Help it, it asked. Please, it probably would have said. You're such a sucker, it likely thought.

Ah, but he was. Rohan's heart was already too big and he didn't even know everything about life yet. He had been born next to a bear who he considered his brother in a way, but hadn't seen Leon in a long time. Actually, he hadn't seen anyone in a long time. "Helloooo," he called out tiredly. He was stuck. Like, really stuck. He was wearing a bulky piece of metal or something, he wasn't sure really what it was, but he greatly misjudged the size it added to his torso. He had tried to leap through two logs, but ended up snugly fitting himself into the space between them. He had wedged himself and despite his best efforts, couldn't free himself.

He had a lot of time to sit and think—he didn't have a choice—and kept thinking about the likely mistake that got him into this situation. Why would he even help a stranger anyway? He had just been born! And he was going to find parts of things he didn't even understand. Rohan let out an exhale of air and rolled his eye, kicking his feet in a bored manner. They were dangling just above the soft ground, and even if he kicked his back feet up high enough to push against the log, his body wouldn't budge. He had tried that a lot in the beginning, but now he just sort of accepted his fate.

The sound of the nearby stream was comforting. It reminded him almost of his chrysalis. To pass time, he would close his eyes and remember the time a quiet humming lulled him in his pre-conscious sleep. The soft sounds of the trench helped, too. It was low so it muffled sound. The tall ferns had sort of buried him, so the shelter reminded him of the safety and security he felt before he was so rudely awakened. A soft smile began to curve his lips, but then he also remembered the good thing about that day. He got to meet Leon, and explore the sounds their mouths could make. He laughed quietly to himself, then returned to an empty look. Man, he was really lonely.

"Heehhh, ah," he began, then stopped. What was the point? He'd been calling out for a while now. He didn't really have a sense of time so he wasn't sure how much had actually passed. He continued to kick his feet slowly, then dropped his head and let it dangle, too. "Maaan," he groaned, flopped over in the most depressing, defeated state. "This blows."

Life is precious.

Alone the young lioness traveled from Pisces, wanting to get a breath of warmer and fresher air. Her chest had taken all the moisture that it could as well as her fur. Feeling thoroughly saturated and cold th elioness had wandered away from her home, on a trail to Eridanus. She and Leon had previously practiced here and she was sure that she could still smell the singed fur. The lioness shuttered as she lay beneath a large tree. The feeling of searing claws going through her skin hadn't been a pleasant one and it was certainly a thing that she wouldn't forget soon though she could certainly try. After all, a cat nap never hurt anything.

Curled up on her side the lioness stared at her tail as it waved back and forth. Her blue eyes were starting to get heavier and heavier until-- "Maaan," Her golden head popped straight up, ears perking to catch the slightest hint of sound. Had she just imagined that? She reached a rear leg up to scratch at the inside of her ear before listening again. "This blows." No! She hadn't imagined it! Someone was nearby! It sounded like they were in trouble too!

Getting up the lioness gave a languid stretch, before stopping when it caused an uncomfortable twinge in her chest, then set off towards the voice. "Hello? Where are you?" She called out, throwing her voice in a juvenile roar to make it louder. It wasn't long before she saw what had been calling out. A defeated looking white wolf stuck between two logs with some strange bit of metal on his chest looked to be utterly helpless. The poor thing!

Makyna walked up to him and in an maneuver she had seen Leon do many times, stood up on her hind legs so she could get a better look at the canine. "Oh my! How did this happen!" She reached a paw up to try and touch him before lowering back to all four feet. "Don't worry! I'll get you down from there!" She examined the logs very carefully before concentrating on it with her magic. Her tongue poked from the side of her mouth as she focused very intently on one of the logs.

"Speech." || "Thoughts."

table by lisa

words: 376
tagged: Rohan
ooc: ---
muse: 5/10

He was contemplating what to do. He didn't have many options throughout the days that had passed, so he went with his favorite: probably try and sleep. But as he hung there, he couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about how helpless he was. Why'd he have to go and try to carry this thing around his chest? Why'd he have to try and be cool and jump through some logs even though nobody was looking? He had the most sour pouting face he could possibly muster as he dangled from the logs.

"Hello? Where are you?" came a voice, and he held his breath after having just groaned his displeasure with words he'd probably never say anywhere else. Several emotions surged through him as he registered that yes, that was a real voice. Panic, excitement, embarrassment- he didn't know what to feel. "UH, HERE?" he called out loudly, whipping his head around to try and see who had spoken. Then she appeared, but Rohan didn't know what to think. She had a gemstone in the middle of her head. So they did all have stones in their bodies? She stood and he just kind frowned at her. She asked how this happened and he gave a sad shrug. "Oh, you know, poor judgement," he admitted.

She almost touched him and Rohan didn't realize he had missed contact with other beings so much. "Huh? How?" he asked quickly, trying to follow her with his one eye. Then she looked at the logs and just.. stood there. Like, really stood there. Super concentrating stood there to the point her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth. What was she doing? "Heeey uh- ah!" but as soon as he began to speak, one of the logs budged slightly and Rohan fell out backwards, weighed down by the armor around his chest. He landed on his bum, and rolled over onto his side with a slight wince. "Geez man, how did you even do that?" he mumbled, trying to stand on his wobbly jello legs.

Stand! Standing! A large, long stretch ensued and he had the most euphoric look on his face. His tail was wagging against his hind legs as he came out of his stretch, giving his coat a good shake (and then noting to never do that again as the armor heavily waved to and fro) before rightfully facing his savior. "Thanks a lot, I was really set on just rotting away there," he said, looking back to the logs with disgust. "I really thought I'd fit, too." The armor around his chest was uncomfortable as he bowed his head down to sniff below the logs. He pulled out a few bones and sighed a large air of relief. He placed them in the open where he could count them. "Oh, good," he muttered, sliding them together with a paw.

"Okay!" he said loudly, turning to face her with a confident look. "My name is Rohan, and you really saved me there, you know," he commented, gesturing to the logs. "I don't even know how long I've been stuck there. Probably better if I didn't know how long, but uhh... it was a long time, so thanks! Really. Thanks," he said, unsure how many times now he had thanked her but he honestly couldn't be more grateful. A curious look plagued him and he awkwardly added, "Uuh what are you?" So far he only knew bears and wolves, and... strange wiggly arm stranger things.

Life is precious.

Poor judgement... She knew all about poor judgement. She was sure before it was all over everyone in the cave would know about poor judgement. The lioness gave a small grunt of assent to that, she could relate and she wouldn't judge. So, the time came when she unleashed her powers on the log. If she was any judge it looked like the wolf had been surprised by her powers. To newcomers to the arcane she guessed her powers would be sort of shocking. She hadn't wanted him to fall so heavily but there was nothing she could do about that. Quickly she rushed over to the canine and gave him a swift sniff. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry if that hurt you." Upon her closer inspection she couldn't help but linger at the metal, sniffing curiously. Why did he have metal on his chest? Did he have some sort of metal gemstone? She'd never seen that before! "I got you down with this. I can do stuff by concentrating on my gem and what I want to do." She said reaching a paw up to touch the small teardrop-shaped gem.

"You're welcome! I wouldn't want you to rot away." She gave him a friendly grin, noticing that he wagged his tail like Deus. Were wolves like dogs and showed joy by tail wags? Interesting. The lioness followed his gaze back to the logs. "Well, you never know until you try. Now you do know so next time you won't get stuck!" Everything was always a learning experience. The wolf would learn from this and be smarter the next time.

Curiously the lioness watched him count his bones. Wow, a strange gem and strange bones. Was he with Aza'zel or something? The Bone King would certainly love those. Before she could ask the other creature was speaking again. "It was no trouble, really!" She said with a grin. What sort of person would she have been if she just left him in the logs? A very bad one certainly.

At his question on what she was the lioness gave a laugh. He was so forward! "I'm a lion! My name's Makyna. Now," Since they were on questions she had a couple of her own. "Is that thing on your chest your gem? And are you with Aza'zel? Is that why you had those bones? Oh! And What's your name?" Her questions were far more numerous than his but she couldn't help it. Curiosity was her middle name.

"Speech." || "Thoughts."

table by lisa

words: 418
tagged: Rohan
ooc: ---
muse: 6/10

She was so friendly! Rohan was good-hearted, probably too much, so other friendly faces certainly made this big cave system all the more welcoming. After being up there for so long, it felt good to be in such great spirits! "Oh nah, it's fine," he commented quickly with a smile, dismissing any pain she was worried to have caused him. When she mentioned her power and stone, he leaned in to get a better look at it, unaware of personal space. "Ooh," he breathed as he let his body move back to where it had been. How interesting! So they each could do something cool huh? And as she continued, he breathed an airy laugh. Yeah, now he'll know for next time! Although he wouldn't admit it to her, but there probably wouldn't be a next time. He wouldn't trust himself to do something like that again, stuck in a piece of armor or not.

"Oh whoa, I've never met a lion before!" Obviously. But still, his excitement was hard to hide. "You have really pronounced muscles," he quipped, finding it hard not to look at the defined strength beneath her silky looking fur. She went on to ask him questions and his smile only grew. Wow! He loved questions! "What! Ahah, no! My gem is here," he began, trying to close just his right eye. He supposed if someone didn't know what his gem was, they probably wouldn't notice it at first glance. It matched his actual eye to an extent, anyway. Leo-aah my friend pointed it out, really. Otherwise I wouldn't have known either," he added, trying not to laugh at the memory of Leon nearly gouging his own eyeball out (okay it wasn't that dramatic, but things became dramatic for Rohan).

"Aza'zoowhat?" he tried to follow, but shook his head. "I don't know what that is. My name is Rohan, though!" he said, turning to push the bones slightly with his paw. "These bones belong to someone else, I have to bring them back to him. Same with this clunky thing on my chest," he explained, tapping the armor with his paw. "I figured the easiest way to carry it would have been to wear it, but that did me a whole lot of good, huh?" He shifted it by moving his shoulders and let out a large sigh. "I hope the person who wants it can take it off though, it really wasn't made to be worn by someone like me," he said with an exhausted tone.

"How many others have you met?" he asked sort of shyly, wondering how much he had missed being stuck up in the logs all this time.

Life is precious.

Makyna didn't mind at all that the wolf leaned in. She just tilted her head so that he could take a better look at her aquamarine gem. The concept of personal space wasn't one she had really learned yet so she just took it that this other gembound liked her as a friend and didn't mind being close to her! Her blue eyes locked onto Rohan's when he stepped back. The smile on her face was kind because this fellow seemed so nice! He reminded her a bit of Leon with his enthusiasm and kindness.

"I've never met a wolf either! A dog... but not a wolf!" She laughed. His next response had her tilting her head curiously before turning to examine her body. "I do?" No one had ever said that before! It had her ponderously looking at her fur... but that was all she really noticed was fur and just her. No special muscles just herself. Sheesh, she wondered what he would say bout the grizzly bear cub.

When she turned back to him she stepped closer to look into his eye. Wow! That was new. She'd never seen a gembound with his gem in his eye! "Wow! That's so cool! Can you see out of it?" With a gem in his eye it looked like it should hurt but apparently it caused him no pain. He seemed as happy and cheerful as any other gembound... except maybe Cancer who was hardly every happy-go-lucky. And... Leah? She didn't know anyone named Leah. Perhaps she should go try to meet her! That would give her a new and mutual friend with Rohan.

Makyna laughed again when he tried to pronounce her bird friend's name. "Aza'zel! He's a bird friend of mine and he likes bones... a lot! It's nice to meet you though, Rohan." Rohan. She liked that name a lot! She liked even better that he was so nice and willing to answer questions! "Neat! But... who are you bringing it to? Maybe I can help find them!" She offered. With all the places she'd explored and gembounds she knew they were bound to run into whoever needed this stuff. "Well, it does some good. I bet it's easier carrying it on your chest than in your mouth. So long as you don't try to jump through logs!" It did look uncomfortable though. Hopefully they'd find the metal piece's owner soon.

Her eyes brightened at his last question. "Oh! Lots! Let's see..." Then she began naming her friends and what they were. "I've met Aza'zel who's a vulture and The Bone King, I mentioned him already though. I know Fisher he's a little noodle-y creature but he's really nice when you get to know him. There's Amaria who's a feline like me but she's lighter like you and has spots! I've met another feline with orange and black stripes." She hoped she wasn't leaving anyone out but she didn't think so. "Then there are my group-mates that are a part of Maji Walezi, that's a group that Cancer started. Cancer's a feline too but he's all black with gem-horns on his head. There's Bevy who's a tiny lil' bird." She lifted one paw off the ground to show the tiny size of Bevy. Now... she moved on to her favorite gembound in the whole world. "Then there's Leon! He's my bestest friend in the whole wide world! He's a really big bear and he's part of my group too! You should meet him!" Little did she know that the little wolf already had met him.

"Speech." || "Thoughts."

table by lisa

words: 597
tagged: Rohan
ooc: ---
muse: 6/10

A dog! Was a dog like him? He continued to listen to her, but when she asked about his stone, he shook his head with a frown. The fact that he couldn't see out of his ride side was a strange realization when he was discovering everything about their newly found life with Leon, but at least others seemed to have the same eyes on both sides like his bear-brother did. "No, I can't see out of it," he answered, turning his head to the right. "I have to turn all the way this way to see things on this side, but I've gotten pretty used to it I guess!" He didn't want his blind side to seem like a negative thing, so he shot her a big grin.

Her friend liked bones!? Rohan began to hope that the bird didn't have any of the bones that he needed to collect for the dark colored creature he met nearly as soon as he was born. It'd be hard to figure out what ones would belong to him! At least these ones were inside the chest piece, so he didn't have to do much guessing there. "It's nice to meet you too! And I'm bringing them to someone I met just a little bit after I was born. He wants to find all the pieces that go with this thing here," he patted the chest armor again, "but also the bones that go with them. I don't know why! But he seems so sad without them. I want to try and help him out." It was clear that it burdened him, but not in an annoying kind of way. It burdened Rohan to know someone was so lonely, especially after having been stuck up in the logs by himself for a while now.

"That's what I thought! I mean, I tried to carry it in my mouth but the bones kept rolling out, so I needed to find a better alternative. Getting in to it was difficult but it proved easier than what I was trying before," he explained, then gestured toward where Tunnel I's entrance would be if they weren't down in the trench. "Anyway, the... creature lives in Tunnel J. He's not too hard to find but he kind of melts into the shadows. He kinda looks creepy at first but he just seems so sad," Rohan said, voice dipping toward the end. He didn't know why the creature wanted these things, but gosh darn Rohan was gonna help him get them back!

When she went on to explain the others she had met, Rohan listened intently. A bone king!? That sounded so cool! But he wasn't sure what to think of to picture a 'noodle-y' creature. As she talked about the others, he became excited at the idea of meeting so many different things! When she mentioned she was part of a group, he tilted his head but continued to listen, not wanting to interrupt her. What was a group? Why did they live in a group? He glanced down as she gestured the size of Bevy, and he looked genuinely surprised. Something as small as that lived here!? But the next thing she said erased all of his previous thoughts and questions.

"LEON! Hey! That's my friend!" he said excitedly as his tail rose and began to wave quickly behind him. They were best friends!? Leon and Rohan were best friends! Or well, sort of? "We were born together! Well like, next to each other. He's kind of like my brother or something yeah?" That's what it meant to be born with someone, right? "Anyway, we're friends too! I can't believe you know Leon! You gotta take me to him, I haven't seen him in forever!" Well, he hadn't seen anyone in forever. But now he was conflicted: should he go see Leon first, or take these possessions back to the creature that wanted them? It was clear the decision was plaguing him as he stared down at the bones with his brows pulled tightly together. "Ahhhh what should I do first!?"

Life is precious.

Oh dear, not being able to see out of his eye sounded terrible. Trying to imagine having only one eye to see out of was hard for her to do. It would allow her to be snuck up on on one side as well as cut off her vision. It sounded like such an awful thing but that grin he shot her reassured her. Perhaps it really wasn't too bad. In any case it probably made a difference if you were born with it. Just like Leon with his obsidian shoulder and Midas with his golden crown.

Bones that went with metal? That all made no sense to her but if someone wanted metal and bones then more power to them. Just because it made no sense to her didn't mean there was no logic in it. Too bad Rohan didn't know why, that would have been her next question. Now all she said was, "Interesting." As she peered at the helm and bones again. They looked nothing special to her... You could really just confuse the metal piece with some stuff just lying around and the bones could just be like the ones at Canis. "It's nice of you to help your friend out. If I could be of any help I wouldn't mind lending a paw either. I don't like to see anyone sad." Really she wouldn't. Makyna was really just a pushover to anyone in need. If she could help out in any way then she do her darnest to help. Especially if it would make someone feel better!

When she explained her friends Rohan was obviously listening but when she mentioned Leon he seemed to just perk up! He knew Leon too? That was amazing! They had a best friend in common! "Wow! Really? That's so awesome! When I was born Leon was right there waiting for me, I guess he heard me hatching and came over to investigate but he was the first person I ever met." Gee, that was so cool that she'd found Leon's brother. A brother... She didn't really know what one of those was but it sounded really nice. She wished she had a brother. "If you guys hatched together I guess that would make you brothers! But... what are brothers?" Maybe Rohan could explain it better than she could think it.

"I'd love to take you to see him! I bet he'd be so glad to see you if you're brothers." It kind of made her a little jealous that Leon knew someone better than her... but she squashed the feeling. It didn't make her happy to be jealous and it made her want to keep Leon all to herself. That was no good. It was better to share your friends. Besides, what if she and the wolf and Leon could all be bestest friends together?

Makyna tilted her head to the side and approached the wolf, putting a comforting paw on his shoulder. Perhaps she could help him with the decision. "If you're supposed to be helping your other friend collect his items you should do that... but," After a brief pause so she could gather her thoughts she spoke again. "Why don't we go collect Leon first? You guys could catch up with each other while you're doing the task for your other friend. You'll get Leon and be doing your duty at the same time!" That would work, right?

"Speech." || "Thoughts."

table by lisa

words: 572
tagged: Rohan
ooc: ---
muse: 6/10

The lioness mused the word interesting and Rohan gave a soft chuckle. Yeah, interesting was one way to put it. Especially if she knew what the creature Rohan was helping looked like. But when she mentioned he was helping his friend, the wolf shook his head curtly. "Ohh nah, he's not really my friend. I just sort of met him and then felt bad for him and agreed to help," he said, wondering if the creature thought Rohan just peaced out since he had been gone for so long. The thought made him feel bad so he tried not to think about it. At least now he could prove he really did want to help! He didn't just leave!

"Oh man, that would be so cool if you could help! I honestly have no idea where to find these things!" He was so happy! It was a dreadful, intimidating thought searching the entire cave system by himself. "Maybe we could see if any of your friends will want to help?" he asked, unsure if the rest of her friends were as friendly and willing to help as she was. He knew Leon probably would be, at least. "Although I gotta let you know now, the uhhh... creature that wants this stuff is a little different looking, but he really isn't all that bad. He just has some extra limbs and is as black as shadow!" Really though, how could he explain it? Rohan didn't really even know much more about it than that.

It was so neat that Leon was the first being either of them saw! He listened with a smile as she talked about the bear, but when she asked what brothers were, he cocked his head. "Uuhhh," he breathed, gaze drifting as he thought. He knew the word somehow, but not enough to really explain it. "Just like, we were born together, so it's like we're connected because of that? Not like mentally or anything, but uh.. like a default group I guess?" As he spoke, he shifted his attention and gaze back to her, hoping that it helped explain the word at least a little bit. Although really, it probably just made it worse. He offered an apologetic smile and a slow shrug. Yeaaah!

"I'd love to! I'd be glad to see him too!" he exclaimed, a bit louder than he actually meant to. As he was contemplating his decision, however, she approached and put a paw on his shoulder. She made a good point though! He could see Leon first and they could go together. "We could all go!" he suggested as his tail started to wag again. If Leon got along with this lioness as well as she said he did, then Rohan likely would get along with her too! Well, he already was, but they could all bond together! "Do you know where Leon is now?"

Life is precious.

Oh, not a friend just a stranger. That was fine too! Just because they were strangers didn't mean you couldn't help them! That was how you made friends sometimes too! "Well, that was awful nice of you!" Truly it was! But what sort of person would he be if he didn't help someone out? Not a nice one, that was for sure. "Great! Then count me in!" Great! Another adventure! She was certain that the Maji Walezi would want to help too. She could bring it up to the council and ask the whole group to help then she could talk to Aza'zel and get them to help too! They'd find his items in no time at all! "I'm sure they'd love to help too! My group and the Bonebound. We'll get those items back for you, positive of it!" She said cheerfully.

Different looking creature? Odd but so long as he was nice then that wouldn't be a problem. Looks didn't matter. Just look at her and her friends, they were all different and Midas didn't have any limbs at all! "But so long as he's nice it doesn't matter what he looks like. Me and all of my friends look different but we all get along." In the cubs mind she couldn't imagine anyone being that different. So in her imagination she couldn't imagine herself judging anyone on looks. She would just have to see when she met him.

Hmm... His explanation helped a little. Admittedly she had an inkling of an idea of what a brother was but nothing certain. So, she pawed her chin and furrowed her brow as she thought about it. Then she nodded her head as if satisfied with the explanation. "Hmm... makes sense to me. Being brothers sounds nice..." She then gave a wistful sigh and said almost to herself. "You're so lucky to be brothers... I wish I had a brother." Her head shook then she was out of her mind and back to the present.

And boy was the present exciting!

They could all go on an adventure together! Oh! That would be so fun! The lioness gave a vigorous nod of her head at his last question. "Yeah! I know exactly where he'll be! He's back at Pisces with Maji Walezi most likely and if he's not I can just call him with my gem... like this!" With that she focused on the wolf and tried to project her thoughts to him.

Unfortunately it failed and her gem gave a slight flash of a glow but nothing more. Ky could tell that nothing happened and she gave an embarrassed giggle. "Hehehe... Sorry, it works sometimes. I can talk to people without speaking like with thoughts. It works over long distances and I can sometimes call to Leon and he'll hear me. Anyway," She turned and flicked her tail towards the exit. "I can take you to Pisces if you'll follow me. Come on!" With that she set off, expecting the wolf pup to follow her.

"Speech." || "Thoughts."

table by lisa

words: 506
tagged: Rohan
ooc: ---
muse: 6/10