An Injured Lion Still Wants to Roar
Pairing: Clexa
Rating: Children Shouldn't Read Alone (T)
Note: Another new fic! (I know. Bad Gilly, finish your other fics Gilly) I'm working on the others, I swear. I just had this mostly completed so I thought I'd post it. It's a little bit different. Clarke's a werelion for one, as well as a chunk of the Arks population. Really, this is just a shameless "Clarke is really protective of Lexa" fic because those fics give me life.
The description might be a little misleading for the full story, but its all I can come up with right now, so meh
The exhausted brunette pressed her back further against the tree, muscles tensed and sweat trickling down her spine. Her breathing was erratic coming in shaky gulps, and adrenaline rushed through her, just under her skin, in a coursing stream. She couldn't see the chaos that was going on around the other side of the thick trunk that shielded her, but the sounds of violent roars and pained screams were very telling. Her sword was in a white knuckled grip, the leather wrapped around the hilt sticking to her palm.
They hadn't meant to disturb the Pauna. They'd charted their path well away from its feeding grounds, yet it had come bellowing through the trees, crushing two of her guards and their horses in a matter of moments. She and her remaining three warriors had scattered, yelling to rendezvous at their next campsite.
It hadn't exactly gone to plan as the Pauna somehow drove them together, riding frantically side by side trying to escape the beast as it drove them significantly off course. It was a problem she would leave for if they survived this ordeal. Only after she and another of her guards were thrown from their mounts did they stop to fight. It was the same Pauna she and Clarke had escaped from. Round white scars littered its face and arms, proof that not even the bite of a gun could take the beast down quickly.
Swallowing thickly, she couldn't help but remember the blonde Skaiheda. After the Mountain, she'd disappeared. Lexa had sent out scouts trying to find her, returning with a shredded blue leather jacket, and a crushed pistol. They'd been found in the footprint of a giant cat, larger than any mountain lions print that the trackers had ever seen, yet no body was ever recovered.
That fact filled the young Heda with even more guilt. The feeling didn't even compare to the regret she felt after she'd taken the Mountain Man's deal. Her decisions were what drove Clarke to leave the relative safety of Arkadia. It was her fault that the blonde was most likely dead.
As a sign of respect, she'd returned the items to the Skaikru, delivering them herself as a sign of good faith. Abby had been the one to receive her at the gate, but didn't allow them inside. An understandable choice given the circumstances. The older Griffin had taken the items silently, listening almost frozen as the story of their retrieval was relayed to her. She'd seemed more shocked rather than mournful at the news that her daughter may be dead at the hands of a giant predatory cat.
Clenching her jaw, she pressed her head back against the tree, holding back the burning tears she felt threatening to spill over. No matter what, Clarke's death, disappearance, what have you, was her fault and it left her heart hollow and a knot wound tightly in her stomach. Shaking her head, she forced back her rising emotions. Now wasn't the time to cry; she needed to survive the next few minutes, then she could wallow in her harrowing feelings.
An ear-splitting roar and a scream snapped her back to the current situation, and she watched in horror as the last of her guard sailed through the air past her hiding place, crashing against a tree with a sickening crunch. His body hit the ground at an odd angle, giving her a clear view of the mutilation the Pauna was capable of.
The silence that followed was deafening, only her harsh breaths, much too loud in her own ears, breaking the quiet. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, and the muscles in her neck and jaw jumped without consent. Ducking just in time to avoid having her head crushed by a muscle bound primate arm, she dived to the forest floor, thorns and rocks scratching at her skin as she clumsily rolled away. The gargantuan limb wrapped around the trunk as she stumbled to her feet, stripping bark and splintering wood until the tree came crashing down in a spray of splinters, shaking the ground like an earthquake. She cursed silently as her knees gave out, the roiling earth and flying branches breaking any stability her trembling frame had.
The Pauna roared, jaws gaping wide as it beat its chest in victory. Stabbing her blade into the ground, she scrambled up, ignoring the small trickles of blood and burning wounds caused by the soaring wood. Fighting against heavy limbs, she brought up her sword, determined to at least draw blood before being crushed under pounding fists. The Pauna stalked towards her, toying with her now that it knew it had won.
She could feel her teeth creak and groan as her jaw clenched. She'd always accepted that her life would end violently, but she'd never imagined it would be in such ironic conditions. She'd managed to survive this enemy because she'd had Clarke by her side, and now that the blonde wasn't here, the result of her own choice's, Lexa was doomed. Taking careful steps back, she yearned for the other girl's presence. It had always seemed to calm her, make her think in ways that she couldn't before. If Clarke was with her, she was certain she could get out of this situation.
The Pauna lunged, swiping her legs out from under her with a gleeful roar. Her sword flew from her fingers and her back hit the ground with bruising force. Any air that she'd managed to inhale in her fear disappeared in a painful whoosh, leaving a burning tightness that had her choking. If she lived, she was certain that her back would be a mess of bruises and cuts. A large meaty hand wrapped around her leg in a bruising grip, pulling her towards what was most likely going to be her bloody and painful end.
The Pauna held her by her calf, upside down with blood rushing to her head. She could barely breath and darkness seemed to creep around the edges of her vision. Well, this seemed to be the end. At least she'd managed to achieve relative peace between the clans, right? That could count as a success. She'd lived almost as long as one of her longest living predecessors, so that's another achievement. She'd lived to see the destruction of the Mountain… She'd gotten to meet Clarke. Finally, her tears decided that they wouldn't wait any longer, now that she faced death. They dripped into her hairline, some falling to land feet below among the loam on the forest floor.
"I'm so sorry, Clarke."
The words slipped breathlessly from her lips, unrestrained, releasing her only regret into the wind. The Pauna seemed to sense her resignation, snarling at her lack of resistance. The muscles in the beast's arm bunched and coiled, preparing to smash her frail body into oblivion, however, instead of pain and crunching bones, a new, teeth rattling roar resounded through the clearing, making the Pauna freeze. The roar sounded again, low, gravelly and loud, making the murderous primate whip around, bringing her with it. The movement sent a jolting pain through her knee and hip, dragging a low scream from her throat. The grip around her leg had tightened, making the bones in her calf grind painfully.
Another roar, angry and vicious, rang out closer this time, prompting her to twist her body to try and see what new enemy had entered the fray. A choked sob escaped her at the new beast that stalked low along the ground. The lion was huge, easily twice as large as a warhorse, its muscles rippling under a golden yellow coat. It was female, neck mane-less, making its body sleek and agile. The feline's face was scrunched into a snarl, fangs flashing and pale yellow eyes burning with aggressive instinct.
The Pauna seemed unsure of how to react. It was away from its normal territory, so could it be that it was infringing on the lions? Lexa didn't have time to ponder this question as the lion lunged, its teeth tearing at the arm that held her aloft, its claws slicing long gaping wounds into the Pauna's chest. The arm jerked, and with a sickening crunch, fell to the ground. Unfortunately taking her along with it.
Her landing was jarring, making her vision spin and bile rise in her throat. The contents of her stomach roiled rebelliously as blood from the severed limb pooled around her. The hand of the arm was still clamped firmly around her leg, twisting her knee rather painfully, leaving her trapped and helpless as she watched the two beasts clash.
The lion had moved to place itself between her and the Pauna. It almost seemed protective as it lunged to savagely swipe at its opponent. A small spark of recognition flared in the back of her mind, bringing forth memories of reports and rumours that had travelled to the Capital.
About a month after the Mountain, reports of a massive lion wandering the forest surfaced. It had seemed harmless enough, leaving villages alone and keeping to itself. That is, until it had defended an entire village singlehandedly from bandits. When the first reports had reached her, she'd thought nothing of it, thinking the bandits had simply stumbled into trouble that had been advantageous for her people, but her opinion had quickly changed when rumours had whispered of other events. The lion saving a family traveling on the road from muggers. The lion rescuing a child from drowning in a river.
Her people had named the lion a protective spirit, praising the beast and leaving offerings when it was sighted in the area. She'd never thought much of it, thinking that if it helped her people it was to be left alone. Yet, now here it was, saving her from certain death.
A strangled cry forced her to focus, watching as the lion's jaws locked around the Pauna's throat. Blood soaked its muzzle as it bit down, dripping to dye the fur of its chest a pale red. The Pauna let out one last rage filled howl as its body collapsed, its life flowing to mix with the damp soil. The lion waited a moment, ravaging the throat in its grasp even more to ensure the death of its foe. When the feline did finally release its grip, the tension in its body seemed to drain away, all aggression gone.
Lexa breathed quietly, watching the beast as it licked the blood from its jaws, hoping it would forget about her and simply leave. While she was trapped momentarily, she knew she would be able to escape eventually. She just needed the time to do so, and having the lion around to potentially eat her would make escape rather difficult.
Her breath stuttered slightly as the lion turned to her, blood still dripping from its fur. A renewed rush of endorphin's flowed through her, but weaker this time as her energy was spent. The lion padded towards her, stance as unthreatening as a predator could make it.
As it drew nearer, she took in the actual scale of the lion's size. It was ginormous. Its shoulder was easily taller than her, maybe even higher than some of her taller warriors. Its paw could span her torso, wide and heavy with claws that had bits of the Pauna's flesh still hooked on them. She could feel herself shake as it lowered its head, trembling fingers gripping the blood soaked grass beneath her. The Pauna's arm had trapped her on her back, giving her no choice but to stare as the fangs, longer than daggers and twice as sharp, came ever closer. Her sword was nowhere in sight, making her feel even more vulnerable than she already was.
The lion nosed the severed arm slightly, the small jolt making her hiss as pain panged in her knee. The lion paused to look at her, its ears flicking in what could be described as a thoughtful manner. After a moment, it adjusted its stance slightly, rearing up powerfully on its hind legs, then dropping to stomp harshly on the wrist of the arm. The action had the injured warrior crying out, pain shooting up her leg, but it also loosened the grip of the hand keeping her trapped.
She choked out a sigh of relief as blood began flowing back to her leg, and wincing as she pulled the limb from its prison. She could already imagine, and feel, the bruise that would form to cover her skin. Groaning, she tried to slide back, flopping back down when the ever growing pool of blood refused to give her any traction. The lion huffed, almost in amusement, at her failure.
Before she could register what was happening, the lions head was near her face, teeth grasping the straps across her chest that secured her swords sheath to her back. With gentle tugs it dragged her to a clean section of grass, laying her down as though she were made of glass. Lexa blinked up at the lion in surprise. With how gentle the lion was being, she was rather confident that this was the lion she'd heard about, but it was difficult to look at such a powerful creature and see it as a protector rather than a predator.
The beast sat beside her, tail swishing lazily from side to side. It tilted its head, looking at her with a curious expression. The snarl was long gone from its face, but its eyes still seemed to hold an intense spark. Before she could read more into it, a rough dry tongue was lapping at her face, stripping away the blood, dirt and war paint. She flailed, pushing the lions face as it cleaned her with insistent swipes of its tongue. She sputtered indignantly as the lion moved, swiping its tongue cross her chest and legs, ridding her clothes of a significant amount of the blood that had coated the fabric. When finally done, the feline straightened, a feeling of smugness in its posture.
Lexa couldn't do much more than stare straight ahead, unsure of how to react to the situation. Her emotions were a jumble. The last traces of fear had dissipated when the lion moved her away from the blood, but now she felt confusion, relief, and a sense of odd familiarity as the lion watched her with amused eyes. Shaking herself, she sat up slowly with a groan. The lion took half a step back, as though to give her space.
When she didn't sway or fall back down, the lion huffed, satisfied. It turned promptly, tail flicking over her head playfully as it padded away. She looked after it, completely baffled at what had just occurred. The feline didn't turn back, slipping away into the tree's now that its job was done.
Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, she stood shakily, wincing as her knee throbbed. Scanning the ground, she spotted her sword. After hobbling over to retrieve it, she used it as a makeshift cane to prop herself up. Now sufficiently mobile, she looked at the forest surrounding her and realized one thing.
She had no idea where she was.
Endnote: Want to send in a prompt, have questions about my fics, want to talk about writing, or want really inconsistent updates on my progress, come follow my tumblr GillyTweed