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To his dismay, it looked as if he had chucked it a couple centimeters short. Closing his eyes in momentary defeat, he was surprised to reopen them to a dagger coming in at the nick of time to propel it the extra measure. Scanning the area from where the object had been thrown from, his eyes landed on the two male guides, Songbird and Avian. Raising a hand in the air to show his thanks, Lesley came to face a hand-less nub at the end of his right arm. You could almost hear his heart shattering into a million little pieces. Sure, the witch had now been defeated and was nothing more than a pool of black wisps and pebbles, but because of her, he had lost an entire limb. And he was right handed for crying out loud. Staring at it, he still couldn't register that this would be his way of life from here on out. Pretending it was still there, he sent signals for a hand that wasn't really present to close up into a fist. Of course nothing happened, he could only stare at a mound that had once been the nesting place of his beloved right hand. 

Sliding off the unicorn once it had brought him close enough to the gathering of his companions, everyone looked rough around the edges, each with their own battle wounds, but he knew that his was entirely different. While at first, the group seemed to be in better spirits celebrating, upon the noticing of his missing limb, the atmosphere around them died down to a hush. Very somber and mournful, like a member had died or something along those lines. He gulped, struggling to suppress his emotions. Lesley couldn't even hold up his arm or glance down to look at it. The first stage of any impacting loss was denial. That's where he was at. In his mind, he imagined that it was still there, burying the image of it being consumed by rock right before his own eyes. 

[b]Leon:[/b] "Oh...God. Lesley, your hand. Can it be healed?"

[b]Riley:[/b] "Lesley... You'll be okay"

Her words were genuine hurt and he knew that she felt for him. Right there and then, he wanted to bawl about it, but what was the use? He could lie to himself as many times as he wanted, but just a quick look down, it would crush all his false attempts at being hopeful. Counting on what Leon had asked, he wished someone in Nowhere had a remedy to bring it back. To regenerate it like he was a starfish regrowing a lost limb if it was possible. They were in a magical realm for goodness sakes, his possibilities were endless. The thoughts renewed his spirits a little bit.

Eyes moistening , he forced a small grin as Riley parted from him. Once everyone had settled down about his loss, it was time to focus on the real problem at hand, where is the rider and the baby dragon being hidden?

[b]Haku:[/b] "Whether we like it or not, we still have a bratty dragon to save."

[b]Jasper:[/b] "Yeah, we should keep moving before anything bad happens."

[b]Ace[/b]: "We defeated the witch! Once again, we've gotten through another challenge! Even with the injuries, we still won. And we will keep on beating the odds. Ice queen is right... we still need to get Fluff."

After Jasper asked the unicorn for a favor, Lesley gave the magical creature a tight hug around the neck and said his farewell. Watching it trot off into the sky, he wondered when he'd be able to see something as fabulous as that again. At least it left them with a gift so dire to their current situation. One of its own feathers, with the ability to heal their wounds. The albino walked over to him first, gently brushing it over his hip then hesitantly grazing it over his wrist bone. He could see the pain she was feeling for she couldn't even hold her gaze at the hand-less area for more than a couple of seconds. Seeing as it wasn't working, he placed a soft hand on her shoulder and encouraged her to move the feather along to others who had injuries that had the capacity to heal.

[b]Inadi:[/b] "If the unicorn isn't going to join us any further I don't want you walking. I'll carry you if need be.”

Lesley's heart skipped a few beats and he knew this was a present from above in exchange for his hand. He really wasn't expecting this from the frame faced prince, but there was no way in heck he was going to turn down the offer to have a long walk of physical contact with his favorite boy in the team. Positioning himself behind the male, he need not wait for Inadi to lower himself because of how tall he was compared to the boy. Wrapping his arms around Inadi's neck, he hopped on lightly and allowed Inadi to hold his legs up which would be quite the task since they were so long. Once they finally settled into a more comfortable position, the two were ready to move along with the rest of the group. As usual, Ace was still upbeat and rearing to find the lost dragon and the rider.

Cautiously resting his chin on the crook of Inadi's collar bone after a few minutes had passed, he examined his right arm a bit more closely now that he had come to accept the fact that his hand was actually gone, never to be found again. Feeling tears rise up in the corners of his eyes, he didn't feel like crying, but his body was saddened all on its own. Nuzzling the back of Inadi's neck near the base where the boy's shirt covered his skin, Lesley rubbed the tears onto the fabric of the man's clothes. He knew he was really pushing the limits in terms of where Inadi was comfortable with another man, but Lesley knew these rare circumstances would most likely only happen once in a blue moon.

[b]Harper:[/b] "I'm sorry.."

Looking up as he heard the apology, Lesley knew the boy was trying to provide him comfort and that in itself warmed him to the core. Grinning weakly, he loved the fact that he was surrounded by such caring people. Growing up as an only child would get quite lonely most of the times and he wondered if this was how it felt like to have siblings. It was that sort of feeling that made one feel fluffy and tingly, wanted and cared for. For all the times in his childhood when he couldn't spend it with a blood related friend, he had gotten it all back just being with these guys. Lesley was really starting to feel like they were family.

The search continued on as they arrived at the house where the smaller group had been at earlier. The door was wide open and a fowl smell still radiated from the interior of the home. Like Harper said, no signs of a baby dragon. Lesley at least expected sounds of crying or something like that. It was a baby after all. Not that he remembered seeing it. He was only told that the thing liked him and had slept atop his head while he was sleeping too. A sudden warmth over his wrist caused him to look down and was surprised to see a hand retreating backwards, it was Leila's.

[i]'Ah, the puppy of the group. She's so cute,'[/i] Lesley grinned to himself.

[b]Leila[/b]: “Did this...does this... ...hurt?”

[i]'Eep, even her stuttering is all adorable :3'[/i] he gushed. "Well, on an emotional level, yes it does. But physically, I had too much adrenaline rush at the time to feel the pain," he paused and realized this might be the first time they had ever had the chance to a proper word exchange. "Leila right? I think this is the first time I'd ever spoken to you before," Climbing off Inadi's back, he didn't want to make Inadi feel awkward if he was holding a conversation while riding on the poor man's back. Giving the boy a thankful nod, he walked along side Leila to talk to her some more. "I'm Lesley by the way, in case you didn't already know," he offered her a hand, his big smile back on his face, but this time the cheeriness wasn't a struggle to display at all. The girl had a certain charm about her, an aura that made you instantly feel like you were her older brother or sister. She looked fragile in her own way, alike to Jasper, but different all on its own. "I remember you tamed the baby dragon's parents. 'Wow', I thought. 'She's so brave'," Lesley had no idea why, but he felt like he was talking to some little kid in grade school. It wasn't mocking or anything, he just felt the natural tendency to baby her.