Toxicity had heard about her sister's grounding. It was a good thing too, going off and being so stupid what did she expect? Toxicity hadn't been terribly outspoken for the most part growing up, and she had always been kind to her siblings, but if they- they meaning Pesto- kept making these embarrassing mistakes, then could she really call herself a Klein OR an Abraxas? No, of course not. It would be shameful for the family. But Toxicity knew there must be a reason someone who was raised so similar to herself would be having so much difficulty in behaving. She intended to find out why directly.

Toxicity tracked her sister down- not a hard feat now that she was grounded- and stood for a while, looking at her long and hard before letting out a soft scoff, "I heard you were grounded, Pesto."

Pestilence heard Toxicity's approach, choosing to remain where she lay without acknowledging her sister's presence. She felt Tox's gaze upon her, but didn't turn.  It took some time before the other pup let out a scoff, and then her words. Peso's eyes rolled skyward, and then she turned and stood to face the other. "So what?" Her small shoulders lifted and fell in a aloof shrug, and her lips pulled back in an overly-forced, tight and mocking smile. "Did daddy tell you that? Or have you just been spying?" The pup huffed her amusement, lifting her head high to challenge her sister's judgy gaze with her own. Pestilence did her best to convince herself her siblings were lying, that their father didn't approach them in a dream or ritual or whatever. Anything to tell herself that she hadn't lost the chance to see him, or that he was disappointed in her.

Pestilence snarked back with a quick, "So what?" earning a sharp and leering smile from Toxicity. Never had she felt this urge to really rub some grit into someone's wound, but having gotten under her sister's skin so easily, she just couldn't resist. she was acting so... mortal. Pesto asked Toxicity if their father had told her, or if she had been spying. Why the ladder was mostly true, it was the less fun confession. Toxicity's mismatched eyes locked onto her sister, "Maybe he did tell me. Maybe he wanted me to see just how far you've fallen, Pestilence." She couldn't hold in the small snicker that bubbled in her chest. Her poor sister, here, grounded into the mortal pack while the rest of them had been free to ascend and speak to their father. "Maybe he's ashamed at what you've become," she sneered, getting a little carried away.

"Do you think that's why he never talks to you?"

The carefully chosen words that came out of Toxicity's slanderous stupid mouth stunned Pestilence into a momentary stupor. She blinked once, then twice, and then her face contorted into a snarl. She stepped a paw forward towards the girl, the fur along her spine standing on end. "At least I don't fall victim to bullshit and lies!" Pestilence snapped back, a low growl bubbling in her throat. "I'm glad dad's dead, now the Klein empire can be free from the foolish Abraxas influence forever!" It wasn't until she'd unwillingly let the admittance go that she realized there was truth in it, and before Pestilence could feel the hurt that quickly grasped at her chest she gave herself to her rage and continued the verbal assault. "Go! Go join him in the volcano and live your life in this so called wonderous heaven and leave me to strengthen the Klein name!"

Toxicity didn't have time to revel in her insult long before Pesto began her own attack. She said she didn't fall in with bullshit and lies, giving Toxicity the opportunity to give out a sharp laugh, "But DIDN'T you? What you though you could just move away? Who would even take a troublemaker like you?" At Pestilence's next words, Toxicity turned to growl, only barely holding it in. She wouldn't let her sister in. She wouldn't let her get under her skin. Pesto continued, giving Toxicity just enough leeway to work with. She could be hurt later when the words soaked in, right now she just wanted to do her own damage, and now she was out for blood.

"What, YOU strengthen the Klein name? Don't make me laugh," she laughed anyway, just for effect. "You're the one sibling who screwed up enough to get grounded. Now Mom and Dad BOTH refuse to talk to you. Face it, Kleins and Abraxas are stronger together. It's too bad you only seemed to inherit the Klein blood."

Toxicity shook her head, bringing her voice low. She wanted to her voice to be thin like a razor. "I will be the one to bring both names to ascension. Your intentions are meaningless, mortal."

Pesto's sharp laughter pulled another growl from her throat and she snapped her jaws in the air before the girl threateningly. Her words stung, and Pestilence forced back the pain and sorrow that was threatening to spill from her eyes. Was that why mother gave her permission to leave in the summer? Because she was a troublemaker, no longer wanted in Ashen? Her lip trembled for only a moment, before she breathed away the hurt and snarled back towards her sister. "I'd rather be anywhere you're not! You think it's enough to sit in Ashen and be a little pretty princess when that's not what benefits the Klein name!"

Pestilence's eyes narrowed and she pierced the other pup with her glare, hatred burning within her. "Mother loves me!" She insisted angrily. "She doesn't believe in Abraxas either, she told me so herself! I bet she regrets ever sullying the Klein name with your fucking mutt bloodline." Toxicity's final sentence struck her hard, and Pestilence bristled further - her rage almost too much to bear. "Do you know what mortality is, Toxicity? It means you can fucking die. Dad is dead. His body is burned into ash, and I bet he screamed just like any other dying dog because we're all just mortals."

More than ever, Toxicity just wanted to spill over with all the words of anger and hurt and doubt that had plagued her since her father's death. All the emotions she tried to never show anyone, all the words that circled in her mind, left unsaid in those distant gaps of silence between her and the rest of her family. Not that no one tried- maybe they didn't try hard enough, but they tried. No, Toxicity didn't feel like the Kleins cared about them, but she doubted many of them cared for anyone- Pesto included.

Pesto said it wasn't enough to sit inside the pack and be a princess, "You're right- surprisingly for someone so dull. I don't just sit around, but you wouldn't know that because you're too caught up trying to get kicked out of the pack to even care what anyone else is doing." Pesto insisted that their mother loved her. It was true, Toxicity felt like their mother really did love all of them, however it wasn't beneficial for Pest to know that.

"Uh-huh, that's why she can't even look at you the same," Toxicity said, trying to drive the dagger further into her sister's heart. "When was the last time she smiled at you?" The rush Toxicity got from trying to hurt her sister, telling her all the things she felt like her sister didn't want to hear, was intoxicating. It had been so long since she felt anything but the dull boredom of the Ashen pack, buried beneath the volcanic ashes. There were things to do, but none held her attention. None made her heart race- not like this did.

Toxicity's expression soured at Pestilence's reply about their mom not believing in God. She wanted to deny it, but she wasn't even sure if she could. "Yeah? Well she's gonna do the ceremony to go see Dad, then they'll get to talk about how much of a failure you are," she spat, her voice raising. "You want to talk about mutts, but your precious Klein family has dogs in their mix now! They aren't even REAL wolves, Pestilence! They're basically coyotes! Can you even accept that in your pure family?" Yeah, that was totally what Toxicity believed and not just something she thought might upset her sister.

When she saw her sister brimming, she felt invigorated. She felt like she had won. She was the superior sister. The more she yelled, the more Toxicity wanted to gouge deeper. They might die, Toxicity knew that just as well as her sister. She wasn't bothered by that anymore. "Unlike mortals, us gods ascend. Like Dad did, but you wouldn't know that because you can't even do a simple ritual to see him. You really are just another mortal aren't you?" Toxicity wanted to drive the point. No matter what Pesto said, it wouldn't matter if she was a mortal. It would be even better if they weren't related at all... Wait. That could be a possibility.

"Maybe you were adopted, Pest. Maybe you aren't Abraxas at all, that's why you can't talk to Dad. Oh- maybe you aren't even a Klein and that's why Mom can't stand to have you in the pack." Toxicity smiled sharp and cruel, "But maybe she's just trying to keep you here so you don't cause more trouble in another pack and they blame us for it since you came from here."

Toxicity continued and continued, driving her sharp cruel words into Pestilence with every breath. She wanted to argue back - to insist that she wasn't trying to get kicked out she was trying to run away. To show her sister how very wrong she was, to insist she had her mother's love no matter what. More and more her hatred and pain grew and she was unable to hold it back from spilling over from her eyes. "She does! She smiles at me!" Pesto yelled back through the tears, telling herself that the pitiful response was because she wasn't stooping to Tox's level rather then because the hurt had become too much to articulate through.

Toxicity's words only confirmed further to her that her sibling was not a Klein. She used words like 'your family', and Pestilence could only agree that yes, it was her family. Toxicity could keep her bullshit lies and prayer and faith, Pestilence would grow with the Kleins and one day destroy everything she and her polluted bloodline ever loved. "Lucretia and her disgusting coupling with that slave are as irrelevant to the Klein line as you and your bloodline is!" She couldn't defend the wolfdog pups, in this Pestilence agreed with Toxicity. Lucretia had spoiled their bloodline the same as Archon had, but possibly even worse. It was easier to ignore her in the equation, to look to the real Kleins for guidance.

She went to continue, to snap back at Toxicity's lies about her mother. If Deathbelle were going to do a ritual to see Archon, it would be to placate her children. Possibly to confirm finally that this Abraxas nonsense was a lie after all. There was no doubt in her mind. And then Toxicity continued, her words of adoption cutting into Pesto's core. The pup saw red, and then lunged for her sister's throat.

Pestilence Klein - Abraxas vs Toxicity Klein - Abraxas for Minor Maim (scarring of face)
Round 1/?
Age: Under 1 Year
Size: Extra large
Build: Medium
Skills: Beginner Fighter & Intermediate Healer
Specialty: N/A

At her sister's outburst, Toxicity's smile sharpened. Pestilence was so desperate, so pathetic, so... utterly mortal. She called Luce and her dog-pups disgusting. Interesting. Toxicity made note of her disgust for later. She herself wasn't sure how to feel about the dog blood, but Pestilence's utter rejection of them was something that was worth remembering.

Then she launched herself at Toxicity. How barbaric. Just as a mortal would. Toxicity readied herself as well. If this was how she wanted to do things, then Toxicity was game. Her brain no longer functioned on the high level a god's was expected to, but maybe she would listen to her mortal form.

Toxicity Klein Abraxas vs Pestilence Klein Abraxas for Minor Maim (scarring of left forearm)
Round 1/2
Age: under 1 year
Size: Extra large
Build: Medium
Skills: Intermediate Intellectual & Beginner Fighter
Specialty: N/A

Pestilence's bite upon her sister just barely missed and she swore under her breath. Toxicity made a move of her own and Pesto felt sharp pain upon her left forearm. She snarled and tried to jerk back from the girl, though it hurt too much to continue to try to free the clasping jaws. Instead, Pesto took advantage of her sister's lowered head and aimed to land her jaws upon the nape of her sister's neck. Being able to control the head was a powerful tool that could be used to end a fight quickly, and Pestilence would do whatever she could to put Toxicity on the ground. At the same time as her bite she lifted her right leg, aiming to place her paw upon the girl's left shoulder and press down with all her might, hoping to rake her claws down across the flesh and leave there a permanent reminder of their battle.

Pestilence Klein - Abraxas vs Toxicity Klein - Abraxas for Minor Maim (scarring of left shoulder) [Maim changed from face, as Pesto couldn't access it. With permission from Iko over discord.]
Round 1/?
Age: Under 1 Year
Size: Extra large
Build: Medium
Skills: Beginner Fighter & Intermediate Healer
Specialty: N/A

Toxicity's bite hit Pesto's left forearm. She got her grip and held on as tight as she could even as her sister tried to struggle away. She felt her sister's bite at the nape of her neck and snarled through the dull pain. The sharper pain was caused by Pesto dragging her claws against Toxicity's left shoulder, drawing blood. Well, if she was to spill blood for God then so be it. She would do it gladly, over and over again. She told herself that, anyway, as a poly to bide through the pain. Toxicity aimed to shake her head and tear the place she had bitten onto even further. She didn't care how much damage she had to deal or take as long as it was for a just purpose. Simultaneously, she could aim to shove herself into her sister in hopes of knocking her over and winning the fight.

Toxicity Klein Abraxas vs Pestilence Klein Abraxas for Minor Maim (scarring of left forearm)
Round 2/2
Age: under 1 year
Size: Extra large
Build: Medium
Skills: Intermediate Intellectual & Beginner Fighter
Specialty: N/A

And the winner is...

PESTILENCE

TOXCITY must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Pesto's maim is successful Totals: Pestilence: 70.35 41.4 99 5 (183.39 after age penalty) Toxicity: 47.25 23.1 37 35.2 (121.17 after age penalty)

Pesto's claws sliced through Toxicity's skin. The gash in her arm was too deep, too severe. The searing pain went dull, then numb and Toxicity knew something was wrong. The warmth flowed over her paw and the leg collapsed under any weight. She scrunched her face with effort to keep upright as they battled. It took too much effort and too much time to try to push her sister over. The blood kept rushing out from her wound. Eventually, Toxicity's breathing became shallow and her heartbeat rapid. Her head swam and it was hard to focus on her sister's attacks despite her being right in front of her. She staggered, barely able to catch her suddenly very heavy feeling body. Her vision tunneled and darkened, but with some effort she was able to keep it from going completely black.

She stumbled a few steps away from her sister, trying to speak, but it coming out as a garbled mess. She couldn't continue this battle- she knew that. She lost this battle, but she assured herself she would win the war. For now, she weakly fled, using what was left of her energy to call for Obi.

As Toxicity stumbled away, Pestilence readied herself for another attack. It was then that she saw her sister's leg, and the snarl left her face. Had she done that? Toxicity was walking weird, unable to talk properly, and her leg was pouring blood. While the sisters had been locked in a anger-fueled match, Pestilence felt the guilt for the harm she'd brought upon her sister. Her mouth opened as if she was to speak, and then snapped shut again with an audible click. She wanted to go with her, to apologize and to make sure she sought a healer's help. Though the fear of what their mother might do when she found out it was at Pestilence's own claws held her back, and she backpedaled slowly. When Toxicity called for Obi, Pestilence turned tail and fled so she'd not be caught at the scene of the crime.

-exit-