ORIGIN

Help it, it asked. Please, it probably would have said. You're such a sucker, it likely thought.

Ah, but he was. Rohan's heart was already too big and he didn't even know everything about life yet. He had been born next to a bear who he considered his brother in a way, but hadn't seen Leon in a long time. Actually, he hadn't seen anyone in a long time. "Helloooo," he called out tiredly. He was stuck. Like, really stuck. He was wearing a bulky piece of metal or something, he wasn't sure really what it was, but he greatly misjudged the size it added to his torso. He had tried to leap through two logs, but ended up snugly fitting himself into the space between them. He had wedged himself and despite his best efforts, couldn't free himself.

He had a lot of time to sit and think—he didn't have a choice—and kept thinking about the likely mistake that got him into this situation. Why would he even help a stranger anyway? He had just been born! And he was going to find parts of things he didn't even understand. Rohan let out an exhale of air and rolled his eye, kicking his feet in a bored manner. They were dangling just above the soft ground, and even if he kicked his back feet up high enough to push against the log, his body wouldn't budge. He had tried that a lot in the beginning, but now he just sort of accepted his fate.

The sound of the nearby stream was comforting. It reminded him almost of his chrysalis. To pass time, he would close his eyes and remember the time a quiet humming lulled him in his pre-conscious sleep. The soft sounds of the trench helped, too. It was low so it muffled sound. The tall ferns had sort of buried him, so the shelter reminded him of the safety and security he felt before he was so rudely awakened. A soft smile began to curve his lips, but then he also remembered the good thing about that day. He got to meet Leon, and explore the sounds their mouths could make. He laughed quietly to himself, then returned to an empty look. Man, he was really lonely.

"Heehhh, ah," he began, then stopped. What was the point? He'd been calling out for a while now. He didn't really have a sense of time so he wasn't sure how much had actually passed. He continued to kick his feet slowly, then dropped his head and let it dangle, too. "Maaan," he groaned, flopped over in the most depressing, defeated state. "This blows."

He was contemplating what to do. He didn't have many options throughout the days that had passed, so he went with his favorite: probably try and sleep. But as he hung there, he couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about how helpless he was. Why'd he have to go and try to carry this thing around his chest? Why'd he have to try and be cool and jump through some logs even though nobody was looking? He had the most sour pouting face he could possibly muster as he dangled from the logs.

"Hello? Where are you?" came a voice, and he held his breath after having just groaned his displeasure with words he'd probably never say anywhere else. Several emotions surged through him as he registered that yes, that was a real voice. Panic, excitement, embarrassment- he didn't know what to feel. "UH, HERE?" he called out loudly, whipping his head around to try and see who had spoken. Then she appeared, but Rohan didn't know what to think. She had a gemstone in the middle of her head. So they did all have stones in their bodies? She stood and he just kind frowned at her. She asked how this happened and he gave a sad shrug. "Oh, you know, poor judgement," he admitted.

She almost touched him and Rohan didn't realize he had missed contact with other beings so much. "Huh? How?" he asked quickly, trying to follow her with his one eye. Then she looked at the logs and just.. stood there. Like, really stood there. Super concentrating stood there to the point her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth. What was she doing? "Heeey uh- ah!" but as soon as he began to speak, one of the logs budged slightly and Rohan fell out backwards, weighed down by the armor around his chest. He landed on his bum, and rolled over onto his side with a slight wince. "Geez man, how did you even do that?" he mumbled, trying to stand on his wobbly jello legs.

Stand! Standing! A large, long stretch ensued and he had the most euphoric look on his face. His tail was wagging against his hind legs as he came out of his stretch, giving his coat a good shake (and then noting to never do that again as the armor heavily waved to and fro) before rightfully facing his savior. "Thanks a lot, I was really set on just rotting away there," he said, looking back to the logs with disgust. "I really thought I'd fit, too." The armor around his chest was uncomfortable as he bowed his head down to sniff below the logs. He pulled out a few bones and sighed a large air of relief. He placed them in the open where he could count them. "Oh, good," he muttered, sliding them together with a paw.

"Okay!" he said loudly, turning to face her with a confident look. "My name is Rohan, and you really saved me there, you know," he commented, gesturing to the logs. "I don't even know how long I've been stuck there. Probably better if I didn't know how long, but uhh... it was a long time, so thanks! Really. Thanks," he said, unsure how many times now he had thanked her but he honestly couldn't be more grateful. A curious look plagued him and he awkwardly added, "Uuh what are you?" So far he only knew bears and wolves, and... strange wiggly arm stranger things.

She was so friendly! Rohan was good-hearted, probably too much, so other friendly faces certainly made this big cave system all the more welcoming. After being up there for so long, it felt good to be in such great spirits! "Oh nah, it's fine," he commented quickly with a smile, dismissing any pain she was worried to have caused him. When she mentioned her power and stone, he leaned in to get a better look at it, unaware of personal space. "Ooh," he breathed as he let his body move back to where it had been. How interesting! So they each could do something cool huh? And as she continued, he breathed an airy laugh. Yeah, now he'll know for next time! Although he wouldn't admit it to her, but there probably wouldn't be a next time. He wouldn't trust himself to do something like that again, stuck in a piece of armor or not.

"Oh whoa, I've never met a lion before!" Obviously. But still, his excitement was hard to hide. "You have really pronounced muscles," he quipped, finding it hard not to look at the defined strength beneath her silky looking fur. She went on to ask him questions and his smile only grew. Wow! He loved questions! "What! Ahah, no! My gem is here," he began, trying to close just his right eye. He supposed if someone didn't know what his gem was, they probably wouldn't notice it at first glance. It matched his actual eye to an extent, anyway. Leo-aah my friend pointed it out, really. Otherwise I wouldn't have known either," he added, trying not to laugh at the memory of Leon nearly gouging his own eyeball out (okay it wasn't that dramatic, but things became dramatic for Rohan).

"Aza'zoowhat?" he tried to follow, but shook his head. "I don't know what that is. My name is Rohan, though!" he said, turning to push the bones slightly with his paw. "These bones belong to someone else, I have to bring them back to him. Same with this clunky thing on my chest," he explained, tapping the armor with his paw. "I figured the easiest way to carry it would have been to wear it, but that did me a whole lot of good, huh?" He shifted it by moving his shoulders and let out a large sigh. "I hope the person who wants it can take it off though, it really wasn't made to be worn by someone like me," he said with an exhausted tone.

"How many others have you met?" he asked sort of shyly, wondering how much he had missed being stuck up in the logs all this time.

A dog! Was a dog like him? He continued to listen to her, but when she asked about his stone, he shook his head with a frown. The fact that he couldn't see out of his ride side was a strange realization when he was discovering everything about their newly found life with Leon, but at least others seemed to have the same eyes on both sides like his bear-brother did. "No, I can't see out of it," he answered, turning his head to the right. "I have to turn all the way this way to see things on this side, but I've gotten pretty used to it I guess!" He didn't want his blind side to seem like a negative thing, so he shot her a big grin.

Her friend liked bones!? Rohan began to hope that the bird didn't have any of the bones that he needed to collect for the dark colored creature he met nearly as soon as he was born. It'd be hard to figure out what ones would belong to him! At least these ones were inside the chest piece, so he didn't have to do much guessing there. "It's nice to meet you too! And I'm bringing them to someone I met just a little bit after I was born. He wants to find all the pieces that go with this thing here," he patted the chest armor again, "but also the bones that go with them. I don't know why! But he seems so sad without them. I want to try and help him out." It was clear that it burdened him, but not in an annoying kind of way. It burdened Rohan to know someone was so lonely, especially after having been stuck up in the logs by himself for a while now.

"That's what I thought! I mean, I tried to carry it in my mouth but the bones kept rolling out, so I needed to find a better alternative. Getting in to it was difficult but it proved easier than what I was trying before," he explained, then gestured toward where Tunnel I's entrance would be if they weren't down in the trench. "Anyway, the... creature lives in Tunnel J. He's not too hard to find but he kind of melts into the shadows. He kinda looks creepy at first but he just seems so sad," Rohan said, voice dipping toward the end. He didn't know why the creature wanted these things, but gosh darn Rohan was gonna help him get them back!

When she went on to explain the others she had met, Rohan listened intently. A bone king!? That sounded so cool! But he wasn't sure what to think of to picture a 'noodle-y' creature. As she talked about the others, he became excited at the idea of meeting so many different things! When she mentioned she was part of a group, he tilted his head but continued to listen, not wanting to interrupt her. What was a group? Why did they live in a group? He glanced down as she gestured the size of Bevy, and he looked genuinely surprised. Something as small as that lived here!? But the next thing she said erased all of his previous thoughts and questions.

"LEON! Hey! That's my friend!" he said excitedly as his tail rose and began to wave quickly behind him. They were best friends!? Leon and Rohan were best friends! Or well, sort of? "We were born together! Well like, next to each other. He's kind of like my brother or something yeah?" That's what it meant to be born with someone, right? "Anyway, we're friends too! I can't believe you know Leon! You gotta take me to him, I haven't seen him in forever!" Well, he hadn't seen anyone in forever. But now he was conflicted: should he go see Leon first, or take these possessions back to the creature that wanted them? It was clear the decision was plaguing him as he stared down at the bones with his brows pulled tightly together. "Ahhhh what should I do first!?"

The lioness mused the word interesting and Rohan gave a soft chuckle. Yeah, interesting was one way to put it. Especially if she knew what the creature Rohan was helping looked like. But when she mentioned he was helping his friend, the wolf shook his head curtly. "Ohh nah, he's not really my friend. I just sort of met him and then felt bad for him and agreed to help," he said, wondering if the creature thought Rohan just peaced out since he had been gone for so long. The thought made him feel bad so he tried not to think about it. At least now he could prove he really did want to help! He didn't just leave!

"Oh man, that would be so cool if you could help! I honestly have no idea where to find these things!" He was so happy! It was a dreadful, intimidating thought searching the entire cave system by himself. "Maybe we could see if any of your friends will want to help?" he asked, unsure if the rest of her friends were as friendly and willing to help as she was. He knew Leon probably would be, at least. "Although I gotta let you know now, the uhhh... creature that wants this stuff is a little different looking, but he really isn't all that bad. He just has some extra limbs and is as black as shadow!" Really though, how could he explain it? Rohan didn't really even know much more about it than that.

It was so neat that Leon was the first being either of them saw! He listened with a smile as she talked about the bear, but when she asked what brothers were, he cocked his head. "Uuhhh," he breathed, gaze drifting as he thought. He knew the word somehow, but not enough to really explain it. "Just like, we were born together, so it's like we're connected because of that? Not like mentally or anything, but uh.. like a default group I guess?" As he spoke, he shifted his attention and gaze back to her, hoping that it helped explain the word at least a little bit. Although really, it probably just made it worse. He offered an apologetic smile and a slow shrug. Yeaaah!

"I'd love to! I'd be glad to see him too!" he exclaimed, a bit louder than he actually meant to. As he was contemplating his decision, however, she approached and put a paw on his shoulder. She made a good point though! He could see Leon first and they could go together. "We could all go!" he suggested as his tail started to wag again. If Leon got along with this lioness as well as she said he did, then Rohan likely would get along with her too! Well, he already was, but they could all bond together! "Do you know where Leon is now?"