Tales of Raiveirn: Leon

Chapter 2

Leon slowly headed down, hearing snippets of a distant conversation.

"I can't believe this..."

"I'm sorry that it happened this way."

Leon jumped down and peered over to the door. He saw both his parents talking to a cat... a cat that seemed familiar.

"Lana?" He asked himself, loud enough for them all to hear.

The cat smiled at him, nodding and walking towards him. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?" She asked him.

Leon couldn't speak, part of him was ecstatic, and the other was furious at her. "You're... back." That was all he mumbled, shaking and backing away.

She chuckled and put a paw on his head, then tugged at his scarf. "I'm glad you kept this, now we match." Lana pulled down her scarf, a bright yellow one, revealing various scars around her muzzle. Leon shook his head, unsure of what he could even say to her. "Where have you been?! Do you have any idea what you did to me!?" He shouted, his emotions ruling over any form of logic. Hayseed moved in between the two, staring down at Leon.

Leon began to shout again, "How can you not be upset about this?! She left us for years, and now you just welcome her back?!"

Hayseed grumbled at him, pushing him away. "Sorry, Lana. He's just overwhelmed seeing you again after so long." He explained.

Leon growled, furious that they could just accept her back into the family. His claws came out, but he forced them back in... oh but he wanted to hit something. Lana walked into the shed, giving a side glare at Leon.

She laughed at him, almost mocking him, and Leon couldn't stand it.

Hayseed and Verona had left the area, heading back to their level to plan a big return party.

"Why are you back? You leave for years and expect me to be happy?!" Leon demanded, his fury only continuing. Lana shrugged, her eyes focused on him. "I got lost, and I spent all this time trying to get back."

Leon dug his claws into the wooden floor, now beginning to shake with anger. "It doesn't take six years to find the only building here!"

"Maybe it does, have you ever gotten lost?"

He wanted to attack her, but it didn't make any sense to him. Lana only sighed and walked past him, he watched as she headed up to his rock collection and examined it.

"These are nice, you found them on your own?" She asked. Leon hissed. "Yes. I did." He muttered, approaching her slowly. Lana smiled and turned to face him, laughing a bit. "Good job! I knew you'd manage to keep them." She purred. Leon stared at her in confusion, shaking his head. "I just wanted to keep some part of you alive." He mumbled.

Lana giggled, putting a paw on Leon's head. "Awe! That's my little brother, acts tough but is so sweet!"

Leon huffed and shoved her paw away, hissing. "Don't treat me like we're friends again, you don't know how I feel."

Lana sighed, letting her body drop softly in shame. "I know you're upset, Leon... but can't you just hear me out?" She begged, her voice soft and sympathetic. "I shouldn't have left, I know, but I'm back, and I don't want to leave again."
Leon didn't respond, just silently leaving the room and making his way toward the river. He sat in front of it, staring at his reflection.

He soon saw Lana's reflection beside him, he looked up to meet her eyes with a sigh.

It was a heavy silence for a while, until Leon finally spoke up, "Why did you leave me? You made life so much harder."

Lana looked around, lowering her scarf to match Leon, speaking clearly and slowly.

"I didn't leave you, I only wanted to leave for a day or two... I didn't want anyone to know that I was hurting, nobody wants to see the town angel crying." She explained.
Leon stared into her eyes, letting his heart take control of the situation. "But what hurt you? We had it so good until you left."

Lana chuckled a bit, shaking her head. "I know you were young, but our family wasn't great. I heard Mom and Dad arguing one day... and Mom said she would leave." Lana said, beginning to tear up and shiver. "I was scared, Leon. I was scared that we'd have to separate, and I never wanted that for us... I wanted to be your guardian when nobody else would be."
Leon looked at her, leaning his head on her shoulder to comfort her. "I'm sorry..." He whispered, "I never knew you were hurting."
Lana smiled, letting her tail rest atop his. "I know, that was the point."

The two sat there for a while, letting the wind and sounds of nature explain their feelings, rushing happiness, and fleeting pain.

Leon couldn't remember what had happened after, he was now in his bed, looking around. Lana stepped in front of him, chuckling happily. "Good morning!" She shouted, waking Leon up instantly.

"You were out for a while, have you been sleeping right?" She asked, crouching to meet his eyes as he lay down.

Leon yawned, shaking his head. "Not often, just tired." He muttered.

Lana smiled and grabbed his paws, hoisting him onto his feet. "Well, get used to waking up this early!" She laughed. He smiled and let himself stretch and wake up. He followed Lana down the steps, seeing his parents sitting and giving Lana a big hug, he smiled at seeing his family so happy again. Lana stood in front of them silently, a look of discomfort on her face. Verona soon spoke up, purring happily, "We're both very happy you're home, Lana. Why don't you and Leon go out and have some fun? Me and your father need to get some things ready for today."
Lana paused, but Leon smiled and spoke quickly. "Okay! That sounds great!" He spoke like a small kit. Lana stared at him blankly before he grabbed her and happily walked off. Lana laughed awkwardly, tilting her head at Leon. "Hey, where exactly are we going?" She asked.

Leon looked back and smiled, still walking. "Rock collecting! We used to do it all the time as kids!" He explained, looking back forward. "You remember what to look out for?"

Lana thought for a moment before shaking her head. "S-Sorry, it's been a long time." She said awkwardly. Leon slowed down a bit and nodded. "Oh, erm, that's understandable. Just remember to look out for snakes."
The two stopped, and Leon began searching for rocks in the area as Lana observed her brother for the first time in years. He soon found a rather large salt rock, smiling as he returned to his sister with dirty paws and a wide smile.
"Hey, look at this thing!" He purred and handed it to her. "You can have it, start your collection again!"
Lana blinked slowly and nodded. "Right, yeah, I'll keep it safe."

Leon chuckled and pressed his muzzle against her shoulder. "Did you find anything?"

"Oh, no. I'm a little rusty."
"That's fine! We can always try again." He grinned and stood up. "Let's head back, I wanna see what Mom and Dad have planned!" He chirped, starting to run back to the shed. Lana followed behind him, staring at the rock he had given her.

When the siblings arrived, their parents decorated the shed with bright banners and paint splotches.

Hayseed ran forward and took Lana into his arms, Verona followed soon after. Leon smiled and joined the family hug, the only person who didn't seem to enjoy it, was Lana.

The rest of the day was filled with laughter and stories from the family, although Lana did not speak much. Overall, it was the happiest Leon had been in a long time. As the night went on, the siblings grew tired and retreated up to their room. Leon lay down on his bed, ready to slip into the comfort of sleep again.

Lana stood beside him, whispering, "Leon... do you trust me?"
Leon smiled, nodding slowly. "Of course I do."

Lana grinned, taking the large rock he had given her and lifting it over his head.
"Good." She muttered, quickly bringing it down on him.

Leon tried to shout, but there was no time to have any reaction.