ORIGIN - A Time to Explore

Leon kept close behind the little leopard, making sure that she didn't run off too far, or injure herself somehow, or get herself into trouble when he wasn't looking. She was younger and a little more careless than his friends, it seemed; he couldn't trust her to be as wise with her decisions as Makyna. So the bear glued his eyes to her, watching, making sure. When she burst into the glittering city room, Leon was close on her heels, craning his neck back as the two of them took in the ceiling that yawned above them. It glittered with reflections of light, catching the gleaming lights strung along the walls and the glowing of crystals below. She asked what they were, but the bear couldn't really tell. He didn't know what the ceiling was made of to make it glitter like that, he didn't even know what stars were.

"I'm not sure, Mia." He answered after a moment and looked down at her. If only there was a way for them to investigate it... but the ceiling was so high up, he doubted they'd even be able to climb the tall cliffs on the outskirts of the room and see what they were. They'd need somebody with wings. Aza'zel would probably be able to tell them, but he doubted the bird was going to be anywhere around here, especially with his own group duties. The bear blinked a few times, suddenly startled as the youth jumped up and placed her front paws on his muzzle. He wrinkled his nose and yanked his head away, laughing. "Hey, careful!" Leon snickered and fell back onto his haunches.

There was a ton of things to explore here. Crumbling buildings, those tall cliffs near the edges of the room, a teetering tower near one of the other tunnel entrances. He kind of wanted to travel to the middle of the room to see what was there, but... there were already so many things for them to explore! "What do you wanna see? I've never really explored this room, either. I don't know what we'll find here!" He added and looked back down at her.

"Speech"

A playful laugh escaped Amaria as Leon fell back to sit. She playfully swatted at him with her paw while her tail flicked around. Amaria turned away from Leon as he proposed his question to her and quickly looked around. She awed at the tower that loomed high above them. Her tail twitched with curiosity before she turned a grin over towards Leon. "Well, what about that tall thing? Maybe if we can climb it we could see more of the room and decide where we want to go explore after that?" She offered the idea as she wiggled about.

She was so excited to start exploring the area. Especially since Big Bubbi Leon had promised to go with her! She swung her gaze back up to the tower with a wide grin. Of course if Leon had a better idea instead of the one Amaria had the clouded leopard would be okay with that. She swung around towards Leon again, that same happy grin slapped over her features as she bounced on her paws. "So, which do you think?!" She urged, curious to see what he would decide upon.

As Amaria swatted at him, Leon raised his paws to defend himself from her. However, her attention quickly diverted to something else in the room, seeking a new destination now that they've reached this room. There was a lot to explore, but Leon wanted to go the direction that would seem most interesting. He wanted to see something new, something exciting to tell the others. Wouldn't that be something? She brought up a building in the distance, crumbling but rigid against time. That was exactly what he was looking for. They could climb the tower! The bear smiled widely down at his friend. "Great idea! We can see what's at the top of it." He suggested, eager to explore the tall structure.

As Amaria itched to get going, Leon leaned forward and started to lumber in the direction of the tower. He wondered what the rest of the room would look like from the peak. Would it look enormous, or did it just feel bigger than it really was? Would they be any closer to the glittering ceiling?

"Speech"

Amaria positively beamed when Leon expressed that he had liked Amaria's suggestion. With a quick grin Amaria bounced off, making her way towards the looming tower. It didn't take long to get to the structure. Of course, that was probably because Amaria had ran the last half of the way just out of the sheer excitement she was feeling. Though, as she came to the opening her pace significantly slowed down. Her ears pushed forward, listening for anything that may be inside. When she did not hear anything Amaria slowly poked her head in first to get a good look. She couldn't see anything, but that didn't always mean something wasn't there right? So she would try something else to see if others were around.

Amaria flicked her tail when a strange sensation came from it and almost instantly a new sense washed over her. A heartbeat. Only one. She turned her stunning blue eyes towards the bear behind her with a wide grin. She could feel his easy heartbeat as if it were her own. Content that no one else was around but them, Amaria turned around and padded into the tower. "Wooow, look at that," She awed as she turned her head back to gaze up the winding stairs that circled along the sides of the wall. "That's so tall!" She grinned excitedly pouncing towards the start of the stairs. She swung her head around to grin back at Leon to make sure he was coming. "Race ya!" She laughed happily before she quickly began her ascent up.

As Amaria bolted off ahead of him, Leon had to gallop to keep up with her. His thick, heavy limbs pushed him after her until they neared the tower. He slowed before her, watching the younger child run up to the entrance of the tower and peer inside. The girl expressed awe at what she saw, making the bear immensely curious. He came up behind her, looming his great fat head over hers to gaze up the tower. A winding staircase hugged the wall, climbing the top. Her challenge prompted a laugh, and Leon shuffled over to the entrance, sticking his front half in further. It sure was dark... But he knew how to light it up!

With a calling of his magic, Leon felt his insides begin to warm up. Before long, a warm glow burned from his mouth, nostrils and eyes; anywhere the fur was thin enough. The warm light illuminated the tower, and as Amaria ran off, he quickly followed her. Light moved up the staircase with him as the bear followed her, trying to climb the stairs as fast as he could.

"Speech"

The sudden light within the tower nearly startled Amaria, but with a quick look behind her towards Leon she awed over the ability he was able to do. She had no idea he could light himself up like a candle! That was really cool! But, she couldn't focus on it long before she turned her attention back to the winding staircase. They were just nearing the middle section. A decent ways above the ground she had to guess. It seemed easy to climb up the stairs with all the energy she always seemed to have. She wasn't complaining, she just kinda hoped she wasn't going to fast for Leon. She knew it was a race up, but he was much bigger than she. Did he really have a chance to barrel up those stairs like she could?

Her thoughts quickly over took her concentration as she kept circling around the walls of the tower, ascending higher and higher. Though, with her lack of concentration on where she was stepping there was a sudden change in her step. Her paw thudded down against the edge of a step. It happened quickly, the stones giving out to the weight of Amaria and blue eyes grew wide as she instantly lost balance as she began to hurl down from the crumbling step. A sharp cry escaped her as she instantly tried to use her other legs to claw into the steps that weren't falling beneath her. claws raked over stone, creating a sharp painful sound as her back half quickly sunk over the ledge. Her other front paw managed to grip some kind of groove, just enough for her to swing up her other front paw to try and grasp desperately at the stones. "Leon!" She cried in alarm as she struggled to pull herself up, but to no avail was it work. Her claws kept sliding along the stone, her weight unable to be kept up as it dragged her down further. Her claws were just nearing the edge of the staircase and she gave another cry for help. She couldn't keep a hold on the stairs and the fear of falling so far quickly gripped at her chest, constricting her chest and keeping her from breathing.

Before he knew it, Amaria had suddenly slipped away from the staircase. He was still a few steps behind her, but when her paws broke through the crumbling steps, he felt his skin prickle and his fur all stand on end. She faltered and suddenly fell through a hole in the stairs, slipping down to her doom. "Amaria!" He blurted, startled. The bear scrambled up the rest of the stairs, closing the distance between them. She clung desperately to the steps, claws raking against stone, but she wouldn't be able to hold herself up for long. Already her own weight was pulling her down.

Leon lingered at the edge of the steps. The claws on his front paws hung over the edge as he teetered, leaning forward as far as he could. Just barely could he reach her, but when he did, he grabbed her scruff between his teeth. Leon tried to be gentle, but when time was important, he couldn't spare force in favor of comfort. With her scruff in his jaws, he jerked back, pulling her out of the hole. Leaning so far back, Leon's own weight - and that of the leopard's - caused him to stumble and fall back down a few stairs. But he wrapped his big arms around the feline, securing her until Leon slammed into the wall.

His head ached, but laying on his back, he groaned and released Amaria so that he could rub his sore skull.

"Speech"

Amaria sucked in a breath as she felt her paws slip even further. Her heart raced, beating wildly against her chest as all she could do was stare at her paws as they slipped further and further. A strangled cry escaped her as she suddenly felt her paws fully lose their grip, but then suddenly something sharp gripped at the nape of her neck. She gasped as the fangs pinched tight against her flesh, with several of the fangs piercing just a little into the flesh and causing blood to bead up. Within seconds she had been flung back over the staircase and grunted as she landed against Leon's chest as they went tumbling back a few steps.

Her claws had extended on sheer instinct, grasping at anything they could. When she realized she was no longer being held by Leon she slipped off of the bear and tucked her head down low as her ears splayed out to the side. Her tail was curled close to her as she now stood as close to the wall as she could. "You okay? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you hurt," she nearly whined as tears welled up in her eyes. The stinging in her neck was ignored as Amaria desperately tried to make sure Leon was okay. Her body was still a little shaky from that experience. "Guess I should take it a little slower huh..." She cracked a grin, trying to joke about what could have been a true disaster.

The bear grimaced as a throbbing resounded through his skull. Rubbing the side of his head, he closed his eyes for a moment. But he soon rememered the whole reason why he had tumbled down - Amaria. Leon opened his eyes again to see the leopard cub remorsefully curled up against the wall, close to tears as she apologized. The bear blinked and leaned forward, reaching out to her. "No, no, its okay! I'm fine! Are you okay?" He said quickly, looking her over. Sure enough, his powerful jaws had left notable marks on her scruff. Leon felt a twinge of guilt and averted his eyes, but when she spoke again and grinned, he looked back to her and returned the smile. "Yeah. Maybe a little."

Leon clambered back onto his paws, leaning against the wall. He glanced down at the winding staircase below, then up to the top of the tower, eyeing the hole in the stairs. "You still wanna go up?" He asked, broadening his grin. Granted they would be a little more careful... But he still wanted to see what they could find at the top.