18 Rescuing a Big Kitty (1/2)

Blissfully unaware of her morose knight's misgivings and the desperate pursuit of her furious right-hand, the woman responsible had stopped short in front an opening of a cave with an entrance of about six feet tall. Chalice was ecstatic at this, she had finally found a shelter. Carefully shuffling inside, she kept her senses receptive.

Chalice was halfway in when she saw faint glimmers of light. She walked warily towards it. After traversing about half a mile, the originally faint light grew stronger until she had arrived inside.

The center of the cave was illuminated, though she couldn't figure out the source. The circulating air inside was warm which made her glad because she didn't have to worry about making a fire or contracting hypothermia and meeting another untimely death.

Besides, at this point even if she wanted to make a fire, it would just be doomed to failure. She couldn't possibly find dry wood at such a place and condition. Not to mention, it would take a really long time to make an ember or a spark manually.

Chalice flopped herself down beside a huge stalagmite. The cave was strange. It was not wet at all, though she could hear the indistinct rustling of a stream. But she too exhausted to confirm her guess.

In order to ignore her rumbling stomach, Chalice chose to just drift off to sleep. She was regretting not picking up the berries she saw along her way. All she had stuffed in her trouser pockets and pouch were herbs. She couldn't possibly eat those. She knows firsthand how unappetizing they are. She wasn't that desperate... yet. Besides, the herbs were best used as medicine rather than food.

But even before she closed her eyes, Chalice heard a pained moan. She stilled when she realized it did not come from a human.

Chalice slowly treaded to the source of the sound. Her feet brought her to another cave entrance. With just a step in, Chalice felt as if she was transported to another world... again.

The rustling stream she heard a while ago grew louder. Verdant shrubs and tall trees filtered the light from above casting a muted, and dreamy ambience in an otherwise supposedly creepy cave.

Chalice squealed like a kid. This was blessing in disguise, ah. She has stumbled upon a wonder of nature. A breath-taking discovery. It's not everyday that an isolated terrarium is found just like that. Especially one that has it's own all-natural regulated atmosphere. The barren cave outside was merely its foyer.

The pained grunts once again rang out. Chalice snapped out of her daze and looked for whatever was making it. She wasn't able to distinguish what beast it was. She treaded forward carefully until she finally saw it.

Chalice couldn't help but swallow hard as the source of the sound finally made its way into her sight. Her face paling like a sheet.

A full grown lion!

And what's more, it does not look like the typical one. As far as Chalice knows, full grown male lions typically grow around to two meters tall excluding the tail. But heck, this one is about twice that size. It was lying there but Chalice was pretty sure, once it gets up it would tower over her frame like an animated sphinx without the human face. She also thought it strange that a prairie lion is here at a cave in a fog forest.

Chalice stepped a bit more closer to see the beast. Her breath hitched. It really was not an ordinary lion. She had never seen one who had silky, golden mane and had a mark on its forehead. Well, she hadn't seen one on Earth at least.

The animal made a sound again. Chalice's eye caught sight of a ghastly wound in its forelimb and another one on it's upper rib. It was injured quite severely.

She was torn. Chalice had a weakness for adorable animals like these.However, she also knew how proud this specie was. Not to mention, how ferocious they were. She might have some skills to boast of, but they surely were not enough to deal with this big kitty.