Rift whipped around as the sound of Pride's voice rang in his ear. There he was, the white stag stepping towards him, with new scars on his face that sent a bubble of rage into Rift's stomach. Rage that opened up the doors for all the other anger he had not the time to consider during the battle and after awakening. Why had this happened in the first place? What was the goose's purpose in attacking this place?! What had she against them?
He struggled to control himself from crying out with outrage at the sight of the scars and merely dipped his head a little stiffly. He hadn't expected the goose to be caught, anyways. She was the head of the family. She would be the last one her children allowed to be caught and the wolf...she was the one that had killed Enka. Perhaps she had killed Sebastian too.
Pride's words made sense, but he doubted that making them promise to not be violent wouldn't stick at all. They were creatures without any kind honor. This he was certain. And Rift was not so sure about the moose hybrid. It had been the one, after all, to start the fight. It had dragged him off of his tree.
He hardened his gaze, although it perhaps wasn't very visible through his helmet. "I shall treat them equally. They were all part of the fight, they all knew what they were doing. I will..."
He paused as the children began to cry out. The moose creature had its arms waving through the cage bars and the other was screaming for its mother. Rift couldn't help but feel pity well up within him. Blackberry was cruel - if she were here, Rift would not hesitate in his actions but these, as Pride said, they were children that had known nothing but cruelty.
He sighed. "I'm not an executioner, nor am I a judge. At least, I don't wish to be." He stood up taller, more confident, knowing now what he was going to do. Things were making more sense as he grew used to the world once again. "I am a protector, a guardian. I will not choose the fates of these children." He said no more to Pride and prepared himself to leap onto one of the giant trunks of the trees when yet another crack caught his attention.
He hadn't noticed the ruby before but now he did and he couldn't believe he hadn't seen before. He'd seen the gem on his brother's shoulder enough times to recognize it and he wasted no time rushing over to him. He stopped, remembering things. Before the fight, they had not been on great terms. Their relationship that they had nurtured since childhood had grown weaker and the fire in Eridanus had utterly destroyed it. But that was then. Now...now Rift was only happy that his brother was alive, that he was here. He didn't care about all of that before. It didn't matter.
He didn't say a word, and he didn't hesitate a moment longer. He lunged forward and tackled his brother, purring louder then he ever had before and immediately began licking the dark cat's fur. "I thought you were dead," he murmured heavily, fighting through a lump in his throat. "I thought I'd never see you again. I couldn't live with myself...if you'd died. I'm happy, so happy, that you're here." He pushed his face against Sebastian's neck before stepping away, his tail held high with joy.
He wanted to stay by Sebastian's side now. He never wanted to leave him again. He wanted to talk with his brother, the way they used to talk, hunt the way they used to hunt, run through the forest like they did when they were young. But there were others here and important matters that he had to attend to.
He turned and bounded up the lowest trunk of the tree so that he was standing over all those that were nearby. He sat down and cleared his throat loudly. He noticed the white form of a cat that hadn't been there before grabbing at Huckleberry's cage. Quickly, he touched the roots and sent magic into the earth. Branches of the nearby trees leaned down and began to push the cub away from the cages and closer to where everyone was gathered. "Stay away from those," he murmured before standing up again, clearing his voice to get everyone's attention.
"I am not a judge," he repeated, "I am a guardian. I do not believe it should be in my power alone to decide the fates of the three children we have before us. That is why I turn to you, my friends. We need ideas of what to do them. Once we have sufficient ideas, we will choose two and vote on which sentence we shall carry out. We must decide what to do with these three: Yewberry, Cloudberry, and Huckleberry. And then we must decide...what to do about this mess. Eridanus has once again been trampled upon. Blood has soaked into her sacred soil. The earth has been split apart, the grasses and flowers torn from their roots. The air has been polluted by violence and anger, in a way that it shouldn't be and, most of all, many have died here, one that has died permanently, for no reason. This cannot happen again!"
And idea struck his mind right then, a wonderful, crazy idea that he had once dreamed about as a child. But now, with these creatures before him, he realized that it was not only possible, but he could see a future in this idea. This could happen.
He paused and took another deep breath before continuing. "I propose...a kingdom. A kingdom dedicated to life of all levels, from the smallest ant to the common gembound to the great tree I stand upon. A kingdom that will nurture all lives and bring the joy of this life through all the caves. We cannot let more tragedy strike this sacred cave or any other cave for that matter. We will be healers, gardeners, protectors of all."
Suddenly a little nervous, he shifted his feet a little bit and looked down at them all. "Would anyone...would anyone want to join me?"
