ORIGIN

Blackberry raised her head, a drop of blood dripping from her curved beak and a tuft of fur sticking out of the side. She had been tearing at the remains of a cave rat she had caught when Hellberry's call had reached her ears. The child was active and strong, fierce and bloodthirsty. Although she wished he would treat his siblings with more respect, she had to admit that having him in the family was a great advantage. She had been right to bring him in.

Abandoning her meal, she swallowed what she had and made her way towards her son's voice, cleaning off the blood and fur caught in her beak as she went. She reached the crocodile quickly in the center of the nest and widened her eyes at the bloody object clutched in his jaws. A trophy? Perhaps a gem? Yes, she did like gifts, especially when they were torn out of her enemies. Or her children's enemies. Either worked for her.

"Hello, Hellberry. What is this gift you have for me?" She leaned forward, smelling the reptile carefully. He smelled of blood and fear and adrenaline. That taste of fear, though, no way it was his. He had fought someone, she could see it in his eyes. Through all of Blackberry's cycles, she had come to know that glint, that darkness. Perhaps not a kill just yet, no. His demeanor was still of youth and innocence (relatively). She would know when her son had taken his first life.

Blackberry looked down at the eye that the Hellberry presented her and a fire blazed in her chest. A fire of dark glee, of satisfaction, of twisted joy. To see such merciless destruction in her children, such a disgusting, bloody trophy...she couldn't be prouder. She thought back to the first time she had felt this way. After she had killed her first, the blue bird who's skeleton still resided over their tunnel. His blood had soaked the ground and she had felt it washing over her legs as she ripped his body apart. This was the same feeling, knowing that blood had been spilled for the true joy of killing. Perhaps the creature hadn't died, but having an eye torn out? Close enough.

She chuckled darkly. "Excellent, Hellberry. You're shaping up to be a perfect addition to the family. I'm very proud of you." She eyed the eye and her beak clacked thoughtfully. "Of course, this trophy is yours to do with freely. You can keep it for yourself, as I do," one of her stomach claws lifted the necklace draped around her neck, "or you may present it as a trophy of the family alongside the bones." She gestured back to where the bird's skeleton resided.