Eridanus was alive, brimming with energy and dappled sunlight, plants swaying gently in the breeze. Small clearings dotted the Maw, and in one of these, an odd family had gathered: a dragon, a numbat, and a tamarin. Of course, the dragon was away at the moment, hunting, and the tamarin was fast asleep in the trio's burrow, and so the only creature awake and trotting about was the numbat. Ears flicking this way and that, whiskers twitching and eye shiny with relief, lame leg dragging behind him. Booker hummed a tune under his breath, something mindless and lilting, a mix of his own thoughts and the melody that Baratheon had sung when they had bonded. The injury didn't seem to bother him much as he circled the clearing, stripping plants of their leaves and carrying them back to his den, the hovel carved out of the earth beneath the twisting roots of a berry bush. The burrow - if it could even be called such, considering it had been dug and then torn up by talons, leaving scours in the dirt - was filled with leaves, moss and food... as well as Diot, who slept on, oblivious to the world around him. Booker absently snuffled at his son's face, checking that the little one was alright, before leaving the den once more, continuing his cycle. Though it might have appeared mindless, the almost constant movement of his pupil gave his constant vigilance away. Every so often, the numbat sent across a quick All clear! to his bonded, knowing the dragon was beating himself up over the fight. Still humming, Booker tapped out a soft beat with his working foot as he went along, clutching leaves in his mouth and hands, continuing on with his self-imposed chore.

Her flower had unfortunately wilted and died so she was on a mission for another one. It was a simple enough task if she went to Eridanus which was one of the perfect places to find beautiful flowers. Of course, compared to the one that her beloved had given her all of the other flowers paled in comparison but that tiara was something special. She simply could not just wear it around like she did her normal flowers.

Ah, the engagement. She could feel excitement bubbling in her gut at the thought of it. How wonderful it would be to take her beautiful bear's paw in matrimony! She still couldn't believe that it had happened and that they would actually be married. She shuddered excitedly in her fur and out of her throat hummed a light tune. It was one that was muted at first but began to grow in melody as her own happiness grew,

"
Ooooh honey you can have me when you want mee-eee
If you simply ask me to be theee-eere
And you're the only one who makes me come running
'Cause what you got is far beyond compaaaa-aaare,

Oooooooohh!" She paused in her place and sang the "Oooooh" up to the sky. Her sweet voice echoed around the forest as she belted that part out before continuing on to the next verse as well as a hibiscus bush which held beautiful blue blooms. As she picked a flower she continued to sing.

"
And it's just like honey
When you're love, comes, over meee-eee
Oh baby I've got a depeeendency
Always strung out for another taste of your honeeee-eey
It's like honey when it washes over me
You know sugar never ever was so sweet
And I'm dying for ya, crying for ya, I adore ya
One hit of your love addicted me
Now I'm strung out on you darling
Don't you see
Every night and day
I can hardly wait
For another taste of honey
Honey I can't descriiiibe
How good it feels insiiiide
Honey I can't descriiiibe
How good it feels inside,"

She found one bloom that she liked and picked it up carefully with one paw and began to sing to it as if it were that special someone that she was thinking about.

"
I can't be elusive with you honeeee-eeey
'Cause it's blatant that I'm feeling you
And it's too hard for me to leave abruptly
'Cause you're the only thing I wanna doooo-oooo"

She planted it up in front of her right ear and tangled it into the fur so that it would stay. Perfect. She could have left and went back to Pisces but she was just so excited. Leon was out patrolling and she was all alone so perhaps Leon would come through here and she would get a glimpse of her own honey. In her hopeful, ecstatic state she heard something in the distance. The sound of scuttling and grass and leaves moving... Was it him?

Her paused song began up again as she meandered pleasantly towards where she heard the sound. I

"
Ooooh honey you can have me when you want mee-eee
If you simply ask me to be theee-eere
And you're the only one who makes me come running
'Cause what you got is far beyond compaaaa-aaare,

Oooooooohh!" She paused in her place and sang the "Oooooh" up to the sky. Her sweet voice echoed around the forest as she belted that part out before continuing on to the next verse as well as a hibiscus bush which held beautiful blue blooms. As she picked a flower she continued to sing.

"
And it's just like honey
When you're love comes over me
Oh baby I've got a dependency
Always strung out for another taste of your honey
It's like honey when it washes over me- Oh!"

The creature she saw certainly wasn't Leon. It was a tiny creature, barely larger than the cave rats around the cave but he was absolutely adorable! "I'm sorry! I hope I haven't disturbed you, my good sir."

---

words: 681
tagged: @Booker
ooc: ---
muse: 5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
"Thinking is this!"

Booker's ears pivoted this way and that. There was a... noise, coming from a ways off, melodic. It sounded a bit like Baratheon, but the dragon had a lower tone, deep and soothing. This was lighter, distinctively feminine, and the numbat found himself shrugging it off and continuing on about his work - after all, he had yet to back down from anything life had thrown at him, and the tiny Gembound wasn't about to start now. Still, he found himself humming to the distant tune, glancing about as it grew louder. Dropping off his mouthful of leaves around Diot, patting them into place like a semi-formed nest, Booker darted from the burrow to the edge of the clearing, nearer to the noise, absently gathering more food. A few more rounds, and the noise steady grew, soon revealing itself to be... words? Unlike Baratheon's song, which reached into Booker's soul and grabbed at it, lassoed it, dragged him closer, this tune was soothing and calm, a strong backbone of affection lightening it. Though the numbat couldn't quite understand all of the words from this distance, he tried to mouth along, laughing to himself. Whatever was drawing nearer, it certainly was in a good mood - which made the chances that it was something bad, like, for instance, a fire-breathing dragon, lessen considerably. After all, most of the things Booker was afraid of were never in good moods. All at once, the noise grew louder, and a gigantic figure pushed its way past the ferns lining the circle of earth. Booker jumped, leaves falling from his grip in a great plume of startled green, eye wide as he gazed up at the... well. He didn't know what it was, though it resembled Usui. It's song, however, was more like Baratheon, and so the numbat relaxed, tilting his head to one side as he examined the great beast. It's hide was light and short, and it seemed to be gathering flowers, like he had gathered supplies for his son. "'s alright," he replied cheerily, brushing a broad leaf off of his snout with a sneeze. "Heardja comin'. You were doin' that... singin' thing, like my brother." A curious gaze met Makyna's, and Booker grinned. "Are you a dragon? Never seen one so tiny, though," he mumbled to himself, head tilting to the opposite side as he pondered. "Though I 'ave only seen two, so maybe there are smaller ones?" A shrug, and the tiny Gembound sniffled again. "Watcha doin' in Eridanus, miss?" A glance at the flowers, and a smaller, gentle smile. "Stockin' up for somethin' special?" Booker gestured to the fallen leaves, absently pushing them together with his tail. "I'm gatherin' nest material for my son," he explained, picking up a berry from the pile and poking at it curiously.

"Oh! Good, good!" Makyna smiled pleasnantly. Seemed as if she'd found a nice soul today which cheered her mood up all the more. Everything was turning up rosy! Even better, this fellow had a brother that sang? How lovely! To see another musical creature and perhaps exchange songs with them would be lovely! At his inquiry she couldn't help but give a small laugh. "A dragon? No, I'm not a dragon. I'm a lioness." Her head tilted curiously to the side but the smile never wavered. "I'm not sure if I've ever actually seen a dragon. I thought they were just from cub-tales." She knew they were or rather of them because of carvings and some buried memories but never had she seen one face to face. Perhaps she would have to do some searching to find one and speak with it! Could certainly be interesting.

Makyna dropped a couple of flowers on the ground, eyeing them lovingly as if they would give her an image of her beloved bear. While they didn't do that they reminded her of something that was to come. "I'm looking for flowers for decoration for..." Here her voice took on a dreamy quality. "My wedding. I'll help the others of my group decorate Pisces for the event." Her claws kneaded the ground in excitement as she peered down at the little creature. Would he like to come? They weren't friends but she was sure that there would be plenty of excitement for non-members and who was to say that they wouldn't become friends?

She crouched down, lowering herself to his level so that he wouldn't quite have to look up so far. "Materials for your son? Is your son around?" She couldn't help but admit that she was fond of children. She loved adopting them and teaching them and being a parent. "My wedding... would you like to come? I have a few children of my own so perhaps your son could play with them! And you... you could come and attend if you'd like. I'm sure there'll be many festivities afterwords. Singing, dancing, feasting, you name it!" The more the merrier! She'd love to have as many at the wedding as she could get.

---

words: 371
tagged: @Booker
ooc: --
muse: 6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
"Thinking is this!"

"A lioness?" Booker hadn't heard the term before, but it reminded him of something... "Oh! Like Usui! Neato," he chirped, peering up at Makyna curiously. At the mention of dragons, he huffed out a laugh, thinking of both Baratheon and the fiery chaotic beast that stalked Polaris. "Oh yes, there're drag'ns, m'dear. My brother is one! Big guy, pink horns, lotsa fur. Flies around and hums a lot?" Not seeing any spark of recognition, he shrugged sheepishly, grinning. "If ya stick around in Eridanus for a while, you'll probly run into 'im. He's out huntin' right now." A pause, and then a bashful smile split the numbat's snout. "Ah! I'm Booker, by the by. Pardon my rude-ness; we've been kinda isolated for a while." When Makyna dropped her collected flowers, Booker dropped the berry he'd been inspecting, peering down at the plants and back up at the lioness. "A wedding?" He scanned his brain for the term, scratching at a cheek idly, before snapping his fingers together. "Oh, a wedding! How lovely," the numbat replied, eye widening as he grinned. "Oh, Pisces! I liked Pisces," he murmured, more to himself than present company. "A bit... wet, but nice." Come to think of it, she looked... familiar... but the fog clouded the memory, and Booker waved the thought away with a hum. "I went there once with a friend. Quix," he added, after a moment of trying to grasp the quickly fleeing name. His grin returned when she crouched down to his level, letting his neck rest from the strain of almost constantly peering up at... well. Everything. "Oh yes! He's back in the burrow," Booker began, turning a bit to point to the berry bush his home had been dug underneath. "He's asleep at the mo', or I'd be glad ta in-tro-duce ya," the tiny Gembound explained with a tiny proud smile. Turning back to Makyna, he blinked, dumbfounded, at the offer. Generally, his life consisted to reaching out to others - and those encounters only went well or poorly, with no in-between. To be granted such instant trust was... well, it was the first time since Baratheon, really. "I... I'd love ta," he answered, grin strengthening. "It'd be nice for Diot to meet some Gems his own age, and it'd sure be nice to have a lil' fun... it's been a rough few weeks for our family," he explained with a tiny snort, internally cringing at the understatement. "Plus, my brother's been kinda... wound up tight, y'know? He needs ta relax once in a while!" A short laugh, and a tilted head. "Who's the lucky Gembound, anyhow?"

Oh! This one knew Usui? How wonderful! "Yes yes! Exactly like Usui! He's actually a very good friend of mine." It was nice to know that she had mutual friends with this young fellow. So... Dragons were real, then? How fascinating! "I'd love to stick around and meet your brother if I can! To see a real, live dragon would be most wonderful!" The lioness dipped her head politely after Booker introduced himself. "Oh no no, I've been rude as well, I'm afraid. Please, my name is Makyna Songcat. It's a pleasure to meet you, Booker." She nodded her head when he seemed to finally grasp the concept of a wedding. It was strange how the words just seemed to form out of no where. Ky wanted to find the answer but she wasn't sure if she ever would.

At the mention of Quix she gave a sharp exclamation of surprise. "Why, Quix is one of my children. I'm glad you've met her." From the sound of it it seemed that they'd gotten on just fine which was good. Sometimes young Quix could have a mouth but with this numbat she wondered if anyone ever could be short with him. "Oh, yes, of course... Let the poor dear sleep. Cubs need their rest, after all."

When he explained that it had been rough for he and his family the lioness gave a sympathetic murmur. "I'm so sorry to hear that... but perhaps a nice distraction is what you all need." Perhaps that certainly would help. They could get their minds off of the trouble and hopefully have a little fun. She would have said more but then Booker asked about the lucky guy. Makyna's eyes took on a dreamy look as the familiar fluttering in her gut and speeding heart took off. "His name is Leon. He's a great big bear with a huge heart." Should she launch into the whole story of how they met? Or should she just let it go? The latter... As tempting as it was she couldn't just gush her whole story onto the tiny creature. Well... Not unless he asked. "I love him very, very much. Can you believe he proposed to me with this gorgeous little flower crown? It looked like... well... like..." Then she stopped speaking and focused on her magic. She focused on the image of the blue crystal crown with blue flowers crystallized and the small vine carvings cutting through. Then, she focused that image and projected it into Booker's mind. Like this. Isn't it beautiful? Her voice, though spoken in thought, was still in awe and disbelief that she had someone so nice.

---

words: 444
tagged: @Booker
ooc: --
muse: 7/10

"Talking looks like this!"
"Thinking is this!"

"Oh! Y'know Usui?" The numbat grinned, obviously pleased as punch to have a friend in common with the lioness. Usui was gigantic, but kind, displaying a kind of genuine interest in Booker as an individual that very few did. At the mention of his brother, the scribe hummed, nodding, tapping into the bond with the dragon and nudging it a bit, a silent assurance - and a way to check that Baratheon was, indeed, nearby. "You're welcome to," he insisted, smiling at the thought of his family. "We don't get many visitors." "Makyna," he repeated, trying to commit the name to his admittedly failure-prone memory. "Songcat! Fitting," Booker added with a pleasant grin. He hadn't ever found such a second name, but it didn't bother him much - after all, it gave his brain more room to remember the names of others. "Pleasure to meetcha!" At the response to Quix's mention, the tiny Gembound's ears perked up, and his eye brightened as tiny teeth sparkled in a grin. "Ah! Makes sense, act-shew-ly," he murmured with a sage nod. "Light fur, the blue... I met Quix when I was younger, n' still in Polaris," he explained, thinking back to his friend with a fond chuckle. "She's a bundle o' energy, that one. Got me outta my shell, a bit." He didn't add that he hadn't seen her in weeks, considering he hadn't seen much of anyone in weeks. He hummed, dipping his head in silent thanks at her condolences. "A distraction would be great," Booker admitted, thinking of little Diot. His son hadn't experienced much, but what he had, his adoptive father only felt guilt for. To have an opportunity for the tamarin to have a little fun, some happiness... it was much too tempting to pass up. And then, of course, his mind decided to hang on a word, as it often did. Leon. I know that name. How do I know that name? The numbat tried to shake off the unsettling feeling of guilt that accompanied the name, but it continued on, washing over a few of Makyna's words, until finally, the dredges of his fogged consciousness offered up a flicker of recollection: screaming, pleading, a massive gathering of Gembounds, all in... Pisces. That must be how he knew it - and oh, if Makyna recognized him, she was much more forgiving than he could possibly hope to be. He'd almost helped exile her fiancé. Trying to cover up the shiver of fear that ran up his back, Booker merely smiled up at the lioness, coughing to shake away the feel of acid. The image still stuck to his inner mind, his new friend - if she stayed that way, with the knowledge that he'd been part of that tumultuous trial - was doing something, and with a flash, actually entering his consciousness. Startled, it took the scribe a moment to focus, idly waving away the fire and smoke that always crackled away in the corners of the small black room, the only true warmth to be found emanating from his bright pink and white bond to Baratheon. Beautiful, he agreed honestly, taking in the image with a tiny, pleased grin. He'd always been happiest when other were, and this obvious display of true love made him just a bit teary. I've never seen anything like it.

MAKYNA
"let's sing a song for the heart"

Makyna grinned. Yes, it was pretty funny that her surname fit her so well. Perhaps it was because she'd been given it after her particular talent had come to fruition. Not only had it been given to her but given to her by a hyena no less... A disgusting creature that she hardly would have guessed being decent at giving good names. Oh... That wasn't nice. Perhaps she shouldn't say disgusting. Uncouth. That was better.

"Oh yes! She'll certainly have you running around the block and plus some." The lioness gave a laugh. A ball of energy was an understatement. That fox could go! Still, she loved that little ball of fur and was glad to have her around. "She's a sweetheart though."

Perhaps if Makyna had known that this was one of the creatures that would help condemn the love of her life perhaps she wouldn't have been so kind. As it was she didn't recognize him. The numbat's small size had saved him or perhaps it was her preoccupation with the beast he'd tried to murder Leon. In any case she hadn't paid much attention to the jury and thus didn't remember this fellow at all. She was simply happy to have someone to gush about the wedding with and simply talk to.

"Do you like it?" She asked, eyes shining with honest curiosity. "I know it's just flowers but I really like flowers." Here she paused to indicate the one in front of her ear and on the ground. "I wonder how he made it though... It must have been so difficult." Truly she was curious. How on earth had he gotten crystals around the flowers. Magic certainly but how? And what kind? It must have been a powerful mage that helped.

______________________________________

"This is how I talk!"
"This is how I sing!"
This is how I think!

295
@Booker
---
5/10

Booker waited for any sign of recognition, a sudden turn in the lioness's attitude, for a hint of kindness beginning to curdle into pain - but saw none. Makyna stayed staring at him with nothing but honest interest in her face, and the numbat let out a soft sigh of relief, fear receding. It took him a moment to swim back to the waking world and speak, but when he did, his eye blinked open, peering up at the older Gembound with a grin. "It's lovely," the scribe answered, the image of the crown still dancing in his mind. "Dunno how he did it, though. He must love ya alot, to make somethin' that special," Booker reasoned, grin softening into a content smile at the thought. These caves had given him a family, but they had taken more than their pay - it was nice to see someone else so obviously overjoyed with their life. It gave him hope, in a way, that he could one day overcome the Mother's challenges and reach that level of honest happiness. Still, the tiny Gembound tracked back to the mention of Quix, tilting his head, concern niggling at his mind. The last time he'd seen her she'd been... been... she'd been upset, right? The memory was fluid and only semi-present, but the fox had been... crying? "How is Quix, by tha way? I think... ah. Well, I think the last time I saw 'er she was kinda upset. But my memory ain't the greatest," Booker admitted, scratching at his chin idly, ears flicking. "I feel bad, not havin' seen 'er for so long," he added sheepishly. How many of his friends had he left behind, in that world of fog and fire? How many memories had been wiped out completely? It was a question Booker wasn't even sure he wanted answered. The Mother had given him back most of his clearest recollections, but those little moments, the ones that made life so special, the tiny gestures, the half-hidden smiles, the rush of making someone else laugh - those were gone, now, just another price to pay. Trying to shake himself out of the funk, the numbat continued on, humming. "Do ya need help with the weddin'? I'm sure me n' Bara could lend a hand," he offered.

MAKYNA
"let's sing a song for the heart"

Makyna smiled and nodded. Yes, yes he did love her very much and is was a nice feeling to know that someone loved her that much. It made her feel like the happiest lioness in all of the caves! To have someone like that was just amazing. Of course, she couldn't dwell on that. Not when Booker told her of the status of Quix. Her eyes glistened with the sadness of the memory as she stared down at the little creature. "Ah, yes... That is because of the trial. She was upset because her father, that treacherous Cancer, was convicted and exiled because of attempted murder on my Leon." Makyna sighed at the memory, still upset about the whole ordeal and with Cancer. "She's doing better now though. Still upset that Cancer had to leave but she understands why." She hoped. Ky had tried to explain and Quix seemed to take it all in stride afterwards.

"I would love help! We're gonna have a choir and we'll need help getting Pisces looking nice with everything! You and your entire family would be perfect!" The lioness grinned happily at the numbat, rump wriggling with excitement to have someone on board to help out. "Our leader is holding a meeting in a few days so perhaps you all could pop by and I'll tell you exactly what is needed."

______________________________________

"This is how I talk!"
"This is how I sing!"
This is how I think!

227
@Booker
---
6/10