Time had stood still for the crownless king.

The world he'd known had shattered apart. The life he'd made for himself, his family, had become so mangled, it was hard to tell whether or not it had ever been whole.

At least the pain had eased to a dull throb now.

He woke one morning, cold and anxious. Wide awake. It hurt, the energy that suddenly flooded his veins again. It hurt as he sat up and blinked away dried tears. It hurt to realize... he was alone.

Amaria? He searched with altered vision to find his mate, but she was not within his sight. The space beside him, where once she'd slept every night, was empty and the stone, cool. How long had it been, since he'd seen her last? Since he'd felt her fur against his own, the warmth of smooth, draconic scales and that azure gaze so full of life. How long had it been?

Cure? The larger of his two daughters had also escaped his vision. He felt a growing sense of unease.

Remedy? The smallest child. The most broken of the pair, now, he assumed. She'd disappeared, too. She'd disappeared and now he felt a frozen panic weighing down on his ribs and he stood with a heavy breath and turned towards the gates of Canis with a stoic expression across his war-torn face.

Karkatas. They could not stay apart like this. This wasn't right. He'd let this happen.

He'd make them whole again.

The king rose his voice in a call that shattered the silence and beckoned forth his missing family. It was raw, powerful, and as it echoed across stone and crystal walls, he settled down to wait. They would come. They always came. He'd never be alone.

@Amaria @Azazel
Carcino's finally making things officially unofficial.

She had been away for some time, but it had been by some stroke of brilliant luck that the hybrid Remedy heard her father's call, even just passing through Orion. She'd been heading back for Pisces. She'd passively made her home there, but now, her father's call was anything but enraged. She hesitated, considering her options. She could ignore it. Go back to Pisces, be with Leon and his family. Baroque would be happy if she stayed. At the same time, she knew, Cure would be devastated if she left Canis for good.

The hybrid decided she'd at least visit her family back in Canis. She owed them that much, right? One cool paws, she trotted back towards that bone-filled cave and slipped through the gates of Canis and into the cavern proper.

Her father sat waiting, face mangled but healing, his expression flat as if trying to hide the obvious pain he was in. She felt a bubbling of guilt in her chest. That's my fault, isn't it?

He didn't seem upset with her as she approached. Rather, his one eye seemed greedy as he watched her come to sit in her usual spot beside him. He didn't say a word. Neither did she.

There was nothing either of them could say.

They'd both lost her.

"Speech" | 'Thoughts' | 897 Words
Silence. It seemed to be the one thing ruling Cure's life. Day after day she remained within the bone fortresses. Never once stepping paw out of her claimed den. The only time she did was to find food, or to find things that could potentially make her den far more comfortable. Quietly she sat before the entrance of her bone fortress. Tall and proud just as her parents would. Or, rather, at least her father would. Her mother was far more laid back and truly found that she cared more about being relaxed and comfortable. Her father, however, did not always cater to the life of luxury; as far as she was aware anyway. Cancer was a king! Her proud, broken father was everything that was royalty. Deep sapphire eyes searched the area that lead through the fortresses, attempting to find even the slightest hint of someone moving through, but there was nothing. And she wanted it to stay that way.

Everything felt strange now. Her father, lost in his grief of losing someone so close to his heart. Her mother....no where to be found. Cure was unsure of what was going on with her mother. She wanted to go find her and talk to her, to see what was going on and to try and fix whatever the problem was. Alas, she could not. Slowly her gaze swept behind her to where a multi-colored gem rested against the wall. It had grown significantly over the time she had carried it from Pisces to here. And it was the reason she had spent so much time secluded into the fortresses. A smile slowly curled along her features as she rose to her large paws and gracefully prowled towards the chrysalis. Her thoughts trailed to her twin as she looked over the many colors of its shell. She had so desperately wanted to talk to remedy about what she had, but there was no sign of her sister. Remedy was gone and Cure had no idea where.

Remedy was probably the main one of her currently broken family that she was truly worried about. Her father had Amaria to turn to, but then again her mother had been missing for however long now. Remedy had no one to look to in her grief except for Cure, but as it was Remedy did not seek out her sister like Cure had been hoping. Perhaps it was solely her fault that Remedy had not come to her, but she did not feel like she should leave the chrysalis unattended. She had to stay and protect it until she knew it would be okay. A yawn slipped from her and it was soon that her mind was made up to take a nap. Just as she was about to get comfortable a sudden sound bellowed through the air, shattering the silence instantly.

Cure jumped back up to her paws on surprise, ears twitching as she swung her gaze around to stare at the entrance of her fortress. her father's roar summoned her. Summoned all of them. She hesitated. Lurched forward before she eased back in her indecision. Quickly her gaze bounced back to the gem she had decided to protect no matter what. Her brows furrowed as she bounced ideas off of herself. She could ignore her father's call and remain here. Cure was sure that would enrage her father though. So, with her mind finally made up Cure turned on paw and pranced out of her fortress and hurried her pace towards where her father was. She had to believe the chrysalis would remain unharmed.

It wasn't long before she found her way to where her father was. Her heart fluttered a bit when her gaze fell upon him. It seemed his mangled features were finally healing. She had heard his agony from where she had hid herself the day they returned to canis from Pisces. She had been too scared to go and see if he had been okay as she thought it had to do with a battle. He sat regally before her and Cure found that she could not take her gaze from him. Even with his missing eye he was still so elegant. She would always be proud that he was her father. Slowly her ears splayed out to the side of her head as she went right up to him. It was in this moment she spotted the one next to him. Her twin. At this her heart leapt into her throat, but she kept herself moving

She greeted her father with a deep, wa affectionate purr as she rubbed her head below his chin, nuzzling across his fur. "Father..." She greeted properly before she took in a well needed breath and moved right over to her sister. She did not hesitate as she rolled to balance on her hind legs and with her powerful from legs she grasped onto her much smaller twin and pulled until the hybrid was embraced against her. Cure's ears pinned against her skull, but even then she purred just as affectionately as she nuzzled at her twin. She had no words to say. She simply missed her so much. And honestly she had no idea what to say to Remmy. Cure was just glad that Remmy had come back; even if it was because their father summoned them.

Azazel heard the call, and he came to it more so out of curiousity. As he approached, he found himself to be definitely out of place. If this had been the real world, he would be the prey surrounded by three big cats ready to pounce. But this was not real life. The bone king came on silent and stealthy wings, and he slowly perched upon a stone in the cavern.

Soon enough, cure and remedy came to the sound, and azazel simply observed... Waiting... Watching. Only karkata's came to the call, excluding amaria who seemed to be missing. Was he considered one of them? Carcino and he had... Created life together. That made sense, didn't it? It was a logical thing to think. How long would it be until their children emerged? Cancer already had decided on their names and told azazel. That bastard cat. The names were a little redundant, but Azazel had plans to remedy that. Perhaps their middle name could be chosen by him. Hm. Already he had his star and light. Perhaps... his sun and moon? Carmine eyes flickered for a moment as he shifted closer, and finally spoke. "I hope I am not intruding on family matters."

table code © rasta 2015

@Cancer

Amaria

You fell away,
What more can I say?
The feelings evolved,
I won't let it out,
I can't replace...
Your screaming face,
Feeling the sickness inside

Amaria sat quietly in the tunnel that led it's path between Orion and Canis. The mist that always seemed to linger in the tunnel had grown far too familiar to the mutated leopard. The ever chilling sense of emptiness loomed throughout her, but it did not once bother her. Hard, azure eyes stared ahead, her ears up and perked into attention. She had heard his call. His summon of all whom he called part of his family. Scales shifted and moved along the stone floor, scrapping with a strange noise as Amaria's tail slide around to curl along her left side. Slowly her gaze fell down to the blue gem embedded into the scales just near the end of the appendage. She had left Canis to get some air. To try and find herself within the midst of a broken family. After she had brought her daughters back here, Amaria had staid until they were both okay. Remedy had picked herself up and slipped away without notice. Even if Amaria had seen the hybrid leaving she probably would not have stopped her anyway.

She couldn't imagine what the little griffon was going through. Her rounded ears pinned back against her head as her chest tightened and quickly made it hard to breathe. 'How could she...' Tightly she squeezed her eyes shut, gritting her jaw as she felt the claws on her paws flex out and dig into the stone ground. Bevy's assault towards Remedy was still jarring for her and in all honesty was the main reason she had slipped away to deal with. She knew how devastated Cancer was. Amaria had seen the outcome even if she had not shown herself to him. It had destroyed him and she knew if she had staid...she knew she would have spoken her mind about the issue.

Amaria telling Cancer that Bevy deserved what she got would only end poorly. She was unsure if he had even known what had caused Kerberos to attack. Would he still be defending Bevy's name then? Would he still act the way he was knowing that his beloved bird had tried to kill their own daughter. There had been a time Amaria believed Bevy and Cancer could have been something. She had prepared herself for it since day one knowing how much Cancer felt about her and she would have let him go without hesitation just to see him happy. But now, it all just seemed worse. If he didn't know what Bevy had done, would he even believe it if someone had told him such things? Would he believe her if Amaria told him?

A sigh quivered from her lips as she brought her gaze back up and frowned towards Canis. Her body moved, bringing her up to her paws and slowly her legs began to move. Amaria would not talk about it. She would not mention a word about Bevy to him unless he brought it up. For now, it was time she stopped hiding within the mist and return to her family. It was unfair to him. No matter how shaken Amaria was over the situation, or how scared she had been for Remedy, it did not excuse her for being gone. She had left Cancer to deal with his struggle alone, and that in itself left her eyes burning. How wrong it was to leave someone you love when the probably most needed you. Even if leaving was in the thought of protecting the other from something that may only cause more agony.

It didn't take Amaria long to find herself back within the confines of Canis. The lingering smell of rot burned her nose as it always had, but it went unnoticed. She moved quickly, finally making her way towards where Cancer was and as she came upon them she first saw the twins. Her chest swelled with relief at seeing them both there. Remedy had returned finally and Cure was no longer lurking around without word. She did not yet look to Cancer. She just couldn't bring herself to do so, not with the feeling of guilt washing over her. So quietly she padded over to the girls, her chest beginning to purr deeply as she first groomed over Cure's head before dipping down the gently nuzzle at Remedy's cheek. Even if Remedy did not want the affection at the moment, Amaria would still give it. And finally she turned, slowly bringing her gaze up to cancer.

Stunning blue met hard gold with nothing but affection displayed within. She moved over to him and gently bumped her head against his shoulder only to move up and nuzzle her head beneath his chin all the while she groomed at his fur lovingly. "Forgive my absence..." Her voice whispered to him, cracking and threatening to break in it's attempt to be heard. Finally she pulled away and backstepped a few steps before sitting back on her haunches. It was in the moment that she finally regarded Azazel. She had not properly spoke with him, in fact she didn't even remember saying a word to him since they had come to live within Canis.

"Hello, Azazel," She greeted him kindly, her voice not once wavering as she regarded the Bone King. It was one thing for Cancer to hear her voice break, but it was another for someone else. She curled her tail about her, bringing the cool scales to the warmth of her fur.


"Speech" 'Thoughts'

Tags: @Cancer @Azazel
Words: 913
OoC: Well...that one certainly became more than I had thought it would.

---

Keep on trying I’ll not die so easily
I will not die…
Why is everything so fucking hard for me?
I will not die…
Why is everything so fucking hard for me?
I will not die…