In the darkness, he was swallowed; a brilliant swatch of orange passing through the dark tunnels of the caves where some seldom light splashed in through the top. Bats littered the wall and partial sides of the course but it did not spiral him into any fear. Instead, he was amused by their antics and the quiet chittering of their mouths but they did not seem to be disturbed by a predator's presence. Jafar was, after all, only here to investigate what was actually around the Hollows and nothing more. He had known several places around the Mire but the territories surrounding this home he was still getting used to.

TABLE BY NESLA/RABBIT

working on my masterpiece

He actually hadn't been following his Padre, instead out exploring himself when he caught the homely scent of @Jafar. Thrain was growing quickly, in a few months he would be a yearling; and already tiny sprouts of mane were littering his bronze neck, and his paws were much too big to be considered graceful.

He was certainly in his uglies, biggish and awkwardly built. He was having a decided amount of trouble with his training of late, and it had given way to frustration on several occasions. Yet, he takes advantage of the chittering within the dark walls as he approaches, keeping to the shadows just as his Pa had taught him.

When he felt he was close enough, Thrain wriggled his shoulders and tried to run and thump himself wildly into Jafar's thigh, trying to whack him enough to cause a loss of balance... or something. If he could sneak up on the large male at all.

_{art by yumpy —}

There was a strong and undeniable idea in his mind that Amandil was, in fact, dead. The fact that a Casales boy had not returned to his father, mother or siblings? Alright, perhaps it wasn't that farfetched for a Casales young boy to wish to be his own man but he had been too young to do much of anything. Too young to fight off those stronger than him and there were predators that weren't lions that would take advantage of a young cub when not trained properly.

That being said, he was thankful to have @Thrain. Thankful and proud to have such a strong willed and intelligent heir that would follow in his father's footsteps and go much farther in this land than even he had. It was easier to make a beginning as a child than it was a grown adult. Even with the boy's strengths, Jafar had not fully expected to be lunged upon and so when he felt the harsh sting of force at his thigh, what could the father do but instinctively kick that leg out and turn his head to open his mouth.

Of course, shock was the only thing present once he realized who it was.

Oops.

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY LARS

working on my masterpiece

In a similar moment to his grand assault, a firm shove of his father's hind limb shakes the boy free and sends him skidding backwards a few feet. The boot of his Padre's foot to his breast was enough to wind him momentarily, and it's a brief minute of bewilderment as the boy sits in a jumbled heap with gasping lungs.

But Thrain was tenacious. His features become a rather indeterminable mixture of determination and annoyance, raising himself hastily to all fours in an effort to go flying at his father yet again; trying to attach to the bronze mans left hind limb with both forearms, a bear-hug if you will. Teeth, exposed and seeking to pinch at any loose skin around the thigh or hip.

@Jafar

_{art by yumpy —}

As @Thrain came racing back to him despite getting a decent shove backwards, Jafar could have reiterated the same move. He could have repeated his thrust of his hind leg outwards to push the boy back again (just to prove a point) but Thrain also wanted to prove a point. The two of them quite stubborn in their antics so Jafar allowed his sharp-toothed child to grab a hold of his leg and for teeth to sink in deep. A grumble was held in his throat as he allowed his child to go through with his attack for a short minute before he lifted that same leg and began to buck it like a bronco. He would do so until his child relented.

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY LARS

working on my masterpiece

He may have been a wildly determined boy, with his teeth now attempting to find actual purchase upon his fathers thigh. Yet, sometimes his size did not work in his favor, and the weight of his body only gave gravity more leverage upon each wild toss of @Jafar 's bronze leg.

Eventually, Thrain is cast away with a growl, sitting down in the shadows with a humph. "Can we do something fun today?" he asked eventually, defeated, lifting his body from the dank earth with a body-shake, a small cloud of dust leaving his bronze flesh. "Teach me to fight again, please?" he requested through the darkness, looking expectantly upon his padre.

_{art by yumpy —}

Chomping on my leg wasn't good enough, hm? he gave a wry smile and a shake of his head. Those tiny teeth of his had certainly done enough damage on Jafar for the day but perhaps @Thrain was itching for a bit more than that. So with a dramatic sigh, the father nodded his head and caved. Alright. Hm, what could he teach this time around? Next time you're going for someone, cover your scent up so that the wind won't take your scent straight to them. There was a good lesson that involved getting dirty. Children liked that sort of thrill, right? Jafar had never been very interested in being coy about his sneak attacks or even sleuthing but it was helpful, if not annoying to clean.

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY LARS

working on my masterpiece

He is spurred on by his padre's bemused comment, an infectious smirk also weaving his own maw - "Did my teeth hurt?" he exposed his pearly whites briefly, as if to display their sharpness to @Jafar, "I'm losing my baby teeth now." He was excited every time he felt one of the little needles become looser in his gums.

A thoughtful pout upon his father's lesson, "Okay." Honestly, Thrain wanted to wrestle more, as boys did, but his brain was always spongey - absorbing everything the bronze male was willing to share. "Then what? Attack them from behind?" he lurched towards Jafar once again, feigning a paw-slap to his flank.

+5 Discuss a battle strategy
+20 Learn something from a Master of your trade

_{art by yumpy —}

If baby teeth never came out, fighting would be a lot more painful. Fights hurt already but baby teeth were still pretty strong if you put enough pressure into them. That's good. You're going to need that charming smile in the future, and despite how scraggly it might look now with the loss of his baby teeth, he was sure to grow into a dazzling smile later on. Casales males were gifted with such beautiful teeth, after all!

Correct, he paused, and if you don't happen to coat yourself in mud you can try being downwind. Again, pausing quietly as he waited for the information to sink in. Feeling a question at the tip of his son's tongue. Lick the underside of your paw and lift it up, he suggested to his boy and did the same. When you do that, if your paw gets a little colder then the wind is coming from the direction your paw is facing. So you're going to want to be on the other side -- where the wind won't carry your scent. That would make for a far easier stealth attack if he wanted a strong first attack.

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY LARS

working on my masterpiece

Thrain was an impatient sort, and the short but frequent lessons did him good; expecting the youngster to sit still for too long would surely not get the boy very far. @Jafar of course knew that, as any good father would - or teacher for that matter. Keeping him hungry for information and keeping the lessons short meant he retained most, if not all, of the information.

As his father confirmed an attack from the rear, Thrain batted a paw in practice at his padre's docked tail before returning to a curious motionlessness upon talk of wind. A slobbery lick was spared to the bottom of a forepaw, and he lifted it rather high in the air. He could feel a small gust, but couldn't quite determine where it was coming from.

"Can we do this outside?" he asked, determined to work out what it was all about.

- exit

+5 Discuss a battle strategy
+20 Learn something from a Master of your trade

_{art by yumpy —}