Perhaps if her chrysalis had been left under the rubble, Blackberry would not have come out looking as good as she did. Her body would have not healed right, she would have been broken and twisted and in much worse condition. But thanks to Wilder and Aure, her gem had been able to change into a proper position during her time of healing so when it mercilessly dumped her onto the ground, she came out looking pretty similar to how she had looked before. Still with scars and burn marks, no new tail, but in tact and still resembling a goose.

She collapsed onto the ground, breathing hard, her eyes wide with shock. And strangled honk came from her throat and she scrambled back, confused and terrified. Just a moment ago she had been in her little cave and Pride and Envy had been standing before her. A spire of crystal was impaled through her gut, her feathers had been torn to pieces, and the cave was collapsing around her. For a second, she thought she was choking on the dust and her own blood, but then reality made its way through and she finally realized that she was inside a massive cave and the sound of the waves was hitting her ear, instead of her own screams.

She was confused. She'd never been in this cave before. She didn't know how she'd gotten here. Was she dead? Was this the afterlife? She glanced back at the shards of the chrysalis that she'd left behind. Perhaps when you died, you hatched again in a different world. Or someone had moved her here. Perhaps Wilder had. She didn't quite believe that this was the afterlife, though, because something still hurt. Or, at least, it was sore. Her wings. She opened them up to stretch them out but stopped when pain and soreness ran through her muscles.

She looked back at her wings. They look fine - the feathers had been regrown and the broken bones and skin had healed. But...she couldn't open them. Not all the way at least. She gritted her teeth and tried to force them to open. It was slow, painful work and her wings trembled all the way through the excruciating exercise but she finally managed to get them to the limit of their stretch and it was only halfway open, at least from what she was used to before. Dread settled in her stomach. The loss of the tail had been one thing, but her wings were something else. It was akin to losing her legs - like she couldn't move and couldn't do thing anymore.

She collapsed into the sand, shocked at this revelation. This wasn't the afterlife. She was still alive. Back to the terrible life she had made for herself for cycles upon cycles.

After the wrestling competition, Imperia decided they needed to go somewhere else. Somewhere that isn't Polaris. So they picked a tunnel and walked. And walked. And walked.

Until they'd gone through multiple tunnels and suddenly found themselves in a cave they couldn't recall having ever been in before. They were a little wary of the area due to the copious amounts of water. But they figured as long as they stayed clear away from it, they'd be fine. Or they could just leave. But something made them stay here. They didn't know what it was. Curiosity, perhaps?

At the sound of something nearby, they paused. What was that? A strangled sound, but they couldn't quite place it. Was someone here? It sounded like they were in pain. Looking around, it didn't take long to find them. A creature, scarred, with the shards of a chrysalis nearby. Looking at the creature, they couldn't even place what it was.

Slowly, they walked closer and watched as it tried to open wings only to fail. They paused a distance away, eyes narrowed. As she collapsed, they frowned. What had even happened to her? No longer able to take not knowing about any of this, they spoke up.

"Who are you?"

Speech Thought

@Blackberry

At the sound of the voice, Blackberry flinched and looked over. A cat was standing nearby. Not Wilder, this one was far too big and not covered with pitch-black fur. Tufts on the ears, a serious expression on its face...

She hissed and jerked to her feet, stumbling back from the cat, the teeth on her chest flexing in warning. Her sore wings opened just a little bit, as if she were ready to take flight, although the cat had already seen that that was impossible. What if they were here to kill her? Did Pride send them? Or Envy? Or someone else that knew where she was? Did they send her here so that she couldn't escape and kill her properly once she was out of her chrysalis?

It occurred to her, through this haze of panic, that the cat had actually asked who she was. That they didn't already know. She blinked, although her heart still pumped adrenaline into her system. She was surprised that there were still creatures left in the caves that didn't know her name or didn't know about the Terror Goose. She had done quite a good job spreading that name.

She wasn't going to say it, though. Not yet. Because if she did, then she would most likely die. Her beak clacked with agitation. "The better question is who are you? And what do you want?"

@Imperia

Imperia watched calmly as the creature hissed and got onto her feet. Their eyes remained narrowed, especially as they watched the teeth on her chest flex. What in the caves was this thing? It was unlike anything they'd ever seen before.

Some time passed before it spoke, though she still didn't answer their questions. They flicked an ear before, calm as ever, bringing a paw up to lick it. Their tongue grazed over their permanently burnt paw, though they paid it little attention. "I believe I asked you first." A pause. "But, if you must know...I am Imperia. Wrestling champion of the caves." Another pause before they scowled and, reluctantly, added, "Former...champion."

They were still incredibly upset they had lost. Still, even if they didn't hold that title anymore, they once did. And, looking over this creature with her scars, they wondered how she'd take it.

Speech Thought

@Blackberry

Her red eyes narrowed at the cat at their strange way of introducing themselves. Wrestling champion? What the fuck was that supposed to mean? She didn't know about the Olympics, she didn't know about the wrestling competition, and she certainly didn't care if this cat had once held the title of champion. The only thing she cared about was what they were doing here. And if they were here to kill her.

"I don't give a shit about your dumb titles. What are you doing here? Did someone send you?" Dumb question, though, since she remembered, again, that they had asked her first who she was. Her beak snapped and she took a step back. "Actually, just tell me this. Are you affiliated with anyone? The Sinful Seven, perhaps, or the Kingdom of Eridanus?" She avoided saying Pride or Envy's name directly - if this creature ended up being a friend of theirs, it would be all to easy for them to tell them that they had met her. Even if she didn't say her name, she doubted there were any other geese in the caves that looked quite like her.

@Imperia

Imperia scowled at the creature's reaction. Dumb titles? They weren't dumb! They opened their mouth to defend them, only to stop as the creature continued. They began to frown, then. Sinful Seven? Kingdom of Eridanus? They'd...well, they'd heard of them. In passing, just little snippets. They'd also heard Envy was leader of the Sinful Seven, which they couldn't believe. How could that little weasel be leader?

Looking at this creature now, they wondered what she had done. Were the groups after her? They stared for a moment longer before speaking. "I'm not affiliated with anyone. I walk alone. It's all I need and...all I've ever needed." They scowled again, thinking of Aaliyah.

"I don't know who you are. No one sent me here." They paused. "I'm not going to kill you."

Speech Thought

@Blackberry

She didn't stop scowling at Imperia, even when he claimed not to be affiliated with anyone. She wasn't quite sure if she believed him, but it was only out of her fear and the sudden shock of waking up again. For a moment she stood there in her same braced position before she forced herself to relax just a little bit.

She let go of the breath she'd been holding and put her wings back firmly against her side, the teeth on her stomach closing once again. "Fine, then. I guess I believe you for now." It was a dangerous risk she was taking, but she was too tired and too overwhelmed to argue it anymore. But now was the dilemma of if she should even tell Imperia who she was. Even if he wasn't affiliated with Pride and Envy or the Kingdom of Eridanus, he could still have some hatred towards her and her family. She needed things to calm down before she stuck her head and neck out again.

If only she had that useful spell that allowed her to look into minds. She wasn't really a magic user, she had mostly despised it during her life, but she couldn't help but see its uses. She observed the cat up and down, trying to get a good reading from him but she was horrible at communication skills. "Sorry for being so paranoid. It's been rough." It was all she could really say without giving anything away.

@Imperia

Imperia watched as the creature slowly, barely, began to relax. The teeth closed, her wings were placed back against her side. They continued to observe, trying to figure out if they'd ever heard of a creature like this before.

A memory resurfaced, faint. They had been passing somewhere when they heard something. Heard about a mutated goose, leading a family and teaching them to fight and to kill. Was this the same goose? They hadn't stayed long enough to get all the details, but surely this was the same goose. It had to be.

As she spoke, he flicked an ear, then shrugged. "It's fine. I do have to admit, though..." He'd have to be careful about this. "I have heard of you. Nothing much, but I've heard at least some of what you've done. And before you get defensive, relax. I hold no ill will toward you or your family. In fact..." At this, they paused, still observing the goose. "I'm impressed. You managed to do what I never could."

Speech Thought

@Blackberry

Perhaps it was because of all the misfortune she had faced, both from outside forces, and directly from her own horrible choices, but Blackberry wanted to believe someone wasn't there to hurt her. Blackberry wanted the reassurance that this creature was telling the truth. But as soon as the paused, her defenses were slammed right back up. She stepped back, the feathers on her neck raising and the teeth twitching again. "I don't know what you're talking about," she hissed, quite unconvincingly.

She expected, then, for them to attack. For revenge, or something. Or perhaps to bring her head back to Pride. Or just to rid the caves of another evildoer. She had to fight again. The thought made her stomach churn and she shivered, but she readied her claws and moved into a defensive stance.

But they pulled the rug out from under her. She didn't move from her state, only tilted her head, a little confused. "Uh, what? Impressed?" For a moment she forgot that she was trying to stay under the radar, that she couldn't reveal that she was, in fact, the goose they knew about. "How is what I've done impressive? You know I've murdered, like, seven people. I manipulated children from hatching to fight and die for me. I broke the minds of my own children. That's impressive to you?"

@Imperia

The goose was immediately defensive, though Imperia hadn't really expected any different. They watched, calm, as she got into a defensive position, those odd claws moving back out. Still, they didn't move.

But as she tilted her head and spoke, they shifted a little. "Yes, impressed." And they were. Somehow, this...this goose had done what they'd always tried to do. And was far more successful than they were. But as she continued speaking, their eyes narrowed. Well, if one put it that way...

"I did the same thing. I murdered - only one, though I've certainly fought others and gravely injured at least a few - and revived the stone from it. And then I raised my daughter to fight and kill. I forced her to kill, but she despised every second of it." They paused, briefly. "And then she left me. We fought - I won - but still she left. Said she couldn't take it anymore. Later, I saw her again, saw she had adopted a weak weasel. What made her think she could raise someone, I'll never know. Haven't seen her since, and I don't plan to."

Speech Thought

@Blackberry