Chương 20: Book 1 - Chapter 20: Leo

Leo felt as his brother collapsed to the earth. He felt no wound, no real reason for the lion to let his legs fold under him. For the waves of distress emanating from his mental presence. What wrong? Leo asked haltingly. It didn't work, his brother muttered after a moment, the words halting, and accompanied with enough pain that Leo once more instinctively reviewed his bodily sensations to check if he was hurt. He wasn't. Not find sire? Leo asked uncertainly. Could that really be the source of all the distress?

Apparently so – at his question, his brother's misery intensified. It felt almost like he had been struck in the heart by something, that his lungs no longer worked properly to pull air into his body. Leo, feeling like he was missing something, touched his brother's memories. They were hard to understand, and many were not very clear. But one thing was plain – his brother had been an adult human before they combined. So why was a sire so important? The question pulled another flurry of memories to the fore.

Laughter – a foreign concept to Leo, but he felt the amusement that underlay it – tears – another foreign concept – embraces – more familiar – and just… time together. He didn't understand. Not fully. But one thing he did learn was that, in complete contradiction to Leo's own sire who had driven him out when he was half-grown, human sires cared for their offspring long after they achieved adulthood.

And it seemed the attachment went both ways when Leo considered how hard his brother had fought for Compass – and how upset he seemed to be now at the prospect that the human was gone. Though Leo didn't think that Compass failing was conclusive in that respect. Maybe out of range, he suggested, recalling the impressions he'd felt of the Mutation. It seemed like it wouldn't even cover a full territory's size, after all. His brother froze at that, the waves of hurt and misery temporarily replaced by hope.

That's true, the former-human admitted, rising to his paws again as his strength returned. Maybe I'll get a response from Compass if I just go far enough. No direction, Leo pointed out. That's simple enough, his brother replied, resolve wafting off him, restlessness pulsing through his limbs. I'll just go in ever-widening circles. Eventually, I should pick the signal up – or the Mutation will advance and increase in range.

Then he faltered a moment and Leo felt his mind returning back to the possibility that his sire was indeed dead. Leo wasn't going to let that happen – he'd only just got his brother back on his feet. Anyway, there was something his brother hadn't thought about. First check for females, Leo reminded him. He was pleased that his brother had perked up.

Since he was the one piloting their body, if he allowed his disappointment to rob his limbs of strength, they would be unable to hunt prey – or defend themselves if something sought to hunt them. However, he would not let the other forget the promise he had made. But what if my father's in trouble? his brother objected, distress creeping back into his emotions. We were attacked by hyenas – what if he is too? Promised, Leo insisted firmly.

Privately, he considered the search for the human sire more than a little silly anyway, especially if his sire wasn't able to take care of himself. Who wanted to search out humans when there were females to find? He'd only gone close to them before because he was so very hungry. And now look where that got him. No, though the way it had made his brother collapse at first had been concerning, now Leo was rather grateful for the lack of response from Compass regarding his brother's sire.

He felt his brother hesitate, felt how he wanted to continue to argue. And then Leo also felt it as he sighed, conceding to Leo's will. Fine, his brother replied with resignation, though Leo could feel the hint of hope within him. Perhaps he was hoping for the Mutation to fail so he'd have an excuse to follow his plan to search for his sire – a silly plan for a silly idea. He felt his brother begin to concentrate, but Leo suddenly had an idea. Wait. What? his brother asked impatiently.

I'm going to look for lionesses as you asked. I try. His brother was clearly taken aback for a moment – then intrigued. It would be interesting to know if you can. Sure. Leo was almost certain he could use the Mutation. He had felt it as it had slid into place, echoing through his body and also through his soul. Now he was unable to move his own body, he felt the limits of his existence so much more keenly, and the Mutations they had taken touched both.

Concentrating, he recalled the musky scent of a lioness in heat, the siren call that carried a great distance on the wind, the beautiful tawny litheness of her in the long grass, the sharp claws and teeth that ripped into prey, the warm roughness of her fur against his cheek, under his tongue. And then he pulled at that sense that had slid into place like a paw sinking deeply into mud. Huh, his brother judged with surprise. I didn't think that would work. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve.

Read this novel on Royal Road. Leo projected a strong sense of smug satisfaction, feeling the tug that led off towards the sun. I did. His brother huffed with a hint of annoyance shot through with reluctant amusement. Alright, genius. Clearly you were right. His emotions shifted into curiosity. Actually, can you use the other Mutations? What about triggering the Tail-Mounted Morningstar? Or can you pull things in and out of our Dimensional Gorget without me being aware? It could come in useful if possible.

Leo sometimes felt exhausted by the human's incessant curiosity. What was wrong with just lying down in the sun for a nap and enjoying the world the way it was rather than trying to ask why and what if all the time? Still, he tolerated his brother's questions with the magnanimity of a pride sire allowing his cubs to explore his tail tuft.

In the end, his brother wasn't satisfied with the results for the tests of Meditation Conversion or System Insight, but they found that Leo could activate and deactivate the Tail-Mounted Morningstar, and he could also choose to pull objects into and out of their storage space even if his brother wasn't aware, though not if his brother actively acted against him. Annoyingly, it worked the other way around, making it all too clear who the System had determined as dominant in their brotherhood.

We'll have to test the Telepathic Ear-Cuff when there's actually someone to communicate with, his brother mused. I have no idea if it worked with the hyenas earlier. Not listening, Leo suggested. Mangy scavengers like them wouldn't be worth talking to anyway. Probably. Dominic sighed, his emotions once more shifting from interest to disappointment. Alright, a deal's a deal. We'll follow this path to the lionesses. But I want to keep looking for my father as we walk.

And if we sense him, I want to at least check that he's alright before heading onto the lionesses. Agreed? Leo wasn't keen on the idea. He wanted to find a pride, take over a pride, and then stay and hunt with the pride and defend it and his new territory. Finding his brother's sire didn't fit into that at all. But at the same time he was all too aware that he had no control over his limbs anymore. His brother didn't need his permission to go somewhere – and take Leo along with him.

The thought made Leo feel like a cub again, lifted by his mother and carried in her mouth when he insisted on trying to leave the den before she deemed him ready. The difference was that then he had known his mother to be the most powerful being in the world. He was far less certain about his brother. Still, the former-human had proven himself to be strong and clever in the trials. And it was better when they worked together.

Yes, their discoveries meant that Leo could potentially deactivate the Dimensional Gorget at a key moment in a fight – but that would mean he died too. Not worth it. Fine, he sent with annoyed resignation to his brother after a moment. And if we are with the lionesses and we feel him, then we'll go to check on him too, his brother pursued. Leo really didn't like that idea. If they took a pride and then left it, another might step in in their place – mate with the females, eat their kills.

Maybe we can take them with us, his brother suggested as he clearly felt Leo's resistance. Leo hesitated for a long moment. He didn't know if females would follow him – if it was in their territory, maybe, but they would normally follow the matriarch. It was a possibility. Another thought came to mind. If they had taken the pride one time, they would surely be able to take it again. And if the male that took over was too strong for Leo to drive away, then he would have been a threat anyway.

Fine, he said again, this time even more grumpily. He didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. But he sensed that his brother wouldn't budge on this. And when the alternative option was to pace in circles for who knows how long…. Alright. Glad that's settled, his brother replied, though he felt more worried than pleased. Clearly he was still fretting over his sire. There was no more conversation after that. Leo watched through his brother's eyes as they left the den.

The sun was lower and it was beginning to cool down, though Leo knew it would stay hot until the sun reached the horizon. The landscape around was both familiar and unfamiliar in that it was like a great deal of the savannah through which he'd moved as a nomadic lion after his sire chased him out, but none of it was anything he remembered passing before. And every so often, there were things that were completely unfamiliar. Plants. Trees. Rock formations. Scents on the breeze.

His brother didn't seem to notice these things, but Leo did and it was exhausting. He was used to being on alert at all times – including when he was sleeping – but the threats had been familiar. Now, he couldn't tell whether the scent on the breeze was prey or predator – to be hunted, or avoided. His brother also didn't seem to feel the pull of sleep so easily – Leo had travelled a good distance before, but he always did it at a more punctuated pace.

Here, he'd hunt, there, he'd sleep, and then he'd continue walking for a bit longer. His brother just kept walking. Maybe sleep, he suggested hopefully when the sun was most of the way towards the horizon. Wait for full dark. Then continue. I thought you wanted to find the lionesses, was Dominic's slightly-caustic response. He wasn't in a good mood – though tempted, Leo decided not to prod at him until he started snapping. He'd learned that lesson long ago with his siblings.

Still, Leo started to feel increasingly irritable. He just wanted to rest for a bit, and yet his brother just kept going. Maybe he could sleep even while his limbs continued marching – he wasn't able to affect them, after all. It sounded like a good idea, but Leo wasn't sure how to start. He couldn't close his eyes; he couldn't still his limbs. But, perhaps, he could lessen his awareness of them.

He could feel the shape of his soul, how it filled the body that used to be only his, alongside a larger and more dominant presence – his brother. Moving carefully, he drew his presence back. An image flashed into his mind – not one of his, but one of his brother's: removing his arms and legs from a garment that covered them. It felt like that. At one moment in the process, he hesitated, wondering whether, having pulled his limbs back, he would not then be able to replace them.

Then he decided to continue, infected with his brother's cub-like curiosity. He couldn't move his limbs as it was, so what would the real difference be? As he pulled his soul limbs back, he felt less and less of his bodily sensation. Finally, he felt nothing, but he could still see and hear because he was still connected in the head. Just to check, he pressed his soul back into his physical limbs, feeling a sense of relief when they slid into place – just like his brother's had slid into other garments.

Leo felt a strong sense of satisfaction, then pulled his limbs out completely. Now to test disconnecting from his sight and hearing, and then he could sleep. What are you doing? his brother asked. That feels weird. Testing something, he replied easily, pulling back, as if he'd poked his head out of a den and was now retreating back into it. Testing what? Leo's vision disappeared, as did his sense of hearing. But, unlike what he had half-expected, he wasn't surrounded by silent blackness. Brother? You need see this.