Everything was pain. His face was screaming, the skin aching as it touched the cool air; it didn't feel cool, it felt like lava, it felt like fire, ripping across every inch of him. His back was bleeding and boiled, erupting in thick blisters in a thick layer of glossy red gore, as were his shoulders - his obsidian had been scorched and now looked dull and burnt as it spired up from his shoulder blade. Small scratches and pock marks covered it, each of them lending a new realm of ache to the massive bear. His eyes stung, and each time he blinked it was like sending spikes of fire through his optic nerves into his brain. Most of all, though, his throat was resounding with anguish. Fluid was quick to fill his lungs in the advent of so much damage and he'd coughed, spewing up mouthfuls of sick blood and phelgm. He wanted to return to Pisces, to collapse in a heap and let Bevy and Makyna take care of him, and at the same time he feared what they would think. He'd done it once before and it had earned him a trial and a demotion. Would Bevy crucify him for once again losing his temper on another Gembound?
Either way, his wants didn't matter. He could wish to walk the entire length of the cave and it would mean nothing, for his strength had betrayed him. The bear had made it a few steps out of Orion, fleeing after Vazi had fallen and the moose had appeared. He couldn't find the little lion after that, and it was useless to stay and search; if he had, the moose surely would have finished him off. But upon entering the tunnel, his legs suddenly buckled. He collapsed on the ground, and then pulled himself up a second time only to drag himself towards the wall. There, at least, he could support himself while he tried to catch his breath, but all he knew was the pain. The bear gritted his teeth and lifted his gaze up to the tunnel stretching onward and the lights that shone in from Polaris - beyond that, Pisces. His home. Safety.
Leon had fallen to his rump, his hind legs splayed out to his side while he leaned one shoulder against the wall. The cold rock offered little reprieve from the constant burning in his torn skin. He hung his head and wheezed, trying to still his heart, to fight through the pain so that he could at least make it back to Maji Walezi, when sounds had echoed through the tunnel - he nearly missed it, but they were quick to rise in volume, echoing through the cave, the harbinger of herbivores - the clack of hooves - Leon's stomach tightened, he turned his head, fearing who he would find.
At that point, the air lit up with a desperate scream. Some one thrashing against the rocks. His stomach lurched again, his heart palpitated with fear. He thought it could have been Vazi hunting him down, but it was the sound of a woman - a familiar voice. Leon coughed, grunted, and through the pain he stood again. It must have been by some miracle that Leon found the strength to lumber back down the tunnel. He had no idea what drew him to the noise as he was in no shape to fight again, he was hardly even in any position to save anybody from whatever may have been troubling them. He needed help. Yet still he followed the mangled sobs until they revealed to him the pristine white doe, Clover, in the throes of despair. His heart twisted. What had happened to her?
"Clover-" His voice gurgled with the roughness of his scalded throat and he coughed, shoulders quaking. Leon struggled to keep his eyes open - he stunk with the wretched smell of burnt skin and fur, and he was bleeding, nearly unrecognizable. The bear sought her out, taking one weak step forward, then another, raising his head to peer at her. His mouth hung agape, vying for words, but his throat would not permit him to speak - he only gawked tiredly at her, tongue lolling between his teeth, a pained whistle crawling through his breaths.