ORIGIN - Let's dance in tandem, sing our our final requiem

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Juniper galloped away from the arena as fast as she could, chest burning as she desperately tried to find a place to hide, darting to and fro in frantic bursts of speed before darting between two rocks holding each other up. She curled up there and buried her nose in her tail, shivering like a leaf.

She should have guessed the name 'Deathmatch' wouldn't mean anything good, but she'd never have guessed her father would be one of the ones in the ring. Of course she would cheer... but her father was pitted up against a child. Which meant he was going to kill a child.

But she loved him! But he'd fought a child.

The conflict was world-breaking for her. She'd maintained the utmost innocence until now, but now she didn't know what was what. Was her dad right? Was her naive moral compass right?

She didn't know.

@Vicktor

Vicktor had left Deathmatch's stands and ring by now. Having been previously stopped by both a curious denizen and his own attempt to clean the piglet's blood off his form. He was looking for his daughter, Juniper. She had run off, and rightfully so at the shocking turn of events when Vicktor had bit down on that child in the ring.

"Juniper!?"

He slid around a rock, calling out for her, eyes flickering over anything she could be hiding behind. The jaguar felt, awful if he was honest. A pain in his side which most would claim was the still open wounds he sustained from that young boar itself. Though, he didn't seem to pay that blood much mind. It was his, it belonged there. He didn't have time to see a healer, and he had no plans to go back. All he wanted was his daughter, especially with how scared and confused she might have been. This led him into his own frantic path of chasing her down. Granted she couldn't have gotten too far. Unless she simply ran till her paws bled...that in itself was worrying- so still, he followed her. Tracking her down through the onslaught of all those who were all oggling deathmatch.

He came to a slow stop, claws digging into the dirt and pebbles below. He glanced already with tired but frantic eyes.

"Juniper!? Juniper?...Are you here my little one?"

"Clover Speech"
"Vicktor Speech"

@Juniper

anxiety

Juniper peeked out from her hiding place and looked upon her father with wide eyes, her belly low to the floor and tail tucked between her legs. She crawled out from beneath the rocks and whined, head low to the ground as she trained her watery eyes upon him.

"D-dad?", she said, horror dawning as she smelled blood and saw his wounds.

Immediately she stumbled forward, eyes watery with unshed tears, crying, "You're hurt!"

"This was an awful idea... this was a BAD idea!!", she barked at him, "Y-you bit him! The pig- what if it wasn't a child, would you have still hurt them? That's bad, dad! You can't just hurt people for fun!!"

She was hysterical, half crying and half growling between licks as she tried to lick his wounds clean. It was better than just leaving them to fester, anyway.

"Wh-why did you let me come? Do you know how many were there to just hurt and kill or watch for entertainment? All of them!!", she said, "What if they turned on us? What if they hurt us?!"

Juniper was shaking, her breath coming in short pants as she very suddenly sat down, unable to bear her own weight all of a sudden. It was just too much, everything setting in at once and turning her legs to jelly and filling her ears with cotton.

@Vicktor

He had found her and she looked absolutely miserable. Peeking out behind a quickly made sanctuary. Her belly low to the floor and tail tucked. His heart ached just as hard as it beat when he locked tired eyes with her watery gaze.

"D-dad?"

Her tone was horrified which did little to aid his anxiety, but she was safe. His Juniper was here and she was safe. He didn't quite piece it together at first. Her horror only worsening upon seeing him hurt. His mind was still upon the piglet he had momentarily slain, knowing that was a catalyst in all of this. He assumed she was horrified of him, that what stood before her was anything but a father.

He stood his ground, but not of malice or challenge. She was his daughter, and he welcomed her even if he knew not how to precisely act in this situation. He feared her running off again if he was to overwhelm her even with an approach. It wasn't his right to expect her to welcome him so warmly after what she had just seen. After what he had done without explanation or supposed reason. It was confusing, new, and from what he had taught her, wrong.

So he let her come to him. Pale and tired gaze focused on her watery eyes as she cried out he was hurt.

Yes, he was hurt. But he had been hurt and battered since his own birth. Marked an omen of ill fate. This was nothing new. Only now he too felt another pain, it was as if he had failed once more. The blood, the gore, he could live with it. It was familiar, reassuring in its own worrying self-flagellation way. But this guilt was something all too familiar that sat fat and coiled in his chest. Ravenous and greedy for his time and energy, gnawing through who he might really be.

He could do without that.

But to her? What he felt seemed to be everything.

So he watched her, listening to her chide and bark, cry and growl between the words that poured out all too ready and yet not ready enough. She was so young, too young for all of this. But a part of him knew it would have happened...this tricky situation of what life was especially in the caves and how some gembound may be. Death, anger, gore, it was a lifeblood here that he had come to know. He only hoped now in these later cycles of his time that perhaps he could add peace to the caves. Or at least to those he called his own.

He reached out, slowly to nuzzle her and to lick clean the tears that threatened to spill when she sat now overwhelmed before him.

"Breathe...I know it is not easy- but breathe...for me? Yes?"

He did not want her to spiral.

So he breathed, hoping she would follow suit. Each inhale rattling his lungs with a deep burn of regret.

"It...was a bad idea, I was reassured by your uncle-i

No he would not blame Firenze here, Vicktor had his own brains, he should have seen this coming.

"Its...complicated my little Juniper...It-"

He took a moment his mind racing, where had all those words he practiced on his run to find her gone? She had so many words he needed to address. One of which he felt more important than the others, she hadn't felt safe.

"Nobody would of hurt you, I promise you that, I would not let that happen. It's-"

It was...very complicated...

"The child- the ...Porkchop is not dead, I promise...they are merely sleeping now resting- they will join us in these caves in the coming weeks."

He reassured her that Porkchop was as fine as one could be after entering Deathmatch. Hoping that would ease her worry alongside the reassurance that she was in no danger even if the unknown of everything made it seem possible.

"This is all quite-let me just start by saying I am sorry my little Juniper...this was not a lesson I expected to be brought to you so soon...I have a lot to tell you and explain to help you understand...just first- breathe for me...we must both remain calm...and breathe, it is okay. It will be okay."

He would explain, as much as he could, he had a lot of explaining to do.

"Clover Speech"
"Vicktor Speech"

@Juniper

Juniper
Aug 06 2021, 03:36 PM

Despite everything, she trusted him. Even as she trembled she leaned towards him, pushing her head into his chest to hide her face, the notion of 'if I can't see it, it doesn't exist' a strong one in her mind. If she couldn't see anything but Vicktor, then she didn't need to worry about it right now. He'd explain everything.

"I'm breathing," she sniffled, swallowing hard and shifting so she wasn't sitting on her tail, the appendage still tucked firmly up against her stomach.

Porkchop wasn't dead, which was good, but what was the lesson, here?

"I don't understand," she said hoarsely, "Why would people think killing's fun? I don't find it very fun to kill rabbits even though I have to eat."

That's honestly what she assumed. People were going to kill various lessers for sport or something. Maybe a big deer would be released, or a huge monster lesser she'd yet to encounter, but then they'd been pitted against each other instead. She assumed that death was limited to lessers and was a concept beyond those like her and Vicktor, or greater gembound.

"I don't want you to die," she said suddenly, tearing up again as she pressed into him, "Please don't die."

What happened after death? Would Vicktor just lay there, lifeless, forever? If someone didn't eat him, would he just remain where he'd fallen and breathed his last breath for all time? Where he'd lay without a smile on his face ever again, or soft-spoken words of encouragement leaving his mouth, his body stiff and unmoving.

She couldn't lose Vicktor.

@Vicktor

Vicktor
Aug 09 2021, 08:58 AM

She trembled, pushing her head into his chest to hide her face and quite possibly her fears. He watched with tired and wet eyes. A deep inhale welcoming his chest as he continued to breathe, to calm. A soft smile on his face, but still a look of worry and the weight of how he was going to go about this was still heavy on his features. At least she was breathing, still asking a myriad of questions, naturally, he too would do the same but, she was breathing.

Though his pup began to cry again, proclaiming she didn't want him to die.

Oh Juniper...

He nuzzled her, wrapping his body around her with an aim of protection and comfort. A soft and reassuring purr idling in his chest as he attempted to ease her worries and fears.

"It will take much more than any fight to kill me, we gembounds are complicated beings...but know that I will not die."

He had been at death's door more times than he could count. Though even back then when all he met was himself, perhaps it was something more. Twisted, hungry, and angered by his sheer presence but concerned with his-no, their shared and suddenly fleeting life. Perhaps it was his self-preservation that chased him, screamed at him not to fuck up, but to this day perhaps it was just truly him. A part of him that had what it took to survive the caves and the bloodbath it often hosted so nonchalantly within these very walls.

He breathed.

"Everything, can die. But, gembounds we are special in the sense that we are otherwise immortal...aside from outside influence."

He took a moment, to ensure she was listening and understanding these words.

"We fight, we hunt, we live and we can live to see hundreds of cycles within these caves. I myself am getting close to such age."

He may not have the exact number but he knew he was theoretically in his seventies if the knowledge of time he had gathered from other gembounds was correct.

"Often we must be killed or our stone separated and damaged. Our stones are just as important as our bodies. Our bodies though can heal thanks to our magic and stones-and sometimes if the damage is too much for the body the stone grows, wrapping us into a chrysalis again to heal what was broken. Similar to when we first emerge, you remember yes?"

He licked at her ears, grooming the fur behind them as he waits.

" But still, we live, so long as another does not seek to ruin it. And even then we must fight to survive and not to give up."

He would pause, for now, giving her room to ask more questions on these answers he had just given. There was a lot of ground to cover, and he hadn't even gotten to the meat of it...

"Clover Speech"
"Vicktor Speech"

@Juniper

Juniper
Aug 09 2021, 02:56 PM

So... they could die. That was awful to learn but she felt stupid for assuming that death just wasn't a possibility. She felt weak all of a sudden, her heart pounding as she pushed herself under Vicktor's raised arm to curl against his soft belly fur, scared.

"... But then why would anyone want to hurt anyone else?", she asked, "That's so horrible!! To fight to kill just because i-it's fun?! For entertainment?!"

Juniper was horrified. Maybe fighting could be fun (she didn't think so), but straight up killing each other? She felt faint at the idea of gembounds cheering and egging on fighters to see murder.

"... I wanna go home," she sniffed, still shaky. "I-I don't feel safe."

Not when they were so close to those monsters. She still remembered that big purple one with all those teeth and claws. He looked like he should be one of the ones fighting, but he stood beside Nemean as an equal, his cries the loudest as he called for bloodshed. And there were others. More monsters, more gembounds who wanted death and bloodshed.

Juniper shivered and pressed in closer, eyes clenched shut and sore.

@Vicktor

Vicktor
Aug 11 2021, 10:27 AM

He frowned slightly, not at Juniper but the obvious distress she was in at these realizations.

"We will go home soon my little Juniper, you are safe here I promise...you are safe with me. Do not fear, they will not attack us. Just breathe."

He was silent for a few moments, going back to gently grooming what fur of her's he could manage. A deep inhale as he breathed for his next explanation.

"In Deathmatch, it seems to be a mutual understanding. It's a sport, one of a few here in the caves and its-different than what you might think my little Juniper. It's...safer than what would usually happen before this event...Back when I was younger- these caves...were filled with gembounds who wanted nothing more than to slaughter one another. Either through pain, misunderstanding or simply their own choice or prejudice..."

He's silent for a bit, pondering his next words alongside flickering memories of his own experiences.

"They would do so in the very homes of other gembounds, without merit or care. Some even stalking others through these caves unaware till it was time to strike. I hardly see that anymore ever since the few great sleeps these caves have gone through. But here- this event as much as you or I may not like it... its...a mutual fight, if you sign up odds are the loser will sleep like Porkchop. Others are free to give up, to be free, and leave without consequence. Few are not so lucky. But it stays in the ring. You understand?"

He had gathered a bit of what Deathmatch was about and considering his life before and the experiences he had both lived through and caused, this was ultimately a safer alternative in his own opinion.

"I know it may not make much sense. Some simply wishing to fight to see if they are the best, meaning no harm or ill will to others. While other participants want to fight for the thrill of it. They want to win, and to prove they are strong. Whether for their own purpose or for all the caves to know to not mess with them once this event is over...- it is another reason why there are medics...gembounds who heal the wounds of others and tend to those in pain. It is a sport for many and nothing more. Though it is one you may not like, know that is valid as are your feelings on the matter...but also know you are in no danger, not while I am here."

He winces only slightly when he adjusts himself, his wounds still swollen and angry, an ever-present reminder it seemed of the wrongs he had done. He hadn't sought out a medic, and it was perhaps a bit too late now, not wanting to drag Juniper back into that place when she was so obviously uncomfortable and upset.

Though he hadn't had a medic in his many cycles within these caves, he would be fine. He would tend to it himself soon enough, though he'd wait to set himself ablaze to cauterize the wounds. He didn't want to give Juniper another scare ontop of all of this.

"We do not know each of their reasons for taking part in such an event, so I will not judge them myself. To each their own, so long as it is mutual. Especially when it is a better change compared to what I was forced to live through. I am happy it is here...for I feel it makes the very caves safer for you...and that is my priority, your life, and your safety"

Even above his very own, it was a priority. He would not let her feel nor face the same horrors he was forced to endure. This was an upsetting experience...but he was glad it was albeit a minor one compared to what it could have been. He only hoped she would learn and grow from this with understanding. It may not be a sport she enjoyed, but he wanted to stress to her that one cannot judge others so hastily. Even if this was an event and prospect she hated and didn't understand, it was safer than the life of the caves before. At least now there was a mutual outlet for those who wished to do nothing but wreck the lives of those in these very caves. Rather than hunt down families and gembound who were alone and could not defend themselves. Here they'd have a chance, and a way to say no thank you and simply leave before their own untimely death.

Something he wished he had access to so many times before. Perhaps then he wouldn't have caused so much unnecessary death...if they could have only just walked away...

"Clover Speech"
"Vicktor Speech"

@Juniper

Juniper
Aug 12 2021, 09:47 PM

"So... instead of everyone being violent all the time, it's just this small event?", she said softly, looking up at Vicktor with her big, sad eyes.

That was... better. In a horrible, sick way.

"At least you can choose if you want to risk your life or just fight," she said, thought she was clearly still unhappy, and she swiftly looked up at Vicktor with sudden realization, "Y-you'd tell them to stop before they went too far, right? You wouldn't... you wouldn't kill? O-or die?"

Juniper stared for a moment more, then she looked down, ears drooping.

"... Why are you participating? Are you... are you one of the violent ones?", she asked, her voice impossibly soft.

She didn't look angry, or even disappointed. Just... sad. Sad and confused.

"I'm sorry," she said suddenly, shifting from paw to paw, averting her eyes as she sniffled again, "I'm sorry. I-I'm probably being a baby a-and making you feel bad. I'm sorry."

Juniper couldn't help but wonder if she was the bad guy here, if she was asking all the wrong questions or if she was just wrong. Was she just making Vicktor feel bad?

@Vicktor

Vicktor
Aug 15 2021, 12:43 PM

She looked at him, her eyes wide and saddened by his words. But it seemed she understood, a realization perhaps and new understanding that not all will be the same as you and that perhaps it was okay. Though he waited for her questions, listening intently and watching with half-lidded eyes of his own. Though her own worry about what he would do and worry as to why he was participating. The tone- her softness lacing her words asking if he was one of the violent ones.

His heart ached and he looked away in thought for a moment. Only to focus on her again when she apologized. Why? She was a child, she was asking questions about things she did not understand. And yes- Vicktor felt sadness in his own heart- but it was not her fault. She in her own way was bettering him- reminding him to be better and to change from his past. He had a family now, one he cherished. One he would protect and teach through his own past mistakes and experiences.

"I thought the premise of Deathmatch was different. Your Uncle Firenze seemed...so very excited- everyone was. I did not realize the potential gravity of the situation. I wanted us all to have fun- together...as a family."

He sat there, coiled around her. Looking off towards where they both had previously left, deathmatch of course.

"I participated as I thought it'd be a good learning experience, for you to watch how I and others move. And even a nice show...but I did not expect- all of that to happen...I still do not fully understand how- or why it went as it did but...But know I would not have died- nor did I desire to kill when I entered that arena."

He grows silent for a moment, deep in thought.

"I am not one of the violent ones...not anymore. When I was younger and the world cruel...I will admit...I was lost- and stricken by grief and hatred for those who had ruined me. But time has passed and I've grown...and I seek now to ensure nobody feels what I had felt all those cycles ago...It is why I intend to return here for Porkchop so they may understand and so I may apologize."

He blinks, slowly. Intently watching Juniper before nuzzling her in reassurance.

"Do not apologize my little Juniper, all is well. You only seek answers to that which you do not fully understand. My pain and grief is not your doing- it is alright...It is my job to answer your questions in this world. Know you are okay, I too would ask the same if I were you and you were I."

"Clover Speech"
"Vicktor Speech"

@Juniper

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