Moonspear blood & bone

attn @Meerkat @Bronco @Leta @Atlas @Osiris @Antares @Vega and anyone else who might be interested in guardian/merc trade! can be a solo dolo thread or a group, i'll wait a bit to see who hops in! <3  pre osiris thread in fg, tho

Hydra lingered in The Pale, licking her chops as she considered. By now, Meerkat and Bronco both were used to life upon mountain, though their bodies were surely still adapting some. Not wanting to train at too high an altitude for that, but still wanting to begin their regimen in knowing all that she did, she felt The Pale would be as good a place as any to teach them how best to use their senses in a fight. Sometimes, one could only rely on that to anticipate what was next to come in a battle to defend. 

Her call then carried over the mountain to those that had expressed, in one way or another, their interest and intent to learn. Some might be busy, she was aware, though she hoped at least one might have the time to be instructed this hour. The sun was beginning to set, though this was her own typical hour to rise and be at her most active. She blended well with shadow, though she was not only a nightwalker; she had, with motherhood, become adaptable.

The shade heard the call of his mother and turned to where her voice originated. The sound was not urgent, but his pace quickened until he could close the space that stretched between them. The dark yearling drew himself up to where Hydra had stationed herself and the sunlight gold of his vision settled on the cool night sky blue of hers. He wondered what it would be like when he did not belong to the mountain, or if there was something that could even pull him from his home in that way.
 
“Looking for someone to torment?” the shade inquired in a humorous rumble of his voice. There was a soft twinkle in the glimmer of his gaze. The words were meant teasingly; he knew that his mother would not have called anyone there if she did not have a grounded reason for it.

Hydra heard the heavy tread of her son; her gaze turned to look upon Atlas, tail swaying behind her to be met by him. By now, her firstborn sons and daughter were full grown... and yet, it never ceased to surprise her to see them stand before her in such a way, impressive and strong, carved from and molded by the very same stone as she had been. By no means was it easy to be a child of hers, her expectations high and her regimens strict... but Atlas, Antares, Osiris, and Vega all had set a high bar for all the rest. 

His inquiry was met with a hint of mischief in her eye; it was the only warning he would receive for what was next to come, though he knew his mother well enough to likely expect her retaliation even without having noted that if somehow he missed it. Atlas was a sharp-eyed man, though—she did not doubt he caught at least a glimpse of it before she, ever the viper, sprang toward him with her ears flattened atop her crown and narrowed eyes, muzzle draped protectively over her throat; she went straight for his face, though her fangs would inflict no mortal injury to him. Had he noted the singular sign given before the swift and bodily follow up, no doubt he would be able to withdraw in time to adjust and react accordingly. That done, however, Hydra was quick to withdraw backwards herself. The fog was thick enough to shroud her from his vision, and she prowled around him with the hunters silent gait. 

How would he fight, with one of his senses marginally impaired by the elements? It was something they two had practiced before, but not to this degree.

The instinct that forced him to move from the range of her snapping fangs was remarkable. He had done so without really thinking of the action, simply having gathered the signs of her target only moments before she had made her move. When the inkwell yearling stood with his crown lowered to guard his throat and the hackles along his back spiked high, he felt a flush of triumph for his momentary feat. That rush of success could only last for a moment, though. Atlas watched as the dark woman slipped from his sights and into the fog; it concealed her shape well, leaving him with one less sense.
 
Those sharp eyes would not protect him from a surprise attack. The shade moved to back himself up to stone, knowing that it would be safer to keep his rear protected from ambush. He could fortify his front, showing this with a quick curling of his lip and a flash of ivory. Without the sight, Atlas scanned the fog twice before he breathed deep and filled his senses with the aromas that existed around him. It would not be exact, he knew. It was still better than having nothing.

She was proud of how swift he was; instinct inherited not simply from ancestors but from predecessors.  Hydra was out of sight, now, but not out of mind... nor earshot. This in mind, she kept her steps quiet with the ease all predators possessed. Knowing he would be listening, though, Hydra deftly swiped at some rocks to send them helter-skelter—away from her, or so she would like him to think. She traveled in the direction of the stones, knowing Atlas smart enough to anticipate her own action there. Hydra imagined he might think she would not be where the scree fell—but if he did make a bid for that area rather than where she drifted from, she would be one step closer to him in any event... and ready, too, hips swinging away from where he waited to meet him head on should he move from the place he sequestered himself.

The inkjet yearling was no match for her, not at his age or with his limited knowledge of spars. The dark young man had always admired those who were ready to bare their fangs and leap into the fray, casting all worries aside. Osiris was that way; a stalwart guardian of their terrain, ready to take on whoever might attempt to wrong them. Atlas feared that he would never live up to the greatness of his brother and that Hydra would see past the efforts that he made, into his true soul.
 
In there, he was nothing more than a coward.
 
Keeping himself guarded, the inkjet figure circled and did what he could to confuse her path. It was nonsensical, but he knew very little about losing someone who had every intention of sparring. The sunlight glow of his eyes danced along her dark features and he darted out of her reach and away from her sights, hoping this would spark a chase.