As Gaucho glided towards Sno, he watched as her body turned perpendicular, her horn angled at his right wing. Still a few strides out, Gaucho had time to sweep his wing up, pulling it closer to his body, but not completely out of the way. His focus became her thick white barrel which was now directly before him, rather than her cheek, which was guarded by her horn. Maybe not so dumb he thought halfheartedly. Still, she was stupid enough to stand still while he was charging at her. Bracing himself, he waited for a collision that did not come. ?????? his mind blanked. Magicz? he wondered frustratedly, but it was cut short by the feeling of her horn gliding between his feathers. Given the amount he had pulled the appendage up and in, her horn only grazed against the bottom, pulling a few feathers out and slicing the surface cleanly. The wound was shallow and not very long, but like with any paper-cut type wound, stung like a bitch. SssssssssssssSS Came a sound that felt like physical static to Gaucho’s soft mind, distracting him from the sting of his wound; it was Mara, internally screaming her rage as she recoiled with only a mouthful of mane. Her anger only confused the bruiser more; Yes, the unicorn must have magic- it would explain how the snake could find purchase on her neck, her horn could slice him, without Gaucho’s body ever hitting her.

As he swung his ass to the right, he felt a flare of red-hot pain, as one of her hooves caught the muscle on the back of his hindquarter. Luckily the cold of the ice caves likely diminished the immediate pain he might otherwise have felt, but no doubt it would leave a bruise tomorrow. As she galloped, Gaucho grunted with frustration, now understanding why she had chosen an icy arena; she must have some sort of ice-magic that allowed her to begin moving so quickly on such a slippery surface. He thought he had been clever digging his hooves into the ice, but clearly the stocky mare had more up her sleeve.

As his momentum slowed somewhat and Gaucho neared the side of the cave wall, finally turning without fear of slipping, out of the corner of his gaze, he spied the whitish mare turning with uncanny precision on the black ice. Slowly Gaucho felt the deliciously overwhelming feeling of his magic begin to grow, as the small sliced capillaries in his wing gently released what little blood they had within them. The wound was small, but it was enough to arouse his magic. Rotating on his hind-end to face Sno as she cantered his way, he threw caution to the wind. Twice now, he had hurled his massive frame towards her stocky body, and had hit nothing; all he wanted was to crush this illusive bitch. Digging his hooves into the ice as he had done before, he charged towards her; his purchase on the slippery cave floor was slow at first, but as his momentum increased he was able to ice-pick his hooves into the ground with growing accuracy and force. He didn’t care that she was running at him, nor that her horn was lowered his way: she wasn’t the only one with magic.

As he charged, an ethereal mist bled from his antlers, dropping in front of him but keeping pace with him as he moved. The mist took the form of a massive bear, who charged before Gaucho with uncanny speed. As their bodies neared, the bear leaped into the air - aiming itself straight for Sno. Its massive paws spread to either side, as if to clap on either sides of her skull, as its gaping jaws aimed for her muzzle. Roaring, its scream echoed throughout the cave. Moving with little fatigue, Gaucho lowered his right shoulder and pushed off with the left side of his hindquarter, feeling a twang of pain the muscle from her previous kick, and drifted to her left. Given the spirit-bear’s monstrous presence, Gaucho was unable to fully see the unicorn through the veil; relying on instincts and the ricochet of her hooves against the floor, he threw his body to the left once he gauged their shoulders where just passing. As he attempted to slam his left shoulder into any part of her right flank, he snapped his teeth as he turned his head to the left for just a stride, hoping to take a chunk out of the soft flesh behind her rib cage as he charged by. Defensively, Gaucho then tossed his head to the right, out of the way of flying hooves, and bucked towards her left hip, before continuing towards the opposite side of the cave.

[WC: 800 Cut down from 873 :| Attack 3/3, Magic and Companion 2/2
Closing Defense 0/1]