For Opal's attempt on Rezik's life.

Rezik was, against all odds, alone. He lay quiet atop a relatively smooth slab of stone, somewhat elevated from the surroundings, quietly chewing on blades of dry grass from a small pile heaped before him. Antlers branched high over his head, and over them, at a distance of perhaps twenty to thirty yards, the low ceiling dangled large, heavy stalagtites in fang-like protrusions. Around him were a few upward-jutting stalagmites, and around him were scattered the many bones of the dead. And beyond these, some dozen yards to his left, right, and behind, stood small fortresses of linked and piled bones. Ahead of him, the rock curved up and away; a broad footpath leading to the Circuit, with jagged stone floor sweeping up to either side.

He appeared awake, but entirely unguarded.

@Opal Three-Seven-Six

Opal crouched quietly in the shadows, like a panther poised to strike. The blue bastard was here, alone and unguarded.

Foolish, Astraea is losing his touch. He thought smugly.

His eye stalk swiveled up to the stalactites above his target's head. If I could just knock one down.. Unless he could toss something heavy at it and Rezik happened to be dense enough not notice, death from above wasn't a likely opinion.

What else could he do?

Rezik was alone, his back was exposed. If he positioned himself close to the bone fortress, he had shot at a swift, kill-bite. With his long teeth Opal would surely have no problem breaking his neck, maybe even slice an artery. No one would be around to see, and if he was efficient enough, no one would even be alerted. He'd just leave behind teeth marks and slime. Damning evidence if an Overseer saw that, no doubt.

He thought about it for a moment.

Ah, what the heck, I'm already a fugitive.

With that, Opal slunk low, sticking to the shadows as he crept to the bone fortress, taking great care to scuff any of the bones that laid strewn about.

@Game Master Dark

Rezik remained seemingly oblivious, chewing away at his grass; his back remained to Opal and though he shifted a little to get more comfortable, he did not leave his spot.

@Opal Three-Seven-Six

The hidden behind the fortress, Opal peered over. Reji's words rang in his head. "He's got a nasty habit of turning into a rock" That was a problem. He would only have once chance to get this right. Opal didn't like those odds.

He recalled a faint memory of a fight in an arena. Training.. they had been. One of the competitors had gotten their ear bitten off. It held their gem. He remembered the death being strange.. and frightening at the time. No chrysalis came to save them. Ever since, he paid more attention to his tail.

A severed gem was always a death sentence, but the only problem was.. where was Rezik's gem?

He popped his eyestalk over the bone wall. It wriggled around along the edges, squinting. Was it on the outside of his body? Surely he would see if it was.

@Game Master Dark

Rezik's pose, and the shadows dappling his fur, made such judgment difficult. It wasn't immediately visible, but it might have been hidden beneath him, under or around his legs, anywhere on his front, beneath his fur... It was impossible to tell for sure.

@Opal Three-Seven-Six

There was no telling where it was.

Back to Plan B then. Break his neck.

As quietly as he could, Opal leapt on top of the fortress wall. From here he could see down the bastard's back. The back of his neck, exposed, just asking for a bite. All he had to was jump. Crouched, muscles bunched, his tail flicked with anticipation like a cat ready for the kill. A shiver of excitement ran through him. He almost forgot how much he loved killing. Behind Rezik, a purple, toothy maw opened. Its large, needle-like teeth glistened in the dim light.

The eel-thing leapt. Claws dug into Rezik's blue fur. A slimy purple tail wrapped around him, and in one, swift movement- a movement that had been practiced many times before- fangs went to pierce the back of his neck and sever the spine in two.

@Game Master Dark

Rezik's ear flicked as Opal leapt, and he half-turned, oblivious to his potential fate. The enormous shadow soaring down toward him gave him hardly a fraction of a second to react and he managed only to begin to shove himself forward, terrified reflexes driving him into a half-leap before the monstrous Champion crashed down on him.

The fangs-... were enormous, its monstrous form jagged and ugly, and Rezik bleated in fear as he thrashed. The jaws had closed around his lower neck, his half-leap bringing them closer down around his shoulders, so that a quick neck-snap was out of the question-... but he had no way of escape.

It would likely be a kill, but not an altogether clean one. Rezik's hooves scrambled at the rock but Opal was enormous by comparison, its weight driving him down, and he was helpless before it. It would take him a moment to get magicka prepared and even then, what could he do?!

"St-op! I am not prey!" he protested. Coppery blue blood poured sticky through his fur.

kill or be killed
there are only survivors, and the dead

there are no rules but to survive

His thoughts, fragmented; memories, haunting; guilt, flickering. Was this what it had all been for-?

@Opal Three-Seven-Six

Rezik had seen him at the last second and cried out. He had to finish this quickly. Aderliene surged through his veins. The familar taste of blood drove him to bite harder. Only one thought rang out.

DIE!

Aggression. Rage. Bloodlust. Rezik was a traitor. Rezik deserved to die. Because of sniveling hoof-lickers like him, good gembounds suffered. Good gembounds died.

He pushed the deer-creature's head into the ground, if not to muffle him, then to fasten a better hold. Opal shook his head, a quick snap, to try and finished what he started. He'd rip the bastard's head clean off if he had too.

@Game Master Dark

Rezik fought, thrashing, kicking with helpless scrabbles in an attempt to strike the monster that had pounced him. Flashes of memory--of scenes just like this one, a thousand times over--roared through his mind.

Horror, guilt--despair. A desparate choking escaped him, the blood flow turning into a blue river, and his consciousness rapidly faded-

-as black-flecked white Howlite cracked and spread rapidly around him, engulfing his dying form. It was quick, and by then he'd just stopped moving, his body briefly limp in Opal's jaws before the stone flowed between them.

@Opal Three-Seven-Six (and also @Eythan ?)

For a heartbeat, Opal thought he had done it, but victory was short lived. The hard shell of a chrysalis engulfed the lifeless body. Opal dropped it in shock. NO. Exasperation beat through his body like drum. It drove him. "NO!"

He jumped on top of the chrysalis, up and down and down, in a futile attempt to break it. It was no use, he wasn't heavy enough to break through. Gnashing his teeth, he jumped off the howlite and paced around. Choosing a bone to fill with a staggering 60000 cycles of pent up frustration, anger, and grief, he scooped it up with his tail fins and batted at Rezik's chrysalis.

COWARD!

The ivory rib bounced off the shell with a thunk.