ORIGIN

The sound of her joyous giggles only fueled Leon, who tried to grip her tighter and nibble on her fur. But the lioness remained as slippery as ever. He must have gotten carried away, because before he knew it, she had slipped right through his arms and was heading back towards the lagoon. He hadn't slowed her down at all! He just delayed the inevitable! Leon scowled loudly and fumbled back to his feet, chasing after her.

He'd arrived at the shore after her, barely pausing to see her peer into the water as if still searching for the right target. "Never gonna catch a fish by just starin' at them, Slowy McGee!" Leon snickered as he loomed over the edge, flexing his toes around the cold, slick grey stone. Then he turned his eyes to the water, watching the light glimmer off the scales of the fish that so often filled his stomach. Those fish, their taste, that was the embodiment of Pisces. Of home. And he was glad to have awoken back at home by his wife's side after so long of separation. He felt like a child again, new and unburdened.

Then there was a flash of scales just near the surface. Leon acted on reflex, swinging his paw into the water with a loud splash. His paw cupped the writhing body of a fish, tossing it back onto the rock. Leon laughed out, only to turn and actually look at his quarry: there, in a sad, sparse puddle, flopped a thin silver fingerling, its barely developed eyes gaping wide. "Rats!" He exclaimed and took to the lagoon again.

"Makyna Speech"

The lioness turned her head to lick her tongue out at the bear in reply to his teasing. "Or maybe I will! Some of us can catch things that way." Then, her blue eyes were back on the waves as she stared and tried to find something worth catching. It was a moment before she saw anything and another moment when the fish suddenly swam away with the sound of splashing. Ky looked to see that her husband had managed to hook himself a fish... a very, very tiny fish.

The golden feline let out a laugh and shook her head. "Nice try, teddy bear. Maybe if we were a bit smaller we could cook that up and eat it." Her whiskers twitched in amusement before she was back on the waves, watching to see if there was something she could catch.

There!

Just beneath the surface she could see the shadow of a fish. Hopefully it would be big enough for them to eat! So, for the second time she reached out with her arcane energy and ensnared the fish. Her mind wrapped around the fish's body like a vice and forcibly pulled it from the water. Ah ha! It was a beautiful specimen! It had silver scales and was at least a three pounder, perfect! The fish she moved over to land and allowed it to hover next to her head as she looked at Leon with a triumphant expression. "Staring has prevailed!" She said with a laugh. Easily with her magic she broke the fish's neck and then placed it at Leon's paws. "For you, my dear." Why not offer up her spoils to him? It was his idea to fish and she absolutely loved hunting and bring food back for him to show that she cared, besides, it would be a piece of cake to grab another fish... unless he managed to get one first.

He snickered under his breath, then curled up his lip as she teased him for his tiny catch. The fingerling was hardly worth keeping, so he brushed it back into the water from the dusty rock, watching it flounder helplessly before regaining its composure and fluttering away, disappearing into the depths of the lagoon. As she resumed staring at the lake, Leon hung over the edge, one paw poised and ready to strike. But he found distraction when Makyna wrenched a fish from the water without even using her paws, hovering it above her head with a crackling magic before killing it and dropping it next to him.

"Why thank you." Leon said with an ambiguous half-scowl half-smile. She had clearly beaten him to the punch, but maybe he'd still be able to catch something. The smell of the fish easily wafted up through the air and into his nose, causing his stomach to grumble hungrily - it must have been a long time since he last ate - but Leon would try to focus on catching something first. With all his focus on the lagoon, he watched for the shadows of fish underneath. He imagined that it had been a while since anyone fished here, since the fish seemed to lack much caution as they drifted closer to the edge, where Leon could easily swipe them out of the water.

He saw one, light catching on its gleaming silver scales, and lunged. His paws just barely scooped it out of the water, but in a trajectory that would have it only barely landing on the edge. He foresaw the fish slipping back into the water, so quickly he leaned back and tried to catch it again with his other paw. This resulted in a comical exchange of the fish between his paws as Leon struggled to get a hold of it, the slippery, writhing fish eager to return to water. Once he had accidentally tossed it towards the water, Leon growled and leaped for it.

He landed in the water with a splash, struggling momentarily before fumbling beneath the surface and returning to the edge where Makyna sat. His head broke into the air, with the fish flopping desperately between his teeth. Leon remained paddling in the water as he spat the fish at her paws triumphantly. "For you, my dear!" He repeated between quick breaths, grinning dumbly.

"Makyna Speech"

"Of course, teddy bear!" She said with a little grin. Now that she was finished with catching something the lioness settled in to watch the bear work his magic. When it came down to natural form Makyna recognized that he was probably the better fisher of the pair. She could have used her own paws to catch a fish but she much preferred to keep her paws relatively dry and use a failproof plan. There was no misjudging when it came to Telekinesis and as long as the spell worked it meant a meal. When it came to her husband he just had to use his paws and she had to admit that it was attractive to see him concentrating and then finally succeeding when he hooked a fish for her.

Or rather... barely hooked a fish for her. The comical display of Leon barely managing to get the slippery creature had Makyna laughing out loud. She finally tried to stifle her laughter with a paw to her mouth but finally lost it as Leon's head dunked under the water. The lioness fell back and began to giggle loudly with her rear paws in the air and her fore over her belly. It wasn't until Leon spoke that she managed to get herself under control.

"Th-thank-you! How considerate of you." With her fit of giggles over she wiped a watering eye with a paw and finally began to eat the fish the bear had caught for her. She forgot how delicious fish could taste until she took the first bite of it. It was absolutely incredible. "Ah, this is amazing! Has fish always been this good?" It felt like life was just too perfect now. She had her teddy bear back, she had a delicious meal, and she was happy... What more could a lioness want?

When he re-emerged, it was to see her on her back having an absolute fit over his attempt to catch the fish. Leon remained grinning, glad that he had amused her through his own clumsiness. Anything to hear that bell like laughter of hers was worth it. As she dug into the fish, Leon pulled himself back up onto the ledge and shook out his thick pelt, inadvertently sending a spray of water in every direction. It clung to his body, making him look considerably thinner than he usually did. Despite his muscular bulk, he still somehow managed to look weirdly skinny. The bear leaned back and examined himself, deciding that he needed to pack on more pounds. Maybe he'd lost weight in the chrysalis.

As she fawned over the fish, Leon's stomach rumbled with anticipation. The bear slid onto his stomach and grasped the fish that she had caught for him, sinking his teeth into it. It's soft skin slid easily down his throat, appeasing his hunger for a moment, though he knew he'd have to catch more later to be truly satisfied. "I don't even know! Maybe they evolved while we were away somehow." He mused, quickly devouring the catch.

That just meant they'd have to hunt more.

"Makyna Speech"

The spray of water landed near her... and on her. At first she put on a mock pout but then it evaporated into a wide grin. It was just a little water and though she preferred to keep her paws wet, she could happily tolerate it from Leon. The bear sat near her and began to tuck in his own fish. At his words she let out a happy little hum, agreeing wordlessly to what he'd said. Perhaps after they'd caught the fish they could try the cave deer. Hopefully they'd also evolved in a similar manner. In any case she couldn't wait to get her fangs into more prey!