Elderberry had returned to the family nest, his head hanging slightly from exhaustion, and his legs slightly shaky with the exertion of training. His breaths were slow, his eyelids heavy, but he felt elated, and contented. The feathers along his back were relaxed. Soft hoofbeats echoed through the mossy tunnel, and Elderberry looked up, seeking some sign that he wasn't alone. As he stepped into the nest, he stood there for a moment, looking out over the Bloodberries' narrow domain with a slow turn of his head.

During training, Elderberry had found a spark in his chest, a surge of excitement that thrilled to his very bones. And there was a new glitter in his eyes beyond the quiet, something that longed and urged for that thrill again. But not with these aching limbs. Elderberry allowed himself to sink down, spindly fawn legs folding underneath him. his long neck curled over his knees, chest already rising and falling. His beak let out a few contented clicks.

He knew that this was where he belonged, perhaps more so than any of his siblings. He was a Bloodberry, and he lived for the thrill of battle.

"When I speak."

When I think.

@Blackberry

Blackberry followed her son back into the tunnel, feeling sore all over. The last few days had been filled with mock fights and lots of training. She was pleased, however. Her children were strong and, while some of them still struggled with fighting, she knew that they would come around once they had a taste of a real fight. Sure, there had been the fight with the bird, but Blackberry knew that it had been just dodging spells and ripping feathers without any meaning. They would have their first fights someday...she knew that Huckleberry had already had their first.

But Elderberry? He was strong and committed. Blackberry had taken him to be the weakest of her children at first, with such a strange figure and the quietness that put him in the back of her mind. But he was not only proving to be a competent fighter, but the one child she had observed so far that seemed truly ready. They would have to find an opponent for him soon.

She watched her son sit in his nest and walked up to join him, settling herself down beside him, pulling her wings to her back and shifting so that her claws elevated herself a bit. It was uncomfortable sitting on top of her stomach claws sometimes.

She looked over at Elderberry and gave him a look up and down, observing his growing form. Yes, he was a strange amalgamate, but she felt a flash of pride at her own features displayed in his body. His black neck and head, the quill-like mane, and that sparkling in his eyes. The thirst for more, the thrill of fighting. Yes, he was very much like her.

"I remember," she murmured, her eyes flashing as the past flitted through her head. The three gems she had harbored here, that she had chased and had been brought home. "Your gem was the smallest. Just a sliver of Blueberry's gem. But you grew so big when the lizard had taken you away. I couldn't believe my eyes when Blueberry brought you back to the tunnel. You are strong and you have grown well. I am proud of you, Elderberry. But you are so quiet," she added, almost as an afterthought. "What is it that keeps your voice?"

@Elderberry

Elderberry's ears pricked as a voice broke through the haze of sleep- a soft voice, but a powerful one- the voice that had, since birth, thrilled him to the very core. He listened, gaze focused and glittering with a spark of pride. If training had thrilled him to the core- then his mother's words reenergized him, and made him want to rear and plunge in glorious combat to hear her praise roaring to the cave's core.

He basked in her reminiscing, ruffling the feathers along his back in contentment. Although his pointed beak scarcely allowed for a smile, contentment was apparent in the curve of his neck and the glitter of his eyes. He clacked his beak softly, though, as his mother presented her question. his ears twitched back slightly in thought. He was silent, thoughtful, for what felt like a long time; although his quietness had been born form uncertainty, preferring to watch, listen, and judge... he felt like the reason had changed. "I could boast all I wanted to, but it wouldn't make me a good fighter. And it wouldn't make you proud," he said finally, his voice a low honk. Then he settled back down into peaceful silence, though he still appeared to be thinking. He clacked his beak again. "I'd rather you -and papa- see me for what I am than listen to dreams of what I could be."

Elderberry gave a nod, and his ears flicked forward. He looked at his mother to see if his words had pleased her- or otherwise.

---

"When I speak."

When I think.

@Blackberry

Blackberry waited patiently for Elderberry's response. As the silence lengthened, she suddenly realized how different she felt. It was always around her children that she felt this way - calm, peaceful, patient, loving, and not angry. Not even a little bit. It was strange and she knew it was only for her children, but she enjoyed this relatively peaceful time.

She listened to Blueberry's response and a glitter came into her eyes. She all of a sudden raised her head and let out a honk of laughter at the response, amusement sending her neck feathers shivering. She had not expected the response that he gave her, but she certainly approved of it and her laugh was not unkindly. She looked back down at her son, her eyes shining. "Quite right! Perhaps your Papa and I could learn a thing or two from you! We tend to boast a little too much. But you're wise for your age, Elderberry. You live up to your name."

She stared at her son for a moment, eyes narrowed as she contemplated some of his words, still curious about him. His answer certainly showed her a part of him she didn't know was there and she wanted to probe deeper. "Then what does make you a good fighter? Not training," she added with a flick of her beak. "What thoughts make you fight better?"

@Elderberry

Elderberry's ears twitched upright, and he looked to his mother with a trace of worry as she honked- but the sparkle quickly returned, with the feathers along his back lowering, a sign of relief and perhaps humour. If he could smile properly, he would have, but the youngster instead let out a soft and contented grumble from the depths of his chest- something in between the contented chattering of a goose and the bleat of a young moose. The sound was one of amusement too, and when the sound had faded, he looked up to his mother again.

"Thank you, mama," he said softly, pondering for a while on what else to say. There were a lot of thoughts going around his head- that means a lot, that makes me happy, but all of it, Elderberry felt, would be apparent at surface depth. he could show his appreciation for Mama's praise by training for her, and fighting like he'd never fought before.

As a Bloodberry, her praise was what he craved the most- his heart was fiery with pride at her words, and made him long to once again leap to his hooves despite the tiredness in his lanky limbs and prance and kick and train- but he knew that whilst his veins flooded with fire, his body needed to rest. Overexertion would not help to make him stronger.

At Blackberry's question, Elderberry closed his eyes, dropping his beak to his chest. His ears twitched slightly with thought. He stayed there for a while before his green eyes popped open and he looked at his mother with a triumphant look in his gaze. "I think about what to do before I start. I look at my opponent- their size, how they're moving, and try to think of the best way to tackle that. Maybe... I'm better at thinking than fighting. But... I need to get better at both if I'm to manage in the heat of the moment."

Elderberry dropped his gaze, and it was clear that he was contemplating exactly how to do that- as well as if his words were the right ones. "Do you have any advice, mama?"

---

"When I speak."

When I think.

@Blackberry

Blackberry narrowed her eyes at her son as Elderberry spoke, one of the claws on her chest clicking thoughtfully. What he described was, of course, what every smart fighter did before a battle. Althought Blackberry would be the first to admit that she did not often do this as well, preferring to throw her crazed power, her raw strength, and the fear her name, appearance, and natural weapons brought. She did not often care for thinking when it came to fighting and instead let the red of battle take control. Let the anger and the hatred surge forward, fueling her and filling the empty spots left by careful planning.

But she knew Elderberry was different. He had said so himself. But this was not quite what she was asking. "Yes, yes," she replied, dismissively. "That is a way of fighting. It is a smart way to face every opponent differently, use their weaknesses against them, but that's not what I mean. What thoughts drive you to fight? What boils in your blood when a battle begins?"

Perhaps this was beyond his understanding. After all, Blackberry had to remind herself that he had never actually fought anyone before. She closed her eyes for a moment and let herself be pulled back into the fury of a fight. "For me," she breathed, the scent of blood and fear in her nose as potent as if the events were happening right there in the tunnel, "it is the blood and the thrill and fear. I enjoy seeing my enemies suffer. Blood is what drives me into the attack, the taste of their fear fills me with energy. Fighting and killing is fun to me. I do it because I enjoy it and that makes me stronger then those who do not." She opened her eyes again and focused on her son again. "This is not something I can advise you on. You must find your purpose yourself. Without that, there's no point in fighting at all," she added with a twinge of disgust in her voice. As if her children would dislike fighting. They had her blood, after all.

@Elderberry

Elderberry blinked in surprise. Had he misunderstood his mother's question? The feathers along his back ruffled in embarrassment, but other than that, Elderberry quietly set his mind ticking over his response to the newly posed question. It wasn't a hard one, this time, but it took a lot of thought to find the right words. "It was the opportunity to make you proud and follow in your footsteps that started it," he answered quietly. "Then... When I experienced it, it became something else. It was the thrill. I know now that facing someone can express more than words ever could. Voices can lie, but blood can't."

He listened to his mother's own reason for battle. Dramatically different, he knew, but entrancing. Elderberry found himself longing to spar against his mother, to feel those emotions let loose. To feel what truly lived inside her soul in a side that her close family rarely saw. Elderberry thought that such a battle would be a spectacle to behold- and it would not only make Elderberry proud to be a Bloodberry, but Blackberry proud to have raised a son capable of such brutal wonders.

"I hope that I can see that some day."

---

"When I speak."

When I think.

@Blackberry

Blackberry narrowed her eyes as Elderberry gave her his answer. At first, she was hesitant to feel pride at his declaration to want to make her proud. Was that his only reason for going into battle? For the approval of his parents? Well, it was certainly noble to want to bring fear and worth to the family name, but she wanted her children to experience battle the way that she did and the way that Blueberry did. To work only for the pride of the parents...that wasn't something Blackberry wanted to work with.

But then he spoke of the thrill and she knew he could hear it too - the words spoken through blood and cries and claws and teeth. The language of battle and death. Voices can lie, but blood can't. Blackberry considered this for a moment before leaning forward to look into her son's eyes. Green, like Blueberry's, and with no hint of lie. After a moment, she leaned back and gave him a proud nod, finally feeling the warmth that she had been holding back. He was truly her son. "Good. I am proud you have found your purpose in fights. That is what we are, the Bloodberries. We are those that find ourselves in blood and battle."

She let out a small honk of laughter. "There isn't any need to hope! You will! When I fight, I am truly alive! And when my enemy's blood spills, that is when my soul sings! There are many enemies in the caves to fight. We don't have to wait for them. We only have to find them." As she spoke these words, it came to her mind, once again, that she had not acted on her vengeance in quite some time. She had been so busy with her children and family, so busy with this new life, that she hadn't had any time to seek out her enemies. There had been the bird, of course, but she had not sought them out. No, she needed another target. Another victim.

Perhaps the wolf...Kera...I will get you one day.

@Elderberry

Elderberry met his mother's gaze with an even stare- his ears perked, gazing into her red eyes. With downy tufts giving way to a sleek and streamlined curve of a neck, pitch-black feathers breaking through- it was almost like looking into a mirror, or perhaps a window to Blackberry's past. If one ignored Elderberry's awkwardly folded legs, still long and gangly, he was definitely his mother's son. He was beginning to get tall, too- perhaps one day, he might be able to walk with something resembling grace, and be able to tower over his opponents with a reasonably intimidating stature.

He dipped his beak in a low nod as his mother expressed her pride, and although it was impossible to tell, the feathers along his back rippled in relief. "I'll wear our name as a badge of pride and honour, mama. Until the day the dirt touches my bones..." Elderberry spoke in a tone of deadly seriousness. It was a vow he fully intended to keep, and he meant it with all of his heart. He loved and respected his mother and father with all of his heart, and today only reaffirmed that the place he'd been born was truly home.

Perhaps one day their name would become a weapon in itself.

Ederberry looked up at his mother's honk of laughter, listening curiously to her words. He nodded. "Perhaps we should find one together. I haven't had a real fight yet."

---

"When I speak."

When I think.

@Blackberry

Blackberry could barely contain her pride at the dead seriousness in Elderberry's voice. She had once felt doubtful that some of her children would grow up to be good fighters and she had feared that Elderberry would be the most distant of her children. But it seemed that she was wrong - he already seemed to be the most like her. She tried to think of who they could fight together and too many ideas came to mind. Maybe the wolf she fought in Canis? Or the cougar in the plant room? Or even Kera? Well, she didn't know where Kera was and, to be honest, she wasn't sure that two of them would be able to fight that demon of a wolf. There were others too, so many. It would take time to think about. She wanted a good target for her son's real fight.

She nodded to his request. "Yes, we will. There are many creatures in this cave that deserve to be pounded into the dust. We'll find one, I promise. For now, rest. You fought hard today." There was no point in getting up right then and there and searching for a target. They needed to rest and get ready for what was to come.

@Elderberry
Sorry for forgetting about this thread, just here to finish it up!