[Training] The floor is lava

Maea

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

Well, it wasn't exactly, but the premise was the same even though the scorching liquid below actually consisted of water. The tigress made a game of jumping between rocks, boulders, rocky ledges and the occasional broken stalagmite without allowing her paws or tail connect with the surface. A good way to practice her balance, it also added some fun to a trip that would otherwise be somewhat boring. You could only scour an area for flowers so many times before the lucky aspect of the search started to grate on you. Without Liam to distract her, she had to entertain herself..  which meant training, despite all the other kinds of potential a hot spring all by herself might offer. Lately, her first encounter  with Charlie kept haunting her thoughts, whispering of challenges and changes she had yet to face... and at least for now, they would remain that way. It wasn't avoiding anything, she kept telling herself. Just... waiting for the right moment. 

Taking aim for a slightly larger terrace that rose up through the steam, she crouched and gathered her legs beneath her, measuring the distance before leaping with calculated ease. The surface that met her paws on the other side was slippery however, offering no friction. With a grunt of dismay she found herself sliding clean off the edge and plunged unceremoniously into the healing springs below. A violent eruption of steam and boiling liquid ensued as hot water met even hotter metal stripes, and the tigress had a disgruntled expression as she paddled off to the edge of the pool. Just look at that! Distracted for one second, and now she had to start all over.

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

sah Sah had a bit of time on his hands as he made his way back to Halo. It always surprised him how drawn he was to Climb, enough to detour there. For a hybrid who preferred snow and hated the heat of Torchline, the lava of the Climb was an exception. He blamed his fyrhund shift entirely. On this detour, the Wild Thunder had elected to explore Frey's Breath in the hopes of finding a flower. They were appearing more often lately it seemed. But he had yet to see one for himself. As he drew closer to the springs, there was a loud splash. Jumping up onto a rock, he looked down to see a familiar feline clawing her way out of the water. Maea. Jumping down, Sah let out a soft 'woof' in greeting. She'd only seen this shift once but hopefully she'd recognize the hybrid.

Maea

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

She startled, upper lip curling away from ivory teeth in a warning hiss a moment before recognition set in. There were only so many fyrhunds that would deign to bark, and fewer still that wouldn't throw themselves at her throat if given half a chance.
Dragging herself out of the water, she approached Sah and quite deliberately shook out her pale coat so that a cascade of water would shower over him. That was for jumpscaring her. The affectionate headbutt that followed remained mischievous, yet sincere, and her delight over the sudden addition of company spread all the way down her spine and into the twitching tail.

Suddenly bounding away from him on stiff legs, the cocky posture of hers invited to play; with all these different elevations and rocks to jump between, it would be a waste not to utilise them. King of the rock, meet The floor is lava - and may the best cat win.

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

sah Sah's earthen jaws clacked together, playfully snapping at Maea in retaliation over the impromptu shower. The moisture darkened his stone form, not unlike the rim of the springs around them. The fyrhund happily returned the headbutt, knocking his shoulder into the tiger's as well. It was good to see her. The twitch of her tail was the only warning before Maea was on the move. Sah let out a huff, competitiveness rising to meet hers. His claws scraping the stones as he took chase. Bunching his legs, the fyrhund attempted to skip a stone in the series and jump into the lead. He landed his extended leap, but the hybrid underestimated the slickness beneath him. He had to spend a heartbeat regaining his balance before jumping to the next stone. ~ 1/4

Maea

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

The famed feline agility came in good use here, where balance and jumping ability was key. Maea happily bounced from one rock to the next, head to head with Sah for a moment until he stumbled. Landing ahead of him because of it, the tigress took the chance to attempt to push him off the rock and down into the water while Sah was still regaining his footing. 

It was a simple shove of a striped shoulder, a bracing against retaliation in case she missed - and then she would be off again, unless he managed to flip the script on her somehow. Tigers didn't really laugh, but her eyes were wide and round in excitement, cheeks puffed up in a pretend snarl that sounded a lot more dangerous than it was.

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

sah Maea's shove forced one of Sah's paws to sink into the water, but he quickly bounced back. It's clear now that his fyrhund form was built for solid stone beneath his feet. Letting out a playful growl in return, the hybrid bounded forward. When he caught up, he leaned over and gently nipped at her heel. Not enough to hurt, of course. Sah had no intention of doing so. But he hoped to force the Ancient to miss a step so that he could gain the lead. He was determined to win this impromptu race. These small challenges with Maea were becoming a wonderful habit. He hoped it was one that they could continue in the future. ~ 2/4

Maea

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

His teeth snagged against the skin of her haunch and Maea yowled in playful protest. He managed to yank it out from under her, and though she didn't fall into the water, she did trip and fall onto the rock. The sight of his wagging tail as Sah shot past her was aggrieving enough that she quickly rolled back up, none the worse for her tumble, eager to continue the chase.

Choosing a slightly different route, the tigress leaped with precision over to another boulder, skimmed the edge of the pool by following a ledge and managed to catch up with the fyrhund. Leaping onto a rock at the same time as he did, she tried to tackle him again with a striped shoulder, putting her bulk behind the motion in an attempt to push him off into the hot spring.

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

sah Sah let out a huff at Maea's exaggerated reaction, eagerly taking the lead. It didn't last long, and the hybrid let out a rumble as his friend swiftly caught up with him. Shooting her a glance from the corner of his eye, h\Sah launched himself forward to avoid Maea's shove. Bunching his haunches, he leaped onto a rock a few paces ahead. As he landed, the fyrhund kicked at the water, attempting to splash the tigress in the face as she caught up to him. He had to take care not to knock himself off the rock as he did so. It'd be just his luck to slide into the water instead of actually splashing Maea. ~ 3/4

Maea

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

The momentum carried her right past the fyrhund when he dodged her tackle. Teetering on the edge of the rock for a millisecond and nearly falling off, it was a testament to the tiger's agility and flexible body that she managed to recover her balance at all. Yet again Sah shot ahead of her, and the tigress leaped after him, fully intending to challange him for the rulership of that rock in particular -

- and charged straight into the spray of water he splashed her way. Blinking hot droplelts out of her eyes with a quick shake of her ruff, Maea supposed it was a good thing she was Ancient. What would be painful and dangerous to someone else became a minor inconvenience to her, not to mention a perfect reason for retaliation. One measured leap carried her over to Sah's rock - and there the tigress reared up on her haunches, front legs reaching out to catch the fyrhund in a wrestle that would determine once and for all who was king of the rock.

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

sah There truly were benefits to being heatproof and Sah let out a bark of laughter as his water attack only inconvenienced his friend. Just as he had intended. The molten tiger and fyrhund could have likely played this exact game in a lava pit. There wasn't much time to gloat however as the tigress swiftly bounced back. As Maea rose up to wrestle him, the fyrhund mirrored her movement. Sah was able to dodge her swipes and keep his ground as one of his paws moved to try and shove at the feline's chest. Yet the result was clear as the canine's claws scraped at the stone. This king wasn't going anywhere. Maea would need to crown herself queen of a different rock. ~ 4/4

Maea

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

In the end, it would seem that size really didn't matter. Despite her best efforts to claim sovereignty over the barren patch of land that was the rock, Maea was fundamentally weaker than the hunter. The paw to her chest shoved the tigress unceremoniously backward, over the edge and into the scalding water of the hot spring with a sound splash.

Tigers didn't laugh, but the striped tail betrayed her amusement as she hauled herself out of the water for a second time. It was her loss, this time, and during the many subsequent games that followed - yet she didn't even mind. It was too much fun to romp around with her friend like this, as though there was no sorrow in the world - and at least for today, she would happily indulge this illusion.


[FIN]

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