Blackberry narrowed her eyes at her child, hoping desperately that they were being honest. It was painful enough to have to hurt them now, but to have to go through all of it again after giving them a second chance, well, she didn't know how that would go.

Their sudden shift didn't surprise her, but she was a little taken aback at them suddenly pressing forward and the clarity in their voice, the raw honestly she felt from them. It was almost like their emotions were flowing into her, bringing up the earliest memories of the two of them. Blackberry had always loved her children, as a mother goose always did. She would protect them and love them their whole lives and she knew that, if she had or would send Huckleberry away, there would be a piece of her that couldn't be filled by anything. And that went for all of them.

She accepted the tears this time and leaned forward to nestly her head into the rough quills on their back. Used to having to deal with her own sharp wings, this didn't bother her in the slightest and, instead, let them have this tender moment. She felt something like a weight lift off of her - the worry that Huckleberry would betray them was finally leaving her like a breath of air.

"Come on, Huckleberry," she whispered once she had let them stay there for a moment. "We need to get you back to the nest and patched up, yeah?" She stepped back and watched them lift their head. She gave them a small nudge in the direction of the tunnel and let the side of her head caress their cheek. "I'll always love you, Huckleberry."

*exit

Huckleberry had never been thankful for anything else then Mama letting them nestle against her for a little moment. They wanted to stay here forever, as if they were a child sleeping with the family again. They never wanted this moment to end.

But then she stepped back and mentioned their wound and, suddenly, it became so obvious to them how painful it was. They cringed at the sudden remembrance of their wounds and decided not to say anything - it was Blackberry, after all, who had inflicted them. Either she would feel bad for having done it or she would expect them to suck it up as their punishment. They didn't understand her.

They leaned down and gingerly picked up the gem in their mouth, casting one last guilty glance at the corpse of the bird before letting themselves be directed by Blackberry. Her voice whispered in their ear and they felt warm all over. They had almost given this up. Why?

They led the way back to the caves, not even comprehending the thoughts and feelings, the doubts they had had before and giving no thought to the possibility that they would have them again.

*exit

Character: Huckleberry Age: +5 (Fifth Cycle) Magic Level: +5 (Master) ROUND 1 Attempt: +2 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: +6 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: +3 Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: +17 Penalties: - ROUND 5 Attempt: +10 Penalties: - ROUND 6 Attempt: +17 Penalties: - ROUND 7 Attempt: +13 Penalties: - Total: 78

Character: Blackberry Age: +9 (Ninth Cycle) Magic Level: +5 (Champion) ROUND 1 Attempt: +19 Penalties: - ROUND 2 Attempt: +10 Penalties: - ROUND 3 Attempt: +1 Penalties: - ROUND 4 Attempt: +2 Penalties: - ROUND 5 Attempt: +15 Penalties: - ROUND 6 Attempt: +12 Penalties: - ROUND 7 Attempt: +3 Penalties: - Total: 76

WINNER: Huckleberry

@Blackberry