Redsand Canyon but we can't keep the embers from catching

they didn’t usually get serious during their spars. the ribs, and maybe the canyon walls rising up all around them, maybe the bare sliver of moonlight coming through the gaps in the rock – in the end they ended up standing over him. lips curled. breathing hard but silent. something old coiled bright-eyed in the depths of their chest.

there was still no kill to be found here. renard stood over him, blank-faced even as donovan grinned back up at them, on his back in the dirt and still flirting shamelessly.

after a long pause, the snarl faltered and died, replaced with the white curve of a smile. “sorry. think you caught me off guard.” the dull ache of their side throbbed with each breath. for all the times they'd fought him before, they'd never come away with more than a scratch for their trouble; survival instinct was a vicious thing to a career killer. “seems i haven’t lost my touch after all.”

meeting his rather unsubtle invitation with a hum, renard padded a half-circle around him, adjusting to the ache pulsing in their side. “and here you said you’d lead me safely back home.” the smile flickered wider as they settled comfortably back into their rhythm. taking a fight too seriously wasn’t worth their concern – wasn’t that why they were here? “you’ll hurt my feelings, keeping us too long.”