The foolish bronze, ULRIK, did not move swiftly enough to escape her, though she spent only a moment of thought upon him, her initial impression had not been that he was weak - rather, she had aimed for him first to eliminate him sooner, and expected more of a fight. He had been the one to call out the insults earlier, to try and rile the Qian up, and yet he was the first to fall? A rough snort left her slitted nostrils then, as she tucked the thoughts away for later ponderings, allowing herself to focus on the here, and now. Her tail met a target, she did not hesitate to see where the mare LENA went afterwards, however, her attention stolen by the ashy stallion who cavorts around before her.

Sinewy mass followed CINEVIAM as he sidled up to her, then turned his head away, making the kick that he sent flying at her strike not her hind leg, but her barrel. A heavy grunt resounded from deep within her, the barrage of strong limbs striking her at the perfect distance to make them as powerful as possible rattled her ribs even through the thick hide of scales and draconic muscle. The dragon-mare stepped to the left, away from the grey form of CINEVIAM, the snarl of pain evident upon her face - but it was exaggerated. Let him believe he could slay a dragon! Mirage growled, loudly, flourishing her wings threateningly as well as snapping with her teeth - she did not aim to attack, only create a fuss and threaten. Swinging her tail in the dusty undergrowth of the forest, and thrashing her clawed limbs, she hoped to create a cloud of confusion and obscurity around her - before bowing her head down and focussing upon the magic that would give her back her equine form.

The pain was always what shook her the most. Akaith flew skywards again, giving up on her attempts to distract GISELLE and instead trilled a loud warning to any who might dare to come near the golden queen pair. It took a couple of moments, but the sheer intensity of the pain left the large, golden shapeshifter immobile for those moments, even with her bonded lending her own soul as a comforter to her aching innards. A cloud of shadows engulfed her physically, and when it settled the dark mare stood, breathing deeply, and quickly, sweat upon her hide, salmon pink flesh visible in the tear-drop curve of her nostrils. Her right side ached, though not nearly as much as it would have should CINEVIAM had managed to strike her in this form. Testing her limbs she flexed the locomotor muscles of each leg, bounding forward, golden sights still set upon the smoky CINEVIAM.

Bending to the left caused her right side to ache more, but bending to the right pinched those bruises CINEVIAM's attack left behind. The stallion was still to her right, and now she darted forward, placing herself more to his right instead of directly in front, extremely aware of the curved horn that stuck out atop his forehead. The sun was slowly but surely dropping beneath the canopy of the trees and even in this clearing they had so fortunately selected as their battleground, she would be harder to see than the grey CINEVIAM - she hoped. Well practised in the art of dancing, Mirage's step entered the athletic beat of a war dance. Her expression was vacant, save for the ear she kept locked upon CINEVIAM, and the way her golden eyes barely left him.

With a twisted step to bring her form perpendicular to him, and a strong leap forward her exposed teeth reached out to his plump, muscular rump, figuring that if her teeth did not grasp a hold of hide and sinew, her chest would ram against him. Though he was taller than she, and she no longer in the form of a dragon, the mare held sturdy draft lines in the strong make of her limbs, her strength was, perhaps, surprising for one who seemed to small and soft. There was a ferocity within this mare, not only in the form of her other body. As she pulled slightly away from him, she immediately struck out with her left foreleg in attempts to hurt the hindlegs that had hurt herself, and prevent them from doing so again. If luck was on her side, she would strike at just the right angle and perhaps bruise the cannon bone of his right hind leg - but she would take any painful infliction against him as a win at this stage.

[777 words.
Summary:
Mirage turns as CINEVIAM turns away from her, making his kick land on her barrel instead of her hip. She steps back from him, and kicks up dust and dirt to hide herself while she shifts. AKAITH flies back to the space immediately above her, does not attack, only threatens with growls as MIRAGE transform back to her equine form.
Once in equine form, MIRAGE is standing perpendicular to CINEVIAM, and dances forward before turning so that she is facing his barrel. She aims a bite to CINEVIAM's haunches, also using the momentum of her approach as an opportunity to try and knock him with her chest. When she regains her footing and steps back, she strikes out to his right hind leg with her left foreleg. ]