Infernotic trembled. "Why?!" He held the sword down a little as water dripped off it. He held the blade in his paw pad even though the surface burned it.
"We haven't finished our revenge," Leo slammed his back-paw down on the ground. "Do you not want vengeance on the city that caused you pain?"
"Of course I want revenge, but stones like these are hard to discover," Infernotic glared down at the sword. "The mines are dangerous places."
Leo hesitated a moment. "The people have to escape the mines, right? From the wars?"
Infernotic nodded. "It's hard work, but it can also cause fatal pain. I'm not going to let this sword go to waste, but I don't want to use it yet either. We aren't ready to fight."
"But we have to fight!" Leo protested.
"Wedon't have to fight!" Infernotic growled. Leo was taken aback at this sudden outburst. Infernotic found himself on the brink of tears, and they rolled down his cheeks only to drop onto the stone floor. "You don't understand, Leo. I have a reason why I've refused to make and use weapons; this is the only sword that I have because of these wars! So many people that were in this clan at one time left because of the things I can do by myself. They broke my trust, but they don't deserve it anyways. That's why I decided to stop making weaponry and make jewelry instead. I kept this sword so I could melt it with boiling water and fire and never have to worry about it again, but it doesn't because it's made of fire. I wanted to leave everything behind, but nothing is right anymore. It won't ever be, not after the things I've experienced."
Leo froze, his thoughts were swirling in his head, he couldn't take much more of the pain that he was leaving. "Give it to me, trust me."
Infernotic sighed and handed Leo the sword. Leo grabbed the handle and edge of the blade in his paws and held it above his head. "If you don't want to deal with the pain anymore, then it's clear this isn't working. I'm not letting this continue, I want to build the ranks of my people without violence; no longer will we have to hide!" With that, he slammed the sword down on the ground, and it shattered into a million pieces. Leo flicked his mane out of his face and watched Infernotic for a moment. The leopard's face was darkened out, but he smiled as a small tear ran down his cheek.
"Glad you could see it my way," The fiery cat said. "Go talk to Mio, she's far more interesting than I. You'll have a lot of fun with her, if you have a dark sense of humor." Infernotic pushed past Leo and walked out of the den, leaving the trapdoor down so Leo could get out. The lion took the leopard's advice, and disappeared out of the fiery cave.