Redhawk Caldera You've got opinions, man

With the blame squarely settled on @Caracal's shoulders for their dad's leaving, Tierra didn't waste much time telling him how she felt about it. (Without the accompanying signs, of course, because she didn't need mom yelling at her next.)

It's because your such a baby. And now he hates you and it isn't fair. Mommy shoulda made you leave. Tierra had puffed up at her brother, taken any arguments, and stalked away to pout (with some guilty satisfaction) somewhere he hopefully wouldn't bother her. She didn't need Speer bothering her either right now.

Daddy shouldn't have left her. Her face scrunched up and she started to dig at the dirt at her paws, wearing a shallow furrow in the ground. No one listened to her.

Sphyra didn't really feel like dealing with a whining Caracal after Tierra's bitch-fest. Honestly, she didn't want to deal with anyone if she could help it at all. For Sphyra's tastes, everyone was being far too dramatic about this whole thing. She wasn't too sure why dad had left, but for now she still presumed he would return eventually. He'd left before, and he'd returned before. Big deal. Caracal and Tierra both were being far too emotional about this whole thing.

Instead of focusing on all of the drama going on, Sphyra decided to polish her skills in the field. She'd been attacking a stick not too far from where Tierra sat moping, unbeknownst to either sister initially. One ear turned towards Tierra's location as Sphyra heard her move about, and Sphyra immediately accepted the challenge.

Sphyra slowly approached, and she tried to pick up on some of the Aunt Ruenna tricks in the process: She hid behind a bush and glanced out towards Tierra from behind it, holding her breath. Hopefully her sister wouldn't notice her; she'd try to sneak closer and closer, hiding behind various bushes and trees in the process, so that she could try a pounce when she was close enough.

Tierra was way too deep in her own sulking to notice her sister sneaking behind her, and she likely wouldn't until she decided to pounce. The ground needed scraping. Normally she hated anything that would get her paws caked with dirt, but right now, it was too satisfying to just dig her claws in.

I'm not a baby like he is, she said to no one in particular. She stood up straighter as if too prove it, then her face wrinkled even more. Mommy's stupid. Her voice dropped a whole lot, because this was dangerous territory and she knew it. She could talk smack about her siblings all day, but Towhee demanded a level of respect that had her nervous even saying such a thing.

It felt good though. She didn't even necessarily mean it, but breaking that unsaid rule made her feel even more grown up.

Oh, Tierra was still upset about the daddy thing. Geez, what a baby she was. Mom had said very clearly that daddy was sick, and so he was going on a trip again. He'd been gone before, so what was the big deal? Sphyra fully expected him to be back in a week. Tierra seemed sufficiently distracted by her own drama though, which made it easier for Sphyra to sneak up on her sibling.

When she finally was close enough, Sphyra came dashing from the bushes with a loud RAAAA! and she tried pouncing Tierra. A good old tussle would distract her sibling from her woes!

She didn't hear until too late, but as soon as Sphyra jumped on her, she set off a pretty big reaction. NOOOO!! Tierra screamed it at her sister, all of her upset feelings flaring into indignant anger as someone small jumped her unexpectedly from behind. SPEERA NO!! NONONONO!

She did lash out at her sister, but it was more of a hissy fit than a response to the spar. She flailed out, dramatically screaming, in a childish overreaction. For someone who just called her brother a baby, it was pretty bad, but she was so not in the mood right now.

Tierra started to cry and whine for her to stop, which only spurred Sphyra on further. Sphyra laughed victoriously in between play-growls. Tierra was flailing, but in her childish woes she didn't manage to be very effective in attacking back, being rather a loose cannon. Sphyra nipped roughly at Tierra's ear. You're such a crybaby! she shouted with a laugh while still trying to get the upper hand in the wriggling mess that was Sphyra-and-Tierra.

Sphyra was about to try and grab her sister's mouth to stop her from dramatically shouting no's when Tierra's flailing finally paid off: It was harder to estimate where an attack might happen because Tierra's behaviour was so erratic, so Sphyra didn't see a paw coming and was suckerpunched in the face. She fell back and off Tierra, and shook her head as she waited for the dizziness and smarting feeling in her nose to go away.

AM NOT!!! She cried, totally proving Sphyra's point while they wrestled. Her sister's attack had successfully distracted her from why she was upset, and now she was simply mad at Sphyra instead.

When she finally managed to push Sphyra off with a kick to the nose, she didn't even pause really to see if her sister was okay. She launched herself directly at her now that she had the chance to get the upper hand. The move had all the grace and subtlety of a galloping moose, but her only goal was to get her sister pinned on the ground.

Sphyra just laughed mockingly at Tierra's hot and angry and whiny words until she was punched in the face. She took a few seconds to recover, but before she could properly do so Tierra was already on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Sphyra started to flail, eager to get out of this lockhold that Tierra got her into and get the upper hand again, while a growl bubbled in her throat.

Tierra and Sphyra might have been nearly identical, but one slight difference was Sphyra's strength. Tierra didn't do much by way of training and her sister, even in playing, was pretty quickly outpacing her. Finding she was in danger of losing the upper hand as Sphyra struggled too hard to keep pinned, rather than risk it, Tierra took off.

She was still mad, but not mad enough to fight beyond her stopping point. If she got away, she still won - she wouldn't have to deal with her sister anymore, at least for a while.

im cool to wrap this here if you like!! Sorry it ran so long <3

Sphyra could feel that she was gaining traction and she would surely soon be free. She could taste victory getting closer, but just as she was about to burst free her sister instead let her go and started running away. Yeah, better run, sapsucking baby! she shouted after Sapsucker and she proudly puffed out her chest as she watched her sister disappear. Eh, she'd get over it.