Eternal Skies [Dr. Stone]

Chapter One: Take to the Skies [Rewritten]

Rewritten 05.14.24

All non-canon characters are personally drawn by me <3

━━━━━━ ✦ ━━━━━━

It had been ages since she last had a proper meal, so much so that one could see the outline of her ribs above her stomach. Her belly ached, feeling as if her gut was squishing itself into a raisin. Getting by with small injured animals could only do so much for her; which usually wouldn't be an issue if she hadn't been separated from her pack. It wasn't until one day the lioness spotted a strange creature roaming her forest, one she had never seen before. It looked like a hairless monkey but a little less clueless. She cautiously stalked it, assessing if it was any threat to the place she called home. The other annoying monkeys shadowed it as well, however always fled when the lioness was near; a wise choice. The naked monkey-like creature wasn't a great hunter either, always making these odd things from sticks and rope to get its prey. It had even lost a fight to a raccoon and ended up looking worse than her devoured prey, something even the lioness could easily capture; which she did.

After determining the creature to be relatively harmless, she waited for the perfect opportunity to strike. When the naked monkey had wandered far enough from their home, she ravenously gave chase. The trees and foliage whipped by, her paws beating against the soft dirt. As she lunged, the hairless monkey darted out of the way causing her to bash against a tree. Shaking the fog from her head, she pursued once more. Cutting a corner-she leaped after the hairless monkey again-her claws grazing the messy chestnut braid.

Her paw pressed against a mesh fiber, triggering a mechanism of ropes and pullies. Suddenly, vines that had previously secured a boulder released-the rock plummeting to the ground as a counterweight to the net that swiftly enclosed her, trapping the lioness in its grasp.

The monkey skid to a stop, her braid whipping around her as the feminine figure peered over to see her trap had successfully worked. Stepping up, her hands rested on her hips pridefully. "Hah! Not so tough now are ya kitty?" She boasted with a sly grin. The lioness roared in protest and rolled around in the net, clawing at its mesh like a cat caught in a basket.

She reached for her side, unsheathing her dagger. The beast had been stalking her for weeks with a few attempts to kill her, and now she finally had a chance to swiftly end the thing. Its helpless cry echoed between the trees, calling for help, only to be met with silence.

The girl raised the blade, the sun reflecting off its stone surface as the lioness twisted and flailed around frantically. For a moment, the beast's wide amber eyes met with the girl's olive-hued ones. Despite this being a top predator in the animal kingdom, it looked lost and forlorn. Its roars felt like melancholic wails as it quickly exhausted its energy before its eyes slowly closed, as if accepting its fate.

Now that she thought about it, lions usually traveled in packs. However, she's only ever noticed just the single lioness watching her. The beast was alone, just like she was. The poor thing looked like the stray cats she often saw wandering around the streets of Tokyo; nothing but skin and bones. Her hand grasped tightly around the handle, before relaxing and slowly lowering to her side. 'Damnit...' She mentally cursed to herself.

The girl spent a few seconds stuck in an internal debate before she found herself giving the rope a slight cut, making the lioness look over confused. "With a bit more thrashing around, you'll be out soon enough for me to safely get away," She said, sheathing the weapon. "I could eat you, but I hear lion meat doesn't taste that great anyway-" She pointed an accusing finger toward it, her other resting on her hip- "So don't you come after me again, got it? Not that you can understand me..." She looked down to her side- "Here-" she unhooked the few squirrels attached to her belt and flung it over beneath the trapped beast- "you look like you need it more than me." The lioness watched as the hairless monkey began walking away until she stopped, glancing back. "I...I wish you luck in finding your family, kitty."