[Training] you know the lonesome road

wears down my bones but they're not broken

The curse continued, only deepening until it seemed to freeze her bones. She was stiff, miserable, but she carried on. Having recovered from the illness that'd cause her the most pain, she had resurged in determination. She had to become stronger, to grow in abilities, and to use this curse as another challenge. When or if it were to end, wouldn't everything seem much easier?

Today she stalked the streets of the citadel in her leopard skin, shimmering gold and sunny although every step was like being encased him ice. She ignored it as best she could, doing her rounds and pressing on against the snow. Perhaps she would find trouble, or something exciting to preoccupy herself with.

AISHA

when the sky turns gray and everything is screaming

At the height of Deepfrost, just before Longnight, Noah doesn't dare leave his house or his office within the Palace in his human form. Rather, he continued to choose one of his many mammalian skins to walk the wintry streets of his home. Today, he chose the largest and most deadly of his forms to move away from the palace in. Large paws pressed into the topmost layer of powdery snow, but the thick snow beneath held even his massive form up. He moved slowly, ambling down the way.

Before him, another roaming creature caught his eye. Rippling gold and luxurious black covered her. The bear lifted his head, nostrils flaring as he took in the scent of the unfamiliar creature. He did not recognize the leopard, but with the rate he was gaining shifts, he couldn't be certain from this distance that he did not know who it was before him. 'Hello.' He called out gently through the attuned bond. 'Out for a winter stroll?' he inquired, the tone across the bond displaying hints of teasing. Little did he know that even covered in all that fur and muscle the woman beneath was still freezing.

i will reach inside just to find my heart is beating

wears down my bones but they're not broken

Briefly her fur bristled, her hackles raised and her tail flickered, as she thought he might be some ridiculously stray ursur. But he was not, that much was evident when she saw him clearly, tuskless and smaller. And then he spoke to her, an attuned, one that she had not met. It was always nice, meeting others like her. Shifters, especially the predator kind. She'd met so many little things, fucking birds. It was the hunters like him that she felt akin.

The leopardess snarled, but not a warning so much as a grumble, Every minute of my life is a fucking winter stroll. Surely he wouldn't know what she meant, that she was cursed to be trapped in icy skin for who knew how long, but it felt nice to say. Suffering through the cold had made her snippier too, But yes you could say that. And what about you, polar bear.

AISHA

when the sky turns gray and everything is screaming

Even though the snarl and the voice that came across the bond was unfamiliar, Noah still took a few steps closer to the brilliant golden leopard. He tilted his head some as she regarded her--what he assumed--life in Halo always being a wintry stroll. 'That's the life here.' He chuckled some. He was not mocking her in any way, but there was certainly an air of light-heartedness that broke through each syllable of his laughter. 'Just out stretching my muscles.' He demonstrates with a dramatic stretching of his forelimbs, each toe on his paw stretching and spreading wide, displaying massive claws on each tip.

i will reach inside just to find my heart is beating

wears down my bones but they're not broken

Hm, if only that were true. Not to slander a born and raised halovian, but Aisha was almost sure he’d never felt the cold as she did now, constant and taunting. If he had he would not be so lighthearted. She released a bitter purr at the response, It has been, she replied, tail flicking against the snow on the ground.

He was just out stretching his muscles, to this Aisha felt an opportunity, watching as he stretched and displayed his large dark claws. There are better ways to stretch, you wouldn’t be ready for a spar, would you? she was right to the point, no dawdling around what she wanted. She could always use more practice in this skin, as she did so often with her blade.

AISHA

when the sky turns gray and everything is screaming

He lifted his massive body back up from his stretch and let his eyes size up the leopard before him. Spar? He had only ever fought in this form once, and the damage he had done to the ursur was fresh in his memory. He mulled the idea over for a moment, the hesitation clear with him. He wasn't sure if he could trust this stranger, even though he stood before her and communicated with a lighthearted and jesting tone. 'I could use some practice using this form to it's fullest.' without killing whatever is in my path. He thought to himself after agreeing to spar with her.

The polar bear took an ambling step back, bracing his weight down and letting a roar rip from his jaws--meant to entice the woman to engage him.

i will reach inside just to find my heart is beating

wears down my bones but they're not broken

There was clear hesitation, and for a moment Aisha thought she'd chosen the wrong predator. Though he wore the skin, he didn't have to become it as she did hers, a huntress and warrior of claw and bone. She thought to retract the offer, but he caught her just before, agreeing to the spar with a lightheartedness about him. Another purr, satisfaction and delight, this would be fun.

She stepped away as he did, angling herself into a good beginning position, on that betrayed her offensive intent. This was not a beast to wait around with; she had speed on him, not strength or endurance, and she knew to use it. He let out a mighty bellow, ringing through the streets and drawing faces to the windows. She wondered if the people here were used to sights like this, or if they'd have an audience soon.

That thought was pushed away as she locked her mind into the spar. Dark claws dug into the ground as she prepared to launch herself forwards. She used that foundation to press off the ground, paws leaving the snow behind as she darted forwards. The leopardess made it in close to the bear, aiming to grab his shoulder in her jaws and pull him to the side. She had no plans to draw blood, but it wouldn't be a pleasant feeling either.

AISHA

when the sky turns gray and everything is screaming

He does not know her, and because of this he cannot determine whether or not she has any intent to harm him. In his own heart he had not intentions of hurting her (though he knew spars hardly ever left the participants unscathed in some way). She turned to circle him and somehow looked more shark than leopard. He steeled his will, mind and eyes honing in on the creature. He knew she would be quicker than him--probably in human form too, he guessed--but he had the clear upper hand in pure, brute strength. Both of their jaws held bone-breaking capabilities, but his mass and muscle combination far outweighed her.

As he mentally went through his strengths and weaknesses and how they might work against her, she sprung. He was impressed with how quickly she could move, even though he predicted her to be quite fast. He lurched up, his massive body drawing up and backwards away from her swiping claws or snapping teeth. He turned some as she closed the distance between them, but his movements had been enough to protect him. He felt her teeth close on thick fur, but his skin beneath went unpenetrated.

In response, the bear swiped downwards with a massive paw in an attempt to merely toss the cat away from him.

i will reach inside just to find my heart is beating

wears down my bones but they're not broken

Her teeth did not meet hide, rather just fur. Even still she tried to latch on, trying to avoid the massive white paws that would swipe and stun. He tried just that next, to beat and toss her away with his proportions. But she would not have it so, the leopardess let go of her hold and slipped further out of the way of his swipe, towards his hind legs.

From there she grabbed at his back paw with her teeth and attempted to pull him off balance, she could try.

AISHA

when the sky turns gray and everything is screaming

His paws did not toss her body away from him as he had intended, as he had hoped, but the leopard did still relinquish her hold on his fur. The bear grunted and tried to turn his body to follow her movements, but she was quicker than him in a way that Noah could not even have predicted. The frustration he felt at her lightning movements could only be followed up by awe. He knew in his own feline form he was quick, but with the size difference between his lynx form and this leopard he was impressed.

And frustrated.

She aimed for his back leg and bit at fur once more. Noah pulled away from her and turned his front end, massive body coming down on his front paws and incredible jaws snapping towards the leopard -- he aimed for her shoulder, pushing his body forward and hoping to keep her backpedaling.

i will reach inside just to find my heart is beating

wears down my bones but they're not broken

So far, Aisha had been dominating the spar. Her lithe but sharp form bolted effortlessly across the snow, latching on and pulling where she could. She'd once taken down an ursur in this form, she carried with this skin a lot of pride. But even one as athletic as Aisha the leopard made mistakes. One false step or overzealous lunge and she could be in trouble.

So was this fight at least. Too much fun is a dangerous thing, and as she felt the fur slip away through her teeth she recklessly tried to go back after it rather than reposition. The bear's teeth closed around her shoulder blade, one fang cutting into the skin. He would taste the blood there surely, though it wasn't too much it cause the leopard to hiss and seeth. Instinctively she lashed out with her claw, aiming a swipe at his maw to get him to let go. She'd made a mistake, but she wasn't out yet. This was a spar after all, making mistakes could be a good thing, that way she wouldn't make them when it mattered.

AISHA

when the sky turns gray and everything is screaming

Noah had not  intended to draw blood. Bruises and sore muscles and the like he was used to, but feeling his teeth sink into the attuned woman was different. The hunter sucked back, opening his jaws wide as his teeth slid out from the puncture wound they created. His eyes were wide as he backpedaled from his own attack. His blood pumped and pounded in his ears as the metallic liquid settled on his tongue and into his gums.

Inside of him, his body started a war he had not predicted.

As he moves back, Aisha's clawed paw smacks firmly on his muzzle. The bear groaned in the wake of her claws slicing into his lip, severing it with as much ease as his own teeth had torn her flesh. His own blood mixes in his mouth with her's and he reacts the way any predator would -- he swipes another massive, clawed paw in her direction. It is meant to keep her at bay, rather than slice any more of her skin--at least he tells himself.

i will reach inside just to find my heart is beating

wears down my bones but they're not broken

Aisha's retaliation may have been instinctual, but she too hadn't meant to draw blood. Perhaps. Maybe the leopard desired a bit of vengeance, unsheathing claws where there may be no need. This was only a spar after all, but they'd elevated so quickly. Still, she enjoyed herself, and there was something satisfying about the groan the bear emitted in response to her swipe.

The polar bear swung back, this time there was no blood drawn, but it did cause the cat to snarl as she skidded away through the snow, lightening her movement since resisting might only cause more strain. She let herself be pushed away, let the pressure ensue, and in that moment she reached out across the bond, breathing heavy as if the fight had brought her any sort of warmth other than visceral excitement.

You alright, bear? she asked, hoping his lip didn't sting too much. Her own shoulder pulsed a bit at the surface, but certainly wasn't debilitating. It was a nice distraction from the chill that settled beneath her fur.

AISHA

when the sky turns gray and everything is screaming

His paw did not smack against her body as she darted away, and for that he felt thankful. He leaned back on his haunches and sat, head rising far above the cat now. His lip would bleed for a while, he was sure, and in his human form may even require a stitch or two. Or, Delphine could heal them if she so chose. The last time he came home with a scar from another injury healed magically, by hands not hers, she had a reaction about it. This time, if she wanted to, he would let her hands bring his skin and sinew back together.

The bear turned his attention back to the leopard and nodded his head. Noah Olson. He gave her his name, lowering himself back to rest on all four paws. I've not done a lot of fighting in this form, it is new to me. He admitted to her, though there was some part of him that thought she may have guessed that. He hadn't predicted that the feeling of his teeth sinking into her flesh would have caused him such a tumultuous reaction -- half of him loving it, half of him not. His entire attuned life, until the last year, had only been in the form and mind of a reindeer. These predators were changing him in ways he had shrugged off when talked of by other, older attuned.

i will reach inside just to find my heart is beating