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.

Round: 1/5
Attempt: Weak hit at where Imp may be
Defense: None
Injuries: None

((Sure! I'd be fine with starting the rounds from here on.))

@Imp

Imp waited, ears flicking, as Fahl quietly scrabbled up toward him. A couple seconds later there was a gentle whap across his snout, and he flinched back: "Oh sh--good! Good!" he crowed, and then lifted off. He flew a short dip of heavy wingbeats, turning and trying to swat Fahl by sound--and by memory of where he'd just been.

It was not an attack, just a tap; the question was, would Imp be able to follow his own advice, and find Fahl by ear?

Round: 1/5
Attempt: Find Fahl to tap him!
Defense: None
Injuries: None

@Fahl

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.

Round: 2/5
Attempt: Punch up
Defense: None
Injuries: None

@Imp

His own tap hit, and a moment later he felt the retaliation: the swat of a reptilian forelimb, not hard hard, but strong enough to spin him a little in his blind, unsteady flight. He knew Fahl wasn't trying to hurt him, or anything, but the guy was surprisingly strong, and Imp teetered with a soft hiss.

He lifted his wings a little, and extended feet down a couple yards away, struggling to lift his claws in time so they wouldn't scratch the ground. Could he land quietly-? It'd mean lowering his heavy tail with a strained slowness, but maybe he could do it...

Imp struck the ground with an audible scrabble of claws, and a light battering of wings on stone. He swore softly to himself--further giving the game away--while glancing up in eyeless alarm in Fahl's direction. There was no way the reptile hadn't heard Imp land. To top it off, his tail hit the rock with a quiet slap, too heavy to lower in silence.

Imp tensed, and prepared to try and sneak away--but he knew full well that Fahl would probably (hopefully, even, if this training was to be worth a damn thing) find him first.

Round: 2/5
Attempt: Land quietly
Defense: None
Injuries: None

@Fahl

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.

Round: 3/5
Attempt: Bump shoulder into Imp on a run by
Defense: None
Injuries: None

@Imp

Imp grimaced, turning to listen toward Fahl. He heard the slight scrabble of claws over his own, but barely; he more had a vague memory of where his 'opponent' had last been. Was he coming for him-?

Bat's ears swivelled, twitching rapidly as he listened. He started to tense down, ready to spring into the air with wings spread--to get a nice leap over Fahl. It would've looked pretty cool, Imp reflected, but it wasn't to be: Fahl's charge shoulder-smacked him and sent him into a short spin just as he was getting off the ground. He grunted, a quiet "Oof," and then turned, clawed feet again firmly planted. Oh, well.

"You're doing good!" he crowed, not one to really begrudge the hit--that's what they were here for, after all. Hopefully Fahl would be able to take this knowledge--this experience--and use it for his, um. Stuff. Whatever it had been. Imp'd sort of forgotten, really.

He skittered to one side, audible whether he wanted to be or not, and listened for Fahl's next move.

Round: 3/5
Attempt: Hop over (with the aid of wings)
Defense: None
Injuries: None

@Fahl

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.

Round: 4/5
Attempt: Sweeping blow
Defense: None
Injuries: None

@Imp

Imp braced himself, ears quivering as he struggled to keep tabs on Fahl's location.

"Hah! Fine, fine--really good, you happy? Don't get cocky though-" and then Imp did exactly that. Or if not cocky, at least thoughtless; he'd babbled loudly instead of listening, and a moment later Fahl hit him again.

He went down face-first with a grunt, a little pained this time as one wing-limb was snapped out from under him and snout and jaw impacted rock.

A muffled swear escaped him, and he started to scramble to get back up--apparently not quite done, just yet.

Round: 4/5
Attempt: Dodge!
Defense: None
Injuries: None

@Fahl

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.

Round: 5/5
Attempt: Hold down a limb
Defense: None
Injuries: None

@Imp

Imp flinched, as he hit the ground. He then felt Fahl go for a pin--he hadn't realized how damn small Fahl was by comparison, but he didn't fight a lot to get out of it. That wasn't the point--using hearing was!

...But Imp was not without his mischief, and when the iguana went for a forelimb--wing and all--he settled in.

Heat rapidly broiled up in the hybrid's limbs--all of them--and he spoke with a grin.

"Your hearing's good, but remember that ain't all. Don't get cocky," he repeated, but it was said playfully. The heat rose, hot enough to smolder, but Fahl had plenty of time to pull away before it got to that point--and if he didn't, Imp'd do his best to jerk free so as not to burn the 'kid.' It was meant as a little practical joke, not a real injury!

"Is that good practice, though?" he asked, feeling like they were probably done--Fahl seemed to have gotten the point easily, and learned to use his hearing quickly. "Your ears seem pretty good!"

Round: 5/5
Attempt: make limb hot
Defense: None
Injuries: None

@Fahl