You could sense someone watching you.. but where? The murky watering hole was barren, apart from a few dying shrubs littering the area, of course. But hardly big enough to hide even a lizard. You glanced at the timid and thirsty--ever so thirsty, antelope inching closer. They were desperate for a drink. But they weren't afraid of you. They knew you yourself were too weak--too disoriented, to catch up with their thundering hooves. Perhaps, what was the most churning thing about the antelope was how they would look past you, as if you were nothing but a harmless and insignificant pest. You tracked their gaze, and it led to nothing but the barren and sandy horizon. Suddenly, as if some mysterious force had commanded them, they darted from the watering hole, leaving behind a thick cloud of sand.
You could feel your heart pounding against your ribcage, you could feed your muscles tense up, ready to flee or fight.
You didn't dare to look back into the horizon again. You forced your eyes to shut. Even looking at your reflection was too risky.You didn't dare to come eye to eye with impending doom..
But, as it turns out, you didn't have too. After what seemed like hours, but in reality was merely minutes, you opened your eyes.. you squinted. And suddenly it appeared from behind a sand dune. A lioness. It was an old lioness who wore armor and religious ornaments crafted from the bones and hides of the animals she probably preyed upon. She had unusually long and thick fur and was covered in scars. Even though her right eye had been blinded, and her left eye badly beaten, she managed to focus on you with an unwavering, cold and distant stare..
Your eyes then fixed upon the object she'd been carrying in her mouth. It was one of the antelope's heads, only minutes earlier it was unaware, or more likely couldn't escape, from the imminent death awaiting it. You didn't hear any screeching when it died. It died instantly.
You lurched forward unexpectedly. Your body was shaking, both from fear and from dehydration. You struggled to move, and staggered into the shallow and unsatisfying watering hole.
You figured it was best to stand there. You gathered all the courage left inside of you. At this point, too tired to care.
''Go.'' You croaked. ''Go away.''
The elderly lioness sat there, perplexed for a few moments. She then nodded and abruptly stood up and walked away.
You were surprised.. you didn't actually think this stranger would listen to your request. Immediately regretting your decision, you tried to follow after her. With shaky and unsteady steps, you heaved yourself over the sand dunes and called out in a raspy voice.
''Wait...'' You trailed off, unsure of what to say and what to expect.
The lioness stopped and turned around.
''I can help you.'' She said with an unanticipatedly sharp and unnerving tone.
"My name is Rosewood. Usually the subordinate males would be out here patrolling, picking on a lousy lion such as yourself—but they're lazy."
Your muscles stiffened. You didn't want to say the wrong thing so you inclined and listened.
"I came all the way out here to devour a few antelope.. maybe come across an intruder and kick their ass."
Rosewood said casually.
Your ears flattened against your skull in anguish.
"But.. you're too old to kick my ass." You blurted. You knew that you shouldn't have said that.
Rosewood lunged at you and snarled. You could clearly see her eyes beneath her helmet that once belonged to an enormous ram. Her pupils turned into specks and they were engulfed in fury.
You leapt back and roared in alarm.
Rosewood stared at you for a moment and froze in a crouching position as if she would rip your tongue out at any second. It was almost eerily mechanical.
Then Rosewood's body relaxed. She barked out a laugh. Was that good or bad?
"Alright, alright, maybe you're too pathetic to be much fun messing around with. Come. Follow me. Perhaps the 'diplomatic' lions of my pride could be of service to you."
Rosewood said as she flicked her tail expectedly. You didn't hesitant to follow. You hesitated to question.. because maybe, just maybe, if you were quiet enough Rosewood wouldn't trick you and lead you to a clan of filthy hyenas instead.
---
You trekked across the lifeless landscape. The sun was beating down onto your fur. You glanced at Rosewood, attempting to solve the mystery on how she didn't even look at least one bit worn out. The territory was massive. Eventually, after an hour or so, you were led into the Sahel. Trees become more frequent and prey became abundant. Rosewood led you to a watering hole, unlike the one you had previously encountered, this one was clear, fresh, and deep. You cautiously walked over tours the watering hole and crouched for a drink. You could see Rosewood staring at you from the corner of your eye.
"That's enough. We need to keep moving and get to my pride by dark.. surely, you don't want to stay out in the dark."
Rosewood said, her expression completely blank.
"Why? What happens after dark?" You whispered, paranoia was starting to creep into your head.
"All sorts of crazy shit. Take the elephant Mafia for instance... or the clan of Hyenas. It's not pretty." Rosewoods shrugged.
Your heart skipped a beat. If you weren't so weakened by the August drought, then perhaps you would've attempted to fight them off. But not like this. Not today. You wanted—no,—needed to rest.
"What are we waiting for! Let's go!" You growled.
Rosewood smirked at you.
"I was waiting for you to say that."
---
The golden African sun was vanishing behind the clouds and nightfall was approaching too quickly it seemed. You started to doubt Rosewood, when suddenly she interjected your concerns with an "Aha!" Your gaze darted tours a group of 3 enormous caves, etched out in a cliff that was surrounded by a grove of acacia trees. Soon after that, you could hear the distinctive muttering of lions. A crowd of them trotted out of their dens.
"Where have YOU been all day mother?" A pink colored lioness adorned with Jewelry said as she polished her claws against a rock. Her eyes narrowed in clear annoyance.
The pink colored lioness shot a strong and judgmental glare at you. Her eyes looked up and down as she studied your appearances.
"Who the hell is this?" She said.
You heard Rosewood sighing in exasperation.
"Jetta, this pathetic lion is our guest; and this guest will only stay here for ONE night. Isn't that right?" Rosewood nudged you with a toothy grin that didn't make you feel comfortable.
You nodded vigorously.
"I'm awfully surprised this lion is left alive... and not dead." Jetta said with a disgusted look. Did Rosewood kill lions on a regular basis? You thought intently and started to think staying here was unsafe.
Rosewood glanced at you briefly.
"Don't worry.. I USUALLY kill trespassers, since they either want to take over our land or kill our cubs and heirs. But you are likable I must admit, and you were on the verge of dying regardless." She said, almost as if she had read your mind.
🌲 Rosewood 🥀 shook herself after a sudden rainfall, showering everyone nearby in droplets soaked up by all that fur.
🌲 Rosewood 🥀 shoots you a pointed stare as you near, snorting at you disapprovingly for some reason or another.
🌲 Rosewood 🥀 comments on your lack of skill in sparring with other lions as you approach. Sheesh.
You want to tell a pride mate that they need to correct their behavior, but you couldn't find the words and you felt bad. So, you approach 🌲 Princess Rosewood 🥀 and ask her to do it for you. She laughs at your ineptitude, but agrees. You can trust her to say what needs to be said.
You ran up to 🌲 Princess Rosewood 🥀 and rubbed your body against hers in a display of affection. As you pulled away from her you noticed all of that poofy fur standing on end because of static. Oops.
Started with 65 stats & 64% fertility...
Your lion successfully rocked it hard!
our lioness checks out her very fuzzy belly, paws, and tail. She looks confused, but happy!
Your lionesses brought back:
Nothing.
Name: Rosewood
Age: 10 years
Gender: Female
Personality: Easily annoyed, stubborn, fierce, rebellious, moody, and solitary
Status: Special/alive
-Born on Jan 28 with instant cub delivery
-Apply Pewter base DONE
-Change eye color DONE
-Apply MOD DONE
-Give lion meat DONE
-Breed to high stat stud DONE (5000)
-Born with 64% fertility
And know what I got?? An average cub that looks exactly like her mother.
Having been picked on all day by their siblings, Rosewood has had enough. Preparing to pounce on a particularly bratty cub, Grandpaw King Argos swoops in just in time. He scolds Rosewood for not showing forgiveness towards siblings.
Rosewood has been pestering you about being hungry for ages, and when they turn to Grandpaw King Argos, he just grins and exclaims, "Hey, Hungry, I'm Grandpaw!" He seems to have successfully distracted them... for the moment.
Rosewood was sulking after being lectured by their mother for wandering outside of the den. Grandpaw King Argos sits down with the cub and shares a few battle stories of his time as king. Rosewood seems to be in a better mood after he finishes.
Grandpaw King Argos was kind enough to entertain Rosewood at the break of dawn when they woke up early. He goes on to tell them of the times you would wake up early and come tug on his mane to try and wake him up. It's funnier on the other end of it, Grandpaw!
Seemingly easily enough, Rosewood did a good job with the stalking exercise today. Before you could congratulate her and give her praise for a job well done, she went all the way and roughly pounced on the gerbil with too much force, making its insides its outsides. She only shrugged when a few other cubs got sick at the sight.
While in a grapple, Rosewood whispered something into her opponent's ear only for the other cub to burst into tears and run back home to its mommy. What could she have possibly said...?
Rosewood had a hard time climbing the wall, but she finished it all by herself anyway only to turn around and act like it was the easiest thing ever.
You overheard Rosewood slinging insults about the other cub's mother like how much she weighed and how ugly she was, distracting them enough to catch them. Wait... aren't they from the same litter?
You watch as Rosewood mercilessly pounces onto a grasshopper and then a beetle and then a few more bugs on top of that. Her paws must be so gross by now.
Try as you might, you couldn't get Rosewood's attention as she was just too busy gossiping about a bunch of the other cubs and how much they all sucked to realize that it was her turn.
🌲 Rosewood 🥀 has gained a scar in her hunting endeavours!
+1x Scar: Hind Leg Right has been equipped to her.
🌲 Princess Rosewood 🥀 has gained a scar in her hunting endeavours!
+1x Scar: White Eye Right has been equipped to her.
🌲 Princess Rosewood 🥀 has gained a scar in her hunting endeavours!
+1x Scar: Muzzle has been equipped to her.
🌲 Princess Rosewood 🥀 has gained a scar in her hunting endeavours!
+1x Scar: Shoulder has been equipped to her.
🌲 Princess Rosewood 🥀 has gained a scar in her hunting endeavours!
+1x Scar: Hip has been equipped to her.
🌲 Princess Rosewood 🥀 has gained a scar in her hunting endeavours!
+1x Scar: Short Left Eye has been equipped to her.
🌲 Princess Rosewood 🥀 has gained a scar in her hunting endeavours!
+1x Scar: Side has been equipped to her.
Huge thanks to Winter Soldier (134705) for these doodles ^^
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