⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯Well, now he'd really done it.
Ta-lem hissed with mingled pain and anger as he pulled his forepaw back hard. He gritted his teeth against the increased pressure and the intense burning sensation as the circulation to his paw was cut off. He hadn't seen the cable snare until it was too late. Of course he hadn't seen it - the navy-and-lemon male was blind, after all; but he hadn't sensed it until he had already stepped into it, its grip tightened by the time the image had popped into his head.
Ta-lem was the son of a God, and as such a Seer - a term he had always taken issue with. How hilarious for a blind lion to be a Seer. However, not long ago, he had been taught by a much older and learned Seer how he could use his powers to his advantage. It enabled him to technically see while in use, but it was very taxing over extended amounts of time and he wasn't very good at it yet. Now, the young lion was experimenting with using those skills to sense any nearby danger but, apparently, he hadn't put quite enough juice into it. Ta-lem had gotten his desired effect, but much later than he wanted it. A lesson learned for future reference - if he had a future.
Ta-lem shook the thought from his mind; the wild-maned lion needed to see to his predicament. He attempted to use his abilities to see the trap and discover a way out of it, but it proved less than helpful. Whether it was because he was inexperienced or so stressed out didn't matter, the only image he could muster was of a corded metal line. He knew it was a metal cable around his paw, and that knowledge didn't improve the situation. He hissed again, this time with frustration, and put his muzzle to his paw to see if a physical examination would yield any results. The smell of blood worried Ta-lem; the snare had dug into his leg, and that could spell bad news even if he managed to escape. Unfortunately, he came up empty-pawed again. At this point, the snare was embedded into his fur and flesh so deeply that he couldn't feel anything useful about how it worked. Pushing his paw toward the pressure didn't loosen it as he had hoped, and he couldn't for the life of him find where the damned snare was secured. Ta-lem was so distracted searching for a way out, and his nostrils were so filled with the cloying scents of metal and blood, that he didn't notice the approach of a stranger.
Tiza had caught a whiff of lion - and blood. The wild dog paused and looked around, catching sight of an outcropping of rocks. That was likely where the cat lay hidden. As she looked toward the small grouping of stone, she noticed a flare of bright yellow and realized he wasn't really all that hidden at all. He was bigger than most she'd seen and his mane was a little out of control. He also seemed to be holding one paw up awkwardly while desperately searching for something. Her ears shifted back and forth as she debated her next move. Her pushy instinct to help others warred with her more base instinct to not approach a large, slightly frenzied predator. Finally, the den-mother in her won the argument and she padded forward, ready to make her escape should this go sour.
"Are you alright ove- oh, Gods." As she rounded the rocks and his paws came into view, Tiza immediately saw the snare and the blood soaking his fur. All concerns about her safety vanished and she moved forward. "Hold still; let me help you."
"Get back!" Ta-lem snarled, whipping around to face the new voice. He still couldn't smell her, and his shock at her sudden approach mixed with his pain and irritation made him a little unstable. Snippiness when offered assistance was common; outright aggression was not. "I don't need your help!"
Tiza stopped short, a small moment of fear and surprise that was quickly replaced with outrage, and finally understanding. In a similarly vulnerable situation, Tiza was sure she would probably react poorly to a strange creature sneaking up on her, too. Still, this creature was beyond rude, even after the initial fright.
"Oh, of course you don't. You look like you have it all under control," she retorted, her voice dripping with honeyed sarcasm. "Just let me look at it, don't be foolish."
The wild dog made to step forward again and Ta-lem lashed out with his free paw, claws extended. He had meant it as a warning swing, so he thought nothing of it when it didn't connect with anything. What he didn't know was that he had missed by a wide berth. Which caused Tiza to stop and pay closer attention, noticing that the lion was staring in her direction but not actually at her. She watched his eyes closely, the way they stared straight forward, focused on one spot. She narrowed her own eyes and kicked a small stone to the side; the lion's ears flicked in the direction of the sound, but his gaze didn't shift.
"You're blind!," she exclaimed, understanding now his level of defensiveness.
"What of it?," he snapped, glaring in her direction and daring her to assume he was some hapless kit.
Tiza finally had a grasp on this creature's attitude. Instead of pushing him to allow her in, she needed to let him decide he needed help. She settled down in the warm grass and simply said, "Nothing. My name is Tiza, by the way, and I'll be right here if you decide you need me." She lay her head down then and forced herself to exude a calm, patient, almost bored energy.
Ta-lem snorted derisively in return and went back to fiddling with the snare. It took several heartbeats of silence - aside from the frustrated grunting and growling of the large male - before finally Ta-lem sighed heavily and sat back on his haunches. His paw had long since gone numb, which he knew to be a very bad sign, and he had exhausted all possible options. Reluctantly, he turned in the direction of the still-present wild dog - who seemed to be pretending to snore? - and cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"Uh. Tiza was it?"
After a long pause, waiting to see if the lion would continue, Tiza simply said, "Yes?"
"I... I think I require your assistance." Ta-lem's tone was begrudging and utterly defeated.
Not wanting to further aggravate the male, Tiza rose and stepped forward silently. She could tell even from her poor vantage point that his wound was slowly reaching a stage where permanent damage would be left, and she didn't want to risk restarting the process of waiting for him to calm down. She padded forward calmly, careful not to pay too much attention to him, and investigated the snare.
"Ah. There's your problem." she remarked. She explained to him that a piece of the stone formation had fallen on the snare's securing stake and driven the entire thing into the ground. The top was nearly perfectly flush with the earth, and one could never hope to have felt that amidst all the grass. She set to digging, all the while remaining silent but open, allowing the male to start a conversation should he desire it without feeling pressured. When the stake was freed, Ta-lem immediately felt the snare ease, though not enough that he could remove it. Without making him ask, Tiza saw to that as well. She pushed the wire toward his paw until it loosened enough to be pulled over. He flinched when he felt her cold nose against the wound, but not out of pain - though it did hurt immensely with the return of blood flow. He hadn't expected her touch, gentle as it was, and he winced as he realized that he didn't deserve such care.
"I... I am Ta-lem. And I am sorry."
His tone was still a little surlier than she would have liked, but Tiza decided to take the bad with the good and let it go.
"You'll need help tending to that. And most likely caring for yourself for a while. I will stay with you, but the aggression from earlier ends now."
The way she said it left no room for argument, but Ta-lem wasn't planning on arguing regardless. As much as he hated it, he knew she was right. He didn't appreciate being spoken to like a cub but he supposed he somewhat deserved it, and he admired this wild dog's spunk. He may be blind, but that didn't render him harmless, and Tiza knew it - she just didn't care. He nodded in agreement and lowered himself into the grass, the pain in his paw and the loss of blood starting to make him feel lightheaded.
"All right. Let's get that paw taken care of."