Ever since their encounter with the Black Altar, Enoki had been buzzing. They'd not yet been brave enough to revisit it, but the whispers had clung to them, curling around their ears and filling their mouth with cotton. They still needed to go see Mama, to ask her... if what they'd seen was true. But. But. Enoki wasn't the creature that had howled and spit after that vision; they were a friendly, cuddly, and optimistic character! Portable weighted blanket!

They did sort of need a hug, but they hadn't quite trusted themselves yet, not to go see Chitin and Bayo at least. Maybe Damask would have an idea of what to do, since she seemed to be thinking all the time, but for now... for now, Enoki was just trying to work out some of the nervous energy that had stuck to them ever since. The natural solution was, of course, practice.

Exhausting themselves was always a good way to get things done, and so they had wandered around Polaris for a while until they'd found a tree, more or less. There were not many trees in Polaris, and this one had clearly been created by some miscellaneous cast of magic. It was kind of gangly and awkward, and its leaves certainly weren't bright and shiny like a tree in Pegasus or Eridanus, but on the whole it rather seemed like an acceptable target.

Enoki wasn't willing to just attack rocks -- that would've hurt! They stretched and paced in a circle around the base of the tree before settling down in front of it, in that same light stance that they always hovered in. Enoki was excellent at dodging attacks -- that wasn't in question. But attacking... well, that one was a little trickier. They lunged at the tree, their claws outstretched to rake at it, but their claws sort of just skittered off of the bark and they returned to their starting position.

They huffed. Normally, Enoki might have just laughed at themselves and brushed it off -- as it were, they felt an unnatural annoyance. You're meant to be STRONG, something seemed to growl, and they narrowed their eyes before lunging at the tree once more. This time, their claws gouged into the bark and tore through it, rending a notable gash into the outer shell of the tree. They scraped the damaged bark away, and noted with a small sense of pride that they'd even managed to nick the inner portions of the tree.

It didn't bleed, though, and some part of Enoki felt irritated on account of it. Blood was the mark of a successful strike -- it was the mark of winning, of taking and rending and tearing and--

They shook their head to dislodge the thoughts, and let out a frustrated sound. "Stop that!" Enoki said, out loud this time. "This is practice," and there was a growl in their words. Hopefully, these awful, violent, anxious urges would start to abate as they exhausted themselves.



(i meant to select Scratch, whoops! it doesn't really matter since this is just practice, though--)

The fur along their spine rose as they tensed, eyeing the tree again. They had to recontextualize this as prey -- Maybe it can be, they mused, with some level of humor. They did eat leaves, after all. Just not a ton of them. Perhaps they'd try to climb it when they were done and take some of the spoils from the top, though they didn't look particularly appealing.

Or maybe they'd just hunt down something with a heartbeat.

Enoki let a growl rise up in their throat, giving in to the violence for a moment as they rushed the tree again, teeth and claws scraping at it. Their teeth were the only parts of them to make any indents in the bark, however, and when they relented, they were spitting bits of tree out onto the cracked stone. "Ugh, gross."

Still, they could not deny -- the urge to give in to something darker was persuasive. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad... after all, this tree didn't feel pain. Not really. And it was a stranger here, an interloper -- Polaris did not grow trees, not naturally. Some stray magic had left this here, half-alive but resolute. If it can survive your CHAOS, it is WORTHY! something hissed. Enoki struck out with their claws again, and once more left only shallow marks in the bark.

Their fur raised on end. Stupid tree. "I'm stronger than you," Enoki growled, starting to pace around it stubbornly, as if looking for an opening. A weak point, a place to sink their teeth in and tear. "You're just a dumb PLANT!"

They lunged again, that spark of small chaos fueling them in their fire. They were small, but they were MIGHTY! Enoki's strength was in their small size -- they could DESTROY whatever stood in their way, and all it took was a little bit of agility. Which was what they were here to get better at -- getting more agile, and getting stronger. They paced around the tree for a moment longer, and then, suddenly, struck out with the side of their wrist.

This was a stunning technique they were working on -- interrupting concentration before it could start. But once again, their blow was weak, and Enoki was getting more and more frustrated with all of this. They were strong -- they were powerful. And this damn thing wouldn't BLEED.

"Stop," they said, voice sharp, as they spoke to themselves. "Focus. Deep breaths, 'Noki. You've got this." They shook themselves out like a dog, and returned to a more neutral position -- four feet on the floor, light in their posture, muscles tensed as if to leap, legs bent in accordance with it.