"Can you start with blood?"

"Not from anything. Certainly not her, unless she finds it funny."

"It doesn't have to be."

"Then yeah. We ready?"

"I think so."

Shade turns to the Yew Queen, winks, then launches into an attack.

"Time to dance?" she calls, parrying and flowing into her own attack, harsh and sharp.

"You know how I like dancing."

She conjures a hail of blood in needle spikes, only some of them intended to hit.

"You're going to have to try harder, darling."

She twists out of the way of the needles, swirling around Shade.

The blood congeals, reaches back out to the Yew Queen to slash, to burn.

Mora's chant starts sapping the Yew Queen's motivation - her Heartfulness - and feeding it into Shade, starts summoning blood, too, albeit slightly weird eldritch blood (a nifty trick she found as a footnote in one of her books).

Her gaze snaps to Mora.

Shade is in her face again.

"Don't make me jealous."

"I wouldn't dream of it, darling."

She lashes out at Shade, lightning quick, striking at her chest with a thundering blow.

Shade is solid, immovable, untouchable. She strikes back when the Yew Queen gets close.

The ground also reaches up to attack her, while lightning strikes from all sides.

She allows Shade's blow in exchange for one of her own, forceful enough to send her darling flying back if it connects.

Lightning redirects into the ground, blowing apart the earth that dared turn against her.

She recovers quickly and flies straight back, not bothering to touch the ground.

She uses the opening to pounce - at Mora, covering the distance quickly.

A succession of fire walls and pits block her progress.

And Mora had noticed her attention - far enough ahead to make space slightly more unreal.

She slips to the side - or perhaps the space around her slips away a bit, curling so attacks won't quite touch her.

Still, it takes concentration, and her building chants summoning blood and stripping the Yew Queen's strength and bolstering Shade falter, lingering on a long note for now but threatening to fade entirely.

The Yew Queen can fly, unfortunately, and the fire only scorches her lightly. Still, she's delayed at the border of Mora's - strangeness - staying still long enough to be hit in turn.

Something both Shade and Eliana take advantage of.

The Yew Queen spins Shade into Eliana's attack, and then lunges for Mora, slamming through her defense - she wants to get through, desperately, and that's enough -

She picks Mora up with one hand, disrupting her chants, and then throws her at Eliana.

A gust of air softens the impact, but not enough to catch her.