Eythan was just trying to take a piss behind some rocks, okay? It's a perfectly normal part of the Gembound life cycle. Aside from all of the obligatory socializing and interaction, all a 'bound really needed was to eat, sleep, shit, and piss. The latter two seemed to go hand in hand, but the gryphon could hold onto solid waste. Better to not be rude to the rest of the folks here enjoying the stink-free Polaris air. There was a skull back home calling his name---

Ah, shit, there's a kid here calling him --- caterpillar beard?! His horns whirled about as he stood abruptly from his squatting position. Trying to collect any lost dignity, he flexed his wings and tossed his head. He was totally just stretching behind this rock, not pissing or anything. Dismissively and completely on auto-pilot, Eythan chirped, "haha, yeah." His ears flicked forwards as he finally actually processed what the chick had said --- with his own two brain cells, nonetheless.

"Kalama, eh? Did you happen to watch me fight?" His spotted head lowered, trying somewhat to be eye-level with the kid and failing. Without breaking his spine, he still had to tilt his head downward to peer at the little one. "I'm not the best fighter in the caves, I don't think, but I sure can try to teach you, I guess?" It was just a mentorship. Nothing bad could come from this except for--- oh, no.

Bright eyes narrowed as Eythan quirked a brow, "beating up people just to do it isn't a very good thing, kiddo. You'll just get beat right up and get fu---flipped over."

Caves, I still have to piss.

Wow, can't believe I left a fuckin' impression, the gryphon thought with a click! of his beak, on a kid, nonetheless. Bright eyes met twinkling, orange-lit ones as Kalama seemed to be visibly unable contain her excitement --- the chick was tiny, but boy was she shaking. It sort of reminded Eythan of that little cat friend of Aure's: Wilder. Once that one got stimulated even a little, she talked a mile a minute and bounced all over the place.

Strong? That depends on the situation... "Thanks, kiddo," he chirped with downward tilt of his head, "but m'name's Eythan, y'know?"

What was worrying was how confused the chick seemed by the concept of not beating up people for the sake of it. That kind of 'get them before they get me' mentality wouldn't end well for anyone involved, if that monstrously-sized spur on the kid's leg was any indication. "Well, you can't ever lose if you don't get into fights, kid," Eythan demurred with a furrowed brow. "There's other ways to get respect, y'know, by being nice. Fighting should just be a last resort."

Basically, his point was, he wasn't going to teach this kid how to fight if she was just going to become the next serial killer of the week.

Being nice --- what a concept! At least, it really seemed to be to this kid. Eythan narrowed his eyes further, barely a red squint reflecting the general light of Polaris. After a brief pause, he simply shrugged, hoping Kalama had taken this all to heart.

"If you do have to fight," he began, pausing only to fix the neonate with a warning look, "you shouldn't be lookin' to hurt or kill 'em unless you absolutely can't avoid it. Self-defense, and all that." His ears flicked back, a sullen look falling over his face for a moment. Just as quickly as it came, it disappeared. "Since you'll probably be smaller than your opponents, yet, you gotta be careful. Don't get stuck underneath bigger opponents. Trust me, that doesn't end well."

Going through the motions, the gryphon walked off a distance, then turned. Squaring off against some rock relatively the same size as himself, Eythan lowered his head. "Hit to stun, not hurt. Be fast and be defensive." To demonstrate, he balled up his right fist and fixed a solid wallop! upon the boulder. "Usually if you're hitting the face or the back of the head, you'll be fine." He relaxed again, head turning toward Kalama.

A moment to try it out for herself, if she so desired.

Well, everything building up to the chick's assault on the stone seemed to be perfect. Eythan watched with quite a bit of an impressed smile on his face --- only for it to twist into a grimace and wince as Kalama tripped, fell short, and proceeded to grind her flint-bound spur against the rock. The sheer force of it, quite literally, made sparks fly. The gryphon stared for a moment, astounded.

The motivation's not the only fuckin' issue here, he thought as he nodded hesitantly toward Kalama; his ears were back slightly though, with a look of concern twisting his face some more. It was akin to a grimace, but not quite as strong. Brows furrowed, Eythan paused and nodded again, "that was a good attack but--- uh, practice will make perfect, kiddo."

How best to put the reality of life and its shortcomings to a very new, possibly fresh Gembound?

"You can't go around going nuts at every failure. Sh-- things happen and you can't always succeed out the gate."

Okay, back to praise, he supposed, adjusting his wings to his sides and sidestepping to get a better view of Kalama's singular spur; "that's quite a stone you got there, kid. Didja cast those sparks or did it make them?"

"Well, at least it isn't other Gembound you're hittin' like that, kiddo," Eythan conceded with lowered ears. It was fair to want to vent frustration --- however childish --- on rocks, he supposed, but not to drive that blade of flint through the flesh of another. "As long as you aren't sparkin' up somebody, you'll be fine."

Rather dramatically, he ogled at the immense spur, bright eyes reflecting its dull surface. Kalama set her foot down after a moment, then focused intently on the rock in front of her. Her footwork was balanced and at just the right speed, this time. With a strong approach and quick aim, the chick drew her little talons over the stone. Eythan's ears pricked forth at the subtle grinding sound, impressed by the strength of it.

Immediately after, the little one seemed to explode in sheer delight. "That was good!" Eythan trotted forwards to inspect the rock, keen gaze trailing over minute gouges in it. He raised his own talons to point at it and feel it out, clicking his beak. "Wow, you left a mark, kid! See it?"