I wasn't sure how long I was one the floor before I lost my battle to stay awake. I was woken up by being yanked up off the floor by my hair. I glared at the creature as it left me dangling by said hair. Motherfucker! I screamed around my gag and imagined his death. The door in front of us made a horrible noise. I glared at the door. What fucking now?!
Thick fingers tipped with dagger like claws gripped the door on either side and yanked it away. I found myself staring at a lion. A fucking bipedal lion. Two think black shapes rushed forward on either side of the lion and charged at the thing gripping my hair. I saw the lion's eyes follow its hand to my hair and then to me. His eyes went wide. Mira came out of the den and bit into the arm holding me.
The cockroach dropped me right onto my knees which made me groan. Gritting my teeth I forced my hand above my head from behind me. Dislocating both my shoulders and then putting them back. It hurt like a son of a bitch but I needed free. Mira released the cockroach and dragged me away from all the creatures by my leg. Good girl. I held my arms up to her and she began to tear bite at the binding to no avail. Shit.
She was still too small to carry me and even if she was full grown we had no where to go. I saw something slide across the floor. With my head and a grunt in the direction on the object skiding across the floor Mira's head turned. It was a dagger. Mira grabbed it and went to run back to me only to be pinned by one of the black beasts. I screamed around my gag as I was lifted into a set of arms. Run Mira! Please run! It was already too late pinned as she was under the bigger beast we were both trapped.
The lion I saw in the doorway was cuffing the cockroach which made me turn to the creature holding me. It was another lion. This one was just as big and mean as the other but this one's mane was a pale blonde with almost white tips. I immediately began to struggle. Oh hell no! I am not about to be eaten by a over grown lion that walks on two legs! This is not how I'm going out!
His head snapped down to me, 'We aren't going to eat you.' I froze. Did this bitch just speak to me without moving his lips... Then it hit me Telepathy.
'Uh huh sure. Like I'm gonna believe that,' I shot back. My telepathic abilities left a lot to be desired but with the steady practice that came with my brothers and their parents I could manage close distances. The fact his furry paw was directly on my arm wasn't hurting matters. I did notice he had retracted his claws though. Even gagged I knew my voice dripped in sarcasm. 'If you aren't gonna eat me then you'll ransom me. Or worse! You might torture me for information you think a Princess would know but considering how I'm the Defective Royal I wouldn't count on it if I was you. Worst case scenario you'll keep me locked up as a sex slave!'
He continued to carry me from the room to another. He followed closely behind the first lion man who dragging the damn Xenomorph. 'A Leoc'ain male would never harm a female of any species. Let alone a child one.'
'I am not a child!' I yelled back mentally, 'I am of courting age! If not mating.' Not that anyone had shown they wanted me. As he continued on I saw and felt our surroundings change. The rooms were still bigger now. Or rather room. The three Xenomorphs were strapped into one corner and the first Le-oh-ca-en, great even my brain had trouble saying the word, was seated and facing screens.
'My apologies Princess...' He froze. His head snapped down to look at me. His wide eyes were a deep forest green with flecks of yellow and brown towards the edges. His silted pupils reminded me more of a cat than a lion.
'You wanna take the gag out of my mouth? So we can actually talk? I'm not a great Telepath.'
He took his own seat and typed into a ... transparent keyboard. I may not have been able to read those keys or know what they did but I could recognized a keyboard when I saw one. Another screen popped up with yet another Lionman! Well fuck! I don't think I'm escaping. I heard Mira coo and once again renewed my struggle. I grunted to get her attention and she just looked at me... Seriously?! She laid down with the other two big ass... cat armadillos?
That was the closest comparison I could make to earth animals. Like two fur less black cats that had armadillo back plating. There was also a fine layer of skin that rose up from their backs. You traitorous bitch. I warmed your egg for ten years before you hatched and this is how you repay me!
The male sat me up and released my gag as he spoke with the one on the screen. Not that I could understand them. Well they were doing the typical male grunting bullshit inter mixed with a rolling growls and a whoopping cuff noise. 'Are you guys part hyena?' Now that the gag was free from my mouth a could close it. A slow process that hurt. I began rubbing at my cheeks and chin with my shoulder. Ew I was coated in my own drool. My mouth was dry. I needed something to drink soon if I was gonna talk to anyone.
He looked at me, now that the gag was out of my mouth I took the time to look over the males more. I can't just keep referring to them in general terms. 'I do not understand what you mean by hyena so I can not tell you.'
'You look and they look,' I said nodding at the other chair and the screen, the lionman there was also looking at me, 'Look like lions. Lions are a kind of big feline or cat. They do not walk on two legs as you are clearly able to but they have manes and rounded ears. They do not however make that whooping noise. That noise is only made by hyenas to my knowledge.
Hyenas are a unique species that have similar traits to both dogs and cats or Canines and Felines, they don't belong to either species family however. They are their own. They are also very much at odds with lions. The two species will attack eachother on sight with extreme hatred.'
He typed into the keyboard and another screen pulled up. I thought he was typing something in. Probably making note of what I said for their files. When he looked back to me he asked more questions while also saying something to the one on the screen, 'What is a mane?'
'The fur on your head and neck. I have hair like all Humans. I say you have fur because it appears denser and seems like it would stops growing once it reaches a certain length.' His mane was light brown at the roots and darker at the ends. His ears were rounded like a lion's but they did have the slightest point at the tip. Were they maned hyenas?
'I can't say for sure. But to my knowledge our people have never been to earth so we should have no relation with Earth's fauna. I have never been to earth and have never seen a lion. We are the Leoc'ain. I am the medic of our Pack. Once we are back to the main ship we can make sure you are better cared for. I will be taking you to the med bay to check you over first and then Misha and Dimatri be see to your needs. This is Misha. He is our leader.'
'Too bad,' I say relaxing on the big males lap as much as I can still tied up. I continued to look him over. I couldn't see the other one much around his chair. I had very little view of the screen to see the third, Misha, this one had him Misha. 'I rather like lions.' The males wore tops that seemed to serve only as extra armor. I wondered what was under that armor. How much was human like? How much was other?
His snout wasn't as long as Earth animals. Nor was his face as flat as my own. It was a weird half and half thing where it came out about an inch to two inches out. Enough to not be human but not so much to be completely animal in nature. The fur on his face was shorter as was the fur on his paws. It felt like velvet on my arm where he held me. His velvet fur was a pale tawny color that was very similar to a lion.
I glared at that paw. It was indeed a paw. Despite the fact that it had an opposable thumb, and five fingers, same as a human hand. Where his paw gripped me it had the soft plush of a cat or dog's toe pads. Yet that plush was off set by a sensation I knew all too well from my brothers own hands, calluses. I had never heard of an animal paw forming calluses. I suppose it would be possible but still. I didn't know if I should start yelling or say thank you as I saw a larger ship come into view. Neither apparently because we were headed right for it. I bet this is where the rest of the pack was.