For too long a moment, it seemed as if he'd been found out. A second later, however, Fang laughed it off. Cancer smiled, a genuinely amused expression as he watched her gather her things. She spoke of making doubly sure, and he felt a bitter resentment bubble up- she didn't know how right she was. Instead of voicing it, he nodded in agreement with a short hum.

"Best of luck, Thief Queen." He purred back at her as she scurried away. He watched her go with perked ears and a stoic expression, but as her shadow faded into the darkness of the tunnels, he couldn't help but smile, a darker expression than any he'd worn before. That... that was easy. He'd lied, for possibly the first time in his life, and suddenly, a whole new world of opportunity had opened up for him. If she was the queen of something...

She'd come back some day soon, and he'd have to think of an excuse for why she wouldn't find a leopard or a bear together in Polaris- easily done, though. He could make up some false tale of finding them dead himself, crushed by rocks, bodies eaten and thus, bones given to the Bonebound, stones lost to the piles they'd died in. Yes, that sounded fair. As he concocted the idea, he turned back to his pouch and removed the gem shard.

Tiny black obsidian rested like blue jade against his ashen paw pads. He rolled it between his toes for a moment, examining it.

Leon's shard.

And now he had two.

"Speech"