ORIGIN

The three chrysali were growing at a steady pace. He'd been worried at the start that they wouldn't grow very big, or that two of them would gain size and one of them would lag, or maybe that one would grow gargantuan and cut into the others. There were a million things to be worried about, honestly, but once he came to realize that they were all growing equally as well, that was just one of the many to cross off his list. Two of them were dark, glossy black, like the spire of obsidian that sprouted from his shoulder. When he had first emerged, the obsidian was clean and flawless. It had concave divots in it as though somebody had taken a knife and chipped pieces off, but he supposed that was just how it had come to look. Now it was marked and scratched with pieces missing - each missing piece, he remembered the pain.

Those two obsidian chrysali, they were just as flawless. Large, black bulbs, gleaming like the void. They made him smile, for they were nearly a perfect mirror of that which sat upon his shoulder when he was young. He found himself smiling and hoping that they wouldn't meet the same fate as his. Between them, one aquamarine chrysalis had grown as well. The depths of its blue mirrored that of the lagoon below, and again he was met with memories, this time of finding Makyna. Sprawled out in the snow, cold, helpless - receiving of his warmth. The bear's smile broadened and he admired the shades of cerulean caught in the chrysalis, the faint shadow of the creature stirring within. Life. Their life.

Leon had been spending a good amount of time here in the den, admiring the chrysali or simply sleeping or serving a protective presence. He kept a watchful eye on anybody that wandered into the cave from above, but nobody had really roused his suspicion. For the most part he was keeping his eyes peeled for Vazi, but the treasonous stag seemed preoccupied with something - or maybe he knew it would be a foolish idea to enter the bear's territory. The rolling, writhing burn scars that covered his neck, face and back were proof enough of his strength. At the same time, he couldn't help but fear that he may not make it out alive the next time he tangled with the stag. He shook the thought away. Another thing he'd been doing was practicing - testing out his new magic.

Light. Leon had used it a few times before, to bauble a piece of Arkrael's shard, as well as the necklace he'd given to Makyna, and the decorations for the wedding. But beyond that, Leon really didn't have a grasp on that kind of magic. It was difficult to coalesce and different to understand. It came to him... in an unfamiliar way. For his fire magic, he usually focused on the warmth. He tried to draw it to his limbs, or to his chest. Light was strange - it required more of his willpower than his focus, and a lot of patience. However, he was starting to get the hang of it. Spending so much time in the den had given him the opportunity to practice more and more. This particular day, Leon had been fumbling with the light cast by his paws, trying to form it into something more eye catching than a subtle glow.

Post-Roll Edit:
Sitting on his rump before the chrysali, Leon had raised his paws and was attempting to manipulate the dull glow. It swelled like a shadow passing in front of the source - it grew stronger, unbelievably, but it still flickered if he broke his focus. Leon lifted his paws and the light went with it, dancing in the air, shimmering - slowly, colours began to illuminate the dancing lights. They were gold at first, then orange and red, then purple. Green and hints of warm blue touched its fringes. The aurora hovered just above his paws, and though it quivered, it persisted. The bear's smile broadened and he threw his head over his shoulder, calling out. "Makyna! Come here!" He didn't know where she was - assuming she was somewhere in the cave below - but he hoped he'd be able to sustain it long enough to see her arrival.

Makyna didn't like to travel too far away from her growing children, not unless she knew her teddy bear was there to protect them. However, even today she didn't travel very far. The lioness sat at the water's edge staring at her reflection as she attempted to fix a flower in front of her right ear. She had to replace them daily for they all had a tendency to wilt before too long. If only there was a way to preserve them but alas, no such spell had come to her yet. She was doomed to continue to search and search for flowers... Speaking of which she would need to make an expedition soon to Eridanus to retrieve flowers for her den. The ones she usually had strewn about for their smell were also starting to wilt and grow old. No matter, so long as Leon was around to help watch the children she could make her short escapades and whenever Leon needed to go out she would be their to watch them as well.

She wondered when the children would hatch from the chrysali? Would it take cycles? Years? Longer? Oh, she hoped not. She couldn't wait to see their cute little faces. She hoped they would come out like Leon, he was such a cute bear and he was certain to pass those good genes onto their children. Their children. It was still so strange and so wonderful to think! The lioness shivered with joy in her tawny coat.

"Makyna! Come here!"

Her ears perked at Leon's call and in an instant she was on her paws bounding straight towards their den. "Leon! What's the-- Oh!" Her sentence was paused with a sharp exclamation of joy at the sight of the dancing lights. They were beautiful and by the bear's upraised paws she knew that he was the cause of it. The lioness grinned and sat on her rump so she could raise her own paws in the air to applaud him. "Well done, well done! That looks so beautiful! I bet the children will love this!" The lioness grinned as she stared upwards at the lights.

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