[PRP] 'tis only a flesh wound [Emeka x Sobala]

[oo Ded]

Emeka's nose wrinkled. The lioness peered down at the dirt, a paw brushing away the moist mud at the river's edge to examine the patches of green that had been starting to appear. She felt like she hadn't seen that color in ages. A breath left her lungs. It was heavy and chest-heaving. The sigh was a decent mixture of relief and remorse.

It seemed as though the pride held similar feelings. Rain brought new life. Brought hope. But at what cost? There were more injuries, and more life had been lost. At the thought of the newly orphaned children, the tripod lioness' brow furrowed.

She sat a little distance away from the water's edge. Far enough to be out of range of any crocodiles in the area. Emeka hadn't gone with others to search the smoldering lands for what could be salvaged. No, she had no use there. Her leg, mangled and lost in the water buffalo hunt, made her practically useless around here. It frustrated her to no end. So much had befallen the pride since the beginning of all of this, and Emeka couldn't help but wonder what difference she might have made had she hadn't been made essentially without purpose. Just another mouth to feed, and without the ability to hunt.

But there was water now, and that was something. The dark lioness shook her head and looked back to the plants that had started to grow, searching.

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

The Enkulu winced as she hop-walked along. Her back leg was so stiff and swollen it barely bent any more. The fur had been burned away and the skin that remained was red and shiny. The only relief she had been able to find for the burn was when she came across the rare puddle of unguarded water. She would lay in it until it evaporated, or someone arrived to drive her off. If it was her own pride, she would refuse, but no one argued with a crocodile. Luckily though, she had only sat in puddles too shallow to be of use. But these dried up fast and she hadn't been Boe to find one today. Sighing she limoed forwards again, then belatedly spotted another female.

"Hello Emeka" She greeted the umzingeli warmly. Though she didn't know the dark female all that well, they had hunted togetehr in the past. As had most of the grown lionessess, it was kind of unavoidable. Hobbling up beside the lioness she couldn't help but glance at her injured leg. So many of them had suffered so badly..... She was infinitely grateful that she had gotten off light with just a burn, no matter how painful it was.  

[oo Ded]

"Sobala," The umzingeli greeted, straightening as she met the approaching lioness with a nod. Emeka didn't stand. Moving was a difficult affair and not the most graceful thing to watch. She tried to do it little, especially when others were around. Often, now, she was needing help to move efficiently, but the lioness was stubborn and insistent that she learned to walk again on her own. But she was proud enough to not do so in the presence of others.

The enkulu was one of the lioness wounded in the fire, she remembered. That itself was clear by the look of the wound on her hind leg. Emeka frowned as she looked at it, but her gaze didn't linger. She knew how it felt to be pestered about a wound. She knew what it was like to be watched and questioned with pity. "It isn't too hot today, hm? A refreshing change..." her voice trailed off as she met the other lioness' eyes, trying to hold casual conversation. "How are you doing?" She asked finally, keeping the question general and letting Sobala bring up her wound only if she wished to.  

[Tanakako]

Sobala nodded to the lioness before stopping near her. "Fancy some company?" She asked before gingerly easing herself down, her burned limb unable to bend and ending uo sticking out at a stiff angle as Sobala rested partly on her belly and partly no her side. Shifting to try and get more comfortable she finally gave up and offered her companion a lop-sidded smile. "Damn thing gets in the way constantly." She said lightly, indicating her sticking-out leg.

Glancing at Emeka she tipped her head as if to concead the point. "I can't complain though, I got off easy." She fell silently, recalling the two lionesses who had lost their lives so far. Yes, she had gotten off very lightly with just a bruned leg.

oo DeD

 

[oo Ded]

"I figure all of us now should consider ourselves lucky. Things are turning around... albeit not without loss." They were all alive. Rain had come and the lands were turning green again. Maybe the herds would grow in number. Still, there were cubs without mothers and families without loved ones. But Sobala was right; it could be worse.

Emeka had shifted slightly as an invitation for the lioness to join her. Her ears flicked and she frowned as her companion spoke of the burn. "It's still bothering you, then?" It wasn't a surprise. The fire hadn't been that long ago. The lioness glanced at the wound, though being careful not to invade Sobala's space. It seemed as though it was healing fine. As long as nothing went wrong, the enkulu should get full use of the limb back.  

[Tanakako]

Sobala nodded. The rain had helped, but it had already stopped again and she was afraid that it wouldn't return. The drought wass till in effect, even if its stranglehold no the landscape had been lessened. If the rain stayed away again their brief respite would be over. She supposed they were lucky the rains had out the fire out at least, or they would have lost a lot more than some land and one of their number...

"Yeah." She glanced at the ofending limb impatiently. "I wish it would hurry up snd heal, but I really can't complain." She was well aware of Emeka's own far more serious disability, and while Sobala would only retain a limp, her companion would be lucky to ever walk properly again.  

[oo Ded]

"Well that's troublesome, isn't it..." Emeka's voice trailed as she looked from the lioness to their surroundings. With her own injuries to worry about, she had started to gain some knowledge of the plants around them that were useful in this sort of thing. Their wounds were quite different, but some experimenting had led the lioness to get to know the effects of some materials, some of which might be helpful in a case such as Sobala's.

Her eyes came to rest on a plant not far away with thick, fleshy leaves. A smile peeked onto her face and she turned back towards her companion. "I might be able to help you a bit on that front, if you'd like?"

Standing wasn't a graceful maneuver, but Emeka was excited enough by the prospect of using her new knowledge to help another to give it a shot. Hobbling a bit, she managed to move towards the plant before grasping some in her mouth and tearing off a leaf before flopping back onto her side, going to work in removing the fibrous skin with her teeth as she glanced back and beckoned her companion over.  

[Tanakako]

Sobala was intrigued as her companion offered her assistance, watching as Emeka stood and struggled over to a strange looking plant. When the lioness motioned to her, Sobala made her own awkward way to her paws and limped over before laying down again, watching Emeka curiously.

"Certainly, have at it." She grinned at the other lioness in encouragment. Her leg couldn't really hurt much more than it already did as the seared flesh stretched and pulled. So anything Emeka wanted to try was fine by Sobala.  

[oo Ded]

By the time Sobala had made her way over to where Emeka had settled, the dark lioness had torn the plant to thick strips where the fleshy, somewhat translucent meat of the leaves clung to the outer skin. Tenderly, she lay the strips over where the burns were.

"I found these when I was trying to aide my own wounds," Emeka said as she worked. "They didn't help me much, but I remember them feeling...cooling. Or something like it, anyway. I figure it should be at least temporary help in the pain," she finished with a smile as she completed her bandaging work. She'd done her best in weaving the leaves to where they would be secure, but she also acknowledge that she'd need more practice. Doing such work on others, she found, was much easier than doing it herself. Though she wasn't spectacularly skilled yet, the plant would certainly give for at least some help.  

[Tanakako]

The Enkulu watched curiously as Emeka turned the plant into strips. The idea of putting what appeared to be a rather prickly leaf on her swollen and pealing skin didn't really sound like a good idea but she trusted her fellow pride-sister and lay still as Emeka placed the torn plant fibers on her limb.

At first it did hurt, simply from the pressure of the material resting on her painful burns, but then suddenly the cooling effect her companion had spoken off set in, and Sobala let out a thick sigh of relief as she lay her head down across her paws with a grateful groan,

"Oh wow, that really does work...." She breathed blissfully, eyes closing to slits as she relaxed for the first time since the fire,  

[oo Ded]

For the first time in a very long while, the lioness beamed. "I'm glad I could be of assistance," she murmured, moving her position to where she comfortably at Sobala's side. It was nice to feel useful again. Since her injury, Emeka felt like she was just a layabout. But she had eased her pride-sister's pain. That in itself was a good feeling.

"If those need changing at all, feel free to find me. I... well, I probably won't be far," she said, motioning to her injured leg. She felt a bit more lighthearted about her injury. The lioness might no longer be able to hunt, but it seemed her use here wasn't over yet.


-fin!