Post by Elijah on Jan 30, 2021 21:18:39 GMT
Eli couldn't sleep, as usual. It seemed like, lately, he was having trouble, not just with sleep but with a lot of things, having wandered too far away from his usual hangout spaces, he'd had to go days without food trying to find his way back to a place that he felt safe. It wasn't a home, he was still a wanderer at the end of the day, but at least knowing that someone is in your corner meant the world to him so he did want to go back, back to the edge of the Pridelands, where others would come out and greet him, where he could have a chat with a lioness about the value of hunting versus the generally disgusting practice of scavenging. Eli had no strong feelings on the matter, as a rogue he had to do some disgusting things sometimes, that's what happens when you have no support, no mate, no family, sometimes scavenging is your only option. But he never argued because he agreed with the lionesses, he just wished beyond all wishes to be a part of a pride like theirs, where everyone worked together to hunt and to play, and the cubs... oh how he would love to roll around with the young ones. He desperately wanted to be part of a pride like that.
But, alas, he was far far away from that place now, his tendency to wander having gotten the best of him this week. Starving and a little weak, the dark lion trudged through the sands at the edge of the desert and started his walk across the cracked grounds of the wastelands, happy to finally have a change in scenery, he'd been lost in that desert for days now. Finally, some relief. Off to one side of him, he could see the outline of trees in the radiant heat rising from the ground around him. It was midday, so the sun was high and the world was scorched and hot, his paws on the verge of blistering and his body weakening with a lack of both food and water. So when he noticed the trees, he was ecstatic, immediately changing direction and making a b-line for the stand of trees. It was not terribly helpful, the air and ground were still hot, his dark coat was still soaking up sunrays like that would cure his problems, but once he reached the shade of the trees, he happily collapsed in a heap, just momentarily soaking up the cool caress of the shadows cast by the thick vegetation.
Eli laid there for a hot minute, simply enjoying the shade. But after moment or two, he slowly stood with a sigh, and made his way slowly deeper into the forest. He found a small lake to drink from, just barely lapping at it because he knew that too much water at once would make him vomit, even though his belly was begging for the sweet liquid life. Eli stood his ground, holding onto his practical knowledge instead of the out of control emotional side of his brain. He turned away from the small body of shallow water and moved on, walking casually despite his desperation for food, but he was on some kind of mission, walking with pure purpose and intent.
What he was intent on became clear a moment or two later.
He stopped in front of a particular tree. Why that particular tree in a forest full of trees? Well it was quite simple- the tree that had Eli's attention was dead. The bark was dark and super brittle, the trunk was thin and straight with no bending or flexibility, and the color was all wrong. The tree was dark in color, not the brilliant terra cotta color of a healthy acacia tree, and though it did still have leaves, they too were dark and sagging. As Eli leaned up against it, it groaned beneath his weight but it did not snap at the point of contact, which was good. Even though it was a thin little tree, it was tall and had many branches, if it fell on him he'd have a hard time getting out from under it. So he was grateful that it stayed in one piece as he began to claw at the trunk. His huge paws were able to tear away the bark and outer layers of the tree with the ease of a knife through butter. At first, it just seemed like he was doing this to mark his territory or something, perhaps a marker to keep from getting lost in the forest.
Nope. Even as the surface layers peeled away, the lion kept on digging, scratching at the tree furiously until finally the inner-most layer snapped and he was finally rewarded for his work. Grubs poured out of the opening like water, everything from big fat caterpillars to carpenter ants and termites. Eagerly, the lion sat back on his hindlegs and simply slurped at the hole, sucking up bugs that he would then pause to chew on with a somewhat sickeningly squishy, sometimes crunchy, sound. He didn't care who was watching or what they thought of it- he was starving, so he ate the bugs from the tree with a ravenous greed, completely absorbed in his task of filling his belly. He did not notice the pair of eyes watching him from between the trees.
But, alas, he was far far away from that place now, his tendency to wander having gotten the best of him this week. Starving and a little weak, the dark lion trudged through the sands at the edge of the desert and started his walk across the cracked grounds of the wastelands, happy to finally have a change in scenery, he'd been lost in that desert for days now. Finally, some relief. Off to one side of him, he could see the outline of trees in the radiant heat rising from the ground around him. It was midday, so the sun was high and the world was scorched and hot, his paws on the verge of blistering and his body weakening with a lack of both food and water. So when he noticed the trees, he was ecstatic, immediately changing direction and making a b-line for the stand of trees. It was not terribly helpful, the air and ground were still hot, his dark coat was still soaking up sunrays like that would cure his problems, but once he reached the shade of the trees, he happily collapsed in a heap, just momentarily soaking up the cool caress of the shadows cast by the thick vegetation.
Eli laid there for a hot minute, simply enjoying the shade. But after moment or two, he slowly stood with a sigh, and made his way slowly deeper into the forest. He found a small lake to drink from, just barely lapping at it because he knew that too much water at once would make him vomit, even though his belly was begging for the sweet liquid life. Eli stood his ground, holding onto his practical knowledge instead of the out of control emotional side of his brain. He turned away from the small body of shallow water and moved on, walking casually despite his desperation for food, but he was on some kind of mission, walking with pure purpose and intent.
What he was intent on became clear a moment or two later.
He stopped in front of a particular tree. Why that particular tree in a forest full of trees? Well it was quite simple- the tree that had Eli's attention was dead. The bark was dark and super brittle, the trunk was thin and straight with no bending or flexibility, and the color was all wrong. The tree was dark in color, not the brilliant terra cotta color of a healthy acacia tree, and though it did still have leaves, they too were dark and sagging. As Eli leaned up against it, it groaned beneath his weight but it did not snap at the point of contact, which was good. Even though it was a thin little tree, it was tall and had many branches, if it fell on him he'd have a hard time getting out from under it. So he was grateful that it stayed in one piece as he began to claw at the trunk. His huge paws were able to tear away the bark and outer layers of the tree with the ease of a knife through butter. At first, it just seemed like he was doing this to mark his territory or something, perhaps a marker to keep from getting lost in the forest.
Nope. Even as the surface layers peeled away, the lion kept on digging, scratching at the tree furiously until finally the inner-most layer snapped and he was finally rewarded for his work. Grubs poured out of the opening like water, everything from big fat caterpillars to carpenter ants and termites. Eagerly, the lion sat back on his hindlegs and simply slurped at the hole, sucking up bugs that he would then pause to chew on with a somewhat sickeningly squishy, sometimes crunchy, sound. He didn't care who was watching or what they thought of it- he was starving, so he ate the bugs from the tree with a ravenous greed, completely absorbed in his task of filling his belly. He did not notice the pair of eyes watching him from between the trees.
