ORIGIN

Beyond the base of the waterfall, hidden from view and surrounded closely by a few stones, what appeared to be a large rock shuddered. As it did so, dust and flecks of cold muck came away to reveal shimmering incandescence, pale in the low light of the cave. There was a life inside, trying to make its way out, determined to see the outside.

The life was frustrated with its long captivity, for it could feel the walls of its shell for quite come time now. The inside of the shell was like the inside of a furnace, and the life had found it comforting until now. Now it was starting to feel claustrophobic and smothering, and the life inside wanted nothing more than to break said walls. The life moved and shoved and tried to stretch, but it didn't know that what it was pushing against was more stone. Nothing would budge, and the life could feel its temper rising.

The life was angry, infuriated, outraged. A pulsing heat raced to its skin, its fur, its paws and claws, and what the life touched, burned.

The shell started to crack under the onslaught of heat, and the life used this crack to burst upwards, throwing rocks and pebbles everywhere. Panting, shuddering, free, the life looked around, gathering its surroundings. It took a fresh breath of air, smoke hissing off of its fur.

The cold air was painful in comparison to the warmth of its shell, rattling all the way down its throat as it came down. Everything hurt; teeth, throat, skin, paws, nose, fur, everything was a horrible contrast in temperature, and the cold air burned.

The life- no, no, that wasn't right, it- he- wasn't just a life, he was a coyote, though that meant nothing and everything to him now- howled pitifully.

{ Tag: Leon and maybe Grimm?? }

Leon spent a good chunk of his time between Pisces and the several rooms that shared its quadrant. Now that he was healing and truly recovering from both his absence from Maji Walezi and the fight that brought him back, he was eager to prove himself useful to his groupmates again. He wondered how deeply he had fractured their trust - few of them had actually sat down and spoken with him since the incident. Soon after it happened, the bear spent most of his time sleeping and now that a couple weeks had passed, it was getting more and more difficult to bring it up. It felt more like a reminder, as if all he was known for now was the exile of the leopard. That surely wasn't what Leon had been aiming for, but despite Makyna's attempts to reassure him, he still felt immensely guilty about it.

Walking the tunnels and patrolling the caves didn't really take his mind off of it, but it did give him some relief in knowing that he was trying to prove himself again. He knew he'd have to work hard - his only solace being that Makyna accepted and forgave him, and the young Gembounds they found wouldn't know of his transgressions. The bear lumbered along the rocky pathways, soaking in the humidity of the air, letting it rest on his warm cinnamon fur. Often steam emanated from his form as a result of his hot blood, giving the bear something of an ethereal image on the days he ran hotter than usual.

He was torn from his thoughts by a sudden sound - a cracking, then a mournful howling. Leon stiffened - he knew those sounds almost immediately. There was a freshly hatched Gembound somewhere. Leon took a quick glance around - he could've sworn Grimm was here somewhere, but huffed and headed off towards the babe anyways. Soon enough he saw the child, a small canine surrounded by shards of glistening opal. It looked almost like Xender, but even from here the bear could feel its heat. "Hey, are you alright?" He called, lumbering towards the youth with slow, careful steps.

Everything hurt, his eyes were hazy, and his eyes couldn't focus on his surroundings. He could see a blurry outline of a pool of water, and he could hear the waterfall near him, but the picture his eyes saw and the information didn't connect under the haze of pain, and nothing made sense. His breath came rapidly, which hurt even more, as the cold air that he swallowed felt like little knives. He wanted to crawl into a hole and cover himself with warm dirt and stay there, where it would be safe. The coyote took a few steps away from his shell on top of smooth wet rocks, the thin layer of water hissing beneath his paws. He could feel the heat dissipate from him, and it left him feeling cold to the bones. He started to shiver, and the shakes were violent.

A sound caught his attention, and his ear flicked in the direction. "....'re you alright?" He heard.

His eyes focused on the big lumbering creature coming towards him, feeling afraid and yet not afraid. The creature was big, towering over him, heat emanating off of it in waves, but it spoke kindly, and with concern.

"I-it hurts," He whined, panting and shivering at the same time. "It hurts, its hurts."

The only thing the tiny creature had said was that it hurt. Leon's eyes widened as he looked the freshly emerged over, quickly scanning for any sign of injury. When he could find no wound or obvious impairment on the Gembound, Leon's worry only increased. Why was he hurting, and what could Leon do to help? "Where? Can you describe it?" The bear asked, concerned as he shuffled in closer. If something had happened to his chrysalis during development then maybe he hadn't grown right... For a fleeting moment, the thought horrified him: what could happen to a chrysalis damaged before the Gembound was done growing? Leon furrowed his brow, but he pushed it away. What mattered now was helping this little coyote.

The bear reclined back on his haunches; the thought of summoning heat to his paws briefly crossed his mind, but he feared it might be the heat he felt from the babe that was hurting him. Leon didn't want to preemptivly do anything in case it made the babe's affliction worse, so he merely extended his paws, welcoming him into at least a comforting touch. "I can get someone who can help you, if you hurt." The bear murmured, looking down at the coyote pup. If anything, Bevy would know what to do.

(( Ooh, font color <3 ))

The coyote stared up at the big creature with wide eyes, his vision going in and out of focus, his breathing harsh. The big thing was looking at him, sniffing him, asking where it hurt, and to that he couldn't really answer, because he hurt everywhere. "S'....too cold," He muttered.The heat he had when he escaped his shell was completely gone now, and now he just felt horribly cold. He couldn't stop his legs from shaking, and it was only getting worse. He thought about describing it, but the vocabulary that came to mind were simple, unfocused words.

He watched the big creature sit down and offer his paws that looked a lot like his (only bigger, of course), and took a few shaky steps into the open embrace. It was warm against its thick fur, like a gentle salve to the cold sting. Immediately the shakes were coddled and soothed. He felt his muscles relax by degrees, and he felt right back at home. "Hhhh," He sighed. "Better....mm."

He looked up at the bottom of the creatures jaw, smiling. He was glad that the big creature found him when everything hurt. "...th...thank you."

sorry for the wait ;>;

As soon as the babe had answered that it was too cold, Leon had a feeling he knew what the problem was. Considering there were no visible wounds on the child, he figured it might be easy to confuse the cold for pain, especially since the child was so young and the cold likely wasn't very desirable. As he extended his paws to the child, he was happy to see the young one come closer, and Leon gently brought him in and offered the warmth of his body heat - then, he tried to focus, bringing his attention to his paws in an attempt to coalesce the warmth there.

Post-Roll Edit:
The warmth accumulated in his paws but it was gentle, a soft heat that rolled from his touch and dispelled the cold all around them. It wasn't so hot such that it would inflict pain; Leon barely felt any irritation in his paws, the skin having since calloused due to his use of the magic, armored against the fire he was so known for. He embraced the child with his warmth, smiling and rumbling pleasantly. "You're welcome." He answered with a quiet chuckle. "What's your name? I'm Leon. I live here in this cave called Pisces." The bear began to explain, gazing down curiously at the boy.

(( Its okay, you're super busy and awesome. It's difficult being a mod. c: Take your time! ))

He turned himself into a ball when the big thing wrapped its arms around him, warmth coming from all sides; perfect, comforting, soothing warmth. He closed his eyes, feeling the last bits of horrible cold leave him as if it never existed and everything was right with the world. His nose nestled in the big expanse of fur and a strange feeling bubbled in him. His chest felt tight, yet happy at the same time, and he wanted to...do...something? He wanted to do the same thing for the big thing, to help when it mattered the most.

He tucked that away. He would help. He owed something in return for this kindness.

His eye cracked open, pulling him away from the thought, when the big thing rumbled some words at him. Its name was Leon? Leon Leon Leon. Nice and short, easy to remember. "Leon," he murmured, happy that it was easy to say. Pi-cees, that was a weirder name. The name for the cold room. The room where he owed something.

But Leon asked him a good question. If things had names, then so did he. He blinked rapidly, frowning. "Ff....floor...uhm. Floren....se?" That was the name that came to him at first, a name he liked. But when he rolled the name over in his head, he said, "No." He sighed and tried again. "Ff...fir-firen-firenze." Yes, that was better. "Firenze. I am Firenze." His tail twitched. He really liked the name.

He looked at the room, safe in Leon's paws. His eyes weren't awful and blurry anymore, and now that hw was okay, he admitted that the room was kind of pretty. "Leon...lives here? But- but cold. Why?"

:')

The image was vaguely reminiscient of when he had found Makyna. The lioness was born in the cold, too; her thin fur made it difficult for her to tolerate the icy cold of the snowy tunnel, and Leon had found her there and warmed her. He embraced the lioness in a gentle heat that emanated from his skin, soothing, healing - that was what his fire should be used for. It should be used to heal, not to harm; and yet the bear was victim to his own emotions, suffering of his own fury that would unleash pain and burning upon any that defied him. It was a tragic fate, and sometimes he wished he'd been blessed with a magic that couldn't hurt others. All he could do was try control it the best he could.

The bear gazed down at the little coyote, a small smile painted upon his lips as he watched the subtle details of the tiny creature change; his quiet breathing, inhaling and exhaling the strange new smells of the cave, his expression as he tested the bear's name, Leon. His round ears presses against his head, nodding as the child pronounced it. Then, he proceeded to attempt his own name. It took a few tries and at first the coyote found a name, but shook it away, deciding that it was not the one he wanted. There was a different one and soon the coyote produced a new name of his own, Firenze. The bear liked that name - it was fitting. "Its a very strong name, Firenze." The bear chuffed proudly.

Before long, the babe was looking around the cave again, probing for answers. Why did Leon live here in the cold? Ideally, the bear would live in a place not so moist and chilly. He didn't like the near constant moisture in his fur, but he accepted his fate as it was. "I live here because this is where my friends and family have chosen to live." He explained. "There's other Gembounds like you and me, and some of them are very important to me. I want to live where they live, even if it's cold and wet." Leon rolled his shoulders. "If it makes them happy to live here, then I'm happy too." With that the bear smiled and gave one final nod, looking down at Firenze. "There are other places in the cave that aren't as cold. I can show you if you like."

(post finished haha)

Firenze listened as the big Leon explained why it was here. He grinned when Leon called his name strong. He could be strong, he thought. He could make the Leon proud. Perhaps he could brave the cold pain and be strong.

His eyes widened at the thought of there being other ones here in the cold room, ones like Leon. He wanted to meet the other Leons, for surely they would be as kind.

"I...meet more Leons?" He asked hesitantly, the words difficult in his mouth. "But want...warm."

He paused, then stood up and peeked his head and paws back into the cold, his fur standing on edge in response, his skin tense and kind of prickly. But there wasn't any pain. He could be strong. Slowly he made his way out of Leon's embrace and fully into the cold and let himself adjust, eyes furrowed and closed. It was uncomfortable, but not horrible.

He opened his eyes again, grinning. "Go?"

The bear smiled proudly and nodded. Yes, more Leons! For a brief moment - it was barely noticeable - he felt a moment of doubt and worry. As of right now, he wasn't *technically* a Leon. He was a runt - that was the cruel fate the jury had given him for his crime of 'aggravated assault'. It wasn't that Leon didn't think he didn't deserve it, of course he did. But Cancer had to suffer exile; his wounds were healed almost by miracle and he would suffer through his punishment in solitude. Leon's injuries were still crusting over, and he'd been stripped of his rank. Bevy - Calypso - had deemed him a Runt, and while Leon had been trying to smother his pride and accept his punishment, it was hard remembering that he no longer had the authority over younger members he once did. His only respite was that the person he spoke to most, Makyna, neglected to call him Runt as his rank dictated. That, and he rarely spoke to anybody else. He was always out patrolling the surrounding caves, desperate to redeem himself, and when he did speak to others they thankfully avoided calling him anything. It was but a passing concern; Leon would swallow his pride.

The child was seemingly stuck between wanting to meet the other Leons, and retaining his warmth. He still slipped free of the bear's grasp and Leon let him go, watching carefully over the child before rising to his paws. He shook out his thick fur and set his shoulders back, glancing down at Firenze as he expressed his eagerness to get going. "Yes, we'll go find some more Leons! But first, I have a secret for you." The bear grinned and raised one of his paws to show Firenze. Heat still radiated from him, a natural byproduct of the fire burning beneath his skin. "If what I'm thinking is correct, you're like me, you can make fire. Hot. Right?" He asked, bringing his paw in close so Firenze could feel the heat. "You try and make the heat with your paws! It'll warm you up. Then we'll go find some other Leons, okay?" He would rather the child be comfortable than have the cold biting at his paws while they walked.

( ok @Firenze post done! Next post i'll tag some MW peeps to join in!)