Glory heard the mocking laughter and his decision became final - this creature was evil, insane, and deserved the punishment he would give. Anger began to well within him as the pain was pushed to the back of his mind. Sudden strength surged through his limbs as righteous judgement fell into claws. This was his task to do - he would rid the caves of this menace.

He rose to his feet, giving himself a shake, his feathers bristling and his eyes blazing with fury. He felt different now that he was faced with a true evildoer. No longer was he doing this for his own pride and his own image, but for all those that could be hurt by this creature. But, of course, he felt his own wounded pride at the forefront of his mind, right next to his honorable intentions. He would not be defeated.

Gathering up his magic, he felt heat blaze in his mouth. The pain of it didn't matter. He would persevere. He would win. "Then you an your family are evil. If they are anything like you then I will not rest until the caves are free of their insanity. Starting with you." He opened his beak, letting out a challenging cry as fire erupted from within. The pain was horrible, but he reveled in it, knowing that, if it were to touch the wolf, she would feel it worse.

Round: 1
Attempt: fire
Defense: none
Injuries: burns

@Jayberry

Jayberry stared down at the fallen bird, keeping her dominant posture. Something deep inside her strove to do it. She had never needed to posture for her family before, she had always known where she stood, and didn't dare to fight them. But with this flying rat, she wanted to stand tall, to show her pride, to show to this bird that she would not be cowed.

The bird, to her dull shock, rose to its paws - feet? talons? She didn't know, nor did she care. This would be fun, she couldn't wait to test herself against the bird. The she-wolf shifted her weight on her feet, slowly bristling as he spoke. "You don't know what you are messing with. Even if you defeat me, you'd have to fight my Mother. And my Mother is the bane of these caves, she would not let you leave the fight alive." She lunged forward, attempting to bite, but stumbled and missed.

Of course, she ran right into his attack. Flames bit into the fur of her face, and she yelped, leaping back. A massive paw on her foreleg came up, and she wiped at the fur on her face until the flames went out. Then, driven to fury, she snarled, and lunged at Glory, attempting to sink her fangs into his delicate wing.

Round: 1
Attempt: Bite
Defense: none
Injuries: burns

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

Watching his flames meet the wolf's face was immensely satisfying and gave Glory a warm, hopeful feeling. He had never fought a creature like this before - sure, he had faced the massive yeti as a child, but it hadn't really been a fight and he had others to help. This was one on one, two equally strong creatures, fighting to kill the other.

As she jumped for his wing, he wasn't fast enough to move it out of the way and felt teeth sink into his skin. He internally cringed, but showed none of the pain on his face, only the flame that blazed in his eyes. His anger was boiling and almost out of control as he felt blood begin to wet his feathers. How dare this wolf injure him?! Evil had pierced his skin! He snarled as magic once again went across his whole body and fire blazed across his skin. But he hadn't been careful yet again and he couldn't help but let out a shriek as many of his feathers caught fire and his skin burned. He wrenched away and tumbled back, the fight momentarily forgotten as he cut off the magic and threw himself into the dirt to extinguish what fire was left.

Once it was gone, he lay on the ground for a second, even more furious then before, his pride shattered and completely convinced it was the wolf's fault that his spell had gone astray. He clambered back to his feet, his face contorted with fury and his feathers, burnt and unburnt, stuck straight out. No words could describe his rage as he glared needles at the wolf.

Round: 2
Attempt: FIRE
Defense: none
Injuries: lots of burns, bitten wing

@Jayberry

The bird's skin gave under her fangs, and a gleeful rumble built in her chest. Oh, this was fun! Her face hurt from the burns, but the adrenaline flooding through her veins made it feel like little more than the nip of a stone beneath her pawpad.

The taste of blood was welcoming and familiar, damping her tongue and filling her mouth with a metallic taste. Her tongue darted out to lap against the bird's feathers, tasting the magic in his blood.

And then pain!

Flames danced along the bird's feathers, and she squealed as the fire bit at her face. Releasing the bird's wings, she staggered back and whined, reaching up to rub at her face with her foreleg to try and smother the pain.

Vaguely, she was aware of the flaming bird rolling along the ground, attempting to put out the flames that danced along his own feathers.

She laughed, that harsh, barking sound that didn't sound right. Her eyes might his, watery as her's might be, and lunged forward in an attempt to sink her fangs into the soft flesh of his torso.

And she would have landed it, too, if it weren't for the watering of her eyes. She stumbled, stopping short of the bird.

@Glory
Round: 2
Attempt: Bite
Defense: none
Injuries: burns

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

Glory stood, trembling, in front of the wolf, so angry he could barely think straight. Evil, it seemed, truly did exist in the world and he hated it. The laugh rang in his ears and stabbed right through his heart, fueling a strong flame within him, so strong that he thought for a moment that he had caught fire again. But he hadn't. It was all his own burning spirit.

A sudden idea formed in his head and, for a moment, Glory wondered if he should do it. Something like that could destroy a creature. Not just kill them...destroy them. He hadn't actually ever used the spell before, but he knew that it could be disastrous. He could put himself in danger. But, then again, so did coating himself in fire. This couldn't be worse then that.

When the wolf tripped, he saw his opportunity. He collected saliva and infused his magic within it and, without even letting it heat up, he spat it straight towards the evil canine. He didn't care where it his - as long as it touched the dog's fur, then it would be enough.

Round: 3
Attempt: coat Jayberry with flammable saliva
Defense: none
Injuries: lots of burns, bitten wing

@Jayberry

The black she-wolf shook her head from side to side, trying to shake the bleariness out of her eyes. The wolf snapped her teeth together, wanting nothing more than to tear the bird apart feather by feather, sinew by sinew, bone by bone. It would taste fantastic, and would fill her stomach for days. And mother would be ever-so-proud.

And then, there was something disgusting in her fur. It was sticky and smelled truly foul. Planting her feet, she shook herself, attempting to throw off the gel, but it was a useless attempt - it was sticky and viscous, clinging to her fur.

Growing frustrated and infuriated, she lunged forward, attempting to sink her teeth into Glory's wing.


Round: 3
Attempt: Bite
Defense: none
Injuries: burns, covered in pyrogel

@Glory
@Dread

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

It was in Monoceros that the dragon made its den. The hot caves had once been home to another, similar dragon: far larger, black, with a wingspan to fill the space from wall to wall. Perhaps the dry heat attracted them; it was an excellent place to sun, to lay in his chosen den, to guard his shinies. And it was an excellent place to soar the updrafts, to crane his eye downward like a hawk, and to pick out prey below.

He was lying on the ledge when the distant sound of arguing voices woke him. For a few moments he tried to ignore it, but it persisted, and of the two, one sounded familiar. With an irritable grumble he lifted his head. A stretch, a growl, and a few steps, and he had dropped from the high ledge into Monoceros' chaotic air. Black wings unfurled, beat twice, and he glided toward the sound. Clawed hind legs, spined scales, and translucent reddish membranes shone in the bright light, and the dragon banked. Ember eyes picked out the pair far below--the black wolf, not far off a small pile of dead windhoppers... and ahh.

Glory.

The two were fighting, the wolf's fangs in the eagle's wing, and the dragon wasted no time. He folded his leathery wings and dove, driving down toward the pair, spreading them only as he slid in feet-first, head low and jaws agape.

He let out a loud roar as he came in, sky-shatteringly screeching and filled with bass growl. He had intended to follow this up with a blast of flame, but as he tried to summon up his magic, nothing came--and for a moment he was left simply staring down at the black wolf.

The dragon did not yet speak; he was here for Glory, and waited briefly to see if the eagle would speak. If not, he would attack the wolf in the bird's defense.

After all, there were benefits to having gone to the effort to befriend a dragon; and what good was such a friend if one didn't get its protection in its own cave?

@Glory

Glory's satisfaction in getting his pyrogel into the wolf's fur was short-lived. It wasn't a moment later that she was lunging forward again, going for his wing. He hissed. He wouldn't be able to activate the flames if the wolf's fangs were in his wing. He needed to get some distance or he would risk burning himself even further.

Instead, he decided that he would need to go on the defensive until he had an opportunity to take the upper hand. His gem flashed briefly and he felt the metal in the earth shiver at his call. Scraps from his nearby hoard as well as ores hidden in the walls and floor. Monoceros was choke full of them, after all. It took only a second for it to fly towards him and cover his wing, almost like a metal plate. A very messy plate, but a plate nonetheless. Instead of biting down on his wing, the wolf's teeth would meet a collection of ores and scrap metal. He grinned internally, wondering how painful it would be to crunch down on metal instead of flesh.

He nearly leaped out of his feathers when he heard the roar and he looked up into the sky, his eyes widening with shock. It was Dread, the great dragon descending from the air. Mixed feelings flashed through his body. The first was annoyance. He didn't need saving! He was the one who saved others! The second was delight. He had befriended this dragon for a reason. Now they could fight evil side by side.

The latter is what won over and his eyes shone with triumph. "Dread! My friend, I must ask, will you help me defeat this evil?"

Round:4
Attempt: create a sudden shield of metal
Defense: none
Injuries: lots of burns, bitten wing

@Jayberry @Dread

Pain tore through the she-wolf's mouth, several fangs chipping as metal coated the eagle's wing. Oh hell, that had hurt! Thankfully her gem was unharmed, the tough stone withstanding the force.

Bristling, she danced back, shaking her head to try and stem the pain. Oh, this bird was beginning to really piss her off.

A great, echoing roar rattled her bones, and she staggered, snarling and whirling to face whatever it was.

It was massive, all scales and sharp teeth. This was not a fight she could win. And, unfortunately, it seemed that the bird was friendly with the giant reptile, calling out for help. She bared her fangs and snarled, wanting to nip this in the bud.

The Bloodberry could not harm it physically, but perhaps psychologically. She looked up, meeting his gaze as her own eyes swirled from gold to red, casting Terror on the monsterous Gembound.


Round: 4
Attempt: Terror on Dread
Defense: none
Injuries: burns, covered in pyrogel, chipped teeth

@Glory
@Dread

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

The massive dragon opened his jaws to speak, but before he could, it seemed as though the world came tumbling down around him. The shadows grew black, and reached upward, climbing the cave walls like enormous fingers of oil. The cave itself began to distort and shift, jagged lines stretching down for him like great fangs.

He was reminded, abruptly, of being a hatchling: tiny, helpless, prey for all.

With fear in his heart he let out a shrieking roar, one of both fright and of defiance, looking sharply around with widened ember eyes. His body hunched some, his horned head jerking to and fro as he stared over the terrors of his own imagination, prompted only by that slender thread of Jayberry's cold magic.

For the moment, he was useless--as an ally, at least--and unable to even consider the situation at hand, let alone attack anything.

@Glory