{ art by fennecfyre } ~ { table by aura . edited by banshee }

{ art by fennecfyre } ~ { table by aura . edited by banshee }

There felt an estranged distance between himself and those he had called his friends. Whatever it was brewing in him, he didn't know if it was his own, or someone else's. It had made him feel so strange. It pushed him through an entire whirlwind of emotions. There had been happiness and joy, and when he felt it, it was powerful. There was belonging. And then there was dismay and grief and shame, and finally that feeling of unbelonging, and it was just as powerful. He was cursed to feel these things even if he wasn't the originator of them, and when they arose in him, they grew and swelled until they overtook his entirety. It was easy for him to be consumed by his feelings, and that had become clear when he caught Makyna's eye and noticed the injury he'd caused in not sitting with her - and then the bear was left to wallow in guilt while she moved on.

Vazi had greeted him, but Leon had barely noticed the other deer's words. As much as he attempted to shrug away the feelings by sitting with somebody else, they invaded his mental space anyways. Leon diverted his eyes and let his shoulders slump. He'd been intrigued by the prospect of a game, but now it just felt tortuous to have to sit here and watch everybody else have fun while he struggled with his emotions. He barely paid attention to the goings on of the game; when Makyna had gone first, he did flick his eyes up briefly, only to look away again. Majesty accepted a truth, then Vazi a dare, and then Cancer a dare. Leon had been content to sit by himself and observe, but apparently the leopard would have none of that.

He belted out a song, and right away had come sauntering up to Leon, shoving his stupid cat face in his. The bear withdrew, curling a lip at the feline's antics. Leon couldn't help but listen to the song, he sang it so loud - why a song? More over, why did Cancer have to shove it all in his face? He seemed to go around to a few others in the circle, but time and time again returned to Leon. His slowly growing frown betrayed his mounting fury. That guilt and sadness was quick to ignite into something more powerful, he'd learn soon enough, until Cancer decided to tempt fate and launch his paws onto his shoulders. At that point, Leon grunted and curled his lips back, revealing a full set of gleaming teeth. A low rumble had brewed in his chest, and heat began to ease its way from between his teeth - he couldn't help the arm that began to crank back, starving to slap the cat face out of his own. Slowly rising onto his hind legs, Leon felt himself commanded by his rage - he lunged forward at Cancer, snapping his teeth loudly, but the leopard had already backed away.

Leon's front paws landed with a thud back on the ground. That snarl seemed permanently embedded on his face, watching as Cancer sauntered back, spun the crystal, and by some cruel twist of fate, landed on him. But no. Leon had had enough of this. "Eat shit, Cancer."

The words had come from his lips without any prior intent. Eyes widened, startled by the ferocity with which he'd responded - and then his brows furrowed once more, and he whirled away from the group. Embarrassment and anger drove him away. It burned in him, through his skin, through his stinging eyes, his furiously beating heart. Had he been more sound of mind, he would have shot a poisonous thought at Makyna, but the bear couldn't even articulate that. His brain was a mess of fuzzy and fast thoughts, clamoring for attention. He galloped away, only trying to focus on getting as far away from the group as possible.

{ art by fennecfyre } ~ { table by aura . edited by banshee }