"I-I can help you! Just hold on!" Catalyst said. Her head whipped from side to side, searching for anything to put them out with. The hide she draped over herself battered against her sides with her movements, drawing attention to it. That would work. Catalyst ripped her hide from her shoulders, throwing it for Halcyon, in an attempt to smother the flames.

Her blanket landed on top of Halcyon, and though the fabric may feel rough on burned skin, deprived of oxygen the flames would peter out quickly. Catalyst sighed in relief, muttering a "you'll be fine," then turned righteous eyes onto the invaders. Her lips curled in rage, as the image of Bone falling entered her mind. She had gone through so much with her sibling. First Halcyon, now Bone? They would pay for hurting her siblings so! Avenge Bone! Make them pay for hurting Halcyon! She thought into the link, sending with it an assurance that Halcyon was now alright.

@Halcyon

Legion's arrival here was... late.

The swarm had caught sight of the threads of white freshly hung through Canis, and utter fury had risen in it. It had followed the trail, magic flaring, and here it was--on the heels of the battle's start. If indeed it could be called a 'battle.' They buzzed in without hesitation, rising up in a dim cloud along the ceiling only to reach out with a lash of power.

Like blips in their own hivemind vision, targets flared with fungal infections--and they saw who was friendly. Who was not. Who was Hive.

Who was enemy.

It is not the way the drone collapses under a torrent of flame that is the worst part. Nor is it the smell—the terrible smell of burning flesh, acrid smoke rising from the hive-member's skin like an afterthought.

No; no, it is the panicked scream that rings out against the crystals. Not from the drone, though he can see it collapsed against the cave floor, throat spasming for air. (Oh, but Astéri knows the choking nature of so much flame too well. He was born into it.)

It's from one of the littler ones, hidden away in the alcove. The way they lean forward, almost seeming to reach, and for a moment the flames dim and for a moment even Astéri is hoping for it to please put this poor thing out of its misery, please—

—but the magic doesn't catch. (He knows that feeling well, too.) Instead, Astéri's ears flick and he hears all-too-sharply the sound of panicked, awful sobbing.

They can cry.

How normal that emotion is. To collapse, sobbing, wishing for comfort, wishing for safety, wishing to have done better, to have been able to fucking do something.

For a moment he stands stock-still, eyes wide, petrified by the sound.

And then the birds begin to come.

It's almost a welcome distraction, the way the Caroller drops out of the sky, claws sharp to kill. Terrible, clawing guilt takes a backseat to a raw adrenaline rush as Astéri flinches back and calls instinctively for shielding magic.

Heavy, warm air flickers up and solidifies around his face. Makes it a little hard to breathe, makes it a little hard to focus on anything else, but the birds haven't torn out his eyes yet and the adrenaline in his veins sings, I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive—

Asteri is rolling a defense roll against Jinyi's Automata.

They're only Lessers. That makes it easier to think about. That makes them easier to kill; Lessers aren't people. They can be hunted, killed, eaten.

With the aftershocks of guilt still running through him even though the battle-rush, it's almost a relief to be able to target something that can't scream in pain.

The buzzing ache of lightning lances across his spine, calls to mind a different magic; Astéri crouches, low, arches his back and with a flick of an ear commands it to leap to the largest bird harassing him.

It's unfamiliar magic to him; he's much better with fire and it isn't a shock (ha) when most of the magic discharges into a burning web along his back rather than at the bird. Some of it leaps off, though, a split-second bolt that flows directly into feathers, and the bird falters, drops. Alive.

That's almost a relief, too. That he might have murdered one of the drones but this tiny little bird is still alive, twitching at his paws—

—that's ridiculous, he can't regret killing a Lesser. That's just how the world works, for hunting or for battle.

So why, then, behind the adrenaline, does he feel so awful?

He can't think of that. He can't think of that. Not in the middle of battle—not right now!

Astéri is using his action to attempt to kill the bird attacking him.

The Hive was supposed to be a thing of beauty, of absolute harmony. Its state of existence one of multi-faceted glory, every member which composed it existed as a dazzling reflection out of many. Souls were laid bare to each other, secrecy and deception unnecessary amongst such close-knit, understanding family. The knowledge of every single being benefited all, pooled together for any Host or Drone to draw upon and rejoice in the enlightenment obtained. Solace should have been found in the efforts of their fellows as they sought to save Halcyon from the flames' ravenous appetite.

Not so—until Catalyst at last deprived the fire of its fuel, her blanket settling heavy over hunched and skinless shoulders, positivity of that sort remained elusive. Instead the fear pounding at the walls of their heart was mirrored by their siblings' minds, partially tinged by traumas unique to each. The maddening need to fulfill the role of savior for the cause—the crushing terror of impending loss—righteous fury towards those responsible for their pain. They heard every one, felt them bleed from those links into theirs, and struggled to remain lucid while the resulting whirlpool threatened to suck them in.

Hands fumbled for the edges of the blanket, burns having cleaved the nerves from their palms and left them dead to the presence of texture. They drew them close together, shuddering, and curled into a fetal position to shield every inch of exposed fat and muscle from those that would exploit it. Rasping breaths accompanied an effort to muster strength against further attack. Then, head bowed, Halcyon delved quivering fingers into the others' thoughts.

No words came at first. A faint hum was all that travelled across the network, laden with a mixture of emotion: slowly fading panic, gratitude, an undercurrent of persisting hurt. It eventually resolved into cold logic, the turbulence of their mindscape converting to barren tundra.

The magic users, they murmured. Visit vengeance upon them first. Their unpredictability, their chaos caused this.

On the outset of this mission, their intention had been to merely defang any opposition. If not Valkhounds, there had been no reason to destroy those who might be herded into Mother's embrace. No longer could they see that as the case; the taint was too strong, the crop too spoiled by the influences of their environment. Time to raze the field to start anew. Perhaps salvage those whose impurities were in small enough quantities to survive and enable their recruitment.

Be swift. Do not let the more physical fighters deter you. End the magically adept, and the tides will doubtless turn for the better.

It's all a horrible mess, as fire and wind whip through the cave. One thing that at least becomes clear is how the children of Order rush to each other's side - making it easy to identify the enemy.

I have to do something! she thinks, pulling at her magic again. Maybe she can make them loose their footing, cause the ground underneath them to tremble. She sends the quake towards Halcyon and the others crowding around her.

Pebblequake is targeting @Halcyon, but would likely effect anyone near them.

Lamia snarled as she turned her attention to Halcyon, preparing a spell to try and put the flames out but just as she tried to send streaming water its way, she remembered that no, she no longer had access to that magic. For a moment, she mourned the old Lamia, that could manipulate water and ice instead of being cagedd by the magic of Order. But the thought was brief and swept away. She did not regret her decision. She was Hive, she was Drone, she was Order!

She turned her eyes, instead, to the one that had cast the spell, that was throwing powerful magic around. That one - he needed to be stopped. A spear of mental order formed in Lamia's mind and hurtled towards Asteri, to infect his mind and instill Order. She didn't care what he did, or how strong it was. They just needed a moment for him to be off his guard so that the rest of the family could swoop in and take him out. "THAT ONE," she screeched through the link, the image of Asteri and the knowledge of the distraction she'd sent. "Take him out!"

@Astéri

With the fighters distracted, Wilder turned her eyes to the backlines, where the rabbit had at last revealed itself. A flash of white caught her attention and she reacted almost instinctively, narrowing her focus on her, out of fear that she'd do something drastic. At first she aimed the spell right for the rabbit, to explode her into plasma, kill her instantly, but a sense of guilt and disgust welled up in her. She couldn't just...kill someone.

An unpleasant thought reared itself in the back of her head but she squashed it down for later, instead focusing on the crystal ground right in front of her. She focused, really really focused this time, ears pressed against her skull, and willed the ground to explode in light and blast both Ananke and the serpentine creature next to her - and everyone else nearby.

A rush of powerful magic surged through her and an instant later there was a blinding flash that Wilder had already closed her eyes against as a piece of the ground behind the fighters erupted in white-hot plasma. She pressed her ears harder against her head, hoping that she could block out the inevitable screams.

@Ananke and anyone else standing nearby

There was no projectile to warn her--no incoming surge of energy crackling bright in warning. One moment. she was peering out--the next, her world exploded in heat and agonizing light.

She jerked away, flailing and thrashing, rabbit's body flinging against the rock and contorting. She was screaming--Wilder was right about that--but she barely heard that terrified, high-pitched keening beyond the ringing in her own ears. The explosion of rock had deafened her momentarily.

But as she scrambled, squealing, behind a rock, her hearing gradually returned--the voices, the scrambling-...

Her vision, however, did not. The flesh across her face was seared, and Ananke did not know she'd briefly crawled back into the open, the burns across white fur plain to be seen--and now was under cover a moment later, blind.

This was vision that--unless she returned to her stone in the next few moments--would never return; she'd been blinded. She could see, in a confused and disorienting way, through the Hivemind's other eyes but it was dizzying and haphazard. She had no idea who'd done this to her; she knew only darkness, fear and pain.

Her short-lived relief at Halcyon's survival had been replaced with terror, and any thoughts of the Hive were gone (for a moment) from her mind.

As she was positioned close to Ananke, Lamia also experienced the same sudden jolt of blinding white pain as a spell, seemingly cast from nowhere, exploded into being. She flinched back with a horrified screech, bringing up her arms to shield her lidless eyes from the agony that had already been inflicted. Close as she was to the blast, it hadn't exploded right in her face and her eyesight was, for the most part, saved, but as she tumbled back in her panic, she felt searing heat across her arms and chest where the plasma had burned through skin and scales.

She suddenly felt dry, incredibly so, the heat rapidly sucking the moisture from her body, and as the seconds ticked by while she scrambled to get away from where the ground had now turned into a mini star, she felt herself growing weaker, her skin growing dry, her throat getting itchy. Panic flared in her as she realized that if she didn't get out of here soon and find a source of water to rehydrate herself in, she would be in danger.