[Hickory]

    Since gaining acceptance into the pack, Hickory had found himself finding comfort beside the ocean. It wasn’t exactly swamp land, but it was still wet. There were certainly more noises to entertain him: the water, the birds, the breeze. At first he had spent the few days coming by the ocean under the moonlight when no one was around, still afraid to be seen by others. His welcome into the pack hadn’t been exactly the warmest, and he took it to heart. If the border guards were not use to seeing creatures like him, then chances are none of the pack was used to it either. So even though he had been properly let into the pack, he still felt like he had to hide. Now the sun was starting to sink down, the sky multiple colors as he looked up. Soon it would be dark, bringing in a cool breeze over the waves.

    This is the earliest he had been out to the beach. Usually it wasn’t until the sun had set and the moon hung high in the sky. Now he had risked it, going out into an open area while there was still light in the sky. When he hadn’t been exploring, he had been trying to find all the herbs that grew around the packlands. He wasn’t sure if there was a garden or anything of the sorts, and didn’t dare touch anything without permission. Hickory had sorted the information into his memory instead, to come back to later if he were given a healing job. There were also new herbs around the area, which he didn’t know. It brought forth the fear that if he didn’t know enough, would he continue to be allowed into the packlands? He needed to feel useful, to feel like he had a purpose in this place. But standing on the beach, toes digging into the dark sand, he felt a calmness over him.

    The thin boy sat down on the beach, all eyes open to take in everything that he could. Even if he wasn’t focused on it all, he was able to see the colors of the sky, the waves that were far away, and even some crashing onto the beach. It felt oddly peaceful, but there was some sense of taboo in being in such an open area. He had always been hidden, even in Borogrove. Hickory tried to keep his calm, taking too much pleasure in the breeze rolling over his faces. If anyone were to approach, he wouldn’t notice until they were too close for his comfort, and would easily startle. But until there was a reason for fear, the hellhound almost looked happy and at peace. It was something he had rarely felt.

[Terracotta]

"She is a beautiful piece of broken pottery, put back together by her own hands. And a critical world judges her cracks while missing the beauty of how she made herself whole again." - J.M Storm

The tide was rolling in, and Terra was going to have to leave her farm for the night.  Across her back were a couple of seagrass baskets, loosely woven, but able to hold her spoils none the less.  Her first attempts at weaving had been clumsy and useless, but she had remained diligent, and these latest creations might even be good for more than one trip out among the tide pools.  She rushed to grab the last few mussels she could from along the rocks before they became submerged once more.  As the surf began to flow and fill the spaces among the rocks, Terracotta conceded the ground.  It was time to head back inland.

She was so intent on her task of muscle gathering that she did not notice the figure off among the dunes.  Picking her way over the rocks, she climbed up onto a natural jetty to escape the tide.  the fiery-coated jogged along, following the trail along the edge of the high tide waterline. Her next destination would be to process her catch.  Tail swishing and steps light, she climbed up to a large boulder, worn flat by either the wind or sea.  Beside it, in a tangled mess of seagrass that may have once been a basket, were a collection of rocks and sticks.  Slipping out of her basket harness, Terra ducked into an impression in the nearby wall, withdrawing with a clump of sea grass.  Another impression held drift wood, and she selected a few pieces.

The light was fading fast now, and she rushed to complete her next task.  Shoving the dried grass and sticks into a depression in the earth, she scraped a large, jagged stone against another.  There was a shower of tiny flecks of light, and then smoke began to arise from the grass.  Laying down before it, Terra exhaled softly on the small ember until it properly caught.  Then she used it to light more of the grass.  Soon, she had a small dune fire going.   While her fire grew, she turned her attention back to the basket, still unaware that she was not alone on the beach.

[Livid (RP)]

The Ranger watched in silence as Terracotta set up her fire. She recalled the last time she had encountered fire. It was when both she and Gaven had accepted the careless human traveller that had nearly burnt down half their packlands with his careless techniques. The girl before her, on the other hand, seemed very much in control of what she had built, which was quite small anyway. Despite its ability to destroy and spread at a considerable speed, Livid was fascinated by the fire and slowly walked forward to join the dark, golden-haired girl on the beach. She saw that the girl heavily resembled fire herself. Various shades of orange splattered her paws, tail and chest. The rest of her fur was a burnt brown with darker spots. Bowing her head in greeting, Livid sat down and indicated the flames. "Quite an interesting thing: fire," she confessed. "One minute, it's small and controllable and then it's a powerful wave of destruction the next. I'm Livid, by the way. A Ranger."

She would turn back to look at the fire, completely unaware of Hickory slowly making his way up the beach in their general direction. Of course, Livid had limited exposure to hellions and was naturally ignorant to their various defects. Thus, when the fire slowly lit up the three approaching faces of the hellion, the Ranger would be quick to assume that she was looking at three separate wolves. "Oh, how nice," she would mutter to Terracotta, nodding at Hickory. "A cute triplet unit managed to gain entry. I think siblings always make it a bit easier to fit in..."

Her voice would falter when she realised that the three faces were indeed joined together on the red body of one hellion. The Ranger did a quick double take and stood up, fur bristling in alarm at what she was seeing. She had so many questions. Did they all have a separate brain and personality? Did all their eyes blink? Just how the fuck had the hellion acquired two extra faces? Due to completely lacking any kind of sensitivity or social skills, the Ranger would make a beeline for the hellion, determined to have a closer look. The hellion looked happy enough but, upon thrusting her nose in the direction of his neck, the poor red creature would be visibly startled. Like any individual would with one so blatantly invading their personal space. "Wow," Livid breathed, looking up at the three heads. "Just when you get a fire going, the ghost story just walks right on up."

Like it had previously stated, Livid possessed no tact and her eyes would naturally dart between the three sets of eyes, unsure of which one to focus on. Eventually, she would settle on the pair of eyes to the far left and would address it in a slow, commanding voice, like the hellion was of slow mind because of his appearance. The Ranger did not mean any harm but, yeah, the introduction was already going down the drain mighty fast. "Hello. I. Am. Livid!" she would begin. "It. Is. A. Pleasure. To. Meet. You!"

Because yelling in emphasised, short bursts was a suitable way to handle an already startled hellion. Obviously. It was almost remarkable how she had devolved from philosophical discussion to judgementally so fast.

[Hickory]

    In all honesty, he had barely noticed the others once he focused in on the water. Everything felt safe, alone. Something in him was saying that surely, no one else was around. He was peacefully alone, all eyes able to focus on what he felt calmed by. There was a slight startle to the hellion, as fire seemed to light his vision. There was a moment of panic, of remembering. In Borogrove his house had been torn to shreds, everything they owned thrown into a fire. It had scared him. Now Hickory froze in fear, looking at the fire for a few, fearful moments. Then his eyes darted around, looking at the flame colored wolf that seemed to be controlling the fire, and a silver friend beside them. He wasn’t sure if time had passed before he finally inched forward, listening to their voices.

    ”Wow,” Somehow in his state of fear, he had managed to catch the silver girl speaking with her breath. "Just when you get a fire going, the ghost story just walks right on up." All of Hickory’s heads seemed to chew on his lips at that comment. The fire seemed to be settling, no longer in the high blaze from when new tinder meets it. He looked at the two girls, the fire girl occupied with her fire, and the silver watching Hickory closely. Was he seen as a threat? Or was he seen as the normal monster freak? He actually preferred monster freak over threat. The silver girl tried to make eye contact with one of his side faces, and instead it just made Hickory focusing all eyes on her awkward. "Hello. I. Am. Livid!" Oh had he done something wrong? Had his appearance made her angry?

    "It. Is. A. Pleasure. To. Meet. You!" Oh duh, of course. Hickory let himself realize that she was not livid, she was named Livid. He focused all his ears and eyes on her, but tried to control his voice so that the side faces only echoed under their breath. “H-hi. I’m Hickory. It’s nice to meet you too?” Maybe he was suppose to speak slower like Livid had. Maybe it was how she spoke and understood stuff. Guilt crept over him, but it would probably be rude to repeat himself. Hickory tried to assume that with Livid living amongst so many people that spoke ‘normally’ that she would still understand him. He hoped. Hickory let his eyes dart towards the fire girl, not sure if she had something to say or not.

[Terracotta]

"She is a beautiful piece of broken pottery, put back together by her own hands. And a critical world judges her cracks while missing the beauty of how she made herself whole again." - J.M Storm

"Quite an interesting thing: fire,"

A voice said out of the gloom, and Terra jumped, not expecting anyone to be out here, let alone coming over for a chat.

" "One minute, it's small and controllable and then it's a powerful wave of destruction the next. I'm Livid, by the way. A Ranger.""

What? Was she not supposed to be lighting fires?  No one had ever mentioned it before, not that there had been many who had spoken to her at all.  For all anyone knew, Terra was as much of an outsider as the day her family had crossed the border. Terra donned the mask that all Saborans learned young. A semi-bored, blank face that revealed no intent or guilt.  She could have been smashing someone's skull in and used the same feint of innocence. Not that Terra did smash heads, but she could... if she had to...

"Terracotta." She replied warily.

"Oh, how nice, A cute triplet unit managed to gain entry. I think siblings always make it a bit easier to fit in..."

Terra huffed under her breath, realizing all too late that she had picked the wrong stretch of beach to smoke muscles this evening.  True, her fire was going well, and she could continue unabated by visitors, but did she want to?  No. No she did not.  She was about to make an excuse when she caught the first glimpse of the newcomer from across the fire.  Her mouth was left agape ever so slightly, her words falling completely out of her head.  What Livid had first thought of as triplets were far to close in proximity... Terra snapped her jaw shut with a barely audible click of her teeth.

"Wow, Just when you get a fire going, the ghost story just walks right on up."

Well that was tactless.

"Hello. I. Am. Livid! It. Is. A. Pleasure. To. Meet. You!"

And... that was worse.  Terra leaned subtly away from the Livid yelling.

"H-hi. I’m Hickory. It’s nice to meet you too?"

Terra's ears pricked forward as he spoke, her eyes locked on the multitude of faces.  Fascinating, simply fascinating.  She may have even said it out loud, abet under her breath.  Certainly not with any intention of being heard.   Terra's mind was already buzzing with questions.  She analyzed what she had noticed so far.  His senses seemed to move independently, ears, eyes and mouths just out of sync enough to make her think it was a separate action.  Multiple brains?  Unlikely.  Were there three minds behind three faces?  Could they each speak, or was it one mind with three voices? He had said 'I'm', not 'we', and only one name was given. Oooh, she wanted to know, but asking would be rude, and she wasn't going to be as tactless as Livid.  Just introductions, and then go back to your task...

"Terracotta." She repeated, trying to be polite.  Then, before she could stop herself, she blurted out:  "You must have three unique larynx. Can you work them independently?"

Apparently she was  just as tactless as Livid.

[Livid (RP)]

Livid genuinely did not pick up on the tactlessness of her comments. Tact was almost nonexistent in the North. Also, she had grown up in a sheltered community, though she would be highly offended if anyone described it as such. It was ironic that she had come across Terracotta, who seemed equally as unsociable as she. Perhaps if she had simply done was she normally did and sat down in silence, the two would have hit if off better. As usual in these sorts of tales, pretending to be something you're not had not ended well. Liv was not a social butterfly. She never would be. Not tonight, not even on a night a hundred years from now. 

The girl offered nothing but her name. Livid was taken slightly aback. Like one does when they've come across a sort of personality clash. "That's a... nice name," she offered, trying to sound casual, like she had done all this before. "Unusual, but nice."

Now, her lack of tact was glaringly obvious. She cringed for herself before anybody else could. "So, what's with the fire?" she asked. "Can I fetch anything for it?"

When Hickory made his nervous introduction, Liv's opposite of a poker face betrayed her shock that this thing could speak. In English. She could feel Terracotta's irritation brewing. Fortunately, this soon gave way to fascination as she asked Hickory about his three magical performing heads.

"You must have three unique larynx. Can you work them independently?" 

"That's a good question," Livid concurred, before turning to Hickory with a playful (or, to any outsider, diabolical) smirk. "Why don't we try them out? Think fast, Hickory!"

With that, Livid would grab a pawful of sand and hurl it at the closest head to her, the left one. The trick was to see if the heads would react. Of course, this was a very cruel sport but the Ranger was too absorbed by fascination and curiosity to really handle this in a gentle manner. Also, in her head, if Hickory could not react to a bit of sand, then he was not worthy of Gemini in her eyes.

Also, it was all in good fun, right? Right?

[Hickory]

    This was turning into one of the encounters that showed why he was always so nervous. Hickory worried at his lips slightly, all his eyes trying to take in the two wolves before him. They were normal looking, had two eyes, one face each. He rarely met anyone with traits like himself, and it felt weird when being in front of normal people. For some reason he was remembering the fire that had been set in his home, when his things and his friends’ things had been thrown into a large fire. He had cried, and people had watched. It hadn’t been fun. He had the attention of them all for that moment, and he felt like he had the attention now, although it was far less people. He looked to the fire girl, as she shared her name. "Terracotta." They could probably hear Hickory softly repeating the name under his breaths, trying to remember it. Why was he so scared?

    "You must have three unique larynx. Can you work them independently?" He knew what that meant. He had heard that word before. Hickory was a healer, he had to know weird words like that. But his mind couldn’t place it, not right now. “I…” He choked up, not sure what she was asking anymore. "That's a good question," Livid seemed to smirk, and it only made Hickory’s mind more scrambled. It was never good when someone looked at him like that. "Why don't we try them out? Think fast, Hickory!" He didn’t even properly process what was going on, until he felt the stinging in his eyes. A yelp escaped him as he tried to walk sideways, away from where the sand had come from. He blinked all his eyes multiple times, finding the stinging was only coming from one pair. He focused to close them tight, whimpering. The other eyes focused on Livid, and tears were seeming to well up in the boy’s eyes.

    “Th-that’s!!” Hickory cried out, lowering his heads to use his paw to try and knock the sand away. “That’s mean!!” He was leaning down awkwardly with his ass in the air, trying to rub the sand out of his eyes. The beach being under him didn’t help much. “Why would you do that?” The more he blinked, the more he got out of his eyes. With his paws over the left face, the main voice came from the middle, with some echoes from the right. Maybe it had answered their question, but Hickory could barely even remember it now, too focused on the stinging in his eyes and trying to rub the sand off. All his faces were frowning, with small whines coming from him when he managed to rub his face the right way.

[Antares]

ANTARES

Dusk light washed over the beach, the speckle of stars creating a glittering blanket to rest beneath. The boy had no intentions of approaching the figures that milled about — he merely wanted to watch from his safe distance, hidden in the shadows cast by gently sloping dunes.

The flame kissed girl was pretty, his might supplied idly, wisps of long hair framing her face, each movement causing them to dance like embers. She looked content in her work, and a part of Antares envied her for it. But he dared not approach. Not the fire girl, not the silver newcomer, nor the red one with — oh. Ears perked and head raised, watching as the two seemed to notice the obvious... oddity that was the red hellion.

He had no intention of approaching — Shuck had been pretty too, after all he reminded himself, and the tattered remains of his ear... the healing cuts at the nape of his neck burned.

But their voices carried with the cool ocean breeze, and the boy's heart twisted and lurched. Antares had always thought his home to be kind. Like his mother and father. Like Harriette. But perhaps he had been wrong — perhaps there were more Shucks than there were Harriettes.

The boy rose to his tired paws, ready to leave the cruel scene set out before him. But... but —

Why don't we try them out? Think fast, Hickory!

Mismatched eyes widened, something burning and nauseating churned in his gut. The woman grinned. The boy winced and cried.

And Antares — Antares darted from the shadows, shoving his gangly adolescent frame between the cruel woman and the unfortunate hellion with teeth bared. "That's mean." The pale prince sneered (and later he would think back to this moment, the snarl that had dripped from his mouth with such loathing, surprising even himself). Mismatched eyes flicked from the grey ranger to the fire-kissed girl, and finally settled upon the flickering flame.

"Think fast." Antares breathed in a single exhale and in that same breath, his pale paw suddenly moved to scoop up a handful of the burning embers and aflame grass. The fire burned and licked at his paw, but he ignored the searing pain as he swung his arm in an attempted to slam the burning pawful right into Livid's grinning face.

And if she evaded him — well the fire was still burning strong.

[Terracotta]

"She is a beautiful piece of broken pottery, put back together by her own hands. And a critical world judges her cracks while missing the beauty of how she made herself whole again." - J.M Storm

"That's a... nice name, Unusual, but nice."

And Livid wasn't?!  Terra raised a brow at her, but didn't speak before she offered to help with the fire.  Terra was about to tell her that she didn't need any help, but then Hickory appeared. And then suddenly all hell broke loose!  

"Why don't we try them out? Think fast, Hickory!"

One minute they were having a polite (polite?) conversation, and suddenly there was sand flying up.  Terra jerked her head back to avoid getting hit herself, the appalled expression on her face very clear.  What the hell was up with this kid?!  Sure, Terra was not the most tactful speaker, and her sharp tongue was a little cutting sometimes, but she didn't throw sand in people's faces.

"What the hell?!" Terracotta yelled at the same time as Hickory cried out  Th-that’s!! That’s mean!! Why would you do that?”

Terra's head snapped around to glare at Livid, the fire dancing through her eyes. Her lips drew back into a snarl, and she was about ready to bitch this bitch out, but then suddenly, a newcomer appeared.  Terra didn't even really have time to get a good look at him before he entered the clash.

"That's mean." He snarled, echoing the general sentiment on the situation. Then he echoed again, this time parroting Livid's word with a cutting whisper. "Think fast."

Terra, who had been sitting on the far side of the fire from Hickory, on Livid's opposite side, scrambled to get out of the way of the stray embers that rocketed in her general direction.  What had started as a quiet and solitary evening was very quickly becoming a shitshow.

"HeyHeyHey!"  Terra yelled, having retreated and now was standing with her legs splayed closer to the base of a dune. She refocused her ire on Livid, bearing her fangs and snarling "What is your problem?!" and as a general sentiment to the assembled party "Knock it off!"

All she wanted to do was smoke some mussels.  Her fire was NOT meant to be a weapon in this circus!  Out of everyone here, she was the one with the fire, not to mention the fire coat, and she was the most level-headed of the bunch.  Unbelievable.  Who invited this ruckus anyway?!

[Kaolin]

#dc143c

He's a brother above all else, a protector. For fuck's sake look after your sisters and mother. His father's words called out to him and perhaps he was overreacting, but a promise was a promise. No matter what.

It's why on this evening he comes rushing to the scene, the flicker of fire catching his vivid eyes and the screams stinging his ears and making his legs move into overdrive. "TERRA?!" Came a lion's roar, from a wolf's booming chest. Dashing into the scene all he saw was a paw swinging, one full of fire, and it was in that moment his legs sprang to action.

Darting in front of Livid, he lowered his head in order to scream at the assailant. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YO-" The words were cut off by a surprisingly strong slap to the side of his face. The initial impact stung, but then BURNED. Searing hot embers, cooking and burning, melting fur and flesh. There was a white hot pain, his left eye burned and then went dark. A howl of pain, a snarling growl, a bestial cry, rumbled from his chest and Kaolin jerked backwards. Red hot embers still sticking to his face, STILL BURNING. "MY... EYE!!" He managed, paw raising to scratch and scrape embers away though causing himself more pain in the process.

His lone good eye would fall onto the pale form of the boy, a snarl echoing in his chest. "What the fuck!? IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" He snarled, fur bristling and teeth bared, his one eye scanning over the assailant. A kid, just a fucking kid. Wincing, he fought back the urge to yell in pain. "T-Terra?! Are you okay?!" He'd turn his attention back on the real reason for why he was here, good eye searching for his sister.

[Lucina.]

"You MOTHERFUCKER!!!" came booming screams of unhinged, terrible rage. She'd been idle, wrought by emotions and by the shame that typically followed a traumatic experience coupled with survivor's guilt. Idle for an amount of time she'd long-since given up on counting. Idle until she'd come across the distant scent of not one, but two siblings. Then she followed, in no real rush, with no real plan in mind except to see her brother and her sister once more.  Because family was everything to Lucina, in this terrible world. Family was everything... and family was on fire. She saw the paw flying, the embers glowing, and she saw her dutiful but stupidly selfless brother fling himself in the way. Her heart sank into her stomach while her body burned with a fire that had been on the backburner for so long. The spitfire daughter flung herself at the culprit - this Antares - with no hesitation or consideration for mercy. Kicking and swatting and swinging paws and limbs meant to strike the fucking bastard clean to the ground, bonus points if she managed to make him bleed. "THE FUCK YOU THINKING COMING FOR MY FUCKING BROTHER LIKE THAT YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!" Sharp fangs sought out his ears, looking to tear and chomp and slice. "WHO'S THE GODDAMN MEAN ONE NOW, HUH?!?!?" Back legs kicked and kicked and kicked until eventually she let loose her grip and let herself be kicked away from him, back towards her siblings, though that deadly stare held firm on him, "You even LOOK within FUCKING SPITTING DISTANCE of my family again and I'LL RIP YOUR FACE A NEW HOLE!!!" Heaving and panting and shuddering, Lucina all but trembled as she shakily stepped over to Kaolin, tears threatening to break from her eyes as they welled. "No, no no no," She couldn't tell much, she wasn't a healer, but she could see. And what she saw was terrifying. The melted flesh, the whistling singes of his fur, and the smell. God, the smell. "You... why did you... stupid stupid." Brother brother, why did you do that... why did you care so deeply. Care so much to get hurt. I wasn't here yet. I could've stopped it. I didn't stop it... I've failed again.

[Sappara]

A E S T H E T I C       A R T

Beneath the swaying trees and the dew-lined grass, something stirs.

She does not know how long she has been down here - truthfully, it didn't really matter to her. Often, she did not see the twisted roots of the colossal oak that formed the den in which she was contained. Instead she saw mountains stretching out beyond the clouds, an ocean that rippled in the sky, and a field of red that was illuminated by golden fireflies. She revelled in the scent of poppies and the drizzle of rain. It was a world that provoked a sense of...peace.

But today...she could only smell smoke.

Wake up, Sappara, Mother had told her, It's not your time yet.

Her movements were clumsy and her bones ached in their disuse - an ancient being rumbling back to life. For the first time since the wayward family arrived in Gemini, a Saboran Elite emerges back into it's plains. Even if she was merely a shell of what she was in her youth, there was still a dominant aura that surrounded the broken woman. Be aware of your surroundings, came the dominating thought from her homeland - Saboran instinct. But this place was no jungle, there was a lack of shadows around every corner - the green fields gave her a clear view.

Find your family.

She stumbles, staggers, limps - but she moves. Her chest aches with every breath, and her mind is still catching up and trying to understand.

"TERRA?!"

Find your children.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YO-"

She ignores the pain when she runs, ignores the burn that she feels everytime her heart beats. There is something inside her, trying to claw its way out - she recognises it. Embers that are crackling and spitting but there is no flame that takes over her soul. There was once a raging beast that tore apart everything in it's sight, but it's old, crippled, weak. Her fury has become a whimper.

It's killing her, she realises in that moment.

"THE FUCK YOU THINKING COMING FOR MY FUCKING BROTHER LIKE THAT YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!"

Dawn provided one positive for Sappara - it let her easily spot the fire that led her to them. Whether they'd see her coming in the receding dark was dependent on how much they paid attention in the ongoing chaos, but one thing was certain - Mother is here now. And Mother felt hair being pulled out and a chunk being taken from one of her ears as her daughter unleashed an anger that ran in their bloodline.

Because Sappara stood guard above Antares; the tiny, defenceless child who had lashed out in the worst possible way.

A small trickle of blood ran down the side of her face, as dazed, confused eyes looked up to Lucina. "Just...a child?.." Why? Why was her daughter trying to harm a tiny child? Her breaths are ragged as she sweeps her eyes to her other two children (where was Khanda?), and her pupils narrow as she spots Kaolin. "Y-Your eye..." A paw lifts up and reaches out towards him, a mother completely lost in what to do. "Kaolin...what..." She finally brings her gaze to the two strangers, that panicked feral look still present in her eyes.

(The embers are crackling louder, beginning to spark, and her heart feels like it's about to burst).

"Get a healer..." Her voice is quiet, but that powerful Elite started to shine back through, the red ink feeling heavy beneath her eyes. Her voice becomes more firm, more commanding, more fitting for a woman like her. "Get my son a healer."

If they still hesitated around her, for any reason, there would be no hiding the outburst-

"NOW!!!"

[Livid (RP)]

(ooc: here's me returning to this thread. If you guys don't want to continue this, that's fine but I'm going to have Livid take her lumps lol)

Hickory cried out upon receiving the blunt of her (frankly) nasty attack and an inkling of remorse began to take hold in Livid as Terra scolded her. Before she could respond with something along the lines of 'it's just a prank, bro', the Ranger was soon facing a pale, younger wolf who was still in the shrouds of childhood and visibly unimpressed by her conduct. Understatement of the century, particularly when the other wolf repeated Hickory's criticism of her behaviour. Mean? Why, yes. That was a valid observation. She had been a little hasty and she opened her mouth to offer Hickory an apology before... Wait, what the hell was he doing with that fire? Oh, God. He was going to hit her. Her instincts screamed at her to dodge but, before she could even blink, somebody stepped in the way. That somebody took the hit. Livid's jaw dropped as the muddy brown boy screamed in pain, something about his eye. Holy shit, that escalated quickly. The fuck was this kid thinking? It was just a bit of sand. 

"I was a dick, but you could've hit me without the fire," the Ranger grunted, annoyed that she had met one of those kids who thought they could play with matches. "Just my two cents."

She walked forward to see if she could help, aware that the boy was in serious trouble. Then, all hell broke loose. 

"You MOTHERFUCKER!!!"

A blue girl came storming out of nowhere, yellow eyes blazing as bright as the fire itself. She could not deny that she had behaved like a prick, had deserved to be burned... expect somebody else had been burned instead. Somebody with a family, with friends. She felt like she had to intervene but everything was happening too quickly. The blue girl screaming at the pale boy, Terra looking like she wanted a trap door to open and drop her somewhere, anywhere but here. All over a flick of sand. And then another woman came from the shadows, looking appropriately angry. In fact, angry was the theme here. Anger here, anger over there. Sappara certainly personified such an emotion, despite her cool blue coat. Livid was torn between feeling irritated and guilty. Irritated at Antares for his disproportionate retribution (because sand to the face =/= fire to the fucking eye) and guilty for not taking the hit herself. She could've handled it, could've done something for herself. Not this kid.

Upon being told to fetch a healer by the enraged blue maiden, Livid finally found her voice, which was comically matter-of-fact and calm despite the circumstances. "There's no time for a healer. You need to get him into the water," she instructed. "I'll try and find some herbs. I'm sure I can find some aloe somewhere."

And she took off, eager to get away from the wrath of what was evidently an aggressive family unit of Gemini. She was a novice when it came to herbs, that was true. However, she remembered when she had accepted the human and he had accidentally allowed a fire to get out of control. She had gone to the healers for a small burn on her leg and they had recommended aloe. Within minutes, she had found a specimen of the plant in a more arid part of the territory and was quickly rushing back. One thing was for certain: she was not going to be "socialising" for a long ass time after this. 

After all, this was all her fault. Nothing like a speck of sand to kickstart a drama fest.

(if I've missed any details or anything out: lemme know, guys. My bad for taking months to get to this. ^^; )

[Hickory]

    Everything was happening so much faster than Hickory could process. A child ran up close to the beastly skinny dog, defending him while Hickory didn’t know how. ”Think fast.” The child copied what Livid had done, only with embers from the fire. Oh no, oh no. This was very bad. And then someone else jumped in, taking the embers to the face. Livid was saved by this stranger, his words cut off before he could complete his sentence. ”MY...EYE!!!” Oh no this was so, so very bad. There was the healer instinct to try and help, try to get the embers off and to help, but panic was gripping his entire body. "What the fuck!? IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" The truly beastly man snarled, and Hickory wanted to grab at the boy, try to get him to safety, but he couldn’t move.

    "THE FUCK YOU THINKING COMING FOR MY FUCKING BROTHER LIKE THAT YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!" Hickory wondered if he wouldn’t be allowed in Gemini anymore. He hadn’t really started this, but it had started over him. The strange woman went at the child, and red almost covered Hickory’s vision, but he couldn’t fucking move. He was breathing heavy as he watched this woman go after a child. "WHO'S THE GODDAMN MEAN ONE NOW, HUH?!?!?" Yet another person joined in, this time taking the attack from the angry woman. She stood in front of Ant, and Hickory took the moment to pull the child under him, to protect him. The woman was dazed, and Hickory wasn’t sure if it was the attack or just her way. "Get a healer..." Oh no, he was a healer. "Get a healer..." Hickory looked at the man whose face was half burnt. He needed to do something, but he could only try to protect the kid.

    ”NOW!!!” Even her scream didn’t make him move, he almost got even lower. "There's no time for a healer. You need to get him into the water," Livid must have been shocked as well, but now was speaking again. Hickory needed to move, to help, it was his job. Not officially, not yet, but it was what he did! Instead he backed up, away from the group, and crumpled into the sand, closing his eyes and pushing his faces into his front legs. If he didn’t see them, maybe it wasn’t happening. Also, what a lousy healer.

[Terracotta]

"She is a beautiful piece of broken pottery, put back together by her own hands. And a critical world judges her cracks while missing the beauty of how she made herself whole again." - J.M Storm

"TERRA?!"

Her brother's voice called her name, but before she could turn to look, he was there.

"Kao-"

And then Terracotta's world exploded.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YO-MY EYE!""

"You MOTHERFUCKER!!!  THE FUCK YOU THINKING COMING FOR MY FUCKING BROTHER LIKE THAT YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!  WHO'S THE GODDAMN MEAN ONE NOW, HUH?!?!?You even LOOK within FUCKING SPITTING DISTANCE of my family again and I'LL RIP YOUR FACE A NEW HOLE!!!"

"I was a dick, but you could've hit me without the fire, Just my two cents."

"What is your problem?!"

Terra squeezed her eyes shut, and when the snapped back open, they reflected the flames at their feet.

"Knock it off!" She roared, displaying a temper that was previously buried deep within.

"T-Terra?! Are you okay?!" Kao asked

She spun her head towards him, seeing the mess of his face.  Her own contorted, reflecting her feeling of sadness, guilt and worry.

"I should be asking yo-" She began softly, only to be interrupted.

"Y-Your eye..." Mom?  How had Sappara known they'd needed her?  Suddenly, she was there...

"You... why did you... stupid stupid." Lucy...

Everything happened in a rush. Her family had suddenly risen from their graves, and rallied around Kaolin with apparitionary speed.  All except her father... Thresher was in a grave too deep, rooted in the earth under the boughs of a flaming tree.

"Get a healer... Get my son a healer. NOW!!!"

"There's no time for a healer. You need to get him into the water, I'll try and find some herbs. I'm sure I can find some aloe somewhere."

No time to argue, Terra turned from Livid and walked past the red oddity cowering in the sand.  Curiosity forgotten in the wake of crisis.

"You!" She rounded on the boy who had thrown the flames. "Go get a healer." Her tone was a flat order, daring him to argue with three angry women. She shot Lucy a glance, hoping her sister would take up her meaning.  Then, in a voice much softer and kinder, she spoke to her brother. "Come on, Kao.  It's gonna sting, but it'll help."

The flaming girl led her coldfire brother to the sea, while the rage in her heart burned hotter than his eye.

[/b]

[Antares]

ANTARES

His arm swings, paw burning with the crackle of embers – but suddenly the slate woman is gone and in her place is a boy. It’s too late to stop, too late to divert his attack or back away. No time to even pull back the momentum.
Mismatched eyes widen a fraction in horror –

(but there’s a grim twist of satisfaction in his gut as the blow connects, and a nagging urge to go after Livid again because she had evaded punishment and it isn’t right.)

The feeling lasts only a moment, a split second before his heart freefalls and ears pin back as the fire-kissed boy screams. He needs help, needs the wound to be cooled and dead skin peeled away. He needs – Antares takes a miniscule step forward, jaws parted but no words escaped him as shades of blue flooded the scene.

The child flinches as the screeching girl lunges close and but he doesn’t shut his eyes in time to avoid seeing the blue stranger take the flurry of attacks in his stead.
(Something stirs in chest, an intense urge to reach out to her – help her – but the child in him wins, pressing again Hickory’s vivid coat as the boy pulls him close).
Antares doesn’t register their words as he simply stares numbly between Sappara and the burnt flesh of Kaolin’s face.

You! Attention snaps to the flame kissed girl, lips curling in a defensive show of teeth. He wants to scream or cry or run away. Go get a healer. “No…” The pale prince whimpers as Harriette’s kind face comes to mind. He can picture disappointment or disgust or anger in her eyes and suddenly the boy can’t hold back a wave of nausea.

Sick spills from his jaws into the sand, across his paws and down his chest. “I didn’t – it was – I can’t…” And without another word, the pale prince turns and flees from what he’s done.

(In mere seconds he runs into a male win wine red eyes. His heart lurches with at the sight of him and words spill from his mouth. The beach – go help – )

[Auri El]

AURI EL

He’s nearly knocked over as a pale youth covered in the putrid scent of vomit barrels into him – he stares with concern and tries to question the boy, but the child simply stammers and stares as though he’s seen a ghost.

There’s urgency in the boy’s voice as he stammers out words like help them and hurt and the beach before he continues his flight deeper into the heart of Gemini. Auri El is torn for a moment – to follow the boy or head toward the beach – but he soon decides to see just what happened at the beach to frighten the child so and resolve to find the boy later.

Breaking into a run, the ex-Saboran races toward the coast, wine reds assessing the situation quickly as he sidles up beside the only familiar face – but there’s familiar red tattoos in the mix too, and it’s difficult to tear his gaze away from the obviously Saboran woman.

“Liv, my friend, what’s happened here?” He would listen to her explanation as he moved to approach the pretty fire colored girl and the injured boy toward the waters. “Don’t dip your head in! There’s too much sand and particles in the water. It’ll get the wound dirty. Here, I can help.” He was not officially a healer, but the art has been passed to him at a young age. Quickly, Auri El pulled a cloth and wads of cotton from his satchel. Wrapping the wads of cotton within the cloth, he’d soak it into the cold water, hopefully allowing the cotton to be soaked while keeping any sand or other matter from reaching. “Dab this on the burns to clean it for now.” He’d instruct Terracotta. “It’ll do the job until we can clean it more thoroughly with fresh water.” Wine red gaze would peer at the injury as he pulled marigold from his satchel to make into a quick poultice. “I’m afraid there is a slim chance of saving your sight, my boy. But we’ll prevent infection.”

Auri El then took a moment to glance at the others upon the beach. “Is everyone else alright? Any other injuries? I have herbs for shock, too.” Eyes fell upon the strange red boy who looked absolutely frightened, the Saboran woman, and the furious blue youth that appeared to be her child.

(There was a guarded suspicion in his eyes as he gazed at the tattooed woman, as though silently questioning if she was the one to inflict such damage to the youth – the scene felt eerily Saboran, after all)