Since they still had a fair bit of time before the Place of Power would be ready, Dominic decided to do something that he really should have done earlier, and would have done if he hadn’t kept getting distracted by Sekhmet: get Healing Cloud from Lionel.

  He’d originally intended on getting the enhancement to the Pride’s Prey Points first, but with only twelve points available, he needed to make a choice. And, unfortunately, considering that both Lionel and Fang would be leaving soon, the choice was clear.

  Heading over to where the two young males were lying, he saw them shift into a more wary position as he got closer. Then, abruptly, they visibly relaxed. Perhaps they saw Dominic’s confusion in his body language as Fang explained.

  ‘We thought it might be the other one.’

  ‘Would you prefer him?’ Dominic asked, more than half-jokingly. The immediate negative response made him grin mentally and poke at Leo. The lion grumbled grumpily, but declined to react further.

  Dominic supposed he could understand the young lions’ reactions. Though he wasn’t sure how he should feel about the evident fact that Leo’s movements were so different from his own that his Pride members could tell them apart just by how they walked. Perhaps he should be pleased – he and Leo were very different people and it was a relief that the closest to him of those around him recognised that.

  ‘Yes, it’s me,’ Dominic confirmed. ‘I’m here to borrow Healing Cloud from Lionel.’ The lion in question fixed him with a yellow gaze.

  ‘Not take it,’ Lionel said in a firm tone, though Dominic could hear the uncertainty behind it.

  ‘No, not take it,’ Dominic assured him, then hesitated. ‘At least, not if it’s already reached level five. Though I don’t know how you’d check that,’ The lion just looked at him silently with uncomprehending eyes. Dominic shook his head. ‘Nevermind. No, you shouldn’t lose it, but even if you do, I will make sure you get it back as soon as possible.’

  After all, his next stop would be with Nyx to get Group Enhancement. Once he had that, even if by chance Lionel both didn’t have Healing Cloud at level 5 and was also unlucky enough to lose it, Dominic could share his newly gained Healing Cloud with the young male until he got it back. Actually…. Accessing their Pride status, Dominic intentionally sought more information on Lionel than normal, looking to see the level of the Abilities he had.

  (Lionel: Pounce level 4, Healing Cloud level 7, Poison Cure level 3)

  ‘You’ll definitely keep the Ability,’ Dominic told the young lion reassuringly, rather impressed that he’d managed to get it to level 7 already. He’d used it a lot, but it was still a significant achievement. It was sad that the young lion had chosen to go with his brother in the end – Dominic gaining a level 1 Healing Cloud definitely wouldn’t make up for Lionel’s level 7 Ability. Not to mention his Poison Cure.

  ‘OK,’ Lionel said finally. ‘What do?’

  ‘Are you sure about this?’ Fang asked anxiously, perhaps forgetting or not caring that Dominic could hear him. ‘What if he takes it and doesn’t give it back?’ Lionel looked steadily at his brother.

  ‘Not Leo. Dominic not do.’ Then he looked back up at Dominic. ‘What do?’ he asked again calmly.

  A flood of mixed emotions went through Dominic at the young lion’s faith in him – belief that he was as good as his word. He wasn’t sure if anyone had ever trusted him that much. Yes, most of his Pride had trusted him to a large extent to take them hunting, to bring them to this Place of Power, to take them into a dungeon. But this was a male lion who Leo had constantly been urging Dominic to kill or kick out of the Pride. One whose brother Leo had actually attempted to kill, and who had been all but exiled from the Pride unless he brought back his own group of lionesses or agreed not to mate with Leo’s females. Lionel’s trust was both heartening and humbling.

  ‘Thank you for your trust,’ Dominic said to Lionel earnestly, even as Leo scoffed in the back of his mind. ‘Don’t,’ he warned Leo privately, the steel in his mental voice actually shutting the lion up for a moment. ‘Don’t insult this lion who, for all he knows, might lose his main Ability if I’m lying to him. He’s risking more for our benefit than you ever did.’

  ‘I gave up control over our body to you!’ the lion protested.

  ‘Only because you saw that as the best option for us both,’ Dominic reminded him. ‘And you even said at the time that you will challenge me if you ever think that that has changed.’

  ‘Because that’s how things work!’ exclaimed Leo. ‘When the leader of the pride is no longer fit to do so, his rivals will come in to take over.’ Dominic shook his head mentally.

  ‘We are rivals, are we, brother?’ Dominic demanded. The lion went silent in his mind, his presence feeling conflicted. ‘Whatever. I don’t have the time to have this discussion with you right now. Lionel is waiting to know what to do to move forwards. But right now, consider how he is not going to gain anything out of what he’s offering. His Ability will empower me, technically his rival if he wants to go down that route. Heck, it’s empowering you who he’d almost definitely identify as a rival. But he’s doing it because it will help his pride, his family. Chew on that for a bit.’

  Pulling himself out of the conversation, Dominic slammed up a mental wall between himself and the other being in his mind. The wall wouldn’t last for long, but it was as clear a sign of ‘I don’t want to talk to you right now’ as he could manage. Focussing in on the young lion that stood before him, he continued speaking in the Pride chat.

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  ‘Sorry about that. Leo had…some words.’

  ‘Unsurprised,’ Lionel replied neutrally even as Fang huffed.

  ‘As for what to do next, I’m not entirely sure. When I gave an Ability to Sekhmet, I had to think of the Ability and imagine what it feels like to use it. Then I triggered the…the thing that enables me to share it. So perhaps this time you focus on Healing Cloud – how it feels to use it, what you have to do to use it – and then I will trigger the thing when you’re ready.’

  The lion sent across a wordless sense of agreement and then visibly focussed. His eyes became more glazed and a faint golden sheen played across his sandy fur. He sent a sense of being ready through the Pride chat.

  Dominic pulled up the menu of Pride Enhancements and then selected Pride’s Tribute, focussing on pulling Healing Cloud from Lionel. Five of his available Pride Points disappeared.

  A moment later, a shiver of warmth went through him at the same time as Lionel shuddered too. If it was like what Dominic had felt when he’d given Sekhmet Powerful Swipe, he wasn’t surprised – he’d felt as though a bucket of icy-cold water had washed through him. He’d been fearful at the time that the cold was an indication that he’d lost the Ability – even though it should have been impossible since Powerful Swipe was already at level 5 – but it wasn’t. Now, seeing Lionel shudder too, Dominic wondered whether it was just an effect of the Enhancement.

  ‘Can you still use Healing Cloud?’ he checked with the younger male anxiously. With it being level 7, there shouldn’t have been any risk, but this was the first time he’d used Pride’s Tribute….

  The young lion looked thoughtful and then focussed. Golden dust quickly danced around his body. Lionel, in his usual fashion, chose not to say anything more than necessary and therefore let the appearance of the dust serve as his answer.

  ‘Good,’ Dominic said, letting out a breath of relief. ‘So, how do you use this thing?’ he wondered.

  Pulling up the description, he saw the details of the Ability for the first time.

  Healing Cloud (T2) level 1 (0% to level 2) – Generate a cloud of healing particles around your body. Higher levels of the Ability will extend the range of your healing. At level 1, your cloud can extend just beyond the tips of your fur. This cloud can only heal others it touches; it will not heal you. The cloud can be generated by your health or by your mana. At level 1, 1 MP will heal 10 HP for those within range of your Cloud. 1 HP of yours will heal 1 HP of those within range of your Cloud. Warning: you will die if you reach zero health. This Ability also offers an extension of your health pool which will be used before your personal health. This extension is based on the level of the Ability; at level 1 the extension is 50% of your health pool. Warning: this extension cannot be used to heal yourself and if you reach zero personal health, you will still die even if this extension is full.

  Having seen what happened to Lionel when using the Ability, Dominic was able to interpret the text better than he would have if he’d gained it from a Core. The range was something he’d already been expecting. He’d seen how quickly that had changed from when Lionel had had to basically rub up against the ones he was trying to heal, to in the fight with the dungeon boss where he’d been able to expand the cloud to cover the whole party even if they weren’t directly touching him. They did have to be bunched up together, but it was a significant change nonetheless.

  The second bit about the extension also made sense. They’d experienced just that in the fight with the final dungeon boss – Lionel converting carcasses into golden dust which healed his Pride mates even better than the carcasses would have done on their own. But when he pushed it too far or didn’t have enough caracasses available, he’d looked like a lion on the point of starvation. That was potentially less of an issue for Dominic – he had both Enhanced Regeneration and a storage space which Lionel hadn’t for most of the time he’d been their healer.

  ‘And don’t even think about asking me to take the storage bracelet back from Lionel,’ Dominic thought firmly at Leo. ‘He earned it fair and square.’

  ‘I wasn’t going to!’ Leo protested. ‘I know you wouldn’t agree to it,’ he grumbled quietly enough that Dominic wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to hear it at all.

  It was interesting that it wasn’t necessary to use mana, though it certainly seemed like a better ratio if he did – his 15 MP would translate as 150 HP, which was almost half the size of the extension to his health pool given by the Ability. Still, the fact that he didn’t have to use mana was good for Dominic since he currently didn’t have much of it, but it was also good for others since it meant that there were no limits on who he could share the Ability with. Which was good, because Dominic wasn’t really cut out to be the healer of the party – there was no way that he was going to stay at the back as healers generally should. Any healing he’d do would come after the fight.

  Though, Dominic did wonder whether Lionel had developed his mana pool first, and so that was why he’d gained Healing Cloud, or whether Healing Cloud had opened up his mana pool. If it was the latter, it would be a priority to give as many of his followers the Ability as he could – Dominic suddenly had visions of a Pride of magic-using lions, amesheks, and albuhas. They’d take the savannah by storm….

  But that was for the future. For now, he needed to make sure he was able to use the Ability at all.

  Focussing on activating Healing Cloud, Dominic suddenly felt an ache and saw his health bar start to decrease slowly as a golden cloud sparkled around him, its passage faintly stirring the hairs on his skin. Focussing on ending the Ability, he watched with interest as the golden cloud was absorbed back into his skin. He saw his health bar increase slightly, though not by as much as it had dipped. Still, his natural regeneration was enough to make up for that, fortunately.

  Pulling out a carcass from his storage space, Dominic absorbed it and watched with interest as a new section of his health bar appeared. It was golden in colour and, as the description had indicated, quickly grew to the size of approximately half again his full health bar. Creating another Healing Cloud, he watched as the golden bar started decreasing first. There was none of the ache he’d felt before either.

  He ended the Ability, reabsorbing the golden dust. Interestingly, his own health bar did fill up a little, though the extra golden section didn’t. Is that a way around the no self-healing limitation to this, I wonder? How long the golden section would remain was something else he’d have to discover the answer to. Would it slowly be lost over time or now he had the extra juice in the tank, so to speak, was it there until he used it?

  ‘Thank you for your help, Lionel,’ Dominic said to the young lion, padding over to give him an affectionate head rub. ‘This will definitely help our Pride members stay alive.’

  Lionel just sent a sense of intent and satisfaction through the Pride chat, as if that was exactly what he wanted to happen.

  ‘We go now,’ he said next.

  ‘Not right this moment,’ Fang interjected hurriedly. ‘We want to say goodbye to our pride members. But then…’ he hesitated and then huffed out another breath. ‘Yes, we will go. We want to find our own females since we can’t have any of these,’ he said with a hint of defiance in his gaze as he looked at Dominic. The older lion didn’t rise to the bait.

  ‘Then I wish you luck and thank you for your contribution to the Pride so far.’ Dominic hesitated too. ‘I can’t speak for Leo but…I hope to see you again. I won’t kick you out of the Pride so you should still be able to use the Pride chat to communicate with each other. And us, perhaps, though you’ll probably be out of range quickly enough. Not to mention continuing to benefit from increased Prey Points – the way we get stronger. And remember, you can always come back, according to the rules we’ve already discussed.’

  Stepping forwards, he butted heads with them, greeting and saying goodbye all in that moment. And then turning away, he headed towards Nyx, sad at the loss of two young lions who had already proved their worth to the Pride, hoping they might one day meet again as friends.

  here!