ORIGIN - my mind was a fog, my heart became a bomb

Whatever Amaria's fate had been, Leon couldn't shake it from his mind. He hadn't a chance to see Cancer after the massive battle in Polaris. In fact, he wasn't even sure the black leopard had even been there. Leon briefly caught a glimpse of one shooting lightning bolts at the dragon, and another obsidian feline encased in armor, but neither he had immediately identified as being Cancer. The bear had to assume that the armored cat could have been him, considering his penchant for cloaking himself, but really he didn't know. And that nagged his mind too. If Cancer had been there, had he seen the chrysalis?

Leon had to shake the thought away. He didn't even know for sure if anything had happened to Amaria, and maybe that was why his paws had taken him back to Orion. His mind was buzzing with thoughts, worries and fears of what may have happened, testing scenarios, yet he didn't even know for sure. He had to soothe his curiosity. He had to know... and hope and pray that she had been hiding here in Orion with Cancer all this time. As he entered the starry room, he lifted his nose and sought out the familiar smell of the clouded leopard, hoping to catch it - but nothing. That doesn't mean anything. His lips tightened and he lowered his head, quickening his pace.

He had no idea where to start looking for Cancer. At this point, he felt like he was an intruder, an unwelcome houseguest with a dark secret he was destined to reveal. Maybe Cancer would find him before long. The anger that burned in his heart for what Amaria had told him had, for now, subsided; even if Leon had been furious before that she had some kind of a relationship with him, Leon was given time to view it from a different perspective. It was with guilt and shame at his anger that he tried to give it a chance. Fear that she was gone - he had to forgive himself, and he had to accept that it was her life, her decisions. But first, he needed to find out what happened.

The bear finally made his way to the throne, spotting it atop the raised platform. Uncertain, he lingered before the platform and looked around. "Cancer?" The bear called out, reclining to his haunches.

@Cancer

Slumber had claimed the dark king, his injuries severe enough it kept him from moving very far at any point. Niru did the hunting now, feeding him, watching over Orion when he wasn't hunting. Now, the boy was gone on one of those hunts, and Carcino slept in the backmost corner, wrapped against his girls as they too slept, taking shape, becoming mortal creatures as he and his kin were. Precious lives. His daughters.

A shuffle of pawsteps. Cancer was used to wanderers passing through his cave. He slept on. Closer, they came, then past, towards the throne. The throne. Anyone could see his girls from there. Normally, Niru took vigil there, during his watches. Now, it was left unguarded. Cancer finally woke.

The cat sat up with a groan, armor shed to reveal a new number of grotesque injuries, all new from the dragon's onslaught. He winced, then got to his feet, slowly but surely climbing up onto his crystalline walls, built bit by bit to protect his daughters as they grew. Once upon it, he glanced to spot Leon, somber in his arrival. What was he doing here?

"I saw you at the battle of Raheerah." He spoke, without greeting, without moving. "You rescued a newborn in the midst of the flames. Did it survive?"

OOC: Cancer looks like total shit. His sides are carved up from where the armor sliced him, his face is all scratched up (most of it won't scar) and he's still obviously sore from bruises and broken ribs. His tail isn't noticeable yet, but if Leon approaches, it would be- with blackened blood-clotted mess a few inches short of where it would've ended last time. :P Bone and all still dead there. Enjoy the gorey mess that is Cancer.

@Leon

Something shifted beyond what he could see. He could just barely hear it, and then he spotted movement. The bear raised his head and stepped closer to the platform, craning his neck to see. The black leopard ascended a crystal wall erected near the wall, for what reason he didn't know - it hadn't been here at his last visit, not that he could remember. Leon looked over the feline, taking note of his deep injuries. Evidence of some great battle. The cat spoke with no greeting, pointing out both of their presences at Polaris during the fight against Raheerah. Leon nodded slowly, confirming his words. "Yes. We took her to Bevy." He answered, neglecting to mention Makyna's presence as well.

He hadn't come to talk about the battle though. The bear loosed a small sigh and took a few steps closer, sitting aside the throne as he looked over to Cancer on his gem wall. "Looks like you took quite a beating." Leon added, looking the cat up and down again. There was nothing behind his words - it was a simple observation, and he hesitated to ask the other Gembound what he had come to ask for in the first place. It was with dread that he would ask, fearful of the answer. She would be gone, or he would know of their argument. Either way Leon was to blame. His shoulders sank a little and he sighed inwardly a second time. "Have you... seen Amaria?"

The bear didn't supplement his question with anything. Whatever he said would incriminate him against the leopard, so he left it at that.

@Cancer

The bear was just as subtle as Carce was about this meeting. Neither wanted a fight, not after Raheerah's mess. Not after everything else. A straight remark, and he'd simply exhale, as if dispelling the statement- he'd suffered worse, and would surely suffer worse again. Leon wasn't here for war stories, though. He followed up with a hesitant question. Amaria? Had she not been home since...? He stiffened, visibly, then side-stepped back down the wall, crossing the floor evenly but on tender muscles.

"She's not been through here recently, no." His tone gave away his tense concern. "Didn't she report before the battle? Surely Calypso would've called council beforehand?" He didn't care if Leon knew of his meetings with the girl. He didn't need to know, though- and so, the cat kept it to himself. Such enticements would only sour the occasion.

"She's not a child, I'm sure she's fending fine for herself." Still, he couldn't quell that gut feeling... had something happened? Had she run into some other trouble whilst they'd been busy battling dragons? Had she been amongst the flames? Surely not. He hadn't seen any other spotted kin. Amaria didn't own armor. She'd never risk it. Not as an Animal caster, not without some back up. The cat sat back once he reached Leon's space, ears pinning back, expression doubtful despite his optimistic words.

@Leon

The bear watched silently as the other descended the wall, making his way forward. And, to his chagrin, reported that Amaria had not been there. His heart slowly sank. It hadn't been long since he talked to her - the battle was still fresh in his mind, a few days ago, and then she had found him in the tunnel... what, a day before that? Two days? It felt like a blur now, it felt like a million years ago. He went on, and Leon had half a mind to shut it out, turn and leave him there, lacking the heart to explain any further why he had asked. Cancer delivered his skepticism and then made some attempt to reassure him, or maybe to smother Leon's protectiveness over the clouded leopard. Leon pursed his lips, but the tension he suffered never withered. No, and panic, too, started to rise.

But it was too late. He was already here, he was already talking to Cancer. This was his fault.

"She didn't." Leon answered after a few seconds of hesitation. Orange eyes lingered on the feline, then dropped to the ground and he struggled to find the words he wanted to say. It didn't matter how he said it, Cancer would be mad - this he knew and fully well expected. The blame was his own and no one else's. "I..." He started, brows furrowing before averting his gaze again to the side. "She came to me in the tunnel outside of Polaris." Leon's words were slow, but it wasn't because they were metered or calculated. He was afraid of what he was going to have to say, and of what the leopard would do.

"We had an argument, over... you. Last I saw, she ran down the tunnel. I didn't see her after that." Leon still couldn't look the leopard in the eyes. His own gaze lingered off to the side, then back down at his paws, his ears twisting back. "During the battle I saw something. I didn't want to believe it - that's why I came here, asking, but..." The bear paused again. His mind was whirring and he wanted to look up at Cancer, to see the feline's expression, see if he knew maybe where this was going - see if maybe Cancer had seen it too. Finally he flicked his eyes back up to Cancer, frowning. "It looked like... her."

There was no other way to put it. It was her stone. It had to be - he'd never seen another like hers. Whole, flawlessly grown into the side of the wall. It had to be her.

@Cancer

Leon sparked a whole new kind of worry in Carce as he denied Amy's being at the council meeting. She'd have at least made an appearance. She hasn't skipped them on purpose before... As far as he knew, at least. He'd always ushered her to be loyal to the Maji, to trust in the cause he'd initially set out for. He couldn't live that dream- but that didn't mean his family couldn't. The bear went on, though, and his mind turned to focus. An admission. An argument.

Once, perhaps, Cancer would have been furious with Leon, perhaps make fun of him in spite. Now, after everything he'd been through, Carcino didn't care about by-gones. They both cared for Amaria, and Leon had Makyna- he certainly wasn't competition this time. This time, an unlikely friend in a desperate time of need... more desperate with every word the bear spoke. Carce sat back, reeling at the idea that Amaria, the sweetest cat he knew, might've fallen victim to Raheerah. His expression became grim. Why would she go to Polaris? Why risk a run-in like that? Why risk the flames?

"Take me there." His tone was quick, alarmed. "Show me." There was no malice. No blame. His expression wasn't hateful or angry- just concerned, almost fearful. He stood, ready to go, but hesitated.

A shoulder glance. His daughters' fort. The image of their sleeping forms beneath their glassy shells. Silence followed, tense and doubtful. Did Leon know? Had either of them told their kin? How would he react? Slowly, agonizingly so, he turned his gaze back to the bear, stiff and defensive.

@Leon

He dreaded what may come of his admission, and yet the black leopard didn't display aggression for his mistake - Leon had admitted outright that they had an argument over Cancer, but the feline looked only grim and then demanded to be taken there. Leon's eyes widened - it meant having to delve back into Polaris, it meant having to prove that he was right. I don't want to be right. He wanted this to just be some accident. Maybe Amaria had taken some time for herself, escaped while she could before the fight. He wouldn't fault her for it. Maybe she had just gone to think - but it was just wistful thinking. He knew that as soon as they found the turquoise chrysalis, they would know that it was her. There was no doubt about that.

Leon watched the leopard, monitoring his movements closely and taking note of how he looked back - he followed his gaze there, along the crystal walls to something protected beyond them. It hadn't taken long for Leon to make the connection. He'd been so fed with anger that he hadn't even heard her when she said it, but Makyna told him after. They were going to be an aunt and uncle - Amaria was having children. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out with who. Orange eyes snapped back to Cancer, and he felt that storm of indecision rising in him again. He couldn't place a finger on why. He was angry that the black feline had stolen Amaria from him, jealous that Amaria saw no wrong in him while Leon was blamed for wanting to spend time with his beloved - but it all looped back to being Leon's fault, and feeling ashamed because, truthfully, it was.

"She told me I was going to be an uncle." He said distantly, forgetting the leopard's request for now. He just had to know. He wanted to know. Why?

@Cancer

Cancer continued to look between the bear and his twins. The two multi-colored crysali amongst dull, gray and black stone. He considered his options; a part of him wanted to chase Leon away, protect his precious creations as if they were his alone to covet. Another part of him, a smaller, more affectionate, proud part, wanted to show them off, to show Leon he wasn't a monster after all, but a caring, dutiful father. Yet another part of him wanted to ignore it, ignore the bear's comment and make for Polaris, leave this to become a forgotten moment in the days to come- but he knew it to be a fruitless fear. So, begrudgingly, he chose to be proud.

"Cure." He stated, walking towards the pair with a certain stiffness to his gait. "The other is Remedy, by another mother." He turned to Leon with a sharp expression. "It was a chance accident, but a happy one for all of us." Don't you dare spoil it, his gaze said as he regarded the bear carefully, studying his expression. "...Amaria was... She was so excited to..." He trailed off, then sighed shakily, coming to sit beside Cure's chrysalis and placing a gentle, protective paw on the glassy blue shell. His next words were wet with greif. "...we were going to raise her right. Give her the life we never had... the kind none of us got to have." They were going to be good parents. Whatever that meant, he'd do it. No exceptions. No cut corners. No argument.

"...she has to be okay. She can't be..." He found himself stiffening at the thought- if Raheerah had done anything to hurt Ammy, to hurt the mother of his children... the only love he'd never known pain with... he'd... "I can't lose her, Leon." He looked at the bear with a harder expression than ever worn with him before- as serious as a heart attack and three times as drastic. "She's the only one who never stopped believing in me. She's always had my back. I can't lose her." His voice dropped into a dire, hoarse whisper. "She's all I have left." He had Bevy's friendship, in secret, but it wasn't the same. Amaria had never cared what the Maji would think. She'd always found time to find him, always found the lighter moments in his darkest days. He'd once thought her a child, new to the world, so delicate and fragile. Now, he saw only a beautiful, wonderful woman- full of grace and kindness. He dreaded the thought of losing her.

In his chest, an anger swelled. Raheerah. If she's lost to me, if she's gone forever... if he's broken her beyond repair... I'll find him. I'll End him.

@Leon