The three chrysali were growing at a steady pace. He'd been worried at the start that they wouldn't grow very big, or that two of them would gain size and one of them would lag, or maybe that one would grow gargantuan and cut into the others. There were a million things to be worried about, honestly, but once he came to realize that they were all growing equally as well, that was just one of the many to cross off his list. Two of them were dark, glossy black, like the spire of obsidian that sprouted from his shoulder. When he had first emerged, the obsidian was clean and flawless. It had concave divots in it as though somebody had taken a knife and chipped pieces off, but he supposed that was just how it had come to look. Now it was marked and scratched with pieces missing - each missing piece, he remembered the pain.

Those two obsidian chrysali, they were just as flawless. Large, black bulbs, gleaming like the void. They made him smile, for they were nearly a perfect mirror of that which sat upon his shoulder when he was young. He found himself smiling and hoping that they wouldn't meet the same fate as his. Between them, one aquamarine chrysalis had grown as well. The depths of its blue mirrored that of the lagoon below, and again he was met with memories, this time of finding Makyna. Sprawled out in the snow, cold, helpless - receiving of his warmth. The bear's smile broadened and he admired the shades of cerulean caught in the chrysalis, the faint shadow of the creature stirring within. Life. Their life.

Leon had been spending a good amount of time here in the den, admiring the chrysali or simply sleeping or serving a protective presence. He kept a watchful eye on anybody that wandered into the cave from above, but nobody had really roused his suspicion. For the most part he was keeping his eyes peeled for Vazi, but the treasonous stag seemed preoccupied with something - or maybe he knew it would be a foolish idea to enter the bear's territory. The rolling, writhing burn scars that covered his neck, face and back were proof enough of his strength. At the same time, he couldn't help but fear that he may not make it out alive the next time he tangled with the stag. He shook the thought away. Another thing he'd been doing was practicing - testing out his new magic.

Light. Leon had used it a few times before, to bauble a piece of Arkrael's shard, as well as the necklace he'd given to Makyna, and the decorations for the wedding. But beyond that, Leon really didn't have a grasp on that kind of magic. It was difficult to coalesce and different to understand. It came to him... in an unfamiliar way. For his fire magic, he usually focused on the warmth. He tried to draw it to his limbs, or to his chest. Light was strange - it required more of his willpower than his focus, and a lot of patience. However, he was starting to get the hang of it. Spending so much time in the den had given him the opportunity to practice more and more. This particular day, Leon had been fumbling with the light cast by his paws, trying to form it into something more eye catching than a subtle glow.

Post-Roll Edit:
Sitting on his rump before the chrysali, Leon had raised his paws and was attempting to manipulate the dull glow. It swelled like a shadow passing in front of the source - it grew stronger, unbelievably, but it still flickered if he broke his focus. Leon lifted his paws and the light went with it, dancing in the air, shimmering - slowly, colours began to illuminate the dancing lights. They were gold at first, then orange and red, then purple. Green and hints of warm blue touched its fringes. The aurora hovered just above his paws, and though it quivered, it persisted. The bear's smile broadened and he threw his head over his shoulder, calling out. "Makyna! Come here!" He didn't know where she was - assuming she was somewhere in the cave below - but he hoped he'd be able to sustain it long enough to see her arrival.

@Makyna

Makyna didn't like to travel too far away from her growing children, not unless she knew her teddy bear was there to protect them. However, even today she didn't travel very far. The lioness sat at the water's edge staring at her reflection as she attempted to fix a flower in front of her right ear. She had to replace them daily for they all had a tendency to wilt before too long. If only there was a way to preserve them but alas, no such spell had come to her yet. She was doomed to continue to search and search for flowers... Speaking of which she would need to make an expedition soon to Eridanus to retrieve flowers for her den. The ones she usually had strewn about for their smell were also starting to wilt and grow old. No matter, so long as Leon was around to help watch the children she could make her short escapades and whenever Leon needed to go out she would be their to watch them as well.

She wondered when the children would hatch from the chrysali? Would it take cycles? Years? Longer? Oh, she hoped not. She couldn't wait to see their cute little faces. She hoped they would come out like Leon, he was such a cute bear and he was certain to pass those good genes onto their children. Their children. It was still so strange and so wonderful to think! The lioness shivered with joy in her tawny coat.

"Makyna! Come here!"

Her ears perked at Leon's call and in an instant she was on her paws bounding straight towards their den. "Leon! What's the-- Oh!" Her sentence was paused with a sharp exclamation of joy at the sight of the dancing lights. They were beautiful and by the bear's upraised paws she knew that he was the cause of it. The lioness grinned and sat on her rump so she could raise her own paws in the air to applaud him. "Well done, well done! That looks so beautiful! I bet the children will love this!" The lioness grinned as she stared upwards at the lights.

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359
Leon
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6/10

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

Leon's paws elevated high, keeping the wavering light source just above. It shimmered in an array of different colours, dancing lights that rippled through the air as an intangible illusion. As Makyna arrived, Leon turned his head only slightly, able to peer at her from the corner of his eye while maintaining most of his focus on the lights. His grin broadened as she encouraged him, but as she spoke Leon found his concentration spent. The lights flickered and whisked away, threads of colour dissipating in the cave air. The bear puffed and shifted his body to face the lioness completely. "You think so?" He laughed and scratched at his cheek. "I've been practicing different kinds of tricks to show them. I never knew I could do stuff like that." The bear added thoughtfully.

He couldn't help but remember all that time ago, when Makyna had encouraged him to try his magic again. He had kept burning himself, and then she appeared and soothed his worries, telling him to try again, to focus, to believe. It was her love and faith that helped him overcome his failure. Leon rose to his paws and took a few lumbering steps towards her, planting a soft kiss on the aquamarine gem on her forehead. "What do you think they'll look like?" He asked, plopping back onto his rump beside her.

@Makyna

The lioness smiled and nodded her head. "Uh-huh, I know so. " She assured him as she rose to her paws and came to sit beside him. Blue met orange as she gazed into his eyes with a content smile on her tawny muzzle. For a moment she became lost in the wounds on his head. He'd told her about the fight with Hasira and it turned her gut to think that there was a creature in this cave who hated carnivores so much that they would be a poor lion cub into until he was a tattered mess. They would have to deal with him one day and one day soon lest he try to make a move.

His words snapped her out of her reverie as her gaze once more focused on his orange eyes. "Well, I imagine they'll look like us! Like this..." Her mind blossomed out and touched Leon's to show him what she thought of the three cubs. They were a beautiful mishmash of both of them. Petite lion features with a little bit of bulk from Leon's side. They all had orange eyes except for one with blue and their obsidian gems were on their foreheads and the one with aquamarine had a large chunk on her shoulder like Leon's. They'll be gorgeous, teddy bear. Just you wait. She couldn't help but let her affection and certainty pass through the link and her joy at the life they would create.

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245
Leon
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6/10

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

The bear beamed with pride as she reassured him. Well, he had been practicing quite a bit, trying to find interesting new ways to spin the light. Even he liked to watch it dance in the air - he thought it was beautiful, a feast for the eyes, a new experience every time. It always moved in unpredictable ways, a lot like his fire, only the lights were calmer. They wouldn't hurt if the children ran their paws through the illusion, and the glittering light could follow their movements as though they'd swept through no more than fresh water. His grin remained, and he hadn't realized that he was gazing at the lioness as his thoughts rolled out until he registered the look of her crystal eyes situated so gently on him. He suddenly felt... sheepish, like he was just a boy - shrugging his shoulders with a laugh, shying away from the cute girl's affections.

Children looking like them - he laughed again and was met with her mind's delivery of imagined forms, and they were absolutely beautiful, and he found himself glad that she had chosen to reflect her own body form onto them as opposed to his. He relayed that expression too, that gratitude - he couldn't imagine they would enjoy looking like a big brute bear anyways. Makyna was so much lovelier, so much prettier... imagine if all the children looked like her! Why, Leon would be perfectly happy with that. He smirked again at the thought, and then couldn't help but laugh out loud, certain that she was receiving that very same thought courtesy of the teddy bear.

He was already beginning to lean back when he made to wrap his big bear paws over her shoulders, pulling her in close. "You know, I partway just called you up here so I could steal you away from the rest of Maji Walezi." He admitted with a snirk, hugging her tightly with one arm while the other shifted to balance his weight on the ground between himself and the lioness. "Now, how about some ambiance?" There was an air of playful mischief behind his words as he leaned back, and drew forward his magic again. The passion biting in his veins made it easier to summon his magic, and it swelled from him like happiness itself, igniting the air with a strange colour - strange for Leon, for it was cold and dark, a deep sea blue, glimmering near the ceiling like light playing on the distant surface of a deep ocean. He bathed her in her favorite blue, smiling, planting a tender kiss on her cheek and craving her affections.

(exit... fade out? ;) ) @Makyna

The lioness playfully swatted at the bear's ear. With her mind connected to his it was easy to see that he wanted none of the children to have his fluffy form. Makyna couldn't help but disagree that his looks were quite gorgeous and beautiful in her eyes. Especially his kind and caring personality. He was perfect. Just as he thought she was. The lioness' mouth formed no words, she knew what she thought would be conveyed straight over to him while their minds were still linked together so there was nothing she could add with her frivolous words to aggrandize her thoughts any more.

Makyna smiled as she felt his paws wrap over her shoulders and instinctively she leaned into the touch, savoring the feel of his strong paws on her fur. "Oh really?" Her voice was saturated with a heavy dose of laughter. "What a nefarious plan." The words rumbled deep from her throat in a purr as she leaned in close and rasped her tongue over his cheek. Now she fully leaned herself in, head resting underneath his chin. If this was his plan to lure her away then she wholeheartedly agreed with it. It was nice getting to be alone with him away from the worries of the outside world. It was just them, the lights, and their children's cocoons. What more could she possibly want in this moment?

The lights again started overhead, bathing them both in a surreal light. The purr in her throat deepened as she tapped into her own magic. Like it was coming from the lights a series of sounds started to play like soft waves crashing against a shoreline with occasional sound of some sea critter breaking the surface of the water. It was timed perfectly with the shifting and swirling blues of the lights like some sort of ocean of the air. It seemed as if their magic was made to perfectly work with one another and Makyna was happy as she listened, watched, and felt the light touch of her husband.

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Leon
-fade out-
6/10

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