A crunch. A retreat. And from the other? Screaming and flinging and a whirlwind, much like the one Khavur had created to attack Vargas... but somehow entirely ineffective. Khavur should've screamed, should've snarled and barked and slashed it into the both of them, pulverized them for their weakness and foolishness. Should've felt elated by her power and crushed by their lacking. "STOP! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL IT." And maybe she- it should've.

But they were right there. And V- Master Vargas could be right there. And the blood was right there, the armor, the carapace, the worm at her its feet. The pain, the scorching rain, the dust kicked up mixing with the haze in the air. Rain was finally coming. The forest was saved.

Khavur would resign, letting the zoisite cling to its limbs desperately. The Reaver was caught between marvel and pain. Reduced to ashes and its core, the zoisite had found its true force in its survival. Perhaps that was not the result it had expected. Someone who seemed so selfless, so giving, so sensitive... could crush a monster's legs if it meant saving their own life. Or maybe its selflessness was ingrained so deeply in its instincts that it really was fighting for the labradorite.

The labradorite had certainly tried to fight for the zoisite. It put too much effort into words. All that strength put into a bark and for what? Pitiful scrapes at Khavur's armored skin, embarrassment. Truly, it was out of its element, and desperately seeking a foothold in foreign terrain. Khavur had proved, today, that on land, and when protecting, it was better. Tremendously better. Disappointing.

Khavur's next few breaths were sharp growls. It remained quiet, glaring at the labradorite and straining to look at the zoisite. "I HAVE FINISHED. N-NEITHER OF YOU ARE DEAD." Khavur's legs hurt, they really hurt, more than they had ever hurt before. Impressive, terrifying, confusing, painful. Far, far too many emotions, and that was just in one direction. "L-et go of me," Khavur snapped, feeling its mind fuzz, its vision darken. It couldn't collapse, it couldn't collapse, it's just the legs please don't collapse--

Somehow, it was managing. "The zoisite..." What on earth was happening to it? These weren't the effects of pain, were they? "...has a spark." Both heads, wobbling and unbalanced, would train on the labradorite. "Either... find yours..." Khavur would put extra effort into composing itself for the next part. It cleared a throat: "...or I w-ill not hesitate... to t-ake you down b-efore Vargas d-does." That was it. Taking a page from the labradorite's book, using up way too much of its energy just to get a message across. At least Khavur meant its message.

The world was catching up to it. The sun, expanding, was beginning to swallow Khavur whole. Of all the places it could have looked, it somehow completely missed -- or avoided -- the place it called home. They were right there. All this, all this time, and they were right. There.

@V-Chaos-Two @V-Zoisite-One

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

death

violence

gore

"░░░░!" The Zoisite barely registered the sound, a trembling static flooding every sense. But, as the Labradorite continued to scream, clarity locked on to a single word through the haze. "░░░░! ░░░'░░ ░░░░░ ░░ ͓̽K͓̽I͓̽L͓̽L͓̽ ͓̽░ᓰ░."

░K͓̽I͓̽L͓̽L͓̽.░ K͓̽I͓̽L̽L░░KILL.░░K͓̽I͓̽L͓̽L͓̽.░ K͓̽I͓̽L̽L░░KILL.░░K͓̽I͓̽L͓̽L͓̽.░ K͓̽I͓̽L̽L░░KILL.░░░

The word echoed, skipping like a broken record.

It distorted into the sound of screaming, dying rats' breath cut short, the panicked scrambling of cornered beasts, the heat of blood dashed against flesh and carapace. Heads, separated from bodies, rolling across the stone. Death. The Zoisite froze, its force no longer tightening but locking into place as golden eyes went wide, staring down into shadow and seeing only blinding cherry and lemon-flavored ichor seep across flesh and stone. This was its own doing. Jaws parted, and spat, glowing slobber trickling back toward its eyes. It blinked away at it, and started to step away--

Dimly, it recognized Khavur commanding it to let go. It had let go, hadn't it? Had-- they remembered themself, head spinning. Their tail hadn't let go, still struggling to kill with every bestial instinct the stone had hardwired into it.

The Zoisite strained, forcing their tail to release Khavur. They could feel the sticky, warm blood failing to dry in the humidity of the cave, smeared across each end and across their damaged body. Their back arched, each end scrapping the earth as they tried to breathe, and found each breath came with a new wash of pain. They were more present now, but that meant that they were drowning in the sensations that shook their broken carapace.

One thought crawled through their mind, desperate and seething: What they would give for the Overseer-- for Orthoclase-Alpha-- to be there. Just... Just so they could...

Character: Khavur Age: +7 (7 Cycles) Magic Level: +1 (Fledgling) ROUND 1 Attempt: +1 Penalties: -0 ROUND 2 Attempt: +16 Penalties: -0 ROUND 3 Attempt: +15 Penalties: -0 ROUND 4 Attempt: +10 Penalties: -0 ROUND 5 Attempt: +15 Penalties: -0 Total: 65

Character: V-Zoisite-One Age: +8 (8 Cycles) Magic Level: +3 (Pupil) ROUND 1 Attempt: +4 Penalties: -0 ROUND 2 Attempt: +2 Penalties: -0 ROUND 3 Attempt: +19 Penalties: -0 ROUND 4 Attempt: +19 Penalties: -0 ROUND 5 Attempt: +6 Penalties: -0 Total: 61

Character: V-Labradorite-One Age: +8 (8 Cycles) Magic Level: +1 (Fledgling) ROUND 1 Attempt: +2 Penalties: -0 ROUND 2 Attempt: +12 Penalties: -0 ROUND 3 Attempt: +8 Penalties: -0 ROUND 4 Attempt: +4 Penalties: -0 ROUND 5 Attempt: +6 Penalties: -0 Total: 41

WINNER: V-Zoisite-One and V-Labradorite-One
with a combined total of 102 points

@Khavur @V-Zoisite-One @V-Labradorite-One

Chaos-Two felt cold. The rage... the anger. It was slowly subsiding.

’... Khavur?’, they thought, the words like a whisper, tentative and afraid.

They were scared. Angry. Confused.

"SEPARATE!", they finally shouted, quills standing on end as they slammed their staff down, the wood meeting stone and echoing around the area.

Fear turned to anger and then to confidence, a healer's mind taking hold.

"Be still and present your wounds," they ordered, walking forward and standing as tall as possible, their eyes hard like a scolding mother's.

Chaos-Two rushed towards Zoisite, falling to their knees and willing their magic to come to them. They could cast the spell once, maybe twice, but it would drain everything from them. At least they'd be okay.

’Get away from them,’ Chaos-Two snarled at Khavur, ’Calm your rage and be STILL! You nearly killed them!’

Were they crying? Their vision was blurry and their throat hurt. Chaos-Two put their hands on Zoisite ever so gently, pushing their magic out, trying to control it through the torrent of feedback coming from Khavur, a link that had remained open since its creation.

Rage replaced worry and concern for a moment, and their magic retaliated, vertigo overwhelming them.

It felt like when Vargas had knocked them out. They'd felt nothing for a moment, and then their stomach had pulled violently, yanking them down into the abyss. Only it lasted for a few seconds this time, and they caught themselves, illness welling up in their gut. Choking down bile, they shut the link down, trying to hold back tears. They couldn't risk anymore interference.

"You're going to be okay," they said, trying not to gag at the smell of blood in the air, their stomach already sensitive as it was, "L-Labradorite, how injured are you? Can you try to get Doctor or Garnet-Delta?"

@V-Zoisite-One @V-Labradorite-One

Overseer Garnet-Delta watched the whole affair with mild interest, like one would watch a soap-opera. Khavur had some big words, big threats, and Delta was curious to see if their ambition would match their words. Khavur wasn't wrong, after all. Unfortunately, some of the Forge was born to stagnate.

To the other two's credit, they... tried. The Zoisite even managed to grab Khavur, but it was more impressive how the two-headed beast threw around their weight and made a point. The Labradorite ended up not getting too beat up, at least-- there was a lot of blood gushing by the end of the scuffle. Mostly yellow, given the considerable cracks in the Zoisite's armor.

... Boy, that brought back some nasty memories, didn't it? Delta could feel the sting across its own face, and that made its face scrunch. Like life-giver, like offspring, so it went, hm? It was hard to tell what the Zoisite was thinking even as it stood, wheezing in deep breaths and shuttering like a possessed puppet.

The other part of all this that tickled Delta was the suggestion that they were going to kill each other. Worse case, they would fall into their chrysalises, but the Overseer was pretty sure they were all capable of taking a few hits. Clearly they hadn't had enough close scraps to know their own limits, hm? It probably looked worse than it was, as far as Delta figured it. If it really thought any of them in danger, and that this wasn't a big show of determining social ranking, it would have done something by now.

Ah, there was Chaos-Two to play nanny. The Overseer's ears twitched forward as it remained lounging from its high perch, bemused at the interaction. It heard its name-- missing the title of Overseer-- and scoffed. It made a half-assed attempt to stop the Zoisite's bleeding, reaching out to slow the flow of blood, but the unpredictable worm lurched with such a force that its magic didn't even start to take.

... Hmph. It supposed it better go down there. It spread its wings, and jumped down, gliding over. "I've been watching," it declared sharply as it landed on the stone-- a safe distance away. "That's Overseer Garnet-Delta, Chaos-Two," it correct sharply, fur prickling along its shoulders. "... Getting the Doctor wouldn't be a bad idea."

The Zoisite wasn't fully present, as much as they stood firm, swallowing air like they were half-drowned. They heard Chaos-Two yelling, but the sound was just as garbled as every other noise. The word KILL pierced through their dazed thoughts, but they seemed to understand that they were injured. They glanced up at Chaos-Two, and then...

Hands touched their carapace.

Instinct, panic?, the thrill of battle still electrifying every nerve, their quills rattled violently and their body jerked. If there was any part of it that felt magic touching it, the only reaction that came was completely kneejerk.

Their head raised, confused at the sensation. Its tail whipped around as quick as a flash, vicegrip snapping out at Chaos-Two's outstretched hands, to snatch, to break, to sever whatever had threatened its space.

Almost immediately, they realized what they had done, and frantically scrambled away-- nearly bumping back into Khavur-- and then over into the stone, breath rasping. "Stay away," they snapped, voice strangled. Talons scrapped at the stone, their vision spinning, unable to raise their head to see what damage they had done.

They didn't really need to see though, did they?

A squealing rat, silenced with one single motion. The pain would stop, wouldn't?

The only thing that stopped it was the slam of the staff on stone, Chaos-two's shouting, and the sudden sense of how pointless it's assault had truly been.

Now that it was thinking.. marginally clearer, the pain of it's wounds seemed to explode, throbbing in time with it's own heartbeat. More than that, though, it realized how much worse it's fellows were. Even Khavur, who seemed so indomitable in battle, was swaying on it's feet like a tree in a storm.

Khavur's words stung more than the cuts scattered on it's legs. but it was right. The Labradorite had barely even DONE anything in that fight- Zoisite had done most of the damage, and whatever hits Labradorite had managed to land were minimal at BEST. This fight had been an important lesson- it needed to improve. Not only in land combat, but everything. It needed to be so much more stronger than it was.

For all it's bark during the fight, Labradorite couldn't muster up a response. What could it say when presented with the truth?

Chaos-two was trying to heal Zoisite. With magic, seeing by the way they had placed their hands onto the Zoisite. Nothing happened- and by the way Chaos-two swayed and lurched they had apparently hurt themself in the process. The scent of blood- the vast majority a sickly yellow- was nauseating. Zoisite's wounds were bad, and surely they were just getting worse.

Before it had the time to fetch Overseer Garnet Delta or anything like that, the Overseer had already appeared, as if summoned. It had watched- it had seen it's failure. Moreover, it had seen the Zoisite get shattered and didn't do a single thing about it. At least Labradorite had tried and failed. Before the Labradorite could think more hateful, blasphemous thoughts about it's overseer, it's attention shifted yet again, trying and failing in vain to keep track of the way too many things going on.

The snap of mandibles made it's gaze jump to Zoisite, it's clutch-mate scrambling frantically across stone. It stepped over to it, guarding it like it had done pointlessly, for entire fight. Trying to guide it away from Khavur even as it nearly crashed into it. "It needs space." It stated hypocritically, standing in between the Zoisite and everyone capable of healing it. It was all to aware of the blood and that it should be getting help but it was instead PROTECTING the Zoisite as if it needed protecting at all.

Quickly, it relented, stepping back to give Zoisite the space it desperately needed as it wordlessly plodded off in the Doctor's den with nothing but a vague nod towards the garnet. "There was a fight." It was already turning to lead Doctor to the scene as it spoke, wasting no time at all. "The Zoisite was hurt. Khavur too." It said nothing of it's own wounds, so minimal in comparison to the others. It'd pause- a brief afterthought to allow Doctor to gather whatever materials he needed, before continuing, resuming it's position as a yappity guard-dog hovering nearby the Zoisite.

@Doctor @Khavur

Doctor came in on soaring wings, dropping in and hitting the ground at a hopping run. Said wings folded as he looked around at the bloodied chaos and wounded monsters, and the battered wall, trying to get an idea of what had happened.

There were two types of doctors--at the very least, if one were to classify with vast oversimplification to make the following point. The type of doctor that healed, and tended wounds, and cared for many patients. And the kind that advanced science, that ran experiments, that disregarded mercy in favor of progress.

Doctor was the latter kind, and it was with some vague sense of rising panic that he looked over the scene of battered monsters. He was not equipped for this. He tested toxins and rehealed bones. He did not have the magic to give of himself, to share his life force and split it with another to seal both their wounds. Doctor hesitated, and then hopped a little closer. When he'd been warned of injury, he'd clutched the bare necessities in one foot's long, hooked talons: twists of long, dry grass, and a few little herbal leaves.

"...Oh, dear," was what he began with, glancing around with one wide eye. The other was wide, too, but it was made of stone, and so presented a rather different effect: blank rather than surprised.

"I will need to tend to the bleeding, first. It looks bad. Please, do not be alarmed," he offered toward Zoisite, bouncing closer without awaiting permission. "This may sting, but I need to close your wounds."

He began to flush his magic with the dried grass before quite touching Zoisite--would it allow him to connect? To mend, to try and heal?

The magic didn't come, but no matter. He had to line the grasses up to the wounds, regardless--and his keen eye looked critically over the strange neon blood.

Will the grass even survive this-? he wondered; he wasn't sure. "How bad are all of your wounds?" he went on--and reached forward to try and touch the Zoisite with the grass, and with the foot that clutched it.

@V-Chaos-Two @V-Zoisite-One

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

gore

Chaos-Two had turned for a moment, angry that Garnet-Delta would be more concerned about a title than their wounded sibling, and a moment was all it took.

A high-pitched, pained squeal rang through the air as Chaos-Two flinched back from the attack, acid green blood splattering the floor.

If it weren't for the hard plates Vargas had specifically added to their forearms to prevent such a grievous attack, Chaos-Two would be sans an arm, but even so, it wasn't pretty. The wound was deep even still, one of the hard plates dented inwards, digging into the flesh, a deep crack running through the center.

It wasn't the first time Chaos-Two had seen their blood. They cut their mouth every other day and had to tend to the constant bleeding, and then Vedette had bitten them. No pain was comparable to the venom the brat had, but the sight of the wound and the odd throbbing that laced up their arm and along their spine was unbearable.

"I was just trying to help," they said, voice wobbly, teeth gritted, their gemstone piercing their tongue, more blood running down their chin.

Flawed. Helpless. Weak. Useless.

Their hand dropped to their side, hanging limply, their fingers stiff and flexed. Again they tried to reach out with their uninjured hand, stubbornly fighting tears, just trying to reach enough to touch Zoisite and heal them even a little bit.

But of course their magic failed.

'Vargas wasted his talents on you.’

They were so angry, so ashamed that it practically radiated off of them.

@Zoisite

The Zoisite recoiled, cringing down into the dirt. The screaming of Chaos-Two dying rats pierced their ears, and everyone continued to shout and bark and all of the words were static. The Zoisite's head was down, rendering them essentially blind. Their truncated hairs bristled, as the hot breath of several others breathed down upon them, drawing closer and closer despite their pleas.

Labradorite demanded space-- for it?-- but the gentle, stern voice of the Doctor pressed closer. Bad? The Zoisite thought, heaving breaths and fighting to stay conscious and alive. Me? What about-- thoughts scrambled, never quite forming enough to reach the tongue. -- No, stay-- The Doctor warned that it might sting, but could the Zoisite feel a minor stinging past the throbbing of its open wound, stay away!

V-Zoisite-One was still, and quite unfortunately, in no place for rational responses. Part of them shook violently from the fear that they had lashed out at someone who had not been trying to hurt it, and the rest of its raged like a cornered beast. Get away, its thoughts screamed, get away, get away, it had never been injured like this, it didn't know how to hold still and let someone heal it. It was panicked and frightened, talons splayed out wildly.

There was a touch to its injury, and there was another hand that came close, and despite the rattling roar of quills and the defensive posturing, everyone involved was too concerned for the Zoisite's health to see that it was no more than a cornered beast. Without something to literally hold them down and coerce them into being healed, their body was going to react like any other injured, feral monster.

Their body jerked, tail snapping wildly at the air, "stop," they pleaded demanded with a deep, threatening growl, pushing their body back against the floor. They shoved themself away, dragging their body away from the healers. "I'm fine," the Zoisite insisted, "I hurt-- I hurt them." Though their thoughts hadn't caught up to them, there was a strong gut feeling that had been yet put to words: Sin.

@Khavur ? probably?