She banked across the high altitudes of Ursa, eyes closed blissfully as her large wings cut through the stinging, cold air. Snowflakes tumbled from the atmospheric ceiling, and although she couldn't feel each individual crystal touch her thick, winter-made hide, she could sense their chill in the air, she could feel their soft brush against her eyelids, and she felt their weight in the wind. This felt so wholly natural and wonderful, like this was where she belonged, all this time. In the skies, in the snow, alone in the cold mountains. Never had she felt so free from the troubles below and even from her own mind. The other dragons may have found her slightly absent lately from their group, taking to soaring the Ursa skies alone, but she made sure to balance the time so it wasn't too long that she was seperated from her family.

Her relatively tranquil soaring was interrupted, however, by the echoes of shouts below. Eyes peeled open slowly, head tilted so that she could see beneath her. She angled down to soar lower, out of curiosity then any concern, and she eventually spotted the disturbance, far below. Creatures all piling up, attacking one large beast with strange, bright red markings. She didn't immediately dive, at first, trying to figure out what was going on, but then she spotted the strange two-legged deer-like creature. Naskital! If he was in danger down there, then she wasn't going to sit back and watch from the skies!

She pulled her wings in tight, diving down suddenly, slicing through the air, gaining speed as she approached the commotion, focusing on the large white and red creature that Naskital was stumbling away from, the creature all the others were attacking, not attempting to slow down as she got close. She roared, reaching her front claws to grab onto him, but it threw off her trajectory more then she thought, just enough to make the final attack more clumsy then powerful, falling right on top of the creature as she threw out her wings just a little too late to avoid injuring herself too much.

A flash... wasn't that strange to see amid the blitzing snow flurry in Ursa?

It was not a room known for its shimmering, shining splendor, nor its large population; though, from the very edge of his nest high in the wintry landscape's mountains he could see quite the crowd gathering. All around a hulking shape, the second flash searing into his retinas. Is that... Mom?!

Svartis shook the snow from himself, stretching his wings wide with a few useless glances around himself. Third eyelid sliding over icy eyes, he bellowed, "BONE!" With a lash of his tail, upward stretch of his two legs, the dragon poised himself at the steep drop. Regardless of if his sister came out from the glacier between mountains or not (or if she'd even heard him over the howling peaks) he lurched forwards.

After a smooth, swooping dive to catch momentum, he snapped his wings out; they caught the wind easily, ballooning upward like parachutes and carrying him toward the altercation.

The situation: a massive beast reaching, his mother scrabbling to attack, smaller Gembound crawling and grappling for a hold—he almost felt bad for the brute, being dogpiled like this, even if it was perhaps little more than a dumb brute.

To Asimona, he roared a short "LOOK OUT!" and tucked his wings in a downward sweep. He swung by the mass of bodies, icy eyes searching for spots on the monster that weren't blocked by someone's body or being used as stepping stones to get to more lethal places. The brute's legs still worked, and it was there that he focused.

His magic reached for the snow underfoot, to compress it and urge it to climb up the monster's legs and root it down in place. If it couldn't attack back, maybe they'd leave it alone... ? Or just put it down quicker.

Someone slipped in the way, and Svartis pulled his struggling magic back with a huff. His wings worked double-time to carry him up and out of the way, and he circled with little but uncertainty in his hesitation to go in for a second attack.

@Bone (because he called for her, feel free to ignore--)

What on earth is a bookworm who'd never once considered a fight in his life doing in the middle of what was apparently an active warzone full of many combatants?

... he heard a ruckus, okay?

Prone to a new adventurous streak, Menkheperre went gallivanting across the snow with no less than a hesitant sort of enthusiasm (because he wasn't dumb enough to launch straight into the fray like everything else here! And it was cold.) Crimson eyes fixed upon the huge beast, and almost immediately his thoughts turned to legends he'd half-managed to read: a beast of mythical proportions! A mythic beast! Oh, and there was Pollen of the Palace!

The young dragon bounded forward again, marveling as the Muta latched on with the very vines she'd grown and attached to herself; like she were a noble warrior scaling a grand colossus.

Did that make him the steed? A sidekick?

Attempting to fling an orb of light into the candycane-striped beast's line of sight, he decided that yes, he'd be a sidekick. The hero of this story was already there! (Ignoring all the others present...)

Instead, Menkheperre blasted his own retinas with a marvelous firework of light and fell to the ground, shielding his eyes from the afterimage on his eyelids and whimpering into the ground, "THE LIGHT IS BLINDING! I HAVE BEEN BLINDED BY THE LIGHT! THE LIGHT HAS RENDERED ME BLIND!!!"

She'd been doing little more than preening: curled comfortably in her cave, picking off any visible fungus that had sprouted between her scales.

The sudden cacophony outside had her attention at once, though, and she crawled out into the snow, lifting horned head to peer around. Mother whispered in her mind, urging her to go and see, to protect Pallas should the fight turn his way--and with that came the images of Pallas's vision. Brief, flickering, but she could see it: some sort of big fight, with some creatures she'd never seen, and--Mom?? she thought, surprised.

Mother was surprisingly silent, at this.

I see it, she thought to Pallas; I'm on my way!

Bone leapt skyward, wings snapping out. Leather tore at the air and lifted her heavy body higher, and soon she was surging toward the fight. She heard, in the distance, shouting and thudding--and Svartis calling her name! She didn't know what was going on, but it was clear that her family were fighting this... whatever it was, this enormous living tank made of fur and wings and claws. Bone swept lower, bursting from the fogbank and the snow, letting out her fiercest roar.

And then--"HERE, SVARTIS! WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

Bone swept lower, half-folding her wings to come in close, jaws parting. She exhaled a long breath of flame, trying to pass close overhead the beast (hopefully not too close) and set some of that fur on fire.

Moonsetter was a little less intelligent as far as assault tactics went. It generally saw movement, and it generally descended upon it like a cat spots the feather at the end of a wand. This usually worked where prey and hunting was concerned, however messy the process. The dragon was quite a murder enjoyer.

It was also quite a snow enjoyer, having popped its head out from the burrow it was clawing into the perpetual cover. Tail lashing and pupil contracting into a facsimile of a face (imitated off of Cairn, of course!) it scanned the horizon for the source of All That Noise and, with floppy ears shooting straight up, darted for the source:

A pile of things to bite.

The biggest one was, of course, at the heart of the mass, and that was its first target for obvious reasons. Clearly, it was the weakest link and had the biggest available surface area for Moonsetter's teeth to sink into. Incandescent tongue swept over its chops in an anticipatory lick while it bounded over the snow, flapping its wings in half-flight.

It paused just long enough to crouch low and wiggle its rear (again, like a cat) and very intelligently aim for Absolutely Wherever It Could Reach (perhaps one of those wings on the monster's back!) and clamp the full extent of its Hellswan-like jaws harshly around it. But, overshooting its target, it sailed right over top and tumbled down in the snow on the other side with a sputtering hiss.

As Cairn had taught it to say when under great duress and experiencing frustration, it yowled, "FUCK!"

Cerilaine stood dumbfounded in front of the mass of Gembound falling flat on their faces and struggling to fight this... thing.

She'd ended up here after a series of rather mundane events, compared to some of the other beings here. Flying dragons spitting fire? Scouts for hidden covert operations of the orderly kind? Beasts shoving themselves between someone and whatever this was? Cerilaine just wanted to go home. She missed Indigo. Sure, she liked Ursa, but she liked her roommate (definitely just roommate) more.

And so, when the battle broke out in front of her, Cerilaine simply took it in with utter exhaustion. 'Don't get involved,' she willed herself as she tried to look away and walk past, clawed hands balled into fists. 'It's not worth it. There's too many people. You've had enough excitement for one life. It's not like you'll get anything out of this.' So why was she turning her trajectory towards this thing?

Damn it, Cerilaine. Might as well get this over with.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Cerilaine ran her hands over the temples of her glasses, making sure the ends were secure at the curve of her ears. Wouldn't want to lose them in the snow, now would she? It's not like she had to get close, at least.

Closing her eyes, the leopard channeled magic from herself, coalescing it at the base of the beast. Even as flames passed over it, potentially melting her work, she continued on, opening her eyes to focus on the job. She'd aimed to coalesce snow into ice and glue it to the moisture on the creature's limbs, trying to lock it in place, even if the link to it was rather... thin. Perhaps it'd be able to break through. Hopefully, it'd help.

She was rather unaware of someone else's attempt to do the same. Well- it was a good tactic, at least, especially if you're already covered in snow. It's only sensible two Gembound would go for the same thing, right?

Holiday Bash 2021!

While the first few attackers stumbled over their own feet, others were more successful. While Naskital scrambled away, the big beast charged after him: Pollen would make it to its shoulder, with it barely noticing at all. It also did not notice Kerberos--or well, it did; but it didn't take its eyes off Naskital at all. Big red-feathered wings spread, launching it in a huge flying leap directly over the three-headed hound, landing in a huge surfer's spray of snow on the other side. Other Gembounds still tried, and failed, to strike--and the creature ignored them all.

It was Eurydome who drew first real blood, with the blade dipping into fur and coming away stained red. But the beast didn't slow long enough for a proper true impale, and the centaur would notice that--despite the red now streaking down and staining its fur--the sword didn't seem to cut too deeply. She might be able, with her ancient experience, to ascertain that this beast was built like a tank: with layers of muscle and blubber and a very thick, almost armored hide. Asimona struck it a moment later, sending it stumbling with the impact; it finally stopped its pursuit and turned, letting out a bellow of an enraged roar. "I don't know--wh-what it wants!" Naskital was calling, distraught. "It just... came for the sled-"

Thick fur was ignited in a patch upon Bone's passing, sending up coils of foul-smelling smoke as its pelt began to smolder. And now, truly attacked from all sides, it was finding ice slicking up its limbs courtesy of Cerilaine. It wouldn't be enough to keep the beast motionless, but it certainly slowed it down-...

Bucking and roaring, sounding distinctly pained as well as angry, the creature turned. Small, beady eyes sought out Cerilaine. "ME SHOW ICE!" it bawled at her, and staggered a few steps closer. Its tusked jaws opened.

An immense stream of icy frost, like a fire hose turned on full blast but in instantly-freezing temperatures, began to spray outward. As it did so, the beast began to turn a slow, stumbling circle, too frozen itself to move very fast. It tried to just hit everyone in this spinning cone of frost: a stream of ice that Glaciate wished that it could be.

Gembound should roll to avoid the frost breath, unless they're very far away or are on its shoulder: if struck, it will encase them in rapidly-freezing ice until the next posting round!

This thread is open for anyone to join.

@Astéri @Catawampus @Pollen (Pallas, Cerilaine) @Kerberos @Astoria @Karambit @Eurydome @Niveus @Asimona @Svartis (Menkheperre, Moonsetter) @Bone

'Me show ice?' Bone's mind echoed, in blank confusion. Then the furred beast opened its jaws wide, and Bone's eyes snapped even wider. She turned, struggling to gain altitude.

"GET OUT OF ITS WAY!" she called, as loudly as she could--a warning to Asimona, to Svartis. But she herself had always been a heavy, slow dragon--the bulky tank, and not the agile combatant. She felt icy cold slip over her in a coating of--well, ice--and then her wings were laboring to even keep her aloft.

She crashed into the snow on the outskirts of the fight a few moments later, the ice fully condensing around her. She felt bruised, but the snowbank had taken much of the impact, and only now were her wings truly growing immobile.

Bone tried to turn, to see how her family was faring, but the ice was cracking shut around her muscles.

There were more creatures arriving now, though Eurydome paid them little mind. Her attention was on the beast; its thick hide and searching its belly and its eyes for weak points-- though it seemed to be well-protected in that regard. Horns, stucks, and tiny little slits would make it difficult to aim. Maybe if she could jam her sword into its mouth, if she could just get an opportunity for its jaws to pry open.

A finger on the monkey's paw curled inwards, and ice exploded from its mouth. One dragon (when had three dragons arrived?) bellowed a warning to its kin and Eurydome was skidding through the snow to avoid the bout of frost-- much faster than anyone who just woke up from a five thousand year long nap reasonably should. Her paws adjusted and she half-pivoted to face: its butt.

At least it couldn't bite or freeze her from back here-- though it could maybe kick her if she got too close. If Eurydome were to attack its hind legs and try to make it fall, would others pick up on the context clues and start... what, ripping its face off?

The centuar's tail flicked with thought, brow furrowing as she gripped the sword tighter.

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά
The massive creature simply... jumped, over Kerberos. The canine turned, teeth bared in three snarls, as he tried once more to summon magic. There wasn't enough time though; the monster began to breath a massive loud of biting frost.

Kerberos wasn't about to be stopped. The frost breath washed over him, but his insides burned with a fierce heat until his body glowed with the effort, a deep red-hot flush under his skin that made the white of his fur brighter than the snow surrounding him. His red eyes burned with the heat as he fought back the cold, stumbling forward toward the beast.

"BACK OFF!" He demanded, pelt bristling, though the weight of the cold snow clung to his fur even as it began to melt. He plowed forward regardless. "FIGHT SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE!"

It was a challenge, but perhaps not a smart one. Kerberos's natural element was not fire truly; he would succumb to the cold eventually. For now though, determination was a powerful fuel.

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces