Clack, clack.

His hooves clatter on the hard ground, the horseshoes on his back feet causing the sound to have a more metallic clang than the throaty tap of his forehooves. He hulks through the darkness, shadows playing across each hewn muscle as he prowls. This is the first time he has ever brought himself to the land beneath Helovia, the endless caves, the maze of sharp rock and dripping stone. It is cold down here, far colder than the sunny day he has left behind on the surface, and the chill bites at his tight black flesh. He smothers a shiver, continuing his march forwards into this uncharted territory.

His dragons do not like it. The red flies above his behemoth bonded, hissing and snarling, then bellowing in anger as the caves throw his initial growls back at him. Through his mind, Volterra feels how displeased Vérzés is with the cramped, enclosed spaces, the stifling claustrophobia and the lack of prey. Vadir perches on the brute's back, scanning her surroundings with keen, intelligent eyes, but the stallion can tell that she, too, dislikes being trapped beneath the weight of a thousand tonnes of stone. Her tail swings back and forth like a pendulum, a metronome, like the irritated flick of an angered lion. "Be calm," he hisses to his companions, aloud, almost forgetting he can communicate within the sanctum of his mind. His thunderous voice echoes through the caverns and bombards him with his own rasping baritone, and his ears flatten to his skull in displeasure as the caves seem to mock him by twisting and contorting his words.

The further the trio venture, the darker and murkier it gets. In the beast's ears, he hears a roar - he follows it, breaking into a trot, allowing his muscles to loosen and flow. He enters a cave, dominated by a great underground waterfall, the thunder of which rings in his head and pounds his senses. The spray tickles his flesh, even from this great distance, and his eyes flash with delight.

It is a perfect place to battle.

Different to anywhere he has fought before - darker, tighter, with a harder floor and an air of menace. Perfect to test himself, to try out his newfound stamina born of training and fight experience. Perfect to test his dragons, who dislike the conditions but are quite willing to fight in them at the bonded's command. He turns so his back is to the cascading water and he's facing the cave entrance, able to see any who enter to tangle with him, and swings his tail against his thighs in frenzied excitement.

Over the scream of the waterfall, the beast bellows a war cry, demanding an opponent in this underground metropolis.

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Teaching spar for @Sialia !

Set in the Sunken Falls. Up to you whether magic and companions are allowed ^^ Good luck!

0/3 - 460 words