The difference between sand and snow, was that it was far easier to move unheard in the sand.
Gaucho's dark ears swiveled. He was used to trying to discern the sounds of hooves as they parted gains of sand and while the ground here was not completely frozen, it did offer some resistance as his unicorn sparring-partner tried to creep unheard through the trees. In truth, it was Mara who first nudged her bonded's consciousness, indicating the arrival of their opponent. Although Sialia's dark body blended in easily with the trees, it was her movement in general that gave her away. The trees which grew this far north were not the leafy kind - there was no dangling foliage which turned in the slight breeze. Almost nothing moved, save for a black smear in the depths of the trees. Mara's onyx gaze watched as the smear moved purposefully to the left side of the grove. All this the dun watched through Mara's mental link, although his body didn't turn. He allowed Sialia to creep to his left side, hidden (or so she thought) by the trees.
Did she have magic? Or would she try to simply run at him? Gaucho had fought unicorn's before, and was more than aware of the danger that their horns posed. He had also fought on the ice and snow before, and knew that his speed and agility would be tested on these grounds. Still, Gaucho resolved not to fly unless it proved absolutely necessary. Having ranged magical attacks, and the ability to place himself at a considerable distance from his opponent was not necessarily unfair. But it was certainly unsportsmanlike. This unicorn had offered to enter the ring with him, and Gaucho would do what he could to ensure that the training he provided would be useful, rather than simply frustrating.
So when she made her move, so did he.
Spinning nimbly on his hind end, moving his shoulders to the left, he faced the direction Sialia had come from. Simultaneously, his front legs raised off of the ground a foot or two, as his flaming wings spread from his shoulders. As his blackened hooves slammed back to the earth, his wings shot forward. The magic that bled from his system was two fold. As his hooves touched the partially frozen ground, tremors raced forward, shaking the ground like some earthquake which had decided to appear only briefly. The ground rattled and rocked as flames shot out across the surface. An arc of pure fire had sprouted from Gaucho's already flaming wings. The blaze would stretch for 30 meters before dissipating, which Gaucho hoped would either force his opponent to divert her charge, or slow her down as she ran across the uneven and now burning path she had set herself on. The dun danced easily to his right, pivoting his shoulders and evading Sialia all together.
Lost in her thoughts, Vorsa's beak opened with a shrill of terror as her mental connection to Gaucho was filled with images of fire. Part of her was thrilled by his use of her element, part of her was surprised. Her small fiery body took to the air almost immediately, as she headed for a tree branch. She knew that Gaucho would not willingly hurt her, but nor did she want to be in his way. Still, as she settled onto a branch, above and away from the fray, she longed for the day she could assist him.
"Gaucho not called The Wildfire for nothing." He called, his steely gaze watching as his flaming wall retreated towards the trees. "Maybe unicorn not know that. Or maybe unicorn just like things hot." Although his words were in jest, his attack had been very real. Although this spar had been arranged on the basis of an alliance between the Throat and the Basin, it did not mean he would go easy on Ophelia's warriors. Somewhere in the back of his mind he thought of Ophelia, and how she likely would not want him to coddle her fighters.
The thought made him smile.
Lowering his pierced nose, Gaucho pushed a button around the leather collar he wore. As he did, 2 inch sharpened bone spikes appeared all around his shoulders.
"Come on unicorn. Again!"
WC: 713
Attack:1/3
Teaching Notes
Sialia is hilarious to read! I love that you give a bit of insight as to why she's late. Obviously we don't all have watches, but it's nice to see someone incorporate that sort of thing into their posts. Nice! I also think it was really believable that Sialia wouldn't necessarily know who Gaucho was since I'm pretty sure they've never been in the same thread together. But given that you're right, he's definitely going to be the only pegasus around, she doesn't need to know much more. You could have even played it up more than you did, like, And hey, even if I attack the wrong pegasus, it's still a win for me. Those feathered rats shouldn't be hanging around our borders anyways. .
You mentioned that Sia briefly thinks about chickening out, and then reminds herself that she volunteered for this. I would have loved to hear some inner monologue about why she volunteered. In my post, I explain that Gaucho loves to be challenged, and given his character it's really no surprise that he'll take on anyone. But Sia? Yeah she's a soldier, but why did she volunteer to fight some unknown peg? Does she want to move up in the ranks? Show off? Prove something to someone? She isn't going to chicken out, but what is really going through her head when she looks at Gaucho? Because you're right - he is huge. He's also on fire. You don't mention the fact that he has antlers (maybe she doesn't care that he's a hybrid, but you mention other hybrids so, maybe?), or that he has companions, or, probably most noticeably, that he's on fire.
I think your attack was good - especially given that the only real way to take out a peg is via the wings. The only thing, is that if Sia doesn't know him, then she doesn't know that the flames on his wings are only harmless. For all she knows, they burn everyone except for him. So running at an entire appendage which is on fire and could burn your face off seems fairly unrealistic to me.
Also be careful with sentences like this, pushing forward with my hind end, as I reach him. It isn't really PP, but it's getting close. Especially given that your attack missed, it's false that Sialia reached him - since I'm going to evade your attack entirely.
All in all, this was a great post! In your next one, things to consider will basically be tackling all of Gaucho's accessories. Mara and Vorsa, his antlers, his fire and magic, and his size!
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Helping Hands | Gaucho v Sialia
