The meeting was a first for him; never had he been in such a large group! The leader bird started the meeting and he listened closely, taking all this in. He was interested in joining, especially because this was Cure's home... But also, the piles of bones were pretty neat.

Near the end of leader bird's speech, he mentioned training. Perfect! Xerxes needed to train some more and not on someone he was friends with so he could effectively kick their butt! When he heard his name called out alongside Cure's sister, Remedy, he wasnt so sure how he felt. Granted, he didnt know Remedy, but would Cure be mad if he beat her sister up? What if Remedy beat him up?

Xerxes' brow furrowed until he heard the winged sister speak and he turned to look at her, scoffing at her terms. He liked to act tough, but in his head, he kept flashing back to the fight with the wolverine. Although it ended in a tie, the poor guy couldn't even land a headbutt that was mere inches from the other gembound!

The snide comment from the bird left a scowl on the young lions face as he strode over to the older gembound. "Gladly." he rumbled, inhaling sharply to hopefully spit a hunk of fiery bile at the oversized, clubfooted pigeon... Or at least a loogie.

I of II
attack - spitfire at remedy, though if fails could hawk up a loogie and spit it at her??

229

@remedy "call me a lady >:U"

listen to me + hear my thoughts

Ashtoreth was well aware of her father's protective clutch, despite the fact that they were in their home, where there shouldn't be any danger. Of course, last time there was a meeting, Aza'zel nearly died to an oversize pompous birb. Kerberos too. Honestly, Aza'zel's overprotectiveness wasn't uncalled for-- and Ashy kinda liked the attention from her dad. Her gaze wandered after Cure, wanting to meet up with her friend, but her dad paired everyone up to fight and the only odd one out was Giggle.

The noodle had heard many things about Giggle. Kerberos had stories, Bones seemed to be her successor, and Aza'zel had once spoke with fondness and loss about the hyena that was practically her aunt. (Did that make Kerberos her cousin?) The child stared over at the hyena, seeing her thinness and the way she kept shifting, glancing at shadows-- there was a quiet paranoia that Ashtoreth saw in herself and the sign of the carrion caller filled the child with curiosity.

For some reason, Ash was sure she had seen the bird before. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she sprang away from her dad, ignoring the pain from the wing in its sling, and darted up to Giggle. She opened her jaws to speak and tried to call on her magic the second she remembered-- an embarrassing misstep she hadn't done in cycles. As a result, her magic failed, and she shut her jaws with a clack of her teeth, putting on a weak smile at her auntie. She bowed and inched even closer, wriggling up to the hyena's paw, and if the woman would allow it, she tried to snuggle up between her feet, cuddling into the gaping space that hunger had made under Giggle's ribs. The two of them were half-starved, battered and broken in different ways, and together they made an ironically similar pair.

tag;; @Giggle

If Giggle had been of a right-er mind, she might have been upset. Aza'zel hadn't even been happy to see her alive, had barely acknowledged her. She'd been missing, hadn't she? At least for days. (She had no idea it had actually been months.)

But she wasn't of a right-er mind. In fact, she couldn't have cared less; there was jabbering about combat, and the others were gathering up to fight. She watched Kerberos only briefly; he appeared content, proud, and she felt a brief surge of... of something warm. Was that happiness? She couldn't remember.

Then this dispersed, and she found herself looking around, bored.

There was so much to see, here--all of these new Gembounds, their combat styles, and before this might have interested her. Now she was looking for signs beyond them, for blinking eyes, for lurking shadows. For shapes on the walls. A possible war, Aza'zel had said? That much, she could comprehend. Maybe she should go and ask the b--...

Giggle looked down, her familiar giving a soft croak mirroring her surprise, as something pushed its way between her front paws.

Her first, brief thought was "Aza'zel...?" and her second was, "Cat..?"

But it was neither of those things. It was a fluff, small and orange like Aza'zel, and black like him too, but with a strange, weasel-like brown face. She stared at it.

"What is it doing?" Perplexed and a little startled, she glanced to Omen. The bird hopped over, and a moment later rather than one strange creature between her paws, she had two.

The Caller tried to hop on top of Ashtoreth, preening and pecking, obeying its bonded Mother-sister's urge to figure out what this thing was. It wouldn't hurt the creature, but it tried to look it over, to get a better view with its single red eye.

It was the fungus, rather than the bird, that answered.

She is strength.

The hyena didn't understand much, but she knew strength. This thing wasn't physically strong, which meant it was mentally strong, and here was something she respected. Omen flapped up and away as she thrust her head down, sniffing at the creature closely, her matted rotten fungus shrouding it like a curtain.

"The bones say you're strength, but you are tiny. A different kind of strength. Why are you Aza'zel, but not? You are a not-cat, and I don't know. Ugly-pretty? Strange? Do you bite?" she asked, thrusting her head even closer.

She decided to taste it.

She ran her tongue over its feathers and fluff, ignoring all else, oblivious to whether she was being socially rude or not. She wanted to know what this thing was. And more importantly--"Why are you on my paws, small big-thing?"

________________

ROLL THE BONES

@Ashtoreth

Remedy was quick and light on her feet. Without leather weighing her down like in the battle of Hasira, she could move about all too freely, so when Xerxes strode over and lit up some bile to hack at her, she moved alarmingly fast to try and avoid it...

...and with a powerful stroke of her wings, she took to the air but a second too late. She felt the contact before the heat, on the tip of her tail, and she gave a horrible shriek as it caught on her feathers. She landed a second later, attack forgotten, lashing her tail against the ground in an effort to put out the flames. Bits of burning feathers and hot bile splattered around as she did.

"S'hot! Hot! Too hot!" She was yelping, rather dramatically. "Flammable! Very flammable! No fire, no fire!" She finally turned to look at the brutish cub with a scolding glance. "I'm like, literally COVERED in feathers and you choose FIRE!?" But she's not mad, and soon it's out and her tail throbs but at least the damage isn't heavy or permanent and she's more bemused than upset- in a real battle, she'd been done for, and she knew it.

WC: 203

Round 1 / 2

Attempt: Failed to Counter, flails about trying to put out the fire.

Defense: She's movin' a bunch but that's about it!

Injuries: MY BEAUTIFUL TAIL IS BURNT GOSH

Other: @Xerxes

Things move very quickly, but Jericho is young, and young though they are, they are used to things moving quickly. They sit back on their haunches, listening with interest, watching Azazel, their leader, pace back and forth and speak. There's a lot in there that Jericho doesn't understand-- the alliance, the recent events they hadn't been born yet to see. They vaguely understand war, and the threat of war, and can find no fault with Azazel's wish that they stay out of it-- nor with the idea that they should spar, in case they can't. Better to hone yourself against allies than enemies.

So when it is time to begin the sparring, Jericho stretches their little toes and turns to open their beak in a bird-smile at Goblin, who he does not recognize but knows from Azazel's indication. There's no call to jump right into this, since this is sparring among friends (despite the brutish fervor with which some of the sparring has already broken out around them.) "Hi!" he greets warmly, hopping to his feet and approaching the sphynx kitten. "Let's do this thing, but no hard feelings! Are you ready?" And Jericho waits for a bit, hopefully for confirmation, while around them sparring battles commence and someone shrieks about being flammable.

"Get ready!" Jericho calls (because there's not really any cause to be as violent as they would be in battle, and Goblin-- well, the sphynx cat doesn't look like the fighting kind, which is a bit worrying.) Nevertheless, Jericho flares mostly-drab hatchling feathers and casts Heat Up in the kitten's general direction.

@Götterdämmerung
Round: 1/2
Attack: Heat up spell @ Goblin's general direction
Defense: Lookin' Pretty
Damage: N/A currently
WC: 265

He'd been trying - and nearly succeeding, thank you very much - at ignoring the fact that the jaguar who had viciously mauled his best friend for no reason was sitting among them, like a leper in a crowd of angels. For a while, he'd focused on the laughing hyena, then on Bones, then on everyone else but the one he was waiting to. It wasn't until Aza'zel opened his beak and began his speech, distracting everyone, that Goblin's gaze slowly turned to pin on the villain, placid expression slowly forming into a snarl, complete with a vicious glare, wrinkles on his face deepening into an ugly display. Evil. He couldn't understand why on earth the calling-bird had let an attempted murderer into their home, but he didn't care - he'd find a way to get him out.

"Cancer and Kerberos."

The hairless cat's head snapped forward to gaze at the lammergeier in betrayed astonishment, already picturing another attack, flashbacks of warm blood splattering on his fur and loud, terrified whining puncturing the air. He almost wanted to reach out, link their minds again, if only to mentally throttle the bird... but he had a job to do. Shivering in a way that had more to do with a panic attack then his purr, Goblin slowly groomed at the nearest of his host's foreheads, frowning down at the advice.

He hopped down to the ground, fluid and elegant in the way a dying bird whistling to Earth can be, and turned to at least give Kerberos some idea of what he was thinking. Dexterous paws came up, crossing each other and moving in an up-to-down circle. Be careful. They moved to grip at air and pull, then wave, accompanied by a disgusted expression. Don't trust him.

And then he blocked it out entirely, turned to focus on the colorful bird Aza'zel had pointed out, because if he didn't - if he didn't, he'd go and do something pointless, like try and stop them. Instead, he watched Jericho approach, getting up on all fours and inclining his head in greeting, a soft purr filling the air. Goblin grinned at the chick's obvious eagerness, nodding his consent, backing up and beginning to move, loosening joints only to hear them crack from disuse. He didn't really know how to fight, persay, so he waited for the bird to move first...

...and felt warmth spread across his skin like a blanket. Stopping with a surprised blink, the purr paused - only to double in strength as the cat relaxed, no longer freezing on the cold floor of Canis, trotting in a half circle to prepare his "retaliation" - only to trip on a pebble, teeter in place, and proceed to fall flat on his face, nose smacking into the ground with a stuttered cough.

ROUND: 1 / 2
ATTACK: Failed attempt to snuggle, now looks like a FOOL.
DEFENSE: Too pitiful to attack, c'mon.
INJURIES:
- Bruises on his tiny face
WC: 464

FIERCE BABY BATTLE was turning out to be much less fierce than intended-- though perhaps that was to be expected. Jericho's heat up spell wasn't terribly useful as an offense, and made the area pleasantly warm against Goblin, but that was fine because it wasn't supposed to do much else. They tensed, waiting for the retaliation as the kitty got up and-- tripped on a pebble, landing on their face.

Oh. Oh dear.

Jericho hesitated, but they weren't the sort to hit a fellow when he was down. So, he unpuffed his feathers and trotted forward, little peachick claws clicking against the cold ground of Canis. "Hey, are you alright?" they asked, extending their wings in a not-attack of trying to help the tripped kitten back up.

In so doing, Jericho was brought into the area they'd warmed with their spell, and realized that it was pleasantly warm. "This /is/ nice!" Jericho says, with some surprise, and nestles down to the cat once he is rightened.

They were supposed to be fighting, but.. well. They are babies, and since when do babies do what they're told? Or Jericho is, and Goblin is much smaller than the other bonebound cats. Snuggling is so much nicer, anyway. And warmer.

@Götterdämmerung
Round: ....we'll just call this 2/2? JERICHO WITHDRAWS. And/or chooses to participate in a snuggle-battle instead.
Attack: --
Defense: BEING NICE
Damage: N/A
WC: 207

From his position on the ground, Goblin's ears perked up and pitched towards Jericho's voice, the purr starting back up again. Slowly raising his head from the dust, the cat shivered, sneezing at the dirt trapped in his banged-up snout, peering up at the bird with a sniffle. He moved to sit up, rubbing at his sore nose with a paw, blinking in surprise when the chick simply plopped down at his side, nestling into artificially warmed skin. Purring softly, the hairless creature ducked down to begin grooming at colorful feathers, tail moving to circle the bird, content in being spared from a true fight.

That didn't mean his best friend had.

Never stopping in his attentions to the friendly tiny-bird, Goblin's gaze moved to seek out the dog, eyes brightening at the sight of the jaguar downed and bloody. His host was strong and Just, Good and True, and it made the gemstone in his chest warm to see him win against one of the three who had tortured him. Silently grinning, tail twitching in contentment, the creature refocused on Aza'zel, staring ominously at the lammergeier. It was only a matter of time before the leader got mentally chewed out, it seemed.

ROUND: 2 / 2
ATTACK: Does snuggling count?
DEFENSE: Soft cat, small cat, purr purr purr.
INJURIES:
- Bruises on his tiny face
WC: 203

Liora had spied a glance over at her sister, wanting so badly to hobble over to her and perch herself by her side. Like some gangly, weird motherbird, she would more than readily go nestle next to Ashtoreth and consume the hybrid in her bounty of oily black feathers, but now wasn't the time. And she seemed nervous, unwilling to really be here, further swelling the lammeraven's guilt. White eyes averted, watching the gathering of the Bonebounds, and spying the hyena - she'd never seen her before, and now she came strutting in, scowling about the cats. Well, we have that in common. Liora chortled quietly to herself, agreeing with the soothsayer. Her opinion had placed Giggle in Liora's good books. So there was that.

But Aza'zel soon began the meeting, drawing attention to a recent event that had severed the alliance between them and the Maji Walezi. Liora couldn't help but croak with disgust at mention of the waterfall Gembounds. They all sounded like a bunch of lame assholes. It wasn't her business, though. She had Ashtoreth back and she was happy in her secluded little world and that was all that mattered to her. Her father rambled on about the cohesiveness of the group, and then came the truth of why they had come together: spars. Liora's eyes brightened and she shuffled slightly, snapping her sights to the catbird - they had fought before, and Liora was hungry for retribution, but it seemed she'd be placed against her sister instead. Cure... Liora knew that Ashtoreth was fond of the hybrid.

In the wake of her excitement, though, she pushed that aside. Aza'zel instructed them to begin, and almost instantly the chaos spread through the meeting, Gembounds turning on one another to begin their spars. Liora shrieked, unable to hold back her anticipation. She launched forward, taking flight with a single flap and soared towards Cure. "Krakrak! Get ready to eat dirt, landwalker!" She shouted at the feline and soared over head, beating her wings in an effort to whip up a gust of dirt-infused stale wind around the cat's head.

Round 1/2
Attacks: Using gust to throw up some dirt into Cure's face
Defense: Flying above Cure
Injuries: None

Word Count: 350

listen to me + hear my thoughts

Ashtoreth was getting right up into the belly fluff of the hyena when the hallowed caller hopped down to join her beneath the paws. She blinked at the creature, then cracked a toothy grin, reaching forward to sniff at the bird as it started to preen and poke. Rougher than Aza'zel would, more like Liora, and certainly less carefully than Eve ever was. She didn't mind all the same, settling down under the bird's prodding beak as she listened to her auntie speak, trying to get the words out from under her wing.

Giggle had all sorts of things to say about her. She spoke in a broken, weird way, kind of quickly but with a deep voice. She found herself flashing her pointy teeth more at the questions-- Aza'zel, but not, indeed-- and no, she was not a shred of cat, though she had no idea what a Fisher was-- and ugly pretty and strange were all words she had to agree with. All words that others had used to speak about her with, before. Ashtoreth shook her head when the hyena prodded her nose closer, asking if she bit.

And then the final question came and with a twitch of her good wing, magic bubbled up from deep inside of her throat. Giggle's words were reiterated around her, softly, pitched up just a fraction of a hair. "Tiny-- Aza'zel," and then, the voice of her father, as an answer, "Ashtoreth, fellow Bonebound. You-- Giggle... I-- falling apart, scarce, structure-- Giggle, speak to you. I will speak to you."

She usually could come up with better sentences than this, of course, but there was something about the situation that made her want to stick to familiar words. That, and she was too tired to think back before, to memories that hurt more than helped anyway. "Not bite... Strange, on paws, different... Bones say-- strange?" Having a bit enough of trying to speak using a broken language through broken words, the child wriggled up to a mass of fungus that clung to the hyena's pelt and nuzzled into the stinky smelling stuff. It was nice... It reminded her of good hiding spots, of home, and it was the prescence of them that told her that this was definitely Giggle, and that Giggle was real and wonderful for all that she was odd. You had to be odd to be a Bonebound, anyway.

tag;; @Giggle