipered Valley, however, this was normal. After all, the Vipered Valley was named after the Rockheaded viper, the only viper capable of killing a full grown lion within minutes, and the most populated creature in the valley.

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Vipered Valley was an unkind place.

Nobody really needed to be told that, especially not Safa. She'd been around long enough to understand the nuances of those that lived here, yet she still couldn't bare to think of herself as one of them. The glowing appendages were a dead giveaway - she had no idea what they'd done to her in the lab, but she stuck out like a sore thumb in the shade of the mountains that surrounded them. A little better hidden was the iron chain collar that had practically grown into her skin and the faded tag that hung from it.

Oh yes, she had wanted to be free, but not one of them. The mad lions of Vipered Valley. Augh.

Safa raised her nose to the air and gave it a deep sniff; cold and damp, as usual. But there was something else there, too. Something like smoke and skin. Alive and moving. She stopped in her tracks, ears perked for a moment before folding back. She could hear it now; the gentle, barely audible pad of paws.

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(( Also, in a bit, I may have to get in the shower, but it won't take too long. Also, I am being super jerky on explore to try to get an evil title xD ))

SkOrCh's ears also perked up. He had no real intentions for killing, that is, unless someone attacked him, or, aggrivated him one to many notches. His eyes darted forward. Something was there. Although lions are common to see in the valley, this was one of the darkest, most dangerous parts. He must've been hearing things.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Or... not? His mind was full of things after leaving the lab, he wouldn't doubt they were finally getting to him. He was about to turn and leave, until...

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Again, there it was! No, this was absolutely real. Absolutely, Posotively. SkOrCh flicked his long tail and craned his neck around to try to listen for where the sound was coming from.

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((Haha, I might do that one day, maybe with the next king.))

And just like that, it was gone. The soft patter of paws against stone came to an abrupt stop and she knew that, just as he'd sense who was coming, so had they.

See, encounters were dangerous in this valley. The lions thought of themselves as kings without a pride and the lionesses were savage and wild. Both were just surviving, and neither were there to look out for each other. Small prides sometimes did form, but to do so was hard and there simply wasn't enough food.

Safa's lips curled back and she let out a low growl in warning. Whoever was out there, they better not be trying to screw around with her. She was already in a foul mood anyway.

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(( Here, but gonna eat dinner too xD ))

SkOrCh heard the growl and stopped completely, silently listening for a few moments, before... "ROARREEEERRRE!"

His roar was stiffened and distorted, he could never roar properly since the lab. And it wasn't any different now. However, He tried to make his tone sound somewhat welcoming, and just a sliver of threaten, to show the stranger he was no harm, unless she decided to attack.

He flicked his tail, impatiently awaiting a response.

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The roar came unexpected, and Safa would have been lying if she didn't jump out of her own skin a little. The fur on the back of her neck bristled and she flinched, taking a wary step back.

And it was no ordinary roar. This one sounded like it came through water, distorted and bubbling as it bounced off the walls of the valley and into her flattened back ears. It wasn't entirely threatening, per se, but she still didn't like the sound of it. This was a lion, and no regular lion.

She huffed, making a sort of grunting noise in response before taking a few hesitant steps forward.

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(( Oml, amazing new prof. pic xD ))

SkOrCh did the same, until, suddenly, his eyes widened.

' No, not now! Anytime but now...! '

SkOrCh suddenly began scratching at his neck as he twitched violently. His tail flicked around out of control, and he wailed helplessly and he collapsed.

SkOrCh screeched, rubbing his neck harshly, as his eyes began to slowly drift downward. SkOrCh was... passing out? But how? And why?

The lab, that's how and why. Their tests had made an odd reaction in his nervous system rise whenever - well, pretty much whenever it decided to, like a virus. Slowly and slowly, every time, SkOrCh felt a small part of his soul slipping away.

His eyelids flinched for a minute, before finally closing, and SkOrCh was completely fainted, his mouth slightly foaming.

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(( Thanks! And now it gets interesting. ))

There was just a second of quiet. Blissful quiet, she's soon find, as even nothing sounded better than the anguished wailing that soon followed. She didn't know what could have caused it and a large part of her didn't want to stick around and find out. Turning tails and running sounded like a good idea right about now, especially as there was a loud thud and then more snarling until it tapered off.

The dense fog that hung over her seemed colder than ever all the sudden.

She took in another deep lungful of air, finding it acrid and sour now. No good. No good at all.

A few more hesitant steps forward, around a large boulder attached to the canyon side that obscured her view, and she saw a shape lying on the ground a mere few meters away. Approaching it revealed what she thought: a lion of the Vipered Valley. This one definitely didn't look so well.

Safa leaned down to sniff briefly at his mane, keeping a close eye on the body before prodding him with paw. No movement, at least, none that she detected. He was alive, though, if the rise and fall of his chest said anything.

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(( HaHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA .-. ))

The lion stood completely still, except the slow breathing. All was silent, all was quiet. Perhaps a little /too/ quiet. Suddenly, SkOrCh's mouth began to foam even more, and his paws and tail twitched rapidly.

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.3.

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Safa flinched back again when he started to twitch once more. She knew the labs did some weird, horrible things. She'd experienced it firsthand, after all. But she never had fits and she never passed out in a wailing, agonized pile.

The lioness too a step back, ears perked and pupils narrowed to pinpricks. Her mouth sat slightly agape, blowing steam into the cool, damp air. The smart thing to do would've been to turn tail and run, really. She was sorely tempted, but she had some small semblance of a moral compass after all these years.

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Suddenly, the breathing stopped for a moment, and everything was still. But, that was when the lion's eye's blew open like lightning, eyes narrowed into slits, as his head shot up - swishing air all over the place. He was panting quickly, as if he had just been near death. His eyes then darted up to Safa, the lioness that stood near him. Almost flipping out, he hissed and backed up.

SkOrCh sat there for a moment, then attempted to get up, and failed, falling to his stomach.

(( OOOOH, what if SkOrCh and safa become mates and have cubs in the end? .3. ))

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(( Hm, maybe. I'd like to see how their interactions evolve first. ))

How badly was this day to go, really? She hadn't found a single thing to eat and it was unusually cold. Now she had a lion that was passing out on her. He was out for thirty seconds, maybe a minute at most, before he suddenly surged back to life as if hit by lightening (a common occurrence in this valley, unfortunately, so she wouldn't have put it past him).

Safa backed up again, right on her toes just in case he decided now would've been a good time to rip her throat out. Despite being one of the stranger ones, she was still painfully aware of her own mortality.

"Hey, what the hell is wrong with you?" She snorted, keeping her glowing eyes trained on the lion. She stood a good two or so meters back.

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(( perhaps .3. ))

He looked at her. "Excuse me, but, I've seen much worse in this valley before." SkOrCh snorted, finally getting to his feet. "However, I suppose I could tell you. I was one of the most tested lions in the lab. They experimented on my 24/7, so I'm sure you can predict why in the great blazes I am like this."

He flicked his tail, as it caught in the sharp wind. His memories were clear: He was being tightly strapped to a huge table. Back then, he was kind and generous, helpless in these kinds of situations. He let out a short gasp of agony as a large needle was sliced into his chest. If the clamps around his neck weren't enough, he began to breath faster and faster, as if about to have a heart attack. What had just happened to him? But, his question had soon been answered. The corner of his mouth foamed as his eyes grew dull and red, and suddenly, a huge, distorted roar was released from the lion, as he broke through the table's chains - and leaped at the scientist that had just injected him, claws outstretched, strangling and ripping apart the being in seconds.

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