ORIGIN

Giggle dodged with a little more ease than the hybrid would have liked, a grimace forming on his face as his tail was snapped at. Somewhere along the middle, teeth snagged and drew a bit of blood. His beak click!ed softly, and rather disappointedly as he breezed past the hyena. Eythan spun in the air again, this time showing off with a little bit of aerobatics; he tilted himself upward, flapping his wings once for a burst of lift, before twisting in a perfectly executed flipping and diving motion. Not wanting to give the bonecaster something to expect, he said nothing in response, simply swooping toward the hyena.

The gryphon pushed forward, forward, forward until the last possible second. With a powerful wingbeat, he threw himself upward so that he was above the hyena. Twisting himself in the air so that his back half was further forward than his front, he endeavored to dive straight down onto Giggle, skull parallel to the spotted back. He braced himself for possible impact, eyes narrowed but not completely closed just in case.

As soon as he made contact and heard a bark of surprise, a rather sharp pain shot through his skull. Note for the future: don't slam with his head. Well, in a no-stakes spar like this, it was fine to screw around with random strategies like that. Flapping his wings and sprawling his legs over the hyena's back to gain a grip (he didn't quite trust his talons not to accidentally lodge themselves into Giggle's flank) Eythan twisted his neck around.

Throwing his head forward a little, he tried to snip at the rounded ear closest to him without grabbing onto it particularly hard. Feeling it in the tip of his beak, he tugged softly before relinquishing his grip and allowing himself to flop onto the ground, shouting "one even!"

He barely had a chance to scramble to his feet before teeth snagged his forelimb and sent him onto three legs. Balance compromised, he flopped to his side and was pulled along slightly as Giggle shuffled backward. Eythan's right wing flared, trying to provide some semblance of equilibrium.

What should he do now? Try and scramble toward Giggle on three limbs? No, he'd be leaving himself open and probably couldn't get back on his legs again. Ears flickering back, he contemplated. Currently, the hyena could only look one way: at his foreleg and where it currently was. He wasn't heavy nor strong enough to twist and throw the hyena. Instead, he'd keep his leg right here it was. His other foreleg, albeit a little sideways, braced itself against the stone.

Eythan jutted his shoulder against the stone, yanking his leg one way (with a wince of pain from thick teeth possibly drawing blood) and kicking out with his hind legs at Giggle's ankles, hoping to knock them out from under her. Calculated blows seemed to work out the best, and two could play at the game of knocking one another off-balance.

Eythan flattened his ears as he felt his paws refuse to connect with flesh, flying through only empty air. His momentary foe bowed low, diving toward him with jaws open and eager to snag his ear. He was still lying on his side and unable to scramble away in time. In a last-ditch effort, he tried his little kicking maneuver again --- still with his hind legs and with claws sheathed --- and hopefully somewhat impeding the oncoming ear tug and perhaps knocking the hyena off-kilter enough for him to scoot out of the danger zone.

Finding some purchase on the hyena, he used his own momentum to push his paws under him and scuffle to his feet. Eythan then bounced away a pace or two. When he tried to speak, he noticed how short his own breaths were; from adrenaline or exertion, he didn't know. "I'm pretty fuckin' exerted, too." Then, with a playful smirk, he lowered his head and added, "I'm getting those ears, though."

He kept his distance, measuring what to do next with watchful red eyes. Then, surprisingly, the gryphon ran head-on toward Giggle. He sprang up onto his hind legs with the aid of his wings, extending out his forelegs so that he'd try to wrap them around the Giggle's shoulders and push himself up against her chest. Somewhere in between, he called, "unless you want to call it even?"