At first, he tore into Kerberos with all the same fury as his magic. That static continued in full force for the first few blows. Then, bloodied tears began to spill, his hits began to falter. The other two heads of the guardian had begun to make contact, but it wasn't to attack him. He stiffened at the touch, shouldered the first head away, then winced into another strike with his claws- his magic faltered, the glow brightened for a moment... the black smothered by true bright red and it became a steadier glow. His expression fell into exhausted anguish. He stuck again, but it was tired.

"..........y-you... you ki...killed her." His voice had dropped into that whisper, but now, it was heavy with grief, with pain. He now stood on the middle head with his front paws, claws unsheathed but at rest, his jaw hanging open, bloodied.

"...you killed my Bevy..."

His voice was barely a whisper. He began to tremble.

"W-why... would you..." The red glow was gone now. "My Enna... you... you took my Enna away..." He crumpled now, claws digging in but not to harm anymore.

"...why...?" It was a choked sob, and then, the panther, broken in every way, wept into his victim's fur.

No more death this day, by chance,
in favor of mercy, we do, repent.

---

Round: 5/5?
Attempt: Show mercy, stay conscious, stay good.
Defense: N/A
Injuries: Still fresh mangled face, mental anguish preventing conscious thought or reason. Magical strain. Chemical burns all over body, in the form of blistered patches. Physical agony. Temporary blindness, muted hearing. Getting tired now... so tired...

@Kerberos

Could you come and change me?

Take away everything I am.

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

cancer v. kerberos
round five of five

Kerberos licked and licked, and finally, Cancer's voice came to his ears again, heavy and tired. Gently, the dog stretched out his forepaws and wrapped them gently around the leopard. His paws were slick with blood, but the gem in his left was radiating a gentle, loving warmth. His middle face was mangled, silent in agony.

The others, however, listened to Cancers words, and they answered, soft and quiet, exchanging licks and words alternatively. "Bevy threatened Remedy's life." "I shielded her with my body." "A sickness took control of my systems..." "I was desperate." "I fired... I didn't mean to kill her." "But what's done is done..." "You were right to punish me..." "I am sorry."

The dog fell silent for a moment, and then quietly, both heads asked, shaking from the pain.

"Is Remedy okay?"

actions;; attempt: defenses: injuries;; previous: current:

keep healing! no defenses incredibly sick internal damage quartz in legs chemical burns multiple wounds on mid face

@Cancer

[Origin Cave]

Character: Cancer Age: +8 (8 Cycles) Magic Level: +5 (Master Level) ROUND 1 Attempt: +11 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: +12 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: +1 Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: +17 Penalties: - ROUND 5 Attempt: +14 Penalties: - Total: 68

Character: Kerberos Age: +7 (7 Cycles) Magic Level: +5 (Master Level) ROUND 1 Attempt: +5 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: +16 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: +15 Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: +7 Penalties: - ROUND 5 Attempt: +6 Penalties: - Total: 61

WINNER: CANCER

@Azazel

There was a stale moment of dark intent. The dog continued to sooth the cat, though, and despite rumbles of protest, he slowly sank down into a position where he instead cradled the head he'd torn apart only moments before. Tentatively, perhaps instinctively, he held the dog's head in place and rasped his tongue across it clumsily. The taste that met his tongue was horrid, but as the dog was doing, he kept up slowly, working into a pattern.

There was a silence for a moment and during that pause, Carcino had stilled, ragged breath steadier now, deep inhales matched with quick exhales, and when Kerberos spoke again, he actually understood the words.

Remedy. Remedy. His daughter. A part of Bevy. That last remaining attachment. Where had she gone? Where was she? He hadn't seen her since Amaria... Ammy. Ammy had her. She was safe. She was fine. Ammy had saved her, had left Pisces before him with Remedy in tow, hadn't she? He felt uncertain, but to quell himself, and in turn the dog, he nodded into Kerberos' fur.

She was okay. He had to be sure of that.

He couldn't lose control again.

@Kerberos @Azazel

There was an awful lot of commotion in Canis as of late, mostly with the return of Carcino. The death of Bevy had impacted Azazel a little bit, seeing as the hooded pitohui had been there when he emerged along with Krakarak. The Bone King may have mourned for a few days, but he knew how important the corvid had been to others in the caves.

Cancer, for example, had been mentally destroyed by the avian's death. The Bone King was the one to accidentally trigger the dark feline and throw his whole world into chaos by asking the wrong question too quickly.

And now... Kerberos was at the butt-end of the persian leopard's rage. Azazel had tried to come to the sounds of roaring and screeching as quickly as he could, but it all happened so fast. He was so slow to get there, and when he did... it was already over. Massive spires of red quartz now filled Canis, sharp and deadly. For a moment, he was about to screech and tell them to knock it off... but they already had stopped.

Clad in armor, the Avian landed upon the spire closest to the feline and cerberus, and that was when he really got good look. Both were mangled and bloodied. Carcino's face had begun bleeding again, and it looked as if the feline had attacked the center head of Kerberos. "Kerberos, I'm so sorry..." As shattered as Carcino was, he was sure it would be best not to engage him again. It was treading on broken glass.

@Kerberos

never enough

who i am is not good enough

never enough

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Kerberos's left head, the one with the crimson nose, turned a pale, blood stained muzzle towards Aza'zel, eyes lidded and glossed over. His tail, far behind his body, wagged limply, flinching whenever he accidentally brushed against some pointy shard sticking out of the cracked earth. "It hurts, but I will live," he answered shortly, softly, as though afraid he might wake Cancer up and turn him back into a raging beast.

His right head, however, made a gentle whining noise. "Good, good. I will protect her. I will protect you. Your family is my family. I won't make a mistake again, I promise." The central head was unresponsive, though the magic in his body was working to repair the bleeding wounds. The pain was agonizing, but focused in a part that the peripheral heads could mostly withstand.

In general, however, the canine seemed eerily calm, almost pleased, with the outcome. There was a tenseness to his body, as though he was ready to jump on a grenade that was just beyond his vision. A sense of panic, just beneath the surface, that he hid behind his loving, trustworthy puppy face. It was as though Kerberos knew he was being held together by strings that had only just held under the torrent of claws, and as though he understood that the Caves might just wish him dead and he would have to die by his leaders, his alphas, his family's wishes for being so reckless.

Full disclosure: Kerberos would do it again. He hated himself for it.

@Cancer @Azazel