Arthur bit his lip nervously as Rick asked the obvious question. If Arthur was honest with himself, the only reason he went to have drinks with Rick, Slyvester and Leon, was because he wanted to talk to them about Penelope because he felt like he couldn't talk to his family about it. He had lost interest in any social interaction with his good friends, but they were loyal to him so he felt heavy guilt on his shoulders most of the time when he was around them.
"Look guys I can't sit here and say the only reason I came here was to have drinks with you" Arthur looked at his hands as he spoke.
"I wanted to come here because I'm selfish, I wanted to talk about myself, not how it's been here and how you all are".
Arthur was, ultimately, Leon's dearest friend. Leon never wanted him to know that, to know the value he held for him. They were both stubborn men after all.
But Arthur wasn't the only one with the interesting backstory. Leon, well Leon had more of a complicated back story, and it was not all colourful like Magnus Luna Insulam...
Before meeting Arthur, Leon was a lone child. A lone child is not to be taken lightly within their kingdom. The lone children of Magnus Luna are monitored by the eyes of the sky, The Great Moon, due to the fact they can either possess a Malum Animālis soul, or develope their Bonum Animālis soul. Most of the criminals within the kingdom Magnus Luna have Malum Animālis souls, but Leon was not one of them.
There is a reason The Great Moon gifted Leon with a Black Bear soul. The black bear soul, unlike a lot of souls, is the most powerful soul you can ever possess, physically. He is the most strong Anima De A Animālis to ever walk the Earth, in both dimensions. Leon was the tenth lone child with his home dimension, meaning he was abandoned by his birth parents, and left to walk alone...
But the thing is with Leon, even as a child, he was determined to be able to fend for himself. He loves, and still does, walking within the wilderness alone. He forages for food, that he now, however, takes home for his generous beautiful wife Mila, who then cooks up a feast for them both, as well as a smaller portion, of course, for their handsome baby boy Luther. Mila had the soul of a White Peacock (Album Pavonis) and their son is too young to have developed his animal soul as of yet.
Mila is one of the most stunning beings within Magnus Luna and the most calm. Her eyes were light grey and bright like Luthers, her hair was white, long and almost always in a plait, which was paired with some colourful small flowers Leon would pick for her every three days. They met within their learning classes, but unlike defence training with Arthur, they met straight after, in botany class. She helped Leon learn to trust people, but only a select few of course, and one of those people was Arthur...
"Oi dickhead wake up".
Leon was suddenly ripped out of his trance by Arthur, he was imagining Mila. He was embarassed, because he knew Arthur would say what he thought, and he was always right.
"How's the wife then mate?" Arthur smirked and crossed his arms.
Leon scowled and mouthed certain fowl language at him, making Arthur laugh.
"Are we ever gonna get to the bloody point I've been sat here what it feels like an eternity" Rick blurted out.
"Dont start with me" Arthur laughed.
"Wait, what was we talking about?" Sylvester asked confused.
All of them looked between each other, and suddenly burst out in laughter. They smacked each others backs and chugged down their drinks, before Arthur piped up.
"Oh yeah yeah, so..." Arthur faultered before continuing, "I met a woman".
All of a sudden, Leon, Rick and Slyvester got up from there seats, cheered, and all jumped on Arthur, nearly knocking him from his seat.
"Get off get off" Arthur laughed and batted them away.
After all the congratulations, his friends sat down and began asking the questions.
"So what's her name then?" Leon asked.
"She called Penelope".
Arthur didn't realise when he said Penelope's name, he was smiling.
"Awww look at the guy, he's whipped already" Leon chuckled.
"Oh get fucked" Arthur growled jokingly.
"What does she look like?" Slyvester added.
"Oh mate, she's a rocket" Arthur smirked and rubbed his hands together.
"We would think nothing less from his majesty" Rick laughed and patted Arthur's back.
"Pleased for you mate" they all said in unison to Arthur, causing them to laugh more.
"We need more drinks" Arthur shouted cheerily.
Almost straight away, a tiny waitress, almost looking young enough to be in classes, brought over four more beers for each man. She said nothing to them, and rushed away.
"God good customer service there, this place is going down hill" Rick grumbled.
"She looks young enough to be your grandchild old man" Slyvester jested to Rick.
"She looks young enough to be your great grandchild" Rick growled back.
"Guys guys, she's just scared of fucking up in front of royalty" Arthur laughed.
"She already did" Leon looked back at Arthur".
"Manners cost fuck all" Arthur said, but to his surprise all his guys said it at the same time as him.
They laughed and continued talking about day to day life, they had another two beers each, meaning now they were tipsy (strong Anima De A Animālis can handle alcohol better, regular strength Anima De A Animālis would be very drunk by now). Arthur was the leader of the group as they all walked out of the pub, follwing behind was Leon, then Rick, then Slyvester.
"Well sirs I bid you a due due" Arthur laughed.
"Oh god my missus" Leon grumbled as he rubbed his eyes.
"I'm going, going to get fuckeddd" Rick was now dancing in a circle laughing, he was clearly less strong than the others.
All of them knelt on the floor laughing, Arthur was royalty, and he did not care in the slightest if he was tipsy and laughing loudly in public. Due to the fact he was crying with laughter, he got looks from the other in the kingdom, who then quickily looked away, knowing he was the most liked royal, and the most influential.
"Right guys I'm off to go see my woman" Arthur roared over all the laughter.
"Oh it's Arty boy whos going to get fuckedddd" Rick mumbled as again, the boys laughed...
"I ain't got a fucking chance like this" Arthur laughed as he hugged his friends goodbye.
Although they were all tipsy, they knew Arthur was going to be gone for at least two weeks. Leon hugged him the longest, but Leon knew what he was going to do in the not so distant future, but he wasn't going to tell Arthur yet.
"See you my loyal companions" Arthur suddenly transformed into his beautiful woodpecker soul and disappeared...