ORIGIN

Leon was in her den, sleeping the pain and injuries away. Ever since she'd seen that vision from the bear she couldn't think of Cancer the same way. He was a murderous monster and a traitor, that's all he would ever be to her. The lioness didn't want him back. Well, she wanted him back but only to convict him and get him sent away from Pisces where he could never hurt anyone again. Maji Walezi didn't need such a dangerous criminal around, especially not as the leader. She would end her own life before she let that happen.

As she lay there she thought back to someone... Quix. The poor girl. Cancer was like a father to her and as much as she didn't like him the leopard still meant something to the little fox girl. Should she tell her what a murderous traitor her father was? The lioness couldn't help but feel that she should mention something. Now she was afraid the fox pup would run off to find him and she didn't need to do that alone. Amaria was more than capable of bringing that criminal back.

With her mind set, Makyna gave the sleeping bear a nuzzle before departing for Cancer's den. She knew that the sad pup would be there so there she went. After giving a short chuff to announce her arrival the lioness took a seat next to the pup. Her blue gaze turned sympathetically down to the little one. "Hey there, Quix. How're you holding up?" That was a good way to start it, right? She hadn't had to give a talk like this before so she hoped she was doing it right.

---

Since she’d cried at Polaris, revealing her raw emotions to no Maji Walezian, Quix had transitioned into a numb state where, in self-protection, her mind completely shut out all the feelings towards Cancer. The black leopard was merely an image now, an existing gembound which she could not conjure up any feeling towards. She knew that if she even tried to reminisce about him, her heart would crack open and grief would pour through, so no, Quix remained calm, deadened, lifeless, zombified – a hollow shell of furry unfeeling whenever the word Cancer was mentioned.

Today, she lay in the den. It was large enough for the furry leopard and with it being empty now, it proved very large and desolate for the fox. Without anyone to snuggle up to and with her heart chilled to the core, she felt the wind and chills coming in from one of the Tunnels. The usually toasty feisty girl felt the cold more than she ever had and lacked the appetite to eat bugs. She still followed Bevy around her duties and helped the bear emotionlessly, seeing it more as her duty than anything else. He was one of the reasons why her dad was gone and so she begrudged the bear Makyna had special feelings for. Her idea of family had been shredded when Makyna chose Leon over Cancer. Her world had came crashing down and she had to put on a strong front about it – she saw their empathy and it made her sadder knowing that others too, knew of the truth of the matter which she felt so acutely.

A low chuffing came then, and the girl raised her horned head to look at Makyna. The lioness sat beside her and started the conversation. Quix made no attempt to move, lying curled in her ball with her chin half buried in her tail. Blue eyes stared wistfully out of the den. "I…I’m trying but…I don’t understand. Why did it have to be Cancer who is missing.” Transitioning from a grieving to a numb and questioning stage, it was part of the emotional cycle – and perhaps the young fennec was starting to feel sparks of anger at Cancer for being so reckless and abandoning all of them just like that.

The fox made no move to sit up or do anything else, she just stared off into space. The fox didn't seem sad or anything... that was probably bad. No one had bothered to even tell her what really happened, had they? No. Because no one truly knew what happened except Leon and now her because of her abilities. The lioness' tail tuft tapped the ground as she thought on what to do. This mothering stuff was hard work.

So, the lioness did what her instincts told her and she laid down next to the fox kit. Her body curled up beside her as she tried to lend her warmth and comfort to the little one. Why had Cancer gone missing? The lioness closed her eyes and took a breath. This was it. "Perhaps... He was being punished for what he tried to do. Do not worry, I am sure Ammy will find him though." That had done it. She would certainly draw some heat from that comment but it made sense. As Cancer had come towards Cancer and tried to kill him the ground had erupted beneath his feet, as if to stop the action from being carried through. She didn't know if it was divine intervention --not that she had any sort of inkling of what divinity was-- or just dumb luck but somehow Cancer had been stopped and she was grateful.

Her eyes opened and she looked down at the fox. "Do you know why Leon was afraid and didn't want me to go look for Cancer?" She asked this carefully, eyes on Quix the whole time.

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The icy shell encasing the girl’s soul cracked the moment Makyna curled up beside her. Immediately, she felt her vision grow blurry and her nose stung as tears welled up. With a tired sob, she turned to brush her eyes against the lioness’ shoulder, wiping away the tears before they’d fall. This wasn’t a time to grief and besides, shouldn’t she have gotten over it? Quix scolded herself internally, adding fuel to her grief, but she knew that she had to be a strong fox if not for Cancer or herself, then for Maji Walezi. She sniffed and inhaled deeply, gathering her composure as best as she could and tried her best to focus on the lioness’ words. Makyna was gently explaining about Cancer now. The words “punishment” seemed harsh on her young ears and she shuddered. Punishment was bad. It was going for a week without grubs, it was being robbed of life’s simplest pleasures. Then…inwardly, the young fox wished the fat, black leopard stay hidden away rather than be found by Amaria. He’d be safe then from those wanting vengeance…including Makyna.

She asked him about Leon now. Quix’s large ears twitched and she looked glumly to the floor. ”He has special feelings for Makyna. He don’t want to see Makyna hurt.” She knew that the bear and lioness had a very special connection – and she was jealous that Cancer was too far away to have a nice daddy-daughter relationship with her. But then…her mind flickered to Kerberos and she thought that she’d very much like to cuddle in his white fur right now.

When the tiny fox turned to cry on her shoulder Ky felt her heart go out to the young one. She knew not what Cancer had done, only that he was absent and that others wanted vengeance. The lioness could see it perfectly from her shoes and it made her hurt but this was all the more reason for the truth to be revealed.

One large paw swung over the fox's small back as she gently gave the young one a pat. "Well... that. But there's also something else." She looked into the young one's eyes, her own taking on a faraway look. After a brief sigh she began, "I used my hindsight ability to look into Leon's past and view the fight. Suffice to say something more terrible than the fight happened..." Her tail flicked once as she urged herself onwards. "Cancer... Cancer tried to kill Leon by digging out his stone with a knife. He didn't do it while in the heat of battle but he waited until the fight was over, after Leon was beaten." That was why she couldn't forgive Cancer. He would have killed Leon in cold blood which the lioness could not tolerate.

"That was why Leon was afraid for me to go find Cancer."

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Quix relished the comfort of Makyna’s fur, the one thing she could cling to in the otherwise desolate cave. The warmth of her tawny, silky strands comforted her and she felt more secure with the lioness’ paw over her back. The one cycle of age had done little to mellow out the fennec fox – she was still very much the same in size, mannerisms and speech and this blow to her family had seemingly hindered her from progressing beyond being an insecure, little puffball who still relied on Cancer almost as much as she had when he’d found her as a barely hatched fox. Quix sniffed as the lioness began her explanation and she dug deeper into her belly. “I don’t like this story,” she sniffed, eyes widening as he heard of her father’s atrocities. To remove a gemstone and with a knife…she could almost imagine the searing pain removing both her horns, in stark contrast to the leopard’s rough yet kind patting of her head with the same black paw. Time seemed to stop for her then. Could such an act be accepted? No wonder everyone wanted his blood and he’d run away. Shock of this news coursed through her veins. The fox felt her mind fall into a blank, unable to neither comprehend the situation nor envision it, for so naïve was she. “Is that why Bevy and Makyna wouldn’t let me go?” she croaked out, feebly attempting to take the topic to safer grounds. She could never accept her father for being viewed in that light. For when she’d betrayed Cancer he’d stuck by her and she would too as his daughter.