Huckleberry was frozen in place. She feared that, if she would move, the vortex would swallow her whole. But she had to help the family! She had to kill the bird! Or save Baneberry! But she couldn't. Not even when the second pulsar passed through her body.

Pain beyond anything lit up in her skin and she screamed. Nothing else concerned her right now. She had to get away, she had to leave! They couldn't see her like this. No, she just...she couldn't get hit again! She didn't care about some stupid bird! She didn't care about anything!

She flared her wings and turned, tripping as she stumbled away, barely able to keep herself conscious through the pain.

*exit

Baneberry's frightened voice ripped through the clamor and chaos, drawing Kit's gaze. She watched as her sibling was pulled back inch by steady inch, unable to stop themsleves. Part of her wanted to help, but a much larger part of her wanted to stay alive. Somehow, she knew that the only way she was going to do that was by holding on until the black hole disappeared.
She assumed it would, but suddenly she wondered, and panicked over, what would happen if it did not. She could not hold on forever, nor could Jayberry or Mother. Would they all be sucked in, she thought worriedly.

Blackberry releasing the bird, and lifting into the air, pulled Kitaka back from the brink of hysteria. She watched with wide eyes as the goose maneuvered through the air until she could get a hold of Baneberry. Then, the pair fell together, drawing the hyena's gaze back down just in time to see the bird let loose the same spell that he had before.

The black hole still tugged at her back, but it was growing weaker by the second. Kitaka was more worried about the beam arcing her way though. She watched it, frozen in shock, until she realized that she had to move now or she would be hit, again.

The hyena pushed off of the cavern floor as hard as she could. She couldn't see where she sprang to, she just knew that it away from the beam. The sizzle of the magic passed dangerously close to her maw, the smell of it making her dry heave. Then, her hip slammed into a rock, and she crumbled against it weakly.

The smooth, cool surface helped to ground Kitaka. That, and the pained screams of Huckleberry, made her want to raise her gaze up to look. She watched the hybrid flee back toward their home, and then she turned her dark eyes toward Blackberry and Baneberry.
Are they okay, she wondered as she slowly pushed to her paws.

@Baneberry @Jayberry

Baneberry let out a terrified cry as her Mama threw her body at her, until she realized she was being saved. Baneberry felt tears prick her eyes, but not from hapiness. It was from guilt. She didn't want to listen to Mama, she didn't want to fight for her. And she hated herself for it.

Through her watery eyes she just barely saw the bright beam that made her siblings sick, and she didn't want to get hit by it. So the hybrid ducked down as quickly as possible and rolled to the side, the toxic magick barely missing her. Baneberry stood up best she could before looking to her Mama. "Sorry mama...." She whispered sadly, before turning and scrambling off to some place in Polaris.

____________________
"You only get what you grieve."

Word Count: 131
Tags: @Blackberry @Jayberry
Notes: here

Jayberry's head snapped up at a loud shout, jerking from side to side until she saw Baneberry. The hybrid was struggling to fight against the pull. The wolf pup whined, before snarling, bristling at the pathetic bird's words.

There was an awful spell in the air, a spark of magic, and her fur stood on end. She balked away from the dying bird, crystal seeming to cover it - was this what happened when a Greater Gembound died? Her massive paws pressed against the ground as she leaped clear of the Pulsar, the scent of singed fur coating the air as she lost some fur from her hindquarters.

"Mother!" she yowled, seeing Mother get struck by the beam. Digging her claws into the ground, she lunged for Mother, sinking her teeth into the goose's wing as she attempted to drag her away from the black hole.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

Blackberry could hear things happening around her, but, in her pain and confusion, she could not figure out what was going on. Was the bird dead? Was the black hole gone? Were her children safe?

She tried to work through what she did and didn't know. First, she didn't feel the tugging anymore. The black hole was gone. Second, the room had gone quiet. Perhaps it was the lack of her screams or the bird's voice. So the bird was dead. Or fled. Or encased in a shell. Blackberry did not care. He could not hurt her children anymore.

"My children," she moaned, raising a wing, as if to feel for them. Even though her eyes were open, the world was fading in and out and sight was difficult. "Are you...hurt? Are you okay?"

@Jayberry @Kitaka

Kit stood, frozen in shock, and watched as Baneberry abandoned Blackberry. The reason for it seemed ambiguous, but the definite nature of the hybrid's actions did not. She didn't look back, and certainly didn't turn back around. She just flapped off, deeper into Polaris.

Not even back home, Kit thought fleetingly, before Jayberry's dark figure dashing toward Blackberry caught her eye. She turned her slim, charcoal maw, and watched as the wolf clamped down on to Mother's wing. Her efforts to pull the goose away from the diminishing black hole were in vain though, so Kitaka decided to go help.

The battle was obviously over. The bird had retreated into its chrysalis, the hyena noted as she padded toward Jayberry and Blackberry. The sight of the dark, glistening gem sent a shudder through the young Gembound. The fight may be over, but she still felt the effects of it. She probably would for some time.

Kit bumped Jayberry's shoulder to get her attention. Whenever the wolf turned to look at her, she shook her head, and then moved over to Blackberry's other side. Before she could make another move, Mother woke up, and asked for them.
Kitaka leaned down and nuzzled Blackberry's wing, before dipping her maw under it. She ignored the sharp edges scraping against her face and fur as she pushed the wing over her head. It slid down the back of her neck and finally lay across her shoulders.

Once the wing laid across her back, the pup pressed into Blackberrry's side. Letting her know that she was here, and she would help as much as she could. She wouldn't leave her like Baneberry and Huckleberry had. She'd never leave, no matter what.

@Jayberry

Jayberry whined quietly, digging in her claws. The soil wasn't solid, having yet to be packed in, and so her puppy-claws proved ineffective at clinging to the ground. But, no! She couldn't let go of mother!

Her ears twitched, and she could make out Mother saying... something. The wolf whimpered, and nudged the bird with the side of her head, trying to avoid her wounds. "We're okay, mama. We're okay."

Something butted against her shoulder, and she whirled with a snarl, teeth snapping shut just shy of Mulberry's muzzle. She tilted her head, and gathered what the other pup was doing. "We need to get her out of her." she panted, feeling the muscles in her legs and shoulders scream.

Struck by an idea, she tilted her head back and howled, baying "FAAATHEEER!" as loud as she could. And then, whether he appeared or not, she would get a better grip on Blackberry's wing, and attempt to pull.

@Blackberry @Kitaka @Blueberry

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

Blueberry wouldn't have heard his adoptec daughter, not unless he was just ear the enterance of Polaris. But he heard the call, and his hooves kicked up dust behind him as he raced towards the bloody scene. By the tone of her voice, it wasn't a good call.

The moose was met wiht a very injured family, his eyes widening. "Are you all okay? WHat happened, where is Baneberry? Why is your mother on the verge of passing out?" He sputtered, turning to scoop the goose under his body if she allowed it. "Jayberry, can you help Kitaka back to the tunnel? I can carry her if you can't."

____________________
"Hear my war cry"

Tags: @Kitaka @Blackberry @Jayberry
Notes: here

Blackberry distantly felt Mulberry's soft fur pressing against her side and Jayberry's voice calling out. Where were Huckleberry and Baneberry, she wondered? Were they too injured to get to her? Or were they there and she just didn't realize? She didn't even think about the possibility that they had fled the fight. No, they wouldn't do that. She refused to think that they would. It didn't even cross her mind.

She felt the familiar vibrations through the ground as Blueberry ran up the their side and relief shot through every feather. In the back of her mind, she felt a flash of frusteration that she had to be saved by her mate once again, but wasn't that the reason she had recruited him in the first place?

With a gasp of effort, she rolled over and opened her eyes. Just in front of her, like she had thought, was a black feather from the bird. She reached forward and picked it up gently in her beak before stretching for Blueberry, letting him scoop her onto his back. Satisfied that her children were safe, she let herself be carried away. "To the tunnel," she gasped. "We must gather the family again."

@Jayberry @Kitaka @Blueberry

Mulberry jerked her head up in surprise whenever Jayberry let out an echoing howl. It was a good idea to try to summon Blueberry, she admitted silently, but she wasn't certain if it would work. Whether or not it did, she could at least continue to try to help Blackberry. The pup hadn't figured out how she was going to do that yet since she very well couldn't carry the goose by herself. If Jayberry helped though, then they could possibly drag her back to their family's tunnel.

Whenever she parted her jaws to try to say as much, she was interrupted by the thundering sound of hooves striking stone. Blueberry appeared several feet away, coming from the same direction that they had come from earlier. Relief quickly overpowered the hyena's confusion. A part of her had, subconsciously, assumed that her siblings would return to Father and Elderberry. She could think about where Huckleberry, and Baneberry, were later though. For now, it was enough to just be grateful that someone had come to rescue them.

Blueberry asked so many questions, but thankfully, none of them seemed to be directed at her. So, Mulberry stayed silent, and carefully stepped away whenever Father bent down and scooped Blackberry up in his massive antlers. He told Jayberry to help her, and that he would do so if she couldn't. At first, Mulberry wanted to deny the assistance. Then a wave of nausea swept over her again, making her empty belly clench. Her muscles quaked from the mere effort of standing. She needed the help, whether she wanted it or not.

Mulberry clenched her jaw, and then nodded to Jayberry before stepping up to her side and leaning against her. It would be a slow journey home, the hyena thought, but at least they were all going home alive.

[EXIT]

@Jayberry @Blueberry