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Black tagged along obediently, trotting alongside and slightly behind his Fisher friend. He listened without speaking, and moved with ease along the familiar rocky floor of Orion. He'd spent some time here--snuffling about, around the throne and the strange building-like structures; he knew the place well enough. And truly, there was no reason to speak. Fisher was the one who knew this stranger, and Black was hardly the sort of gembound to bother with unnecessary words.

He simply followed, his massive head swinging slowly to and fro to keep a pale blue-grey gaze out for any potential danger, his lumbering gait carrying him alongside Fisher like an oversized, clumsy bodyguard.

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If the brown not-prey thing had chosen any other time, he might've missed the chance to see the black panther as he roamed his star-spangled city. Luckily, the leopard had just returned from a hunting trip to Eridanus. He'd spent little time there before catching a large, seed-heavy rat. It had served as a small meal to keep him going before his return to Orion's soft lit throne. It was there that Cancer took a chance to nap- but sleep wouldn't come. Instead, a familiar voice. Fisher!

At the brown boy's call, Cancer rose to his feet, the shift of metal plates ignored as he clambered up and onto one of the walls. Balancing there, he spied the pair and despite Black's prescence, Cancer allowed himself a wide grin.

"Fisher!" He all but purred, taking just a second to shimmy down the wall and onto the streets, trotting over to meet his estranged friend half-way. He bowed down and then settled to lay on the stone floor, getting down to his furry friend's height. He rolled onto his side and reached out, playful with a gentle paw towards the fisher's face. "You brown weasel-rat, where've you been?" His tone was all fondness and glee- it had been a long few weeks since he'd last seen a friendly face like this. Sure, he'd had that run in with Leon, but that had hardly been good times.

For the time being, the leopard found it comfortable to ignore the black dog, though the behavior he was displaying was hardly rude or intentionally ignorant- he was simply excited to see a dear friend, too excited to pay much mind to a stranger.

"Speech"

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Tags: @Fisher @Black

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Black merely listened, and watched. He hung back, legs straight and motionless on the stone, ears pricked so that they only accentuated the size of his overly-large mastiff head. Pale eyes flicked between Fisher and Cancer, warily alert.

He stayed some distance away, however, not speaking, not interfering. He was ready to burst forward and into action should violence erupt, but so far, despite the black leopard's large size and obvious familiarity with their surroundings, the creature didn't seem liable to attack. In fact, it seemed friendly.

Between watching the two like a silent shadow, Black watched their surroundings, though he didn't turn his head much to do so. He just listened, and watched.

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Fisher wormed his way between Cancer's front paws and the cat hugged him closer as he rolled the pair over. Since his map had shattered, he had little need to worry about the contents of his bag- he'd been hard at work carving a new map on the walls of the Throne. He didn't need that old thing anymore- so without a second thought, he settled on his back with the fisher on his chest, front paws draped around his tiny hips like a blanket of black fur and dark, scarred skin pads.

At the mention of Black, Cancer turned to glance at the dog with a polite nod of recognition- thankful that Fisher had found himself a protector. He grinned back at the brown mustelid, giddy with anticipation to tell him all about his adventures since leaving Pisces behind.

"Oh, you know, the usual- adopted a cub, fought a dragon, survived mortal peril- that sort of thing." He mused almost casually, cheesy grin on his face as he spoke. "Even saw Leon since the fight. Brown bitch was all 'oh woo boo hoo, lets not fight no more, boo hoo', so we're cool as it gets now." He rolled his shoulders in a shrug. It wasn't true- not really- the two were still at odds with each other, but no longer in the murderously hateful way they'd been before. Leon had done no such sucking up, and Cancer had not been the one deciding if they got along- but the truth was there. They weren't enemies anymore. Not friends, surely, but not trying to kill each other over some dumb bitch.

"How's things in the hell hole?" The slur didn't sound right to him. Pisces had been his home, whether he liked the people there now or not. He'd been chased out- but he longed to return and reclaim his seat of power, even if it meant chasing all of his enemies out himself. He had intentions about that, but nothing he planned to bring to fruit any time soon. He might never need to, after all- being on better terms with Leon meant he was better liked by the bear than the bitch who'd betrayed him. She was the only one who hated him now- and that suited him just fine. "Bevy leading things okay? Quix still there?"

"Speech"

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Tags: @Fisher

Fisher told him what he wanted to know and Cancer eased himself to be more relaxed, a paw absently stroking the musti's back idly. He hummed in recognition at the bit about Makyna- of course she'd apologize to Fisher, but refuse to even consider the same for himself. Stupid bitch. The cat sighed as Fisher continued, chest rising and falling with the breath. What he said next gave Cancer a hint of hope. He liked it better in Orion? Would... could he be persuaded to stay? The black cat rather liked that idea, was fond of Fisher's company.

"You could always stick around, y'know. The city offers us plenty of places to hide from unwanted company." The offer rolled off his tongue too easily, eager to have that sense of familiarity again, that soft and gentle love of a friend that actually understood. He grinned back at the brown thing, toothy and charming. "Your dog can stay too. We'll both protect you."

"Speech"

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Tags: @Fisher

Black, like a good bodyguard (or a good dog), was mostly ignoring the two. Not in a rude way, no--he was leaving them to their own devices, letting them have their privacy. Now and again he glanced at Cancer--when Fisher got close to him, or when "your dog" was mentioned--impassively. For the most part, though, he turned his back and let them speak.

He wandered to the side of the throne, instead. He'd been here before, tried to cast magic on it, and failed. Maybe he could sense it, this time? Try to see its secrets, as he had with the wall-carvings?

He lifted one paw to it, one ear cocked back toward the quiet conversation behind him, and just did his own thing while the two spoke.

He felt the faint tingle of magic as it fluttered in his chest, the pulse and throb of arcane energy flowing through him. What would he see? His eyes unfocused, and then closed, and he went rather still, probably unobtrusive, as Fisher spoke to Cancer.

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