It gradually got easier as she moved. Not because it hurt any less, but because the pain became such a constant it wasn't so assaulting anymore. Ampere always appreciated fights for the hurt you gained though. Battle provided the unique opportunity of immediate and honest results. Do poorly, ouch, do well, you get to wipe your opponent's blood off. How many other areas of life doled out such just and fair retribution? None, came her heart's instant response, weighted with the lies and the scars it bore from countless moments of unclaimed righteous vengeance.

Here, in the dirt and the sun, with the sweat and blood, there was always justice.

It came for Ampere as her magic took hold of Amaris' limb, startling the hybrid into the air like a cat. Despite herself Ampere let loose a quipping laugh, though it hurt enough to quickly quiet her, suggesting she focus on moving through the sands as she had advised earlier. Each stride prolonged the ache of her stricken muscles, reminding her that she needed to end this spar sooner than later. Time to get in there, she pushed herself, teeth gritting as she suddenly dove to the right, towards Amaris. In that time however, the girl had summoned her phantasmal friends, their bodies a spinning swirl of Christmas colors that were directed straight at Ampere.

Her first experience with them was the shrill scream that the red delivered into her ear. Too slow she pinned them to her neck, jerking her head away to the right side, but the echo of the song continued to rattle within, distracting her from the second dragon that dove just past her. The act of wildly slinging her head around had saved her from the undoubtedly uncomfortable sensation of having spirit dragon goo in her eyes, but all of it left her very scattered and ignorant to Amaris' unsheathed teeth. By chance Ampere had already started to flap her wings in an attempt to chase off the specters, a movement which helped deflect the fangs that Amaris aimed at her right flank. Instead of the blood the disciple was pondering, only a local bruise remained as proof of their clash.

The sensation of passing teeth drew the gladiator's attention back to her opponent, the dragons having spiraled into the sky. Ampere utilized the momentum she had acquired from her initial lunge and proceeding evasion, all of these events happening in rapid succession. Her feet spun in the sand, chest aching as it stretched, forelegs striking the air as Ampere shoved herself onward with the strength of her coiled haunches. Lips withdrew to return fire at Amaris, stretching up to reach the tall mare's neck where she intended to set her bite and test the armored scales and hide for herself.

Ampere had meant to arrive on the right side of Amaris, but fell short from the stiffness in her chest, her mobility further diminished by the giving ground of the Throat desert which crumpled beneath the forces she applied. Set more in front of Amaris, Ampere didn't let herself miss the new opportunity. She reached out with her airborne forelegs; they were already coming down from her lunge, her forward motion continuing to press her towards and into Amaris, but Ampere swept them towards the ground with extended emphasis, trying to catch one of Amaris' fore limbs in the process. Were this a more serious battle Ampere would have tried to disable her opponent by going for the knees, but in this, she only wanted to help Amaris shave her legs, and hopefully force the girl back in a subconscious show of submission.

"Take every opportunity!" Ampere grunted when she pulled her head back, lips resettling over her pale dentures. "Don't waste any moment, any movement! Ampere had always been one for the environment, but only in battle did she also become a conservationist.

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A: 2/3
D: 0/0
W: 657

@[Amaris]

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YOUR POST
I really enjoyed your set up of your attack. It really trapped me into it, leaving me few options for a realistic and successful evasion, and flowed seamlessly with your writing and realistic timing! Similarly I felt your defensive response to Ampere's magic attack was great, especially with the numbness affecting your ability to stand at first. I did just need a bit more clarification on the injury part of it though, since rolling a 1 damage meant hardly no injury was sustained, which I did gather, but it wasn't overly clear that the effects were brief and overall undamaging.

Similarly I felt you trying to mention the surroundings when she tripped in the sands due to her numb leg, and the sand, but it still felt like you were just saying "oh I tripped and there was sand" rather than "I tripped because there was sand". For instance, a couple more words would have made that a great scenery mention, if you had clarified that the sand gave under your landing, coupled with your numb leg, which caused you to fell and how harder ground probably would have left you in a smoother recovery.

Overall I felt a lot more disconnected from Amaris in this post. I was really expecting a big emotional response from her for how much damage she dealt Ampere on her first attack, and how that was going to influence her attacks hence forward. Was she proud of herself? Did she find Ampere weak because of it? Was she going to intentionally curb her attacks from then on? I did get a little bit of surprise, but it was fleeting. I did also get a small sense of her reigning in her power, such as asking the dragons not to burn Ampere, but then you also go and have no issues trying to bite her until she bleeds, so it conflicted a bit. More clarification with why she was asking the dragons to hold back would also have helped give her visible motive and emotion.

MY POST
I was feeling a bit better with those post, even if I struggled for hours with it (distracted, lol). I really loved your attack and knew that to make timing work I would also have to be fast, so I made sure to mention that in my post, since sometimes clearly explaining everything can make it feel drawn out. I didn't want that feeling to remain, so I made sure to visibly state my timing, adding to the realism and readability.

I love whenever I can use a defense into a counter attack. In this post I was able to take Ampere's rightward turn of her head, and take it to lead her into her turn towards Amaris, driving her assault. Similarly whenever I can take one thing and make it work a couple times, just awesome, so her wing helped her deflect the dragons, and Amaris' bite. It helps save time and words, so a win win.

Because of how big the damage was last post I knew I had to be sure to not only mention it this post, but have it affect me, hence having Ampere's attack fall short. Rather than have that end my attack though, I let her use it to her advantage, turning a negative into a positive which can work really well with a sprinkle of emotion. I also utilized scenery, having her stride shortened by the sand, and breed, mentioning how she had to reach and stretch to bite Amaris (which in turn aggravates her injury again).

I probably could have given a bit more of emotion myself, especially since I had the words to use for it, but I'm happy with balancing the beginning, and ending, and leaving crumbs in the middle of Ampere which should hopefully impact the judge. The biggest thing with emotion isn't that it has to be massive or even impressive, just that it has to be there, everywhere, because it holds hands with the realism. You act because of a thought, a feeling, a desire, so link them!