Huckleberry did not fully understand what it meant to be dead. Mama had always told them that being a crystal again meant that you were dead, that you had been killed, that the body had been hurt so much that they would die without it. Huckleberry had done that to Cloudberry, his own daughter. He had subjected her to the same torment that Mama often described.

But he was confused, because he did not remember such torment. Sure, his sleep was painful, his dreams agonizing as the burns were healed, but it did not get worse, only better, until the pain went away completely. Was Mama lying about her torment? Or was Huckleberry just lucky? He didn't know and he didn't want to even consider that his mother was a liar. She wasn't! She couldn't! He loved his Mama, so much so much!

When Shiny was able to squeeze into his cage through the tunnel Mercuries had made, he immediately grabbed the little cat and held her tight, rubbing the side of his head against her dark fur, crying all the time, but his tears had become ones of happiness. He had been separated from her for so long. He had thought she was dead and she thought the same of him. Together they held each other and blocked the world out.

That was...until the cat stepped up to the cages and spoke. Shiny squirmed in his grip and clawed up the side of his neck so that she could settle at her usual spot between his shoulders, just behind the mane of feathers. It was relaxing to have her there and he felt his mind clearing and his tears drying at the familiar warmth and weight. He was able to focus as much as he could on Rift and think of his own words. He would not give excuses, no...now that he was thinking, now that he could think, there was a lot to own up to.

Why had he pulled Rift from the tree and into the fight? Why had he rejected Pride in the heat of battle? It wasn't an answer that he could come to at the moment. But it was because of Mama and the family. Their thirst for blood and hunger for violence. He had never wanted to see blood. If he was to fight, it was to show off the glory of his lightning, to match skill against skill, but he had never gotten that. All that Blackberry taught him was to fight dishonorably, dirty, to do anything to kill the opponent.

This was the last straw. His own death trying to save her and her subsequent abandoning. He did not want to fight anymore. He did not want to die like Elderberry. He did not want to be a Bloodberry anymore.

But that meant leaving Cloudberry. He glanced her way and saw her looking away as if she didn't care. She didn't care about him, he knew. His opportunity to show his love for her, to be any kind of father, it was long passed. He could tell her...but no, not now. This was not the right time.

He shivered with fear and he felt Shiny's claws softly sink into his skin. Huckle-friend, I'm here. Have no fear. This is the right thing to do. He closed his eyes. "I know."

He stood up and pressed his head against the cage bars so that he could better see Rift. He was silent for a moment, trying to prepare everything he wanted to say. "...I will tell you, about why Mama attacked. I'm Huckleberry, Mama and Papa made me, and Elderberry, and Baneberry, when the family first started. Jayberry and Mulberry were my sisters too but Mama didn't make them. Mama was angry because she didn't kill you. She said you laughed at her, when she was dead, she said a lot of people laughed at her and she'd kill them all for not letting her die. I...Mama didn't like me. I wanted to make her proud because she is my Mama and she loves me. So I said I'd fight. I didn't want to leave Mama and if I didn't fight...she would make me leave."

Tears gathered in his eyes again. "I don't like fighting," he whined, "I don't like blood. I don't want to make people bleed anymore." Shiny gave his shoulder a small lick as he continued. "I-if you set me free, I wouldn't go back. I can't go back. N-not if Mama makes me fight again. I'll take Shiny and...and..."

But where would he go? His home had always been the tunnel, but Pride had offered him a place in Orion. But now things were different and he didn't know if he would be welcome there anymore. There was another option and Huckleberry dared to ask: "C-can I join you? In your Kingdom? I want to be safe, I want to live in peace. I-I'd understand if you wouldn't want me, b-but I promise I won't be mean ever again."

@Cloudberry

Cloudberry was afraid--afraid of the attention on them, on the Bloodberries. Afraid of her potential fate, of what was going on, of Yewberry's strangely disjointed state.

As Huckleberry spoke, she felt two conflicting threads of emotion--the first, a shocked bafflement, almost betrayal, yet also a relief as she realized she wasn't the only one who'd not wanted all of this. The second was a thick disgust--despite her own fear, his snivelling was weak. It was, perhaps, a remnant of Blackberry's values, but it still stuck with Cloudberry, and she frowned a little as she listened.

It was with another shock of fear that she realized--after Huckleberry had fallen silent--that it was her turn, next, to speak. She gathered herself, and her voice was quiet with obvious fear--yet otherwise void of emotion. There was no real remorse, no anything, really--because she didn't know how she was meant to feel. It was all a chaotic jumble of circumstance and she'd only just awoken--she hardly understood any of it, nor what to do.

"I attacked--we attacked--because you are... the enemy, and weak-... and..." she trailed off, hesitating, realizing that she couldn't quite remember Mother's reasons. There was yet another spike of fear--brief, but real--a fear that she'd failed Blackberry and would surely be punished. Frantic, she stammered for words. "For revenge, for--family--I don't remember-... She hesitated again, confusedly. What was she to say? And as to the other question--what would she do? How could she answer that? She'd followed blankly, blindly, in silence--because she'd known no other way.

How was she to possibly find her own way now?

"I don't know," she offered at last, her voice hushed so as to be barely-audible. She pressed herself closer to the ground, ears flattened back and feathered ruffled out with fear.

She didn't know what else to say.

@Yewberry

Brothers aren't simply close,

Pride ran through his veins as others pledged to serve his Brother - the horned lion, dearest Enka. His Brother was the only one fit to be a King, especially the King of their Forest, he knew. A low purr rumbled in his chest, raspy and broken, but the sound lasted all the same.

He rubbed the scent-glands on his face against his Niece until she stood, approaching their captives - and oh, he didn't like that word. The puma found himself unable to look at the birdwolf that he had killed, remembering the shattering of fragile bone beneath his jaw. He had never been one to consider Lessers and Greaters the same, to think of killing Greaters, but in the moment she had been nothing more than another Lesser deer dying beneath his teeth. And the thought churned his stomach, and he wanted nothing more than to bash his head against a rock until he no longer could remember doing such a thing.

But then Rift was approaching the Bloodberries, and the panther straightened up, muscles coiling as he drew to attention. They may have been behind crystal cages, but they still had magic - it would be foolish, suicidal even, to try using magic on him, but none of them had shown such judgement.

The erratic one, the massive one who had been allowed the company of his Familiar, spoke for a good, long while, explaining. And Sebastian frowned; Rft had laughed at Blackberry while she was dead? No, not possible, that was not his Brother. The Goose was insane, even more insane then he had previously thought. And he did not think that Huckleberry should join their Kingdom, but it was up to Rift - if Rift allowed it, he would keep a close eye on the hybrid until he had proven himself trustworthy.

But it was the other one, the one who had been struck down by the lightning, that truly revealed Blackberry's mechanizations. She did not know why she had served Blackberry, why she had attacked - only that she had been ordered to, and so she had obeyed.

brothers are knit together

The hybrid shook, tears in her eyes as she panted. Her beak throbbed, and she was so confused. Yewberry hated how her thoughts were rattling in her head, making so little sense that they were as disorienting as everything going on around her.

She wanted to be home, when she was younger, when she and Mother still got along. When she and Mother would curl up in the nest and Mother would spend hours meticulously grooming her pinfeathers into place. It had been ages since she had been groomed, and she missed how soothing it was.

Yewberry met the eyes of Mercurius, whimpering pitifully, and shivering. She forced her eyes to the grass, trying to do as he said, breething deeply until her lungs complained, and then exhaling until she had no breath left. Finally, once she had enough control of herself, she whined "Pl-pleasssse, don' leave," she didn't want him to walk away, to be left alone. She had never been alone before, had always been with one of her family members, and she was afraid.

She looked up as the deer approached, eyes wide, wings flattening against her sides. And then the puma was there, too, and she listened to his words. It took her a time to understand, the words seeming to bounce around before sinking in, as though they were lagging.

Huckleberry was the first to admit, babbling and explaining things even she didn't know. He wanted to join the Kingdom, to live in peace, and she found herself unable to blame him. And Cloudberry... Cloudberry didn't know.

"I-I... Jayberry was-is myy Mother. Black-Blackberry is myy Grandmother. I-I'm a seco-nd generrration. I... I don-don't knoww why we fought. Gr-grandmother said-aid that Rift-you mocked her, laugh-aughed at her while sh-she was hurting. I just obeyed-ed, I want-wanted to fight."

she shook her head, "I-I don't-don't want to fi-fight any more. Moth-Mother won't wa-ant me. I-I don'don't know what I-I'll do." the words died into a whimper, and she shivered. What would she do? She didn't know anything else.

The child was in such a panicked state that Mercurius feared she wouldn't be able to self-soothe. Those mismatched eyes of hers finally drifted to the grass, chest swelling with labored breaths as she tried to focus. He had bowed his head to the small hybrid, with not even a paw up, and she wished for him to stay. Moonlit eyes flickered to the third hybrid, hesitating but otherwise alright. For the moment--- "I will stay." As if to make a point that he would, the old storyteller rocked back onto his haunches. Mercurius sat sideways, slightly, leaning on the bars of the cage. An act of trust.

After a moment, Yewberry finally gave her own defense, her own piece. None of them want to fight anymore... he thought with a rumble to himself, so they should not be turned away. With the flick of an ear, Mercurius bowed his head.

Before any other Gembound could voice a concern against the Bloodberries --- a rather out-of-character sense of confidence, mind you --- the lion rumbled, "should these children be allowed into the Kingdom, Rift, I would like to see to it that they be placed in my care. I will watch over them in my garden and teach them what lies beyond conflict and bloodshed."

@Enka

The mutated springbok watched silently while the others spoke, particularly the caged gembounds. Each of them, in their own way, sounded confused and afraid. In particular, the bird dog sounded off. It was so different than when the creature had attacked her and tore into her side. It was like a different creature all together. Had she too, somehow, mutated while in slumber? Changed some parts of her inside instead of her outside? A ripple went down her back flicking both the loose flap of skin as well as the new fur.

Enka listened intently to the older lion’s words. There was a hidden question there, an “if.” What was the alternative, though? She knew they could not simply be released to the greater caves least they rejoin Blackberry and cause another war. But what option was left ….?

With a start, Enka realized that at the end of the day, they were deciding if the three were to live or not. It already ached her heart that a creature had fallen to never rise again. She could never agree to do so to these three despite their actions, especially as they mourned and cowered before them.

Wide-eyed and fearful, the once antelope turned to face her father. She believed with all her heart that he would do the right thing. But he was now also guardian of so many. Was it possible that he would fall to temptation? She didn’t want to believe in the possibility but, in truth, it was there.

“Rift, we can’t-!“ She paused with a snort, unable to finish the sentence that clung to her mind with terror. Brown eyes closed before opening again with a strange sense of ferocity. “We are guardians, protectors and helpers. That should include everyone, even those outside our kingdom. We can not hurt these three. We can’t! To do so … it would be wrong!” she spate with ears flipped back.

---

Speech
Thoughts

Tags: @Rift 's turn!
Notes:

Rift listened to the pleading of the hybrids and the comments by the others. He could feel Sebastian nearby and a glance over knew that his brother did not think it wise to allow these creatures into the kingdom. Rift couldn't help but agree. They had caused trouble - their claws were stained with blood already and to take them in would be to put themselves at risk from the wrath of the mother. But, at the same time, he wanted the Kingdom to be open and accepting, take in those that were lost or broken and put them back together.

His tail thumped thoughtully on the ground and he narrowed his eyes. It seemed, at least, that most of them agreed not to hurt the hybrids, which was a great relief to Rift. He did not want to kill any of them. But what other option did they have besides just setting them free? They could stay as prisoners but that would be as good as harming them and just keeping them around would be as bad as letting them join. It was a confusing issue that Rift knew he had to solve.

But one thing was for certain. He turned his gaze towards the largest hybrid, his expression hardening for a moment. "No," he rumbled. "I'm sorry but I cannot allow you to be one of us, at least not now. Not when you have created such destruction. This is a Kingdom of peace and whether you knew what your were doing, or whether you did it willingly or not, you have destroyed that peace. No, not until you are completely free from your violence can you join us."

He stood and turned around towards his Kingdom. "Now that we've heard what they had to say, we need to make a decision. So far, we have a few possibilities of what we can do. We could simply release them outside of the cave for them to go wherever they wish. We could do as Pride suggested and force them to remove the 'berry' from their name and swear to never again do harm. We could keep them here, under our watch, as guests or as prisoners. Or," he paused, swallowing his disgust, "we can kill them, although I am not going to be the one to carry out such an ugly deed if this is what the Kingdom decides."

He closed his eyes, suppressing a shiver to go up his spine. It was terrible to think about killing anyone else in this space. "Everyone here may put in their vote on what they wish to do, whether part of the Kingdom or not," he gave a small nod to Pride, "and a veteran of the battle or new to the scene." Here he glanced towards Atinneas and Mercurius before falling silent, waiting for the gathered to voice their opinions.

@Atinneas

Atinneas didn't like the idea of doing harm to anyone, no matter what they have done. Though it was right to defend someone else or yourself in the moment, these creatures were locked up. The battle was over, and they could do no harm. The little white cub stepped up, so she felt she was in front of the crowd, speaking loudly for all to hear. She may not have been a part of the fight, killing when someone was harmless, was not right. "Killing is not right! These gembounds may have done wrong, but killing them would make us just as guilty as they are! We need to just do what Pride suggested, and just force them to remove the 'berry' from their name, and make them promise never to do harm again. Please don't kill them." That was her verdict on the situation. She hoped others would listen.

Pride inclined his head back to Rift.

"I think the removal of this... 'berry' from their names," he began, barely managing to bite back an insult on how stupid the name still felt to him (but honestly, was 'sinful seven' any better..?), "and extracting an oath that they will no longer do harm is wise. And I believe that your other suggestion is wise--that they also remain under the watch of your new Kingdom for a cycle, and not leave your sides, as guests and as prisoners. I will be glad to lend my aid in that--and I can bring another of their siblings, Baneberry, who has been living in a similar capacity with the Seven in Orion, to join them. I would not lash out vindictively," he added, looking the three over. "But I have been involved enough in Huckleberry's and Baneberry's existence," he went on, "that it might not do harm for me to speak with them, to help keep an eye on them, perhaps to offer some guidance along with Mercurius." He glanced at the white lion.

Pride was more severe, more stern; Mercurius was a wise and world-weary cat. Where Pride was perfectly willing to indulge in violence himself, for the right reasons, Mercurius was far more measured and peaceful.

They could balance one another's approaches, to an extent--not that Pride would threaten harm on agreeable prisoners, but rather, Mercurius was likely to be supportive, and Pride to enforce rules.

That, and he wanted to know why the hell Huckleberry had gone back to them, after all of his assurances that he wanted out.

He'd seemed so close to leaving them. I want to be sure he won't slip back a second time.

Oliver listened, silent and quite still in the shadows of the foliage. It was as if he was trying to hide, to not be seen--yet as their voices were asked for, he stepped up.

He had something to say, and fearful though he was, he felt it was the right thing to say, so he found the courage to do so. He crept out to be nearer the group, and though his head and tailfeathers were held low, his slinking blue gaze passed over the prisoners nonetheless. He came to sit quite near to Mercurius, hunched, and took a breath before looking earnestly to Rift.

"I think," he began softly, "that we should teach them. Teach them-... how to help, not hurt. How to--fix wounds. Grow plants. They should have to help fix what they did, and learn why it's important," he went on, and despite his courage in finding his voice, his words were hushed and barely-audible.

"I can help with that. I don't know if their names matter--they can pick that themselves, maybe," for some small part of the bird-dog recognized that forcing someone to change their name was forcing them to change their identity, something that they might resent. He didn't say this, though, leaving that topic mostly alone--it wasn't all that important, in his eyes. "I can tell them why life's important and--help them learn to fix all the plants. We could use the help with that. And I could teach them what I know about fixing wounds and stuff." He fell silent. It wasn't all that much, the spellwork he knew, but he'd offer what he could--to him, it was important that the three learn some measure of empathy.

As his gaze travelled over them, he shivered, a little; he'd seen what they were capable of, the violence, the aggression. "...but I think they should be guarded in case they attack again, too," he added softly, knowing full well that if they turned on him, well, that would be that.

He didn't quite realize that he was offering much the same thing as Mercurius, but in different words. He hadn't intended to suggest "group lessons," but maybe that was a good possible outcome for a trio of killers.

@Huckleberry