Jone had droven all the way out to Tennessee country, which edged the Great Smoky Mountains, to watch his niece compete in a swimming competition. As he'd pull in the parking lot he'd check his clock, seeing it at eight-thirty-AM when he had to be here at one-PM, he sighed at his own impatience. The swimming building was located up a hill & was the last of structures, the Smoky Mountain Nature Reserve taking up the rest of any commercial or residential potential..
Jone noticed that there was a dirt path for a car leading up the hills & a 'No Trespassing' sign there with it, but the iron gate stopping cars was wide open, & this piqued his curiosity. Seeing no cameras, cars or people he'd decide to investigate, knowing it'll take his time up. Switching to four-wheel-drive he'd turn a sharp right that led him onto a steep upward road, it atleast was half a mile long!
...Going anyways through constant bumping & being bounced some he'd get near the top & stop as he started getting weird radio static. He'd try flipping channels just to have it follow, & yelling in annoyance he continued over the hill- it was steeper than how he went up & he slammed the breaks as now his car was slowly being dragged down it by gravity!
"I should've figured!" He hated on himself as he now was following the path & kept the car straight as it gradually gained speed, even on the brakes. Shooting down atleast halfway the path was covered over with treetops & slowly straightened out, Jone barely stopping as his car slid around in mud & almost hit a tree.
Flipping his lights on in the slightly-navigable spot he'd see he could turn right, but his car, he knew, won't make it up that hill.
Agitated he'd ruin his day by following impulse past a Trespassing sign he continued & turned his car down the path- he figured if it was started by people it ends with people..
This path angled downward into one of the Smoky Canyons, unfortunately still covered over with tree's. Jone's radio intensified, "Shad'up!" He hit it lightly before looking up in shock & stopping-
There was a bowl of dirt making a huge hill with many huge trees covering it, nothing but darkness down the path that had to enter a massive cavern atleast eight feet tall, he judged from the steepness & the.. Sheer width. Despite getting a gut feeling be should NOT go- he did!
The headlights illuminated a mossy stone ground as he drove down the eighty-feet pathway, the static immediately stopping once he was driving on the moss.
Ahead the ground was unnaturally flat & still covered in moss, & all he saw in the distance was some light coming through holes at the top, he judged the cave to be likely a-hundred feet long! He'd turn his car right & it would illuminate the cave wall barely-
-A massive pile of tree-trunks were stacked like a square brick atleast twenty feet tall.. They looked machine-cut to Jone as he drove around it, finding a depression full of discarded, burned logs in a long pit.
He'd put the car in park & step out as it faced the cave, taking in a breath of the fresh air. "Definently not a normal cave.." He mumbled to himself & saw moss was cleared atleast fifteen feet from the logs- "Is anyone here!?"
Yelled.
The yell echoed throughout the cave atleast four times, & there was no reply-
"Hurah.. Nmm.." A massive groaning sound came from the back of the cave, shaking the stone only barely. Joan freaked out, hasty to jump back in his car-
Large, emerald green eyes glittered in the darkness when he looked forward, staring directly at the car. Jone was nearly having a panic attack, but as he didn't move for a minute, neither did the eyes-
"Who's? Not the caretaker.." he heard.. A female-sounding voice, the fact whatever it was spoke calmed him slightly. Rolling down his window & then leaning out of it the eyes followed & approached a few feet, staying out of the lights. "My name is Joan! Hi- whoever you are!?"
Knowing that this being was not a person he'd freeze up as the eyes rose & he heard groans, them locked onto his car as they rose up thirty-five feet! "Malakum, is my name."
The definitely a woman said as she approached, Joan bringing his head back-in just to step out of his car ad the ground shook-
Two massive legs came out from the darkness covered in a deep-green fur, Jone looking up to see it stop halfway up her muscular thighs. Then.. He saw her legs were covered in fur bristles & she wore a loincloth that didn't cover her pussy or ass, giving him one helluva' sight. Her feet, however, were completely beast-like with two-&-a-half foot claws-
She knelt down & he saw her stomach was covered in thin fur, giving him sight of her toned & tanned chest- then her 'C' breast were like- uherm- two widened busses, barely held by boiled tree bark turned into a bra.
Malakum had caramel skin & a human hand- covered in smooth furs up to her arms wenis & sharp one-foot claws- & shoulder-length brown messy hair.
He'd lie if she wasn't a beauty, but her size was killing his imagination & hope. Standing silent for a dozen seconds atleast she grinned her sharp teeth at him before bending down to him, her face only three yards away. With her head like a small house to him- he began regretting his decision to burn time.
"Most scream, run. You & few others have stayed, but I can say that can also be bad. Caretaker doesn't like outsiders.." Whatever she was saying to him eased him some, but when she mentioned 'caretakers' his gut dropped. She kept her smile, but just then he'd notice large brown ears folded over & a massive-brown-spotted tail swaying slowly behind her..
Screw it, he thought, he shouldn't care until he's in physical danger.
"Who's that!?" He questioned Malakum, who really wasn't appearing hostile, smiling wide. "Humans who let me live, humans whom beat me in fight. Im 'classi- fa-e-ied' as they say." Her voice had a tone of some anger or something, he wasn't to perceptive. "That's-" as he was about to talk, his radio blared on-
"Delta-Zero-One, Zero-Three en route to feeding location. ETA ten minutes, out." Joan then got panicking, knowing no way could he escape, they were likely government! "Caretakers deliver me message, though my box is off.. You have one, but aren't one." She pointed that out & Jone was, frankly, impressed with this humanoids logic abilities despite living in the forest. However surviving this predicament was his goal, so he'd jump on this chance to ask her for help!
"Malakum! I really need you to help me hide from these caretakers!" He pleaded & stepped forward a yard, closing the gap some as Malakum yawned.
"I- hm." She stopped mid-sentence, thinking of what she could do, help this human or just kill him?
Malakum really disliked her caretakers however, forcing her to stay in this cave. So she settled on helping him hide as Jone thought he might not be able to go see his niece, Malakum more happy that she'd be helping a human- thinking of the ones who defeated her..
"Ok. Come up." Bringing her hand down with retracted claws to him, Jone was slightly anxious, her hand looking easily able to crush him. But knowing he'd likely get killed or, maybe let off, he didn't want to take those risks with people.
He'd pull on some finger fur & step on her hand, staring at Malakum's face as he sat down on her palm. She store back at him atleast two feet away, Jone able to smell her rank breath.
"Not much place to hide, they look around." She told him quite lowly, sounding annoyed, her smile dropping.
"Then hide me on you- until they're gone!" Despite feeling like he might get squashed or hurt doing this, it was the best option. Malakum grinned some, making Jone feel slightly infatuated, with a giant lion woman & likely going to be hidden by her..