Life is precious.

Makyna watched as the bear cub came closer and warmed up his paws. There, that should help. The little capybara should be able to feel her leg again and all would be well! At least that was how she envisioned it in her mind but in reality things didn't turn out so happily. Leon used his magick to warm her leg but Carrie didn't feel it. The lioness wanted to implore the gembound to let Leon keep trying but she just shook her head and wanted to get up. Makyna looked at Leon with a helpless expression. Was there nothing they could do?

She stood up and backed away from the capybara to give her room to stand. The capybara looked unsteady at first but before she could move back in to help it cracked. "It" being her leg. It... just cracked like a piece of ice! Makyna's blue eyes widened in a combination of shock, dread, and hopelessness. In her gut she felt a twist of anguish for the younger girl. How could this happen? All they had wanted to do was practice magick! This was terrible! Perhaps they shouldn't practice magick that was too powerful or dangerous... Perhaps that was the terrible lesson to be learned today.

The lioness' eyes locked with the capybara's but she didn't know what to do, didn't know what to say, didn't know what to think. Her mouth opened then closed again as words refused to come out. What were they supposed to do about it? Her leg had just cracked open but no blood came it was just... Ice. Did they get rid of it? Did they try to... well, there was no fixing it. That much was obvious now. Perhaps they should get rid of it.

Her gaze turned to Leon. Her thoughts reaching out to his without a moment's hesitation. "Do we have to take her leg? It won't get better and it's..." Well, she didn't have to say what it had done. That much was obvious. Those words she sent to Leon were what she couldn't dare say to Carrie. She felt it would just make things worse.

"Speech." || "Thoughts."

table by lisa

words: 359
tagged: Carrie, Leon
ooc: --
muse: 5/10

It was too late - by the time Leon had committed himself to trying again, all the magic in his paws had faded away into nothingness. There was no heat left, just the body warmth that occurred naturally to him. Granted he ran at a higher temperature than most anyways, it still wouldn't be enough to help the capybara. Leon froze, watching wide-eyed as Carrie decided that she just wanted to stand up. Before he could do anything to stop her, she was already getting up. Leon glanced at Makyna again and brought both fore-paws up to his mouth, nervously scratching at his face while Carrie struggled to stand. Then, a sudden crrraack - and everyone froze.

If Leon's eyes could go any wider, they'd probably pop right out of his head. He stared at the frozen limb that now bore a deep crack near the borders of the frostbite. His own heart pounded deafeningly, and he feared it was loud enough that everyone else could hear. When a voice entered his head, he glanced to Makyna. He knew it was hers, and it was instinct that he turned to look at her, mulling over her words. Did she seriously just suggest... Leon looked back at Carrie's leg and his heart sank. Even if they could thaw her leg again, that crack would have done irreparable damage to the tissue. Even if they did fix the leg, it would still be deeply wounded with a thick gash... assuming the tissue would be usable at all after being frozen solid. She was right. They would probably have to remove it.

The bear sucked in a slow breath, struggling to remain calm. He never thought he'd have to do something like this. Like, ever. "Carrie... maybe you should.. lay down again..." The bear mumbled stiffly. He glanced back at Makyna, just to double check that they were both on the same page. He'd find a way to remove the leg if he had to, but he didn't want to jump the gun. Severing limbs was kind of a big deal.

Thump Thump The female stared at the lioness, then over to the bear. It didn't sure anymore, but why did it feel like an ache was pulling at her leg. She tried to be strong, trying to pull herself together as a silent conversation seemed to go on but no lips moved. Thump Thump Could they hear her heart racing? All this time Carrie had held still, not wishing to hear another crack but all her attention turned to Leon when he finally broke the silence. "Carrie... maybe you should.. lay down again..." Should she? Hesitating at first, she lowered herself down onto the hip of the good leg; letting the frozen one leg out in front. It wasn't like she could bend it anyway, and she didn't want to try. The poor little thing fought back more tears, barely since a few made their way out and down her cheeks but in the end she stopped the tears. What was she going to do now? Warm brown eyes turned to Makyna, "Can we . . can we still go see the other rooms?" After. She wanted to think about something other then this situation at this time. Anything was better then the current one. ------------ "Speechy speechy speech." ooc: the feels ;3;

Life is precious.

Makyna's eyes met Leon's after she had transferred the words. He said nothing, didn't even nod, but she knew that he'd agreed. They were good at this silent conversation thing and sometimes she fancied she could even feel what he did as far as emotions went. Her own emotions weren't as easy to decipher. It seemed like it would be good to remove the leg because what use was it now? It couldn't be thawed, it wasn't moveable, it had a huge crack to boot. It was a dead weight and for some reason... Makyna got the feeling that it was dead. Nothing could save it so taking it would be better. On the other paw she thought it would be wrong to take the limb without asking first but if they asked would Carrie agree? Or would she try to struggle on with a dead limb? This was too much! Why did this have to happen at all?

Her stomach was twisting into knots of indecision, guilt, anguish, sadness... A little bit of everything was thrown into it. Her eyes turned to Leon after he asked that question and she gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod. Yes, they had to do this. The lioness walked over to Carrie and lay down halfway across her. The leg was still exposed to Leon but would probably be partly out of view from the capybara. "Of course! We'll take you to see all the rooms, it'll be great fun!" The lioness said with a smile but the smile didn't reach her eyes and her voice shook with the great feelings in her gut. Something was obviously wrong.

"Hey, Carrie... before we see the other rooms there's something we need to do first." She couldn't just tell Leon to take away her leg without letting her know first. "Your leg... I think it's.. it's..." Dead. She couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. "Not working. It might be easier to..." Her head lowered and she said in an almost inaudible whisper. "Leave it." With that she glanced at Leon.

"Speech." || "Thoughts."

table by lisa

words: 347
tagged: Carrie, Leon
ooc: Omg... this thread ;.;
muse: 5/10

While Makyna got to work comforting the capybara and trying to prevent her from looking at her leg any further, Leon shuffled back, hanging near her frozen limb. He had received confirmation from Makyna that the plan was to remove her leg, but Leon still found himself hesitating. He wasn't sure exactly how to do this. He had no idea. All fire could do was burn, could it do more than that? Could it sever a limb? The thought alone frightened him, and whether or not he could do it was even more terrifying.

The lioness lowered her voice and delivered the news to Carrie. Once she had whispered those dreadful words, Leon took it as his cue to get to work. He didn't wait for Carrie to answer - he couldn't, because this had to be done, and if she cried and begged him to stop it would only make him feel worse. He had to do it before she had a chance to react. So, the boy summoned all his head again. He could feel it pulsing through his veins, beginning to accumulate in his limbs. For a brief moment, he feared that his spell would backfire and he would befall the same fate as Carrie. But no - Leon had to be confident. He knew he could do this. He had to, for Carrie's sake.

Holding his breath, Leon squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his paws to Carrie's leg again, at the junction of the frozen tissue and where it remained untouched. All of his focus went onto her, and he shut out everything else. Time for this leg to go.

Post Roll Edit:
His skin was getting hotter and hotter, even moreso than when he usually used his magic. It was beginning to burn him, but mostly he could feel the heat begin to cut through the capybara's unresponsive flesh. Magic burned through the limb, almost like lava; it destroyed the tendons and muscle that connected to the bone, fizzling through the tough tissue. The smell of burning skin and hair filled the room, filled his nose; it burned his paws too, and he gritted his teeth, trying to hold out as long as he could. Finally, the heat had eaten away at her frozen limb; once it detached, it dropped to the ground, leaving the open wound an ugly surface of seared flesh. But he persisted - he covered the amputation with his paws, feeling the skin and tissue and bone sizzle beneath his touch until it had successfully cauterized.

Once the job was done, Leon uttered a small cry and pulled away from her. The skin of his paw pads had begun to smoke, his own flesh charred. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes as he backed away, staring in shock at what he'd done. All he could do was fall onto his rump and nurse his paws, lost for words. He sympathized for the capybara, but he knew no amount of sympathy could possibly match what she had just gone through.

Long breaths, that was what she tried to focus on. Long deep breaths, calm thoughts and imagining the new things she would discover in the caves. "Of course! We'll take you to see all the rooms, it'll be great fun!" Yes fun, fun was something the young female wanted now. Not this. Eyes darted to her leg but quickly away. It looked like it should start hurting, like it should hurt, but no. Nothing. She felt nothing but numbness. Nuzzling her nose softly into Ky's fur, listening to when she spoke again. "Hey, Carrie... before we see the other rooms there's something we need to do first." Do what? Ears flicked up in alert at the statement. "Your leg... I think it's.. it's..." Dead. She couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. "Not working. It might be easier to... leave it." A chill crawled down her spine with a mix of confusion. A part of her understood, but she was still so young to want to except the idea. Leave her leg. Was that going to happen? Turning to face Leon now as the lioness turned their attention to him before. The poor thing whimpered lightly as she watched him come closer with his paw extended forward. She felt nothing on the leg that was frozen, but could still feel the pressure on the still awake flesh from his weight and the warmth from him. "Please don't . . ." Her tiny voice cracked, fearing for it to hurt again. Body tensed up at the heat to her flesh. When the sleeping leg broke off, she began to feel a stinging pain; but that pain was replaced with a hot touch. Oh it hurt, it hurt so much! Her gem glowed weakly as a result, unaware she cast a spell in her pain. Nothing dangerous, but it made her feel safer somehow. The rodent berried her face into the next of Makyna, crys were muffled. --------- "Speechy speechy speech." OOC: D8 omg I am so bad!

Blue eyes focused intently on Carrie as her words sank in. The lion cub's head pushed against Carrie's as she attempted to provide support and comfort in her own feline-like way. The capybara tried to turn her attention to the bear as he began his work and Makyna attempted to lean further over as to block her view. She didn't need to see this. It would only make it worse. "Please don't . . ." That nearly broke her heart and her resolve to help in this way but it was the only way. A frozen leg would be of no use, it was obvious with how the young gembound couldn't even feel it anymore. Makyna's tongue rasped over Carrie's nose and gem gently. "Shhh..." The lioness said softly. The little creature needed to focus on something else besides the bear cutting her leg away. Perhaps she could help in that regard...

The lioness focused her magic outwards, around the tunnel. Whispered voices began to make themselves known around the cave but they weren't scary or malevolent voices. They were calming and beautiful. Some were high-pitched, others lower to create a symphony of sound in a sort of song. That was Ky's attempt to give Carrie something else to focus on, something beautiful. Ky herself needed something else to focus on too as the smell of burning hair and the whimpers of pain were getting to her.

The lioness rasped her tongue once more over the creature cowering in her fur before she began to hum along with the symphony of sound, creating her own little melody to go along with the whispers.

___________________________________________________________________

words: 270
tagged: Carrie, Leon
ooc: ---
muse: 5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

His heart pounded wildly in his chest. When the capybara's small voice begged for him not to unleash his heat upon her leg, his heart twisted, and his stomach felt as heavy as lead. This was probably going to be among the most painful things she would ever experience. Nobody deserved to feel this kind of pain, not so early in their lives, anyways. His heart reached out to her, and when he had finally severed the leg, he was recoiled from the burning pain and stared at the seared stump that was once an intact limb. Carrie cried, her sobs muffled by Makyna's fur. Even Leon was on the verge of tears, with no idea of what to make of the situation. He stared, his mind numb. Then, quiet voices began to fill the room.

The sound rose in harmonic waves. It echoed between the walls of the tunnel, quiet and moderate and metered. It was soothing, a fair distraction from the pain he had just unleashed on the capybara. Leon himself fell silent, sniffling once and then tearing his eyes away, listening to the quiet songs that lulled his wild heart. Makyna's voice would soon fill the gap in the interwoven whispers, a gentle hum to the melody of the voices. He blinked away the wetness in the corner of his eyes and slowly pulled himself to his feet. First, he awkwardly took the frozen leg in his jaws and nestled it behind some rocks, out of sight. Then Leon slunk around Makyna, stopping to stand on the other side of Carrie. There, he slid onto his stomach, pressing his shoulder against her side in an attempt to comfort her, while listening to his friend's lullaby. They shouldn't stay here for long, but Leon wasn't going to push them to leave. Not yet.