Comet was about to respond to Jotun when her nose caught the scent of something... fruity? There were no plants in this area. Then her ear heard heavy footsteps, the sound of something big.

"WHO GOES THERE?" The voice thundered through the small tunnel. Comet almost didn't want to open her eyes, but she did, and the sight was horrifying. It was like a dragon with a bunch of extra body parts squished onto it, and everything was... HUGE. The pup started shaking in terror. She had thought that Jotun was big, but compared to this beast, they were nothing.

Really the only thing funny about to situation was that it chose the color of dark green with blue spots. If it was trying to be threatening by doing that, it didn't work very well. She would've laughed if they weren't so big and scary looking.

But despite all this, Comet forced her legs to march her in front of Jotun, where she took a defensive stance. "Comet! And-- and-- go away!" she wanted to avoid a fight. There was absolutely no way she was winning against that thing if it came down to it.

@Jotun

Jotun.

---

The voice erupted from where the heat spawned from, catching both gembounds by surprise. Jotun forgot all about the conversation at hand - turning their full attention towards the oncoming force.

Comet said something but it didn't register in the dragon's head; when they moved to stand defensively between Jotun and whatever the thing was, Jotun felt a pang of worry. Comet was too small! Whatever this thing was, it was huge! This was no place for small beasts!

The monster that came upon them was grotesque and yet, Jotun could not take their eyes off of them. Two massive heads, so many limbs, a shimmering hide that transitioned to a bizarre pattern - and their size! Jotun thought she had grown so big in her sleep but this thing was longer, more muscular.

More importantly the beast did not seem very welcoming.

Jotun would not waste any time. She turned her body and side-stepped around where Comet stood bristling, raising up on her hind limbs so that she could appear intimidating to the giant mess of a monster.

---

@Khavur

To Khavur's surprise, the question was met with a... tiny answer. And an uninformed answer. It only caught a peep of the itty bitty fluffball before the draconic beast it spoke to moved to block Khavur's vision. "Comet..." the small-horned head said, as if it were about to put that name in a full sentence, but somehow missed the chance.

The other head boomed again, "THIS is the territory of the SENTINELS OF THE SANDS, COMET. WHY are you HERE?" The large-horned head leered at the standing reptilian ursine. Somehow, the Reaver could not bring itself to be frightened. If anything, seeing the beast, now taller than itself, rise in such a way... if anything, that made Khavur excited.

'YESSSSSSS,' something hissed in the back of Khavur's mind. It twitched. It did not like this voice, it did not want it here. 'SSSSSSSTRE-- no. no! YOU CAN'T AVOID--' Khavur blinked both sets of eyes simultaneously, shook its smaller-horned head. The large-horned head maintained the glare at the icy ursine. "WELL?" Khavur wasn't the type to fight without a reason USUALLY. It figured that, since this titan here was acting to defensive of the puffball, they probably needed a reason to battle as well.

'IS THAT-- i said be silent.' The voice was hushed. Khavur waited.

@Comet

Comet had a feeling that no matter how much she tried to explain why they were here, the monster would not listen. And Sentinels of the Sands... what was that? She had not heard of that name before, but it didn't sound good. If this huge creature was part of their group she didn't want to think about what another monstrosities might be there too.

The pup stuck out her head around Jotun. "You don't own this place! We can be here if we want!" she announced. The caves belonged to everyone, and no place should be the territory of a certain group. She looked at Jotun.

@Jotun

Jotun.

---

The sound of the stranger's demanding voice made her want to curl up and hide, but she couldn't do that. Not while Comet was here and possibly in danger. The little gembound had helped her, and now it was Jotun's turn to repay that favor.

Comet had a point, but it wasn't a strong enough one to alleviate the growing tension. Whatever this creature wanted they were probably used to getting it, being such a formidable specimen; any argument against their claim would lead to further problems, and that meant Comet was putting herself at greater risk. That woman had no fear at all!

"I woke up here," Jotun states. Perhaps if this was an older beast they would understand how such a thing was out of her control - nobody could choose where they woke when their hibernation was over. When Jotun had tucked in for her sleep there hadn't been anyone to stop her, but things changed rapidly in the melting pot that was their home.

"Leave us be, creature!" She did not want to turn them away but the hostility emanating from their every inch made her very nervous. The last thing Jotun wanted was a brawl, as that would put them all at great risk. It would be best to run but that thought did not cross her mind.

---

@Khavur

The small one said they, the Sentinels of the Sands, did not own the caves. The way that little puffball poked its tiny head out from behind its massive guardian was almost... comical. The guardian, the ursine -- similar to that rock creature they'd fought after... the arrival -- had woken up here. Those were their reasons for pleading for their privacy. For their permission to exist.

'EXCUSES-- //#// implore //#/#/#// to be quiet-- //#/#// ARE NOT //#/#/#/#/#/#// ENOUGH TO HANDLE THIS. what?'

"I CANNOT LET YOU STAY."

'WHAT? repeat that.'

"IF you OBJECT, then FIGHT me."

'WHAT ARE //#/#// DOING? experimenting. since //#// want to do that. WHO--? silence.'

Khavur began striding forward again, inching closer and closer, quickening in pace. Its noses began to twitch again. Hostility filled the air like smoke, choking out sensibility. Khavur looked at the ground around this group as it came forth. 'they will show.' Fragments of glass shot up from the ground, racing ahead of Khavur, towards the pair. No shard was intended to touch or pierce their skin, but Khavur's control of the spell was flimsy. The glass itself was weaker, more slender, duller than it should be. If one had strayed from the path Khavur had set for it, there was nothing the beast could do about it.

@Comet @Jotun (Kaiju Battle: Begin??)

Comet wanted to avoid a fight, but she wasn't going to let this monster stay here and dominate this tunnel forever. She had to be the one to step up! Tensing as the they started to stride forward, she could feel the pressure in the air.

Suddenly, she watched as dull shards of glass shot up from the ground, a row of the glass headed around them. It was not intended to hit, but to threaten. They messed with the wrong wolf. Comet looked around, area was too dry, not a good environment for her magic. But what if--? If you made the area wet, it would be slippery and hard to move around.

@Jotun

Starting battle as pupil!
Round: 1
Attempt: Rainfall to make area wet and slippery
Defense: None
Injuries: None

Jotun.

---

The monster's voice thundered around them and before Jotun could do anything the ground lurched, and out of the verticies of the terrain sprouted sharp teeth; they weren't really teeth but in that spastic second that was the only comparison Jotun could make. They came at her from all sides and effectively forced her to stand very still lest she be caught upon them.

Her new friend was not going to stand idly by while this loud and beastly thing attacked. Much as Jotun wanted to step in and stop Comet for her own good, the dragon was afraid that their flesh would be punctured by the glass.

The warmth spawned from the nearby entrance to Hydra fluctuated so abruptly that Jotun could not help but gasp, tasting a minerality in the air that was not previously present. It was the smell of the dirt calling to the rain, but this dry corridor had likely not seen water in some time. In the next instant Jotun felt something land on her snout, then her cheek, then everywhere, as the rain happened.

It was cold and Jotun did not like the cold, even if it was meant to be useful somehow. She did not like feeling trapped by the glass either. How could she protect her new friend if she couldn't even move freely? A momentary panic coursed through the dragon as they realized the seriousness of their predicament and that, in turn, cascaded through the flare of her adrenaline. The energy travelled in to her stone and once there, something happened: an eruption of her own magic.

The energy burst from her as a single pulse that should have been strong enough to shatter the sharp things pointed at her; it should have pushed Comet back along the corridor, and the monster away. Instead the pulse hit the nearest glassy surface situated at a dangerous slant near her throat, and fizzled out.

---

@Khavur

Combat (Fledgling level.)
Round 1
Attack: Dispel (Failed).
Defence: None.
Injuries: None.

Khavur was quite surprised when, in the first act of this show, it was revealed that the little puffball seemed to know the world of combat better than the titan that guarded them. Curious. Well, perhaps that was a hasty judgement. It didn't feel like it, in the present moment, however, because that puffball had just made this dry tunnel wet while its so-called guardian stood there like a decoy, or a mannequin. This changed things; added to the complications of the environment. Khavur momentarily wished that it could retract the glass shard it was generated all around, because those mixed with the slipperiness of the ground would make moving quite a risk.

Perhaps it could work with that though? Khavur was pretty weird about pain. As in, weirdly unfeeling of it. If it was hard for the Reaver to move without getting hurt, it had to be hard for the guardian and the puffball, and they probably actually felt pain. Khavur didn't know what else the puffball could do, so perhaps that should be there first target. In which case, Khavur ought to either take down or get around the totem ursine first, right? Khavur was too big for anything but a take down.

Alternatively, Khavur could keep leaning into its fallible magic. Keep pushing it, making the terrain impossible to move across, perhaps drive them closer... If it trapped them in an arena, the only way to fight would be through magic. 'no, we must test it ALL.' So scratch this option, Khavur supposed.

The Reaver attempted to rush forward, seeming to ignore most of the glass below, lowering its heads and bringing them closer together to act as one giant set of horns to ram straight into the ursine.

Except its heads would move together far, FAR too quickly and the impact would cause the beast to lose its balance as it tried to move forward. It would stumble and fall into its own pool of glass shards.

Level: Fledgeling
Round: 1/5
Attempt: Ram into Jotun with TWO sets of big ol' horns ;3c Nevermind just Die I guess
Defense: Absolutely not; knocked prone
Injuries: Cuts all over its undersides from falling into its own fieldspurs (Khavur can barely feel them).

@Comet

Comet stood very still, and looked over to see the bear hybrid attempt to cast a spell. The small spark of energy was weak though, and fizzled out when it hit a chunk of glass. Oh well, at least the rain was working.

Her fur was drenched now, and the arena was now covered in puddles, where a single slip could mean severing an artery. Wait a minute... she looked at her ally, and her opponent. They both had armor like scales! And she had... fur. How unlucky of her.

The realization hit her that this was a battle of two giants and she was-- a dead weight. Not powerful enough for this fight, and vulnerable. Why was she even here? Someone else might say that Comet might've been going a bit too hard on herself, but she didn't see it that way. But no! Even if it meant injury, she would be protecting her friend.

Her eyes caught the huge monster make a move. They were really going to, in this slick and glass filled environment? Not a bright idea. Comet watched him rush forward, not even flinching in pain. It was as if the glass were nothing. Luckily they seemed to be rushing forward to fast, and they fell and impaled itself on its own shards of glass. But that... didn't seem to effect them.

This was her chance to do something! What could she do? There was water everywhere, so no need to get more. Oh yes! She could freeze it.

@Jotun

Round: 2/5
Attempt: Freeze ice around Khavur
Defense: None
Injuries: None