idk if Aries will be with him, so i'll leave it vague! @Aries join at your leisure if you want :) @Makyna

Pain burned just under his hide. Parts of him had been burned away by his own fire, and parts of him were torn by the dragon's vicious, gnashing teeth. His mind recoiled over how quickly everything had gone bad. He had only run in to help, to try and bring Baratheon, who he hadn't even seen in so many cycles, back to his senses. The little goat had been trapped. Leon couldn't in good conscious leave him to fall victim to the dragon's hunger, the reason for which Leon still didn't know - but in his heroism, he had nearly fallen. So soon after emerging from his chrysalis with Makyna, Leon had almost met his end. Again.

He wouldn't lie in admitting that it was frustrating. How long had he spent training and becoming stronger so that he could protect his home, his friends, his family? His wife? And yet when Maji Walezi had come into his control, he let it crumble. He had disappeared in an attempt to rescue the komodo dragon Ghanyarah, and because of him, Maji Walezi dispersed. His children were gone, he didn't know where or if they were even still alive. Aza'zel was dead. Cancer was dead. And he felt like it was his fault. And now, alive again, he couldn't even save a baby Gembound without nearly facing his own death. What had happened to him?

The bear barely made it back to Pisces, dragging his crispy body back to the edge of the lagoon, where he felt respite in dipping his paws and thirstily gulping mouthfuls of water. The left side of his face ached. He had painfully pried the ice away from his skin, leaving it bleeding and raw, his eye stinging from the damage. He couldn't even see out of it, squinting as blood and skin filled the orbital. On his stomach, Leon weakly attempted to splash his face, but could hardly manage without wincing from the pain. He reached out, searching for Makyna's presence somewhere in the waterfall room, hoping that she was there.

It was a lot of work trying to spruce up the old dilapidated den to its former glory but that was easier said than done. All of her flowers had wilted into unidentifiable husks that were littered here and there. So, her first plan of action had been to visit Eridanus to pick up a few flowers. She did so in the old satchel she'd once made and once done finding a colorful assortment of flowers she started to head back. A few of the flowers he'd picked up were Dormire Flowers, the soft white petals smelled absolutely wonderful and worked to lull her mind into a state of peace. For some reason she'd felt the beginnings of... fear... in her mind. She didn't know where it came from but it was there and it made her pluck the flowers and put a rush on to get back to Pisces.

Once back she'd set to work sweeping out the old flower husks and replacing her den with the new colorful petals. Soon her whole place was smelling like it used to, but it was missing... something. She didn't know what though. For a moment she sat there, pondering on just what her den needed when the discontent that had been budding within her reached a fever pitch and soon she could hardly focus. It was then that she heard the telltale signs of paws on the rocky ground and the splashing of someone in water.

It only took a few seconds for her to peer out of the den and see a large bleeding bear splashing water on himself. The lioness' eyes widened in shock, fear and anguish coursed through her gut. What on earth had happened? Who had done this? She fought the urge to scream, to lose all reason and just rush to him. But no, he was hurt and he needed something to help. She disappeared back into her den and collected a few Dormire flowers, not enough to put him to sleep but hopefully enough to soothe him and ease any pain he felt. She then scraped up some moss and was on her way down to the bear with the whole assembly in her maw.

The feline dropped the moss and flowers next to him before saying in a tone that was just barely in control from panic, "What happened?" She nudged the flowers to him before picking up the moss, quickly going to work with soaking it in water and then using it to wash the blood away from his wounds. She wished Bevy were here... Bevy was the healer, she only knew how to heal emotional wounds but what good was that here?

There was a huge gaping wound in the bear's side, how on earth was she to fix that? She had no powers to weave the wound back together and could only do so much past washing it and finding something to stop the bleeding. Cobwebs? Would cobwebs work? First thing first, clean, then worry about the rest one thing at a time.

---

512 | notes | @Leon

"I talk."
I think...

Leon found himself grateful for his wife's attentiveness. He hadn't expected her to venture anywhere else beyond Pisces, except perhaps Eridanus or the tunnels connecting them, so his relief remained lowly simmering as she appeared from the den and rushed down to greet him. What would he have done if she wasn't around? Waited, let his injuries fester and risk infection? Or would he have gotten up on his paws and wandered aimlessly, searching for her? Neither option seemed ideal, so he was just glad that she was here now.

As she joined his side, she understandably demanded to know what had happened, and Leon withdrew slightly from the edge to tilt his head and look up at her. "You know. The usual." He wheezed, wincing at the dampness on his face. Blood from his raw wounds continuously pumped into the air, trickling into his damaged eye. "I was in Eridanus. I wasn't expecting to see anyone else, but... I saw... Baratheon... you remember him?" The bear licked his lips; his throat felt awfully dry, even despite the mouthfuls of water he had swallowed down seconds earlier. "He was hunting... cave deer, I thought. But then I saw another Gembound. And he was... trying to eat it." He grimaced.

What would Makyna think of Baratheon now? He didn't intend to soil her image of him, but Baratheon had already done to Leon that when he refused to let up from his hunt. "I tried to stop him, but there was something wrong with him. He was out of control." The bear groaned, flinching as he felt her tend to the various wounds on his body. "I choked him out with smoke. Got the kid to safety. But... man, it stings." Leon finally said, heaving a long sigh from his lungs. He just hoped that Makyna would be able to do something for him. He had faith that she could - his wife was a miracle worker. No matter what she did, he knew it would help in some way.

@Makyna

While he spoke the lioness worked, using a combination of her paws and mouth to wipe away the blood from his wounds with the wet moss. It seemed as if there was too much to lose, so much of it seemed to soak the moss and soon her own paws were covered in it. She turned to the water, working the blood out of the moss with a few kneading motions of her paws. Baratheon? Very vaguely she could recall the image of a white dragon at the trial and then at their own wedding. He had seemed calm enough then, why was he suddenly leaping to attack gembounds now? "But... How could he turn out to be so evil? Have the caves..." She fell silent, eyes glazing over as she was reminded of the times without Leon. Tainted. The caves could taint them all... The dark emotions rushed to claim her heart and she had to shake it away, to grab hold of the light that was her mate and fight to the surface. No. Everyone wasn't tainted, everything wasn't bad. Perhaps there was an explanation.

Perhaps you are being an old fool...

The moss was cleaned and she wordlessly began to finish cleaning off the bear while she gathered her thoughts. When she spoke her voice was soft, vulnerable as she spoke her thoughts. "I'm glad you saved the kid, Leon, you're a hero... Like always. Just... I... I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you. Was there nothing else you could have done to save him? Anything?" Something less reckless as throwing yourself into the path of a raging dragon? The lioness was proud of him but she just wished there was something she could do to keep him safe. She sighed, brows furrowing as she tried to make sense of it all. "Eat those flowers, they'll ease the 'stinging'. I'm gonna go grab some cobwebs to try and stop the bleeding." She hoped... That big one in his side looked to be a mess.

She scurried away, paws moving rapidly as she searched the dark corners of Pisces and began to gather a bundle of cobwebs around both of her paws.

---

368 | notes | @Leon

"I talk."
I think...

we burn the brightest

in the dark

Leon had been talking to gembound he did not know. He had never seen the lioness before, but from watching them interact, he guessed that she was far from savage, unlike the dragon that tried to devour him.

His name.. was Baratheon.. right?

Aries shuttered, as the terrifying account was still fresh in his mind. He hoped to never see Baratheon's face again. The little lamb had followed Leon to Pisces. After narrowly avoiding an untimely death, the last thing he wanted to be was alone.

His cloven hooves clacked on the stone, although they might have been drowned out by the gushing cascade behind him. Aries stood near the stream, watching the lion care for Leon's injuries. A pang of guilt struck his heart. He cursed himself for being the weak, useless gembound that he was. If he had not been so feeble, then Leon would have not come home half dead to someone who cared deeply about him. And here he was, still relying on the bear. Aries did not want to admit it, but he felt quite selfish.

Baratheon should have killed me. He thought grimly. I deserved it...

There was still something that stirred in the lamb's head, something he did not understand. Why did Leon risk his life for him? Aries had no one, but the bear had much more to lose. They barely knew each other, yet he stared death straight in the eyes and gambled his own life to spare his.

Aries did nothing but stand silently in the background, unsure if he should join the two gembounds. Would the lioness become angry with him? Despite their conversation, he could see her chasing him off, scolding him about how much trouble he caused. Aries did not want to part from Leon, not yet. So he kept his distance, eyeing them nervously as the lioness left to gather more supplies.

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Leon @Makyna // OOC: I'll hop in cuz why not?

He heard Makyna's voice trail off as she questioned the dragon. How could he become so evil? And then he even felt her thoughts begin to wander, beginning to return to that ever dark and shaded place. It was a place that Leon was even afraid to venture when he reached for her and felt for her. The connection between them wavered if only slightly as she thought of the caves and how they were tainted. But he pushed it back just as quickly, extending that warmth to her, fearing that she might drift away at the thought of that darkness again.

His wife went on to admonish him for risking his life. He'd left her a few times before and he knew with nagging guilt how hard it had been on her. Leon sucked in a soft sigh and tilted his head to look at her again, offering a weak frown. "I tried. I tried reasoning but he wouldn't listen. He was unstoppable," he puffed, remembering the vivid rage in the dragon's eyes as Leon had come to intervene. Distantly, he turned his eyes to the child nearby. He wouldn't have let Baratheon get him. No matter what had to be done.

On instruction, the bear craned his neck and chomped on the flowers, grimacing at their sweet, green taste. They had a certain ambrosial quality to them that made his tongue feel soapy. As she scampered away, Leon moved to drink from the water before straightening up. Each movement made his skin feel tighter, but he turned and looked back at the child anyways. "You feeling okay? Are you hungry? I'm sure Makyna would be happy to grab something for you," he suggested, feeling for where she had gone. Granted, he probably shouldn't have been making offers on Makyna's behalf when she was already so spent on him. But the poor kid had gone through so much already, Leon felt bad that he'd been pushed aside.

Pisces was among the suggestions of places Ghanyarah would consider for a new home. It was one of his most likely choices, since it had water and was relatively cool, but he was finding that the constant dull roar of the waterfall was beginning to grate on him. It was incredibly moist, yes, but the ground was too solid and the clacking of his long claws against the rock threw him off. He also couldn't shake this feeling that he was... trespassing. Pisces had long been the home of Maji Walezi, and though Ghanyarah had no personal vendettas against its members, it had been a rival gathering that Dragon sought to cause chaos among.

He'd been skeptical poking his head into the cave the first time and was relieved when he found it mostly quiet, save for the din of the cascades, and gathered the courage to move in further. That was when he heard the intonations of a familiar bear lift up through the mist. Then a lighter voice, feminine and thick with worry, as she fretted over his wounds. The bear assured her that it was fine and explained what had happened. A fight. The defending of young. Ghanyarah eavesdropped long enough for his heart to twist ever so slightly with jealousy. Leon had always been a hero, he'd always been blessed with love and warmth and a beautiful mate. He'd even saved Ghanyarah once.

His curiosity drove him closer. Ghanyarah entered into the main room and spied the bear now talking to another young Gembound with his lioness companion nowhere to be seen, but he could taste her scent still in the air. He approached slowly from behind, observing the bear's injuries. "Leon? What has happened? Are you alright?" the dragon asked evenly, moreso out of wonder and intrigue than concern, though he supposed it was slightly worrisome that such a fierce looking Gembound had taken so much damage.

@Makyna also tagging @Lituus in case she wants to come :)