Saudade was growing fast, The Bonebound were great, Krakarak was hoarding shinies, Bravo was building his bone fort, and life was good. Azazel lay on a perch that he had found high up in The Chambers. Azazel hadn't noticed the labyrinth of walls and high stalagmites before, and when he did, he deemed it to be a perfect place to nest. Gathering some bones and leathery bits that were unknowingly remnants of human clothing, the bird had created a haphazardly built nest to sleep in. It was pretty soft, but the bird could do better. Some day he'd find something softer for it... perhaps moss or some of those glowy mushrooms! Yes! He had to go get some of those! That'd make it look perfect.

Standing up in his little nest, the bird flapped his wings a few times, diving down toward the floor of Canis. Gleefully, the bird chirped, doing a barrel roll before snapping out his appendages. Flying was so fun! Why didn't more do this? Why couldn't every Gembound be blessed with wings? He had pressure magic. Perhaps he could give them wings of air... of fire? Of water? Oh the possibilities!

Carmine orbs flickered and shimmered between pillars of stone and iron oxide, the bird searching for glowing mushrooms that lay about. Of course, he couldn't see that well in the darkness, so he'd use his pressure magic once more as a guide. Recently, he had discovered how to make the parts of air vibrate and make noise, then use that to move around in the caves. The vibrations reverberated off everything and always came back to Azazel. This was echolocation, but Azazel didn't know what it was called, of course. Flapping his wings hard and long, the bird hummed in his chest, hoping this would allow him to use it.

A low hum followed his attempt, scattering in all directions and guiding The Bone King through the labyrinth. It faded eventually, but the few seconds that it lasted was all that Azazel needed. Landing with some audible clicks of talons on the floor, the abe waddled toward glowing mycelia. Yes... These were soft. Reaching out to touch one, he stroked the soft caps. Yes, these would work fine.

"Speech"

It was the glowshrooms that Azazel was purely engrossed in. He'd flapped his wings and now hovered above the fungal growth, plucking off long stalks of them, leaving plenty left so that the room was still illuminated. Much to his chagrin, however, as soon as the mushrooms left their host, the glow dimmed to nothing. Dropping the collection he had started, Azazel dropped to the floor, scowling. Carmine eyes glared at the mushrooms, waving a clawed foot at it. Stupid mushrooms! He could have had a cool lamp!

It was something else that caught his attention. A hollow CLUNK! caused the ave's skull to whirl about. What he saw was glorious. A bone so smooth and glistening like ivory. He swore it glowed, and he was not daunted by the sudden appearance of it. It was just so holy and beautiful. A squawk of sheer joy and delight escaped the ave's beak as he hopped excitedly over to it. A foot reached out to it, stroking the smooth surface. Out with those mushrooms, this was the new lantern that would complete his nest! But before he moved it... he wanted to stare at it a little more. It was so mesmerizing!

"Speech"

Engrossed too much in the bone, he shook himself. Blinking quietly, the bird put both talons on the bone, possibly a femur, and began to flap his wings, completely unaware of one approaching... a familiar face looking to have some fun. It was the faint woosh! of wind that turned the bird's head. A large and tall orange blur shot toward him, lunging for the bird. The bird squawked, flapping his wings multiple times to scoot the bone away from him. Ducking down, he was barely grazed by his assailant. Carmine eyes flickered up, registering the tall frame of a certain Bonebound. "Saudade." He chuckled. So he wanted to spar? Azazel had never fought another before, but this would be fun.

Feet spread apart and muscles loosened, hoping to absorb any shock if Saudade tried anything. Feathers ruffled to make him seem bigger and to help deflect any bites. Surely the vulpine creature wouldn't want a taste of his feathers. No sir! Shoulders of his wings rolled forwards, and so he was ready in just a few seconds. Calling upon his magicka, the bird gathered molecules of the atmopshere about his wings, the particles clinging to his feathers. Once he felt he had a sufficient amount, the bird breathed in deeply. He hoped to the gods above that this worked. Snapping his wings forwards to release what could be a big enough gust to blow Saudade away, he hoped for the best.

"Speech"

His pressure magicka served him well, the bird having moved the vulpine creature away from him. The gangly boy would slide away, but now his bruised ego allowed for more potential in this spar. Which made Azazel happy. He loved a good challenge! Scooting the bone further away from him, the ave continued to watch Saudade in the darkness, keen eyes following his every move. The boy would appear from the darkness, the pounding of paws echoing in the chambers. But then the creature disappeared. Whirling his head about a moment too late, the bird found himself pinned down by the shoulders. Carmine eyes glanced up to see the hazel-eyed Gembound looming over him, and Azazel kind of laughed a little. It was a light one, meant to tell him 'nice!'.

But he wouldn't let him win that easily! Beneath the boy, talons curled up and he twisted onto his back as far as he could. Wings spread wide across, the floor, and he felt he had a wide berth. Thrusting his feet forth, he hoped his talons would be able to deliver a decent little punch to Saudade's ribs above him, and get him to move just enough so he could escape. Even if he missed, the bird would scramble off in attempts to escape.

"Speech"

The maned wolf simply did not stay away from his post, and Azazel grunted in effort and frustration. Saudade had gotten a lot heavier since he had hatched. The gangly boy weighed a little more than the bird, now, and he wasn’t that strong. Carmine eyes glanced up at the boy, taking note of the fact that he seemed to be thinking. Maybe he hadn’t thought this through. He chirped beneath the other Gembound, watching as he would raise his front paws. Snapping his wings to his side, he avoided the vulpine’s attempts to pin him down by the elbows of his wings. Tucking his feet, he’d narrowly miss a nip to his talons. So he wanted to play that game, biting each other’s toes.

Rufous head twisted to allow the bird to shift to his right side, scooting a little out of Saudade’s invisible grip { well, not that he had a grip on him at all. } Giving no warning, the bird opened up his beak and would attempt to nip the vulpine Gembound’s toes with the tip of his beak. Even if he didn’t manage to land a few bites to his digits, the ave would flail his wings and talons to scramble away from his temporary foe. Well, he’d try. If he managed to get away, he’d run toward his prize, the glowing bone, and land atop it. Maybe he could repurpose it as a weapon… just for a little bit.

"Speech"