There was no satisfaction from her rush, no impact from her charge; disappointment washed through her like a dark gray wave, sweeping away elation and replacing it with anger. There had been no soft body to collide with hers, no peach skin splitting open at the tip of her bony horn, just the breeze racing past her bay skin and the nearby warmth of the agile devil. They were nearly of a height, similar in build, so why hadn't she been blessed with his reflexes? Well, that was a lie - he seemed a bit rounder around the barrel than she. Stupid fast fat horses trying to take her home. Grumpy now, Alan's ears got lost in the mess of her black mane as she passed TORASIN - somewhere, far off to her right, her King screamed, but she didn't see what was going on. Too many bodies in the way.

The sharp pain of tiny claws against her brown rump erased all thoughts of the others; her skin split open, droplets of red flecking it and Kiba's claws, sharp stabs of pain into the center of chaos - her mind. Alan gave a sharp whinny before tossing her haunches up in the air, kicking out after the winged vermin. Fuck that. Snarling, the mare slammed on the brakes, practically sitting down on the moist grass. From behind her came the agile stallion, and cursing again, Alan tried to reverse what she'd been doing. She made it up on all four, with barely any forward momentum, yet his aim was true and she grunted when his hooves connected with her barrel on the left side. And, what the hell? A short mare came bursting from the left too, looking pissed - where they going to start hitting each other now? But no, Torasin swept past Alan, leaving her aching side bared. She'd be sore tomorrow - if she lived at all.

With a fair share of nonchalance the bay mare began to trot off to the right, KIARA's buck hitting her left haunch while her teeth only found air. "Bitch," she muttered harshly under her breath. Great, now that was over and done with; impact pain blossomed around the would-be bruises, but she knew it would dull in a minute or so (a minute too much). Her leg bore her weight but not without complaining every step of the way, but she paid it little heed as she flexed her muscles and tried to work up what speed she could as she swung back to the left. Alan didn't care that she was alone with these two idiots, because the small mare was, well, small, so she didn't count. At all. She was sort of rugged with a compact build, but she didn't even have a horn, so why worry? And that's why Alan completely ignored the red roan, and instead aimed for TORASIN again. Their resistance to her mighty charge had dulled her spirits, leaving her sort of sullen instead, with no mad fire sparkling in her amber eyes; arching her neck to bring her horn point lower, and at a better angle for its curve, she went towards the stallion's chest on his right side. Long black legs pushed across the ground, this time without slipping; shadows lengthened, her own spilling out across the familiar ground. These horses were interlopers, traitors, vermin and idiots. She had no mercy for them. Hoping that the small bitch wouldn't try to interfere again, Alan aimed to ram her horn into the curve of Torasin's chest, preferably between his ribs, and then rip her head up, seeking to open skin and flesh, a window to his beating heart.

[ 616 ]
( Kiba's claws nick her rump, Torasin hits her barrel on the left side, and Kiara her left haunch as she's trotting off a little to the right. She then spins back, trying to push the tip of her horn between Torasin's ribs on his right side and jerking her head up to split him open. )