Monday, June 6, 2011

She couldn’t speak, the words caught up in her throat as anxiety pressured. She couldn’t stand to watch him in that cage, surrounded by all manner of wild beast. He was such a kind hearted boy, almost pure, yet they trotted him out in front of the crowd, the masses who were more savage then the beasts themselves, and they made him out as a monster. He wasn’t a monster. She covered her eyes as the Yaire Lions rushed him, their eyes crazed from hunger.

He was calm, calm as he always was, merely watching them. He saw the angles they would attack from, and from there the angles he could counterattack from. He didn’t exert much effort as he weaved through the group, side stepping a massive paw as he readied his gladius to attack. He singled a Yaire Lion out, aimed for its left hindquarter, and deftly stabbed into his flesh, through the muscle,  and darted away as it crumpled to the ground, its fierce roar turned into a whimper. The four others merely leapt over him and continued their attack. He was ready once again,targeting the leftmost lion and slashed horizontally through its eyes, blinding it. It went berserk, swinging wildly, slashing another lion, who responded in turn, jumping on top his blinded brethren  as he trained his jaw on his jugular. As the teeth sunk in, he crowd roared in approval, their bloodlust being sated. He only wanted the ordeal to be over. The last two lions stood before him now, their roar reduced to a guttural rumbling in their throat as they studied him. They began to circle slowly, and for the first time in a long time he felt like prey. They were no longer raging beasts, but patient hunters. He couldn’t predict the attack any more, and he wasn’t foolish enough to rush in. Yet he needed to act. He picked up a rock at his side and flung it at a lion, the rock bouncing off of its skull. It roared and charged him, losing its cool and advantage. He side stepped as it lunged at him, slashing at its side as flew through the air, leaving gashes that bled profusely. The other lion merely watched. as if it were waiting for an opening. The lion he slashed charged forward again, too prideful to back down, and as it opened its mouth to roar once again, he saw his opening. Without much thought he thrust his sword into its mouth, the blade piercing through the back of the roof of its mouth through the back of its head. the crowd exploded at the sight, the lion halting almost completely as he pulled the blade out of its mouth and moved away as it crashed to the ground. His victory was almost complete.

“That is enough!” bellowed the king from the rafters, displeasure brazen on his face as he scowled. “This...bores me. There is no drama here, no sense of danger...this has ran its course. Away with them.”

Guards emerged from the gates and grabbed him, shackling the lion before it could begin to resist. And as they took him away, he gazed up into the crowd, catching her gaze, and smiled.

That's all I have at the moment.