Chapter 27

"In the jungle, the wild jungle, the lion sleeps tonight. In the jungle, the wild jungle, the lion sleeps tonight. Ayeeeeeeeeeeh, awimbaye" I moved my body and arms up and down. The lion looked confused for now as it kept watching my movement and I could swear I could feel something like a hypnotizing effect taking place the more he kept his eyes on me. His head was definitely bobbing on beat indistinctly. When my voice got high on the end, however, he opened his eyes widely before hissing at me. So the lion wasn't gonna sleep tonight. The lion actually looked hungry and irritable and I was looking more and more like a dancing piece of meat. "Guys! Are you working stuff out down there?!" My voice broke but I got no answer.

I fell on my back the closer that the lion came and put my hands over my face to protect it and manage to calm my heart even a little by not looking directly at it. I chanced a glimpse down just to see the trio take a gem out of the broken rocks and run away with the loot. I was almost one hundred percent sure that the gem was something I would use to appease the lion because up until a moment ago he hadn't truly looked hostile. The further away they ran though, he got consumed by lava in the cracks of his body and his mane that burned brighter and brighter. 

"GUYS" I shouted but they had already disappeared. I could feel the atmosphere around me getting hotter and hotter as the lion leaned closer until a howl so loud that it reverberated on the stony ground next to the lavafall made us both shuffle away from each other. I put my arms away from my face to see Nax having stepped on the zero gravity platform propel himself towards us while he growled louder and louder making his body burn a brilliant colour. "I love you, buddy" He ignored me. He looked furious and had a central focus on the lion alone. He landed right in front of me and stood in attention to hide me behind his reliable back. I could have cried at the warmth inside me getting rid of that icy feeling that death left when he came too close.

The two animals hand a stand off and even though I was very worried about Nax, I knew that I would do more damage than good if I tried to intervene and be put in the middle. Even then, I didn't want the lion to get hurt. He still wasn't attacking even though Nax looked ready to lung and he had had enough time to barbecue me but he hadn't. This was all the trio's fault. How was I supposed to tell Nax to hold himself back when he was fighting for his life? And he didn't really look like the conversation type at that moment.

I heard someone talking nonsense and I dared look down once again to come across an incredible sight. Uncertainly but with a new resolution blazing in her eyes, Tol was mouthing and signing the rune for solid and wind and then proceeded to step on thin air as if she could actually see a staircase that wasn't there. Her brows were furrowed and there were beads of sweat on her forehead and jaw. She was grimacing each time her foot was faulty or she ended up stepping on something that wasn't solid. She had to be very quick as well because it looked like the effect wasn't lasting. Panting, exhausted and entirely too magnificent, she landed next to me and tried to catch a breath before standing protectively over me. 

"I don't deserve this" I mumbled and my face crumbled. She turned to me and checked me over in concern before she smiled brilliantly. Her green eyes were like fresh leaves in a terrain as bare as this. Her darker skin had gotten pale. She looked more human than anyone ever did. I needed to step up my game. "Is there some rune for soothing communication? Or something like that?" I asked while getting up. She looked confused before she looked at the lion and then back at me with wide eyes as if asking for confirmation of what she had already realized. I smiled innocently and she rolled her eyes.

"Of course you want us to try and talk it out. You even tried serenading it already." She teased. And I blushed. She looked around. "We will need something to use to carve the rune on the ground because then it is the most efficient." Only problem was that we were literally sitting on rocks. Maybe a broken part of a rock? But would that work? And what if we broke the rocky part and we got flooded with lava? Then I checked on Nax to make sure he was okay and I stood there gaping. He. Was. Breathing. Fire.

"Nax!" He whipped his head towards me and got hit by the lion landing right next to me. I winced. He scrambled to get up and checked on me and the reason why I had shouted. I was hoping I wasn't overdoing it on an idea that could kill us all. "Can you breath fire into the rock and write something?" I pleaded. He looked at me as if I was crazy but nodded anyway. Toliz couldn't take her eyes away from the lion gaining on us so I decided to be the one to show him what should be the rune for calm at least. It was the best I could do at the moment and maybe if the lion stopped for even a moment, we would be able to figure out communication later. I traced the shape with my finger and then stood away for Nax to do his part. He concentrated and puckered his lips to make the fire more thin, hot enough to break the rock and more likely to create shapes.

The effect was instant. The lion froze and his mane retracted just like the lava in his cracks that became solid rock once again. He sat on his haunches and cocked his head in an open expression before mewling in the most adorable way. I barely stopped myself from rushing to pet him. Toliz did some more shaky signs with her hands and I watched as the shapes of the runes flew out of her hands in red sparks before they travelled towards the lion. I thought he was going to react badly but he purred. And then looked at Tol in adoration. Nax nudged me harshly and burrowed into me on what I could only call jealousy. I didn't care what it was, I took advantage of the situation and grabbed hold of him and squeezed before hiding my face in his fur.

"You're the best, buddy" He whined. Apparently, I wasn't as good as Tol. 

"He's saying that he knows where he can find the boss of the Ashen Mounts and he would like to come with us" I looked up from Nax's neck without letting go of him and saw Tol smile innocently as if she couldn't understand the drama she was creating with every animal we encountered. I glanced at the lion and saw the need for attention from the girl in front of me. Something told me the "coming with us" part wasn't initially his role in the game. Maybe he would give us a cryptic message or something. But he had fallen in love. I chuckled and moved my head.

"You're amazing" I told her and she played with her hands with a hidden pleased smile. Then both the wolf in my hands and the lion ran to her throwing her on the ground under their crashing weight. I smiled and sat back. I looked down. Fett was still sitting in the rock we left him at. Looking as lost as ever. The lion, we really needed to give him a name if he stayed with us, roared terribly and for some moments the river stopped flowing. We had to move quickly if we wanted to go through the newly opened passage.