For nearly 6 cycles he had slumbered. In that time, the whispers from his adoptive family filtered into his slumber. Many things had happened, and yet he had not risen. As a cub, he had felt weak. He lacked the drive to fight like those in his family. He wanted so badly to fit in, but there was no place for him in a frail state. So, he delved into hibernation in hopes of some sort of... change.

He missed so much out of fear. His dreams were haunted by it. His sweet, kind disposition seemed to melt away only to a burning shame. And as he grew his shame melted away into anger and frustration. He needed a release, he needed to be released from this lengthy slumber.

The labradorite shell around him groaned as his muscles heaved against its walls. Cracks formed and the chrysalis hissed as the pressure was relieved. Another heave and it shattered, the sound of broken gem bounced off of the walls. From it came not a cub, but a full-grown polar bear. Massive in size with anger blazing in his eyes, he rose to his back paws and bellowed. The relief of being awake poured into his call.

He dropped back down to his front paws with a heavy thud and a grunt. Blinking his bleary eyes. He was still in the Tunnel. But were any of his family around?

News had spread down the grapevine fairly quickly: the Bloodberries had been defeated. That was one gore-caked and disgusting-smelling cave free to travel in, which was an absolute blessing considering how much of a nice shortcut it was between the Core and the starry vault Orion. The gryphon had wings and that was nice and all, but giving his legs a chance to work and move was great too.

Especially after a long-ass day of sitting at the Olympics. Sure, there were plenty of breaks to do the bare necessities of Gembound activities (i.e. pissing, shitting, taking a sip) and plenty of other wrestling matches to watch; but, he was absolutely exhausted. That had been a lot of socialization. A lot more than Aure could've ever informed him of or prepared him for.

Eythan sighed, halfway down Tunnel N already, currently engaging in a tight squeeze between two particular rocks. One of these rocks was a labradorite, glowing softly in the light. He had literally just squeezed past it when it began to stretch open. Fully on instinct, the hybrid skittered halfway up the wall and spun so that he faced downward. Tail hiking high into the air, he bristled as a whole-ass bear just plowed out of the shell and bellowed.

"Fuck, dude!" he shouted, because he just can't learn a damn lesson about yelling that around strangers, "way to make a guy piss himself."

@Snowberry

As soon as the thought of his family passed his mind his ears were filled with a rather displeased voice. His eyes seemed to clear just in time as well. In front of him stood a rather interesting creature. It was perched halfway up the way. He seemed strong and Snowberry did not recognize him. Perhaps he was a new member of his family? Why else would he wander to close to the home of the Bloodberries?

"Why are you here? Are you family?" His voice was low with a warning, a growl rumbling in his throat. The polar bear ignored the other creatures words. If he was not family then perhaps he would be able to move along on his course of redemption. Prove his worth. Yes, if he is not family he can be one of my stepping stones. If he is family, perhaps he can tell me where everyone is.

@eythan

OOC: Bear dude knows there was a war but does not know how it ended rlly so mhmm

Eythan spared a moment to look down at the rocks beneath himself. Oh, thank Caves, no actual piss. Bright eyes glanced down at the immense bear --- he was actually pretty sure this bear was bigger than even Sergei, and that dude had been a tank. Here's to hoping that extra height was all fluff, since the dude was growling at him. So, there went the plan to get off of this rock and bid the bear farewell. The gryphon tensed on the spot, burying his talons deeper in the rock.

"I'm just going for a stroll, and I've never seen you before in my life," he tried carefully, hunkering down with his ears and tail flicking. "So, no, probably not family." Oh, shit, critical thinking. "You're not one of those Bloodberries, are you?"

@Snowberry

"Going for a stroll," He echoed, "Why would you be going for a stroll here if you are not family?"

He looked up at the creature quizzically. Why would this creature be walking so freely in the home of his family? Had they not heard this other gembound? He certainly did not seem like the quiet type.

That didn't matter. Not now. What matter was showing his family that he had changed for the better.

"I am Snowberry, son of Blackberry," he rumbled fiercely. The flash of curiosity on his wide face had turned back to anger. "And since you are not one of us..," Snowberry started to rise to his back feet once more, "...you are a trespasser. And trespassers are not welcome!"

As he finished speaking, he rose to his full height. The polar bear paused only a moment before bunching his muscles and pushing against gravity to reach the trespasser.

Round: 1/5(?)
Attempt: Grab that pesky bird cat...thing
Defenses: //
Injuries: None

@eythan

Oh, fuck, of course there were others of those bastards aside from the ones caught up in that war in Eridanus. Eythan's ears flickered back, and he regretted turning upside down in order to look at this bear. All he could do to move was shuffle sideways or try and ease backwards. "I'd be fuckin' strolling here because I heard word that your whole family got killed or captured in that one war --- I wasn't involved, by the way."

An enormous paw wheeled toward him, hitting him silly before he could even begin to think about escape opportunities --- this tunnel was so damn narrow he couldn't even stretch his wings out halfway. They tucked to his sides abruptly right before Snowberry won against gravity and sent the gryphon careening to the ground. Using the best tool in a feline's arsenal (the tail) Eythan whirled in the air and onto his stomach. A risky decision, but hopefully one that'd end well in the long run: he arched his back and wound up his hind legs, before launching them at the polar bear's throat. His claws weren't out yet.

This move was just to stun the bear and give him some room to, y'know maneuver.

Throughout the motion, the gryphon chirped, "but, hey, since the bloodberries apparently aren't all gone and my source is full of shit, I'll just fuck off to another tunnel. You can even escort me out." His ears flickered back, bright eyes fixated firmly on Snowberry. Eythan was not in the mood to get mauled over his stupidity today.

ROUND 1/5
Attempt: Kick that bear's throat and stun 'im!
Defenses: Uh... ears back?
Injuries: N/A

@Snowberry

I heard word that your whole family got killed or captured in that one war...

Snowberry barely felt the satisfaction as his paw slapped the other gembound. They can't be dead... His mind whirled. He dropped back to all fours. They had perished in the war while he slept comfortably in his chrysalis? He had not been there to help, to fight by his family. Shame burned in his chest like fire, familiar but not at all comforting. Was Blackberry dead? The one he called mother?

The polar bear was so distracted by the distressing news that he was blind to the other gembounds next move. The sudden pressure and pain caused by a swift kick to the throat sent Snowberry into a coughing fit and caused him stumble back a few steps. The pain brought him back to reality. The pain seemed to warp his shame into anger. For a moment, the bear stood swinging his head in distress.

"You mock me..," he started softly, seeming not to hear the gryphons snappy surrender. "You mock me with the death of my FAMILY!" Snowberry bellowed the final word before charging. He wanted to knock the wind out of this creature. He wanted to beat him to a pulp.

Round 2/5
Attempt: Chaaarrrgee! Knock him down!
Defenses://
Injuries: Good Ol' sore throat

@eythan

The bear had paused for just long enough to allow a pretty clear opening for Eythan's incoming throat-kick. As Snowberry hacked up a lung, the gryphon quickly spun onto his stomach and pushed up. He squared off, ears back and head lowered. His tail swayed side to side, testing out the lay of the rocks behind him before he began to shuffle backward. If I can just get to some fucking open ground--- oh shit, is that a fucking SPLEEN?! His paw had squelched in some sort of organ, slicking it over with blood and scattering half-rotten juices across the wall. That's fucking disgusting.

Anyways, so trying to surrender seemed like a mistake on the surface. Eythan would remain on the defensive, though. Bright eyes scanned around for some sort of stairway to climb on before the wrecking ball of a bear got to him and flung him around like a ragdoll. Before he knew it, he was clambering up some moss-covered stones. This cave's so fuckin' narrow--- wait! Critical thinking! he can't turn around easily, and I...

Well, here's to hoping--- the gryphon paused for a moment, if only to spring into the air and, hopefully, land on the enormous bear's back with talons holding on for dear life.

ROUND 2/5
Attempt: Get on that back and hold the fuck on!
Defenses: Ears back, wings tucked to side.
Injuries: Bruising on the back, probably.

@Snowberry

Being in such a narrow space did not allow for the polar bear to pick up much speed. But his large, lumbering steps allowed him to cover what litter ground there was with relative ease. His massive paws flung the debris of the cave floor about as he came close to bowling over the gryphon. Snowberry had lowered his head, ready to fling that creature into the air.

But instead, his head hit some moss covered stone. It didn't hurt all that bad, but it pissed him off. He swung his head up to see if the gembound had climbed the wall again only to feel something land on his broad back. There was a stinging feeling where the smaller gembound was clinging to his skin.

Snowberry let out a frustrated growl. He couldn't even turn his head fully to try and snap at his opponent. The tunnel was far too narrow. If he turned around on all fours he might end up wedging himself between the walls. But... he could go up.

With a low grunt, the polar bear rose to back paws once again. This time, however, he did not stop when he reached full height. Instead, he decided to fall backward. Hopefully right on top of the trespasser.

Round 3/5
Attempt: Squish him with that polar bear thiccness
Defenses: //
Injuries: Self inflicted headache, bleeding a bit where Eythan is holding on

"C'mon, dude, I don't want to hurt you if I don't have t---WOAGH!" The massive lump beneath him began to shift, and the world seemed to spin on its axis; that was a tell-tale sign of an imminent squashing. If his match with Sergei was any indication, Eythan did not cope well with bears pinning him down. Despite the warm, wet feeling where his talons had unintentionally gone into Snowberry's back, the gryphon steeled himself. At the last possible moment, he sprung off of the bear.

Ears back, Eythan didn't even bother to check back and see if the bloodberry was on his back or not. He was absolutely hell-bent on escape. Tail high over his back (hopefully not dragging behind him like a dangerous flag) the gryphon bolted down the narrow tunnel, taking any and all higher paths available to him.

ROUND 3/5
Attempt: Trying to run away!
Defenses: Ears back, wings tucked to side.
Injuries: Bruising on the back, probably.

@Snowberry