"BONE!" he roared in response, and then watched as the massive beast took a swelling breath into its surely great lungs. Eyes flying wide, Svartis swooped for her, crying out, "LOOK OUT!"

But, too late. The icy spray's trajectory had shifted away long before he managed to spur his momentum downward, and already his beloved sister was disappearing into the snowbanks. Her body plowed through the powder fluff; and his own followed, purely for the speed of his own landing—he had to take a few running steps, half-waddling on his wings (and fanning them out as best as he could, in case the column of hoarfrost swung back around.)

"Are you okay... ? I think we should just— get it to stop. I'd feel bad if we killed it, and," Svartis tipped his snout downward, eying the ice creeping over leathery wings. "Hey, can I... do something about that? Let me try..."

His attention drew away from the battle at hand for a moment, in a grab to zero in on the growing shackles. While Bone (strangely enough, though he never spent too long dwelling on it) had made her home in either of Ursa's mountains, she was still a dragon unsuited to such elements; her hide could take plenty of horrific, self-inflicted scorching, but freezing over... ?

Svartis knew how the cold affected any Lesser deer unfortunate enough to meander in from Cepheus.

With any luck, the ice would simply... evaporate off of her skin and be whisked away by the wind.

One second, he's peacefully watching from afar.

The next? Encased in a comically large chunk of ice from the tail to his hips—because, of course, he'd tried to run away from the column of ice headed directly for him. The very tips of one of his wings was rather unfortunately caught in the crossfire of him attempting to flutter away, and now it threatened to be coated in a rather rime-like... coating.

Menkheperre did as children are wont to do: make desperate grabs for magic as if he were dying (which... he could be!) A magnesium flash of light in his sensitive reader's eyes had been bad enough.

With the huffing and puffing of his panicked breaths, the draconic Hound managed (through pure coincidence and not by virtue of friction or any effort) to spark a peculiar glow of magic. It wouldn't rival the mythical beast over yonder's—not by a long stretch—but it was warm nonetheless. Orange refracted off the snow in front of him, and the strange stinging sensation of his entire lower half being freezing-cold ebbed away.

It was kind of pleasant, actually, this warmth. He definitely wasn't wearing enough fur for this kind of weather.

He pulled his wing free, and set to fumbling his legs out from their confinement before the terrible villain-beast could take another crack at the collective of heroes and dragons.

A miraculous thing occurred as the monster roared its first words: Moonsetter had a realization. That realization was that a terrible fate was about to befall it—and what befell it was an onslaught of ice that seemed to freeze everything else in the vicinity absolutely solid (except for the creature that looked quite a lot like its Cairn... albeit heinous amounts of pink and blurry to its overly-dilated pupil.) Or, rather... could befall it.

The storm would rather that not happen. All of its fur were difficult to keep preened and neat, and Cairn, for all her attempts at being gentle about it, just couldn't manage to get away from grooming sessions unscathed. She liked when it was soft and clean, and offered it more pats when it fulfilled that criteria.

So, Moonsetter turned away and hightailed it for Eurydome, because she seemed to be getting away just fine. As they say in the business: monkey see, monkey do. Never mind that the centaur may not appreciate seeing an enormous, full-grown dragon plowing through the snow after her, but... eh.

If Nemean were here, she'd provide the notes of a slide whistle twanging and other such hilarious sounds to accompany each frantic, scrambling step to get away.

Fracture my spine

Karambit's claws did sink somewhere soft and white. Red streaks did shoot by on its rapid descent into the writhing throng of would-be rescuers below. However the first was only the ground, and the second was a mere glimpse of the stunning beast's stripes, not the greeting welts that the raucous monster so wished to inflict. Hooked into malleable powder instead of a sturdy backside, gangly legs lost balance. Flailing flight turned into what would be an equally messy crash landing. Unsurprisingly, just before the moment of impact, its primary emotion was disappointment, a childish wail replacing a friendly scream.

"Hiiii—aiiiiiiiieeeee!"

The sound didn't differ enough for the change to be particularly noticeable, not unless the listener was well-versed in the nuances of monster screeches. Regardless of the feelings involved, though, it was soon cut off as Karambit plunged headlong into a bank, body plowing the area in a narrow strip. Cold dampness packed into all manner of mouths, and whatever snow had not become a force-fed meal washed overtop an already shivering back. Limbs were twisted and crushed beneath its own weight.

The position was not an unfamiliar one; often it'd not stuck a landing and fallen like so. In fact, it preferred collapsing in such an uncoordinated fashion. Softly touching down didn't cause the same exhilaration as almost breaking a leg or three.

It did have a complaint though, unrelated to the exquisite pain blooming from the awkward bend of its limbs: the friend-to-be was roaring in unmistakable agony and had not yet been given a proper welcome by its truly. Simply unacceptable when everyone else must have had their turn.

"Mmmmnnnn" was the mumble from where it lay prone. A series of wet hacks expelled the snow from its main set of jaws. Then, straining against the mounds piled upon its shoulders, the monster stood up on quivering feet. "Wait forrrrr meeeee," it whined upon hearing what seemed to be an impromptu talent show.

Ice couldn't be shown, not when it still needed to give scratches.

Wings fluttered, and the near-eternal buzzing from Karambit picked up in volume. But the hover that would've carried it from a freezing gust of breath began far too late. Barely lifted from the ground, the leathery appendages stilled, ice creeping over their surface and down onto vulnerable flesh. The cold's intensity was such that it seared, yet the harm did not heighten its awareness as it usually would. Paradoxically, drowsiness increased, and the attempt to fly was altogether thwarted once legs frosted over.

Karambit collapsed again, but not without an ear-piercing shriek. "Noooooo!"

Why did friends always have to be so difficult?

And swear that you're mine

The others continued their assault, and Cerilaine's magic sparked her magic flowing from her. It was something. Would it work? Possibly, along with the other beings' minstrations. She kept her icy gaze on the being, her long tail swaying, anticipation building in her throat.

It turned on her. Didn't she say not to get involved? Well, at least it wasn't someone who couldn't defend themself. Calling out over the winds, Cerilaine barked out a quick "RUN!" towards Naskital, right as frost sprayed straight for her. Shit. Snap-reaction magic coalesced behind her, and she shot upwards as wings formed behind her shoulder blades.

She wavered in her balance and flinched her tail away, breath coming out in hot puffs of air. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Even if there was no reasoning with the beast, it had spoke. That meant there could be something in there. "THIS ISN'T NECESSARY."

Her muscles tensed. If it kept its attention on her, then the others could subdue it. She'd just have to hold it, if it didn't go back to the first target...

She'd made it, but at what cost? Like an overgrown flea, Pollen's "attack" was shrugged aside as she curled her digits into the beast's fur. The body below her rocked, and she could feel the muscles work as it moved. Panic clutched at her throat. Not again!

Snapping out an arm, Pollen surged her magic through the vine like electricity through a wire, curling the plants around a horn. The grip on her other hand faltered- she slid, almost, before grabbing on to the vine with her other hand, gritting her teeth through the strain on her arm. The roots threatened to tug out. Not today! Swinging harshly, Pollen scrabbled for a hold again, bracing herself against the creature's neck.

Its booming roars and furious voice rang through Pollen's head. It bucked, it walked, and Pollen kept her grip on the plant, teeth bared. It strained, more than she expected, but she still hung on in stubbornness. She doubted she could even manage to choke this thing- its fur was way too thick, but-

The blast of freezing air, a foot away from her, drove Pollen to yelp and clutch on harder. She needed to make sure she'd survive first before worrying about anything else. Magic coursed around her, and she was right in harm's way, especially as bouts of flame had cast down from above. It was only a matter of time before she was hit.

She'd go down swinging.

Holiday Bash 2021!

The beast turned this way and that, snow plowing up around him. He hardly noticed Pollen clinging to him. He did however, very much notice the glowing three-headed dog rushing him. 'FIGHT SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE!' Kerberos was yelling--and somewhere, someone else (someone he couldn't see) was yelling 'WHAT DO YOU WANT?'

The monster glared at Kerberos, bellowing his miserable answer straight at the hound:

"I WANT A COOKIE!!!"

In the distance, crouched behind his toppled sleigh, Naskital started. "A cookie-?" he murmured, and then his eyes popped wide with realization. "...A COOKIE!" The alien came rushing out, waving his rubbery hands at the gathered Gembound. "Wait! Wait! Do not hurt it, please--I think this was all, um..." (Naskital broke off mid-sentence to eye the enormous, slavering, bleeding monster) "...a misunderstanding? Wait! We can--we can ALL have cookies!" he cried. "Peace, please!"

______

Any characters not rolled for last round are assumed to have been struck by the beast's frosty breath and frozen in place for this round.

This is the final round in which new characters may join this thread. The next GM post will be in one week's time.

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

Now this was a strange thing to come across while running.

Being someone who jogs routinely in these caves, you tend to see a lot of wonky stuff. Carny imps with strange devices and conniving expressions, valkhounds frolicking in Pegasus of all places, strange weather patterns and stranger whispers from Tunnel K to Ursa, the list goes on. But it wasn't everyday you saw a massive monster battle. Which isn't to say it never happened, it happened with an alarming amount of frequency actually, but it wasn't everyday that Pelly got to see it. Stumble upon it. Behold it.

Seemed like this horrifically ginormous fuzzbeast was being flanked on all sides by people of all kinds, several of whom were locked in ice, but the beast itself just wanted... a cookie? What in the world is a cookie? Pelly couldn't not stop and investigate. I imagine it would be nigh impossible for anyone to avoid this, especially after being made responsible for their knowledge of it.

So Pelly wandered over to this Pride-esque alien with perhaps a bit too much nonchalance than what the situation called for. "What's a cookie?" he asked aloud, eyes darting between beast and deer-shaped alien. "Actually, what is happening here... in general?" In other words: Why do you need dragons and stuff to fight a guy who wants a cookie?

( Pelly is here now :3 )

Pollen almost lost her grip when it yelled back in return. A-- cookie? Letting go of the beast, Pollen pulled away her vines and dropped to the snow, uncertainty across her face. "A cookie..?" She echoed, her voice distant. The muta had to blink a few times to let the thought settle in.

"A cookie?" Anger bubbled forward- all this for a cookie? "You could get a cookie at the Palace! You could make a cookie! I-" She framed her face with her paws, eyes wide in bewilderment. At least the stranger was right- they could all have cookies!

Pollen breathed in deeply. Okay, what if she was the beast? She could want a cookie and then tons of people could come up and attack her for no reason. That'd be-- caves, that's rough. Standing, Pollen backed away, staring down at the snow with guilt. Everyone just saw this go on and decided to dogpile. Her heart hammered in her chest from the adrenaline, breathing helping marginally. "Why all this for a cookie?" She grit her teeth as she wrapped her vines back on her arms, staring between the creature and Naskital.

There was some explaining to do.

Svartis's sudden presence beside her in a rush of black wings was an incredible reassurance. Bone craned her neck back to watch the furry beast, her eyes wide, but before she knew it the ice was melting away, and-

"-A cookie?" she blurted.

Along her link, she felt an urgent summons from Mother--what is a cookie?? Bone was puzzled. "I'm--pretty sure--a cookie's food, right? Svartis?" she asked, swinging a draconic back to him in bafflement.

Was that what this was all about-?