With his voice burning in his aching lungs and rage burning in his eyes, Elderberry advanced. He saw that his mother, too, was going for Pride; and tried instead to consider what an honour it would be to fight by her side. Unfair, but regardless, an honour. After little more than a moment of consideration, lunged forward. He rose up onto battered hind limbs and struck out with hard, heavily muscled forehooves carried by his moose blood.

Although aching, and wheezing, pinions stained red with blood, he managed it. Rising up with sleek black neck arched swanlike, Elderberry bellowed a war cry; and even if his cry served as a distraction alone, it would have done its work. And he struck out wildly with flailing hooves, trying to find their mark somewhere on Pride's beautiful whiteness.

But still, even as he wailed and beat, raucously honking, there was something; Elderberry's ears laid back against the thoughts, but still he was dissatisfied. This is no honourable fight.

---

"When I speak."

When I think.

The hybrid could only enjoy the attack for a moment. He twisted, flesh tearing and splattering blood, but then he was gone.

A blur of black, and she twisted, trying to follow him. But no dog was as fast as a cat, and there was a heavy weight on her back as her legs buckled under her. She shrieked, twisting, trying to throw him off, but then there were sharp, sharp teeth sinking into her neck and head, and an agonizing pressure, and she knew no more.

The Rubellite Tourmaline began to spread, crawling across her flesh and melding feathers together. Her wings were forced, tight against her sides, and soon there was nothing left but a maroon chrysalis joining the others.

*exit

Brother, understand whySee it's burning me to hold onto thisI know this is something that I gotta doBut that don't mean I want to

The birdwolf's fragile skull gave satisfyingly beneath his teeth, and he held on until he was forced to release her, the Chrysalis spreading to his jaws. He backed away, face still twisted in a snarl, adrenaline thrumming in his veins.

Later, much later, he would be horrified. Realized he had cut someone's life to a sudden end. He had never seen someone go back into their Chrysalis and come back, and so as far as he knew he had murdered someone. She had been trying to do the same, but he had never done such a thing before.

But for now, he simply watched, waited for her to vanish beneath her Chrysalis. So distracted was he, that he had little warning before he was being struck - a loud screech in his ear, and then a stabbing pain tearing the wound along his neck even further.

He snarled, an awful rasping sound (his throat hurt, something must have been nicked), and whirled to face her. His eyesocket throbbed, and he struggled to focus on anything, barely able to focus on anything but the monstrous goose before him. He was unable to see his fallen Brother, or his fallen Niece.

But the goose was in front of him, and so he could see her. He whirled, fangs bared, and lunged for her. The puma aimed to get some part of her between his teeth, so he could shake her and shake her and shake her until he shook the very life out of her.

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

What I'm trying to say is that, I love you I justI feel like this is coming to an endAnd it's better for me to let it go now,than hold on and hurt youI've gotta let it burn

The wolf's fangs tore, not through the soft, thin flesh of an ear, but into the thicker skin of a face. Satisfaction rose in her chest like water coming up in high tide, and so she was taken off guard as she found herself hit by a flying - flung - Mother.

Her breath was knocked out of her, and she staggered, reeling as she tried to get her paws under her. By the time she had regained her balance, Mother was gone, attacking the black cat. And there was something near the black cat, a Chrysalis gleaming a familiar color - she turned to look, to try and see better -

But before she could, she was being blinded. A familiar voice, crying out 'stop!', and then a bright light right in her face. She squealed, a high pitched sound like a kicked dog, and stumbled back, sensitive eyes burning from being so suddenly hit by light. Shaking her head, her eyes gleamed red, attempting to meet her gaze - covered in black dots as it was, blurry and nonsensical - with whoever had struck her.

@Oliver

The blood that splattered Blackberry's face was hot but she didn't have any time to relish her victory. The cat was coming towards her again, his teeth looking to lock down on her body. She couldn't move fast enough. Within seconds, he was shaking her hard. She honked in his face, the world spinning a bit as she grew dizzy but she needed to react. And react fast. He was shaking her by her shoulders and, as she turned to face him with her head, she saw the rest of his body before her. And, of course, right in front of her, his throat, still a mess of blood. She didn't think. She just stabbed.

With all her of might and force, directly at a vital spot, she stabbed, her beak slightly open, trying to catch onto his skin or veins or even his throat, and tear. Rip it apart. She needed him to drop her - this was the most vital part of the fight.

When he did, she rolled over, stumbling back to her feet and, as she turned to survey the battle, she found herself facing the gem-covered body of her enemy. She could see the stains of red through the semi-translucent surface and she smirked. He would be in pain and, when he emerged, he would be different. Changed. She had did what she had set out to do. Rift was dead.

Which meant, she had won. The battle was over now. Or, at least, it was supposed to be. But she had so few left. As she looked up and around, she released with a sinking feeling that only Jayberry and Elderberry remained on their feet. The rest were in prisons of gems.

What could she do, though? None of them would be able to move those that were in their chrysalis. She, certainly, wasn't strong enough and Jayberry and Elderberry would not be able to grab them at all. There was only one choice - leave them.

It pained her to leave her children behind. But if she was going to save the last two, if she was going to end this fight, she had to. The words pained her throat as they left her beak. "RETREAT, CHILDREN! RIFT IS DEAD!! THE BATTLE IS WON!! GO BACK HOME!!" She backed away, not yet turning to flee, refusing to leave until her two children were safe and gone. And, perhaps, because it pained her too much to leave the others behind to carelessly.

Battle Report
Rift has gone into his chrysalis after Jayberry tore apart the skin on his head.
Elderberry lunges to attack Pride after his own spell fails.
Oliver successfully blinds Jayberry, who retaliates blindly with a terror spell.
Sebastian grabbed onto Blackberry and shook her, but she stabbed at his throat again with much greater force then before, trying to tear it.
After getting back on her feet, Blackberry calls for her children to leave, proclaiming the battle won.

The Bloodberries have been ordered to retreat! You can choose to simply run and save yourself or try and take a chrysalis with you!

@Pride

One of them was charging, and Pride, without thinking, switched his target. He heard Blackberry shouting about Rift being dead, and rage tore through him.

Rift dead?
He would kill every last one of them. Every single one. His eyes burned with silver flame as he hurtled the magic around the one charging him. Before he could connect, the hybrid had turned, lashing out--the hooves clattering into his armor, but catching, too, his ribs. He staggered, the spell lost, feeling the sharp pain in his side.

He would bruise--and badly--assuming the ribs weren't broken; his protestations, his rage, were lost as the breath was knocked out of him before he could shout at the cowards to return.

Oliver opened his jaws, about to wail again, to ask Jayberry again why she had done this--she had ignored him thus far, and he didn't know what to think or do. But before he could, he felt a cold spike of magic tear through his mind.

The scene could hardly be more nightmarish--and yet it became so, everything seeming to warp and twist black, monstrous and horrific. He screamed, like a wounded dog (which was at least a little accurate): long, wretched, high-pitched yelps rending the air. His winged forelimbs clutched around his head, so that he hardly heard Blackberry shouting.

He buckled down in the ferns, still covering his ear-tufts in terror, his eyes squeezed shut as he screamed, unable to do much else.

@Elderberry

Since the white rabbit had reached the throne, King Envy had been running. Or, well, they'd been travelling as fast as physics would possibly allow. At first, on their own two feet, but then when the hare had taken off ahead, they had managed to pull themselves onto its back. As a general rule, Envy was weak and thin; not a creature made for long-distance sprints.

They didn't even, really, know where they were going; but they had come to realize that seeing the white rabbit on its own was a bad sign enough, but to see it in such a panic had to mean that something was going on. Something to do with Pride.

Now they clasped, sticky paws grasping the rabbit's fur as they tried desperately to keep their barbed tail from driving into its back. They were reaching Eridanusnow, still softly panting, their heart pounding. As the trees flashed by they quickly caught the acrid smell of blood, and they arrived just in time to hear the screech of that damn goose. Envy's blood ran cold.

it was here?!

They had to run. they had to get away, go back to the throne and pretend they'd never been. But no; their poisonous scent clung to the rabbit's fur now; Pride would know that they'd ditched. Their heart pounded harder than it ever had when they were running as the rabbit lurched into the throng of battle. Envy craned their neck back, as far as it would go, and peered around. There were jewels everywhere, chrysalises, and what few Gembounds remained were covered in blood. Including that damned goose.

Envy tried to ignore her, and instead looked around for Pride.

They felt a jolt in their heart like ice flooding through their veins as they saw that he was under attack, and, from the way he stumbled, in pain. Envy clung to the back of the rabbit for a moment longer as it veered nearer, before leaping from the small creature's back and letting it carry on with... whatever the hell it wanted to do, really. Envy didn't care.

They felt their stomach drop as they bounded closer.

Their vision was a haze of pure fear, their heart hammering in a low hum in their ears, and their legs blurring. They hardly knew what they were doing any more as they bounded up behind Pride's assailant and, whilst it wasn't looking, began trying to clamber up one of its hind legs.

Their tail flailed, their grip loose, their vision spinning, and although they didn't notice, the very tip of their tail barb began to leak with a strange metallic fluid that glistened like polished steel yet moved like water. perhaps it was fear, perhaps adrenaline, but no matter how hard they tried, the weasel simply couldn't seem to get a grip, the tip spraying droplets as the hybrid began to struggle and Envy struggled to hold on.


Speech. Thought.

Elderberry's heart swelled with Pride as his hooves found their mark and his opponent stumbled. His mother, it seemed, had finally stepped back as well. Elderberry stood tall and proud, advancing to begin his assault once again.

It was then that he heard his mother's screech, and Elderberry's beak opened with dismay, his ears flicking back. Already, it was over. But it had hardly mattered! The hybrid faltered for a moment, raising a hoof and turning slowly back to pride. But before he could make a decision he felt something scrambling up one of his hind legs.

He turned, craning his neck back to see, and shook his head, folding his ears back and letting out a grunt.

He had thought, at first, that it had been a rat; that was what it felt like, at least. Whatever climbed his leg was certainly small.... Perhaps a rat was being too generous. However when he looked back, he caught a flash of bright green.

But why did it look so familiar...?

Elderberry didn't care to ponder it much more. He shook his hind limbs, and when that failed, began to buck and kick violently, trying to throw it off. Soon he felt it loosen, and looked back to see it thrown aside. Elderberry turned his attention back towards Pride, deciding that the rat was unimportant.

He wanted to finish his battle.

---

"When I speak."

When I think.

@Blackberry

Brother, understand whySee it's burning me to hold onto thisI know this is something that I gotta doBut that don't mean I want to

Flesh gave way beneath his teeth, feathers crunching and bending. Like a dog, the puma dug his claws in the ground, bracing himself as he flung his head this way and that, trying to break something vital in the goose, to disorient her and shatter her, put an end to the monster's reign.

And he was stupid, the goose's sharp muzzle digging into the torn flesh of his throat, finding his jugular and piercing it, the pendulous swing of the goose tearing a gaping grin in him. The panther choked, dropping the goose as he staggered back, fighting to catch his breath.

But each inhale brought in nothing, each exhale splattering blood down his front. His vision wavered, and his head swayed, everything little more than blurs. The puma's body grew weak, oxygen unable to reach his muscles, and his legs buckled, sending him to the ground with a groaning gasp.

He thrashed on the ground, chest arching as he fought for each fruitless breath, his gem beginning to spread from his shoulders down to his sides, covering him in a ruby blanket. Finally he went still, no longer having to fight for air, Chrysalis giving him the oxygen he desperately fought for.

*exit Sebastian

What I'm trying to say is that, I love you I justI feel like this is coming to an endAnd it's better for me to let it go now,than hold on and hurt youI've gotta let it burn