and it boils in my blood -- Caesar, Goldie

  [font=trebuchet ms]Surprisingly, her fifth birthday had gone by without much fanfare.

  That, itself, was cause for celebration. The festival had gone smoothly, everyone seemed to be having an alright time, no fights had broken out... those factors were gifts all of their own. All that was left was to close the festival, and send everyone home- and in the case of the Typhoon, make sure they had enough supplies to take back home, as promised.

  Looking over her notes, she twitched her ears idly. Thank everyone for coming. Make sure supplies are given out. Cue the one running tech to set off the fireworks. Bid everyone safe travels. Yes, that seemed about right. She'd gotten an Elysite to sit by the dock with the fireworks, ready to send them up at her cue. If the fireworks didn't light off properly, then oh, well- no one would know the difference.

  "Farewell, everyone- thank you for coming, and safe travels," she murmured to herself. A half-smile tugged at the side of her mouth. Perfect. Looking out the window, she noted that the last hints of orange in the sky were fading. It was just about nightfall. With a nod, she proceeded over to the door.

  Pushing the door open, she looked out- and blinked. A crow stood there, its eyes meeting hers. It was the same crow that she'd offered tea, she was pretty sure. "...What do you need?" she asked, tugging at her scarf.

  The crow cawed softly, then took off into the air and flew in the direction of the center of town. Furrowing her brows, Rin took a few steps to follow it.

  Talons swiped across her back, and she jumped forwards with a hiss, whipping around to face her attacker- only for more talons to slash at her. Lashing out with her paws to deflect their blows, she flung an arrow into the air, overhearing a loud screech of pain in response. Extending her telekinesis, she restrained as many of the birds as she could, then lifted her head.

  There were five crows floating in midair within her telekinetic grip, but what had to be at least ten more were flapping about around them, preparing to attack again. One was already dead on the floor, an arrow plunged through its stomach, but she didn't have enough arrows for all of them.

  With a snarl, she entered a defensive stance, and swung the restrained crows around- knocking a few more non-restrained crows out of the air. As three of them dove at her, she jumped over them, striking downwards with one paw and snapping the neck of one of them.

  Warringkingdoms
  health: 85%
  power reserves: 70%
  arrows left: 5/6
  + [member=590]CAESAR CIPHER.[/member]

[glow=black,1,400]REST YOUR HEAD, HERE'S A LULLABY ! — [abbr=CAESAR CIPHER, ELYSIUM, NEWCOMER, 7 YRS, SINGLE]｡+ﾟ.[/abbr][/glow]

With The Typhoon being around, it was a surprise that Caesar didn't go after them and attack, or at the very least cause some rifts during the festival. Truthfully, the demon was restraining himself, trying to keep his good guy facade. He had to fit in with Elysium before he ultimately tried to take over. Their passiveness aggravated Caesar and he was really only here because they offer him sanctuary while he recovered from The Pitt.

A murder of crows flew by and Caesar watched them with interest. Crows meant death - usually - so why were they suddenly flocking to one place? The savannah slunk after them, watching them go towards Warringkingdom's home from a distance. As the she-cat came out of her home, the crows descended and started attacking her. Rin was able to defend herself for a while but there were many others starting to make their way towards her. Caesar grinned from his hiding place, watching them go after her. Better now than never. This was a good chance; the leader was already going to be focused on the birds, or at least temporarily.

Caesar abandoned his savannah body, possessing the spare tiger he had. Possession like this was only able to be used once for a while, he knew, but obviously if he was wanting to make any chance around any of the groups, a larger body was needed. His savannah body was never enough and it took forever for him to realize that. Wriggling his haunches, Caesar pounced forward, making his way towards WARRINGKINGDOM. While she was distracted with the crows, the tiger tried to leap at her, trying to pin her down. This'll be swift and easy. Or so he assumed, anyway. Why hadn't he tried possessing larger creatures before? [glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

  [font=trebuchet ms]Two down, more to go.

  Rin spun the restrained crows around as a sort of defensive shield, knocking more crows away. The ones she had originally knocked down were starting to regain their footing, though, and there were still more ready to swoop. Weaving in and out of the dive-bombing crows, she eyed the doorway. Could she get in there and shut the door on them, to divide and conquer the remainder of the murder of crows?

  Parrying another dive-bomb with her paw, she prepared to run for the door- only to hear something behind her. Turning her head, she saw- too late- a tiger, lunging directly at her, claws outstretched. In that split second, she dove to the right- slipping out of his grip, but getting caught by one paw and knocked off-balance, his claws tearing through her left shoulder. She staggered, the gashes splitting open the scars of the formerly-healed burn wound.

  Talons lashed across her tail, but she extended her telekinesis again, regaining a grip on five of the crows. Regaining her footing, she faced the tiger and flung an arrow at his neck, then swung the restrained crows around to ward the others away- knocking a couple more down. As one fell next to her, she snapped its neck with a quick blow, then re-entered a defensive stance to prepare for the tiger's next attack.

  She'd fought a big cat before, but he hadn't been flanked by crows. As soon as the opportunity arrived, she had to get out of there.

  Warringkingdoms
  health: 65%
  power reserves: 55%
  arrows left: 4/6

[glow=black,1,400]REST YOUR HEAD, HERE'S A LULLABY ! — [abbr=CAESAR CIPHER, ELYSIUM, NEWCOMER, 7 YRS, SINGLE]｡+ﾟ.[/abbr][/glow]

Caesar felt his claws rake Rin's shoulder, satisfaction filling him as he landed. She was quick, though maybe that was due to how large he was compared to her. He supposed that was one advantage to having a domestic cat body, if he was fighting another cat. But whatever, he couldn't switch back now.

Caesar turned around just as Rin aimed her arrow and he moved slightly to the side, with the arrow lodging itself in his shoulder instead of his neck. She had a good aim that's for sure, and she was one hell of a fighter. Not very many people could attack many enemies at once. Pain seared in the wound, but he ignored the burning sensation. Growling as Warringkingdoms went into a defensive stance, Caesar once again ran at her, this time trying to knock her over. He wasn't skilled in physical fights by any means, but it won't hurt to try it now that he was in a much bigger body. Soon, though, perhaps he would rely on his powers.

If Caesar was successful in bowling RIN over, he would then try to use one of his paws to hold her down. There was a sickening grin on his maw, his dark-colored eyes glinting with an odd satisfaction. Never before had he been this close to ending a leader's life - this was regardless of whether or not Rin was knocked down. Caesar was enjoying this. If he was able to pin her down, Caesar used his good arm - the one that didn't have an arrow lodged in the shoulder - to try to claw RIN's eye.

"You made a grave mistake allowing me here, War." Caesar snarled, regardless if his attacks succeeded or not. "Elysium is going to be mine." Whether she liked it or not.[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

  [font=trebuchet ms]/tw: eye injuries in paragraph 11

  As he ran headlong at her, her arrow stuck in his shoulder, Rin set her jaw and leaped into the air- clearing him, but landing awkwardly due to the injury in her own shoulder. Stumbling, she felt the claws of more crows scratch across her frame. With a hiss, she sliced outwards with her claws, managing to cut another crow out of the sky.

  The tiger came at her again, aiming to strike her down with one paw- a disturbing grin on his face. Rolling aside, she just barely missed the strike, but felt a tug against her throat. He must have caught her scarf. Scrambling backwards, she managed to slip out of her trapped scarf, making a quick swipe at his tendons before backing away.

  Ducking her head to dodge another crow's divebomb, she flung the five restrained crows outwards- but as she heard the tiger's voice, her telekinetic grip slackened, her eyes widening.

  "You made a grave mistake allowing me here, War."

  Metallic eyes stared back at her, buzzsaws whirring, spiders crawling onto her frame-

  All in the span of a split second, everything fell apart.

  The snow leopard's paw was whisker-breadths away, and yet she couldn't move, his blue eyes freezing her to the spot. You shouldn't have trusted him. Viper's fangs protruded from his lips. This is all your fault. It wasn't enough time, she didn't have enough time-

  And now no one will save you.

  All in the span of a split second, the panic and betrayal spilled over.

  But it wasn't enough.

  Caesar's claws tore into her face, ripping through her right eye like tissue paper, pain bursting in her head- a belated warning that something had gone very, very wrong. Rin jerked back, staggering and nearly collapsing under the sudden shock, but forced herself to stay standing. It wasn't that bad. She could taste blood spilling onto her lips but it couldn't be that bad.

  She overheard a caw, felt the disturbance of the air around her somewhere within her traumatized brain.

  With a roar, she willed the air to burst into flames around her, the fire extending towards both the crows and Caesar. The blaze licked at her injuries, leaving a stinging pain in its wake, but it was worth it to hear the last screeches of some crows caught in the blast. She had to get out of here, had to finish off the traitor before he killed her. Whether the flames hit him or not, Rin would then fling three more arrows half-blindly at Caesar, in hopes that one of them would hit.

  As dizzy and weakened as she might have felt, she wasn't going to die here.

  Warringkingdoms
  health: 40%
  power reserves: 15%
  arrows left: 1/6
  + [member=48]goldenluxury[/member]

[glow=black,1,400]REST YOUR HEAD, HERE'S A LULLABY ! — [abbr=CAESAR CIPHER, ELYSIUM, NEWCOMER, 7 YRS, SINGLE]｡+ﾟ.[/abbr][/glow]

He succeeded.

Despite the pain in his leg, Caesar continued to wear the grin on his face. Blood covered his paw from tearing out Rin's eye. It was warm on his paw, feeling him with delight. God, he had forgotten how good it felt to have blood on his paws.
Unfortunately for him, his pride was short-lived as Rin defensively burst the air into flames. Caesar growled as the flames burned parts of his face, backing up from the Elysium leader. The tiger shook his head, splattering bits of his black-colored blood onto the ground.

Caesar roared as two more arrows pierced his skin, this time one onto his back and the other his neck. How ironic, given how Rin had aimed for his neck before. He recoiled, gritting his teeth as he let out a heavy breath. This body was far too clumsy and big, it was irritating not knowing where the fuck he was putting his paws properly. He flattened his ears, trying to recover from the burns, keeping a close eye on Rin. Would she try to attack him once more, or was she going to pass out? He didn't know but he was going to wait and see.[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[glow=black,1,400]REST YOUR HEAD, HERE'S A LULLABY ! — [abbr=CAESAR CIPHER, ELYSIUM, NEWCOMER, 7 YRS, SINGLE]｡+ﾟ.[/abbr][/glow]

Perhaps if Caesar was aware of Goldenluxury's presence nearby, he would have been able to deflect the electric attack with his own elementals, but unfortunately for him he was completely unaware that the Typhoon Captain was nearby. The jolt of electricity that sparked in front of him caused him to rear back in surprise, gritting his teeth. Did Rin have both elementals, like him? It wasn't out of the question but if that were the case, he was a bit jealous at her being able to use elementals back-to-back like that. Caesar didn't have time to dwell on that though, letting out a roar as he felt claws dig into his skin, a familiar scent washing over him.

Goldenluxury Roux.

Hot rage filled Caesar as he heard the tigress's snarl, glaring at her. Although his exile was not her fault, he blamed her for it; she was daddy's girl and he believed that she always had more say than what she liked to admit. Maybe that was bad for him thinking Pincher was that much of a pushover, but it was something he believed. Goldenluxury Roux was the one who influenced his exile. She started his mess, to where he couldn't find a home even within The Pitt.

"Piss off." Caesar snarled at Goldie, lashing his tail as he lit himself ablaze, trying to burn [member=48]goldenluxury[/member] . Of course, regardless if he was able to or not, his own body would be burned in the process. It was a sacrifice he liked to make. "This is not your fight." It was irritating how she always seemed to be the one trying to play 'hero'. It was disgusting.[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

  [font=trebuchet ms]/tw: allusions to emotional abuse in paragraphs 8-9

  Though she stood there bleeding, weakened, and dizzied, Caesar wasn't going in for the kill. She met his gaze with her own, enraged, admittedly terrified, but refusing to back down. What was he waiting for, the undertaker himself? He was about five months too late for that- the Ferryman had long since been buried.

  Out of the corner of her good eye, she saw the remaining crows take to the skies, ready to swoop down and continue their assault. Not taking her eye off Caesar, Rin tensed her muscles, ready to lash out the moment the exchange began. If she had to die, she would go down taking as many of them with her as she could.

  The air in front of Caesar crackled, and he reared back- in shock, not in preparation. Rin stared, as before her descended- him, his good eye meeting hers, his wings extended in a glide. His expression was unreadable.

  She blinked, and the winged wolf faded from her disoriented eye, leaving a winged tiger- Goldenluxury. Hearing the crows' cries around her, Rin jolted, her eye following them- following them away from herself, away from the dueling tigers, toward the center of town. You have to help them. She stumbled to the side, yanking one of her used arrows out of a fallen crow's corpse. You have to help her.

  Her head swam, but she clenched her teeth, sucking in a breath. She wasn't leaving Goldie alone. Spiraling to face Caesar, and fighting off the bout of nausea that struck her at the sudden spin, Rin stepped forward and pointed her arrow at his burning form.

  "This isn't your fight."

  She couldn't ward off the flashbacks this time. "You are not my protector." "Aren't you being kind of selfish?" Rin gasped, struggling to regain control- but failing. Selfish. Selfish. SELFISH. You shouldn't have been saved. Goldie had... saved her.

  "I wish I hadn't." Cowering, the smell of yew berries tainting the air. Green eyes boiling with venom. "You're nothing but a spoiled, selfish brat." Crying. Voice escalating. "Stop crying." A raised paw, claws out in a threat. Defenseless. Weak.

  STOP CRYING.

  Rage spiked within her veins, the pain forcing her awake. Rin bared her teeth in an agonized snarl and fired the arrow at his neck, realizing even as the shot was fired that her aim was just the slightest bit off- the arrow flying towards his eye instead. Sickness, guilt, and betrayal sunk like poison in her blood, dragging her down, but she would not fall. Not yet.

  Warringkingdoms
  health: 35%
  power reserves: 10%
  arrows left: 1/6