There weren't very many positions in which Sora felt vulnerable. Once, her blind side had been one of them -- now, with her whiskers and fancy new ears, she had no reason to be skittish. The other was much more instinctual -- with her belly exposed to an enemy. Not that Morganite was exactly an enemy, but-- kill it, protect yourself, you know how! fight back fight back fight fight fight and while she ignored the bulk of that, the awkward stumbling-over stammering of the voice in her head, she did kick out at Morganite's laughing face.


Round: 5/?
Attempt: Get OFF of me
Defense: Like... -1
Injuries: On the ground?? Prolly a lil battered :(

Morgan saw a flash of hooves and then her teeth were knocking into each other painfully, head snapping up as Sora's hooves hit. She squealed and shied away, before shaking her head and glaring at Sora. Not a face hit, but it was cutting it close.

She darted forward and tried to shove her bulk on top of Sora, to pin her down long enough for the other to tap out. Slipping a bit, she managed to flop on top of her, her great weight on top of the smaller hopefully enough to pin her down and keep her down.

She was totally not getting revenge for the cheap shot, no.

@Sora

Round: 5/?
Attempt: Pin down.
Defense: N/A
Injuries: Shoulder bruise, heavily bruised jaw.

The weight of Morganite on top of her was on the brink of comforting and straining dangerously into terrifying. She wanted to get out of this pin, and started doing her best to writhe away -- Sora tried to take advantage of her sister's weak points to worm out of Morgan's pin and regain her footing.


@morganite

Round: 6/?
Attempt: Escape -- maybe hurting Morgan in the process?
Defense: N/A
Injuries: Bruised body, being smothered

Morgan snarled as another hit got her to back off, her breath knocked out of her. She shook her head, pissed that she'd so far gotten the most amount of hits. She darted forward and charged at Sora, crying out savagely.

"STAY DOWN GOD DAMN IT!" she yelled.

This time fared better, and she slammed her arms down on either side of Sora, pinning her down. She wasn't letting up, not again.

Not when letting up meant they all died.

@Sora

Round: 6/?
Attempt: Pin down.
Defense: N/A
Injuries: Shoulder bruise, heavily bruised jaw, winded.

"Need a break, Morg?" she half-teased, winded herself. Sora saw Morganite coming a mile away, and didn't rush up to meet her. Instead, she took a half-step to the side, aiming to face the worst of the attack head-on but stay firmly on her feet. The other Gembound hit her hard, but Sora just barely managed to stay up -- being steady was crucial in a fight like this one, where both parties were so fond of bludgeoning each other until they stayed down.


Round: 7/?
Attempt: Stay on your feet!
Defense: Blocking
Injuries: Bruised body, smothered, lightly bruised some more


@morganite

Morgan snarled, tears in her eyes as she went in for the kill.

They died because you weren't strong enough.

Her fists slammed down as hard as she could, pounding onto Sora's fur as she suddenly let out a wail and burst into tears, sobs wracking her frame.

"H-how can you be like this? H-how can you be strong- after everything that happened?" she said, voice rough, "Why aren't you broken like I am?!"

@Sora

Round: 7/?
Attempt: Bruise
Defense: N/A
Injuries: Shoulder bruise, heavily bruised jaw, winded.

She grunted and tried to avoid the attack again -- something had unhinged in Morgan, and it made Sora stutter. "Shit!" she swore, stumbling back as the hybrid slammed into her. Then, her sister seemed to shatter, and Sora crumpled like wet paper. Everything seemed to stand still for a beat. "What? Wait-- tap." Sora took a step towards Morganite, touching her gently (and then, if pulled away from, more insistently).

"As politely as possible, Morg, get your head out of your ass." Never accuse her of being anything other than blunt. "We're all broken. Every one of us. Just 'cause I'm putting on a brave face for everyone else doesn't mean I'm not falling apart." Sora wondered, briefly, how much she should tell Morganite -- and then realized that keeping secrets was stupid. They were siblings, after all. Before the trial, they'd all known every detail of each others's existences. "Stepping into Kini's place is hard, Morgan. Nobody wants me to replace them except them. Just 'cause I'm here doesn't mean I can do it right." She swallowed hard. "I've been hearing a voice in my head, since we woke up afterwards. It sounds just like him. Tells me the most awful things, and I keep worrying that one day I might think its right and do something terrible. I can't look at my reflection anymore -- I look wrong. I'm not me anymore, not really. I'm a monster created by his hand and then I start thinking, was I ever really more than that? My body isn't my own. It never has been." Steely anger settled in her jaw.

"I don't think I've rested since we came here. I've been constantly watching the entrance. Watching the Sentinels. Watching the rest of you. You're not alone in this, Morganite. We're all struggling, we just all handle it in different ways."

@morganite

> Sora taps out!

Morgan sank into Sora's touch, chest heaving as her ear flicked, the only sign she was listening as she sat down hard and wheezed, falling apart finally.

"I can't be K-Kini and me at the same time- I can't bear to see Punpkin leave... The others are counting on us but... I-I can't stop seeing his little face, all he could have lived for. I-I failed him," she whispered.

Simon. She'd been attached, more than as a sibling. She was basically his mom, and it hurt seeing him run into the darkness, with two of her brethren to run after him. He meant more to the group than anyone had realized until that momnt, until the point that they started being massacred.

"... We have to leave," she said, "It's doing us no good to stay here in Canis, as hospitable as the Bonebound have been. W-we... we need to-"

Tears overwhelmed her as she sobbed quietly, putting her paws over her face, "I-I hate them! The Sentinels- the Merchant- they could have helped! They could have saved them- saved us!"

@Sora

Sora leaned against her, nosing into Morganite's fur. "I know. That's why Kini wanted me to help you. They knew you'd need help." Then, she sighed, considering Pumpkin. He'd always been adjacent to the group -- clashed with Kini-yolotl, and now craved his freedom. "... Yeah," Sora said quietly. "I hate knowing he's out there, and that I can't protect him. But we have to let him go. If we try to hold him down, how are we different from the Merchant? We've all been told who we are and where we go and why we were made for too long. He deserves a chance to forge his own destiny and rise above all that."

Unusually profound, at least for Sora. Still, she nodded at Morganite's assertion that they needed to leave. "I agree. The Bonebound are nice and all, but they're not our family. We need to stick together." The hog looked up, mostly just because staring down into Morganite's newly inky-black fur was making her increasingly upset.

"Remember how much Simon wanted to see the trees?" she finally asked, voice strained. "I think we should go find some. I'm sure there has to be a grove down here somewhere. We can... go together. There's a whole world to explore, after all."

@morganite

"We'll go see all the trees, for him, for everyone," she said softly, and pressed into Sora, snuggling into her fur and gently slinging an arm around her.

"... Don't leave me," she said, tears welling up again, "Promise. Please."

The second they were there in the tree-cave (Eridanus, one of the Bonebound had said), she'd build them a den. Big enough for even Ifrit. She'd build a den and a hut if she had to, so her family could stay as close together as possible.

"I love you," she choked out, and suddenly wished she hadn't been cursed with the darkness that had taken her family, dyeing her fur black.

@Sora