The cave was instantly ignited with the sound of battle, of raging hooves slamming on the stone ground with a force of trained fury. The iron lady flew towards the Dauntless, her lithe body collected. Her words, spoken just moments before, were lost on the beast. He cared not for what she had to say, for her actions in this cave would determine his opinion of her forever. Golden lights reflected off the water danced on the mammoth's vision of the mare as she came towards him, horn ready to engage his flesh and rip it from his bone. Archibald knew the dangers of horns well, remembering how Leyra's horn felt as it scraped over his hide, the feel of Evers' claw-like appendages ripping into his neck; today, the Dauntless would not let her obsidian horn touch him, within his ability. He would have the upperhoof in strength, his body towering over her like a behemoth. She would surely be quick, her lithe legs carrying her with maneuvers the Dauntless only could imagine. He had fought many like her before—as most were smaller, faster, more agile—but only the form of Locket played in his mind. This mare already was moving much like the panda-marked Arabian stallion.

Powerful haunches launched Archibald forward, body arched with muscles rippling like the waters of the pool, his massive frame working forward with every intention to slam directly into Nyx and throw her momentum backwards. However, the grey moved to her left as the distance closed between them. Locket had done much the same move, and Archibald snorted haughtily. Archibald followed suite, moving opposite her and planting his forehooves on the ground, bringing his body to a halt. Nyx's intention to bring them parallel to each other was thwarted as the onyx stallion pivoted his backend towards her, hoping to bring himself perpendicular to her, tail to shoulder. Archibald felt her stop as he was coiling for attack, his balance moving to his forehand as his head tucked down and his hind legs kicking up, attempting to land a double hit on the mare's ribcage, just behind her shoulder. Nyx shifted her weight behind him, throwing her hips towards where Archibald thought the mare wished he would have ended up, but her attempt to ram him was an assault to empty space. Archibald's hooves fell back to the stony floor with a thunderous clash just as Nyx's maw snapped towards him. She landed a bite on the king's dock, pulling a mound of tail hairs from the base of his thick tail. Archibald grunted and pulled his body to spin around completely. His dock tingled with the memory of her bite, a small sting forming another grunt to push from his lips. The warlord did not grimace, did not flinch. He had endured worse, and this mare’s bite would not bring him to his knees today.

Loretta sprang into action then, sprinting towards the grey. She was growling, her lips curled back to reveal her ivory weapons; her teeth the bars, her mouth a cage of death. Springing from the ground towards Nyx's neck, Loretta's jaws parted and she hoped to slam them shut just behind the mare's throat latch. 'Move' Loretta connected with her bondmate, paws attempting to gain purchase on the sides of Nyx's neck to scrape at her with blunt claws. Archibald was completely spun around at this point, his intentions to face Nyx perpendicular again had she not moved, though with his head pointed at her and not his hind. Lurching forward, Archibald struck out with his forehooves, the feathery masses hoping to slam into Nyx's right front knee. Simultaneously, the warlord bit towards Nyx's face, his neck outstretched to protect his body from her horn.

The hard, cold ground beneath the Dauntless’ hooves proved for good purchase. In his years he had fought on many different terrains, though the closest to this cave was the packed desert floor where he discovered his second magic. He had fought Gaucho then, a stallion this mare seemed to know from the meeting on the other end of the cave system. Nyx was much like Gaucho in movements, attempting to be a hefty force whilst being an agile serpent. Archibald’s blood pumped in his ears, heart fueling his desire to defeat this mare. He would paint her with red, test her as a warrior, and make her see his power and might, just as he had many before her. After today this mare would not look at him with skeptical doubt, instead, he will be a war leader to her. He was going to be a part of leading the effort to protect Helovia from the wraiths, and this mare will respect him and loot to him for guidance.





[WC: 797 | PC: 1/3 | M&C: 1/2 | Archibald is using his buffs Dance and Aim | Sorry this took so long!]