[Training] Molten Work

sah Sah had needed to run after completing his quest and before diving into the second. Part of him longed to run through the tundra but after training with his more infernal canine shift with Hadama, it'd been itching to run loose. Never one to ignore his instincts and after making sure everything in Halo was taken care of (especially the twins' safety), he made his way to the Climb. Shifting into his fyrhund form, the Wild Thunder took off. As the canine sprinted across the barren land, dodging lava, a familiar scent hit him. It took him a moment to identify the source, but it was clear. Maea was nearby. Slowing down from his sprint, Sah trotted along. Rounding a corner and climbing over a ledge, he spotted her and tapped on a stone with his rocky paw to get her attention. He kept his ears up, and body language friendly in case she didn't recognize him in this form.

Maea

What you're given, what you live in
Darling, it finds a way to live in you

Half asleep on a rocky ledge overlooking a magma pool, the tigress dreamed of burning sheep. Someplace between sleeping and wakefulness, her half-lidded eyes perceived a herd of wooly beasts jumping across a molten river far in the distance, and in the flickering light and the rippling air, their black fur looked rippling hot. A quiet rumble of her stomach suggested a hunt might not be a bad idea. But her thoughts had finally settled enough to nap, and she was reluctant to move.

Until claws scraping over volcanic rock sounded through her torpor. A blue-laced ear twitched at the disturbance, trying to ignore it. When it repeated she toppled over onto a white shoulder, reluctantly prying open an eye to see what was going on. Seeing the fyrhund startled her; in an instant the tigress was on her feet, backing up warily; the only one of its kind she knew was not on good terms, and if it really was Astaroth...

But it smelled wrong. And something about its physique seemed slightly different. Perplexed, she sank down on her haunches with the heavy tail wrapped neatly around her paws. Studying the hound ,to try and figure out what this was about.

And your heart, love, has such darkness
I feel it in the corners of the room

sah Sah was glad that Maea was in her molten tiger form. Even if he trusted his nose, being able to recognize her current form helped ensure that he'd found the right tiger. He didn't particularly wish to fight a wild molten tiger today. Ye the fyrhund didn't think that Maea recognized him. Grateful for how fireproof his current form was, the hybrid dug his claws into the molten earth, careful not to splash too much lava. It was difficult to write like this, but he only needed three letters. 'Sah'. It was legible enough and he let out a soft huff, tapping at the word with his paw and stepping back so that Maea could read it.

Maea

What you're given, what you live in
Darling, it finds a way to live in you

Blinking slowly at the extensive scraping and tapping the hound was engaged in, she relaxed upon realizing that this truly was not Astaroth after all. She could not imagine the Butcher doing something so thoughtful as scribing out his name in the dirt - not when he could simply shift back and speak. The question as to why this fyrhund was going through the effort remained, but as it stepped back to allow her a clear view, she decided it might be for the same reason as her own; Maea simply couldn't be bothered to shift.

Stretching out her spine with a somnolent yawn, the tigress sauntered over to read the letters. Possibly she was surprised to discover that Sah was attuned, in addition to his other gifts; it was hard to tell, for there was only so much a pale-eyed stare and the tilt of a head could convey. She did incline her neck though, offering an affectionate headbutt if he would allow it; they had met so recently that they began to seem like true friends over mere acquaintances in her eyes.

And your heart, love, has such darkness
I feel it in the corners of the room

sah Sah happily accepted the headbutt, meeting Maea halfway. He too had begun to see the Ancient as more a friend and he was pleased to see her again. She seemed at ease today as well and the hybrid was relieved to see it. It had felt wrong to see the Ancient so withdrawn when they'd met in the Atheneum. Pushing the memory aside, the fyrhund was still of the restless energy that had brought him to the Climb. He had a friend in front of him with a shift that was equally equipped to handle the molten rock and lava, and as such, gave into his instincts. Dropping into a play bow, Sah let out a growl hoping that the molten tiger would take up his invitation for a spar. Not being able to ask through the Attuned bond, the hybrid could only hope that was getting the message across properly.

Maea

What you're given, what you live in
Darling, it finds a way to live in you

Some gestures were universal. Brow to brow there was no questioning the camaraderie between them, and so she had no reason to doubt his intent when Sah dropped and let the rumble roll from his throat. Amused by the challenge, the molten tiger walked by him, tail twitching excitedly - don't mind it if she accepted - and almost casually she swatted a heavy paw towards the canine's rear flank.

Smaller than herself by quite a lot, her confidence when faced by such an opponent was entirely feline and somewhat misplaced - not that it would prevent her from giving Sah as hard a time of this as she could. He'd stirred her from her nap, after all - she couldn't just let that slide.

And your heart, love, has such darkness
I feel it in the corners of the room

sah If Maea were an Attuned, she'd have heard Sah's internal laughter when the tigress agreed to his challenge. The Ancient's shifted form was larger, but the fyrhund was quick, and deceptively strong. He was able to crouch and leap to the side to avoid her large paw. It seemed his practice fighting larger opponents had paid off this time. He'd have to thank Noah and Sohalia later. Sah reared up, attempting to smack Maea's shoulder with his stone paws and throw her off balance. If he could do so, perhaps he'd be able to move in after to knock her down.

Maea

What you're given, what you live in
Darling, it finds a way to live in you

Thinking she could brush off whatever force the fyrhund threw at her, she only braced herself for the shove of paws into her shoulder. It was with a good degree of shock therefore that she found herself staggering backwards, nearly toppling over by the sheer force. Agile enough to regain her balance, she blinked at Sah, then narrowed her eyes; maybe this would be more of a challenge than she'd thought.

Stepping carefully over the rough terrain, this time she lowered herself closer to the ground and gathered up her haunches beneath her. A telltale wiggle of steel-striped hips announced her move before it came; launching herself towards the hound she tried to catch a hold of his back, and maybe wrestle him to the ground.

And your heart, love, has such darkness
I feel it in the corners of the room

sah Sah's small victory was short lived. Even with his strength, the weight and momentum behind Maea's tackle was too much for the smaller animal to stay on his feet. The fyrhund was knocked down, smacking into the molten earth with a 'thud'.  As his shoulder scraped the rocky terrain below, he was grateful to be in his fyrund shift. In any other form, it would have resulted in nasty gash. Recovering quickly, the hybrid twisted to try and prevent Maea from fully pinning him. Sah wasn't sure what he'd do if Maea managed to truly grapple him. It'd be best to escape before she could manage it. The canine tried to sink his teeth into the bend of her wrist to further deter the tigress. The bite was purposefully gentle. Firm enough to hurt, but not enough to draw blood.

Maea

What you're given, what you live in
Darling, it finds a way to live in you

He fell harder than she had intended. Like a snake rearing its head the guilt and anxiety around causing undue harm to those around her surged back into her conscious mind. Like a numbing agent it slowed her reflexes, dulled the ability to think. As teeth closed around her paw and clamped down a yowl tore from her throat - not so much from pain as in apology.

Maea tried to tear herself loose, releasing her own weight from Sah; her retaliation was a weak thing, the half-hearted bunny-kicks of hindlegs that would only do serious damage if strength was put into it. This time, it was little more than instinctive shoving, like a housecat with crumbled paper caught between its paws. It was supposed to be din, right? This was just a game, wasn't it? Her enjoyment wasn't altogether gone but Maea needed a moment, just to check that Sah was alright.

And your heart, love, has such darkness
I feel it in the corners of the room

sah Sah released Maea's paw as soon as she backed off, concern filling him at her yowl. He hadn't bitten her that hard, had he? It was what his usual spar-level of intensity would include. The equivalent of a blunt-forced hit with a weapon if he had to judge. Maye Halo's spars were different than those in the Grounds? Gods, Sah hoped he hadn't hurt her. If the hybrid hadn't been moving backwards to give her space already, one of her kicks would have hit him. As it was, he just had to jump back a little to avoid them. Taking a few more steps away from the feline, Sah gave Maea a moment to get to her feet. In the meantime, he gave himself a good shake, dislodging some of the dirt from his rocky fur. Still worried about his friend, Sah tilted his head and let out a soft whine. His eyes flickered between her paw and face, trying to ask if she was okay in the only way that he could without the Attuned bond.

Maea

What you're given, what you live in
Darling, it finds a way to live in you

Rolling onto her paws, Maea got up and inched away a few paces. Shaking her head as if to dislodge the intrusive thoughts, she responded to Sah's whine with an incline of her head, a repeat of the headbutt like a brief squeeze of a shoulder. She was fine, was he? Her paws moved solidly over the rough terrain, without a sign of blood or limping; smooth, agile, as gracefully majestic as any feline.

Her tail arced above her rear like a question mark, twitching as she tested his willingness to keep going by sidling closer on stiff legs – challenging, inviting Sah to retaliate for the tackle if he was so inclined. If he wouldn't, and he didn't withdraw, she would restart the game herself. It just seemed fair to offer a free shot for miscalculating like she had.

And your heart, love, has such darkness
I feel it in the corners of the room

sah It took a second, but when Sah processed that Maea was concerned about him, not herself, he melted a little. The hybrid returned her headbutt, giving a spin afterwards to prove that he was just fine. As the tiger slowly inched forward, the fyrhund bared his teeth, though the wag of his tail betrayed his actual mood. Taking her up on her generous offer, Sah lunged forward and reared up. One of his front paws swiped at Maea's shoulder in a move not unakin to boxing. The playful maneuver was an effort to both resume the spar and further reassure his friend of his well-being.

Maea

What you're given, what you live in
Darling, it finds a way to live in you

Arching her back in humorously exaggerated terror as he rose up on his hind legs, the tigress dodged out of the way of his punching paw. The knew to respect the strength behind it now and preferred to simply stay out of his reach as much as possible, slinking this way, then that so that the hound would have to keep moving.

Her retaliation was similar in nature; a front paw raised high from a standing position that smacked playfully towards a lava-crusted shoulder. Instinct told her to go for his face, for the neck or any other vulnerable spot; Maea overruled the impulse however, wanting to play it safe and avoid injuries altogether. It didn't really matter that they were both more than capable of healing any scrapes.

And your heart, love, has such darkness
I feel it in the corners of the room