ORIGIN

Maximus remembered being here once. It was a journey made with their former Overseer and the Sentinel. For a moment they wondered how they were doing, if Alpha was still as broken as they remembered, if the Sentinel was still their same old self. But they instead sighed and continued their walk along the beach, taking their sweet time.

Leo was a nice enough cave, they thought. Were it not for their garden, they'd have probably settled here. The sea breeze and the sound of the sea washing up on the cliffs and shore were calming. It was impossible to be anxious here, which they appreciated.

Sea birds flew overhead, calling out to each other loudly. Maximus spotted some frogbeaks diving down to the water to skim over its surface before swooping back up, their beats beating sporadically to get back up into the air. They stopped to watch for a moment, ears pricked forward as skycallers chased each other or caught fish hanging out in the shallows. It was peaceful.

A startled bleat left Maximus' mouth as they leapt forward and away, running right into the sea itself before they even bothered to turn around. It took a moment to process the amazing amount of colors and accessories, not to mention the butterfly wings, rainbow fur... wait, they knew this gembound!

”Bebby!” they exclaimed, standing up straight and jogging towards the fairy-cat. ”Hello! It has been a while, you're right. How are you?”

They came to a stop in front of her and dropped into a four-legged stance, not wanting the other to end up hurting her neck from looking up so high. The downsides of being a 12-foot-tall valkhound, they supposed. Among others.

Maximus folded their legs under them and let Bebby rant, their patience absolutely endless. They nodded along gently so as to not accidentally push the cat off, their ears perked forward and unflinching even when Bebby reached peak volume.

Finally, it was their turn to speak.

”I'm doing very well, thank you,” they said with a chuckle, raising a hand to gently pet the other on the head. ”I personally received two gifts. One is a garden in the jungle cave, and the other is the necklace I'm wearing. The garden needs some cleaning up and flowers, but once I'm done with it, it'll be beautiful.”

Max pulled away to fish their necklace out from beneath their mane, their ears pricking up suddenly. It was glowing gold, and as they moved closer to Bebby, it glowed brighter. Their own eyes lit up, excited to be able to help the other.

”Look, it's telling me you need help, it only glows when it senses that,” Maximus said, pointing to the gem. ”Is there something on your mind, Bebby?”

Maximus nodded in sympathy, feeling quite bad for Bebby. They themself knew that enrichment was key, though they could entertain themself with rather mundane things, something Bebby couldn't do. However, Max was well versed in playfighting with smaller opponents.

”Well, let's hope that healing won't be necessary,” they said, standing up. ”I'd be happy to play with you, Bebby. I can even give you some tips, if you'd like.”

They let their quills flare out and shook them, making them rattle and quiver. They ran their hand over their head, smoothing them back down, but their excitement had already been exposed. They were just as eager as Bebby, although Maximus wasn't quite one to wiggle and squeal.

”Just mind my quills,” they reminded gently, stepping back.

Maximus, being 12 feet tall and weighing the same as a horse, barely felt the impact. They fell back anyway, landing in the soft sand and quickly rolling over. They shook the sand out of their fur and stood back up, turning to face Bebby again.

”That was good. Aiming to knock a top-heavy opponent over will always give you an advantage. Keep in mind that a harder opponent might not go down as easily, but someone smaller - much smaller - than I would probably be knocked off balance,” they said.

They trotted towards Bebby and batted at her gently, though it was far too gentle to do anything to her despite their size difference. They just kinda... myeh. Just a tiny push.