Sun's Up, Blood's Out

Knowing him, he probably dyed that horse's mane and glued a horn on - just to screw with me!

Sol's body began to levitate by means of magic. That son of a bitch, Nasira brooded. She surmised that was Clopin's doing - not Bob's. "Sol!" the necromancer cried out. Before she had a chance to do anything about it, Clopin's "steed" got spooked by something and reared up. Both Sol and Clopin toppled to the ground. Bob galloped away. That was so weird.

“Don’t mind if I…do!”

"EEK!" Nasira did not expect him to recover that fast! She dematerialized. Clopin's sharp scythe struck air. That was too close. He had just been thrown from his "horse." How did he recuperate so quickly? If he moved that fast now, Nasira can not stay in defense mode for very long. She had to incapacitate him before she ran out of stamina. 

Nasira re-materialized behind Clopin, dagger in hand. Without a word, she thrust it at his back. In the likelihood Clopin countered, Nasira dematerialized again and reappeared several yards away. Nasira pointed her staff at Clopin and cast a simple fire spell.

She did not see Cinderbelle.

The elephant was shaking her head like a terrier shaking a rat. The raptor was pushing against her, but she knew his frail and light body that seemed to be built for running -like a cheetah-  would not hold out for long. She just needed to find the place where he was weakest, or wait until his pronated arms inevitably gave out.

 She was still pushing and struggling for all her worth, when the raptor's signature thumb-claw went straight into her right eye. For a nanosecond Malkia felt nothing, and both her eyes merely widened in stunned shock. Then came the explosion of pain.

 With a below that would make a tyrannosaur proud, she released her hold on Bubbha and reared back onto her hind-legs, the noise of her roars just about drowning the sounds of the battle out. Scarlet blood was flowing freely from what had once been a gentle brown eye, that would now never open again. The fluid, along with the eye's innards, were streaming down the right side of her face, leaving large puddles on the dirt below. She had never known pain like this; she had been gored by enormous rouge bulls, charged and rammed by buffalo and rhino, been pounced upon and bitten by gigantic lions and tenacious leopards, but none of that had quite compared to this. The pain was totally unbearable. Was this how all those who had met their ends at her tusks and feet felt? Was this what it was to be weak?

 Her body then dropped from her upright position, and her pillars went crashing seismically back to the earth where Bubbha was. But she was no longer thinking of harming the raptor. She just wanted the pain to stop.

 Malkia's animalistic instincts were overriding any sense of logic or calm, and she went thundering forwards in a blind (now literally) rampage in all directions of the battlefield. She was shaking her ears in extreme displeasure, still roaring cavernously as she struggled to contend with the pain.

 The wise brown eye of the elephant, that had seen the Pridelands' beginning, countless season-cycles and cub-births, and so many rulers come and go, was now gone, permanently.

Reggie was out for blood. It felt like it had been ages since he’d been in a battle, and even longer since his teeth had sunk into someone's flesh. Licking his chops, Reggie trotted across the battlefield his eyes scanning around for an opponent to battle with. His searching eyes paused on Dante and another creature that was with him. It kinda looked like a… Dog?

The fuck?

"What the hell’s that thing supposed to be?" He barked out at Dante. He had chosen his opponent in the form of the French wolf dog. "Let me take a better look at it. It's alright, I’m not gonna touch it. I’m just gonna look. You, on the other hand," he said, stalking forward. "I'm going to bash your fucking brains in." His lips pulled back into a sinister smile. He ignored the two new dogs for the moment. If they wanted to fight him, so be it. "I have dibs on the frenchy first. Move it!"

"Frenchy?"

The silver wolfdog broke his own trajectory, as he landed right in front of Hakeem, as opposed to pouncing on the russet-colored Akita. His acute sense of hearing caught another voice traveling on the wind, one that claimed it would bash his brains in.

Ignoring the two Akitas for the moment, Dante whirled around to face Reggie. The other canine was massive, and overly muscular. But Dante had no fear. If he could play fight with Cinderbelle, and win(sometimes), he knew he would have no issue taking Reggie down. His muzzle creased back into a snarl, his tail lashing slowly as he watched the other dog carefully.

And then it happened.

A flurry of pink and white plowed right through Reggie, pushing him out of Dante's way. The blur turned out to be Bob, who hadn't been exactly looking as to where he was going. The unicorn continued to gallop, spooked by the dark magic that he was so sure was still following him. He didn't even care that there was a dog under his hooves.

Bob galloped away, never once breaking his stride as he dragged Reggie for some length, before finally letting him go.

"You'll bash my brains in, hm? That doesn't seem so likely now, mon ami!" Dante said, as he turned his back on the fallen dog. Of course, what Bob had done wasn't totally foolproof, but it worked for Dante, giving him a chance to focus back on Hakeem and Kaiser.

"Now then," Dante began, as he strode back towards the two brothers.

"Where were we?"

With three of the five siblings already engaging in battle it naturally followed suit that the eldest sister was among them. Leila had been given instructions to watch over and assist her siblings in their respective fights as needed, providing commands and guidance where she thought necessary so that she might report back to their superiors on each individual performance. This was the pack's first trial after all, and they had yet to be tested in a true battle setting. This was their trial by fire as it were: their final test.

Eyes of multiple shades glimmered with the light of the sun as she padded across the expanse of a short ridge, head and body low. Fluid. She had to be ready for an attack at any moment, though her senses sang true to her that the immediate area was clear of foes. The female's slight vantage point allowed her to witness the current activities undertaken by her siblings. Sol seemed to be a bit out of her depth in the fight, especially given the size of the dog-creature barreling towards the battle that Hakeem and Kaiser had failed to stop. Leila's jaw snapped shut in a brief and rare display of frustration. That could be a grave tactical error on her brothers' part, especially if it led to great harm for either Sol or her human superior.

As Leila prepared to head to battle herself in order to aid her sister movement by Kaiser and Hakeem caught her eye. It seemed now that another dog -- a big, brutish looking thing -- had lumbered its way towards them and their silver opponent. The sharp lines of Leila's brindling turned soft as her fur spiked on end. With Hakeem's performance she felt little faith in his ability to assist Kaiser in the takedown of not one but two large canines, and with the way he had behaved with the charging creature seemed just as likely to be a hindrance. After a brief mental calculation Leila came to the conclusion that Sol would be fine for a few minutes. Long enough for her to at least reduce the risk that her hot-headed brothers were facing.

Opportunity presented itself perfectly in the shape of a horned horse charging right through the dogs' standoff, its haphazard path taken it right through the brown brute. As Leila's eye caught it heading towards the canine quartet she too took off in her own charge. Keeping her body low and her stride long the Akita became a sleek shape born of fluid muscle and fur, a master in her own body when it came to speed and stealth. As the unicorn barreled over her target Leila aimed to strike at the first possible moment: when the hooves of the assailing beast were clear and before her quarry had a chance to regain their composure or wits. Without announcing her presence or other wise betraying her blitz attack Leila sank her fangs deep into the left hind leg of the dog, just above the joint where the muscle was thin and the tendons easily severed.

There was no room for mercy on the battlefield, and the best fight was the one that ended the quickest. Leila had learned that in training all too well.

"GAH! BAD IDEA!"

Hakeem yelled as he was thrown back into Kaiser. He rolled, hitting himself on the ground with a loud thud. He gave a yelp, a whimper and then just stopped stirring all together for a few minutes. He whimpered and raised his head, hearing the thick french accent speaking to him in his dizzied state. "Fricking bitch hybrid spot dog," he coughed, raising up. But he didn't finish the thought. His ears raised as the soft flesh of his calf was torn into.

He let out a pathetic yelp. He started crying. Yes, he was supposed to be so tough. But against bigger and better opponents he was nothing. Humans, yes he could attack. They had no way to defend themselves. But other dogs? It was looking like he couldn't do anything right. With the combination of his own self pity and pain it looked like he was a goner.

"Please...stop..." He whimpered. His golden orbs narrowed as he bared his teeth at Dante. Might as well go down fighting. His tear soaked muzzle opened and he turned around, snapping at whichever part of Dante he could reach.

It had been far too long, so long, in fact, that the young hound mix had forgotten the last time he’d even been in a battle. With his body low and his nose to the wind, Copper stalked along the edges of the many fighting bodies. For the moment, he didn’t see any openings, but as the ever growing scent of blood filled the midday air he knew it wouldn’t be long before an opportunity presented itself.

The warmth of the sun was so strange; the hound had long since grown used to hunting in the dark that the bright lighting was almost too much for his now sensitive eyes(one of which was now dulled and clouded from Tod’s nail oh so long ago). It was a good thing that Copper had never really relied on his sight much; otherwise, he doubted that he’d last very long in the chaos that raged around him.

Looking around him, Copper took in the figures of the creatures around him; several dogs, a couple humans, a hyena or two, a dinosaur(though, as far as the hound was concerned, he just thought of it as an overgrown featherless chicken), a lion, a horned horse, and an elephant. Copper knew better than to try and take on a lion or an elephant, but unfortunately for him, most of the dogs present were already engaged in fights, and all other possible opponents were on his side.

Pulling his lips back to reveal deadly ivories, Copper let out a low growl as he began to stalk back and forth, watching and waiting. He knew that he’d be able to taste that familiar tang of iron before the fight was over, all he had to do was be patient and wait for his moment to strike.

Another hound dog was roaming the bloodstained field, the dog was of course the English foxhound Edmund, currently the English hound had his lips peeled back showing off his canines as if daring any opponent to try and challenge him. He was no stranger to blood and gore, it was in his blood after all. Hell, by the time he turned a year old, he snapped more necks and backs then he could count. "Oy! You!" Brown eyes locked onto another hound, one that was a tad bigger then himself. "Yeah, wanker I'm talking to you!" He called out to Copper. "Fancy a scrap with another hound?!"

Not for the first time, Crystallene found herself wondering what she was even doing there.

The battlefield was no place for a timid little girl, but the Experiment found herself there nonetheless. The sun beat down on her lavender fur and warmed her, offering momentary comfort, but her dark eyes were trained entirely on the fighting happening all around her. So far, everyone on the battlefield appeared to be occupied with an opponent of their own. It would have been the perfect time to sneak away and make it back to the Outlands. However, her paws refused to let her move. She'd already come this far and wanted to see something through to the end. She had to be of use to the animal villains somehow, because her healing crystal tactics weren't exactly being given a chance back in the Outlands. ...This could have been because she was too timid to actually try and help someone with them, but that was beside the point. The point was that she was there, and she wanted to try and do something to help.

Crystallene started to make her way across the battlefield and surveyed her surroundings again. Multiple dogs were present and fighting each other, Bubbha was fighting an elephant, there were a couple of humans fighting... So far, so good. Nobody looked as though they needed an opponent. Maybe she really was wasting her time there. This thought made Crystallene stop where she was and stand up a bit straighter. In the process, though, she was making herself an easy target.

Someone could very easily attack her from behind, and she would be none the wiser until the last possible second.

In times of war, the word of a battle travels fairly quickly. This battle, like the others, was no exception. Although for whatever reason, a couple of the hero medics found themselves pretty well prepared. Well, more prepared than usual. Ever since the sun came up, Nani had found herself spurred into a cleaning frenzy, taking stock of every single medical supply they had, they needed, they were running low on, or things that had gone bad. With that, the Hawaiian girl had managed to organize everything which made it readily accessible to grab and stuff into a bag before running to the battlefield. Except for running, the curvy young woman found herself clinging for dear life on the back of a flying robot. No joke. 

It had been a while since Baymax had slipped into his fighting armor Hiro crafted for him and the robot deduced that maybe it wouldn't be all that harmful to wear it during this battle. Granted, he had absolutely no intentions on fighting, but wanted to protect his vinyl covering from any stray bullet, blade, fang, or tooth. Vinyl was pretty hard to come by out here and he would rather focus the energies of the soliders, and other medics, on those who truly needed help and not some marshmallow robot with a gash in his side. Baymax, basically, threw Nani over his shoulder and took off into the air, wings extended and rockets on nearly full blast. It wasn't the same as having Hiro as his passenger, but the extra weight was still just as comforting. 

"BAYMAX! EASY ON THE LANDING!" Nani squealed as Baymax began his decent on the outskirts of the battle field. In one hand she had a vice grip on the bag of supplies and her free arm was wrapped tightly around the robot's stout neck. If his head could pop off, Nani would certainly be the one to remove it from the way she was hanging on. Once the robot's armored feet landed solidly on the ground, Nani clamored off of his back, nearly falling over once she landed. She regained herself, sighed, and moved her worried brown gaze back and forth across the battlefield. The sun was too bright to her eyes that had grown accustomed to the darkness, mixed in with all the dirt and debris kicked up by all of the fighting made it hard to see who needed help and who didn't. "Baymax? Do you see anyone that really needs help? Who's really hurt?" she asked, not bothering to look up at the red and purple machine next to her. Right after she finished her sentence, the deafening bellow of an elephant shattered in the air all around them. "That. Didn't sound good." 

Using his enhanced scanning capabilities, Baymax scanned the field before falling on Malkia. Her heart-rate was through the roof, along with other pain-causing hormone levels, and her blood pressure was high. All just simply indicated that she was fighting, except for the fact that one of her eyes was wounded, and pretty badly upon further inspection. Various fluids and blood seeped from her socket, down her cheek and onto the dirt below. Yeah, she was definitely wounded, but getting to her would have to wait. "Malkia, the elephant cow, seems to have sustained an injury to her right eye. The cornea has been punctured and, most likely, the optic nerve has been severed in that eye," he spewed out information, focusing his camera-like eyes closer to the elephant as she trashed and roared about, "but I would not suggest trying to aid her, at the moment. She is in an adrenaline, pain-fueled rampage. Trying to tend to her wound could prove to be fatal."

Nani sighed and nodded, bringing her hand up to her mouth and worried the tips of her fingers with her teeth. Nervous habit. "But...what should we do?! She needs our help!" Nani exclaimed. It didn't occur to her, to either of the two medics, to take a look at their surroundings. Just standing out in the open made them vulnerable and an opportune victim for anyone who was wise enough to attack from behind. 

Oh no.

Azure eyes scanned the chaos down below the small hill she stood upon. Word had traveled fast to the hero camp of a battle that had broken out in the grasslands, and the young unicorn had rushed off, knowing that her brother and his friends were out there. A lavender hoof pawed the grass nervously, as her eyes searched for a trace of white and pink, which wouldn't be too hard to find in the direct sunlight. Once she caught a small glimpse of her brother literally running over a massive dog, Sophia calmed herself just a bit. At least she could see that he was okay, as opposed to seeing him lying in a ditch, beaten and bloodied.

The unicorn began her descent down the hill, towards the carnage and chaos. Her ears were perked up, listening for any sign of any enemies around her. She could hear the bellows of Malkia, and her common sense told her that the elephant was in great pain, but it wouldn't be wise to help her just yet...not while she was thrashing around.

It was then that Sophia came upon Nani and Baymax, two of the other medics of the hero army. She had seen them in the short time she had been in the camp, but she had never quite interacted with them. They were standing out in the open, and even Sophia knew that with enemies from all sides, their possibility of being attacked was twofold. She sighed deeply.

Bob would have to wait. Her strong will pressed her on, even though she still slightly feared the thought of a real battle.


Come on, Sophia. You're the daughter of Conquest! You have to protect them, they're as important as Bob is! If you have to fight, so be it.


"She needs help, but standing out in the open like you are now won't make it any better." Sophia calmly stated, as she stepped in between Nani and Baymax. 

(OOC: For those still looking for an opponent, both Bob and Sophia are open)

Mor'du had arrived to the scene of battle and the massive bear wasted no time in choosing his opponent. It was in the form of a male unicorn that he had to do a double take. "Val?" Mor'du lumbered towards Bob before he finally dawned that this wasn't his comrade, but another pink maned unicorn. His huge paws swiped out to capture the unicorn aiming to smash him between his razor sharp claws and rip his pretty little head off. What Mor'du didn’t know was that he had magic to deal with.

Thump! Thud!

Reggie found himself on his side after being plowed into by the panicky unicorn, but he was up in moments shaking the dust out of his fur. He glared at the others canines.

Reggie was so focused on the other dogs he didn't notice the Akita bitch baring down on him before it was too late. Leila's teeth scored the hit which would forever label her to Reggie as ‘that bitch who nearly took off my leg!'. A low baying howl left the foul-mouthed dog's throat along with a couple of well chosen swear words. Reggie whirled his teeth clamping down hard onto the female's shoulder. He began to worry as he gripped the chuck of flesh trying to rip it off with several sharp jerks of his head. He tasted blood; a good sign for him.

"Stu-'itch!" (Stupid bitch!) His voice was muffled by the fur, but Leila would figure out what Reggie had just called her. His paws swiped at the female's side trying to shove her away from his leg. Blood dribbled from the fresh wound onto his leg; luckily that the vein wasn't cut. His thick fatty muscle had hopefully protected him from her next attack.

The unicorn's legs continued to run, carrying him quite a length before skidding to a stop. He hadn't even noticed that he had run over a dog, or nearly collided with several other enemies. All that he knew was that whatever that dark magic was, it was gone. He was safe.

But before he could collect his thoughts about General Clopin, the unicorn heard the lumbering steps of a large animal coming towards him.

Val?

The pink-maned unicorn whirled around to find himself face to face with a gigantic bear. Without missing a beat, Bob screamed in surprise. It was high-pitched, and sounded much more female than male. To anyone in the general vicinity, it would have been hilarious to witness.

Once he got over the initial shock, however, Bob's rational mind took over. He was the son of Conquest. He didn't train with his father for all those years for nothing!

The bear's gigantic paws swiped out at him, and Bob merely dodged them with a hop, skip, and a jump. Lowering his head, the unicorn aimed his horn towards Mor'du. His azure eyes narrowed. Whoever this bear was, he was messing with the wrong unicorn.

"Oh, it's so on now, y'all!" Bob whinnied, as he rose up, with his forelegs kicking out. As soon as his pink hooves touched the ground once more, Bob was off and running, his horn pointed right at Mor'du. The bear was far too large for him to merely impale; luckily, he had his magic to help with that.

Bob's horn glowed with a powerful white light. There was a slight crackling sound, before a light beam shot out towards Mor'du, directly between the bear's eyes.

-----------

Dante kept a firm grasp on the Akita's calf, biting down harder on it, until he was sure his teeth were grazing the bone.

Please...stop....

Dante's vice grip lightened, as his emerald eyes made eye contact with the Akita. Oh, who was he kidding? Clearly this...puppy was woefully unprepared for the pain of a real battle. And was he...crying??

Before the silver wolfdog could let go, Hakeem's jaws opened, snapping at any part of Dante that happened to be close by.

Unfortunately for Dante, that happened to be his foreleg. Hakeem's jaws closed with just as much force as Dante's own jaws, and the wolfdog yelped loudly, attempting to pull himself from Hakeem's grip. He nipped at the other dog, hoping that perhaps that would make the Akita release him.

Suddenly, Dante paused in his struggle, as he heard a low howl from behind him. Temporarily ignoring the shooting pain in his foreleg, Dante turned to see the muscular dog that had tried to attack him before.

And attached to his leg was a brown brindle Akita, with the most beautiful eyes.

At what was possibly the worst time ever, Dante was starstruck. His emerald gaze locked onto the female, viewing her in a rosy-pink hue.

Who is she?

She's so...beautiful...

How could such a beautiful thing be fighting in such an ugly battle?

As Dante stared at Leila, he was oblivious to the fact that he had left himself open not only for Hakeem, but also for Kaiser.

-----------

Clopin clenched his teeth in annoyance as his scythe swung at empty air. He muttered a few curse words in French as Nasira reappeared behind him, thrusting a dagger at his back. But because of his strange new powers, Clopin heard the wind whipping against the metal of the dagger, and he ducked.

The gypsy king was back on his feet before Nasira reappeared once again. He held the scythe firmly, his hands clenching around the handle. Before he could attack, Nasira cast a fire spell in his direction. He held his gloved hand out towards her, as he cast a dark miasma to counter the fire. It dispersed almost immediately, leaving the sorceress open once more.

"I must say, Nasira, it seems your skills have improved!" Clopin said, as he leaned against his scythe with a grin.

"Come now, stop playing games and fight me like I know you can!" Clopin said, as he took a running start with the scythe in tow. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, as he cartwheeled towards Nasira. Although it looked completely harmless, it was anything but that.

His ankle hooked onto her neck, making a motion to take her down to the ground, with his legs moving in a circular fashion.

-----------

Sky blue eyes opened to find that she was lying in the grass. The sounds of battle seemed so far off, like she was in some sort of dream. The silver Akita rose to her paws, shaking her head as if she were shaking off water from her pelt. Once she was sure things were exactly as they had been before she was knocked out, she turned, desperately trying to find her handler.

Luckily, Nasira was just fine, holding her own against the strangely dressed man who wore all purple. Sol nicknamed him the "Purple Man", coming up with the name as she galloped over to the pair, unafraid of the slight chance of magic colliding with her body.

But as soon as she broke into a run, she saw something shocking. A canine, far larger than her and her handler, seemed to be charging straight at Nasira. Sol skidded to a stop, rapidly changing direction as she broke into a run towards Cinderbelle. Any other dog would have been scared, but Sol had seen worse in her training. Sure, Cinderbelle was larger than her, but it wasn't enough to deter the former runt.

Sol's speed increased as she came closer, coming in from Cinderbelle's left. Her paws were virtually silent, as she used the powerful muscles in her back legs to propel herself directly at the other canine's head.

Ze'eva had continued her prowl around the battlefield, her eyes watching the group of dogs with great interest. She couldn't help but allow her attention to be drawn to the group as they squared off against each other. Of all the combatants, save perhaps the large elephant, they were the most interesting to her. She didn't recognize them so they must be her "enemies", canines from different armies. She moved to approach them but she had to quickly dodge out of the way as a large horse came galloping towards her, barely missing being trampled by its hooves. Growling, the wolf turned her head to snap at it but it had already disappeared into the dust kicked up by the elephant in her attempts to trample her own opponent.

Her interest broken, the she-wolf continued her prowl looking for a suitable opponent to bring down in this battle. After all, she couldn't go back to the Outlands unbloodied whilst her allies fought around her. That wouldn't do at all.

Then her eyes caught the sight of another horse...or was it a horse? It looked like one save for the large horn that sprouted from its head. She considered for a second what bringing that creature down might mean...that carcass could feed a good number of Outlanders if they could drag it back with them. With game so scarce could she really pass up the opportunity of a filling meal and one that may last several days if rationed properly? She licked her lips at the thought of all that meat.

Without another moment's hesitation, Ze'eva slunk forward, low and swift so her prey wouldn't see her coming before it was too late. Bringing a large creature like that down wouldn't be as easy as catching a sheep or rabbit especially without a pack at her heels but she wasn't deterred even with the human and strange white creature beside it. She growled, barring her fangs and moved in for her first strike. The she-wolf lunged forwards, grabbing at the unicorn's flank with her teeth and trying to tear into its white fur.