This was War. It sang in his veins. This was his purpose. To Defend the Balance. To Slay the Enemy.

He was aware that they were outnumbered, but this particular legion was made of small, pathetic creatures. He thought briefly of the rabbit. Of the Invasive, horrible thoughts. Still, he should not underestimate them.

Magic was untrustworthy, but it was powerful.
Back to what was happening- it was hard to tell, really. Being on essentially a bucking bronco ride. He could hear shouting, feel some kind of projectile whoosh by. All he could really focus on was hanging on, and digging in.

But the pebbly scales were slick, hard to hand onto. His paws scrabbled for a hold before he was flung off. He felt a tooth wrench as his bite upon Catalyst's neck was suddenly wrenched away. He landed roughly on the ground with a grunt and a glare.

@Catalyst

He had scarcely hit the ground before he saw something flying from out of the corner of his peripheral. Without really comprehending what it was, he would try to jump out of the way. He would skid to the side, nearly off balance, and spare a glance towards what the projectile had been. A splat of smooth, slippery chitin sat on the cave floor. Despite it's haphazard departure, it had formed a symmetrical, sharp splatter upon the ground. Unnatural. But better than it being upon his paws. Now it was a tripping hazard at most.

His eyes flashed towards Wilder. "Stand back! he barked, Magic is unreliable. Have faith in it or flee! Genuine worry and tension laced his voice. Finding his footing upon the ground, he'd nod at Aether, curtly nodding his head towards Catalyst. "You can take on the big one." A question spoken as a statement.

His own gaze then shifted to Lamia, whom was standing where the chiten-spray had come from. A likely cause of it. And thus, an important target.

@Lamia

Those few seconds of hesitation back at the sanctuary had cost him. Astéri had pelted down the tunnels at full speed, the glands down his back crackling urgently with pent-up electricity. Who knew where the Hive could strike next? Who knew who they were already threatening—?

The sounds of combat up ahead make his ears flick back against his skull. The fighting has already started, it seems, and he has to push down the guilt boiling in his chest violently. There's no time for that. There will be time for that later, when the fighting is over, when everyone is safe—!

His magic is boiling, burning, buzzing inside of him. His heart is racing in his chest and six eyes flick from target to target, struggling to see where to look next in the glittering maze of crystals.

Some of the drones look so much like Gembound. Sure, he's seen Gembound of every shape and size, he knows none of them have to look even a little normal and that's very cool—but there, in the center, an unassuming white rabbit. She seems equally as small as the black cat he'd been following. What's the difference between the two of them, really?

He can't think about that. Recklessly, he calls his magic forward, thinking of the terrible mass of white he'd sensed back in Canis, thinking about the terrible things the Hive would inflict on the cave if they weren't stopped, thinking about how a Hive-infested cave wouldn't be one worth living in—

Destruction is protection, this is what he knows. His eyes lock onto a drone that's staggering against the wall, out of position; did its magic fail?

It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter, because it has to die, now. It has to die so the others fighting alongside him—the wolf, the cats, the hybrid—so that they stay safe.

He focuses all his magic into a single command: burn.

He feels heat—flame—warmth against his fur. The magic builds but it isn't enough, and it slips from him before a fire even starts.

Not enough. Not enough!

He'll do better next time. He has to.

Why does everyone seem to hate Mother so much?

Rapture can't understand. They just can't understand: it would be so easy for them to walk in and ask for love. Mother would bring it to them without hesitation. Just because she's trying to destroy Chaos—because they're awful and ugly and monsters and they hurt people and destroy things—doesn't mean she's trying to destroy them. She loves them! She loves everyone!

Her love is in their veins and even watching when the fighting breaks out and people start getting hurt, they can't—they can't. They can't hurt them.

They're just wrong, is all. Mother loves everyone, and Rapture does too. They can't help it.

They're not afraid. The love in their chest buoys them.

Out they go from the little alcove they'd tucked their little form away in the rock wall. Hop, hop, hop, until they're right up close to the wolf that had attacked their sister. He's big and—okay, maybe he is a little scary—and he's being very loud right now. Wouldn't it be nice if he was quiet?

In, out, breathe. Please be quiet, now. Please don't hurt us anymore.

The magic flows softly from their throat, and it tastes like love.

Yet to summon a weapon more efficient than needle teeth and claws, the latter more suited to digging into soil than the tender flesh of an enemy's throat, Halcyon found themselves in a position far less ideal than desired. They remained for the time being curled in their hiding place, shadowed by the bulk of the looming crystal they'd crawled under. Unmoving beyond attempting to tap into their magic again, their mind was where the majority of activity lay. As conflict brewed outside, the Drone scrolled through multiple perspectives, weathered the rage siblings directed at the threats gathered about—calmer thoughts must prevail to sway the battle to their favor.

Heed Zero-Zero-Four Manager, they advised, jaw tensing as the phantom sensation of the chip vendor's pain coursed its way through one of their links to make their own wrist throb. My recommendation is to separate the hostiles to prevent nearby aid.

Chitin crept along their arm. At first its integrity appeared to be more brittle than it ought to be, segments flaking off as the desired shape struggled to form. Then it rapidly built, hardening into a slim blade that ran from the elbow down. They shifted to avoid self-inflicted injury by their new projection. Silent gratitude was expressed to Ananke for her bolstering spell cast.

I shall join the fray shortly. Keep wits about you; do not allow any to catch you off guard.

ORDER VS CHAOS

SPECIAL FORCES

"Bring those that you can into the fold... befriend them; convince them," Mother's voice murmured through their minds. And the second instruction: to keep watch. She had missed one of them coming in, a grave mistake... and now her Lessers were on high alert, keeping a close eye on the tunnel behind.

Nothing more, as yet, was coming. It seemed that their Leo assault would be spared a Master's wrath. Well-... a second Master's wrath. Astraea was a far greater threat to her than almost any of the others still dwelling here.

And thus far, her creatures here seemed to be handling things well enough. That wasn't to say that the arriving strangers could not be a threat. But no one was really hurt, bar a sprained wrist.

For effect, however, Mother sent about a dozen of her Lesser birds fluttering in from the tunnels. They perched overhead--not fighting, but ringing the area in a line of watching eyes, as if to emphasize that her family here was not alone.

---

The smaller members of Order's Hive have been tasked, after a period of rest and recovery, with securing Gemini for Order. They may prepare traps, infest Lessers, and spread the already existing nodes of Order present in this cave. They have also been tasked with stopping enemies from passing through into Leo, thus protecting the main force's rear flank.

THIS IS A FREE-FOR-ALL BATTLE THREAD. That means that anyone may attack anyone else. A character who is attacked may post additionally to roll for defense against each attack, as well as posting once for their own single action. See the Order vs Chaos Master Thread for scoring and more information!

SCORE TALLY

0

131

@Ananke @Lamia (Wilder) @Jinyi @Halcyon @Yellow @Catalyst @Rapture @Wulfsige @Tourmaline @Astéri

Her mind was lost to her magic. She felt the Hive like a thread, a stream running constantly through the back of her mind, but at the forefront she channeled her faith to her allies.

"They must join us. They must know the Hive is their true home! To stand against Order is to embrace Chaos!" She shuddered and pressed closer to the floor, pulling at her magic once again.

This time, her power did not come--it tapered and trailed away, and it was all Ananke could do to replace it with simple encouragement. "We are Mother's children! We are undefeatable! We stand together, and they cannot stand against us!" Was she annoying, yet--distracting? She was unaware, if she had become so. She was caught up in her fervor, broadcasting her thoughts at full bent.

"THEY FAIL EVEN AS THEY ENTER ONTO OUR SACRED GROUND! THEIR MAGIC FAILS THEM!" (Never mind that hers had now failed; this did not even occur to her. "ORDER PERSEVERES! CHAOS IS ENTROPY, AND FAILS AND FALLS AWAY! THERE IS NO NEUTRAL GROUND IN THIS WAR! TO STAND IN THE CENTER IS TO BE WASHED AWAY! ORDER'S MARCH WILL OVERCOME!"

...And so on, and so forth--full of her ferver, and her faith.

Tourmaline had leapt aside as Wilder charged in. And while the other feline's spell didn't work, it was still that moment that all hell broke loose.

Tourmaline watched as Gembound stalked out of the shadows and reflections of the crystals, coming to blows against each other. It's again, all out war, and she's not avoiding it like she did in Canis.

But there's no time like the present. Tourmaline will defend these caves, the Gembound who she's come to know and the ones she hasn't. She wishes that these ones of Order could be reasoned with, but after the show of the Praetor earlier... her mind is made up.

"I WILL NOT BOW TO YOUR ORDER!" she howls, rearing up on her hindlegs as she reaches with her magic. Her eyes catch on Lamia, having just shot something at Wulfsiege. A suitable target.

Wind kicks up, sending dust into the air around her and obscuring her vision.

Underneath Aether, she heard voices shouting. The Drones of Order, and Wulfsige, barking a command. She flinched, at first feeling childishly affronted (she was older, more experienced them him! Who was he to tell her to stand back!) but then quickly swiped it away in favor of a curt nod as she slipped out from under Aetherand retreated behind the line of fighters. She was not physically strong and would suffer on the front lines, but she had many cycles of magic coursing through her veins. Practice and precision and power.

But she wasn't the only magic user. She could see them in the back - the long one that had cast a strange spell to solidify the ground. The white rabbit crouched in the shadows that barely concealed her. The two on the ledge, she heard one make a cry of pain. She should target them, but she could see the fighters' eyes already on them.

The raptor was getting ready to attack again and she knew she had to stop her before those claws got to Wulfsige. Narrowing her eyes, she focused on her, magic at last bowing to her command and grasping at the dinosaur. With a flick of her eyes, Wilder aimed to throw her right into the one on the sidelines that was preparing to enter the fray. Maybe that weird chitin arm would give her a good slash when they collided.

@Catalyst @Halcyon

As little Rapture hopped into the fray, Yellow was torn between pride and having an aneurysm. Be safe, they pleaded to her. Wulfsige was dangerous, had attacked them and the Priestess for no reason. Now he was hurting their family. Please be safe.

They hesitated, at first, to heed Jinyi and Halcyon's calls to target the little cat. She was so small, and harmless-looking, and only seemed scared. Surely she could be befriended still? Wulfsige was beyond 'saving', but most others here--they didn't have to fight them, did they?

Then their sister was sent flying toward Halcyon, everything devolved into horrid chaos as a leopard charged in, wide-eyed, and another joined the fray, and Yellow gave in to the overwhelming chorus of war-like voices in their head. Their siblings knew best, surely--and their family was in danger. They didn't have any room for doubt right now. They had to act.

They lashed out to try to attack Wilder as their siblings advised, but the magic wouldn't come. Perhaps she was too far away. The sifaka ground their teeth in frustration. PROTECT RAPTURE! they pleaded to their family on the ground. PROTECT OUR FAMILY. DEFEND ORDER!