Scanning the grass that wavered all around him, tall and dark and foreboding in the misty forest, Leon had just barely caught sight of a small white head poking up over the fronds. He zeroed in on the little cub, watching as she quickly fell back beneath the grasses. Then, a voice rang into the air, small and innocent and frightened. Parental instincts kicked into overdrive and Leon charged forward, making a beeline for the little cub. He didn't even think about how his approach could have sounded scary, only that once he finally reached her, he burst through the grass with wide-eyes scanning for any potential danger. "ARE YOU OKAY?? WHO'S GONNA HURT YOU? I'LL TEAR 'EM A NEW ONE!" The bear puffed up, fervently glancing around in search of the potential threat to the little bear cub.

Unfortunately, it seemed the fearsome display Leon had drummed up was all for naught. Or maybe it wasn't so unfortunate after all - the bear took a glance around and found no immediate threat to the child, and even though her small laugh had spawned some kind of slight paranoia, he was quickly reassured when she began to explain that she had recently emerged out here all alone. She was frightened by the swamp, the massive room that encased it that was often dark and misty. The bear furrowed his brow slightly and took another look around. Yeah, he supposed it could be construed as being a little creepy.

Orange eyes shifted back to her, watching her sit down upon tearing that she was tough. More so, she announced she had hatched with no parents or siblings. What a strange observation to make for a child. "Nobody really does," He said first, blinking at her. "well, most of us don't, at least. You don't have to be afraid though. I can protect you from the big scary things that lurk in the swamp." The bear added with a huff, leaning back onto his rump and smiling brightly. Even if he didn't have to defend her from anything, Leon couldn't deny the protective instinct that came over him at the sight of the bear cub. It had been the same with Grimmloch - and he imagined it was the same for Makyna with other lions. "My name's Leon. What's yours?"

Strange, she spoke with all the wisdom of a Gembound who'd lived in the caves just as long as he had. But she was small and most certainly a child - then again, he'd met freshly hatched Gembounds who could speak and form coherent thoughts. For a second, he found himself doubting his intelligence level. Maybe Makyna was just happy doing the thinking for both of them. He shoved those thoughts away and turned his attention back to the bear cub, uttering a small laugh at her quip about parents. She still had the speech impairment of a child, so that was reassuring at least. "It's nice to meet you too, Lilli." He added, leaning back on his haunches. "I can't imagine anybody would really like being alone, but you're right. You are like me!" The bear chuckled again.

She approached and Leon held his ground, grinning widely as she nuzzled her face into his side. "I can teach you all about fighting and hunting. Ah - my fiance probably could too! I think you'd like her, her name is Makyna." The bear added with a chuckle. He rose to his paws again and turned, beginning to walk back in the direction from which he'd come. But... he still needed to find the group that lived here. Leon paused for a second, thoughtful. "If you stick by me, you can learn all about the caves and who lives here. Actually, I came here on Serious Political Business - would you like to come with me to meet with the group that lives here in Cetus?" He asked, hoping he could kill two birds with one stone on this trip to the swampy room.