Love Leads to Pain

The stars hung high above the gray landscape that Lochren had laid out in front of Odon and Ciera. The vast open landscape clashing with the small blood wood forest residing nearby the two. As Odon allowed himself to relax he couldn't help but to glance up at the star riddled sky before turning toward Ciera, smiling softy toward her and for a brief moment, Odon felt as though the two were the only ones left within the universe. Rather than fear the feeling brought Odon comfort and eased his broken scared body before allowing the grin on his face from continuing to grow at the warm feelings filling the large male. Odon and Ciera, cubhood friends, had grown so close over the last couple decades after she, Odon, and Trise had left the pride. He had grown so close to her that he couldn’t even begin to fabricate or imagine living a  life without her in it. She made him feel like something more than just a reckless fighter, she made him compassionate toward others along with himself, helped shape and morph him into the lion he had become. One that was no longer a monstrous killing machine that hurt others without a second thought.

“You know, you look much better without your mask on…” Ciera’s spoke with a soft, almost angelic voice that could sooth even the darkest of spirits. Her soft blue eyes locked onto his piercing red ones as she spoke, a warm grin graced her lips.

A smile of his own seemed to grow larger at her words. He couldn't help but chuckle softly as he looked at her with his single red eye taking in every feature of the female, feeling as though he could get lost within each blade of her fur, each curve of her body, or her beautifully striking blue eyes. Whenever he looked at her he felt, happiness. Pure and innocent joy.

“What can I say, I wanted to spend time looking at the stars with you without it obstructing my view. Don’t get used to it though.” Another soft laugh erupted from deep within Odon’s chest, his deep voice contrasting from her soft light one. His happy chuckling grew silent though, almost as if embarrassed he raised his paw to his face, trying to hide the right side that he had mutilated in the heat of the moment while talking with his father. He was so use to wearing the mask now it was rare to see him without it, and even than only took it off if he was with Ciera. That being sad though that didn’t stop him from being self-conscious about his scarred up and disfigured appearance he had bestowed upon himself.

Gently Ciera placed her own, much smaller white paw gently upon his and began pulling his paw away from his face, “If I don’t get to see your face very often I want to see all of it. You know I won’t think any differently of you, with or without your imperfections.” Her words flowed from her mouth as though they were made of honey, the sweet slow movement of them allowing Odon to truly loosen up.

Though unknown to Ciera, the real reason Odon had taken her out was his plans to ask her, his life long friend, to become his mate. Though both were still young, something deep inside Odon knew he wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with her. She was the only one that could make him feel alive, feel important, she gave him a reason to live and strive to better himself each and every day. There wasn’t a shred of doubt residing within his mind or heart that she was the perfect lioness, the only one for him.

“Ciera… You know how much I love spending time with you… But more than that, I love you..." His words seemed to catch in his throat as he spoke, forcing himself to clear it before continuing, "Will you do me the honors of being my mate? There isn’t anyone else I would rather spend my life with. You are the only thing I want in this lifetime, and even than a lifetime isn’t enough time to spend with someone as perfect as you…” His voice dropped down to a whisper but it escaped his lips with such power and emotion that he knew Ciera was able to hear every word perfectly.

Surprise shined in Ciera's eyes before she allowed a weak but happy smile to grow on her face and as she looked at Odon, a small tears formed. The first few tears streamed down her face alone but it didn’t take long for more to cascade down her cheeks as she struggled to control her tears of joy, “Took you long enough to ask…” her words were hushed as she giggled, lightly sniffling before she reached up to embrace Odon, “I would want nothing more than to be yours Odon, I love you too…” the emotion within her voice matched what Odon felt within himself, and as the two shared their first kiss as mates their tail blades gently interlocked, a display that pride lions performed to solidify their new mateship.

Everything seemed perfect, though the moment didn’t last. A sudden, loud snapping sound erupted from the forest beside the two. Allowing an annoyed sigh to escape from his lungs Odon assumed it was his sister, Trise, checking in on him as she did so often.

“I’m ok Trise, I promise. Mind giving us some alone time?” Though annoyed, he couldn’t bear to be rude or mean to his sister with how kind she was and all she did for him, though the voice that spoke next didn't belong to Trise.

“I’m afraid I can’t give you any of the alone time you want. I'm on a tight schedule, have orders to be executed, as well as lions…”

Odon whipped his head around to see ten large lions emerging from the blood wood forest, quickly closing the gap between the trees and the pair. The male that took the lead of the group had a deep scratchy voice, one with an unsettling and almost insane underlying tone to it, and paired with the wild eyes that resided on his face that darted back and forth it helped to complete the insane look.

Odon’s lips curled back into a snarl, his thick fur standing on end as the large ground slowly surrounded the two, “What do you want?” The words were spat from Odon’s lips, his red eye glowing intensely with the mixture of emotions he felt emerging within himself. Slowly he took a step back, placing himself closer to Ciera in an effort to use his body as a shield for her. Glancing back at her he saw the fear within her eyes which only added more fuel to the fire within him. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.

“Well, we were told you have been interfering with important business, and well our boss Kiora doesn’t appreciate it. She is a very busy lioness, so she sent us to help to… Get rid of the trash that keeps jamming slowing our cogs.” The same hysteric male spoke up once more, a toothy grin stretched far too wide to be possible spread onto his face as his eyes narrowed on the couple. “I hope you can understand…” Before the words had even finished leaving his twisted mouth two of the lions launched themselves at the pair.

Allowing a furious roar to slice through the air Odon quickly pushed Ciera to the ground and out of the way of the oncoming attacks. The first lion slammed into Odon’s side, the sheer force causing him to skid on the gray ground. Emotion and adrenaline began to take over as he turned to face the second lion and before the aggressor's paws could touch the ground Odon reached up, grabbing the male by his throat. With a swift twisting motion Odon felt the veins and arteries rip within the enemy’s throat as he tossed the now dead lion like a ragdoll. Quickly redirected his attention toward the first lion Odon watched as, its claws and teeth penetrated deep within the skin on his back. Hissing Odon watched as his own blood gushed from the wound, though rather than physically pushing the lion off he focused a neurotoxin to the area the male was latched onto. Within an instance the assailant froze and fell to the ground, convulsing violently before laying still and lifeless.

The leader of the group raised an eye brow with an expression that showed how impressed he was, as well as annoyed, “Come on you fools how hard is it to kill them? We outnumber them one to four! ATTACK!” The male’s words echoed within Odon’s mind as thought that was all he could hear. As he watched the seven remaining lions launch themselves at him his vision went red and everything within his mind seemed to stop as his body took over.

The next thing Odon remembered was the blood spilling from the bodies that lay lifeless around him and the dense dust particles that were now scattered around him and Ciera. Turning slowly Odon looked at the leader, his expression now one of fear. In his disbelief he began to mutter wildly, “How… How did you… How…” the volume of his voice seemed to continue to drop until he was merely mouthing the word over and over again. Stepping back he tried to morph his face almost as though he was trying to remain fazed by Odon’s actions and thirst for blood. Letting out a weak howl he launched one last attack, a single spear of ice. Odon growled preparing himself to take the blow, ready to be impaled but he froze when he heard a faint crying beside him. Horror glazed over his eyes as he watched the shard launched toward the cries rather than him. Time seemed to come to a standstill as Odon watched the ice’s trajectory line up perfectly to hit Ciera. Muscles tensing and fear gripping at his heart, Odon ran over to her, pushing her out of the way and taking the blow for her.

As the cold shard entered Odon’s chest cavity he gasped for air, as his lungs began to fill with blood. Odon locked his eyes with Kiora’s pawn, the manic's face said it all though, he had accomplished what he had set out to do. Turning the male retreated back into the shadows of the forest, leaving the Odon, Ciera, and the bloody mess behind him.

Gasping for air Odon seized up, trying to cough out the blood which was quickly filling his lungs, “Ciera…” his voice one of panic as he turned to his mate. As his gaze met her's he fell silent as he realized why the male was leaving. As though he was in a dream Odon looked into Ciera’s tear filled eyes, her body slowly turning to dust.

“No… NO! Ciera!” How could he have been so careless with his element? The adrenaline had taken over him and super charged his element, so that when he pushed her out of harm’s way the touch he had bestowed upon her was that laced with death rather than the life he had tried so hard to preserve.

Ciera wept softly, knowing her death was inevitable it painted fear and pain within her eyes, “Don’t leave me Odon… I love you, please don’t leave me…” her voice grew weaker with each word she spoke. Odon reached out, holding her head in his paws as he balled silently, “I love you too Ciera… I’m here for you, I promise I’ll be right by your side… Now and always…” as his sentence grew to an end, Ciera allowed a faint smile to grace her lips one last time before she closed them, the remaining part of her fading into dust.

Left bitterly alone Odon cried out in agony. Not from the ice shard within his chest, but rather at the loss he had just endured to his own recklessness. A crimson river flowed from his mouth, he was ready to die, ready to be with Ciera, but as he felt death’s claws tighten around his soul and his gaze darken, he knew he heard his sister’s familiar voice crying out. Trise wasn’t about to allow him to die which only made Odon weep harder. This wasn’t supposed to happen, none of it was. He just wanted to be with Ciera, though as he felt his sister’s life element flow through him he knew that he would not be joining her, not yet. This wasn’t going to be the end for Odon, and he knew he was going to have to live with the fact he had taken the life of the only lion he had ever loved.