ORIGIN

The earth was silent for a moment, then it started to shake furiously. The boy saw the ground extending to the wall quiver violently, and it sent vibrations up the wall. The lizard was caught unaware and it dropped onto the floor. Before it could scurry anywhere though, Usui leapt into the fray and used his mighty paws to crush it to the ground in one smooth, pouncing motion. It didn't produce any sound at all, except that its tail detached and wriggled furiously. The lion was unsurprised, he had seen it happen and believed this to be a reflex action. Nonetheless, he was still intrigued and watched the tail wriggle on its own for a good 2 minutes. Then, it stopped entirely. Only then did the boy spear the lizard with his claw and deposited it into his mouth.

Although his meal was scrawny, it was delightful. Not quite as chewy as mouse but held its own stringy tang which the boy took a liking towards. Now that he was full, it was time to continue his magic practice. He closed his eyes and steadied his paws, then took deep breaths in and out. He would attempt to get the metal to converge onto his body like armour, yes, but more shapely and streamlined. This time, he attempted to concentrate his magnetic powers along his flank, side and back only.

Nothing happened. The rogue let out a huff, feeling impatient. He had been so victorious the previous day before! Did events happen like this? Good things leaping out in packs, and bad things happening all together? But that couldn't be right, the boy thought, for just recently he had caught a lizard using his power on the first try and that was a wonderful accomplishment. Shaking his head, Usui walked towards the oxidized headpiece with gold bits he had put to the side yesterday. Thankfully, no thief of the night had crept over to steal it. The boy gripped it between his teeth gently and felt the metallic tang. Slowly, he set it upon a pile of debris lying next to it. Then, he himself lay down and, head on paws, stared the thing.

He had a mighty vision for his piece of armour. It was too big for his small head now but would come in handy next time if he grew! Just like how the bear Leon was bigger now and almost an adult, Usui believed he would look like Makyna, and maybe even bigger, just that he might have more hair. For now, he could afford to scrape off the rusty parts. Gripping a rock between his teeth, Usui attempted to chink away at the armour piece he had found, wishing to make it brand new.

The first bit of rust got chipped off relatively easily. This filled Usui with hope. Gripping onto the headpiece with his two paws, the boy bobbed his head up and down as he meticulously chipped away the top layers of rust using his debris. After a short moment, his teeth and gums started to hurt. So did his head from the bobbing movements. Thus, the little lion paused, and settled down the debris he had been biting onto, then cupped his headpiece gently and looked at it. Most of the rust had gone - at least the top layers. However, he had been unsuccessful in removing 70% the impurities stubbornly clinging to the surface. He would need high heat - fire skills, like Leon! And there and then, the young cub decided that he would have to hunt out that bear and teach him how to harness fire power. The scholar was certain that even though his primary attunement had been with the earth, he was not incapable of mastering and harnessing other magics. The sensei was determined to learn as many things as he could. Magic was an integral part of his interest.

Once again, the boy put the headpiece aside. He would not touch it till he left this area. This time, Usui looked towards the stone stairs that Quix had attempted to climb. He was curious to understand what material they were made of! So, he bounded to one of the sturdy stairs and carefully placed his weight on it, hoping it wouldn't break.

The boy tested his forepaw on the stairs gingerly. Nothing happened. He added another paw. It was silent. Nothing shifted from under him. Usui attempted to lean forward to see if the stairs could handle his weight. Again, his effort was met with silence. Great! Looked like it wouldn't break and cleave off. Happily, Usui clambered onto the stairs and ascended it. The stairs spiralled up to the ceiling and the boy noted that it was cool to his feet. Might have been made of brick or clay along with several other minerals to harden it. Once he was midway, the boy scanned the ceiling again, and that was when he noticed something.

The eyes of several of the paintings followed him.

He thought that the monsters carved on the ceiling gazed scarily at the landbound, but up here, Usui could see that some of the creatures were staring right at him with draconian mouths agape. He swore he might have even recognized one of them which looked like Aquarian but he could not be too sure. The next thing the boy did was to look down and was startled at the height he now was away from the ground. He should be going down...but would he be able to make it safely? Going up was easy, going down was treacherous.

Slowly, Usui placed one paw in front of the other and attempted to descend the stairs slowly and safely.

He did it safely without a hitch! The cub took ginger steps down the stairs, feline tail arching behind him like a pendulum, taut muscles stretching forward in an ease which hinted at his potential prowess as an adult. The moment Usui's paws touched the ground, he gave a sigh of relief. He had discovered today that heights was not one of his favourite things. Sure, he could scale heights but he very much preferred to be earth bound. Dangling from the air gave him a sense of insecurity not unlike his previous fear of water, till Eeya had taught him how to overcome it. Usui looked around the room once more, it seemed like there wasn't much things left for him to do. He had practised all his magic, learnt to write two symbols properly, discovered new symbols, scaled a stair and realized his distaste of heights and most of all, he had found a pretty significant gold-freckled headpiece which was rusty and bent now, but which could be worked on to create a beautiful piece of armour.

Before he left though, the cub wanted to attempt something. He walked back to the walls and read the name "Cancer". He had chanced upon that leopard's scratching before. It brought back memories regarding his pebble stories. So that young punk knew how to write as well! No matter, Usui raised a claw and attempted to scratch his name in the wall as well to mark his presence. If he failed to do so, he would just take it that the other cub was older and hence had more experiences, and he himself would reach full capability of writing in the near future.

The task of writing proved okay for the boy. Aligned with Cancer's name - no actually, slightly higher than it, was the name "Usui" etched into the wall. When the lion was done, he stepped back and looked at it in satisfaction. He had explored the entire Tunnel in the couple of trips he had made here thus far, and it had proved to be his favourite room for practising magic. The boy knew that this might just be his second, or third favourite place besides Polaris and Orion and he would be back. For now, he would have a new adventure to embark on. There were so many tunnels which he had had to visit, and Usui was keen to visit those places. Also, he had new friends to greet, especially Maji Walezi. He had heard of them from Cancer and the bird, and both had warmly welcome. Perhaps, he might visit them next time. Pisces, was it?

For now, the lion was about done with this place. He plodded back to the spot where he'd deposited the gold-flecked rusty armour headpiece and picked it up gingerly between his teeth. A new metallic taste, this time less rusty, flooded his mouth. He then swung his head back to look at the Tunnel one last time, feeling immensely glad that he had not caused havoc that day. Satisfied, the cub turned and trotted out of the Tunnel, leaving it available for another Gembound to create his story there.

-Exit Usui-