"No matter how many beasts charged at the king, the lion stood tall, and struck fear to his enemies with a mighty roar."

If only he was the lion...

Those were the last words his father said to him... before the Dragons came.

They destroyed everything in their path. What was once a proud village, was now a burnt, barren wasteland.

The only survivor was a little boy with orange hair and hazel eyes.

They took everything from him; His home, his friends, his parents...

His parents...

They were the ones who always tuck him in bed and read him stories.

His favourite stories were about lions. Big, powerful, fearless, ferocious cats. Kings of the Animals.

His parents would love it whenever he would act like a lion. It made them smile.

It made him smile that he made them smile.

If only he could see their smiles again...

And now... he's hungry.

When was the last time he ate? How long has it been since the Dragons destroyed his home?

He better find something to eat.

He heard howls and ducked behind a rock.

A herd of goats appeared, being chased by a pack of wolves.

The little boy watched in complete horror as the wolves devoured every last goat before they left in search of their next prey.

Once he was sure they were gone, the little boy emerged from his hiding place, only to duck back when he heard rustling from some nearby bushes.

Luckily for him, it was just another goat.

By the look of it, the wolves attacked him, but he managed to survive.

The goat collapsed to the ground, exhausted and hurt.

The little boy got out of his hiding place and approached the goat, with a sharp rock in his hand.

The adults in his village always said that you have to take risks in order to survive in the wilderness.

He didn't want to do it, but he was hungry.

He raised the stone in the air, preparing to cut the goat...

That's when he found himself staring straight at the goat's eye.

The stone was still raised above his head, ready to be struck.

And he found himself... hesitating...

The King of the Animals wouldn't hesitate. The King of the Animals would do whatever it takes to survive!

...

But he wasn't a King of the Animals...

He let go of the stone, and collapsed on the ground.

Moments later, the little boy opened his eyes and found himself lying on a pile of leaves, inside a small cave. Through the opening of the cave, he could see it was nighttime.

A figure emerged from the entrance; The goat he spared earlier.

He was dragging a large leaf filled with a lot of apples with his mouth and dropped them in front of the boy.

The little boy was confused, until the goat pushed an apple towards him.

The goat brought him food. Even when he was still injured.

Its a good thing his parents taught him first-aid.

After bandaging the goat's wounds with leaves, the boy proceeded to eat an apple.

But before he could take a bite he looked at the goat and remembered how he helped him and brought him inside the cave.

So he decided to let the goat take the first bite from the apple.

"I never got your name." The boy said as the goat chewed on the apple, "Do you mind if I call you, 'Capricorn'? It sounds like a nice name."

The goat looked at the boy and raised his ears.

The boy chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes. I'm Leo by the way."

Ever since that day, the two have been inseparable.

Capricorn was like a second father to Leo; Teaching him which plants to eat, and which plants are poisonous.

When Leo fell off a tree, Capricorn was there to catch him on his back. When Leo had problem climbing on a rocky terrain, Capricorn assisted in pushing him up. Capricorn would even alert Leo if there were any approaching predators nearby.

In return, Leo would help find food for them. He would climb high places Capricorn couldn't reach so that he can pick the fruits. He'd take baths with Capricorn, reaching and cleaning the places he couldn't reach. He'd even find hiding places for them to hide from approaching predators like wolves.

When night came, the two would snuggle with each other on the ground and watched the starry night sky.

Yes. Life was good.

Then that day came...

"Capricorn!"

Wolves. They came out of nowhere and attacked, forcing them both to the ground.

Leo struggled to get up, only to brace himself for the worst when a large, black wolf charged at him.

However, the wolf never made it as Capricorn tackled it to the ground.

Leo had managed to sit up as he watched in horror as the wolf bit Capricorn on the neck...

"No matter how many beasts charged at the king, the lion stood tall, and struck fear to his enemies with a mighty roar."

It was happening again. He was too helpless to save someone he cared about.

What kind of boy was he? He was just sitting there, frozen with fear while his only family was about to get mauled...

Capricorn laid on the ground, weakened, unable to fight back. He closed his eyes as he awaits his fate when the wolf opened his jaw...

The wolf was unprepared when the little boy tackled it to the ground, away from Capricorn. It growled at the boy in retaliation, preparing to rip him to pieces.

In response, the little boy glared at him, letting out a loud, powerful roar that resonated everywhere.

So powerful, it wasn't even human.

When he stopped, the wolves stood in complete shock, before running away in fear.

Leo breathed heavily as he approached his injured friend.

Capricorn was the last thing he saw before his entire world turned black...

The first thing Leo expected the moment he woke up was the starry night sky.

Instead, he found himself staring at a... ceiling?

He hasn't seen a ceiling ever since the dragons destroyed his home.

Leo got up and looked around; He found himself on a large, soft bed, inside a room that looks like an infirmary.

He panicked when he remembered Capricorn. To his relief, the goat laid beside him, his wound treated and bandaged up.

When the white goat woke up, he was warmly embraced by his little friend.

Still... Where are they?

Leo noticed a window just above their bed and opened it. What he saw next was the beautiful starry night sky.

Only this time, this one was more beautiful than the last one.

More stars filled the night sky, along with what seam to be floating balls of rocks.

When Leo saw the rocks, he recalled his father telling him about planets, but would that mean they were in space.

When he looked down, his flinched slightly in surprise; Strange creatures stood before him. Some were playing. Some were singing. Some were living everyday objects like compasses and arrows. Some were humanoid animals like swans and dogs. Then there were those that resembled mini living snowmen.

Something tells him they were not on Earth anymore.

A door opened, making Leo jump back on his bed. When he saw the one who opened the door, he held Capricorn close.

The being was a tall man with a very long mustache and was wearing sparkling armor. He was so tall that if he were to jump, he'd make a hole on the ceiling. A cape flowed behind him, reminiscing the starry night sky.

The man looked at Leo, making him even more tense. And it did not help when he was approaching them.

"You were really brave out there, Little Lion." The man spoke, his voice echoing all over the room.

"Uh... Thank you?" Leo replied sheepishly.

A moment of silence, and the man spoke again, "I've been looking for you two. Warriors who would protect the balance and peace between the Celestial Spirit World and Earth."

The Celestial Spirit World? Is that where they were?

Wait... Warriors?

"Why us?" Leo asked.

The being knelt down to face the boy, "You were willing to risk your life for him. And so would he for you. I need warriors with hearts so light and pure. Warriors I could entrust with great powers that they will only use to protect lives and defend the weak."

Leo looked at Capricorn. It's true; He did risk his life for him. And he would do the same thing all over again.

He could swore Capricorn just smiled at him.

As the being spoke, no one noticed a smaller being hiding behind the door, eyeing the two patients with eyes of envy.

"So I ask of you Little Lion, and Wise Goat," The being rose once more, "Will you help us?"

Leo wanted to help others. After the dragons destroyed his village, he wanted to redeem himself. He wanted to be a real lion, one who is not afraid to face those who were dark of heart.

He looked once more at Capricorn. They both agreed.

"We accept."

"MOOOO!"

Loke blinked his eyes in surprise after he woke from his dream.

Aries had just defeated Taurus and was apologizing continuously at The Bull. The Bull waved it off, secretly savoring the fact that he was defeated by one of his attractive comrades.

"I suggest you pay attention to your opponent's attacks rather on the opponent herself, Master Taurus." Capricorn advised, rays of light reflected off his sunglasses in an intimidating manner.

Taurus grinned nervously as he waited for Capricorn to leave before facing Cancer next.

Classic Taurus. Loke shook his head in amusement.

Capricorn tossed an apple to him before sitting down next to him as they watched the other Zodiacs fight each other.

Loke stared momentarily at his apple before turning to Capricorn, "Hey Capricorn?"

Capricorn turned to his long-time friend, who gave him a warm smile.

"Thanks."

The Goat returned the smile, "I should be the one thanking you."

Who'd knew a little boy and an old goat would one day become Zodiac Warriors of the Celestial Spirit World?

SQUEEEEEEE!

I have envisioned this moment for years ever since I saw Capricorn!

Sigh. I wish there were Origin stories about the Zodiacs. xD