Cloudberry continued to huddle in her cage. She could hear voices erupting all around her, and Huckleberry's suddenly-renewed sobs had her frightened.

Her voice came soft, untouched by her terror. "...Who did you kill?" He'd killed one of their own?!

Everything else, she ignored--or tried to. Someone was saying another of them was dead, off in the distance--and that Jayberry and Blackberry had escaped. Faint, distant relief--as if it belonged to someone else--touched her, but fear for whoever had died.

Huckleberry had killed someone?

Her head at last lifted, a little, and risked a glance around. She saw Huckleberry in his cage--but there was a third, nearby. Whose was that..?

@Yewberry @Enka

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 Panther had slept.

There was a great deal to heal, his throat having to stitch itself back together, fur and sinew regrowing. And even once he was healed, he continued to rest. He had failed, failed his Brother again - had burned down the Forest, and then left it to be attacked. Surely Rift would hate him?

But soon he was not able to ignore the world - the shattering of Chrysalises, the screaming, and so he thrashed, kicking himself free. The ruby Chrysalis gave way, dropping him to the ground, and he gasped. Each breath rasped, and he wheezed, revelling in what it felt to breathe once more.

But soon he had to stand, hearing voices nearby. The Panther stood, laboriously gathering his paws beneath him, and hauled himself to his feet, blinking as sight came back to him. There was Enka - his niece, and he only just barely recognized her, so changed was she, and he gasped "Enka!" pure relief in his voice as he stumbled voice. And oh, that hurt! it was as though there were shards digging into his throat, the sound of his voice gravelly.

And then - Rift! his beloved brother, changed even further than last he had seen him. Sebastian made a halting movement, wanting to go to him, but fearing that he might be hated for his failures - they hadn't made up after the fire, and yet he had failed him again, fallen to the goose. "Brother," the word was said softly, and yet it still rasped, little more than a small gasp of sound over damaged vocal cords.

@Rift @Enka

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

'Where am I?'

She whimpered, shifting inside her Chrysalis. It had been Cycles since she had been inside, and she wanted to be free again. It pressed down on her wings, and they hurt!

So she lashed out, kicking with her feet until it shattered, crumbling around her and coating millions of pin-sized feathers in gleaming shards. Yewberry blinked open her mismatched eyes, everything swimming into focus. But already she was standing on wobbly legs, staggering to her feet and stumbling--would have fallen if it weren't for her crystal prison.

Horror widened her eyes as she took in her captors, wings flaring and a whine sounding in her throat. She was... she was scared. And so she began to bay, crying out "Mo... mother! Moter! Mottthher! Mozzer!" at the top of her lungs, voice staggered and halting.

Mercurius watched as Pride came, gait rather lofty but with a stern, severe face aimed towards the hybrid he stood before. A brief pause, and the stag simply moved on, leaving the sobbing, broken child. There were more pertinent things --- acknowledging Rift and the other reemerging Gembound on his side --- yes, but the storyteller couldn't allow these children to simply... panic.

Moonlit eyes regarded Huckleberry with warmth, then the other two children, newly reemerged. His tail flicked, head bowing. "Your mother is still in the caves, we believe," he reassured, shifting his weight slightly. That wasn't the grandest news, but this Gembound was still dependent on the one that had abused him, it seemed. Mercurius knew the feeling. "Do you hear him, young one? Pride? Do you see the ferns and these---" he paused, gaze trailing up to the orbs high above in the canopy,"--- lights? You were not killed. Pride will defend you."

Unfortunately, someone had been. At least these Bloodberries seem loyal to one another and have some sense of family, twisted as it is, Mercurius mourned, magicka coursing through him as he stepped forth. "Everything's okay," he murmured to all of the Bloodberry children, urging the vines above to extend themselves, to wrap (gently) around Huckleberry's limbs and chest, hoping to restrain the apparent desire to bash his own skull in. Mercurius's ears flickered back, brows furrowed in concern. "No one will be killed, here. Not again."

And that was a promise.

Atinneas walked in Eridanus, her soft paws hitting the ground of the plant filled room. Her white fur was pristine, and it gave her the image of an amazing, distinct lion. The cub could hear voices and as they got louder and louder, then her head softly bumped into something. She stopped, and put her paw on the object. She felt it, and it felt like some sort of stone. Unbeknownst to her, it was Huckleberry's crystal cage. Her nose wiggled somewhat, she could hear that someone was inside this stone, and it sounded unhappy, and very upset. She could hear Huckleberry screaming, though she was unfazed by this. Not because she didn't care, but a lot of things did not faze her. She also noticed that the voices around her also sounded upset. She felt something strange, but nothing happened. She felt she was supposed to do something. Atinneas thought long and hard on whether she should say something. No, she continued to stay silent as the others around her talked with pure concern in their voices, but she was more concerned about Huckleberry. What was going on?

At first Enka could only stare as creatures and noises began to appear. It was all very startling; the realization that both she and her father had not truly perished; the sudden change in Rift’s appearance; going from utter silence to so many voices and movement. Still recovering from her second hatching, the world was now moving at an alarming rate. Brown eyes simply watched at first as things occurred around her.

Peace suddenly hit her as Rift bounded to her side and pressed his face against her neck. Tears openly flowed down the antelope-like creatures face to collect in her new mane and goatee. The soft mumble of his purr immediately brought a sense of peace to her world. She lowered her head, nuzzling her father gently while trying to avoid his near antlers. Even if his appearance had changed, he was clearly still the flowery feline who had adopted her so long ago.

“I thought I was gone too. I thought-I thought I had failed you. I’m so, so glad Rift.” Her words were soft, relief pouring over her to find that he was safe. Everything else could heal, so long as her father was okay. Though her uncle was missing and that was of deep concern to her, it could wait a moment before worry. For now, she simply enjoyed the moment of peace.

But all too soon Rift moved away to look at the gemstone prisons she had failed to notice and the mysterious lion near them. She did not know the creatures that gathered, nor the ones in the cages. So, she simply watched on with only a brief nod of greeting in return to the deer.

Hearing that the wolf had escaped, Enka could not resist the winch that appeared. The memory of her flesh tearing was still fresh on her mind despite the number of cycles it had been. The fur along her back twitched before settling down. That was a matter for another time, and for now she was with her father and tried to follow along with this newest event she had found herself in.

The naïve part of her disliked the idea of the others being caged. More so it pained her to hear that someone was truly dead, no matter the side they were on. Yet she was no longer so innocent. She recognized that evil did exist. Where they evil? Or did they simply follow orders, like the deer was suggesting of one of them? This new knowledge was still so foreign to her despite her age, her life previously having been at a storybook level of peace. She shifted her weight while her longer tail twitched, a feeling that felt odd for some reason though she hadn’t had the moment’s silence to explore why.

And then another egg had hatched. Enka bellowed out in surprise as a new flood of tears rolled down her face. “Uncle Sebastian!” She bounded to his side, butting her head softly against him. No more words could come out. Nothing else mattered. Her family was alive and okay. That was what was important. Not even the voice of her other attacker arising from a stoney prison could upset her.

---

Speech
Thoughts

Tags:
Notes:

Rift whipped around as the sound of Pride's voice rang in his ear. There he was, the white stag stepping towards him, with new scars on his face that sent a bubble of rage into Rift's stomach. Rage that opened up the doors for all the other anger he had not the time to consider during the battle and after awakening. Why had this happened in the first place? What was the goose's purpose in attacking this place?! What had she against them?

He struggled to control himself from crying out with outrage at the sight of the scars and merely dipped his head a little stiffly. He hadn't expected the goose to be caught, anyways. She was the head of the family. She would be the last one her children allowed to be caught and the wolf...she was the one that had killed Enka. Perhaps she had killed Sebastian too.

Pride's words made sense, but he doubted that making them promise to not be violent wouldn't stick at all. They were creatures without any kind honor. This he was certain. And Rift was not so sure about the moose hybrid. It had been the one, after all, to start the fight. It had dragged him off of his tree.

He hardened his gaze, although it perhaps wasn't very visible through his helmet. "I shall treat them equally. They were all part of the fight, they all knew what they were doing. I will..."

He paused as the children began to cry out. The moose creature had its arms waving through the cage bars and the other was screaming for its mother. Rift couldn't help but feel pity well up within him. Blackberry was cruel - if she were here, Rift would not hesitate in his actions but these, as Pride said, they were children that had known nothing but cruelty.

He sighed. "I'm not an executioner, nor am I a judge. At least, I don't wish to be." He stood up taller, more confident, knowing now what he was going to do. Things were making more sense as he grew used to the world once again. "I am a protector, a guardian. I will not choose the fates of these children." He said no more to Pride and prepared himself to leap onto one of the giant trunks of the trees when yet another crack caught his attention.

He hadn't noticed the ruby before but now he did and he couldn't believe he hadn't seen before. He'd seen the gem on his brother's shoulder enough times to recognize it and he wasted no time rushing over to him. He stopped, remembering things. Before the fight, they had not been on great terms. Their relationship that they had nurtured since childhood had grown weaker and the fire in Eridanus had utterly destroyed it. But that was then. Now...now Rift was only happy that his brother was alive, that he was here. He didn't care about all of that before. It didn't matter.

He didn't say a word, and he didn't hesitate a moment longer. He lunged forward and tackled his brother, purring louder then he ever had before and immediately began licking the dark cat's fur. "I thought you were dead," he murmured heavily, fighting through a lump in his throat. "I thought I'd never see you again. I couldn't live with myself...if you'd died. I'm happy, so happy, that you're here." He pushed his face against Sebastian's neck before stepping away, his tail held high with joy.

He wanted to stay by Sebastian's side now. He never wanted to leave him again. He wanted to talk with his brother, the way they used to talk, hunt the way they used to hunt, run through the forest like they did when they were young. But there were others here and important matters that he had to attend to.

He turned and bounded up the lowest trunk of the tree so that he was standing over all those that were nearby. He sat down and cleared his throat loudly. He noticed the white form of a cat that hadn't been there before grabbing at Huckleberry's cage. Quickly, he touched the roots and sent magic into the earth. Branches of the nearby trees leaned down and began to push the cub away from the cages and closer to where everyone was gathered. "Stay away from those," he murmured before standing up again, clearing his voice to get everyone's attention.

"I am not a judge," he repeated, "I am a guardian. I do not believe it should be in my power alone to decide the fates of the three children we have before us. That is why I turn to you, my friends. We need ideas of what to do them. Once we have sufficient ideas, we will choose two and vote on which sentence we shall carry out. We must decide what to do with these three: Yewberry, Cloudberry, and Huckleberry. And then we must decide...what to do about this mess. Eridanus has once again been trampled upon. Blood has soaked into her sacred soil. The earth has been split apart, the grasses and flowers torn from their roots. The air has been polluted by violence and anger, in a way that it shouldn't be and, most of all, many have died here, one that has died permanently, for no reason. This cannot happen again!"

And idea struck his mind right then, a wonderful, crazy idea that he had once dreamed about as a child. But now, with these creatures before him, he realized that it was not only possible, but he could see a future in this idea. This could happen.

He paused and took another deep breath before continuing. "I propose...a kingdom. A kingdom dedicated to life of all levels, from the smallest ant to the common gembound to the great tree I stand upon. A kingdom that will nurture all lives and bring the joy of this life through all the caves. We cannot let more tragedy strike this sacred cave or any other cave for that matter. We will be healers, gardeners, protectors of all."

Suddenly a little nervous, he shifted his feet a little bit and looked down at them all. "Would anyone...would anyone want to join me?"

@Oliver @Enka @Mercurius @Cloudberry @Pride @Yewberry @Sebastian @Atinneas

The blind cub was wondering what was going on, as her paw continued to touch Huckleberry's cage. Suddenly, she felt branches that started to gently push her away from Huckleberry's cage, towards the other gathered gembounds. Then she heard the voice of Rift, telling her to stay away from the cages. Well, Atinneas did not know why he wanted her to stay away from the screaming creature inside the stone, but she obediently listened and sat down. Though she couldn't see anything, she heard what the creature who kindly told her to stay away from the cages was saying. Something about deciding what to do with three children? Did they do something bad? Then her attention focused on the next set of words. A kingdom! Atinneas wanted to join immediately. The little blind cub decided to take a brave step, and raised her paw to show her interest. Though she really did think that no creature here knew she was blind.

Pride listened closely, his ears swept forward to catch Rift's every word. As he did so, he thought briefly over Rift's new form. It's fascinating, really. It's as if he's adapted, changed--evolved. Perhaps even ascended. ...Is it rude to think that becoming part stag is ascension? He gently pushed the thought away.

Pride, for the most part, ignored the presence of all others. He was focused on Rift--he didn't really take note of Sebastian, or of Enka's tears or the new white cub, or even Mercurius. He registered their presences, but he was here for a reason, and it held strong, stressful priority in his mind.

When Rift had finished, he spoke quietly.

"I would suggest speaking to these Berries before deciding their fates either way--alone, as a group, or what have you. Whether to explain their actions, or to beg mercy, or make promises." He paused, and then continued. "Regardless--your speech is a fine one, and I for one wish you the best of luck with this guardianship. It is, I think, sorely needed, and were I not of the Seven I would offer my aid. As it stands--I would need to consult King Envy, but I am certain that they will agree to have you as our allies. Should Eridanus need our aid--in any way--I, at least, will come."

He then fell silent, taking a step back and looking among the others present. He was being polite, and offering his aid--not trying to take any spotlight; he nodded toward Mercurius, hoping the lion hadn't minded his silence toward him so far.

Oliver listened in sombre silence, trying to push back the nightmarish memories that threatened to crowd his vision. Seeing Enka, Sebastian, Rift, Pride--seeing them here, together again, hearing the wails of Huckleberry... Everything was feeling surreal and deeply unpleasant, the walls of the sense of safety he'd built around himself creaking dangerously.

He closed his eyes. Swallowed. Opened them, steeling himself.

At length--as Pride was speaking--he crawled forth from the thick foliage and stood up on his hind legs, birdlike. When the stag had finished, he raised one winged forelimb toward Rift. His voice was soft--timid, and barely-audible. "I'm not--I don't know if I'm a guardian. I don't want to fight. I can heal, though, or-... grow. ...Things. I'll join you." This somewhat unspectacular little speech delivered, he dropped back down to a crouching, hunched position on all fours, glancing nervously around him.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

@Huckleberry