Bone hesitated.

"Honestly, I'd rather not do it to the bats," she answered. "I think fire's a little cruel to hunt with, whatever Dad does. And anyway, he always says to stay away from the bats," she reminded Svartis. Dread shuddered whenever the little things were mentioned, bellowing about "sickness." "Maybe we can test on something stationary, first? Like, uhh... find another dead tree down the Gorge, and both hit it in passing?" she suggested, uncertainly.

All else aside, she hated to appear weak in front of her brother, but her guilt trip about burning a herd of deer alive (potentially, at least) still lingered. "For hunting, eh... fire's not a good way to go. And I'm not confident enough with it yet that I won't--you know, botch it."

@Svartis

Well - Svartis hadn't really thought about that. He made a theremin noise, averting his gaze briefly with a "ahhh, yeah..." Fire did burn, and surely anything that breathed could feel. "A tree would be better anyways. The Alpha - and Vargas, I think - can't fly." (Well, one can do an approximation of that, but he didn't know that yet.)

He craned his neck to give Bone a quick bump on the snout, "hey - I'm pretty shit, too." His wings fanned a bit: "I didn't even get these holes from that monster." Svartis laughed, looking away in clear embarrassment, "gave myself every single one of them." The black dragon creased his eyes in a smile, "we'll get better together," and started waddling off to make his ascent.

"Fly until we find something - tree or... a rock, maybe? I'll swoop in with ice and you come in with fire."

Seemed like a good enough strategy. Freezer-burn.

@Bone

Bone listened, and then nodded, thrusting herself up into the air again. A powerful shove of hind legs--a leap, and then the beating of heavy wings.

"If we're going to practice as if it's real, I should follow your lead," she said, thoughtfully. "Because if we're going to do this in a fight, it'll be me following you, and I'll have to be ready for your hit. So go ahead, and I'll follow, and try to hit it up after you do. Whatever 'it' turns out to be."

She lifted a little higher and then tensed, preparing for this rather strange variety of practice; but who knew? Perhaps it would work.

She could only hope that this would all pay off.

@Svartis

Svartis cut up and into the air, swift and - he hoped - deadly. One after the other seemed to be the best maneuver, so he nodded and went soaring down the pass; tail ruddered out a little to catch drag and not be so quick. They should attack pretty soon after each other. That seemed to... make sense? Overwhelm their target before they could react.

Icy eyes traced every oddity in the terrain, mental gymnastics deftly completed at each one before deciding that they were too small, too camouflaged, et cetera until... a-ha! A pathetic, scraggly tree jutting off of a boulder. It was already on the verge of crumpling in a stray breeze, and perfect for a blast of ice and fire.

He made a sharp call behind him - sort of a atten-TION! gesture - before breathing and unleashing a torrent of permafrost that coated the tree's trunk. With a sweeping beat of wings, he dove past it and twisted over his shoulder to watch his six.

@Bone

Bone came in sharply behind him.

When Svartis' tail ruddered, so did hers, albeit not as hard--her heavy club made hers a little more... effective in altering her flight trajectory, and it didn't do to overuse its momentum. First his black form dove into the crevice, and then hers, white, following: two blinding-fast opposites coursing through the ravine.

She watched his movement carefully, weaving slightly to and fro in a vaguely opposite maneuver from his so that she could do her best to see what lay beyond him. This was already a learning experience--if they were going fast, and in a line, she'd be hard-pressed to know what lay ahead until they were right on top of it. As a result she saw the tree--in brief glimpses past his wings and legs--just before he cried out; she was just prepared to react in time. She slowed, though he barely did, his frost-breath slicking their target; and Bone inhaled as Svartis shot past it, dropping to make her own pass.

Burn this, she thought, her eyes locked firmly on her target. She had only a half a second or so to strike; her speed would carry her beyond too quickly otherwise.

It was not perfect: but it hit, the white dragon sweeping lower, her flame coursing around the tree and past it. Most of the breath missed, charring the ground behind the tree, but she hit it enough to ignite it, at least, and-

"SHIT!"

Her attention had been on the tree, and she hadn't realized that Svartis had turned to watch behind him; Bone pulled up just in time, heavily-beating wings laboring to carry her over him instead of crashing into him. She then turned, herself, much slower and less agile than he, to sort of air-trundle her way back to him.

The tree had been frosted, and then set aflame; her fire had caught on it.

"Don't stop, when we do this for real... circle, maybe," she called out to him, amused. There wasn't much room for that in the Gorge, though, and she knew that. "I think we make a good team, though, no-? No tree will stand a chance." There was humor in her tone, though faint pain in her voice--the burns still ached. "I think my mouth needs a rest, for now, Svartis," she added, on that front--and dropped down to land, and dip her jaws into the cooling stream.

@Svartis

In his defense, he'd wanted to see the results of their attack! Sure, he could've flown out a bit further before swinging around to watch, but it was in the (literal) heat of the moment that he decided to wheel about so apparently dangerously. Bone was a good shot and -

"SHIT!" Svartis yowled in tandem, nearly dropping out of the sky to avoid his sister's crashing into him.

Safety found, he whinged softly, "I wouldn't stop if it was for real - I wanted to see what happened right away." Icy eyes stared at the tree, burning rather anticlimactically. No explosion or anything. Just burning. At least something stuck to the ground wouldn't be able to pat those flames out. He laughed anyways, "of course we make a good team. A pair of bother and sister against the Caves."

The white dragon went to cooling off her jaw, and he shook himself, "I need a rest in general. I was sleeping with Dad and Blight and snuck out to practice." Fins flapped up. "Probably just going to stay down here and go to Mom's - it's too hot to go back up. Tell the kid so he doesn't think I got kidnapped," Svartis chuckled awkwardly.

He waddled forwards a bit, bumped his sister on the snout - and waited for any answers before taking off through the Gorge. "See you, fire hazard!"

exit Svartis unless stopped
@Bone

Bone snorted, lifting a little higher.

"I can see it now, 'WHERE'S DAD, I WAS GOING TO PROTECT HIM,'" she laughed, good-naturedly imitating the kid's voice. She then shook her head. "You go on. I've sort of worn myself out, too. I'll let him know," she added.

And then, after a second snort in response to 'fire hazard,' she called after her brother--"YEAH, YEAH, ICE-FOR-BRAINS." Not-... the greatest comeback in Gembound history, but Bone thought it was pretty good.

All things considered, anyway.

She turned and banked upward, heading toward the den; and after that--given how tight space was up there--she'd find her own broad and well-lit place to rest.

exit Bone