Stop
You stop, peeking back to the male. Taking this as a sign, he approaches behind you. For a second, your regret not running away, but it's already too late and something inside of you is seeming to welcome the decision anyways.
A sudden, hot, almost sticky sensation spreads through your body. You find yourself, only half aware, have started to trot past the male, rubbing your flank into his before dropping into a lowered position.
Your body is acting on its own, running on imbued instinct while your mind is too busy reeling to act, so the male wanders close. His tongue laps over you again, tasting your readiness before he lunges himself upwards. Hard, sharp claws scrape at your sides as the male folds himself atop in a sudden, fast mating. His growling, snarls in your ear ring out through your mind. The quiet of the plains moments before were broken with a sudden cacophony of his snarling, growling and your own hissing responses. Mere seconds later, the male thrusts his teeth through the flesh of your neck, biting down before he empties himself inside of you.
"It's over... It's over..."
"ARGHHH!" A sudden, raking ripped through your insides.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!?"
Barbs.
You shudder, whimpering to yourself before you spot the rest of the pride approaching. One of whom is distinctly male and already bounding towards you...
*******
For days, the harsh and painful mating comes in constant waves from the males of the pride, however, the food is plentiful. You find the plains to be quiet as you drift into sleep each night. When your heat finally passes, the days become even more peaceful.
But the days become less peaceful when, seemingly all a sudden, there's a litter of your own cubs to care for. They require constant food supply. You're thrown into the effort of hunting. You charge onto the plains with the other females.
If mating had left you feeling helpless, hunting imbued you with a fierce quality, a power that was unparallelled. You prowl with the pride, quivering when things run at the sight of your family.
For the first time, you feel utter power every day.
Then, the cubs arrive and flood you with another sensation. Motherhood.
Their desperation for your presence, their dependance all give a warm, gooey feeling like the sun heating your back as you sleep. Life is good, quiet, and repetitive, but happy.
Then, one night, you don't drift into sleep as quickly. The hunt, that day, had ended too quickly to leave you winded.
"I'm still inside a game..."
You realize that these days, passing on the plains, were still within this false universe. "But, is it false?"
It all felt so real. The ache in your muscles after a hunt. The crunch of bones giving within your jaws. "How could those be fake? In a game?"
Yet, some part of you knew that it was within the game you'd entered, somehow was contained in a false universe you were trapped in.
You're left wondering whether this consideration is even worth it or if life here , as a lion, isn't the better option anyways.
Written by Picklessauce69 on 22 February 2016
