Mosaic was trotting through the tunnel to Polaris when a vaguely familiar scent caught her nose. It wasn't the weirdly sweet scent of this tunnel, oddly enough. It smelled like dog, maybe even... like her. What?

Then the blurry shape coming from the opposite direction came into focus, and she froze. It really was a mirror image of her. And... she remembered them. A low growl rose from her throat as she stayed rooted in place. She'd been sickened, kidnapped, and almost died. All because this kid--well, they weren't a kid anymore--looked exactly like her.

"You." her voice was low with a mixture of anger and horror. "Back again? Small world."

@Scrap

Scrap was trotting towards Orion, their mind idly wandering as they trotted down the familiar path. Maybe they'd stop by Scorpio for a meal- the food there was always so much better than what Scrap could hunt themself. They wondered how Bartholomew did it. It had to be more than just fire, right? Maybe they could ask-

A growl interrupted this reverie. They looked up sharply to see a face they could never forget. Not when it looked so much like their own.

"What do you mean by 'back again?' Like I'm doing anything but minding my own business?" They retorted, hackles raised. Their own expression skewed more towards horror than anger. They remembered meeting her, minutes after hatching, and how quickly that'd devolved into an absolute horror show they'd barely escaped from. And they'd worked so hard to leave that all behind. But I guess the past always catches up with you.

@Mosaic

She narrowed her eyes and flattened her ears at the not-a-kid-anymore's aggressive tone, as if she hadn't started that herself. "YOU'RE the one who looks just like me, you... you JERK!" she cried. And maybe they hadn't had any control over that, but they still looked the same! That had been the cause of everything, right?

Even if it hadn't been their fault. Even if they'd been... cute, or nice, or whatever, back when they hatched. That didn't change what had happened to her. It looked like her evil twin, for heaven's sake. Look at that red eye peeking out from that creepy mask!

A thought suddenly struck her mind. She couldn't let anyone find out about them. If two like-minded Gembound got together and tried it once, it could happen again. Slowly, she took a step forward, hackles raised. "It wouldn't have happened if it weren't for you," she whispered, as if trying to convince herself. She was just looking out for her own safety. It would be easy. (The fact that they were the same size, more or less, was overlooked in favor of the memory where her 'twin' had been much smaller.) "Why'd you have to look just like me? Why!?"

@Scrap

"LIKE I HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER THAT?!?" They snarled back, ears pinning. Most gembound who resemble each other are related, although they'd never heard of such gembound being nearly identical. Scrap hadn't gotten the impression that Mosaic had any part in their creation, but it was obvious she was trying to project blame, for some inane reason. Maybe she was trying to escape responsibility in more ways than one.

"You really think that...?" Their voice was a low growl dripping with disbelief and disdain. "I was a kid! I didn't know anything! I didn't know what was going on! But you- you could've done something! You could've protected me. Or at least not abandon me like trash afterwards." Scrap really was a fitting name, wasn't it?

A harsh, shaky sigh as they stepped away from her. "I don't want to fight. I don't think there's any point to it. But if that's what you want... then so be it, I guess." They stood, tense and anticipatory, waiting for her next move.

@Mosaic

The suggestion that she had any responsibility for what happened--for protecting Scrap either before or afterward--sent Mosaic into a defensive fury. "It WASN'T my fault!" she barked, shoving her head forward into the other dog's space. "I had nothing to do with you! And you expect me to- to what, pick you up and take care of you afterward, even though they did the same thing to ME? I'm lucky to be alive myself!" She hadn't wanted to see Scrap's face at all afterward, despite thinking it was cute at first. To see her own colors and patterns reflected back with that mask on top, it became wrong and scary after she realized what others would want to do to them because of it. "And I- came- first! I hatched FIRST!" Her pattern, her shape, her face belonged to her, not some scrappy aftercomer that would ruin both their days (and weeks afterward).

Mosaic blinked as Scrap was the first to step backward. She hadn't expected them to back down like that. She stared at them as they spoke and stood. Fight...? Was that what she wanted? It wasn't really either of their faults, was it? But she hated seeing that face staring out at her from under the metallic half-mask. She hated seeing the pelt that was a mirror of her own--now they were the same size as each other, too--and knowing that someone would see that too and want to cut them open and stitch them together. She hated the thought that as long as her twin existed, they could run into each other again and maybe it would actually happen the next time.

"I don't want a fight," she forced out from between clenched teeth. "I want you to stop looking like that!" Her anger boiled over and she leaped at Scrap, jaws snapping, trying to bowl them over. To feel the impact of their body against her muscles and feel her teeth close around that fur that they shouldn't have been wearing. She hated seeing it so much. Unfortunately, right as her feet left the ground, they caught a stray mossy rock. Mosaic felt a sharp jolt in her toes and she tumbled over wildly short of her target.

@Scrap

ROUND 1/?

100%

ATTEMPT: tackle Scrap while biting at their fur/skin
DEFENSE: not really
INJURIES: sore toes. also her pride

"That's the POINT! IT WASN'T MY FAULT EITHER!" They howl back. Her face is a unmarred copy of their own, inches away from their own snout. And they have to wonder, why does this even matter? It was so many cycles ago. Scrap had managed to move on, to grow past it despite how terrifying it had been to a pup so young. "You were there when I hatched! You- you were even NICE, for a little bit!" And they feel just a little bit like that scared, confused child again. Like the past is clawing itself back into the present just by being mention. "We're both lucky we escaped! So why- why are you so mad at me?"

Mosaic lunges for them, Scrap jolts into panicked movement only for their opponent to immediately trip over her own feet and eat floor. There is a moment where Scrap just stares at her pityingly. But only a moment. Because she's going to what, kill them? Mutilate them? Whatever would make them 'stop looking like that.' They couldn't just let her do that. They could just run but she'd probably chase them. They had to teach her a lesson. Knock some sense into her, and hopefully she'd never try anything like this again.

'Knocking some sense into her' being quite literal. Scrap is ever so slightly smaller and skinnier than Mosaic, but with her already knocked off balance they're able to force her to the ground. "If you don't want to fight, then don't." They growl, teeth inches away from her face, "No blood has been drawn, yet. If you leave now we can both pretend this never happened."

ROUND 1/5

ATTEMPT: Pin Mosaic to the ground
DEFENSE: Dog?
INJURIES: nah

@Mosaic

Mosaic scrambled back to her feet, burning with humiliation and who-knew-what-else. Scrap's reminder that she'd been nice to them were almost worse than if they'd just bitten her, sank their teeth deep into the flesh of her muzzle. Then both their faces would be messed up. It would be easier to respond to than this. "I KNOW!" she shrieked back incoherently. "SHUT UP!" She KNEW she'd been nice! She KNEW she SHOULD STILL be nice! She KNEW THEY'D BOTH BEEN LUCKY!

And she hated it! So what if it wasn't either of their faults!? So what if by all rights she should be nice just like she'd been at first to this dog who looked just like her who was just a little kid when it happened!? So what if they'd been lucky!? THAT STILL DIDN'T CHANGE ANYTHING! They still looked just like each other! Scrap was still staring her down with that masked version of her own face and someone could still come along and try to sew them up to each other!

She couldn't say all of this. There was no way she could say all of this. Some part of her even knew it would sound insane but that was just the way it was. "SHUT UP!" she shrieked again instead. "YOU—"

Something hit her squarely in the chest and knocked her to the ground. Mosaic panicked, thrashing. How had she ended up pinned down like this!? She couldn't stay underneath them. This was going to get her killed. She wasn't listening to what Scrap was saying anymore. Their teeth were too close and their weight was too heavy and she NEEDED TO GET THEM OFF. Lips curling into a feral snarl, she snapped at Scrap's face right up in hers and kicked her legs wildly. Bite their face off, kick them, it didn't matter. She just needed something to work.

@Scrap

ROUND 2/?

89%

ATTEMPT: bite and kick wildly
DEFENSE: yeah dog
INJURIES: knocked down

It becomes rapidly clear that Mosaic isn't operating under any kind of logic. Or at least not a logic that Scrap could understand. If she agreed with them, then why try to fight? Why was she so mad at them? Why not go after the people who actually hurt them! Maybe not the big catfish monster- that was just a death sentence-, but Doctor was just a bird. Break a wing, break his neck- it could be easy.

Or maybe logic had nothing to do with it. Fear wasn't logical, it was just survival. They could understand survival. All they'd been doing, for all these dozens of cycles, was just survival.

They arc their neck to avoid getting their face bitten off, but Mosaic's paws still pummel their vulnerable underside. They growl and grit their teeth in pain before rearing up onto their hind legs. And then they crash down the full force of their body weight onto Mosaic's chest, crushing ribs and forcing breath out of her lungs. They back off immediately after, hackles bristled and tail wagging stiffly as they stare her down.

"Last chance." They doubt she'll even listen, but they're still compelled to try, "Just leave me alone."

ROUND 2/5

ATTEMPT: Stomp
DEFENSE: Dog :)
INJURIES: Multitude of bruises

@Mosaic

The weight lifted off of her, and Mosaic surged upward, trying to get back on her feet. Then something came crashing down. Scrap's whole body weight, concentrated on two paws, slammed into her still-exposed underside. One sank into the soft flesh of her belly and drove the breath out of her. Mosaic convulsed, instinctively trying to gasp in pain but- couldn't. Couldn't get anything back inside her lungs. The other landed on her ribs and gave her an all expenses paid 'slammed between a rock and a hard place' experience.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she lashed out blindly. The fact that Scrap was talking barely even registered past the shock of their body slam impact. Those legs--the culprits--were right next to her face and she threw herself at one, trying to lock her teeth around it, shake it up and maybe trip them up too. Once they were both on the ground they couldn't do this to her again.

@Scrap

ROUND 3/?

72%

ATTEMPT: grab onto one of Scrap's legs DEFENSE: dog
[inj=incredibly bruised up ribs/belly

It seemed like Mosaic truly wouldn't- couldn't- listen. They felt guilt, but why? Why should they feel bad if this was her own doing, a pit she only dug deeper and deeper for herself? This was just self defense. They wouldn't guilt themself over survival.

Teeth locked around one of their limps and they howled in pain. Attempting to yank it free only dug the gashes longer and threw off their balance. They went careening to the ground, flailing paws kicking up dirt into Mosaic's face. One of their paws manages to punch her straight in the face, just off-center of one of her eyes, but the other paw misses the target completely.

Now they're scrabbling in the dirt, trying to get their bearings before Mosaic's sets upon them again.

ROUND 3/5

ATTEMPT: Poke out eyes
DEFENSE: still dog
INJURIES: Multitude of bruises, bitten leg

@Mosaic