ORIGIN

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Rafael walked into Cetus for the first time in his life. The room smelled damp moss and reeked of acidic rain. He snorted and shook his head as he stepped onto the mud, disdain curling at the corners of his disapproving lips. What a non-beautiful cave this was! Rain water dripped off his antlers and ran onto his sleek, mahogany pelt. With a non-committal snort, the peryton sauntered, elk hooves sinking into the softer mud at times while the sharp talons on his hindlimbs gripped onto the slush easily, balancing out the rest of his body. Bits of mud and slush flecked his slender figure as he moved into the mist quietly, footfalls muted by the soft ground. He continued his trek for a while more and saw a large tree in front. Flicking his ears, Rafael continued to press forward, water dripping off every part of his body. He gave a huff then and looked upwards at the tree. It was huge and its many gnarled roots looked like tortured bodies. Rafael smirked and decided that he liked this tree quite a bit. He moved closer to it, then attempted to chew out some bark on the tree to have a taste of it. Alas, the bark refused to yield into his mouth that was better suited for tearing into the grass. He wasn't intending to give up though, and so reared up, placed his hooves onto the tree and continued to yank at the bark.

Silver was enjoying this rain, to be honest. It was warm and good for his feathers, clean and slick now, where once they'd been ruined by Aquarian's saliva and stomach juices. He felt confident enough to fly again, and since taking those first tentative flights around the lake's edge, it had become impossible to keep Silver on the ground very long. The rain weighed him down, though, so today, he took shelter beneath an evergreen's tapering branches. There, protected from the worst of the rain, he watched his kingdom in silence- the mist was clearer than usual thanks to the constant downpour- so when a newcomer arrived in his kingdom, the bird took notice immediately. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before- a hind end like a bird, but a front end like a deer. He cocked his head to one side, than the other, in contemplation. He watched from his hiding place in total silence as the creature, strange hybrid of parts, hoisted himself onto a tree and began trying to peel away the stone-hard bark. It was then Silver gave up his secrecy to have a good laugh. He lifted from the ground and with a few flaps of his wet wings, landed on the branches above the deer thing.

"The bark's no good for eating, deer-bird. It's more like stone than plant. Try the ferns. They're safe." He offered, friendly enough with his words, but his tone of voice mocked the creature's efforts. He perched happily on the high branches, well out of the creature's reach. There, he stood on stilt legs and took a moment to preen. "You're not from around here, are you?"

The peryton felt a gentle rustling occur above him. He paused in his efforts and tilted his head back slightly to regard the bird which had perched conveniently at a branch above him. Dove grey eyes gazed benignly at the beaked creature as it went on about how the bark wasn't good to eat. The peryton snorted and flicked his ears, then dipped his head and continued to yank at the bark, teeth clamping down upon the brown fibres while he pushed his hooves against the tree to get it to yield. However, the bark of the tree refused to be torn off. The rain made it slippery for his grip as well. With a snort, Rafael swung his antlers without warning and crashed it into the tree in frustration, though the impact shouldn't have caused the tree to shudder at all considering how large and ancient it was. He paused for a moment then and lit upon a better idea. Turning around, the peryton looked for a good rock. Grey eyes glimmered lovingly as he saw a sharp, solid one to the right. He turned towards it gracefully, body swinging around withers-first then shoulders, then he stretched out his forelimb and rubbed the hoof against the rock, trimming off the corners into a sharp angle. Now that he was preoccupied, Rafael cast his attention onto the bird with a flick of his head, tilted at an angle. Then, without warning, he screeched at it, as though to convey why-don't-you-eat-grass-then-criticising-moron.

The deer-bird continued despite the advice and Silver watched with a shake of his head. Really? This creature must've forgotten to develop any brains while inside its crystal. Then, it lost its grip and threw a tantrum of sorts. Silver lost it, crowing with laughter at the thing. Such laughter only doubled when it shot him a look and screech. Such a stupid creature this one was! After a moment, he wiped his beak and the laughter faded. He remained in his place on the tree branch, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

He could show off, if he wanted to. Let's see...

...Silver focused on his feet. He stared down at the branch he stood on, and a second later, his gemstone beak began to glow a deeper gold. As it brightened, the branch he stood on began to crackle and pop from the inside. He focused harder, and then, with a mighty stroke of his wings, lifted from the branch and took his built-up pressure with him, bursting the branch into splintered pieces as he left it.

"Ah! See? That's how it's done! Forget that stone bark!" He crowed, circling to land on another branch as his magic and glow faded back to nothing. He landed on a similar branch on the same tree and examined the remains with curious delight. "There. You want to eat stone-bark so badly, have at it." He would've grinned if not for his solid beak. His eyes narrowed, though, showing off his morbid delight. "Eat up, idiot. I can't wait to see you try to poop it out later!" And thus, more laughter followed, cackling and obnoxious.

Mocking laughter rang out, cackling tones escaping from the large yellow beak of the bird's which Rafael considered with a cynical eye. The bird's gemstone glowed and the branch beneath its grip crackled and splintered just as it hoisted itself up into the air. The peryton watched silently, the display before him overwriting the irritation he felt towards the other's mockery. Rafael was rather intrigued by the other's ability. Dove grey eyes stayed true to the bird's path-of-flight till it landed onto another branch. Rafael nickered at it eagerly and curiously, then hoisted himself into the air as well, hawk wings extended on either side of his elk body. Things that flew he classified not as prey or food but comrades.

The bird continued to cackle out and mocked him further though, letting the bark fall to the ground like he was a snivelling, begging dog. "Eat up, idiot. I can't wait to see you try to poop it out later!" Rafael screeched and smirked, black lips twisting into a cruel smile, dove grey eyes still smiling at the bird almost lovingly. Slowly, his gaze hardened into fierce possessiveness and he flew himself higher, ignoring the bits of useless bark that had clattered to the bottom. Bringing himself to the other's height, Rafael tucked in his neck and rolled his wings behind his shoulders, body curved like a 'C' shape, then let forth an energy blast towards the bird, willing it to crash onto the trees behind it.

Post-roll edit: Alas, his energy would not burst forth. The boy remained hunched over, ready to dodge or take on any remaining offending attacks.

Round: 1/5

Attempt: Cast dispel at Silver, intending to blast him onto the tree branches behind

Defense: Neck tucked in, body curved like a 'C', hooves in front to protect his belly and stance ready to absorb any return impact

Injuries: NIL

Silver all but wailed when the deer-bird suddenly took flight. He hadn't expected such an oddly shaped animal to be able to fly, so when he suddenly took to the air in front of him, Silver pushed off of his branch backwards in retreat. He shrieked in protest at the creature's advances, and when he saw the creature roll into a ball with violent screaming, Silver knew things had turned sour quickly. The bird shook his head as he stroked his wings, flying backwards and upwards away from the beast. Then, when nothing came of its defensive position, Silver became angry. Very angry. He ruffled the feathers around his back and chest and dove in, topaz beak gleaming brightly as he summoned his magic once more.

This time, as he swung his legs forward, the bird aimed a powerful jolt of energy out from himself, but only once he felt the brush of antler fuzz and fur across the bottoms of his feet. A loud POP snapped in the air, the mist flew away from him like disturbed clouds, and he used the force of it to propell himself backwards in turn. He'd aimed for the deer-bird's head, in hopes of getting rid of those antlers at the very least- or else knock the thing out cold- or for good.

"Back on the ground, dirt-beast! The air of Cetus is MINE!" He snapped as he worked backwards again, away from the beast with heavy back-strokes of his wide wings, legs stretched out defensively, beak held open in warning. The air of Cetus was all he'd managed to keep for himself so far- with Aquarian in the water, and travellers invading the land. He'd not let some shrieking mutant steal the only possession he had left!

Round: 1/5

Attempt: Swoops in, very briefly runs a foot across Raf's head, then uses the force of his spell to shoot back and away again in the same motion. Vacuum is cast between Raf's antlers and against his forehead.

Defense: After attacking, legs are extended to ward off any advances.

Injuries: None

As the bird moved forward and above him, the deer did what he could by instinct - dodge below. However, he must have been too slow for he'd barely succeeded in tilting his head back when the claws of the bird narrowly raked across his fur and sent a blast of energy directly towards his antlers. Immediately, the upper spikes of his antlers cleaved off, leaving him just 2 stubs for horns and because of the direct impact, the antlers being connected to his skull, Rafael felt himself being flung back violently. With a shriek, he flapped his wings, already in the cupped position to take the blow, and crashed past a couple of trees, only to knock his back hard against one of the tree trunks several metres behind him. It hurt, and the sudden impact caused him to feel numb before immense pain shot through his body, fuelling his adrenaline.

Rafael was greatly agitated - and his mind focused on destroying the bird before him, hazy determination overlapping the pain that shot through his body. He flapped his wings and soared forward, attempting to scoop in from above the offending bird and hone in on him like a hawk, talons first on top of it, then gorge out its eyes and swoop away into a circular arc.

Round: 2/5

Attempt: Soar forward and gouge out Silver's eyes

Defense: Keeping his body away from Silver - only talons outstretched, and going at a fast speed to just swoop in and then disengage.

Injuries: Broken antlers (will take 2 real time weeks to regrow), back pain

Silver crowed in delight as the deer-bird fell backwards, horns splintering and trees breaking from the impact. The heron hovered in place a moment, curious to see if he'd continue the assault. He did indeed. Silver watched with increasing interest as the creature soared up high. When it turned to come back down on him, Silver squawked in protest and alarm- wrenching his wings to try and evade, but to no avail! Those talons raked across his face and he shrieked bloody murder as feathers and gold-tinted blood flew from his cheeks, just barely missing his eyes by a stroke of luck. He allowed himself to flutter downwards, away from the attacker, but caught himself again before reaching the ground.

He shot off and upwards as soon as he regained his bearings, circling to swoop at the deer-bird again, this time without using magic. He dove in, snapping his wings together, and aimed that sharp spear-like beak for Raf's exposed back, dropping from above...

...but to his incredible horror, the beast's wing happened to move into a down-stroke at just the wrong moment, and instead of piercing soft flesh and feathers, Silver found himself being knocked from the sky completely. That larger wing came down across his face before he could make contact, and he was sent into a tumbling mess of wings and legs, plummeting towards the ground. He was okay so far... but the bird barely had a moment to brace himself before the ground suddenly caught up with him.

He landed with a sickening crunch of fragile bones. The sound that came from him next was shrill, loud and unforgettable. He floundered about for a moment, fighting off the invisible attacker causing him pain, senseless in his agony, before the bird realized his plight and settled amongst the torn and folded grass and fern leaves. His leg bent at a terrible angle, in a place it shouldn't have bent at all. Likewise, something now clicked when he breathed- it would be a miracle if he survived long enough to heal from this... and he'd never have both legs to walk on again either way.

Round: 2/5

Attempt: Tried to stab him but that didn't work, now he's just trying to right himself on the ground.

Defense: N/A

Injuries: Very broken left leg, a few broken ribs, bloodied scratches across his eyes- can still see, eyes are undamaged.

Rafael circled the air, disengaging successfully from his opponent. It screeched and tumbled amongst the grass and ferns. The peryton smirked as he heard a sickening crunch as it landed and flew in closer for a better look, elk neck craning forward in a comically gruesome fashion. One of its spindly legs were bent at an awkward angle. He chuckled and grinned, cruel smile twisting along his lips while hovering with bloodstained talons, then screeched and took flight, disappearing for a moment. He flew to their original location not too far away from where the white fool had fallen, and gripped some of the bark which the white bird had previously splintered within his talons, then with a screech flew back to the offending target.

There, he landed with a soft thump, wings folded by his side, bark bits now clamped between his teeth. The peryton didn't really care for his antlers - head felt lighter now, more deer-like and a relief to his neck muscles though his back hurt from the impact. He shifted forward with a few crooning sounds, large, doleful eyes latching onto the other's eyes. Shoulders and withers moved forward in a jerky, rocking, suggestive gait as he neared the fallen bird. Creak, flick, thud. The grass flattened with crsip sounds beneath his talons. Rafael cocked his head to the side, eyeing the bird with one robotic, flicking, wildly moving grey eye, then launched himself into the air and attempted to latch onto the bird's beak with his talons, in a similar 'C' shape, though this time his muzzle craned forward. The peryton intended to pry the bird's beak open and shove the bits of bark which had been so carelessly given to him back into its rightful owner. "Eat," he crooned from behind his clenched teeth, and looked at the bird with innocent eyes flooding over with empathy and nothing but concern for this creature which was in such a twisted mess right now.

Post-roll edit:
Alas the damn bird's beak would not pry open and so he lost his grip and thundered back to the ground, in front of the bird, and flung the bits of bark in front of it, expecting the bird to eat up the bark. He eyed the thing with doleful eyes and pawed the ground, shaking his head ever so slightly as though to indicate why-don't-you-eat-it?

Round: 3/5

Attempt: Force Silver to eat bark

Defense: Keeping his body away from Silver - only talons outstretched, bits of bark within his mouth protruding forward so his nose isn't directly contactable with Silver's beak (?)

Injuries: Broken antlers (will take 2 real time weeks to regrow), back pain

Silver watched with mild horror as the deer thing came to land beside him. He approached, with bark in his mouth- stupid thing- but when it lowered a talon onto his face, Silver made another horrible, garbled screaming sound and tugged against it, trying to break free. The deer thing lowered the bark to his face and he shook away from it, revolted. No no, that's a bad idea! He'd choke! He'd die! This thing was trying to kill him! Why not just snap his neck!? Oh, it hurts! Oh, no no no--

Oh.

The talon moved away and so did the creature's face. Silver dragged his head across the dirt, beak-heavy, and lifted his head just slightly. He glared up at the creature, then snorted.

"Stop. Please." He croaked. "Enough." Dethroned from his place on high, Silver did something stupid now. He pushed with his wings and head, and one good leg, to try and stand. If he could just get his balance under him...

...but the effort was painful. Too painful. He cried out in pain as his weight collapsed, and he landed on the ground with a thud. Golden eye looked up at the deer-bird, head sideways, right eye shut against the ground. The look he gave him was meaningful- and simple- end me. Stop this. Please. He'd never hunt again with this leg... and he'd never fly again with those ribs. The second fall now had his breathing even more labored, even more audible. He clicked with every breath, lung deflated, pierced by his own broken bones. He'd been eaten, spat up, smacked down, clawed apart... this was it. This was his final moment. He could only hope the beast would make it quick and understand...

Round: 3/5

Attempt: Stand, and fail- just ends up aggravating his injuries further.

Defense: N/A

Injuries: Broken left leg, Broken ribs, collapsed lung, bloodied face scratches.

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Rafael

Sillver

Rafael

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Rafael

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Rafael

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Rafael

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