Maximus remembered being here once. It was a journey made with their former Overseer and the Sentinel. For a moment they wondered how they were doing, if Alpha was still as broken as they remembered, if the Sentinel was still their same old self. But they instead sighed and continued their walk along the beach, taking their sweet time.

Leo was a nice enough cave, they thought. Were it not for their garden, they'd have probably settled here. The sea breeze and the sound of the sea washing up on the cliffs and shore were calming. It was impossible to be anxious here, which they appreciated.

Sea birds flew overhead, calling out to each other loudly. Maximus spotted some frogbeaks diving down to the water to skim over its surface before swooping back up, their beats beating sporadically to get back up into the air. They stopped to watch for a moment, ears pricked forward as skycallers chased each other or caught fish hanging out in the shallows. It was peaceful.

@Bebby

Now, bebby didn't come to leo often. the warm temperatures melted the sugar coating on most of her body and made her kinda sticky, but if she hurried fast enough to the cooler parts, she was spared for the most part from being candied.

she likes being amongst the flowers and fruit, ESPECIALLY the fruit, she loved the neat flavors that seeped into her rock candy, and it kept her from crashing when she was less than desperate.

what she didn't expect to find was Max!! she hadn't seen them in a while, or since they last stopped for tea atleast, she missed them!!

unawares as to the concept of trying NOT to startle them, she yelled out to them. "MAX!!! MAXXY!! MAXIMUS OVER HERE!!!! ITS ME!!!!" she called, bounding forward, fluttering with great enthusiasm to her friend. "omg how have you been!!! it's been like, forevz!!!"

if max looked closely, they would be able to see the assortment of sickass jewelry she had acquired from the wishing rock adorning her features, bracelets galore, aswell as heartshaped clip-on earrings that shimmered in rose quartz pink.

fashionable.

@Maximus

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A startled bleat left Maximus' mouth as they leapt forward and away, running right into the sea itself before they even bothered to turn around. It took a moment to process the amazing amount of colors and accessories, not to mention the butterfly wings, rainbow fur... wait, they knew this gembound!

”Bebby!” they exclaimed, standing up straight and jogging towards the fairy-cat. ”Hello! It has been a while, you're right. How are you?”

They came to a stop in front of her and dropped into a four-legged stance, not wanting the other to end up hurting her neck from looking up so high. The downsides of being a 12-foot-tall valkhound, they supposed. Among others.

@Bebby

She made a sad, apologetic sound as she realized too late that, oops, maybe don't be so loud and surprising.

as if she'd ever willingly follow that rule though.

"sorry sorry!! i didn't mean to startle you!! hi!!" she said, bouncing in place.

as Maximus leaned down to her level, she playfully placed two paws atop their muzzle, propping herself up to look down into their eyes. "i've been good!! Forgraves got a new puzzle box from the rock, and he's been gushing over it for days, not to mention how much TEA HE'S BEEN MAKING! he finally got like, a proper set! there won't be that underlying note of CLAY next time you see us!! it actually tastes better!!" she exclaimed, giggling as she finished.

"I've been enjoying my gifts too, as you can see!! i got a new toy and nico and i have been having alot of fun with it, i had to stop tori from painting one of them, but they dont have any eyes so that might be a good idea either way, but still! and you haven't told me what you got yet either, i saw you there a few times!!! i think we missed you though, you left right after." she rambled excitedly, flopping back down to rest her hed on max's muzzle dramatically. "sorry i dont mean to talk so much but AAAH!!" she shrieked, "i've missed you, and everybody else there doesn't travel nearly as much as you do, you have cooler stories!"

she FINALLY seemed to settle down from her sudden burst of excitement, letting out a big sigh. "so, how are you?"

@Maximus

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Maximus folded their legs under them and let Bebby rant, their patience absolutely endless. They nodded along gently so as to not accidentally push the cat off, their ears perked forward and unflinching even when Bebby reached peak volume.

Finally, it was their turn to speak.

”I'm doing very well, thank you,” they said with a chuckle, raising a hand to gently pet the other on the head. ”I personally received two gifts. One is a garden in the jungle cave, and the other is the necklace I'm wearing. The garden needs some cleaning up and flowers, but once I'm done with it, it'll be beautiful.”

Max pulled away to fish their necklace out from beneath their mane, their ears pricking up suddenly. It was glowing gold, and as they moved closer to Bebby, it glowed brighter. Their own eyes lit up, excited to be able to help the other.

”Look, it's telling me you need help, it only glows when it senses that,” Maximus said, pointing to the gem. ”Is there something on your mind, Bebby?”

@Bebby
(I asked Josie for permission for the stone to glow uwu)

She purred happily as Max reached to pet her head, leaning into it happily. she rarely got pet, 'sept for by banshy, since they were really the only person in there capable of it. it was ALWAYS nice.

speaking of which..

she made a fascinated "ooooo!" at the pretty necklace, the golden glow sparkling in her eyes, the reflection like god dusting.

"Me? oh boy, let me think, uhhh... i think alot so theres alot of stuff on my mind!! its hard to pinpoint specific things." she explained, thinking, sitting up with a paw scratching her chin.

"oh!! there has been one thing thats bothering me, so maybe its talking about that!!! in short, i'm bored and unenriched!!!" she yelled, pointing in triumph at figuring out her inner woes. "theres nobody to actually PLAY with. not like with the dolls, thats a different play!! i mean the running and jumping and tackling and playfighting all other cats do!! theres nobody to do that with anymore and its driving me CRAZY!!!!"

"so i'll be super agitated, and then sometimes i accidentally break stuff just because i have so much energy! and i can run around on my own but its not the same by myself! and running only does so much, and i feel bad hunting when im not hungry! so i'm just bored!! everyone back at home is either too big and doesn't wanna hurt me, or too small or young and i dont wanna hurt THEM either!" she ranted. she ended with another dramatic "humph!", it seems this has truly been bothering her.

she looked up to max, puppy-dog (or more like kitten-cat) eyes activating, lip quivering in what anybody else would assume is dramatics again if it weren't the fact bebby truly just is like this. "could you play with me? you know how to heal, right? so if you hurt me you could fix it!! im just so bored!!!" she mewed, practically begging on her paws and paws (hands and knees).

@Maximus

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Maximus nodded in sympathy, feeling quite bad for Bebby. They themself knew that enrichment was key, though they could entertain themself with rather mundane things, something Bebby couldn't do. However, Max was well versed in playfighting with smaller opponents.

”Well, let's hope that healing won't be necessary,” they said, standing up. ”I'd be happy to play with you, Bebby. I can even give you some tips, if you'd like.”

They let their quills flare out and shook them, making them rattle and quiver. They ran their hand over their head, smoothing them back down, but their excitement had already been exposed. They were just as eager as Bebby, although Maximus wasn't quite one to wiggle and squeal.

”Just mind my quills,” they reminded gently, stepping back.

@Bebby

Bebby practically (well, she did) jumped for joy at max's acceptance, clapping her paws. "YESSS!! thank you thank you thank you!! this is gonna be awesome!!"

she chuckled giddily as she watched max stand up and flatten their quills again. "yeah yeah, give me tips! i wanna get better at this, im kinda just flailing in the dark here, but flailing nonetheless!" she said excitedly, punctuating her sentence by breaking into a jumping sprint.

With a wiggle of her tail and a flap of her wings, her sprint turned into a flying JUMP, aimed straight towards the center of max's chest in an attempt to knock them down. this is gonna be FUN!

@Maximus

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Maximus, being 12 feet tall and weighing the same as a horse, barely felt the impact. They fell back anyway, landing in the soft sand and quickly rolling over. They shook the sand out of their fur and stood back up, turning to face Bebby again.

”That was good. Aiming to knock a top-heavy opponent over will always give you an advantage. Keep in mind that a harder opponent might not go down as easily, but someone smaller - much smaller - than I would probably be knocked off balance,” they said.

They trotted towards Bebby and batted at her gently, though it was far too gentle to do anything to her despite their size difference. They just kinda... myeh. Just a tiny push.

@Bebby

Bebby laughed as they fell, only letting out the smallest "oomph" as they landed, smiling wildly, it was kinda creepy.

as she jumped off of maximus, eagerly awaiting their turn, she seemed.... underwhelmed by what she got. she appreciated the tip, yes, but. thats it? she didn't even get pushed over! she felt making THEM fall more than she did them pushing her!!

"HIT ME HARDER!!" she said, "I CAN TAKE IT!!!"

she was serious, too, you could hear it, but that didn't mean she was letting her guard down, letting them hit her again yet!! it was her turn, and so bebby would attempt to climb their arm, a little as her claws used in said climbing as possible, because they weren't actually trying to hurt eachother, in an attempt to get to their head.

she, in all her weird delight, hoped she gets flung off!!

@Maximus

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