Huckleberry stood over her, his mother, the one who had hatched him, raised him, and he felt no mercy. All the rage held back the past cycles was bursting forth, as if the true Bloodberry within him had finally awoken. He was the child of the Terror of the Caves, one of the most fearsome families, and nobody would stand in his way - not even his own mother.

He stared directly into her eyes, feeling the challenge well within him. He would meet that challenge, show Blackberry that he was worth his name. A spark rolled across his body as the electricity built up before a bolt of lightning shot from his gem, hitting Blackberry straight in the face. As he watched her roll away, the rage began to die away, but he knew he had done the right thing. This was all just a test, wasn't it?

Round: 7
Attempt: lightning bolt
Defense: none
Injuries: bitten throat and front leg, mostly paralyzed, torn up side

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

tags:
notes: here

Blackberry watched Huckleberry closely and their eyes met - red on red. She could see the hatred in their eyes, the hardened bloodlust and she wished she could smile. Finally.

The bolt struck her in the head and jolted through her body, the force throwing her backwards, sending her rolling away. She flopped down on the ground some ways away, shivering from the feeling of having all that electricity running through her. But at least the other spell had warn off and she could function again, despite feeling tingly all over.

She struggled to her feet and narrowed her eyes. "You've finally grown. You've shown your strength. I'll give you one more chance, Huckleberry. Kill this bird," She raised a wing and pointed it at the bird still lying, mostly motionless, where they had left her, "and you will be invited back into the family. Use the hatred you've shown against me." She watched her child carefully, anticipation running through her veins. What would he do?

He was breathing hard, his eyes wide as he stared at Blackberry. Now that the anger and heat of battle was wearing off, he realized what he had done. His mother was shivering with the effort it took to stand, her feathers on end from the lightning. His own side was bleeding heavily and his leg was stinging. But he had done it, he had survived. And now his mama was giving him another chance. One chance is all anyone needs, unless they deserve a second. Her words rang in his ears. Apparently he deserved a second chance.

He turned towards the bird and felt his stomach twist. He had to do this. If he wanted to stay in the family, if he wanted to be one of them, he had to do this. It made him a little sick to be killing something that couldn't defend themselves, but he had to be merciless.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward, towering over the little magpie. He looked into her clouded, terrified eyes and hesitated just for a second. He heard Blackberry give a hiss behind him and his resolve strengthened. He leaned down and opened his mouth wide, grasping the bird by her neck and hauling her into the air.

Once she was secured in his mouth, he bit down hard until he tasted blood and felt a snap as her delicate spine snapped.

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

tags:
notes: here

Apple knew it was coming. She couldn't do anything to stop it. She struggled against her body, trying to stand, but it seemed that there wasn't much hope left for her. Nothing moved, her legs merely twitched as she tried to get them under her body. As the hybrid, Huckleberry, got closer, she squirmed, but she couldn't get away.

Terror shot through every nerve, horror of her impending death sent everything buzzing. She looked around wildly, trying to find something that would help her, but there was nothing. She was completely helpless. She gazed up at Huckleberry, her eyes wide and pleading and it seemed, just for a second, that he would do nothing. But then a hiss from his mother and he was reaching for her.

Fear paralyzed her, but she felt herself go limp. She could do nothing but pray it would be quick. As he held her and bite down, there was pain, yes, and blood rolled through her feathers, but then a quick snap and everything went dark.

*exit
she is ded

Blackberry watched all of this with approval. When Huckleberry hesitated, just for a moment, she hissed lowly, reminding them of what would happen should they fail to carry this through. It seemed to work as Huckleberry made quick work of snapping her neck. She heard it as if she had done it herself and closed her eyes, relishing in the sound of death.

After a moment, she nodded to herself and stepped up next to Huckleberry. "You have done well," she crooned. She reached down and nudged the bird so that her stone was exposed. She reached forward and used her hooked beak to dig into the skin surrounding the gem and pulled with all her might. It took a few tugs and a number of snapping bones before she wrenched the blue gem right out of the bird's back. She shook the excess skin and feathers away from it before laying it at Huckleberry's feet. "This is yours now. What are you going to do with it?"

He dropped the bird as soon as the last breath left her body and stepped back, feeling a sense of numbness take over his body. He wasn't sure he liked what he had just down, the feeling of bone giving way between his jaws, the blood that coated his tongue. He much preferred the sparking, jolting, hot feeling of his magic. He didn't like blood and he hoped he never would.

He watched Blackberry with disgust as she ripped the gem right out of the bird's back. He liked fighting, he really did, but not like this. Not sinking teeth and claws into enemies or innocents. He liked immobilizing them, sending bolt after bolt of electricity searing through their body. He wished that his magic could solve every problem. But this proved that it didn't.

As Blackberry laid the gem down at his feet, he acted almost instinctively. His guilt for killing the bird, his need to solve things through magic. He leaned forward and touched the gem gingerly, feeling his magic flow from his body seamlessly into the gem. He felt hot as the magic activated and a yellow glow began to shine in the gem's depths.

Once it was done, he stepped back, his gaze clear and his voice somber. "I've killed her and I've given her life." He looked towards Blackberry, his gaze dark. "Please accept her into the family as my apology for everything I've done." He bowed low, pressing his stomach against the ground.

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

tags:
notes: here

Blackberry did not expect whatever Huckleberry had done. She did not expect them to immediately give life to the stone they had acquired. She had expected them to take it as a trophy or give it to her as a gift. But create a new gembound from it? Nope.

She stared at them for a moment before looking down at the gem, gently pulsing with glowing light. She realized what this meant - she was a grandmother now and that thought was very very strange. Her child, the most problematic of the bunch, was a parent now and releasing that title to her.

She narrowed her eyes and looked at them strangely. "You're giving her to me? You know what this means - you're giving up all your title of parent to this child. You will not raise them - I will. Is that what you want?"

Huckleberry shivered. Did they really want to give up this gem? They had already felt a connection to it - they had killed this creature, they had given life to it. Didn't that make them the rightful parent?

...no. They had killed the magpie. They were unworthy of its reincarnation. They did not deserve to raise it the way they wanted to. Besides, they acted barely more then a child themselves. How could they raise anything if they couldn't control their own actions. Their ears flattened and they looked away. It took all their effort to nod their head.

They knew that they would regret this, but they had no choice. They didn't want to leave the family, but they didn't want this child to be raised as a killer. Or maybe they did. Yes, kill, destroy, pain!

No! No, no, they wanted them to be gentle and kind, delicate as a bird. They sighed. This was a difficult situation, but they had to let them go. "They are yours, mama." Their voice was heavy with sadness and thick with emotion, but they managed to say the words anyways.

Blackberry knew that Huckleberry didn't want this, but she felt no pity. Her child was a traitor and a fiend. They had instigated this fight, refused to follow her orders, and put their family in danger. This was their repentance - to give up this thing that they already loved to her as an apology.

She nodded with approval and pulled the gem closer to her. "You've done the right thing. But you must promise me." She stepped over the gem and her expression hardened, the threat of anger flashing in her eyes. She shoved herself forward and pressed her head against Huckleberry's, the spike on her beak scraping at their gem. "You will never betray me again or try to attack me like you did during the meeting. I've given you enough chances. One more claw out of line and you're done."

Huckleberry flinched as Blackberry suddenly got close and their ears pressed hard to their skull with terror. Was she going to attack again? Would she mercilessly rip them apart like she had done last time? Or like she had done with the three gems on her neck?

They nodded fervently, feeling an extremely uncomfortable scratching at their gem, but they dared not move away. "I understand, Mama." Their body shivered as they imagined ever disappointing her again and, all of a sudden, they remembered being a child. Suddenly it all became less teriffying and the fear within them filled up with sadness instead. Blackberry had been so patient with them, she had loved them as a child. When had it all gone wrong? Why were they like this now?

Tears welled at the corner of Huckleberry's eyes and they suddenly pressed forward, ignoring the sharp spikes down her back and leaning forward to press their muzzle into her shoulder. They were bigger then her now, but they would never stop seeing her as Mama. "I'm sorry, Mama," they cried. "I'm sorry for everything! I-I love you and the family and I'm sorry for what I've done. I'll never disappoint you again!" All the hesitance was gone and pure emotion spilled from them. Despite the sudden change of mood, their voice was clear and full of meaning, as if, finally, Huckleberry had breached themselves.