I used to think that the day would never come
I'd see the light in the shade of the morning sun

Callista flinched violently when the Lessers exploded of the ground. Her fur immediately puffed out in all directions and she yelped in fear as one came hurtling towards her. She completely forgot about the rest of the gembound that were surrounding her and staggered back, running into one of them, but she couldn't be bothered to see who. Re-actively, she slammed her magic forward to throw the rat off of her and push it away before it could sink its claws into her skin.

She was breathing heavy, about twice the size she usually was with her fur puffed out, and looking very odd for it, as half of her body was now significantly larger then the other.

That my life would depend on the evening moon
That the night would never comе

ooc: disregard the note on the spell i forgot dispel is one direction not all around

The ground explodes and three similarly crystal-infested lessers burst onto the scene. The whispering is back, still loud and terrifying and desperate. They don't like it anymore. "NO! STOP! NONONONO! They wail, as though the zombified lessers or disembodied voice will actually listen to their cries.

The creature lunging at Coilean's feet is sorta them-shaped, except for the explosion of green crystal consuming its face. They don't like that. They don't like looking at it.

The smartest thing to do would be stay put and hold on tight, but panic grips them and they're flinging themself off of Coilean's shoulders before they even fully register the impulse. The fall stuns them for a moment but they recover quickly out of necessity, and start slithering as fast as they possibly can.

ROUND 1

ATTEMPT: Run away!
DEFENSE: no
INJURIES: hopefully not :(

@Coilean

He'd been asleep, okay?

Asleep atop his sea stack, sunning himself, content. The voices had only reached him gradually, and even then he'd just peered over. It was only the sight of another dragon that had roused him: territorial, determined to at least enforce that HE lived here. Not that he was averse to neighbors. Or new family, even! But the instinct to make himself known was powerful, and he rose up barely stifling the urges toward LOUDNESS and VIOLENCE.

He stretched, flexing wings, as the gore spattered on the distant beach--too far to see the details, even for him. Then he launched from his little island and beat his wings once before settling into a glide.

He arrived fully ready to bellow, to ask who they were, not hostile exactly but certainly demanding--if only because Dread had never been very good at being... social. Maybe he'd have tried the role of merchant on them; he still had stuff, and he liked to trade for MORE stuff, especially if it was gold. But his inspection of the strangers for any sign of a hopeful glitter was quickly cut off as his attention was jerked toward what looked like... combat?

Lessers, blood, gore. Dread shook himself, blinking as he slid into a wing-thud hover maybe thirty or forty feet back and well overhead, peering at it.

Dead lessers? Weird whispers, and his jaw parted in irritation, the persistent embers and heatwaves that surged around him intensifying briefly.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?" he demanded, and then--because there seemed to be no time for proper introductions--"THIS IS MY CAVE!"

It wasn't, but there was no time for details; it was his home, though. And since he didn't know who to address this to--which group, or the Lessers, or whatever--he just bellowed it at everyone and everything.

gore

The beach exploded into a scuffle as the Lessers fell upon the investigators, eyes wide and blank, epidote crystals glinting off of the light.

The kyte that lunged for Lichen hit first, as the dragon put herself in harm's way to shield her partner. The crystal points that served as teeth sunk into her shoulder, as did claws a moment later, tearing at her, bucking its head and making sweeping scourges with its claws to try and peel the flesh right off of her muscles.

Aurelle, next to her, would warp for a moment to match that of her partner's attacker, and she was flooded with a sudden emptiness. Like all of her has been hollowed out, and what remained were mere echoes, bouncing around on dark stone walls. A deeply painful sense of loneliness that felt foreign seemed to weigh down its entire system, as did a hunger for power. Not out of the sake of ambition or malevolence, but desperation. It needed to be stronger!

As for why it was attacking Lichen, though? It was helping. Whatever it was that gripped this Lesser believed in the echoes of its presence that she would be better off without her flesh. After all, without flesh, there would be no pain.

Coilean would feel the sharp, biting pain of the basilisk sinking its fangs into his leg. If he were familiar with this particular species of Lesser gembound, he might expect a searing hot agony, like fire travelling through his veins, but no venom passed into his bloodstream. Instead, the snake held on tight, digging its fangs in deeper as it jerked its head. Like it were trying to break its own fangs off.

The lava rat, meanwhile, was the one that didn't get its claws in its target. A wave of force from Callista threw it back violently, and there was an unpleasant crackling sound as shards of epidote were flung into the air. The rat rolled back and immediately scrambled back to its feet, moving to attack Callista again with the same amount of fervor. But this time, the force had ripped open the decaying flesh of its face, revealing a skull partially overtaken by the epidote. Bone showed from beneath the crystal that grew to encompass it, and no blood flowed beneath its fur.

The catsquirrel, as soon as Eulogy falls from Coilean's shoulder, jerks its head towards the escaping snake. It shoots forward after them, surprisingly swift for a half-crystal zombie. It still seems to retain the speed it once had in life. It quickly catches up to the newly-hatched gembound and reached a crystal-studded paw out to try and snatch them by the tail.

As Dread's roar deafens the battlefield, the Caroller, who had looked as if it were about to launch at Aurelle, pauses and looks up. It only blinks once before its wings open and a strangled screech comes out of its throat. Enough feather remain to sustain flight as it launches itself into the air to meet the dragon in the sky. Surely, just to greet him to their gathering!

CAROLLER 15/15	CATSQUIRREL 15/15	KYTE 35/35
BASILISK 25/25	LAVA RAT 13/30

@Aurelle @Lichen @Coilean @Eulogy @Callista @Dread

The spell from Callista had caused Lichen to wobble, not that she was directly in the firing line, but the residue was enough. It'd deafened her for a beat, enough to miss the scurry of feet closer, always closer.

Yet, she was surprised to hear something she knew without ever needing to sense it: another dragon. She'd spent cycles upon cycles skulking through the cave systems, avoiding them at all costs. Enough to know the steady 'fwoof' of wing beats. Thankfully, she'd not encountered one in recent cycles, but it seemed a new stranger was bringing that lucky streak to an end.

Instinct kicked into high gear as the voice boomed in proclamation that this was his cave. The prickling sensation of that reptilian part of her brain kicked into high gear, the part that yearned to covet jealously and snap at intruders. After all, she'd brought her treasure with her, right into this dragon's cave. Aurelle. Even the group as a whole, by extension, after all; what was precious to Aurelle was worthy of coveting just as much as she herself.

The internal clash had a pin abruptly put in it when the kyte latched onto her shoulder. Her beaked snout snapped at the creature as it shredded her shoulder, hide tattering into ribbons under its assault, but her teeth found no purchase on the creature. It wasn't the shape she'd expected; her jaw snapped shut on nothing but air. She let out a pained snarl; it felt like the kyte was trying to bury itself into her flesh, and she needed it out now.

I used to think that the day would never come
I'd see the light in the shade of the morning sun

She had a moment - just a moment - to turn around and look at all of the others, the scent of fresh blood hitting her mouth. They were (mostly) all struggling against their own Lesser, and it seemed, despite the look of them, that they struggled to hold them off. Callista bared her teeth and turned back to the Lesser. She could help them, she just needed to deal with this one first.

Ready for its attack this time, as soon as it scrambled up to lunge at her again, Callista stepped forward to meet it, digging one foot into the ground as energy gathered in the other. She kicked out with all of her strength and the energy exploded out of her paw as it connected. Hopefully throwing the rat really far, or just destroying it altogether.

That my life would depend on the evening moon
That the night would never comе

Eulogy slips off his shoulders and darts through the beach before Coilean can react, and as soon as he realises they're gone, the snake below him bites into his leg. His attention is wrenched away, the Catsquirrel just a flicker in an unimportant peripheral.

The Lava Snake jerked its head backward, enough strength to yank Coilean off his feet. It did not stop, pulling and writhing like it was a dog. It's going to break its teeth like this. The thought barely pushed through the fog of pain and panic.

He folded himself forwards, snarling, jabbing with his scythes madly, trying to damage it badly enough it'd let go. Maybe he could decapitate it, if he were lucky. He certainly had the equipment.

The patter of feet pursue Eulogy's desperate escape and they glance over their shoulder to see the bloodied, crystal-studded catsquirrel chasing after it, rapidly closing the distance. They already regret leaving the safety of Coilean's shoulder, but there was nothing they could do now but keep slithering and try to find somewhere safe to hide in all this chaos.

They manage a burst of speed to keep out of the catsquirrel's reach, and they spot a pile of rocks with a gap just large enough for them to squeeze through. They beeline towards it.

ROUND 2

ATTEMPT: Run and Hide
DEFENSE: Be Fast
INJURIES: Lil rattled

Dread did not notice the Caroller. Or rather, he saw it flapping at him, and disregarded it, not recognizing it as any form of threat. He dove forward, beating his wings hard, and flinched his head away so as not to smash into the bird face-first.

If it got in his way... well, maybe it could scratch or peck before he bodied it to the side, or something along those lines.

His interest was in the largest of the Lessers, the one attacking his fellow dragon: the kyte. He saw that one as a threat, even if he were blind to any posed by the little bird. He swept in, jaw snapping open, a fiery glow igniting in his throat. What came out was just a little plume of heat: the magic itself would, if his aim were true, engulf just the Kyte in flames.

Not that it might not also burn Lichen, but at least he wasn't breathing fire on them both.

gore

The Kyte held tight to Lichen, claws hooked in her flesh as it began the work of peeling it off her body. Epidote sunk deep and scraped against bone, and there was the smallest snap as a small shard broke off within the wound. But there was no time to worry about that as the Lesser was suddenly engulfed in flames. Its entire body was suddenly a roaring inferno, still clinging to Lichen, catching onto the decaying flesh and burning it away. The Kyte barely flinched, however. It didn't scream or fall off or react, really, in any significant way, but merely continued with its gruesome task while it slowly lost what remained of its skin, revealing nothing but an epidote skeleton beneath.

The basilisk, meanwhile, could not break its own piece off, as Coilen's knife-hand suddenly sliced down, shearing off a good chunk of scales on its neck, the force enough to throw it off of his leg for the moment. As with the others, no blood poured from the wound. It was only momentarily stunned before it flipped back over and lunged back at the dog, seemingly intent on delivering its bite properly.

The sound of breaking and shattering ruptured through the battlefield as Callista's foot connected with the rat and the energy surged from her to it. It was thrown back, far, and its body could not contain the transferred power, exploding outwards in a shower of thin, papery flesh and epidote crystals, scattering over the sands of the beach.

The catsquirrel dived at the rocks just as Eulogy slithered into a crevice. It slammed into the rocks, but was not deterred, shoving its arm into the small gap, not noticing or not caring that the edges of the rock bit into its skin and tore it off of the skeleton in its desperation to grab for the snake.

And the caroller found itself unimpeded to throw itself at Dread, beak opening, revealing a geode of black and green crystals within the interior of its maw. It grabbed for his tail, chomping down and latching on with what seemed like hundreds of small teeth.

CAROLLER 15/15	CATSQUIRREL 15/15	KYTE 16/35
BASILISK 15/25	LAVA RAT 0/30

@Aurelle @Lichen @Coilean @Eulogy @Callista @Dread