A New Breath

The group had barely made it out alive. The sudden raid by the government had taken them by surprise, and the camp was feeling the toll. Many had been lost and many wounded, both human and leobuck. Many of the lost Leobucks had previously agreed to be used to be made into the next generation, the Primals. Many had felt it was a way of being reborn. 

The both humans and Bucks stood around as the fallen brawler's partner wept into his still form as his ragged breathing began to slow. They all gave the grieving Leobuck words of condolences, and words like their loss wouldn't be for nothing. It was only after a few more minutes of mourning, that the partner was escorted away. It was time to collect their fallen comrades' remains. 

----

It has taken months of planning and preparation for the group to be where they are now. Taken them 3 tries before the core finally took and had taken 6 months before they could reap the fruits of their labor, resulting in a wiggling half furred little being, giggling at the mix of humans and Leobucks looking down at him. With one clawed hand reaching up to them and the other stuffed in his slobbery mouth he smiled at them all.

Two people stepped forward, a dark haired and winged man with horns smiled softly at the baby. Next to him a blue haired and horned woman stood, holding onto the man's arm as she looked down at the tiny creature, with an unsure look that was sprinkled with awe. 

—--- 

It had taken him a while to gain a name, but the one he was given he was extremely proud of, Caster.

He had learned many things about himself as he grew up around the camp. One was that he absolutely loved gathering his friends and loved ones together into a pile and sleeping between them. 

The second was he absolutely hated having his hair cut. Sure he loved when people ran their hands through his hair or played with it, but if anyone approached him to cut his hair he'd immediately run across the camp from them. Of course this got him in trouble with his adopted parents over this. 

The 3rd was that he absolutely loved to hoard anything gold. His parents had found hundreds upon thousands of dollars worth of gold hidden around their abode. Both of them had of course returned the stolen property, and if they couldn't find the owner they let him keep it. Caster eventually then started hanging what he could in his horns. 

There were sometimes while he wandered around the camp that one of the Leobucks there would stare at him with a deep sadness in his eyes. He would sometimes just stare back at the other in slight confusion, it felt like he knew the older man in a way. It was only after a few more times of those stare downs that Caster started to leave little trinkets for the lonely leobuck. The smile on the man's face always made him happy. 

Caster absolutely loved his parents. His Papa was the best at teaching him how to cook and sew. While his Mum was amazing at teaching him the best ways to sneak around and find all the good things to eat. They always gave him a proud look when he would bring back ingredients for dinner.

He cherished the moments of the three of them curled up together under his Papa's wings. 

----

It was during one of those quiet moments, he and his Mum often had together that he started to feel sick. It felt like he was burning from the inside out. His body felt like it was breaking and remaking itself. It hurt, as his Mum had put it, like a son of a bitch. He was panicking!

His Mum had at one point had gotten his Papa and they started soothing him the best he could as his body seemed to grow. It was after around 30 minutes it seemed to stop. He felt massive, and looking down at both his Mum and Papa he certainly was massive.

His Papa told him that this was normal for kids his age, and that he was a big kid now. Mum then had said that he'd be even bigger when he was older. The 2 pat his massive head much to his joy. Later after everything was more calm his parents talked him through shifting back. It took Caster a few months to get the hang of changing between his forms, never being allowed to shift inside their dwelling. Which in hindsight made sense.