ORIGIN

The bear was all ready, shoulders rolling and squaring off. Eythan's wings loosened at his sides, ears perking forwards. His toes spread out across the dirt, talons leaving minute little ruts in the mud as they did. A beat. His beak cracked open slightly, on the verge of clicking as he thought. Already, he had placed his goal at getting on top of this hulking behemoth, to perhaps wrap his forelimbs around that neck and get a nip in before Sergei could get a chance to roll onto him.

Perhaps an actual grab would be a bad idea, actually.

The gryphon skirted to the side, feinting slightly, before hunkering low and launching himself skyward with billowing wings. Propelling himself forward, Eythan began this little spar in the simplest manner: a hit-and-run. His wings were spread, slicing clean through the air as he tilted his head down and aimed to snatch that ear from above and basically head-on. May as well start confidently, right?

He felt the tell-tale floppy cartilage of an ear in his beak, and immediately relinquished his grip. The light seemed to fade from Eridanus just as he went to shout: "sorry, dude, might've pulled too ha--- FU--CK!" While it wasn't a resounding success, Sergei's enormous paw most certain hit a mark.

For example, square between Eythan's shoulders. It wasn't a full-on clubbing on the bear's part, but with stupid bird bones like his, the gryphon was definitely feeling it. Mud sprayed up into his mouth as he immediately flew downward, landing in a rather twisted heap. His paws scrabbled around uselessly on the riverbank. Only when he actually unsheathed his claws could he find something resembling a grip.

And the first thing he did with that grip while Sergei --- hopefully --- was still standing upright was push forward again. Wings tucked to his side, Eythan leveled his head with his shoulders, hunkered down, and launched himself at the bear's stomach. Why? Instinct, he supposed.

Okay, so, listen: Eythan was doing his best.

Somewhere between launching himself at the bear and actually making contact, his paws had slipped and drained all power from the blow. To be honest, it was rather embarrassing. The mud-slicked hybrid couldn't even be bothered to spread his wings out or separate his feathers. Eythan just stood there, rather defeatedly, as Sergei just simply lumbered backwards and gently nipped at his ear. Only when he felt teeth and lip did the gryphon pull his head back and move away. "That was embarrassing. My paws slipped."

After a pause, he moved back to reset their position. "Soup's still on though. That's one-even." A beat, as he waited for any response, should Sergei offer one. Then, it was go time. There was no use standing around, expecting to tank a blow given by this wrecking ball Gembound. Eythan knew that his forte, here, would be agility, and hit-and-run tactics.

Fortunately for Sergei, the gryphon was sopping wet and covered in mud. Consequently, it'd be a little bit of a venture to try and jump up and over, again. This was a time to rely on fancy footwork. Eythan watched the bear intently for a moment, then took a loping trot around. Just as he would be behind Sergei, he took a much quicker pace, near-galloping. Another loop, and he'd leap --- hopefully from behind in order to wind up on the bear's back.

As soon as the furry mass beneath him began to move about, Eythan immediately hunkered down and tried to come along for the ride. "I didn't mean to confuse the shit out of you, but I gotta make sure I don't miss this chance, lad!" Sergei dropped down, completely messing up anything resembling balance that the gryphon had in order to cover up his ears.

Just as the spotted hybrid began to tumble literally head-over-heels, he lurched forth with the intention of hopefully snagging an ear on the way down. A simple maneuver, which would most certainly end with him completely covered in mud from head to toe.

Perhaps wrestling in the mud was a bad idea.

Oh god, oh fuck; that roar did not sound happy.

Oh god, oh fuck, part two: the bear was on top of him before Eythan could even begin to gather his bearings. A sharp wheeze escaped him, breath whistling from his beak. Rather than being pinned and on his back, the gryphon was trapped on his back, ears easily available, even from behind curved horns. All it'd take was one quick nip and it'd all be over with.

The gryphon was not intending to allow this to happen without at least trying. This wasn't a life-or-death situation, but it could be. Talons scrabbled uselessly in the muck, leaving little trails. Eythan thrashed as best as he could, half-buried in bear. He didn't have high expectations or hopes, but maybe he'd be slippery enough to get some leeway and spin onto his back.