ORIGIN - cause and effect

A day of chasing strange cave bugs had left the young child exhausted. A lot of the things around here seemed to be too fast for her and her stumpy baby legs, but it didn’t stop her from trying to go after just about anything that moved. She didn’t quite understand the concept of hunting yet, just the fact that things were fun to run after.

But, now tired out, the small creature trotted along, finding herself drawn to some strange rocks towards the south. She needed a place to sleep, and as she gazed up to the rocks, she saw one not too high up that looked perfectly flat and baby hyena sized. Water was trickling over some of the stones, but she didn’t pay mind to it or think that it could possibly be dangerous. All the young cub knew was that she wanted to sleep in that exact place.

Crouching down, small butt in the air for a moment, she pounced for the ledge, landing on it at a strange angle. The tiny girl yelped a shrill yelp as her legs gave out under her, and she slipped, falling right off and hitting her shoulder. The fall was only a foot or so, but as she laid on the ground, shoulder pounding, Lux cried out as if she was dying.

@Leon

Soon as he heard the yelp, the bear had raised his head and was on high alert for its source. He instantly thought that the sound had come from Lillith, who must have been somewhere nearby - maybe she had fallen and hurt herself, or maybe somebody was in danger, maybe it was something else in the cave. His mind rolled through each and every situation as he stood there for a brief moment, paused in his lookout. Leon had been sleeping at the edge of the den, on the ledge that overlooked the majority of the cave. Of course, he hadn't been in a deep enough slumber to bypass the alarmed yelp - it was enough to cause his eyes to peel open and search. Within a few seconds, he decided that whoever it was must have been hurt, or in trouble, or something like that - they were wailing as though they were practically dying. He had to go investigate.

The bear descended his ledge and raised his head to sniff, searching for the strongest scent of another nearby creature. Sure enough, there was an unfamiliar aroma wafting through the moist, humid cave air - it didn't belong to anybody from Maji Walezi. It was fresh and nubile. A stranger. He furrowed his brow and followed the sound of the cries, eventually finding his way to a small brown lump on the ground. The sight had near instantly rendered his heart soft and worried, wide eyes probing for any sign of mortal injury. In the mean time, the bear scrambled towards her, searching the air for the scent of blood. "Hey! Oh, no, geez, are you alright? Hey, don't cry," He fumbled, coming up behind the fallen child.

@Lux

The small cub continued to cry out even after her throat began to grow dry from the ruckus. There was probably going to be some bruising, but no permanent damage. Still, in her young life, this had been the worst pain she’d ever experienced and she didn’t know what else to do but cry out, like her voice could bring some kind of relief.

She was too absorbed in her own crying to notice the large creature approaching and it wasn’t until he was literally right there, speaking, that she flinched and noticed his presence. Lux froze in her spot on the ground, staring up at Leon with wide, chocolate brown eyes of shock and awe. For just that brief second, the cub forgot the pain in her shoulder and gazed up at him. He was so big! And furry. And awesome.

”You’re kinda like me!” She explained, moving to sit up quickly. But as soon as she put weight into the limb that she’d hurt, Lux yelped and clearly remembered her wound. Balancing her weight on her other front paw, she sat on her butt and raised her other limb pathetically at him. ”I fell off the rock.” She announced, curling her head to lick at her shoulder even though there was no blood. It didn’t help. ”It hurts!” The young girl wailed in frustration. Why wouldn't it stop hurting?

@Leon

It took all of his strength to resist snuffling his nose over her in search of injury - the instinct to protect and care for young ones damn near consumed him, and it was probably because of his mounting age in comparison to the constant influx of newly hatched Gembounds. He was growing more and more to feel like a guardian, or even a father; not that there was a problem with it, just... it felt like it could be... overwhelming to somebody who really didn't know him. Especially a babe like this. When she stared at him, wide-eyed and alarmed, Leon blinked and stood back again to give her space, feeling somewhat guilty that he crowded her so.

Until she spoke, her tiny voice piping into the cool air, enthused and curious. Leon couldn't help the grin that parted his jaws almost immediately, laughing and leaning back onto his haunches. "Yeah, kind of!" He nodded. In truth, she was a lot less like him and more like... Giggle. They were the same thing, weren't they? Leon spent a quick second rolling over the details of her face and physique, and then tried to remember what Giggle looked like - but all he could remember was her being filthy and caked in dry blood and mud. That wasn't very helpful. The bear shook the thought away when she explained what happened, helplessly lifting her wounded leg to show him.

"Oh no!" The bear gasped, quirking his brows in concern. He shimmied back so that he could slide down onto his stomach and get a better look at her leg. There were no open wounds, it would probably just bruise. But that didn't mean Leon couldn't try his best to help. "Would you like me to kiss it better?" He did his best not to sound patronizing - in fact, he had a feeling that the heat he harnessed could help subdue the ache of a bruise, and wanted to extend the offer as kindly as possible. He wouldn't be happy until this little hyena's leg felt all better!

@Lux