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The battle coming to a sort of calm, Heidla felt the gripping rage letting her heart go. She tweaked her head and looked around. Familiar faces, all twisted with battle feelings of anger and fun and enjoyment. She nodded in recognition: "Hope you're enjoying yourselves, Famine clan....There's enough fear for all of us", her voiced throbbed with hatred and impatience. After all, she seemed to be growing too meek-hearted, it was a good chance to prove to herself she was still strong.

Cass wasn't paying attention to Candace - not entirely. Her attention was everywhere as she tried to listen to the older woman, then she'd look up at the being who stood before her - the new killer gravity monster from the clan of Conquest. He now stood where the one who had nearly killed her previously had before.

He was now the one holding that field in his hand.

That pressure.

That potential to buckle that she could possibly never return from. Even in her head, Nicodemus could not offer much comfort for the situation. Cass's mind was going everywhere, and she had a rather high potential to panic underneath the stressful situation she was being put into. Sure, she handled most stress well, and so far she'd handled this beautifully, but....

There wasn't much for her to try and work with. No buffer, nothing.

Cass took a deep and shaking breath as she looked into Invictus's blank, unchanging face: "I do not fear you." It was a lie, every word reeked of her terror, yet she forced herself to stay tall and not look away.

Not even as the Protector's hand squeezed down tighter on her head, as his nails dug into her skin, his thumb slicing through the flesh of her temple like it was warm butter and blood began to drip down it.

Not even as that one tear - pure fear - slid down her cheek.


She was going to die.

The pain was agonizing-- excruciating, even-- but she was still alive. Her eyes, glazed over with pain, shut tightly, tears leaking from the corners. Clerise chewed on the insides of her mouth, bearing the pain without a cry.

{[ We are strong. Sit tight, sweetheart. ]}

Clerise laughed, hysterical, fingers digging into the dirt. We aren't, though. We aren't, we aren't. It hurts.

Senga's eyes flickered from the remnants of the chaotic battle around them to Marcus when the other talked again, calling out to a blond not so far away. His expression turned sickly cold, devoid of the hot bloodlust that had filled him in the middle of the fray. It wasn't until after Jay appeared and kicked him down that the wolf even moved to react, his studious gaze only breaking to turn to Jay for a moment, inclining his head, making sure she was okay. "Hello again." His need for smiling had abandoned him alongside the hotblooded lust, "have you soaked your blade enough yet, Jay?"

He turned his attention back to Marcus though, not caring to hold her gaze for an answer that might be staggered with repetitive words and delightful chirps. It was fascinatingly strange how prideful these humans were, fighting for a cause that he felt rather useless. But he wasn't on their side, and he certainly didn't understand their ways. Uncurling his wings, the wolf stalked forward, crouching in front of the other and reaching to dig his claws into Marcus's torso, sharp nails scratching at flesh hard enough to hurt. It was almost unsaid command not to kill them, not yet, and even if he was allowed just one -- would it satisfy the pain in his core?

"You humans are so stubborn." He said quietly, his breath broken by a quiet growl. Stubborn and fighting a useless war. His wings ruffled, and his grip tightened, the skulls clicking hollowly together as the voices began to speak up within his head. Monsters, monsters, monsters, They chided him gently, will you kill them all? His lips thinned, and his pupils seemed to dilate, swallowed by the gold. "I can smell the fear radiating off of you." His head tilted, his eyes lowering to Marcus, "are you afraid of death?" He turned to look at the blond boy then, the one that the hunter had called to before. "Or seeing the others you care about die?"

It was a stupid answer, not even meant as a taunt.

And if he knew anything at all about these humans, and emotions in general, the answer wasn't one or the other. It was both.

But humans - well, - they never failed to surprise him.

Emerging into this strange new world has rendered Mimsy entirely useless. She was not really cut out for fighting, but she was willing to do what she needed to do, so attacks were parried and returned and the enemies all kept at a safe distance.

But her mind wasn't on attacking. She was amazed by the way the foreign creatures worked: how their muscles rippled like a human, how they moved like a human, how they fought like a human. Yet...they weren't. Not even close.

Her skin tingled with excitement. She wanted to see how the insides worked too. Did they respond well to trauma? What sort of elasticity did their minds have? How far could she push before she broke them? The buzz of the endless questions filled her head, louder than the clash of battle, nearly drowning out the noises of disgust Svensyl made at her thoughts.

Eyes that were wide with wonder closed quickly in response to the blinding light. They clenched shut in response to the searing pain that followed.

<Snickersnacksnickersnacksnickersnack~>

It was the stupid weapon's stupid singsong rather than the pain itself that made her retch. She swallowed the taste of bile, sneering up the woman in front of them. Her fist pressed itself into the ground beneath it, knuckles bloodying from dull frustration. Stand. She wanted to stand. Why couldn't she stand.

"Your request for our submission," she began, choking out a hoarse laugh, "Is a painfully obvious pining for power that you lack. Anything with real power over us wouldn't need to beg for our compliance." Her voice didn't carry well, audible to only those closest to her, still quieted from the remnants of pain.

This red one was a loss, clearly mad. Leaving Rep to his laughter, what ever little it might do for him in the face of death she moved to the young conquest Horsemen.

She watched calmly as the whole scene continued to play out, as she shouted at them.

"We could chop the shoes off... at the ankle?" She lifted a single axe flipping it easily in the air before catching it again. Before looking up as another shouted towards them.

Moving towards Ofelia the horsemen flipped the axe again, "Kick?" The wings snapped wide as she pivoted bringing a heel across the hunters cheek opening a thin red line.

Tseng continued to smile at Candace.

"Such strong conviction you have! I would applaud you but you are but a monkey. PIERCING SHOT!" he suddenly shouted before releasing the arrow to shoot point blank into her thigh.