ORIGIN

It was time to rise again.

They had fallen asleep some time he couldn't remember. Both of them cozied up in the old comfort of their den, once alive with the bodies of a family and the sounds of joy and youth, now stale and silent. It was the last place they felt like they could possibly belong and feel like themselves again. Not that it really helped them move on. The last thing they had done was move on - in fact, they might not have even moved on at all.

They stayed the very same as when they had fallen asleep, frozen in place like an image trapped in time. The two of them had finally allowed their consciousness to rest now that they were connected in the union they were meant to be, as though their souls had finally restored peace after so long of separation. Like spirits long dead whose purposes were to haunt the living world in search of what they lost; they found each other, and now they could stop. Leon had slumped against the wall and wrapped his wife in his arms, and when he closed his eyes, it was with finality.

Slowly, a thin obsidian shell began to crawl across his body. Aquamarine had begun to take hold of the lioness, and the gemstone membranes expanded and grew until they met each other and clashed, each vying to proceed around the body of its host. Fingers of light blue aquamarine entwined in the jagged teeth of the obsidian, and where their bodies touched, the gemstone casing thinned so much that it could barely close, coming to seal the pair in a large incomplete chrysalis. Their bodies produced the preserving fluid so naturally as they slept that as it drowned them, they didn't rouse or budge; they remained perfectly still, perfectly calm, ready to fade into the long sleep.

When Leon felt a pinprick of light bleeding in through his chrysalis, a blinding brightness against the familiar dull waterlogged darkness of within, his eyes fluttered open then squeezed back shut. His brain had yet to fully interpret what he was experiencing save for discomfort, and a tightness, and a juvenile, instinctive desire to stretch. The bear rumbled slightly and moved one arm against the wall of the chrysalis, then the other, only to realize that it was impaired by a heavy weight. He tried to turn his head to see, but it was dark; the black of the obsidian blocked out most light. And he was quickly realizing that he was startlingly unable to breathe.

As his lungs grew tighter, Leon rumbled again and pushed with his free arm, strength gradually mounting as he started to remember what this was. Who he was. It thudded weakly against the stone, and then his legs kicked out, drumming against the surface. The fluid inside bubbled and rushed in his ears.

Finally, one kick burst through the black wall of his chrysalis. His paw stuck out into the cold air, fur slick with fluid as it drained from his egg. Air took its place - cold, biting, gracious air, filling his lungs as he took his first gurgling inhale. Leon coughed and used his free arm to continue pushing away fragments of obsidian until his head was uncovered. He brushed the shards away and shook his head, jaws instantly parting in a loud, ursine yawn as he tried to rub the gunk from his eyes. Blinking tiredly through the muted light that made its way into their den, Leon tilted his head down to finally examine what it was binding his arm and the other half of his body.

He caught his reflection gleaming on a facet of aquamarine. Within, he could just barely see the silhouette of the lioness. Leon's breath wavered in his lungs, but his mind had yet to catch up. All he knew was that she was there and he had to reach out to her. There was no warmth in his body, his nerves tingling with the freshness of the air. He prodded at her, mentally, orange eyes fixated on the still sheltered body of his other half, craving to see her stir.

"Makyna Speech"

The past, the present, the future. It all mattered not to the lioness that lay wrapped within the confines of the crystal blue chrysalis. Her body had stilled, cycles prior she and her other half had decided to embrace the sleep that their gemstones could bring. Death? Perhaps. Makyna cared not if it were death or an eternal slumber, she just needed release from the agonizing pain of waking and finding her loved ones gone. Her children, her friends, even for a while her husband had seemingly vanished until by a wonderful twist of fate they'd found each other in the other's arms again. However, they'd chosen the way out that allowed them to forget the pains of the caves. Sleep, it was an easy escape.

Behind her closed lids the lioness found happiness. She had a family again, she had friends again. Vivid memories and wild fantasies played in her mind on repeat, locking her in an eternal state of bliss while her body floated in the fluids. The faces of her children laughed, her friends in Maji Walezi sang with her while they shared food at a feast. It was a glorious day...

But it was soon all to come to an end.

A twitch, her body moved in the waking world while in her dreams she could feel... discomfort. The first twinge of an ache, a feeling that she hadn't had in cycles... What was this? She tried to turn but found she couldn't move. The air that had previously been so sweet with the smells of her loved ones was constricting and she couldn't breath in enough. Her dream was turning into a nightmare due to her lack of air!

The lioness let out a muffled mewl, eyes twitching until finally...

Blue eyes opened to the blue-ish light around her. What was going on? Why was she awake? Hadn't she gone into this chrysalis to get away from the world? Was it time to get up? Was there work to be done?

The golden cat gave a twitch of her entire body, willing to break out of this shell that confined her. The result caused the back portion of the chrysalis to crack open which let her fall out into the cold world. On her back. Right at Leon's paws.

Her blue eyes blinked upwards at the large brown creature while she let out a tiny, kitten-like, "Mrow?" Her Leon. He was right there. Was he as confused as she was? More importantly... was he as happy to see her as she was to see him?

The moment he caught sight of movement, Leon's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat. It hadn't taken long, only a few minutes of staring, and then he felt feedback from her arcanic core. As if he could feel her waking up, emerging from a long dormancy much like his own. Suddenly her thoughts were beginning to populate the mental space between them, the telepathic connection once silent now buzzing with subtle activities. He watched with high intrigue as she shifted inside the chrysalis, seeming to realize now that she was awake. He heard her voice echoing from within the stone, muffled by the fluid and rock, but clear evidence of her consciousness.

Then the chrysalis cracked loudly; he could feel the shards suddenly loosening against his body, and the stiffness of the chrysalis that half engulfed him and the obsidian that tried to cover his own skin began to fall apart.

As the chrysalis crumbled away, the lioness rolled out into the fresh air, landing in his lap. Leon almost jumped at the suddenness of her emergence, staring with amazement at the feline that was suddenly wrought from her own slumber and dumped at his paws, awake and breathing and alive. A tiny mewl left her lips, instantly reminding him of the first time he had seen her emerge, the exact same sound as the first sound she ever made. To him. And that very same warmth began to fill his heart, his lips quirking in a familiar smile that felt like home on his maw.

The heat slowly began to brew within him as his magic came back to life, rearing its head after so long of stillness; it stretched from his chest into his stomach, his shoulders, his hips, and onward into his limbs as he reached for Makyna and pulled her closer, wishing to share the heat that so naturally burned in his heart, to tell her without words how happy he was to see that she was here with him. Hers was the last face he had seen before they fell asleep, and he was ready for it to be the last face forever. And now hers was the first face he saw when he woke. It would always be the first face, no matter the reason why they were awake again.

"Good morning." He said, as if this was just the start of a new day. Whatever this was, he was happy to face it; as long as he had Makyna, he was whole. He could do anything.

"Makyna Speech"

She could feel him. His thoughts, his emotions, everything. As it burned through the great bear so did it funnel over to her, amplifying the joy she felt upon laying eyes on his form. The lioness could the feel the tuggings of a smile at her maw and she let it grow without resistance. Blue eyes twinkled with life and excitement at seeing him. For a moment though she was unable to do anything more than stare upwards with her giddy grin due to her legs feeling as new as they had during her first emergence.

Her current lack of motor skills didn't matter as the bear reached forward and pulled her into his warm embrace. Memories came to her then of a time when she'd been lying in the snow and Leon had pulled her into his warm hug to heat up her cold coat. A purr began to blossom in her throat as she rubbed her face into his thick brown pelt, letting the own gold of her fur blend with his own. This feeling she had now, the absolute lightness of her heart and swelling of her soul with their mixed emotions. It was her own personal heaven and wherever he was she would be happy to be at his side forever.

His words, spoken as if they hadn't woken up from a cycle-long sleep brought a little laugh to her throat. Her tongue rasped out to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. Her voice was quiet but cheerful as she spoke, "Morning! What's on the agenda for today?" As if it were just another normal day, she continued on with their little charade. Happy to live on in these sweet moments of post-hatching. The lioness knew they'd figure it all out eventually but for now she would be happy with him and not ponder what fate had in plan for the pair.

The heat had long been a symbol of his passion, and the slow simmering glow inside his body was a reflection of his affection for the lioness. Leon rumbled happily, simply enjoying that these first few moments of wakefulness were spent in the innocent, unassuming bliss of his partner’s companionship. They had nothing to worry about yet. Memories of what they lost were still tucked away in distant recesses of their minds, the parts of them that were still asleep, or had gone asleep in the first place. He didn’t want to be reminded of what they left behind, so he was happy to cut through the solemn reality they woke back up to, ignoring all else in favor of simply smiling down at his lovely wife.

Her first words brought a boyish chuckle from his chest. It was rugged as his voice grated with the effects of disuse. “First thing?” He mused, raising one paw and scratching at his cheek. With a brief assessment of his physical status, Leon quickly decided that he needed to sate the emptiness in his stomach that had grown during their sleep. “Breakfast.” Leon answered and slowly shifted.

He was loathe to remove her from his grasp, but unfortunately, he needed all four paws to be able to walk. Leon sluggishly pulled himself up, reminded of how cramped the chrysalis was by the strain on his limbs as they ached for a good stretch. And stretch them he did - one leg at a time, until he was sprawled out on the cool den floor, grinning dumbly up at her. Then he straightened back up and gave his thick pelt a good shake. It was still wet, clumps of brown sticking out on long, slick points, but as long as the heat in his body persisted he would dry before long. “Would you join me for a… uh, fish, my lady?” He asked rather uneloquently. What did you call it when you went to hunt fish in the lagoon? Boy, his brain sure was rusty.

"Makyna Speech"

"Mmmm..." The she-cat rumbled thoughtfully at the words "breakfast". Her stomach felt rather empty at the moment, something she needed to fix as quickly as possible. "Breakfast sounds... wonderful." She drawled, as if she were tasting the words on her tongue.

With Leon shifting to get up the lioness figured she should do the same. She rolled off of the bear and onto her stomach with her paws underneath her. For a moment she lay there, watching her husband stretch out his limbs and finally lay out on the floor with a goofy grin. The lioness let out a rumble of laughter before she reached out with one of her paws to boop him on the nose with a quiet and teasing remark of, "Goofball." Then, she was up on her own paws and giving a languid cat-like stretch that ended in a wide yawn. Afterwords she shook out her short, downy fur and eyed Leon with her warm gaze. "Always, teddy bear." The lioness gave a cheeky grin as she walked by him towards the exit, her tail flicked at him as she passed in an attempt to playfully brush his nose. "Bet I'll catch one first!" Her voice was a sweet singsong as she launched herself out of the den, claws unsheathing as she got a grip on the rock and tested muscles that hadn't been used in cycles. Ah, this felt great!

It was rough going at first but after a moment she got her paws under herself and managed to scurry down without falling over or tripping over her paws. Once down at the rocky floor of Pisces she sped off towards the lagoon, feeling a surge of youthful energy as she let out a cheerful laugh. She wondered how Leon was fairing.

Leon's grin widened. Goofball. Even better, teddy bear. He loved her nicknames. She was the only one he ever wanted to wake up next to, especially after such a long sleep. Her voice invigorated him, pumped energy and love and life through his veins. He was still smiling as she walked past him, and the sensation of the long hairs on the tip of her tail tickled his nose, causing him to scrunch it up and stifle a sneeze. "You can try, but lets not forget who the real fishmaster is here!" Leon rebuffed, gracelessly galloping after her.

He gave her a bit of space as she descended the paths, his own legs still fairly stiff from having been folded up inside the chrysalis. The bear stepped cautiously, but after a while, he'd grown into the use of his limbs again and quickly joined Makyna on the ground. She darted ahead, and Leon instinctively followed at a similar pace; he could have been fast had he been running at full speed, but his body wasn't yet ready to commit to that much energy. The pace he moved was leisurely at best, and besides, the view from back here was pretty nice. "Hey Makyna!" He called, quickening just a little. "You got something on your butt." Leon snickered and picked up his pace a little more now. "I'll get it!"

And with that, the bear lunged at her, hoping to grab her haunches and pull her down to the ground.

"Makyna Speech"

The lioness could feel a laugh bubbling out of her throat as Leon let out a rebuttal while charging after her. For some reason he seemed to hang back, opting to let her stay ahead of him. Oh, was he going to let her win? How sweet... Too bad she was going to take full advantage of it! Not without taunting him further though, "Taking your time there, dear?" She said with a laugh and a quick glance over her shoulder.

The lioness was about to put on another burst of speed to make it the last bit of distance to the water but slowed when her name was called. "Hu--?" Blue eyes locked with Leon's furry brown coat and being the gullible one that she was, the lioness tried to peek back at her rump and realized too late the trick that was played on her.

The bear's large paws wrapped around her hips and dragged her to the ground. "Hey! No cheating!" She said through a fit of giggles. In retaliation the lioness attempted to wrap her paws around the bear's neck and kick out with her rear paws like a kitten playing with a toy. If she was going down then she would try her hardest to bring him down with her! Two could play at that game!

The lioness' laughter echoed around the cavern, blending with the waterfall to create a sound of pure joy. Ah, the feeling she felt now like she was a cub again... It was truly amazing.

The bear's uproarious laughter nearly drowned out Makyna's cry as she scolded him for cheating. But this wasn't really cheating, was it? It wasn't like they had laid out rules or anything! He grabbed her rear end and tried to wrestle her to the ground, but the lioness was swift and slippery; she wriggled around and wrapped her paws around his neck, and he could feel the pressure of her feet against his stomach. Leon laughed again, as if her kicks were mere tickles - he knew she wouldn't lash out with the intent to hurt him, but respected that those feet could do considerable damage if she intended otherwise. He wriggled as well, trying to avoid her feet, but it was difficult when his entire body seemed to engulf hers.

Rearing his head back, Leon gritted his teeth and lifted his lips in a faux snarl, rumbling deep inside his chest. "You've dishonored me by accusing me of cheating!" The bear claimed and locked his fiery orange eyes on hers, expression shifting into something completely serious. "Now you must die!" He claimed and opened his jaws, going for the side of her neck. Of course, as he intended to make contact, those gleaming fangs would hide behind a sheath of tenderly kissing lips and a licking tongue, trying to tickle her into releasing him from her grip.

After all, he was still hungry. He just wanted to get to that lagoon and catch a fish first.

"Makyna Speech"

Her soft paw kicked met with the equally soft fur of Leon's belly while he stood over her and "attacked" her. The lioness' joyous peals of squealing laughter echoed out into the cavern as the cat gently pushed with her rear paws in a playful attempt to get him off. "Oh no! Please, please, spare me! I meant no dishonor!" She could barely get the words out from around her laughs as the bear leaned down and tickled the side of her neck with his lips and tongue. Makyna's squealing and laughing reached a new crescendo at the sensation on her skin and fur. "Ha ha ha! No no no! Stoppit! Ha! That tickles! Ha haha!" She loosened her grasp and managed to turn and free herself from his grip, turning once more to speed towards the water.

She skidded to a stop right at the water's edge and peered into the water. Silverlings and Whitelings swam beneath the surface and she would no doubt get one first! Only... She didn't. The little bit of manage that flowed out of her wasn't enough to wrap around the fish and get it... or perhaps the fish managed to squirm out of her psychic grasp. Either way she was left fish-less and was forced to continue her search for another one to win their little competition.