No Time for Lies and Empty Fights
The actuality of the scenario rehearsed in the privacy of his calculating mind, did not play out nearly as smoothly as he had imagined it should. The waterfall’s ambience; the steady thrum, the wickedly waltzing light, and the mist of froth suspended around its heavy plunge, had perhaps lulled the liver chestnut into some mind-scattering state of folly... (what else could it have been?)
Teeth, unleashed to snap and grind across the warmth of her skin, skimmed only the smooth rush of cold air- those quills might have seemed a fair second target should not she have ducked so brazenly and successfully to evade his reach. Fiery eyes humbled dramatically as his hurtling attack continued quite beyond its initial intent, and he found his jaw clenching only around the sour taste of dismay.
Skidding hooves failed to find any definition in the cave’s dank, unforgiving floor, and his weight had been propelled forward at such a rate that without some lip or groove (or boulder) to catch upon, his footing simply slid on involuntarily forward. The buck was thrown out by defined hind-quarters right as expected, but he had not at all anticipated the continuation of his front. Already Megaera had been able to scoot well clear of his ridiculous fumbling, and the awkward extension of his body to perform the hopeless manoeuvre, resulted only in a wretched collision between chest and stone. His back had been tweaked in the confused wrench of his frame, a ligament there strained perhaps; and all air flushed from his lungs on impact.
A sharp, exasperated snort was purged from the stallion’s heaving breast when he had inhaled enough breath to spare, and automatically his twice-horned skull was hurled backwards to encourage upwards the rest of his miserable, uncooperative corpse. The shimmering tattoos embellishing his throat flared exquisitely as they were exposed to the mischievous light and enormous wings spread by half to thrash through the motion of his rising. As wild whirls of fire tangled mane swallowed his narrow face, Hector wished sullenly that he had cropped the lot when last the thought had entered his head. Deep, harsh gasps began slowly to steady the pace of his breathing.
Standing again in ungainly fashion across the splay of his trembling, indignant legs, the soldier found not the time to shake the mold and mildew from his flinching coat. He turned his bulk around in time enough only to find his opponent (she had escaped brilliantly to his rear), springing towards him; the shrill ring of her hooves flooding obnoxiously the rearward fall of his ears. Formed lighter than he, both by structure and sex, she covered the distance between them rapidly- in much the same time it took his still relatively disorientated self to prepare plainly, and prop back in place.
As Megaera urged observably left before him, captivated eyes watched with growing intrigue from behind the lazy swing of ginger forelock, as her neck forced down her head when she neared; the small hollowed bone looped tightly through the mad flap of her swarthy mane vanished then.
Wings flecked the radiant hue of fire, sat ajar in waiting; hind-quarters balanced readily the reclined bulk of physical weight, and his own nose lowered responsively as peeled lips sailed swiftly forward to bare the flash of white teeth at his cannons- presumably, according to his vantage point. His fore-hooves lifted quickly in an effort to evade the chop of her teeth, though still these did collect callously, the fetlock lacking white. With no time to spare the mare launched a clever mission to knock Hector off balance, and a wry smile curled esteem into his otherwise stony, focused expression.
She crashed well- the orange giant poised still half-high upon clenched hocks swayed precariously in response to the impact of shoulder against bare flexing hip. Still suffering the residual twinges of pain through his back from the blunder before, Hector fell away to the left with feebly drifting wings unwilling to succumb to any danger nearby to her form. He landed heavily on rock with jarring, aching knees- perhaps next time they would battle with the cushion of moss and mushroom in the Glowing Room instead.
As they staggered apart from each other, the tawny warrior flicked viciously the length of his long leonine tail left; towards her face with luck, and then right, away from her, to snap whipping fibres of luxurious plume in her eyes and stun at the least. Already leaning right (the consequence of her barge), he continued to curl clumsily his hefty frame that way, and threw out yet another, lopsided buck to collect which of her legs might have lingered behind within reach- or better yet her wing or ribcage; in the wake of her attack.
Word count: 797
Attack: 2/3
Defence: 0/1
EDIT: just wanted to note that Laine has as long as she needs to reply <3
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Peace in war [spar- Hector vs. Megaera]
