when i was a child i heard voices

some would sing and some would scream

αριστερά . κέντρο . δεξιά

This cat, Kerberos realized very quickly, was as dangerous as the wolf and the lion. Yes, this was a full adult, fighting him-- just a young pup protecting the younger cub in the back-- and he would have to do whatever it took. Fear trickled down his spine; this was not a fight for food, this was a fight for survival. To protect. To live.

As soon as the pop went off, Kerberos let out a sharp snarl, his floppy-eared head turning to his duplicate. "Protect her," he snapped, pain washing through his fur, familiar and hot. Where had he felt this before? He didn't know, not at first, but he would soon remember it. As one head controlled the large energy duplicate, sending it to stand over and protect the kitten, the other two started a short conversation between each other.

"Teeth aren't enough," he whispered, a snarl across his features. "Need to be stronger." He took two deep breaths and started to count down immediately-- there wasn't enough time.

"THREE! TWO! NOW!" The hound bayed, the deep crimson glow on his paw snaking up to his chest. It grew stronger there, as he did his best to mimic Baratheon-- channeling his power into his throat.

And then he let loose the blast of energy from his central mouth. It popped in a similar fashion to Cancer's-- dying in his throat, spreading more radiation-- but it didn't stop him. As long... As long as Artemis was safe.

Leon would never forget the sound.

When the world stopped and everything was stunned, and all he knew was wavering heat. The air had an ethereal glimmer to it. Strange, and the heat, it wasn't like his own. He was afraid of it.

It was just a routine patrol. Leon had gotten back to his feet and was intent on proving himself to his groupmates, proving that he was useful, that he cared, that he wanted to protect them. He wasn't just a vicious monster driven by fury - the bear was ruled by his emotions, and it was his most fatal flaw, but above all that anger, he loved. Everyone and everything deserved to be listened to and considered. They all deserved respect and love, and he had love to spare. He wanted to show them all that he wasn't selfish.

Orion was a familiar place to him, but since his return to Pisces, the bear hadn't seen the starry room. He feared that maybe Zetos would be lost in the darkess and stars, but even the leopard had returned to him, giving him no reason to visit the starry room again. There were quiet rumors that maybe this was where Cancer had fled, and that was part of the reason why the bear had refrained from taking that tunnel, for fear that he would see the feline again - fear that he would loathe Leon for what he'd done, fear that they would fight, and maybe this time, Cancer's blade would land true. He avoided the room until his better judgment convinced him otherwise. He was a weak scout if he couldn't bear to complete his patrol, so he swallowed the fear and went.

It served him right, it really did. He'd fallen into a sense of security after wandering the familiar broken city, remembering the pale crumbling walls and the gleam of crystals in the ceiling. It had been fine. He was safe.

Then the pop- a memory. Leon's eyes widened and his heart froze, snapping his head in the direction of the sound. He couldn't feel the heat, but it was close - waves of radiation again stinging his skin, and Leon snarled, shaking his head. The second pop, and it was gone. It was replaced by shouting. An unfamiliar voice, and the smell of burning hair, Cancer, and someone else. The bear caught his breath and stared down the street, towards the throne. His curiosity had gotten the better of him - he knew the risk of plunging into a fight. He knew the risk of getting caught in the cross fire, but when his emotion suddenly spiked, fear and anger and worry burning at the memory, he couldn't control it.

As he ran, the second pop came. He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking the irritation away. Then it was over. Just in time for him to emerge from the street and his massive limbs to thrust him towards the warring Gembounds. There was Cancer, familiar, loathing - and a three headed dog standing over a young leopard. Leon didn't know what was happening, and his rational mind told him that he should have stood by the cerberus defending the youth. Maybe it was instinct and muscle memory, maybe it was a secret desire for redemption, he didn't know. The bear galloped and approached from Cancer's side, rising up to his hind legs and erupting in a thunderous roar. Emotions flared, attempting to bring light to the onslaught, but only a dim glow came from the depths of his throat. Maybe a failed spell cast. Maybe a precursor to the fire that would come if the three headed dog persisted his assault.

a loud pop—and she blacks out, but her body tries to wake itself up. it serves to make her further defeated, slumped exhaustedly on the floor.

There was another pop, a heated sensation across his skin as he tried to right himself. Cancer spasmed, muscles betraying him, flinching as if to warn him of the damage they'd endured. More coughing, more blood- and then a familiar voice, familiar furred paws entering his vision, as blurred as it was. Leon.

A mixture of anxiety and rage flooded through him. Then, before it could sputter forth, his roar strengthened the anxiety and introduced confusion. He looked up slowly at the towering bear, his gleaming throat, then back at the dog- and for just a second, he was grateful. The cat shuffled himself, half-dragging, half scurrying, around and behind Leon, every movement uncomfortable and frankly painful at times. There, he allowed himself to collapse.

He laid there, panting, for just a moment before looking up at the dog's three heads. The look in his eye was feral, terror-filled. He just wanted to be left alone.

"Speech"

@Kerberos @Artemis @Leon

when i was a child i heard voices

some would sing and some would scream

αριστερά . κέντρο . δεξιά

For a few, brief moments, three heads were absolutely useless. Pain flooded the young pup's senses, blinding white and dizzying spots of quartz. His copy fizzed and faded, destroyed by the blast or just his lack of concentration. The pup stumbled back, his paws struggling to find the newborn. His claws scrapped on granite and finally found the ball of fur-- barely breathing.

The black demon was going to kill her. It was the only thing he knew, as his eyes finally caught a strange... HUGE shape of a new color. His eyes blinked, batting away the painful spinning blurs. The bear, though he could not tell it was a bear, became his new focus as it roared. His still ringing ears laid back against the deafening screech, his three heads suddenly quite the drawback.

The white dog hunkered down over his charge, trembling, lips drawn back in three strong snarls. It was all he could do, dazed and staggered, to protect her.

It seemed the bear had arrived just in time. The tumultuous roar that swept from his lips echoed through the vast starry room, consuming the three creatures before him; Leon wavered on his hind legs, sharp orange eyes pinned to the cerberus as Cancer crawled behind him. Even after his interruption, there was no latent attempt to draw out the assault. Even the three-headed dog had reeled back at the popping and merely hovered over the creature he guarded. A stillness had risen in the quiet, and Leon slowly leaned forward, landing his front paws back on the ground.

The snarl had never left his lips, nor did he look away from the cerberus and the small feline beneath him. Leon didn't know what had happened here, but he did know that he was going to end it. Nobody else would endure the pain that he had to. Nobody would feel the teeth of the cerberus, and nobody would feel the burn of Cancer's radiation; this ended now. "Leave." The bear spat, unyielding before the three-headed dog. The command was meant for him to take his charge, too; the two of them had no place here any more, and if they thought they did, they would have to deal with Leon - though still recovering from his own battle wounds, he was in far greater shape than all of them at present.

too much occurred around her—too much; she could not even dream, this blackness consumed and stuck and pressed around her eyes; she burned, but she cooled with her water... and, were she able to speak, she would have denied him; this, the home she was born in, the home she would be raised in, and who was this man? to take her from this place? but she rested easy, quietly, victim to her oblivion. the roars, the fires, the everything else—sweet nothings to her.

Though later he would be honestly very surprised by Leon's behavior, at that moment, all he could think about was the pain and discomfort- and the humiliation of being saved by his long-time rival. But why?

"Speech"

Super short because he's just layin' there.

@Leon @Kerberos @Artemis

when i was a child i heard voices

some would sing and some would scream

αριστερά . κέντρο . δεξιά

The pain was strong, overwhelming, but a sense of clarity came back to the dog as the bear demanded he leave. Kerberos had never expected any of this... This was his Gateway, his duty was to the place of stars-- how could he leave? Why was this happening? Couldn't they see that the kitten had been born here, that the kitten needed help? How could they be so cruel?

"No," he growled, head low to the ground. His one word of defiance. The red-nosed face would continue.

His middle head inched back just enough to lick at the cub, trying to rouse her. Was she dead? Had he killed her? Frightened for her, he put his forepaw around her, coddling her-- his cold red and yellow stone on his pawpad pressed to her fur. Glowing a pale pink, he tried to bring some life back into her.

"Artemis was just born here-- she's a baby! Why are you attacking us? Bullies! Big bullies with big teeth! It's unfair! Leave us alone! I'll eat you both! I will! I'm not scared of you!" His tail lashed, furious, but his body trembled with the effort to stay standing and help the newborn. There was fear in four eyes-- though the red-nosed, sharp eared head had only a narrowed glare to offer Leon.

"I won't let you hurt her!"

Leon's expression was unchanging. It remained hardened and serious, staring at the cerberus with a stony facade that suggested the bear wasn't about to change his demeanor any time soon. They both relented, and Leon snarled again. The cerberus seemed to think that Leon was attempting to do some injustice to the newborn and himself, but Leon merely shook his head, and at the threat to attack the bear grunted and slammed his paws on the ground. "NO! No more fighting!" He shouted, his voice rising in anger and the course hair all along his spine bristled. "Take her and go!" Leon jerked his head towards the city that expanded around the throne. He didn't care if they left Orion or stayed among the buildings, he just needed them away from Cancer; the feline would hardly be able to move on his own, and Leon wasn't about to start dragging him around lest he claim the bear was trying to murder him again.