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[Qit'ria]

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Qit hadn't even seen her mother move out of the way of her blow, simply felt the counter strike slam into the side of her face. An open hand slap so hard it threw her to the ground. Qit twisted at the waist, just in time, so as to collide with the floor with her ribs and arm, instead of the baby in her arms. That was reckless, stupid. And it hurt, a lot. But Qit'ria knew pain, could handle pain. She was a Becomer after all. She regularly made and remade her body over and over, and it hurt far worse than this. This was nothing.

Her spark screamed for bloodlust. It was raging within her, demanding to be let loose, and Qit'ria was tempted to let it. But not with Caza in her arms. This was a fight for her and her mother. Her head throbbed from the blow, her focus was a bit shaken, but she could tell her mother was toying with her. That was a blow to her pride she couldn't stand for, wouldn't stand for. Qit'ria made it back to her feet, wondering why her mother was testing her in such a way. To prove she wasn't the huntress she'd wanted? There had to be more to it, her mother was not wasteful in anything, not with resources, nor in action. Everything had a reason.

Qit'ria turned to Hork, and handed him Caza. "Outside. Now." Her eyes ferocious, glaring at him, showed that she was not to be questioned in this. He took the child, and made his way to the door. Qit'ria turned back to her mother, her glare not lessening, a sneer on her face that was perfectly matching Lat'ora's, as she let her discipline slip. Enough was enough. She snatched her power from her spark, and poured it into her bear cloak, Assimilated and stored within her body. She stepped forward toward her mother with a lunge, and ripped the bear essence out of her totem, and Unleashed its form.

She wouldn't be faster than her mother, but she could be stronger. The transformation happened instantly, putting a large drain on her ether. She didn't bother to roar as she normally would. Her lunge became a bear's charge, and her jaws were reaching out to grasp anything she could get a hold of. She didn't bother to slow the charge, for even if she missed, a bear's shoulder tackle was damaging. She'd experienced that firsthand when Bear had discovered her Flaying Rynata. Regardless of whether her mother was struck or not, the charge would carry the bear woman across the room, to prepare her counter charge.

[Pegasus]

Qit'ria and her mother, Lat'ora, had not seen each other for a long time. There was no doubt that things had changed, for them both in that time and, as Qit'ria Unleashed and then charged forward, she demonstrated one of the things. Her form shifted, her strength increased exponentially and she charged. Her mother dropped and dived out of the way, almost faster that Qit'ria could see her - her speed was incredible and Qit might consider that she was not the only one physically enhanced.

As her father stepped aside for her brother to leave, Qit was focused on her fight, which was more than understandable. A lack of focus in a fight like this could be fatal, but her brother's expression as he watched their father lean back against the doorframe and watch what was happening would have told her a lot. Had she seen it.

She didn't, though, she Unleashed and charged at her mother.

And again, it was like the woman just wasn't there.

Lat'ora stopped what she was doing, stood and raised a hand. Whether Qit'ria stopped or not, of course, was a different matter. "Your Spark is stronger than you, little mouse," she said, her voice low and soft and slightly mocking.

"Qit'ria, stop," her father said, from the door.

As her charge ended, it was a moment where things hung on a balance for Qit'ria. But really, the decision she made first had only one consequence to it and that was how much damage the room took. If she continued to fight, continued to attack, then her mother would simply not be where Qit'ria was - and she seemed to not ever get tired. They could wreck the room, but that would be the extent of it.

Or, Qit'ria could stop.

Her mother would not attack again, but she would defend as needed. She did not taunt again, but she watched with disappointment in her eyes and a slight sneer on her face. "Why did you not tell us that you had learned magic, Qit'ria?" Her father's voice was soft, gentle and calm. He looked at her with a concerned expression on his face. It seemed like a very important question to him. Come to that, to them both.

[ooc=So sorry for the delay! Back on track now!] Modnote[/ooc]

[Qit'ria]

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The tackle went through, without so much as even bumping Lat'ora, carrying Qit'ria to the other side of the hut. She twisted angrily, unable to fathom just how fast her mother was. She hadn't even been able to see the woman move away. Just how fast was this woman? Qit'ria had considered herself fast, but this was a whole other level. She heard her mother's taunt, finding it oddly personal, considering she held a mouse form, one that was incredibly dear to her. It was her first form. She prepared to charge again, this time with a roar up front to hopefully surprise the woman first, when she heard Yeye speak. He was telling her to stop.

And she did. She was looking at him, the sight of him, his mere presence bringing her rage down quickly. He was here. He was okay. Qit'ria had been worried that her mother had done something, had been as cruel to him as she'd been to herself. Seeing him there, even though he looked concerned and a bit fearful, he was there. And was asking about her magic. The elephant in the room, for they'd not spoken of it since the birth. The great elephant in the room. She'd seen his eyes lingering from time to time, but it was always in a subtle way, so that she might not notice, maybe he was worried about hurting her feelings. And so, she stopped. For him.

She glanced at her mother, seeing that the woman wasn't attacking her, though looked ready to bound away at a moment's notice. On the defense. Qit'ria was absolutely sure there was more to this than her mother expressing disappointment in her child, and being a taunting bitch. No. Qit'ria was almost certain her mother wanted to see her use her magic. To force it out of her. She had proven that by mentioning her spark. Her mother knew what magic was clearly. And Qit'ria had taken the bait with ease.

At her father's question, Qit'ria felt ashamed. She should've told him, and her bear head hung lower, no longer in a state of attack. She started the transformation back to her Sev'ryn form, a process which took roughly three bits these days. The pain was still excruciating, as it should be, for shifting from such a large mass, and compacting it down, making it disappear, breaking every bone along the way was nothing short of pure torture. And yet, Qit'ria found herself growing used to it. She didn't assimilate any of her totems on this transformation, for her unleash had destroyed her clothing. But now she was naked before them, her bear cloak around her shoulders. She didn't mind and knew her family wouldn't either, shyness over their bodies had never been an issue when she'd been raised.

She looked at her father, "I didn't want to scare you Yeye..." Qit'ria looked to her mother, all the fire gone from her own eyes now, "And I'm tired of running from the fear my magic brings me. It is a part of me, of my soul. I'm not running from my magic, but I am not... fully in control." She looked back at Yeye, "And it was... nice to just be your daughter again."

Qit'ria looked back at her mother now, that same sneer Lat'ora wore upon her own face, "Tell me, mother. Why are you really here? Do not lie to me, I played your game, I showed you that you're still superior. What is it you want?"

[Pegasus]

Qit'ria's father spoke, and that made her stop. He looked at her and he smiled at her, sadly. He watched her, they watched her transform and they did not speak - nor did they seem surprised. They simply observed and, just once, exchanged a glance. When the transformation was complete, Qi'tria stood before them and, indeed, there was no concern regarding her nuudity - it was not their way. But it was her father who answered, not her mother. "It does scare me, beautiful girl. But that is more reason to tell, not less." He seemed tired, all of his arcs falling in on him and he moved, sitting down. Her mother moved, also, standing behind Qit's father, one hand on the back of his chair.

They looked... united.

And then, her father spoke. "It was my fault. It is. What happened to you, your sisters. Your mother. All of it. It was my fault." He sighed and Lat'ora moved her hand, so that it was on his shoulder. She squeezed gently and he patted her hand. "Your father led the search party which found the bodies, you know. You are a mother now, can you imagine what that did to him?" Her mother's gaze was unyielding, but Yeye shook his head. "I am responsible for my own choices." Lat'ora looked less than convinced in truth, but she did not answer for him or speak for him.

This story, after all, was his to tell.

"We have always told you," he said, his voice heavy with regret, "told everyone that your mother found the men who killed your sisters. She did, but she was not alone. We did it together." He sighed and spoke - it took nearly half a break and he stopped a number of times. His telling of the tale was halting, stilted and unsure, sometimes he paused for a bit, other times Lat'ora took over for a little time.

They had gone, together, and they had found the men. It was then that things had gone horribly, horribly wrong. He looked at Qit'ria and his eyes told of torture. "I am, I was then, a mage. Your mother was not, she did not approve of magic or what it does. But Attunement is not like other magics. It is a gentle..." He stopped and shook his head. "I killed one of them, the ones who killed your sister and anger overwhelmed me. Not just anger, though, hunger. Hunger like I had never felt before." He shook his head. "It's a blur of blood and screams and fury and the feeling..."

He lowered his head into his hands and Lat'ora spoke. "Do you know what flaying is, Qit'ria? Do you know it's risk? It is what your father did and the consequences were dreadful. He has lived here, in isolation, refusing to give in to the hunger, the addiction. The demands of the creature which is inexorably bound to his soul." Yeye looked up at his wife. "Your mother came because I asked her to. I should not be alone with you and that baby. To flay a user of magic... " He shook his head.

"And he was worried about you, little mouse," her mother said. "How far have you taken it? " She didn't expand, figuring that Qit'ria would know.

[Qit'ria]

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Qit'ria stared on at her parents, her father now sitting, and her mother behind him. They were... together. Actually together, there was no doubt about it. It was confusing for the huntress. She never remembered them being particularly close when she was a girl, for her mother could never have been confused for caring or loving. And yet, it was clear. They were together as mates. Had this always been the case? Or was this something that happened after she'd left? She'd felt so guilty for so long after that, because she thought she'd left her dad truly alone. She never once thought her mother would be the type to stay, be comforting or caring for Yeye. Just what was going on here? This wasn't right, not at all, and it bothered her more than it probably should.

Her father was saying it was all... his fault? How? Why? There was no possible way that those men who attacked them in the forest had anything to do with her father. He'd not known she'd taken them out on a hunt of her own, he probably assumed they were playing, like they normally did. Those men... they were... she'd always assumed them to be bandits. Only that type of person would murder children, right? To take their stuff. Her throat tightened as her mother spoke. She knew it would've been devastating for Yeye. She couldn't even begin to imagine if she'd found Caza dead, let alone even injured. She'd never let it happen. She was prepared to kill her mother for even threatening harm.

As the information continued to flow, so did Qit'ria's shock. Both of her parents had killed. She could believe her mother more so than she could Yeye. Her mother was a huntress. Even though should preached over and over that hunting was only to be used against beasts, against creatures, for the sake of survival, of being strong for one's own sake, that people should never be hunted, Qit'ria could at least somewhat believe her hunting them down. But her father was a healer! A man who saved lives, not take them! He... he would've healed those men if they'd been injured, would've tried to forgive them... Or so she thought. Apparently he wasn't the man she thought she knew.

This revelation scared her.

She moved toward her brother, to take Caza back, when she stopped at her father's words, turning toward him in full, open shock. He was a mage too?! She'd left him alone with Caza! She didn't know what this Attunement was, but she knew magic to be horrible. It corrupted and twisted and fought. She knew flaying all too well. She still had the thirst after having partially flayed Rynata, still carried that shame. She remembered those long nights in the hammock in Enrick's boat, watching him sleep, wanting nothing more to eat his soul right then and there. She looked down at the scars in the palms of her hands. The scars from the nights she'd gripped her hands so tight she drew blood, just to keep from killing the man. And gods did she want to, she wanted it more than anything.

But the child she now took from her brother, that she held defensively against her bosom, her eyes defensive and wild as she looked back and forth between her parents, that child is what kept her strong. The urge to protect Caza, even before she was born, kept her from killing Enrick. Gave her the strength to fight against her wild spark, keeping the damage it wrought limited to the irreversible mutations her body now bore. Looking at her mother, Qit'ria was confused, and scared, of her parents. And inside her, she wanted to run. To leave these people who weren't those she knew from before. Her mother was here to protect her granddaughter, from her father of all people? In what world of imagination could the fates have conjured that up?

It was... it was so much to take in. And the mouse comment no longer sounded like an insult or even a reference to her magic. It sounded almost... endearing.
Qit'ria swallowed air, her throat still constricted as she finally tried to find her voice. "I..." Tears stung her eyes, and she tried to hold them in, but every wall she'd held between her and her family was crumbling, "I... Before I left Scalvoris to come home... I almost flayed a woman. I would have, if Bear hadn't found me. He's the man who gave me my magic. I didn't know what flaying was before that, I didn't know it was a risk until I had nearly ripped out her soul. She lived, barely, her soul scarred permanently. I've... that's when I became scared of what this is inside me."

The tears flowed freely now, "During Blackbird's birth, I almost lost control. My spark was scared. It didn't understand, it thought we were being attacked. I was fighting it the whole time." She pointed at her face, held up her hand, "These are the scars I bear from that. If I hadn't contained it, let it reek havoc on me... Blackbird would be dead. I know it."

Her shoulders shook, her tears turning to sobs, "I don't know what to do. It's stronger than me Yeye.I don't know how to stop being scared of it. And it keeps growing stronger. I thought it was a tool before... but I was wrong. It is... lost. It's like a child. It doesn't understand our world, it throws tantrums, it gets scared. But it is so strong... too strong."

She squeezed Caza snugly, the wide eyed little girl just staring up at her, reaching up as tears fell upon her blackened skin. She wasn't going to ask how Yeye thought it was all his fault. She assumed he was ridden with the same guilt she bore, whether it was true or not. She looked up at her mother, through tear filled eyes. "Help me, mother. Help me get stronger, for Blackbird. I can't lose her. Please. I... I... Need you. Both of you. I don't... I don't want to run from this anymore. now looking at Yeye.

"Please."