Serenity was still, more or less, a child, stumbling through life and unaware of her surroundings. She was an untrained, untested and barely functioning enough to defend herself from harm. In a way, her damsel in distress qualities could be endearing, but she was also incredibly insecure, relying on anger and cutting remarks to act as her buffer. In a situation outside of battle and away from pain, she could be perfectly pleasant, but this situation was turning petulant.

The pain on her back was so real, visceral in a way she could not describe. All she wanted to do was roll in cold water, end the searing, stretching sensation she felt as she moved. Thus she pit at Torleik, angry, wild, outside of her own body. Her teeth met his skin, pinched, and she growled angrily, only letting go when his skin pulled away. Untrained as she was, she did not anticipate him to tilt his head and jab her with his horns. The two points punctured her lower chest and behind her elbow, and she jerked to the side so that she would not impale herself further.

Angrily, she pinned her ears back, aiming to bite him again and succeeding. Her teeth pinched at his skin again, and not until he yelled did she let go. The power of his voice shocked her, and she took a few steps back, glaring at the companion who burned her. This was a cruel relationship to cause such pain during practice, and she stood, shaking in her own turmoil and pain. Serentiy glowered at Torleik, his words stinging.

“So you are blaming me when your owl-cat decided to burn me?!” she howled back furiously. “You were supposed to teach me! Look at my back!” Serenity displayed the crisscrossed, painful folds of skin that were hairless, raw and bleeding. The mare shook some more before releasing her powerful wings, feeling her emotions and adrenalin mix foolishly. “I don’t… you… This wasn’t helpful! This wasn’t what I expected. I just wanted to learn how to defend myself and…” she had to stop herself from babbling.

Serenity supposed that yelling verbal jabs at him would not make her point, and she took a deep breath, trying to compose herself just a little. “Thanks… for trying.” The words were flat but at least they were spoken. The starkissed mare frowned and backed out, wondering if she could find a healer.

Ow.


[[[(400 words) (closing defense!)]]]