ORIGIN

After they'd both left to go to her den Makyna had helped the bear to get comfortable. She'd laid down next to him and lay with her fur tangling into his. She had to admit that this felt nice, to just lie with the one she loved and try not to think about anything. To not think about anything... that was the hard part. Her mind went back to what Leon had said, about how Cancer had tried to kill him. When you fought someone sometimes you did things that you wouldn't normally do. An action could be perceived as trying to kill someone but you were really just trying to attack. That was what he meant right? Even with the knife --as terrible as that in itself was-- he hadn't meant to actually kill him, right? It was too much to think about but now that she was pretty much alone to her own thoughts she couldn't push it away.

Even now as she lay with her head on her paws, listening to Leon's sleeping breaths... It wouldn't leave her alone. A nagging thought began to bug her. Why not hindsight him? Do it quickly and see exactly what had gone down? Without Leon's permission she felt guilty for even thinking it. She turned her head away. Perhaps she could go catch a rabbit, hunting always helped to clear her head. With one last glance at Leon and a parting lick to his muzzle she left very briefly to go hunt a rabbit for when he woke. The bear would probably be hungry since he hadn't eaten since before the fight. She rose to her paws and padded away towards the Warren to hunt.

-----

One rabbit later she returned, and there was resolution burning in her blue eyes. It might have been a breach of privacy but this was Leon and she needed to know what had happened. The lioness padded over and set the rabbit down in front of Leon's muzzle then she laid down next to him, melt mingling into his own and eyes closing as she focused on her magic. She saw a flash behind her eyes and then a faint image. She knew she was in Leon's body for she could feel his pain and his tiredness as he stared up at a black cat with her-- no-- his eyes. Cancer held a knife clutched in his mouth and there was murder in his eyes, hatred. He was going to kill him!

Then the image vanished. Ky blinked her eyes open, staring off into space as everything started to sink in. Leon was right... Cancer was trying to kill him. Not in battle. Leon had already been beaten... Cancer was coming afterwards after Leon was lying down defenseless, scared... helpless... The denial she had about Cancer really wanting to kill Leon faded away. There was no denying what he had really wanted now. He had wanted to take away her life, her soul, for that was what would happen. If anything happened to Leon she knew she would never be the same.

Lips lifted from her fangs as she snarled in response to the vision, anger blazing in her eyes. She had tried to see it his way for far too long. She could be pushed around when the subject was on herself but when you turned it to Leon, that was when she could take no more. Oh yes, she hoped Cancer was alive she hoped he came back too. She would see that he would get what he deserved. Leon would have justice for the-- the-- murder that Cancer had attempted.

"Makyna Speech"

As relieved as he was to finally be home, he was now met with an overwhelming guilt that nagged at the corners of his mind during wakefulness. He'd come back to Pisces after fighting Cancer, hurting him and leaving him for dead somewhere in Monoceros, if he wasn't already. It was Leon's fault. Leon's fault that they were there in the first place, Leon's fault they fought, probably Leon's fault that the great crevice had opened up and swallowed Cancer. Makyna wanted to go find him but Leon pleaded for her to stay, and Quix wanted to go off and find him, and then Bevy restricted any of them from leaving only for Amaria to silently go off and rescue him herself without speaking a word to the bear. It felt like all of them had some reason to be mad at him. Still, the lioness tried to reassure him.

Once they were nestled in her den, it took very little time for Leon to pass out again. He was curled up against her, stretching out his wounded neck and allowing the healing poultices Bevy had whipped up to work their magic. With her warmth and comfort and the security of her presence, he closed his eyes and very quickly fell unconscious. His dreams were fleeting and difficult to pick out. Memories mostly of running after Cancer and fighting him, but skewed; he couldn't land any of his attacks, and Cancer kept taking him down, that blood magic boiling and dragging him to the ground. Then the earthquake. The earthquake opened up a new room, and Leon was suddenly lost. He tried to find his way back to Pisces. He had to get back home, but every corner he turned was a new tunnel, one he'd never seen before.

Outwardly, Leon hadn't noticed Makyna's disappearance but his body temperature began to increase, made nervous by the nightmares. His eyes squeezed tight, a quiet whining slipping from his throat every so often. He wasn't restless so much as he was just struggling in that dream state of his. Makyna would eventually return, still unnoticed by the bear. Even as she laid down and suddenly began to probe him for his memories, he was unaware, still locked in that ever winding cave...

Post-Roll Edit:
She searched through his memories and found the flashing of the blast, found Cancer's silhouette lingering over her. As she felt his pain and fear, he felt it too. His body began to heat even further, warmth radiating off his form, and a gentle light beginning to glow from beneath his skin. Leon huffed and sighed in his sleep, beginning to kick his legs. The strange nightmare was beginning to shift back to that memory. Back to the angry eyes, filled with nothing but... resolve. Back to the glinting of the knife he could barely see through his half blinded eyes. Back to the ache throughout his muscles. The bear's expression twisted, snarling, rumbling quietly, until the twitching of his muscles was nearly sudden enough to wake him.

Then Makyna broke the connection. The unnatural warmth of his body simmered and the light beneath his skin dimmed, leaving his paw pads feeling sweaty. The memory in his dream began to fade into nothingness... then, inside of him, anger burned. It was powerful enough to jolt him awake, eyes suddenly peeling open. His vision was blurred until he blinked a few times and shifted his gaze tiredly to Makyna, at first failing to notice the snarl on her lips.

The glow from his skin was what caught her eyes, the snarl lessened and soon vanished from her lips. He was awake! She could feel joy pulling at her heart as she lowered her head and rubbed it against his temple, reveling in the feeling of his fur against hers. Excitedly she said, "You're awake!" She could feel it. Feel it in his dreams that he had been plagued by memories but in the waking world he was tired. He was tired and she could feel that ache from him.

Her body relaxed against his but in her mind she thought back to her vision which had been just a bit embellished and influenced by her own uncertain emotions due to the low casting level of it. The lioness didn't know this however and even if she had, Cancer's intent was still the same. To murder. That word hung in her thoughts like a dark cloud. Murder. How could he have wanted to do that? Why would anyone want to murder anyone else? Anger was no excuse to kill another sentient gembound.

Makyna's eyes turned to his, staring down at Leon with a guilty expression. "Leon... I owe you an apology." Her nose touched his cheek, as she stared intently into his eyes. "I wanted to leave and go search for Cancer. I'm glad I didn't... He doesn't deserve my pity nor my emotions any longer." She had always found ways to make excuses, always found ways to forgive him. Not this time. There was no forgiving this. "I saw what happened. He wanted to kill you... Truly, he wanted to put a knife to your gem and destroy you," She had to pause, eyes starting to blaze and stare off into space for a moment before she refocused herself. "He won't get that chance. When Amaria brings him back we will have a trial. I will not be lead by a murderous traitor." No. If Cancer stayed as the leader of the group after what he attempted to do, she would leave and take whoever would go with her.

Anger blazed throughout her entire being as she once again thought on the vision. Her ears started to pin themselves and another snarl threatened to make itself known.

"Makyna Speech"

With his head still laying on the ground, his eyes lingered on Makyna but weren't clear enough to take notice of the snarl on her lips. They were still dizzy, and he had to blink a few times for her image to come into focus. By the time he could discern the outline of her body from the surrounding cave wall, her expression had already shifted into one of pleasant delight at seeing him awake. Leon managed to lift his chin from the ground a couple inches as she rubbed against his temple, and he turned his nose towards her, burying it in the fur around her neck. It felt so good to be with her again - it felt like it was right. Her smell, calming and familiar, the only thing of consistency he had ever really known. Home. Where he belonged. And her happiness to see him only reinforced that his decision to return had been the right one.

He closed his eyes and let his shoulders relax, and once she had eased her body against his, he lowered his chin back onto the ground, settling it atop one of her paws. Given the chance, Leon would probably very quickly fall asleep again, locked in the warm embrace of the lioness. But the soothing silence between them faltered, and then Makyna spoke out an apology. Leon's eyes drew open, disdain for having to greet the light with his sensitive vision again, but curious. She talked about how she'd wanted to go search for Cancer, only to realize that suddenly he wasn't worth her attention. Confused, the bear blinked and flattened his ears, wondering where this was coming from. She hadn't acted like that when he limped into Pisces just a few hours before, so why the change?

Leon would receive his answer soon enough as she recounted the very last seconds of their battle. How Cancer hovered over him, staring at him with ill intent, holding the knife between his teeth. Ready to plunge that blade deep into Leon's shoulders. He shook it away and listened as she promised a trial for the cat, whom she dubbed a murderous traitor.

The bear couldn't deny that swelling of guilt as he listened to her speak. Had he not been as much to blame...? Yet... every time Cancer had done him wrong, Makyna forgave him. Not this time. He wouldn't receive such a blessing this time around. In a way, it felt good. It felt like the cat was finally getting what he deserved. But they had both only wanted the same thing... Leon furrowed his brows. "What... would happen to Maji Walezi...?" He murmured quietly, staring out the entrance of the den while his head rested on her paw. What would happen to their group if Cancer was ousted? What would happen to Cancer?

"Makyna Speech"
"Leon Speech"

He didn't speak to rebuttle her, didn't have any great feelings of anguish. The guilt, it was there but in her eyes he should not be guilty. Yes, the pair had always had their differences. Leon had even once rose he voices and spoken against Leon and Ky herself had had to fix things. However, Leon had never tried to kill him. Even up until this point Cancer had never tried to physically hurt the bear. Even during Truth or Dare the dark feline had only been joking, it was a cruel joke but still, and even was going to apologize. She doubted there would be any apologies now.

As far as she knew Leon had been the one to lose the fight and to yield while Cancer had come at him wanting nothing but blood. A rivalry need not yield such a horrible outcome. Clanmates should not want to kill their fellow members. The dark feline should have had self control.

Murderer... She couldn't get past it. That was what Cancer was to her now. Perhaps he would be that forevermore. Who was to say?

Makyna's ear twitched at Leon's question. His voice sounded so quiet, so weak from what she remembered. How she felt for him. How she wished this would have never happened. What happened to those days when they were children? "Nothing. We were supposed to hold elections every four cycles, right? We can just elect someone else." She pondered for a moment who would be able to lead. She herself was no leader, Ky could acknowledge that. Bevy was a good leader but Ky's vote would be on Leon. The lioness didn't say this out loud, the bear was still too fragile for that. Instead, she simply started to groom the fur on his head and neck, a purr rumbling in her throat. "He won't hurt anyone anymore." That was a promise.

Somewhere deep inside, he felt that anger still simmering. It had woken him and remained in him as Makyna happily greeted him, only to apologize and then dwell on it further. Eventually, he knew that the anger was because of Cancer. Even after her suggestion the anger remained, and he had to wonder why she was so keen on crucifying the black leopard. Cancer had hurt Leon... but more importantly, he'd hurt Makyna. Was that why she was so angry? Did she harbor resentment against Cancer for what he did? He wouldn't blame her; even without being fed her anger, Leon had reacted to news of his betrayal with nothing but fury. Despite the drowsiness of his question, he very quickly came to realize that she was planning on persecuting Cancer due to her anger.

Her explanation, though, had reassured him. If Cancer was found guilty (which he most certainly was, both Leon and Makyna knew that) then they would just as easily elect a new leader. Yes, he remembered now - that was something Cancer suggested during their first meeting. Leon hadn't been very interested. Strange how such things become so relevant in the long run. Leon's gaze lingered on the distant cave room that yawned out ahead of them, his mind heavy with thought while Makyna started to groom the top of his head. He listened to the purr, his eyelids coming closed again until she promised that Cancer wouldn't hurt anybody else.

She was so insistent on protecting everyone... protecting him. He knew how deeply she cared about everyone. Had he gotten the chance to tell her how grateful he was? Leon's brows knitted, shifting his head slightly. He really hadn't, had he? Did she know how much she meant to him? Did she know how important she was? She spent so much time caring about everybody else... did she know how much he cared about her?

The bear suddenly rolled onto his side, shifting his shoulder so that his obsidian point lay beneath him while he lay on his back, his head now cradled between her paws. He stared up at her, eyes still heavy with exhaustion, but they had adopted a new look. This was one of contentedness. He wanted to forget all about Cancer and all the shitty things that had just happened. He didn't even want to think about the future. All he cared about was now, being home, being here with Makyna, Makyna. Leon reached up, hooking one of his massive paws over the back of her neck and pulling her head down towards him. "I'm... sorry." His hushed voice came with fretful hesitation. "I never wanted to leave you... I only thought it would be better... for everyone. I was wrong." He explained, the rough intones of the bear's voice uncharacteristically quiet as he mumbled into Makyna's fur. "I just wanted you to be happy. You're everything to me." Leon's eyes fluttered, his face hot as it pressed into her soft fur.

"Makyna Speech"
"Leon Speech"

Her anger, it had never really died. Even as she groomed him it still smoldered. Retribution which she was currently denied. It wasn't until Leon rolled over that she allowed herself to try and forget what had happened. To focus only on what was happening now and not what had transpired in the past nor what would take place in the future. She stared down into those familiar and gorgeous amber eyes, finding herself lost in them. Yes. She could forget about everything so long as she was in this den with Leon. All of those worries and anger faded away as she felt him pull her in.

Their muzzles were inches away from each other, as her lids lowered to stare into his eyes. For a moment she was transfixed by that gaze and the sheer volume of joy that she felt when she was this close to him. Her heart and soul had missed this. Missed their closeness and the love they shared together. Leon didn't even have to say it. Makyna already knew that he loved her and knew how much he cared. She could feel it within herself whenever they looked at each other. She had been a fool from the getgo to ignore those feelings they had when with one another.

"Shh, there's no need for you to be sorry." Her voice was spoken in hushed tones. Only her Leon was to hear these words. Only he would receive the special love she had for him. The type that she truly had never experienced before. "You did what you thought was right. I could never be mad at you for that. You don't ever have to worry about me being angry with you." Her head lowered and she touched her nose to his before leaning forward to lick him between the eyes. There she hovered for a moment as she said, "You are my heart and my soul and I love you. I always shall. When you left I felt like I had nothing left but now with you here... I am complete." Then she pressed her muzzle into his. A feeling of deep contentment washed over her, even as she felt warmth rush to her cheeks and throughout her body. "So long as you are with me, I shall always be happy." Her eyes fluttered closed as she breathed in his scent and let the feeling of their closeness wash over her. The world, everything, was just perfect at this moment. What could even make it better? She didn't think anything because just having him back and being able to nestle into his fur was heaven all on its own.

Once the bear had rolled over, it felt like all the bad feelings had washed away. Whatever disdain and anger lingered in her was slowly pushed aside, and the happiness of being with her instead took its place. He didn't know if the happiness was primarily his own of if it was hers too, but he liked to think that it was, that in this moment there was no more reason to be angry. He found her warm blue eyes, warm like the sea, warm like the glowing crystals in Polaris, warm like water that had no secrets. Staring into her eyes was the feeling of being underwater. It was the distant static of security and the comforting hum of safety, in a place that he knew wouldn't hurt him. The place that nurtured him and cared for him and wanted him to succeed. The place that was home.

Leon held her tighter as she tried to reassure him. He was so happy that she understood, what pain had wracked him when he left! It tore him apart when he told her to leave him alone, because it wasn't what he wanted. He only ever wanted her close, and he was so afraid that by telling her to go, he would hurt her... but she understood, she knew that all he'd ever wanted was to see her happy, even if it meant letting her go. Touching her nose, and then receiving the lick across his forehead, Leon squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't fight that delight that was beginning to set into his features, he just couldn't hold back that gleeful, thankful grin, and the tears of happiness that threatened to form in the corners of his eyes again. "I won't ever leave you... I'm only yours. I only want to be where ever you are!" His voice shook as he pulled her in, it shook and wavered until it emerged into a bubble of overwhelmed, grateful laughter. He pressed his forehead into hers, feeling the curvature of her skull and her gem burning with magic and life and happiness, and he laughed and he cried tears of happiness, for the first time in a long time.

"Makyna Speech"
"Leon Speech"

As she looked into his eyes she was reminded of a memory. A memory of visiting a hyena and getting her fortune told. Fire was her friend, bringing enlightenment. For now she didn't know if that enlightenment had to do with finding out the truth about Cancer or if it simply had to do with her coming to terms with the fact that this bear whom she loved so dearly, was the one she would be with. Makyna was glad for that. Glad that Leon was her light in the darkness of these times, glad that he would forevermore be the light guiding her path and keeping her warm. He was all of those things. Her own personal light.

The thought brought tears, happy ones, to her eyes as she lay in his embrace. His words, they brought a feeling of pure bliss from the lioness. Her own laugh joined with his as they both wrote a duet of their joy. "Dear Leon, we won't ever have to be apart again." Her gem pressed against his forehead, their fur tangled into each others. This was how it should be. Heaven in its perfect form. "I only wish it could have been this way sooner. If only I'd looked to you instead of searching through darkness. You're my light... I know this now." She knew this and was happy with it. To have this perfect one in her life.