(i left it ambiguous as to who else was in the den, so feel free to say they were there with leon, or not, up to you guys!)

Sure enough, Leon was slumbering quite happily away in the den. It had been an early morning spent catching a load of fish for the rest of his groupmates to eat - well, mostly Makyna, but then he got carried away - and when it was all said and done, the bear found himself hauling all the fish back to the center of the cave, near the waterfall, where the moisture of the roaring cascade would keep the fish wet and fresh while permeating the smell through the room. The pile was there for anyone and everyone to take if they were hungry, and then Leon decided that it was time to sleep. So off he went, lumbering back up to the ledges and into the den where he and Makyna and the children resided.

He fell asleep easily, and woke up even easier. Merely the sound of feet on the ground followed by the clacking of hooves had caused his eyes to peel open, bright orange trying to make sense of the fuzzy images approaching the opening. Then the voice came crawling through the silence, confirming who Leon thought it might be. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and raised his thick, heavy head in a wide bear yawn before pulling himself to his paws. "Hey kiddo." The bear rumbled with a dozy grin, only managing to take a few steps towards the entrance before sliding back down onto his stomach. "Who's your friend?" The words sounded vaguely familiar, if a little like deja vu. He furrowed his brow slightly but shook the feeling off. This wouldn't be like Carrie again.

She followed her friend with the innocence of one just born - she had no doubts about him, she trusted him without even knowing what that trust even meant. Her adventures always ended up well, and she was always surrounded by friends while she was traversing the dreams - it was just the adventure that was full of danger! So she kept her eyes open while she walked, still leaning very heavily on her friend. She would get the hang of this walking business....eventually.

And when they came to where the parents were supposed to be, and her friend called out to them, she peered at the entrance with a skeptical look, thinking of all the things a 'parent' could be. Maybe it was some tentacled thing? Or maybe it was someone small and wise, ready to tell them how to find lost treasure of the waterfall! She had no idea, and the myriad of possibilities made her giddy! Then, slowly, out lumbered a great big giant person that made her mouth go wide open. Wow- even sitting down this big, battle-scarred guy was huge! Of all the things she had thought of, this was the best, she thought! He looked really nice for a 'parent'.

He asked who she was. He wanted her name.

Her ears fell flat against her head all of a sudden, dread in her child heart.

There....there were....so many choices. No, no no no, there were too many choices! She could be called anything, anything at all, and she could search for days, weeks, months, years before she could find the perfect one that suited he--

"Thistle," She said. That was it. There was no other choice.

Okay.

....She brightened up. What a nice name!

Thistle came out with a name and he put it to his memory, a bit embarrassed that he hadn't thought to ask it. He hadn't even told her his name! Abruptly, he leaned towards the antelope and let out a hasty, mumbling group of words, "I'm-umm--Baroque and this is my daddy, Leon."

Baroque stared up at his now properly introduced dad, a genuine smile across his face in the innocent moment of joy. He tromped right up to his dad and plopped his rump down next to his big bear father's muzzle, leaning back on to his haunches. His front paws went in the air as he began to speak, his soft voice growing more eager and excited with every word.

"Y-yeah! Thistle was over by the waterfall and she hatched there and it was scary because she was right by the, um, the slippery bit! I didn't see her parents around anywhere, so I helped her get away from the bad spot and I thought... Um... That you might want to meet her!"

The bear placed his big fat paws side by side, bright orange eyes flickering between the two young Gembounds. First he examined the young gazelle, sending her a warm smile as he attempted to determine where she had come from. She looked fairly small, and it would probably be easy to assume that she was freshly hatched, but Leon didn't want to make any assumptions. He turned his gaze then to Baroque, his son, who seemed to have lightened up in the presence of this hoofed animal. Of course, the hooves did render him somewhat weary, but if she was young, then it was very possible that Vazi hadn't yet gotten the chance to wrap his shadows around her... and he was smiling. Baroque was smiling.

The girl gave them a name and Leon brightened even further. Baroque had quickly moved in, speaking his name and introducing Leon; while the bear wanted to utter a small laugh, he remained silent, only smiling. "It's nice to meet you, Thistle." The bear answered. As Baroque came running up to him and plopped right down next to him, Leon raised his head and listened attentively to his son's story. "Oh..." He arched his brows as the grizzlion went into great detail about how they met, confirming his suspicions that she was a fresh hatch, and informing him that he had helped her get away from the bad slippery spot where she may have tumbled into the water. His lips drew back into a wider grin. "You saved her! My son, you are a hero. My little hero." Leon beamed, sitting upright as he raised his paw and proudly papped Baroque on the flat of his skull, mussing up his brown fringe.

"Well, I'm very glad you introduced us. Do you like it here, Thistle? There's a lot to explore. Perhaps Barry could show you around." The bear added, turning his eyes to the gazelle again with that very same warm smile.

@Thistle

Thistle watched a grinned as the two of them spoke and showed affection towards each other. So her friend was Baroque? She tried out the name, sounding it out silently with her lips, trying to get the sound of it right in her head before she spoke it. And Baroque's papa was named Leon, who was big and nice and very mature looking! She could see the resemblance between the two, even if Baroque did have very differing qualities in him. If Leon was Baroque's parent, did that mean Thistle had some parents too?

Maybe she and Baroque could go on a quest to go and find them! The thought made her become excited! Oh, what grand adventures they could have in their journey to find them!

And when Leon said Baroque was a hero, Thistle nodded emphatically. "Heee-ro! Bawo- Baro- Hero!"

"Yes!" She replied to Leon very seriously. "Laahh-laike-like it a- lot." Then she moved over to Baroque and leaned on him just as he was leaning on Leon. "Like Baro."

Leon couldn't help but smile and laugh as Thistle crooned about liking it a lot, and then about how much she liked Baroque, which he assumed was equally as much. "That's good! I'm very glad to hear that." He answered, reaching forward and ruffling the fur atop his son's head. "I'm happy to hear that Baroque has found such a good friend." And then the bear rolled forward onto his paws, careful not to let Baroque fall over as the hybrid was leaning against him. He stretched his limbs, shook out his heavy pelt, and cast a glance back at the two children. "I'm hungry! What about you guys? Why don't we go find some grub?" He didn't much wait for an answer, and he didn't really know if the children had already eaten, but he was going to get something to eat regardless. They were free to follow him or not; his tummy was rumbling, and he needed food. With a snirk, the bear lurched forward towards the mouth of the den, making his way down to the main area of the waterfall room.

exit Leon

Baroque's ears perked at the word grub, his tail twitching all the way up to his shoulders-- though it still hung a bit lower than he might have liked because of how heavy it was. He grinned like an absolute dork, wriggling, and he bounded after his big bear of a dad.

"Comm'on, This'!" He told his brand new friend, excited to get something to eat. He wasn't the best at fishing, but hopefully his dad wouldn't try to give him an embarrassing lesson in front of Thistle. Perhaps he was too hungry to wait for his clumsy baby to catch something on his own. He hoped, anyway. Did Thistle even eat fish? She had weird, flat teeth.

Not that that was a problem, but his baby mind had noticed the small thing, and it made him wonder as he went prancing after his daddy.

;; baro exit @Thistle

"Fuh-Fuuu-" She tried to mimic the word, making the sound like she was whistling, or blowing a raspberry. "Fooo-wend - Fuend, Friend!" She said happily. Both Leon and Baro were going out the open arch of the cave entrance, in search of something called 'grub', and even though she didn't know what it was, Baro sure was enthusiastic about it! He called her by a shorter version of her name, and she thought it was cute!

She followed the two of them out of the den, dancing on her still-wobbly feet, bowing her head here and there when her knees wanted to give way, just so. This was all so exciting and fun, much better than being asleep!
[exit Thistle]