ORIGIN

The thump against a sturdy cushion of feathers confirmed Fahl had struck true. The sensation then whisked away to be replaced by air, Imp's voice carried away with it. He shook any rattle from his head, lowered it—

And raised it again. A cough, small and awkward, escaped him.

"No headbutts. Careful. Got it." Ready position broken, embarrassment set his tail twitching. "I wasn't going to," he insisted weakly, "but I hear you. Loud and clear."

When he resumed, the approach was one of caution though perhaps not as much as should have been required. Feet slapped against the ground at an even pace that verged upon hurried, and once his claws met rocky resistance, he flew forward at the sudden stop and nearly knocked himself out anyway. For what was seconds but passed more like a full minute, Fahl fumbled for a foothold to scale the obstacle. Compared to usual, his ascent was a hesitant one. Nevertheless, body slung halfway over the top, he batted out, letting the warmth radiated by a living being guide his punch.

A triumphant snort expelled from his nostrils, and with jaw dropping open to form a wide grin, Fahl's outstretched foreleg and raised upper body flopped down from their attack. Back claws maintaining his partial cling to the rock's side, he renewed his scramble to haul himself fully atop. A gust of air whooshed overhead as he did so; the flap of wings accompanied. Climb finished, a limb raised up and swiped at a presence no longer there.

His face tilted ceilingward. "Here before," he murmured. "Now where?"

The answer to this was prompt: a weight, light but definite, fell across his midsection. It vanished just as soon. Jerking at the touch, Fahl whipped around, uncertain of where exactly to halt his spin. He reared, risking imbalance upon a slick surface, top of a paw thrust up for a blow to either nothing or someone.

For a fleeting moment, he was upright, feet and tail skidding an opposite direction to his torso. Chill breezed over and bit into scales as he flew forward. Paw extended, it withdrew from its punch, already preparing for touchdown. The downswing cut off halfway, shoulder crashing first. His belly followed. Breath stolen by the impact, Fahl's eyes threatened to fly open. Stubborn refusal kept them sealed shut. He lay there, dazed brain populated by flickering lights, before clambering back to his feet.

No wingbeats sounded close by. He stumbled about the rock and cautiously poked at its sides to find no one clinging to it. At last, he descended, a feat easier than the initial climb despite being done headfirst. Claws scrabbling all the while, the similar noise a ways off did not alert him.

The slap did.

Front paws already on the ground, his back legs kicked off in haste. Riding high off his previous successful hits, Fahl chose a direction without second guessing and darted for it. He ignored the fading twinge in the one shoulder, leaning into the other for a passing attack.

The collision, though momentary and small compared to a more direct blow, coursed vibrations through his shoulder. It jarred, pulled back as feathers and armor beneath met scales alone, and snapped into place after shoving past any resistance. Drawn out scritches over stone could be heard, Fahl forcing weight upon his feet for an abrupt stop. Tail lashing, he swerved around, toes aching from their drag but ready for another go at his teacher.

"Yeah?" He rushed forward, spirit charged and reckless from the combination of praise and battle exhilaration. "How about. Really good."

The next swipe was a low one, determined by the crouch he lunged into a few hurried leaps into his advance. If Imp had not yet taken flight, he aimed to destabilize his teacher, whether by knocking aside a wing or a leg.

He felt the hit, heard the thud and accompanying grunt. Knowing his accomplishment, another open-mouthed smile bloomed into existence. Maybe it was pure luck at work, but he hadn't expected to be doing this well at first try. If he kept at it, took the time to really hone his senses, there might be a genuine chance to be a formidable fighter even with the future complication of underwater darkness.

"Happy sounds about right," Fahl said, a chuckle bubbling up from his throat.

Imp didn't seem finished yet. At least it sounded so from the sound of scrabbling over stone. Pouncing on top seemed rather over the line, the possibility of scratching too much of a risk. But carefully pinning down a limb? That might work somewhat—if he could find one.