The Head of the Snake [PLOT TOPIC]

A huff escaped Theron as she felt claws scrape against her badger pelt, eyes flickering as the she-cat spoke. "What is different? We were only gathering information back then and only four cats - now?" she questioned as she reared backwards, slicing into Zinnia with everything she had. "We know everything. I know things about the Clans, their history that I assure you that even you don't know. Of WindClan and RiverClan fighting over a broken jaw. You Clan cats think you so mighty when even you know nothing of baseless violence at times. History always repeats itself - the Clans will go to war again, even if you stand now in unity. You always do. We aren't the first 'threat' you have rosen up against by standing together yet you always return to each other's throats in no time. That was the cycle we sought to end - to bring you under one paw. And all you had to do was agree and no more cats would have to die by ours or your claws."

Theron used Rending Front Paw on Zinnia, dealing 20 damage and costing 25 stamina.

Theron
79/120 HP
250/300 SP (-25)

Zinnia
60/100 HP (-20)
230/280 SP

A laugh escaped Lexine's maw as she saw the look in the she-cat's eyes - hesitation. "Coward," she hissed as she reared up, orange eyes glinting with glee. Then, she brought down her paws hard onto the she-cat's head, slamming her back into the ground. She took a step away, a growl escaping her as she looked almost...Disappointed by how easy she had gone down. "I am going to slaughter every WindClan cat for the death of my brother. I was going to go for his killer first...But perhaps," she noted with a grin. "I will start with what Theron should've finished." With a yowl, she leapt forward toward the downed she-cat's throat.

Lexine used Upright Lock on Hayglow, dealing 16 damage and costing 15 stamina.

Lexine:
64/85 HP
200/230 SP (-15)

Hayglow:
1/40 HP (-16)
85/120

Hayglow's head was ringing as she was sent crashing to the ground, feeling blood now dripping from her head - Lexine having scraped claws against her forehead in the heavy blow. A whimper escaped her as her ears rang, hearing the she-cat above her growl...Something. She shook her head, trying to make sense of it until she caught the last of it. 'what Theron should've finished.' Memories ripped through her, being pinned by both Lexine and her brother while Theron threatened her life for all of WindClan to see. Somehow...Somehow she had lived. Her eyes widened as she lifted her head to see the large she-cat leaping toward her. Panic flared through her as she tried to scramble to her paws - to get out of the way but the energy wasn't there. Her breathing was laborious in those few heartbeats before she drew back with closed eyes and swiped blindly upwards - feeling claws meet pelt...Then, a warm liquid.

Then, a pain gasp.

Slowly, Hayglow's eyes opened to see that Lexine had come to a startled stop, paws rooted to the ground as her chest and throat had a nasty gash from Hayglow's blind strike. The blood bubbled around Lexine's throat as her paws gave out from beneath her, hitting the ground. "Ho-how..." she gurgled, eyes loosely trained on Hayglow. "How did a coward kill me..." There was a painful pause, a huffed laugh as blood dripped from her mouth. "...I'm coming...Alois..."

With that, Lexine grew still.

Hayglow used Killing ‘Bite’ on Lexine, killing Lexine and costing 10 stamina.

Lexine:
0/85 HP
200/230 SP

Hayglow:
1/40 HP
75/120

Realization hit Hayglow all at once as her eyes shifted from Lexine's still form to the blood that coated her paw. She...She had... She hiccuped as she stumbled away, shaking her head. "N-No! I-I didn't mean...I-I didn't want to!" she sobbed as another hiccup ran through her body, scrambling away as if she could escape the blood that stained her claws. "I never- I never wanted to kill...! How could I...?" A soft whimper escaped her as she suddenly fell forward, the pain of all of her wounds coming rushing back. She threw her paws over her head, nearly gagging at the rich scent that followed as she bit back the bile. She had never thought of killing another creature before she had joined WindClan - she had come to terms with hunting prey but to hurt another cat - to kill another cat was...She...

She sobbed, unsure of what else to do.

The dark tom made the very unfortunate mistake of looking away from his opponent, and Eos gathered herself grimly, gaze darkening as it remained fixed on him. She shoved herself roughly to her feet as the Riverclanner suddenly backed off, and a low growl escaped the scout at the slice of claws across her pelt. One of the others had joined Jayshriek- Pyrik. So he'd betrayed them, then.

Being caught by two cats wasn't the position she had wanted to be in, but the scout would deal with the Riverclanner first. She struck out with harsh, unsheathed claws, slamming Jayshriek down into the ground before taking a step back, eyes taking in both of her opponents.

"You should know your place, Pyrik. It isn't with them. Who raised you and trained you for all these moons, hmm?"

Eosphoros used Sanctum Strike on Jayshriek, costing -20sp and dealing -15 damage. Jayshriek is STUNNED for ONE TURN.

Jayshriek - stunned for 1 turn-
30/45 [HP] (-15)
130/160 [SP]

Pyrik
75/75 [HP]
190/200 [SP]

Eosphoros
53/85 [HP]
210/230 [SP] (-20)

"I think you'll learn tonight that the tenacity of a warrior is rather difficult to match, if you haven't already," Zinnia purred with lingering affection for her fellow warriors. "We rise and fall like the sun, and much the same... We will always return. Never fallen for long, with starlight to guide us through the darkest night. We have hope and persistence, and that - that, you could not take, as much as you might try. We have love for ourselves and each other and everything we are. But if that is your quarrel, then it's not with me. I surrendered to your power... Though I only did so knowing in my heart that this moment was inevitable. We fight amongst ourselves, yes, and much of it is pointless... And still we band together when it matters most. If the stars themselves could not keep us in restraint, what makes you think yourself any greater?"

(She was at least mostly certain that, should this battle end in death, Theron would not rise from the grave with a starlit pelt. Almost certain.)

(Almost.)

Zinnia used Tail Yank on Theron, dealing 9 damage and costing 10 stamina. Theron is stunned for one turn.

Theron
70/120 HP (-9)
250/300 SP

Zinnia
60/100 HP
220/280 SP (-10)

Theron yelped as Zinnia ducked around her, yanking on her tail hard. She stumbled, ears slicking back as the she-cat went on and on about...Ugh, she was as bad as Finchstar had been. She groaned as she shook her body, trying to right the pain that flashed through her from the hard pull. "By the night, do you WindClan cats ever stop talking?" she hissed, claws digging into the ground. She had told herself to grant Zinnia a swift death for Roe's sake - but now she ought to make it swift just so she wouldn't have to listen to her yammer. "And tell me, what good does living forever in your so-called 'Stars' do? You praise them in the same breath you state that they attempted to restrain you. And that wasn't even the first time they caused trouble for the Clans, isn't that right?" she noted with a lowly chuckle. "You hold yourselves to their code and yet how many of you choose to break it? You hold yourselves to some, but not all. You act like you are better but we are all animals - you can try to be better but violence always is the answer when backed into a corner. You claim us for thinking we are better...But don't you think you are better than us as well? Because we embrace our instincts to hunt? To kill?"

Theron is stunned. But luckily talking is a free action.

"We have our honor, and I certainly wouldn't expect you to understand the more intricate details of the clans' relationship with their ancestors," Zinnia shrugged lightly. She knew, distantly, that talking wasn't going to change anything - but she still wondered if there was perhaps something to be gleaned from hearing out the Nightstriker captain's perspective, and so she continued anyway. There was something to be learned from everyone, after all, not just those upheld as righteous and pure. Even the most base of evil carried lessons in its wake. "Sometimes I struggle to. You're more than your base instincts just as much as I, though you choose to ignore it. I could be like you, or you could be like me, we each have the freedom to choose our fate - we're not so different, at the center of it all... But the choices we've made certainly are. No one is infallible, certainly. I've been wrong in the past. But you made the choice to kill as it pleases you, to spill blood however you wish rather than out of necessity, and that... That is the difference between you and I, more than any other. I don't think myself better than you, I simply think myself to be on the right side of this conflict - as for whether or not I truly am, well, eventually we shall see the answer. Perhaps this night, perhaps another."

Zinnia used Rear-Up to Slash on Theron, dealing 17 damage and costing 15 stamina!

Theron
53/120 HP (-17)
250/300 SP

Zinnia
60/100 HP
205/280 SP (-15)

The tom’s eyes locked onto him, and for a single, stinging heartbeat, Pyrik saw his error cold and clear. Half cat, half fox—he looked every inch Asylum’s ally. But the tom (up close, he smelled like fish—RiverClan?) turned, aiming his next blow at Eosphoros. She responded in turn, slamming him to the ground as if batting a sparrow out of the air, and backed off to survey them both. Her stare pinned Pyrik in place.

Then she spoke, and the spell was broken. “Who would’ve raised me if you hadn’t stolen me?” Pyrik launched himself at the Scout, using what little momentum he could gather to push her away from the downed RiverClanner. The pelt slipped off, his flattened ears leaving nothing for it to cling to. “I had my place. I had cats who”—loved was too strong a word—“who cared about me, and you took me from them!” All he had to go on was what he’d heard from Mistyfalcon and the tortoiseshell she-cat mere moments ago. But if that could be trusted (and he had to trust it: the looks on their faces, the promise of having something to come back to after all), ShadowClan had cared for him enough to search when he went missing. Enough to know him at a glance even with a fox’s face covering his own.

Pyrik swallowed roughly and set his paws against the dirt, unkempt fur bristling in a sharp line down his back. “You took them from me, and you didn’t even care enough to tell me the truth.”

Pyrik used Run-and-Tackle on Eosphoros, dealing 11 damage and using 10 stamina.

Pyrik
75/75 HP
180/200 SP (-10)

Jayshriek [stunned]
30/45 HP
130/160 SP

Eosphoros
42/85 HP (-11)
210/230 SP

Theron growled as the she-cat went on, about choices. Choices...What choice did Theron have? This WindClan cat knew nothing about what she had been through. What she had done. She...There was no coming back from it. She didn't want to. She...She had found what she wanted - what she desired. And that was suffering, bloodshed. She had killed her family for this lifestyle, she...She had to enjoy it. What other choice did she have? "Enough!" With a snarl, she leapt forward and grabbed Zinnia by the scruff, shaking the she-cat as hard as she could. "I've had enough of you - you don't know a thing about me. You can't sway me from this path so just shut up."

Theron use Scruff Shake on Zinnia, dealing 10 damage and costing 25 stamina. Zinnia is stunned for 1 turn.

Theron
53/120 HP
225/300 SP

Zinnia
50/100 HP (-10)
205/280 SP

The member 'Honey Badger' has done the following action : Dices roll

---

'Effect Dice' : 2

Zinnia stumbled slightly, caught off-guard by the attack and dazed from the impact, but tried her best to shake it off. The sooner she could focus and return to the fray, the sooner this could end. "Do you - no, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you would think me so stupid as to think that. I know I can't change your mind, of course. For stars' sake, look at what you've done here - look at what you did to one of your own, let alone to the rest of us." The reference to Roe was punctuated by by a vague gesture in what she thought was his direction - she wasn't stupid enough to turn her back. "No, if there was any chance of change, it would have happened long before, I think. Still, I believe that there is value in perspective, in seeing what nuance there might be to a given situation. Why are you who you are. No cat is born a cold-blooded killer, we're shaped by our lives and our influences and the choices we make. You could say that I care less for changing your mind and more for understanding it."

Zinnia is stunned.

Theron growled as the she-cat still wouldn't shut up. She wanted answers, fine. She would get her stupid answers as a last reward before death. "You want to understand me?" she questioned, circling Zinnia like a hunting fox. "I was born in a place that valued knowledge of all types but we did nothing with it. Only a chosen few ever got to leave, the rest of us just wasted away. We saw we could do more - unite cats under one paw using our knowledge but our elders wouldn't listen. So we proved our will, our strength. Oasis fell and we rose. No more would we hide in our oasis, we would gathering cats together and teach them the knowledge we had learned. Fighting styles, skills... Everybody would have a use....Nobody would be force to be idle again," she added with a whisper. "...I couldn't stay idle, remain in the oasis. I wanted to use my skills for..." she hesitated, eyes flickering with...Something before they settled into a glare, a grin crossing her muzzle. "I wanted to show the world my fighting skills. In the end, I got what I wanted. What else could I ask for?" With that, she threw herself again at Zinnia with a howl.

Theron used Jumping Strike on Zinnia, dealing 16 damage and costing 20 stamina.

Theron:
53/120 HP
205/300 SP (-20)

Zinnia
34/100 HP (-16)
205/280 SP

Like that, with a moment's hesitation - a flash of something - Zinnia had her answers. All the ones she really needed, at least. "Thank you," she said simply, the words ringing clear and honest. She meant it, though she wasn't sure the other cat would understand her meaning. "I think I understand as much as I can, now. And now, I suppose I can dedicate myself to my cause as completely as you have... On an equal field, for all that we may be opposites. After all, it was you and your kind that made me WindClan, in a sense... And for that, for my home and family, I am truly thankful."

Zinnia used Leap-and-Hold on Theron, dealing 14 damage and costing 10 stamina. Theron is pinned for 1 turn.

Theron
39/120 HP (-14)
205/300 SP

Zinnia
34/100 HP
195/280 SP (-10)

The member 'Holly' has done the following action : Dices roll

---

'Effect Dice' : 2

Theron huffed, rolling her eyes as Zinnia offered a thank you. Whatever, now that that was out of the way, she could focus on - her eyes focused once more on the WindClan warrior but she was already on the move - more exactly, on her back. A hiss of surprise escaped Theron as she struggled to shake her off but in truth, her badger pelt made it only more difficult to do so as it restrained Theron's attempts to swipe at her. Her eyes flickered with something new - something that she had always enjoyed in the eyes of others.

Fear.

Theron is stunned.

Dawnhawk's strike threw the brown she-cat off-balance. He was a skilled fighter, and she couldn't just fight against him with power. After all, despite the strength she had gained while Asylum had captured the clans, the ivory tom was stronger. "Perhaps I am a fool," she scoffed, still a little dazed by the tom's strike. "Except I'm fighting for something bigger than myself. What do you want? Power? I can see it on your face." It was really a bluff to potentially throw the tom off, though she was sure that all he wanted was power.

Seeing her mom strike the tom that Shrikesong was fighting, Shrikesong smirked. "Mom!" she said with a grin. "Let's take down this fox-hearted Asylum tom together."

Shrikesong is stunned.

---

When Thalia spoke about fighting the Asylum, Spark nodded. "Yep," was the only word that came out of his mouth, but it was more than enough. It was obvious to anyone who knew him which side that he was on. Noticing a Clan cat who was fighting one of the Asylum cats alone, he joined in. Crashing into the Asylum cat, he knocked them away from the clan cat. He didn't know who he was fighting with, but they were gonna take down the Asylum together.

Spark used Run-and-Tackle on Rama, dealing 14 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Spark:
HP: 75/75
SP: 190/200

Rama:
HP: 59/85
SP: 230/230

Deerhawk:
HP: 30/30
SP: 110/110

Zinnia didn't necessarily enjoy the spark of fear in her opponent's eyes, but she did have to admit - only in silence, to herself, where no one else would ever know - that it gave her a twisted sense of satisfaction, a slight hint at the feeling the Nightstrikers must have spent their lives chasing. Still, she had little interest in drawing out Theron's suffering, and she had received the answers she wanted. She knew now that peace was not an option. Blood would have to spill before this cycle could end, it was one life or the other.

"You must understand as well as I, that this has to end here. For Finchstar, and the memory of him, the legacy of WindClan... For Goldengale and Dappleshine and Raventail... For Gingertalon... For Finchkit, the son you stole... For Morningdove and Olivestar, my love, who vanished without a sign to follow, and without a doubt into your waiting embrace."

(She would not apologize for what she was about to do. She was not sorry.)

The weight of what she had to do next hung heavy on her shoulders. It was a necessity, their world had fallen out of balance and it had to be restored. She had been raised to keep nature and her place in it at the forefront of her mind - and death was a natural part of life. But she would not see herself as a hero for what happened next, only as someone trying to mend what had been broken. If all that could be done now was to shatter it further, until the twisted remnants could no longer rise again, then so be it.

"Tell me, Theron, Captain of the Nightstrikers, bringer of Asylum's Mercy... Will your blood look any different than mine when it's spilled across the ground? Or is it only the illusion of being something more than you are?"

With a single slash across the Nightstriker captain's throat, she ensured that she would soon have her answer.

"Every tale has its end. I can only hope you believe yours was worthwhile, if not worthy."

(This was not kindness, and it was not mercy. She would not pretend it was.)

Theron
???/120 HP
205/300 SP

Zinnia
34/100 HP
195/280 SP