Leon watched as the bird flew off, fluttering wings taking her beyond his vision. Laying on the ground, Leon's head elevated, keeping constant watch on the surrounding tunnels. As far as he understood based on reports of golems in different locations, they could roam outside of Polaris. He didn't want one of them to accidentally come stumbling in here after the massive rock fall, no doubt started by powerful magic. His mind drifted every now and then, but he had to steel himself against it. Wondering what she was doing, where she was without him. But it wouldn't do him good to dwell on it... He huffed, pushing the thought aside once more.

Before long, the lion cub had risen, stumbling over to him with his twisted leg. Leon's head swiveled to watch him, brow furrowed slightly, until he had stopped before him and left a pebble at his paws. The bear blinked and pinned his ears back. What was that supposed to mean? Leon's lips parted, tempted to speak, before the lion started to draw something on the pebble. He silently watched, realizing the shapes as they appeared on the stone. A bear... two felines. How did this kid know about what was happening? How did he know he even knew those two? The bear blinked, then slowly reached forward to grab the pebble between his two paws. He examined it and shifted his gaze up to Usui with a small frown. "That's none of your business," Leon said defensively, slamming the pebble down and hiding it under his paw. He didn't want some outsider nosing around in Leon's affairs! What if he told Makyna he was here? What if this was Cancer's doing?

The bear huffed, but he was met with a suddenly strange smell. Leon blinked, tearing his eyes away from Usui. He'd have to question the little cub on what he knew of the situation between the three of them later; this peculiar new smell needed investigation first. Leon leaned the other way, then slowly rose to his paws, facing Orion. It stunk of carrion; faint, but detectable. "You smell that?" He asked quietly, glancing over at Usui.

Bevy returned with her vines and moss and leaves, her wings tiring from the quick trip back and forth-- the tunnel got narrow in places and wasn't the easiest thing to fly through. She flopped to the ground once she had reached the bear again-- but there was something dangerous in the air, something threatening in the shadows... What was it...? Her eyes darted around, fear seizing her in that quiet, breathless moment.

She slipped the vines off of her feathers and let go off the moss, setting it down gently. "What's wrong? What's going on?" Her eyes caught the raptor's glinting eyes in the shadows and she took to the sky with a squawk-- there was a whole PACK of whatever they were!

"Stay back!" She screeched, her birdy voice echoing off the cavern, fear crawling through her feathers. She knew that look in their eyes-- it was the same look she had seen in a familiar, translucent thing... Malice. Want. Greed. "Leon, there's a bunch of gembound, careful. I think they want to hurt us," she told him quickly, gesturing with her beak in the direction of the raptors. She saw them and she feared so much for Usui-- he was good cub, but if these things attacked, he wouldn't be able to fight in his condition, would they?

The bear reacted curiously at first, then became defensive but still took his pebble all the same. The lion shrugged as the cub insulted him, and cast his intelligent green eyes elsewhere. He thought that the bear might be upset but apparently not so, for he sniffed something weird and asked Usui. The boy who had been consumed in pain now sniffed the air as well. It was different, and carried a scent unlike the normal gembounds whom he had met. "Mhmm." He affirmed what Leon had said, and started to scan the room.

He saw a shift in the shadows and a gleam of eyes. Then, Bevy came back with her supplies, squawking and screeching. He glanced at her desperately! Her loud voice was only going to draw even more attention to them. Now they would surely attack since they had been spotted and there wasn't a point in them hiding anymore. Usui looked over his shoulder and realized that the dried blood which covered his wounds still remained. It must have driven them here! He was...food! The cub's eyes grew larger in horror. It was enough to have Aquarian stare at him once, and now, these weird gembounds?

The cub could not appear weak! Weakness would goad them in attacking him. Using the bear cub as a prop and his tail as a rudder, Usui dragged himself upwards and called his magic from deep within. His intention was to transform his bad leg into a magnet and attract minerals to keep it stiff while he fought. Unfortunately, he failed. Either this place had a severe lack of metal ores, or he just did not have enough strength. Baring his teeth, Usui tucked his head in and lowered his haunches while retreating further behind Leon and Bevy. He was brave but not foolish, and knew that rushing into the fray would only cause his companions more hurt. He had to protect himself. He hated to admit it but...he was the weakest link right now.

Starved into malice and fury, the raptor-like beasts would stalk forward, the alpha of the group giving a small growl to the rest in command. The three subordinate members of the squad would fan out. Slitted yellow eyes blinked only once, and a primordial scream escaped the monsters as they all jumped at once, seeking the biggest meal of all. Leon.

POST ATTEMPT:

The squad would fall short in their plans, having overshot their goal and careening over the big bear. They'd collide and fall in yet another screaming heap. The first to get up was the alpha, and he hissed lowly.

This post is complete!

Leon's eyes were alert and furrowed in concern. He knew something would've followed them - nothing good could come of a lone Gembound crippling himself with magic. He just assumed it would be golems - big, made of rock, but still dumb. This... Whatever it was, it was different and it gave him the chills. Leon narrowes his eyes, trying to peer further down the tunnel, but he couldn't see anyone.

Bevy's sudden return nearly made him jump out of his skin. She fluttered down near him, causing the bear to jump and swing his head down to look at her. His nerves were already on high, and her confirming his suspicion just made it worse. The bear braced himself, standing in front of Bevy and Usui. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the lion cub get up and move behind them. Leon didn't know if he'd even stand a chance against what was there, but it couldn't be too bad, could it...?

No, nope, he was wrong. Totally wrong. They soon emerged from their hiding places - four of them. Leon's eyes widened as he realized just how in danger they had become. These feathered reptiles were donned with scaly skin, long claws and sharp teeth. Their predatory eyes flitted between the three Gembounds, and when they fanned out, Leon felt his heart lurch. He wondered if he could try diplomacy with them - now was one of those few times Cancer would actually come in handy. As he opened his mouth to speak, the group sudden converged on him. "Back! Getbackgetbackgetback!" Leon stammered, backpedaling quickly. He was sure he must have run into Usui, pushing him backwards with his mass.

Thankfully he'd reacted fast enough to avoid the predators' initial attack, but he feared he might not be so lucky next time. There was no time to waste. These beasts weren't going to stop for a chat - he needed to protect Bevy and Usui. The bear snarled, fixing his eyes on the leader. He was nearly as big as them - standing up, Leon could reach an intimidating height of six feet. His paws were secured to the ground for now, positioning himself in front lf his vulnerable friends. The bear widened his jaws and summoned the roiling heat from his chest, emitting a blast of burning hot air at the raptors in an attempt to hold them back.

The raptor's came forward at her call, lunging for Leon and not the cub, thankfully. The great bear shielded the injured lion anyway, to her relief. She knew that Leon could handle himself-- though she was worried about what was wrong with the gembounds. They all looked the same, but they seemed.. feral. Unnatural. Like monsters. They clearly weren't thinking clearly, they didn't even try to communicate. She flapped high above the others, staring down at the battle before her. "Stay back, Usui! Leon can handle this," she instructed, worried that the cub would be too easy of a kill for the hunters.

Shivering, she looked back down at the raptors and although she was scared, she knew she had to do something. Bevy didn't fight like the others though... Her magic was used to heal, not harm. She could concentrate bad bacteria around the raptors, but what good would that really do? Make them sick? She didn't want to make them sick, they-- wait. They were already sick! She had to heal them! Was it the white things making them confused, making them want to hurt good gembounds for no reason?

The innocent, pure hearted pitohui bird turned on her white sense, hoping to find the source of the pack's aggression, the reason why they would gang up on Leon.

The lion cub slowly slunk back, little claws sticking out and sharp fangs revealed to the raptors. He hated how he looked like a coward at that moment, having to rely on both Bevy and Leon to protect him. It reminded him of Aquarian when he had been unable to do anything but dislodge a few rocks. The boy was frustrated. His power was greater than that! He was stronger than these disgustingly feral and bloodthirsty gembounds. The boy’s thoughts were broken then as he was shoved roughly by a furry bear butt and the screeching of Bevy from overhead. Usui allowed himself to be pushed and found his little body skidding a little ways back from the pack since there was ice everywhere. Now, his hind leg really hurt for it was being thrashed around like that even after it was already twisted. Usui looked at his leg. He swore it was turning purple and developing a nasty swell.
Turning back towards the raptors, he saw that they had missed their bear target and had instead collapsed into a wriggling pile. They had advanced but Leon’s furry butt had pushed him out of harm’s way, and the raptors still stood in front of the trio. The boy looked at leon in awe as the bear stood to his full height, and let forth a blast of overly heated air!

The boy hauled his body forward – literally crawling on the ground and wincing in pain from the useless leg, He saw the nearest thing he could balance on –Leon’s rump- and without hesitation nor a hint of remorse latched his paws onto it and hauled himself forward. Now, he stood side to side with Leon. The bear could shove him behind again if he wanted to but the boy was going to try something!

Usui’s black jade glowed a ghastly black shade as he concentrated on the ground of the raptors, intending to send a large tremor their way to disorient their little puny brains.

The screeching mass of huge raptors broke into even louder screeches, blown back by the blast of superheated air summoned by the bear. Raising his feathered crown, the alpha roared to beckon his following females up to their feet and jumped onto a stone, wriggling in preparation to pounce on their prey. As far as the alpha male was concerned, there was four of them and only one tall bear. Bevy's white sense would supply little knowledge to her other than the raptors were quite hungry. They suffered from no illness, only fury.

Beneath them, the ground shook, causing some discord amongst the creatures. They scrambled to the walls, huddling together for one brief moment. Soon, the dominant raptor would set his sights on the bear once more. With a great growl, he'd leap from his stone and aim directly for the bear.

POST ATTEMPT;;

Feeling flesh beneath his feet, the raptor-like monster gave a screech of delight and latched on as tightly as he could amongst the fluff that was the bear. The other beasts would soon follow, but staying behind to guard their leader.

From somewhere behind the raptors, in a pool of darkness beneath a rock ledge at the edge of the cave wall, dark eyes briefly glinted.

The spotted hyena had been trailing them at a distance, tracking and sometimes even watching them since Canis--and now she'd heard the sounds of attack, and slipped up to investigate.

There was a bear, roaring out shimmering heat--and that lion cub, cowering. And Bevy, the bird, screeching overhead. Giggle flicked her eyes between them, then said a silent prayer to the bones left behind. She focused, her magic welling up within her, and she could feel it spilling forth.

Rot. Carrion. It feeds. It reeks. They hate the taste.

Suddenly she shot out of the darkness and into the orb-light, streaking past the raptors from behind, and--rather than attacking them outright--skidding right up to Leon. It took only a brief touch, while he struggled with the raptor, and she'd imparted her gift to him: a wake of red fungal mushrooms that would hopefully, at least briefly, thicken and spread over his fur.

These smelled like carrion--like rot, like a meal. But she knew from previous experience that the raptors hated the taste. And judging by what she'd seen, the fungus would be harmless to the bear. Hopefully--if her little plan worked--they would decide he was no longer good to eat... though if they continued to fight anyway, she'd have more to deal with than she'd prepared for.

Her initial strike over with, she turned and scrambled back away, intending to get right back out of the raptors' sights and back into her shadowed hollow.

She hadn't yet said a word.

________________

Roll the bones.

At this moment, Leon should have been crippled by fear. There were four large, obviously carnivorous predators that sought to make a meal out of them. They had gems of their own, but they hadn't stopped to speak - they leaped straight at the group, jaws and long claws thrashing hungrily. But Leon wasn't afraid. What had come first was defending these Gembounds. Defending the little lion cub who reminded him so dearly of Makyna, and his groupmate, Bevy, who had helped him through tough times. Suddenly, his life had been set aside to ensure the safety of his friends. He would fight these raptors to death if he had to, he would fight them until his muscles gave out and his bones crackled beneath his weight to save the ones he cared for. Leon was a knight through and through, and he would not shy away from sacrificing himself for his charge.

The blast of heat had caused the raptors to back away, and the fur along his shoulders and neck stood on end. Leon's lips curled back, revealing rows of thick, glistening white teeth. Fitted into powerful jaws, Leon was sure he could do some considerable damage once he got a hold of one of them. And it seemed that fate would come sooner rather than later - while Usui prompted a great shaking of the earth, Leon braced his legs and lowered himself, keeping his center of balance before the squad's leader jumped at him. This time, the bear couldn't move fast enough - the raptor landed on him, sharp claws gripping his thick fur and skin. Leon scowled; only, that wasn't the only thing that had attacked him.

In the midst of the raptor's attack, another Gembound had run up to him, previously unseen. The hyena had loped up to him, tapped him, and suddenly a bouquet of red-capped fungi sprouted from his skin. They broke through, causing him to snarl and grit his teeth at the sensation. This just wasn't fair. It was time to bring out the big guns. Leon erupted in a roar, thrashing his body and twisting around. The heat that remained in him simmered until it emerged with the intensity of a volcano, crawling up his throat, bleeding out from between his teeth.

Post-Roll Edit:
Unfortunately, the heat got caught in his throat - too much. Too hot! Leon choked and faltered, spitting nothing but embers at the raptor. No, no! The bear snarled and swung his head the other way, blindly snapping at the raptors' feet while bucking wildly, trying to dislodge it.