Second Chance

Midnight Meal

Midnight Meal

After seeing the phoenix declare her loyalty to Jewels, Nemean fell to his knees and re-declared his loyalty.

"This golden lion has done you a great wrong as well. As your animal to call, this golden lion held secrets to myself and did not share with you all my truths. This golden lion has misjudged you on the words of a stranger and questioned your character causing a misunderstanding and mistrust between my human and your animal to call. It is this golden's lions fault that this golden lion will take full responsibility." Nemean said desperately.

"And how, prey tell me, how are you, my golden lion to call, how are you going to take full responsibility?" Jewels said coldly.

After what Jewels and Nemean went through, Jewels never thought that Nemean would betray her with words said from a stranger. At the very least, if he questioned her motives, he could of asked her and she would have told him. But instead he jumped to his own conclusions and held some secrets away from her, he broke their trust. Once her trust is given to someone, it is given whole hardheartedly, however once that trust is broken, it would take more than an apology for that trust to be rebuilt. And at that moment, Jewels didn't care for the bird or the cat.

Not knowing what to say to take responsibility, Nemean bows down towards Jewels, his forehead touching the ground.

"This golden lion, without a name, you, as my human, named this nameless golden lion, Nemean, a ferocious lion in one of your lives, pledges that this golden lion of yours to call will help you reach your goal of standing on top of the world and help you pay back those who wronged you with great vengeance. This lion of yours will stand by you after your goal has been reached and stand watch over you and beside you even after you are old and buried." Nemean declared.

Slightly moved by his declaration, but unwilling to give him an inch of forgiveness, Jewels gets up and leaves them kneeling there. If they follow, then they follow on their own free will. She won't force them to do anything they don't want to do. And in that moment getting out of where ever they are is more important than them declaring their undying loyalty towards her.

She walked until she reached the other side of the cavern, there were stairs the led upstairs and Jewels starts to climb them. Nemean bounced up in his lion form and told her to get on so he can take her to the top. Fenghuang rode on his back too weak and tired to climb any stairs or change into her phoenix form to fly. Looking at them menacingly, Jewels continues on her way up the stairs with out saying anything to them. She was too stubborn and willful to climb on to his back and let him help her. His betrayal hurt her too much for her to let him see how she felt so instead she would rather have him see her as mad and stubborn.

Jewels knew that people, humans, were able to betray one another, but when she and Nemean made a contract, she thought other than her Uncle and Pop pop, there was Nemean who would never betray her because he was an animal. And animals never betray their humans. At least that was what she thought at the time. Nemean leaps to the top of the stairs and leaves Fenghuang there and leaps back down to Jewels. Again when he invites her to ride his back, she ignores him and continues on her way up the steep steps. So instead of leaping back up to the top of the stairs, Nemean turns back into his human form and follows her up the stairs behind her. Not saying a word, he climbs the rest of the stairs staring at her back.

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When the three of them found a pathway out of the mountain they let Jewels lead the way. Jewels refusing to stop to let Fenghuang rest and recuperate, she kept her pace walking as Nemean carried Fenghuang out of the mountain. Even though Jewels was drenched in sweat and her muscles in her thighs burned and ached because it was overused, Jewels marched on down the pathway that led down the mountain.