Perhaps if her chrysalis had been left under the rubble, Blackberry would not have come out looking as good as she did. Her body would have not healed right, she would have been broken and twisted and in much worse condition. But thanks to Wilder and Aure, her gem had been able to change into a proper position during her time of healing so when it mercilessly dumped her onto the ground, she came out looking pretty similar to how she had looked before. Still with scars and burn marks, no new tail, but in tact and still resembling a goose.
She collapsed onto the ground, breathing hard, her eyes wide with shock. And strangled honk came from her throat and she scrambled back, confused and terrified. Just a moment ago she had been in her little cave and Pride and Envy had been standing before her. A spire of crystal was impaled through her gut, her feathers had been torn to pieces, and the cave was collapsing around her. For a second, she thought she was choking on the dust and her own blood, but then reality made its way through and she finally realized that she was inside a massive cave and the sound of the waves was hitting her ear, instead of her own screams.
She was confused. She'd never been in this cave before. She didn't know how she'd gotten here. Was she dead? Was this the afterlife? She glanced back at the shards of the chrysalis that she'd left behind. Perhaps when you died, you hatched again in a different world. Or someone had moved her here. Perhaps Wilder had. She didn't quite believe that this was the afterlife, though, because something still hurt. Or, at least, it was sore. Her wings. She opened them up to stretch them out but stopped when pain and soreness ran through her muscles.
She looked back at her wings. They look fine - the feathers had been regrown and the broken bones and skin had healed. But...she couldn't open them. Not all the way at least. She gritted her teeth and tried to force them to open. It was slow, painful work and her wings trembled all the way through the excruciating exercise but she finally managed to get them to the limit of their stretch and it was only halfway open, at least from what she was used to before. Dread settled in her stomach. The loss of the tail had been one thing, but her wings were something else. It was akin to losing her legs - like she couldn't move and couldn't do thing anymore.
She collapsed into the sand, shocked at this revelation. This wasn't the afterlife. She was still alive. Back to the terrible life she had made for herself for cycles upon cycles.
After the wrestling competition, Imperia decided they needed to go somewhere else. Somewhere that isn't Polaris. So they picked a tunnel and walked. And walked. And walked.
Until they'd gone through multiple tunnels and suddenly found themselves in a cave they couldn't recall having ever been in before. They were a little wary of the area due to the copious amounts of water. But they figured as long as they stayed clear away from it, they'd be fine. Or they could just leave. But something made them stay here. They didn't know what it was. Curiosity, perhaps?
At the sound of something nearby, they paused. What was that? A strangled sound, but they couldn't quite place it. Was someone here? It sounded like they were in pain. Looking around, it didn't take long to find them. A creature, scarred, with the shards of a chrysalis nearby. Looking at the creature, they couldn't even place what it was.
Slowly, they walked closer and watched as it tried to open wings only to fail. They paused a distance away, eyes narrowed. As she collapsed, they frowned. What had even happened to her? No longer able to take not knowing about any of this, they spoke up.
@Blackberry
At the sound of the voice, Blackberry flinched and looked over. A cat was standing nearby. Not Wilder, this one was far too big and not covered with pitch-black fur. Tufts on the ears, a serious expression on its face...
She hissed and jerked to her feet, stumbling back from the cat, the teeth on her chest flexing in warning. Her sore wings opened just a little bit, as if she were ready to take flight, although the cat had already seen that that was impossible. What if they were here to kill her? Did Pride send them? Or Envy? Or someone else that knew where she was? Did they send her here so that she couldn't escape and kill her properly once she was out of her chrysalis?
It occurred to her, through this haze of panic, that the cat had actually asked who she was. That they didn't already know. She blinked, although her heart still pumped adrenaline into her system. She was surprised that there were still creatures left in the caves that didn't know her name or didn't know about the Terror Goose. She had done quite a good job spreading that name.
She wasn't going to say it, though. Not yet. Because if she did, then she would most likely die. Her beak clacked with agitation.
Imperia watched calmly as the creature hissed and got onto her feet. Their eyes remained narrowed, especially as they watched the teeth on her chest flex. What in the caves was this thing? It was unlike anything they'd ever seen before.
Some time passed before it spoke, though she still didn't answer their questions. They flicked an ear before, calm as ever, bringing a paw up to lick it. Their tongue grazed over their permanently burnt paw, though they paid it little attention.
They were still incredibly upset they had lost. Still, even if they didn't hold that title anymore, they once did. And, looking over this creature with her scars, they wondered how she'd take it.
@Blackberry
Her red eyes narrowed at the cat at their strange way of introducing themselves. Wrestling champion? What the fuck was that supposed to mean? She didn't know about the Olympics, she didn't know about the wrestling competition, and she certainly didn't care if this cat had once held the title of champion. The only thing she cared about was what they were doing here. And if they were here to kill her.
Imperia scowled at the creature's reaction. Dumb titles? They weren't dumb! They opened their mouth to defend them, only to stop as the creature continued. They began to frown, then. Sinful Seven? Kingdom of Eridanus? They'd...well, they'd heard of them. In passing, just little snippets. They'd also heard Envy was leader of the Sinful Seven, which they couldn't believe. How could that little weasel be leader?
Looking at this creature now, they wondered what she had done. Were the groups after her? They stared for a moment longer before speaking.
@Blackberry
She didn't stop scowling at Imperia, even when he claimed not to be affiliated with anyone. She wasn't quite sure if she believed him, but it was only out of her fear and the sudden shock of waking up again. For a moment she stood there in her same braced position before she forced herself to relax just a little bit.
She let go of the breath she'd been holding and put her wings back firmly against her side, the teeth on her stomach closing once again.
If only she had that useful spell that allowed her to look into minds. She wasn't really a magic user, she had mostly despised it during her life, but she couldn't help but see its uses. She observed the cat up and down, trying to get a good reading from him but she was horrible at communication skills.
Imperia watched as the creature slowly, barely, began to relax. The teeth closed, her wings were placed back against her side. They continued to observe, trying to figure out if they'd ever heard of a creature like this before.
A memory resurfaced, faint. They had been passing somewhere when they heard something. Heard about a mutated goose, leading a family and teaching them to fight and to kill. Was this the same goose? They hadn't stayed long enough to get all the details, but surely this was the same goose. It had to be.
As she spoke, he flicked an ear, then shrugged.
@Blackberry
Perhaps it was because of all the misfortune she had faced, both from outside forces, and directly from her own horrible choices, but Blackberry wanted to believe someone wasn't there to hurt her. Blackberry wanted the reassurance that this creature was telling the truth. But as soon as the paused, her defenses were slammed right back up. She stepped back, the feathers on her neck raising and the teeth twitching again.
She expected, then, for them to attack. For revenge, or something. Or perhaps to bring her head back to Pride. Or just to rid the caves of another evildoer. She had to fight again. The thought made her stomach churn and she shivered, but she readied her claws and moved into a defensive stance.
But they pulled the rug out from under her. She didn't move from her state, only tilted her head, a little confused.
The goose was immediately defensive, though Imperia hadn't really expected any different. They watched, calm, as she got into a defensive position, those odd claws moving back out. Still, they didn't move.
But as she tilted her head and spoke, they shifted a little.
@Blackberry