"Speech" | 'Thoughts' | @Xerxes
Sapphire eyes stared unerringly. Silent in their observation of the trench the large leopard hybrid perched above. A few cave deer were lingering down below, chowing down on the lush moss and ferns that only grew down below. Her tail flicked in only the slightest motion at the tip just along her side. Things had gone from bad to worse. Ever since her kidnapping that had ultimate brought her here, nothing had been alright. Nothing, but one thing. Her twin was missing. Cure was at a loss as to where her feathered sister had gotten to. There was no lead, no trail, not a damned thing. Cure had searched high and low in every single cavern that existed within the caves they lived in and nothing. It had shattered her heart, left her feeling...empty. Rounded ears pinned against her skull.

She had sought out her mother, but the poor feline was so...terribly wrong. In her pursuit to find her twin it had turned out that she had not only lost her twin...but her father as well. Amaria had not gone into details, refusing to say a word about it, so Cure had given in to her desire not to say anything and simply accepted it. Oh she had cried. Sobbed until she couldn't even keep herself awake. Her mother, her precious mother, had been the strong one. With tears in her eyes her mother, who was much smaller than Cure was, tended to the daughter that could not handle the revelation. That hole in her heart seemed to only grow. Leaving her in a broken, numb state that had drew her away. She had lingered in the shadows for a long while, trying to deal with the emotions that were either numbing her entirely, or leaving her in a mess of uncontrollable sobbing. It only made things worse when she thought about her mother. She had left her mother alone to deal with losing her mate and her second daughter. Yet, she knew the clouded leopard was strong. Much stronger than she was.

In her darkest hour her thoughts had trailed to only one thing. The one thing that had always brought light, and joy, to her life. Xerxes. That melanistic lion she had met after Rae had saved her from that stag. He had been around for her since then. Followed her to Canis where her mother and father had taken her once they retrieved her from Arkrael. Never had he left her side and for that Cure had found her happiness in him. Yet, now she had no idea where he was, or if he was even still around. She had lost track of the time. Having no idea how long she had been in solitude, or even how long her sister had been missing. Couldn't remember the exact day she had found out about her beloved, troubled father. She knew it was her fault he wasn't with her now.

Cure had left. Without a word she disappeared to the shadows that had consumed her empty heart. She wanted to go to him the moment she found out about her father, but there was a stronger need to not do so. She just couldn't go to him. How fare would that be to him? He had been her best friend since they were cubs, she knew, but she couldn't melt down in front of him. Even just thinking about it now caused her shoulders to slouch and her chest to clench tightly. She knew eventually she would go back to Canis, to find her mother and make sure the clouded leopard was okay, but first....

First she needed to find Xerxes...

In the depths of the jungle, the lion lurked quietly in a tree he climbed earlier that day. Although Lions weren't the greatest climbers, specifically the males, he was light enough now to easily climb one of the many trees in Eridanus. Nothing more than a shadow on one of the many branches, he watched the happenings below. A scowl was present on his face all the time now, and even when a possible meal passed under him, his expression hadn't changed. The smaller lesser gembound stopped below his branch, but the male remained silent; watching.

If one were to name what Xerxes had become, it would be feral. Although the male frequently returned to Canis, nightly actually, he found peace and understanding in the many trees of the jungle room. King of the jungle, as his speckes were often called... But Xerxes felt like no king. He felt... Hollow.

Something wandered through the room that he heard, but could not yet see. The small lesser gembound fled at the noise, but it wasn't like he was hunting it anyway. His body had thinned from lack of food and muscle mass, but the man was not hungry. Honestly, he hadn't eaten in a few days.

Sapphire eyes scanned the ground around the trees near his, wondering what would pass by next with with little actual interest.

@cure

"Speech" | 'Thoughts' | @Xerxes
For the longest time Cure knew nothing but silence and solitude. Based on her species alone she should have felt comfortable and okay with that. Yet, there was a yearning in her broken, empty heart. Even before she had been born from her chrysalis Cure had never been alone. If it wasn't the whispering voices of her parents it was the steady, warm heartbeat of her twin. A heavy sigh broke her silence and the young hybrid rose to her large paws. Something she surely inherited from her father considering the size differences of a clouded Leopard and a Persian leopard.

Cure lifted her gaze and took in her surroundings. Scenting the air for anyone who might be around. She needed to find someone. Anyone. She knew Rae would be around here as this was the wolfess' home. Hell, Cure knew exactly how to get to Ray's den. Alas, the den was not a place she wanted to be at just yet. The scattering of cave deer drew her attention and she peered across the trench just barely catching the fleeing ramps of the non-sentient deer. Curiosity bloomed and for a moment, Cure's horns flashed brightly and in an instant sensations consumed her.

Heartbeats filled her almost completely and the hybrid closed her eyes to better see them. They were all around her. Small rodent heartbeats hidden beneath fern bushes or in their nests. The birds that occasionally fluttered around above her. There were even stronger heartbeats that belonged to fellow gembounds. Yet, none of them stuck out like the low drumming of one in particular.

Her breath hitched in her throat as she focused entirely on that steady drumming. Felt his heart beating along side her now frantically beating organ. "Xerxes..." Cure breathed his name quietly, her eyes opening and moving to the very tree the dark lion perched himself in. He was a good ten feet away, but it was close enough that she should have known he was there.

Cure's paws were frozen to their spot for the longest moment before she finally yelled at herself to move. Fear clung to her heart, but am even stronger emotion pushed her onward. She forced herself to swallow the knot that had formed in her throat as she slowly approached the tree. She felt her limbs trembling, but she did not falter in her step.

Sapphire blue eyes peered up into the canopy as she came upon the base of the tree and though she could just barely see his dark pelt against the shadows of the tree Cure knew exactly where he was. She didn't release her magic just yet. Keeping his steady heartbeat her entire focus, as if to help ease her anxiety if only just a little.

"Xerxes," She called up to him, her tone gentle yet nervous, "I know...that you're probably mad at me. And I know I deserve it for leaving like I did...but...will you come down so that I can apologize properly?" she rambled for a moment, unsure of what she should say. Her ears were splayed out to the side, her shoulders haunched up while the rest of her was tense in her anxiety. She would understand if he would not. If he chose to ignore her request them she would utter what she needed to say and leave him be. But for now hopeful eyes stared up towards the branch the lion was perched upon.

He wasn't so sure it was actually her when he saw her, a dream maybe? euphoric thoughts quickly turned dark and sour, remembering how she left him in Canis to rot alone. He'd never been alone in his life - Cure had found him during his hatch and never left him since. Now, well he couldn't say the same.

That didn't change his actual feelings for the leopard hybrid, but he was quite upset. And angry. And hurt.

Sapphire eyes stared down at the leopard as she spoke, beckoning him to come down from his perch so she could explain. Explain what, exactly? Why she just had to abandon him without so much of a sign of her being alive somewhere? Xerxes thought she was dead! Or at least he was starting to finally believe she might be...

Moments later the lion stood, though no movement was made again as he continued to stare down at her. Finally, he launched himself towards the ground, his legs catching him yet his stomach nearly touched the ground. He stood again, his gaunt body before Cure's. "Go on," He couldn't wait for what she had to say, though deep down, he hoped it really did explain things.

@cure

"Speech" | 'Thoughts' | @Xerxes
It seemed like an eternity passed by before Cure finally got a response from the ever silent lion. It caused her stomach to twist and roll nauseously and her heart to clench painfully tight. 'I deserve this...' She had to remind herself, pinning her ears back against her skull as she took a few hesitant steps back away from the tree. For a moment Cure thought that he would not bring himself down from the tree, but truly she only had herself to blame. There were strange emotions in the matching eyes that stared down at her. Emotions Cure found that she could not decipher. She would say, however, that she had never seen his eyes so cold.

Her muscles tensed when Xerxes finally decided to move, lunging his massive form down to stand just before her and for a moment she had to look him over. He had grown since last she saw him. He had finally grew bigger than she. It would have been such a euphoric moment for Cure had it been in any other circumstances, but she did not stand here before him on the best of terms. Brows furrowed as she finished taking in his appearance. He looked absolutely starved! She nearly cried out in distress just by the way his body showed just how little nourishment he had been consuming. "Xerxes..." She breathed out, nearly stuttering in a tornado of emotions. "I..." Again she faltered in her words. Her eyes beginning to burn and she knew if she did not get a hold of herself real soon that she would succumb to those accursed tears.

Desperately she shoved her emotions back, telling herself that she could deal with them later and that now there were more important things to do. Like pleading for Xerxes' forgiveness. Cure squared her shoulders, lifting her head up as she twisted her ears around to point straight at the feline before her. "I had to leave, Xerxes..." She began tentatively, slowly so she made sure she did not sound like it was something she had truly wished to do, "My twin, Remedy, went missing. I had to find her Xerxes. I was going to come back for you. To tell you what was going on...but when I did I found..." The closer she got to speaking of her father the more her throat seemed to tighten and cut off her words. A knot began forming in her throat once more, but Cure forced it back down.

"My father died...- I know...it is no excuse to leave like I had, but I couldn't...I just couldn't let anyone see me like that..." She began to explain even more just as slowly. Even as she fought the burning in her eyes tears began to form, but they did not fall. "I was broken..scared...For days...weeks I did nothing but wallow in my self pity...I couldn't let you see that...especially you...and I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry Xerxes," Her voice trembled and shook by the end of her explanation and she struggled even more to contain the tears that were welling up in her eyes. "I was weak and I..." Cure couldn't get anymore words out as her voice cracked even more. All she could do was sit back on her haunches, eyes downcast, and wait for Xerxes to reply all the while struggling to contain her broken emotions.

Xerxes was pretty much emotionless as he listened to her reason for abandoning him - all reasons that didn't make much since to him. Although he understood the importance behind finding her sister, he failed to see how abandoning him and leaving him in the dark was okay. He could've helped her look for Remedy even!

It moved on to finding out her father had died. He knew too, lingering around Canis had it's perks he guessed. That he could understand wanting to run away from on top of her sister being missing. He just didn't understand why she wanted to keep it from him and hide away in the shadows. Xerxes could've comforted her, consoled, and promised things would get better. But right now, as he sat before her with the same scowl that had been present for many cycles, he couldn't so those things anymore. His heart had hardened, and even though the very feline he loved more than anyone else was back, no less than a few feet from him even, it was hard to forgive her. He knew, deep down, that he was being the asshole here, but Cure wasn't the only one hurting, either.

@cure

"Speech" | 'Thoughts' | @Xerxes
Cure had nothing else to say. She had explained to him all she could and it was all she could do to try and apologize to the lion before her. Her eyes were glued to her paws, unwilling to be brought up to gaze at Xerxes' own garnet ones. It was in that moment she glimpsed at the garnet shard that dangled easily along her neck. How silly she felt wearing such a thing now. When she had returned to Eridanus to look for him before her chosen disappearance she had came across this shard. The shard that made her believe that perhaps even Xerxes had fallen victim to the horrors of this cave. It would be the second time she had been mistaken and assumed the worst. She sighed heavily, but she would not speak of such things. She was already in deep.

The silence wore on and the longer it did the more Cure felt her eyes burn all the more. She lifted a paw and quickly wiped her face off with her arm before she rose to her paws. Finally she lifted her gaze to his, eyes wet with tears and brows furrowed with guilt. "I don't expect you to forgive me...I truly don't. What I did was wrong and I know that now...I just..." She faltered for a moment, choking on her words as she studied the anger behind his eyes. The way he held his body told her all she needed to know. He was enraged at her and rightfully so. "I don't know how to make it up to you..." She whispered, her voice shaking more than she had wanted it to. "But I will do whatever it takes..."

Cure wasn't even sure if there really was anything she could do to make it up to him, but she wanted at least the opportunity to try. Alas, if he even refused that then she would accept it. She would accept his anger and that she had no way to make things right and she would leave him be. Cure just hoped that's not how it would end up this night.

Even with his jeart hardened and his trust pretty much nonexistant, it was terribly difficult to stay angry at her whem she was obviously hurting. Sure, he was hurting too when she left, but at least she was still alive... Cure couldn't say the same about her family. Xerxes didn't have a family like most who wandered these caves, just Cure.

While she wasn't looking, the angry look on his face faded and turned into sympathy as he stood and carefully took the few steps towards her to close the space between them. He'd never had to comfort anyone before, but it felt natural when he pressed his head into her cheek and nuzzled into her neck - an apology accepted.

"I'm sorry, too," He started, keeping his face close to her neck, breathing her in. "It's not fair to be mad at you, but don't leave me again, okay?" He pulled away then to look at her, eye to eye. "You can come to me with anything and I'll do everything I can to help you, but I can't help you if I don't even know if you're alive," His voice faultered and he swallowed a lump in his throat after he spoke. He took the possibility of her death hard, but at least he hadn't lost her...

@cure

"Speech" | 'Thoughts' | @Xerxes
For what seemed like an eternity the silence between them carried on. And there for a moment Cure was slowly starting to convince herself to just accept this and move on. A rush of air escaped her as she closed her eyes. She opened her muzzle to say one last thing, but the sudden touch of his muzzle against her cheek froze her to her spot. Tears began to form once again, but she didn't let a sound leave her as she leaned into his nuzzling and groomed at his mane. His words filled her ears and for a moment she just listened. Xerxes soon pulled away and she was left yearning his touch. It took all she had not to follow his movements and just nuzzle up into his mane again.

Rounded ears pinned back at the lion's last words. How could she. She knew that feeling all too well. It was how she felt when Remedy disappeared. When she had finally given in and assumed her precious twin had succumbed to the horrors of the cave. "I'm sorry..." She whispered quietly, casting her gaze down to her paws once more. With another heavy breath to try and settle her rattling nerves she lifted her now warm gaze to the lion.

"You look like shit, Xer," There was a playful tone in her voice, but there was worry and concern in her eyes. "How about we go find something to feast upon yeah?" She looked the bony lion over again and mentally nodded her head. Yes, her first task was to fill his belly with some of the best prey the caves had to offer them. And they just so happened to be in the best cavern to find the best prey about too. She would wait to see if he would take her offer, if he didn't give her a response then she would still go out and get him some food. He damn well needed it.

He couldn't quite describe the feeling of touching her again. He missed the meaningless contact they shared through out the days, longed for her touch. He'd been without for so long, you'd think he was suffering from withdrawal. In a way, he was. But he had his drug back now, so he'd be okay again, eventually. Maybe even with Cure back, his magic would return! That would certainly be nice! When he pulled away, he longed for her touch again but felt it was important to look her in the eyes when he spoke. Just looking at her wasn't all that bad, really. In their time apart, Xerxes realized a few things, most of which were a secret for now. As happy as their reunion turned out to be, he didn't want to test things. She was still in a pretty raw place, after all.

Cure apologized and he smiled, accepting it easily. He rarely smiled lately, but it was almost like he couldn't stop while she was around, especially now. Being a fully mature male now, he felt silly and tried to stop smiling when she mentioned food. Almost a foreign concept with how little he's eaten in her absence, as if it wasn't obvious. He couldn't not agree, however, and rose to all fours at the offer. "Sounds like a plan." He smiled again, but quickly forced it away. Thankfully they were in Eridanus, so finding something to eat wouldn't be too terribly difficult.

@cure