The New Element

​

The world fell cold.

That was not to say that a winter-like force suddenly appeared nor that any lion had used his own abilities to create this cold. No, this was a different kind of cold.

This was the kind of cold that brought with it an eerie silence and darkness. This was the kind of cold that brought up the ears of the warriors listening with caution. This was the kind of cold that brought even the most brave and fearless little cubs, yes, those defiant ones, running back to their mothers with newly-found fear.

And upon this dreaded and loud silence, where not a wink of sleep could be found, was a sudden and shattering outcry, that brought chills to anyone who heard it, even those who'd lost their souls.

It was that kind of cold.

--

A little pile laid without movement in its own pool of crimson. Its battered and ruined fur, naturally deep purple and warm tones of cream and which mirrored the stars in the sky was now stained with the liquid of life. The throat with which it had once sung so enchantingly before was now shredded in pieces and completely useless. Even the eyes stared back only dully and without a single sign of the liveliness in which they had shown nearly an hour before.

With a twitch of movement, the little cub's eyes softly closed shut and the spirit inside finally gave in. The sight of the mutilated cub was the very essence of cold.

And then, as if summoned by the stars themselves, the little pile of fur was lifted. A great whirling of strong color, the cub's very own element of Life, swirled around the lifeless body, which seemed to not only radiate from the body itself, but also found it's way back into the body through the gaping hole in her throat. The cub was gently floated back onto the ground, as if carried by the wind. Silence followed and finally- a breath.

​

--

Like a clout to the skull, a sharp pain rippled through the head and body. Bright, golden eyes were revealed, finally awakened after weeks of dreamless rest. The cub awoke in a familiar place, but she was still shaken. A familiar lion, overjoyed to find the cub alive and conscious, greeted her. She recognized this lioness- it was the very first face she knew: her mother.

She opened her mouth to remark how glad she was to see her mother, but unbearable pain took the place of her usually melodic voice.

"Panacea, dear, easy now! Do not try to speak. You are lucky to be alive, but I'm afraid it was at the cost of your voice."

Frustrated at this and nearly heart-broken, Panacea stubbornly refused. Again and again she tried to speak but only pain would follow. After trying and trying, once more, she concentrated and opened her mouth and once again failed to produce a noise.

Panacea slumped her shoulders and looked at the ground. She wasn't able to verbally communicate to others, but at least she could hear her own thoughts. She remembered the days before when happiness was the only thought in Pan's mind and when her mother would sing to her a beautiful song to lull the cub, her only cub, to sleep. Panacea began replicating and humming the song mentally...

Her mother solemnly looked at the distraught cub, able to feel Pan's pain as if it were her own. Out of nowhere, a song rippled through her mind. The very song she sang to her precious cub. Yet, it was not in her own voice, but it was from the voice of her cub. The mother looked up and met the eyes of her cub.

It was the single loudest thing her mother had ever heard, and yet, not a single noise had come from Panacea's mouth. Both the cub and her mother were able to hear the song, and immediately Panacea recognized, but with disbelief what had happened. An actual, audible noise rang throughout both of their brains, yet without creating a single, physical sound-wave. It was then she discovered her newly-found gift of Telepathy, despite already having already received the gift of Life.