Glory felt himself slowly wake from his long rest. He blinked open his eyes and immediately sat up. Where was he? This wasn't his nest! Whatever he slept on was much to hard and flat! Then he realized that he was, in fact, stretched out on top of his stone anvil, all of his tools spread out in front of him. He blinked and looked down. There was a large piece of leather in front of him and it took him a moment, still in a sleepy stupor, to figure out what it was for. Right, he had been working on his own armor. The padding underneath the metal plates. He opened his beak in a great yawn and realized that he wasn't really looking forward to working today. He had been at it for days now. He deserved a break.

Shakily rising to his feet, he groaned at the soreness in his limbs from sleeping on such an uncomfortable surface. He opened his wings and gave them a good stretch before balancing on one leg at a time, stretching and flexing his talons. Only after most of the stiffness was gone did he hobble back to the front of his cave.

The wind was howling just as hard as it ever did, the air dry and warm. For a moment, Glory just let the gust ruffle his feathers, enjoying the sensation, before he spread his wings and easily took off into the air.

He had become a strong flier, his body having finally grown fully, his muscles hard and strong from living in the cave of wind. For a moment, he reveled in himself and how wonderful a creature he was. He felt the warmth of his magic tickling along his feathers and breathed in deeply, proud of himself. Yes, he was a glorious creature. If only there were others that admired him in this way as well.

@Jayberry

Something smelled really good.

Jayberry tilted her head back, nose in the air, and sniffed. Mother would be furious that she wandered so far from the Nest, but perhaps she could make it up to her by bringing her something nice. She didn't know what, but surely she could find something, right?

The wind tore at her fur, making her shift on her over-sized paws, but it also brought the windhoppers scents to her. Their hearts pounded in her ears, and she smirked, dropping into a low prowl. Already, she could practically taste their blood, and a flexible tongue flicked at her lips.

It didn't take her long at all to find the source of the scent. In a divot of a sort, a pair of Windhoppers sat, grooming one another. Their kits, a full litters worth, huddled nearby, and she smirked. With a loud, roaring snarl, she launched at the grouble of windhoppers, tearing them apart, seemingly deaf to the lesser Gembound's piercing shrieks as they died under her fangs.

@Glory

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

In his gentle, relaxing flight, Glory thought he heard a distant shriek. For a moment, he thought it was just the sound of the wind, but as he flew closer to the source, he realized that some creature was in pain. He swiveled his head around, using his sharp eyes to quickly detect the image of a wolf tearing at a family of windhoppers. For a moment, Glory wondered if it was merely a lesser gembound showing its savagery, but he could detect the glimmer of intelligence in the wolf's eyes. This was a greater gembound committing such horrors.

Unable to simply fly away, Glory pulled his wings in a bit and dropped altitude, until he could safely glide towards where the wolf was killing the rabbits. He was too late, though - the shrieks were gone now, the monster having killed all of them, even though she continued to tear into their bodies.

Pushing back a cry of disgust, Glory landed on the branch of a leafless tree nearby. He glared down and felt a shiver of anger and disgust roll through him. There was blood and fur everywhere - covering the wolf, the ground, and the mutilated corpses of the rabbits that had been living only moments ago. He shook out his head, unable to understand why someone would do this.

"Hey," he called down to the wolf, "what do you think you're doing? If you were going to eat them you could have given them quick deaths." He narrowed his eyes. The wolf was still young so perhaps she had not learned such things yet. "I could teach you, if you'd like!" A flash of pride ran through him at the thought of teaching a mighty hunter how to catch their food. Yes, he would raise this creature properly! Give it proper training! All evil could become good!

@Jayberry

The yearling licked her lips, allowing the baby rabbit to drop from her mouth. It hit the ground with a crunch, broken bones shattering from the impact. That had been fun! Oh, if only mother had been here to see her, she'd be so proud! Of course, she could always show her later. Windhoppers weren't even close to worthy opponents, only good for whetting the tongue and raising the bloodlust.

Her keen ears twitched, easily picking up the flapping of wings. She dropped her head and took the muzzle-sized windhopper into her mouth, before raising her head to look at the approaching bird. Her fangs clenched together, half of the rabbit vanishing down her gullet, the other half splattering to the ground. She tilted her head at Glory's question, giving him a doggy grin. Her jaw dropped to reveal a wet tongue, and bloodstained teeth. "Why would I do that? This is so much fun!"

@Glory

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

The flash of pride was gone in an instant and Glory understood. This evil could not become good. Her narrowed his eyes, the light blinking out of his eyes, replaced with coldness and anger. So this pup was in it for the fun. That was sick and it made Glory's stomach lurch and burn with righteous fury. He suddenly thought about if this wolf were to be loose in the world where it could ravage whoever it wanted, rip apart whatever it could get its fangs on. It was beyond simple hunting. This was sport.

For a moment, Glory sat on his branch, staring angrily at the wolf. "That is truly disgusting. You have slaughtered and desecrated the bodies of innocent creatures - not for food but for sport. It is despicable, despicable, and you will be punished." Without really meaning to, this was accentuated by a joly of magic running along his feathers, causing some of them to smolder and create a disgusting cloud of black smoke rise from his body. His eyes glowed through it, glaring at the wolf, as if to show what kind of trouble they were in. He wouldn't let this creature escape. He would protect the caves and the creatures within from this monster.

@Jayberry

The black wolf tilted her head at the bird, unable to understand its sudden change of expression. Her tongue darted out to clean her lips of the blood and guts of the windhopper, smearing blood in the dark fur. She looked up at it curiously, huffing quietly. What was wrong with the bird? She was just hunting! Just having a bit of fun.

Its words made her snort, and she laughed. "Disgusting? Innocent? They're just lesser Gembounds! It doesn't matter!" She straightened up, looking at the bird.

Her fur bristled, making her seem much larger than she was, as the bird began to release smoke. She sneezed at the awful scent, and stepped back, baring her teeth and flattening her ears, taking on a battle ready posture.

@Glory

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

"Doesn't matter?!" Glory shook his head indignantly. Who was teaching this wolf?! Of course it mattered! "Have you no honor? No morals? They can feel pain as much as you and I! If you are to kill to eat, kill quickly! The lives of the lessers are not the playthings of the greaters! I knew this as a newborn!" His voice rose to an angry squawk as he shifted restlessly along the branch.

His neck feathers were beginning to rise. He could feel the fight coming on. He could see the bloodlust in the wolf's eyes. He wouldn't let them off easily, oh no. "Learn to respect life," he snarled, hopping lower so that the wolf could see the blazing in his eyes more clearly.

@Jayberry

Jayberry flicked her ears dismissively, wondering if this bird was ever going to shut its gob. Honor this, morals that, blah blah blah. What had been driven into this poor bird's head? She'd never heard such crap! Seen it, either, and her siblings were pretty big!

Without meaning to, she laughed. "Is that what you believe? Who taught you that crap? Lessers are exactly that - lesser! They're there to feed us, and to practice fighting on. Nothing else!" She grinned.

The bird, too, seemed to be bristling. Its feathers seemed to stand on end, not unlike the rough furs of her mantle, as she bared her teeth and rumbled a low, threatening snarl. "I respect life - the life of myself, and my family."

Without realizing it, her ears flashed red as she instinctively used Terror.

@Glory

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

Glory's anger turned into seething hatred of this small, pitiful little wolf (who was, in fact, not really small at all) as she kept talking, completely ignoring whatever he said. Rude and terrible and it made him sick to know that creatures like her roamed the cave. He had been fortunate enough to have only met good people so far in his life...or, at least, mostly good. And selfish. But nothing as bad as this.

He leaned forward threateningly and opened his beak to speak again when a sudden spark ran through his body and the world vanished for a moment. He was caught tight in something. He couldn't move. He couldn't see. There was laughter, laughter all around. What were they laughing at?

He struggled to move, but he couldn't do anything. He was tied down completely, his limbs unable to push against whatever was holding him. The laughs seared his skin scornfully and with a terrified jolt, he realized that they were laughing at him.

He widened his eyes and tried to look around, but he couldn't move. He couldn't see! All he could hear was laughter and he couldn't escape. He was completely helpless, completely at the mercy of the ones that laughed.

He tried to choke out a screech, but he found that his beak was clamped shut. Terror swam through every nerve as a shriek began to fill his ears. Someone was in trouble! But he couldn't go to them! He couldn't help! He could only stay here and be laughed at, unable to do anything!

Magic surged through his body, out of control, burning his skin. Flames leaped in his vision and the smell of burning feathers invaded his nose. It took a moment for him to realize exactly what was going on. The flames were real! I'm on fire!
Everything went away, the binding and the laughter and the darkness, leaving only his own burning body. Without hesitation, he cut away the magic and the flames lasted only a second more before they vanished, leaving Glory with smoldering, charred feathers and, as he realized a moment later, laying splayed out on the ground.

It took a few seconds for him to remember where he was and the wolf nearby. But his body felt weak, his eyes wide with horror. Had the wolf somehow done this? "What have you done to me?!" he choked out.

@Jayberry

If Jayberry hadn't surrendered herself to her anger, she would have realized that she had made a mistake. This bird - Glory, although she knew not its name - was massive, easily as big as her. She'd never seen a bird so large, but she didn't care. It needed to be taught the way the Caves worked, that Greater Gembounds were far greater than the Lessers. Besides, she'd only ever fought that Carrion Bird that had injured mother. What better chance was there then to practice fighting with this bird? Its feathers would be so beautiful in her Family's nest, glistening in the prettiest of ways. Its blood would be so refreshing, pouring down her throat. Oh, she couldn't wait to make it scream.

She could tell the instant the spell took root in the bird. Its body language changed, going rigid. The bird's beak clamped shut, and it begn to shudder, before suddenly setting aflame. The wolf's eyes widened, and she took a few hesitant steps back. But then the bird was on the ground, the flames vanishing and leaving the air with an acrid scent, and taste.

The bird's choked words made her grin, and she seemed to transform. Drawing herself up, the hackles of her mantle stood on end. Her tail stood high, ears sharp and pointed towards the bird. A mocking grin revealed sharp teeth, and she laughed.

It wasn't a normal laugh, a giggle or a chuckle. It was no HAHAHA or HEEHEEHEE. Instead, it was low, sharp bursts of growls, breaths forced through sharp teeth. "Like it? We call it Terror. Only my family knows it."

And then, without another word, she took advantage of the bird's weakness, lunging forward and opening her jaws, saliva dripping from sharp teeth.

@Glory

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