strong language

Vedette turned to see Vargas, just in time for Vjira's head to completely miss her wings. She looked at Vargas, then at Vjira, and looked at Vargas again with a disappointed expression.

"Hey I think it's broken," she said blatantly, and turned to try and get the stupid thing to calm down.

But since Vargas was sitting there uselessly, she was gonna take matters into her own hands- paws- thumbed appendages. She stamped her feet and puffed up as much as she could, hissing and spitting as she arched her back like a cat, running towards Vjira as her magic finally did what it was told.

"SUBMIT MOTHERFUCKER!", she shrieked, "LAY DOWN. LAY THE FUCK DOWN- YOU DON'T KNOW WORDS?? LAY. DOWN. FUCK ASS. THAT SIMPLE ENOUGH FOR YOU SHIT-FOR-BRAINS?!!"

@Vargas @Vjira
Round: 4/5
Attempt: Force her to submit
Defense: Covered in venomous quills like all over, good luck not getting pricked if you do hit her, loser
Injuries: Half-blind

- THE LEVIATHAN -

He watched for a moment longer before stepping forward, his stride elegant: two steps, then a pause, standing there in hulking, looming form. His voice came calm, almost refined, his toxic eyes travelling over the interesting new creation and the surprisingly-effective Agate.

Both pleased him.

"Enough," he told them--no boom in his voice, tone matter-of-fact and little more. "Agate, you surprise me with your skill." And as always, credit where it was due, the acknowledgment and faint admiration in his tone genuine. "Vjira. The Mirage. Peace," he told her, "for the moment. You are my creation, and that of the master Astraea. I am Master Vargas. You are to serve the Chaos Forge, the Black Spire, the Creator and His needs." Then he paused, giving them a moment--he expected them to lash out, one final finish to their skirmish, as they hopefully broke it off.

"I imagine you both have questions," he offered, lowering himself to sit.

Toxic eyes again travelled over the two.

One small, bristling, surprisingly tough and loud (and her snarling attitude brought him hidden mirth, this time); one a vision of poisonous beauty. He liked that. Deadly grace, like a carnivorous flower. She had come out... correct.

@Vjira

Vjira went to swipe again, but instead, she had the sudden want to lie down. That was kind of weird, wasnt it? The thing in front of her was still screaming bloody murder and she still wanted to eat it, but she also kind of wanted to not at the same time. Instead of actually swiping back, the valkhound was sent to their haunches, sitting down. The big one was close this time, making funny sounds. Not like the other one though, not angry.

Her attention was still on the tiny one that would be delicious if she could eat it, though. The colors weren't going off anymore either.

Round: 5/5
Attempt: Nothing :')
Defense: None
Injuries: Half blind

@Vedette [I kept the round numbers in just in case idk]

strong language

Vedette was panting, both from exertion and from the adrenaline pumping. She leapt forward to smack at Vjira's paw one last time, just to drive it home.

She leapt away again and wiped her face free of sweat, looking at Vargas, nostrils flaring, "I beat her. I made her submit, I-I'm better than her, grape-face. You see? I beat one of your oh-so-powerful Valkhounds!"

She gritted her teeth and sniffed, ears pinning. She glared at Vargas, but her hate wasn't as potent, dulled by the pride in her chest, making it puff out. She'd won, she'd claimed her victory.

"I beat her," she said, "I beat her! She's supposed to be one of your great creations, right? Well... if I beat her, then that means I'm better than her! So if she gets a name, then I get a name too! Don't call me Agate anymore. I'm Vedette. It means 'scout', like the one who had my gem before. Twobutt told me."

Her last words echoed, both in her mind (though it was Twobutt's voice, layered by the whispers of chaos in her head) and as a gentle mumble under her breath.

"MY NAME IS SCOUT!!! REMEMBER ME, AND FAREWELL THUNDERCUNTS!!!"

What an exit, Vedette thought, and was immensely glad she had such a predecessor. Much better than Vargas. She felt worthy of the stone on her back, spiky and red, like blood-covered quills. Being named after her surely would make the Master have an anerysm.

"... Why'd you even make me?", she asked after a moment, "You despise me. If you can make something like Vagina-face, then why not make me as docile as Sentinel? Why the fuck did you let me come out an asshole?"

@Vargas

Round: 5/5
Attempt: One last smack, just because
Defense: Covered in venomous quills like all over, good luck not getting pricked if you do hit her
Injuries: Half-blind

Character: Vjira Age: +1 (1 Cycle) Magic Level: +1 (Fledgling) ROUND 1 Attempt: +2 Penalties: -0 ROUND 2 Attempt: +3 Penalties: -0 ROUND 3 Attempt: +5 Penalties: -0 ROUND 4 Attempt: +2 Penalties: -0 ROUND 5 Attempt: +2 Penalties: -0 Total: 16

Character: Vedette Age: +1 (1 Cycle) Magic Level: +1 (Fledgling) ROUND 1 Attempt: +2 Penalties: -0 ROUND 2 Attempt: +17 Penalties: -0 ROUND 3 Attempt: +4 Penalties: -0 ROUND 4 Attempt: +9 Penalties: -0 ROUND 5 Attempt: +8 Penalties: -0 Total: 42

WINNER: Vedette

@Vedette @Vjira

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

violence

(and hitting a kid... again)

- THE LEVIATHAN -

"Grape-face."

Agate got that far before Vargas was ramming a fist downward--an instinct and one that would have crushed its skull. Instead he switched, almost with irritation, to a backhand.

It might still break one jaw, if it connected, but fuck it; the Agate had two. At least it would stop talking.

"ENOUGH," he boomed. "Be SILENT, Agate-One, and BE STILL. You overstep yourself and I have no compunctions about destroying and remaking you more obedient, if that is what you wish."

This was said with rage in his face. He was quite done with this one's attitude; he'd never put up with it to begin with and her repeated pushing of his tolerance was... intolerable. He would, had she not been yammering so mindlessly, have answered her questions--but not now. No; this one would have to learn respect.

Then he turned to Vjira. "You, then. You stopped. That is good. We are the Chaos Forge--not this one, here, this one is a sample to be handed off to our Lord. But you are a good design, and you will fight with us. You were called Vjira, and it seems that you came out just as intended. Tell me; can you speak?" he asked, studying it closely.

@Vedette

Vjira couldn't understand what the prickly one was saying, but there wasn't any more yelling, so the valkhound didn't swipe again. The fluffy purple valkhound did stand back up, though, and looked at Vargas as he yelled, leaning back with a hiss almost like a cat. It was more... rumbly, and weird, but close enough. Her tail was whipped out straight behind her. Her teeth were bared but they.... Always were bared, really. No lips here.

Vargas turned to her, and she fully expected to get smacked and another fight to break out. Vjira pawed at him with her claws, really, giving an experimental 'tap' that really was just a touch to see how he would react. Words be damned this thing didn't know what those were, and certainly wouldn't be learning. She was far more focused on her brain saying that this was parent, or whatever the instinct comparison to the word would be.

@Vedette

violence

Vedette saw the hand coming and it was all she could do to try and scramble away. Her eyes widened and she barely managed to inhaled before her vision white out, a crack echoing in her ears. She flew a few feet and tumbled, landing in a heap on the ground, her head limp.

Had Vargas killed it?

Not quite. She shakily got to her feet, her head scrambled but nothing broken, thankfully. She'd have a massive headache and bruising for a few days, maybe a week, but she'd heal on her own if Twobutt didn't intervene.

’"Enough," he told them--no boom in his voice, tone matter-of-fact and little more. "Agate, you surprise me with your skill."’

Empty compliments, she thought. He couldn't mean them. She deserved a name, freedom to leave and come back as she desired, like Draconua did. She'd been fucking nice, not biting anyone, her nicknames going from 'asshole' and 'dickhead' to 'grape' and 'twobutt'. Vargas didn't know how awful it was to try and contain her chaos. To try and temper it to try and catch a glimpse of something... only to have it dashed to pieces and be beaten.

She was a child, and like a child, she did what one would expect. She burst into tears, her lip split open and her eye swelling shut as the bruising got worse. She got up and fled, head down, wings tucked in, sobbing her little heart out as she made her way back to her caretaker to curl up and hopefully die.

Not like Vargas didn't want that anyway. What a pitiful existence she lived, being torn in two, demanded to calm the raging emotions within while her very nature, the chaos that made her blood run black demanding that she didn't.

@Vargas
Exit Vedette unless stopped

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Had he been able to read the Agate's thoughts, he might have been surprised. "Empty compliments?" No, he meant every word; what a strange thing to assume that he would only mean the negative things, and never the positive. What did that say of the creature interpreting him? -Ah, but she was of his design; would that not be his own failure? ...No, in fact; it would be Dhracia's, for choosing to bring the little shit back into the world as-is, as the malignant and aggressive narcissist she had been before, already. And her inner metric for "being good" was certainly a skewed mess.

But she was crying, like a child, and of all the things she could have done that startled Vargas the most. He had been certain that she had no real emotion bar hatred--that she was a true child of Chaos. She hadn't ever shown anything to any other creatures, certainly, despite Chaos-Two's attempts. And he was pleased by this, because one way or another, this was progress.

Like it or not, good or bad, he did not really feel pity. But--"GOOD," he boomed--ahh, and she was fleeing. No; that wouldn't do. He lunged, a sudden lurch intended to snag her and set her back down. It was probably not the best thing for her emotional well-being, but he wasn't finished with her yet. "I said be still. I did not say you could leave. Sit, and be quiet." This was said somewhat imperiously, but without the rage, at least, of prior.

Vargas turned his attention back to Vjira, and eyed her over more slowly. This moment should be about her, not the Agate: this was her emergence. He would not let himself be further distracted just yet.

She could not speak--that much was clear. That was also unusual, for the children of Chaos. But it wasn't unheard of; sometimes it took awhile for them to find their feet. "Vargas," he said, slowly, gesturing to himself with one six-thumbed hand--ignoring, it seemed, the patter at his own limb. He didn't seem to mind; it wasn't an attack, at least (he wasn't sure what it had been.) He then gestured toward Vjira. "Vjira. You understand?" This was said more slowly--and while now ignoring the Agate, whether she'd obeyed him or not--his full attention on the Mirage.

With her, he seemed patient, and he was: she'd done nothing to earn his ire and even if she attacked him outright, it would have been out of instinct and ignorance, not outright disobedience.

Once again he gestured slowly to himself, and then to Vjira. "Vargas; Vjira. Do you understand?"

@Vjira (and @Vedette for visibility--he will try and stop her, up to you if she keeps trying to bail!)

When Vargas lurched forward to grab Vedette, Vjira flattened herself to the ground in catlike fashion. The eyes on the side of her face that were in the direction of the launch were looking directly to Vargas and the prickly one. Next, the rest of her head turned to stare, fleshy bits on the sides of her head pulling forward to get a view using all nine of her eyes. It would have been quite the sight for those afraid of such things.

Vargas moved away, and Vjira only followed him by moving her head to watch his movements, but if anyone were to notice, a couple sets of her eyes were still on Vedette. Watching her prey that she unfortunately couldn't hunt now. There were too many eyes (hah) watching. Vargas had a lot of eyes. He started making those sounds at her again, pointing at himself and then her - the only thing the valkhound did was once again paw at him, claws not really catching anything. It was more of a curious nudge than anything else.

She completely ignored the gembound sobbing next to her, not understanding what tears even were and not noticing the sadness there. Perhaps if she wasn't too focused on Vargas she would have noticed, but it was unlikely. This child couldn't understand much.

@Vedette