literature

The Lioness

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Literature Text

The Lioness

Silently, the great lioness stalked around the village. Despite the twin suns shining in all their warm glory, the beast went unnoticed by the busy tribe. The cat's observant amber-brown eyes, peered eerily, focusing on one villager then the next. Slowly making her stealthy way around the quiet borders. Suddenly she spotted a group of children, nosily running about the village into a shady glen along the outskirts, only a few feet away from the lioness' grasp.

Dark golden-brown fur blended in easily with the autumn grasses of the windy plains. Her powerful muscles rippled with the slightest of movement. Claws eagerly scratched a soft patch of ground beneath her paws. Always there for her to shred away flesh and rip open innards of any unsuspecting victims. Teeth sharper than any manmade tool exposed as the beast snarled. With a jaw that could easily snap a man two, she was alone, but well armed.

The children went about their game of ball, unaware they were being so dangerously observed. When the ball went astray towards the lioness' hiding place, one of the younger children naively chased it into the tall grass, the time to strike was now...

In one swift movement, the lioness pounced from her hiding place, taking everyone by surprise. The whole world seemed to halt before the beast's mighty presence. During this brief interception, some of the younger children cried out quietly in fear. The elder ones just stood there, gaping in awe of the lioness' malicious majesty. The child standing closest to the giant cat, had little time to react. Taken by surprise he had stumbled backward, leaving little more than an arm's reach between him and the great beast. For a short moment, he stared into the cat's large, captivating eyes, before she let out a sudden spiteful roar, throwing the frightened child into completely submission.

Seeing her chance, the lioness immediately retrieved the children's ball and craftily sped away, carrying the stolen toy in her massive jaws.

Realizing they'd all been duped, the children broke their stunned silence and turned into a wild stampede, each of them hollering, whooping, and laughing as they chased the lioness, who was polite enough to allow them to catch up. Patiently she allowed the flimsy, two-legged heathens to gain distance on her, but only until they were a few feet away, before gracefully putting her overpowering legs to work, leaving the giggling hunting-party stomping through her dust.

This playful game of chase, went about for quite some time. The lioness weaved in and about the village huts, listening for the laughter of the children as they tried to break up into various groups, planning on cornering their large prey before moving into strike. But the lioness prided herself as a hunter and was able to see through all of their evil schemes. After all, it wasn't that much of an effort for her to grandly leap high over their furry little heads and spring away before they even realized how outmatched they were in this game of cat and mouse.

The children's designated leader, finally decided it was time to get serious. He "borrowed" a rope-like material, planning on lassoing the beast into submission. Wondering if the children had finally decided to give up the chase, the cat lingered nearby, watching as the young hunters whispered their clever plan to each other. Believing the children were deciding some sort of new game to play, the giant cat carefully inched towards their huddle. Now that the thrill of the chase was over, she realized how terribly uncomfortable her face had become. Her jaws were growing tired of having to gently wedge the ball between her beastly teeth. Deciding the game was over, she gratefully dropped her prize and shifted her lower jaw around to loosen the aching muscles. When she began grooming herself as an instinct of self-reassurance, a sudden whooping war-cry caught the poor beast off her guard.

The rope's noose was tossed about her neck before her usually agile reflexes could launch into effect. Playfully, the lioness growled and made a false effort to struggle, but allowed to children to climb on her back, pat her head, and start calling her "kitty". Admitting defeat, the great cat calmly laid down in submission. She was a great beast no longer, reduced down to a loving kitten among her fellow playmates.

"Samura!" A deep voice called from somewhere in the village's depths. A young man, dressed as a hunter, approached the children and lioness with a stern look.

"Samura." He repeated, eyeing the playful lioness with dark brown eyes. Like the other warriors in his tribe, he carried about him a discouraging look with a somber expression.

In a manner of seconds, the lioness' body had disappeared, transformed into that of a sixteen-year old girl with long, untamed hair and a warm expression. Gently, she pried the giggling children off of her. Samura moved aside the rope and dusted herself off. The young warrior gave the children a scorning look that made them scamper away in search of another game to play. Samura smiled at the man who gazed at her blankly.

"Yes, Willowmist?" She smiled innocently.

"Come." He sternly replied, before walking away. The girl silently obeyed. Willowmist's pace was always deliberate and fast, especially when something anxious was growing on his mind. Despite his lack of expression, there was a hidden nervousness in his rugged movements. Samura, who was a good foot and a half shorter than the tall hunter, had to partly jog just to keep up with his long strides, but she was used to making such adjustments.

Though they had been friends since childhood, the two companions rarely exchanged more than a few words together in public, for both of them had grown up to be quiet individuals. But there was a certain tranquility in the warrior's silent company that Samura found refreshing. Despite Willowmist's indifference, she was quite fond of him.

After a slight turn of the head, to make sure Samura was paying attention, Willowmist vanished inside a private hut that was semi-isolated from the rest of the village. Samura obediently followed.

- End.
I'm not really sure what this is for or where I was trying to go with it, I just got the idea to write it, so I did ^^

It's kind of a silly little thing, but I like how the playing cat-and-mouse game got turned around ;D

Anyway, I'll hold on to this, 'cause I kinda like it, and I'm sure I can find some random story to fit it into someday :D
© 2010 - 2024 samuraXIV
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Paradox-Studios's avatar
pretty story ^^ i like that she turned out to be a shape-shifter!