Maki and Mambo

This is completely the writing of my friend.

Mambo's breath caught in his throat, the feline finally recalling the words he had wanted to remember for so long; the words his master spoke, just moments before they had agreed to travel together.

"Everyone has to take the Leap. What it does differs from person to person. When I took the Leap, my form was altered."

"'My form was altered'..." Mambo repeated quietly. "Maki, what did you mean, way back then? That isn't your original form?"

Maki nodded. "I used to be different. I used to be small and frail, a terminal kid that could barely stand on his own; couldn't even get across his own bedroom without crutches... But that kid died a long time ago."

"Taking the Leap... it saved your life, didn't it?" Mambo asked.

Maki was silent for a long moment, simply staring at the ceiling. "... No." He finally murmured. "That kid I used to be... he died even before he discovered the Leap. At least, his soul did. His will to live did. His body was just slow on the uptake."

Mambo felt a pang of sympathy for the human. "Were you always Maki?"

"No." Maki replied. "Back when I was that dying kid, I had another name. The name my parents gave me was Warren. Warren Matthews." He paused, breathing out a quiet sigh as he dug up memories he would've liked to keep buried. "To Warren, 'Maki' was strength incarnate; someone that could do everything he couldn't, someone that was completely self-sufficient... someone that didn't need those crutches unless he wanted to use them as weapons."

"Why did you choose that name, anyway?"

Maki scoffed. "Like it's not obvious. 'True hope'. 'Maki' was just little Warren hoping that this dream never came to an end."

Mambo grinned, reaching over to poke the human's side. "Hey, can I-"

"No, you can't call me Warren from now on." Maki muttered. "Nobody can. Not even Valerian and his psycho pal. Warren Matthews is dead, and he's gonna stay that way. Like it or not, Maki Nomura is the one you're stuck with."

"You're no fun." Mambo pouted. "Grouch."