Theatricality and deception are powerful agents.
You must become more than just a man
in the mind of your opponent

But he had slayed the dragon – in a sense.

There was a moment when he thought he would have to fight not one, but two of the fire breathing reptiles. MIRAGE had stepped further away from him and he was trying to dissect what attack she was preparing by her movements. Wings flared out, teeth flashed, by the time she waved her tail all about he knew it had to be a distraction. Either that or she was doing the hokey pokey.

It’s risky he thought, diving into the cloud of dust she created and attempt to injure the closest wing – take flight out of the equation. The soot-stained stallion was far out of his comfort zone by fighting the golden dragon, any advantage he could take away from MIRAGE and put them on a more even playing field would be worth it.

A thought was as far as he got.

Fear sizzled along his spine as a loud warning call from her bonded brought his crimson gaze heavenward. But distressed as Cineviam was he also got very angry. Was this waste of movement and energy really to summon Akaith? As high as he believed his threshold for fire was, he had reached his limit this year and didn’t appreciate that he would have to deal with two dragons.

Until Akaith descended, he couldn’t do anything about her. While he did try to keep an ear strained for a sneaky dive or a roar of fire, he refocussed on MIRAGE. He was surprised to find a swarthy mare standing in the place of the golden beast. Stunned furthermore to realize that he recognized her as the same black mare that had the nerve to show up when the Sun God was burning down there home. She only had more friends this time.

At least there was one less dragon on the battlefield.

MIRAGE started to dance and Cineviam is calm and collected (expressionless and unrevealing—for he refused to fritter strategy with telltale signs of emotion). Let her foolishly continue to spend her energy in excess. First to distract him from her transformation with all that movement, then the effort to actually shift from one form to the other, and now she wastes it with her pointless dancing. All the while he was been resting, letting his right leg recover further and only wasting brainpower. He tried not to underestimate her in this form, she does have a large following and powerful abilities but she was making it hard.

Finally the suspension of the fight had been lifted; someone hit the play button and MIRAGE launched herself at his rump. Right hind hoof crossed in front of his left – not once but twice – it wasn’t enough to swing his haunches completely out of the way. The fact that it’s moving away from her –unlike before – reduces some of the blow. Pain blossoms where her teeth pinch skin and fat on the top near his spine. He pauses in his stride but he notices that MIRAGE doesn’t immediately move away. Pinning his ears he reverses direction and decides to teach her a lesson about lingering too long in an equines kicking zone. Once his rear end is almost beneath her chin he throws his weight to his front legs, hind legs lift out of reach of her strike and lash out at her chest. One was dead center and the other toward one of her shoulders.

Legs touch ground and he leaps forward out of her reach, plants his left leg (the right much too sore to spin on) and turns on a dime. Now that they are face-to-face he approaches and forcefully blows ash from his nostrils into her face, hopefully blinding and choking her. Before he can execute his next attack the thunder of hooves distracted him. The dragon-hybrid was charging him down and he tried to back and angle himself away but he was a lengthy target – Andalusian and draft ancestors cursing him cursing him with a lanky and inviting neckline. He tightens the muscles focused in his neck and shoulder—willing a piece of his body to go rigid and stiff. VIKRAM clipped his shoulder and neck on his way by and Cineviam half reared in response trying to tear the large hybrids wing with his horn.


(Summary: Cineviam is moving his hind end away from MIRAGE which reduces some of the impact where he got the full effect of her charge last time. MIRAGE does place a bite at the top of his haunches. He reverses direction of his hind until MIRAGE is directly behind him and he kicks out, one hoof aimed dead center of her chest the other toward a shoulder.

Takes a long stride forward before turning on his left haunch and approaches MIRAGE face-to-face. Blows ash toward her face hoping to blind or choke her. Before he can take advantage and attack, he hears VIKRAMS thundering approach. VIKRAM is trying to broadside him so he backs and tries to angle himself away but VIKRAM clips his shoulder and neck. Cineviam half rears to try to tear the hybrids wing on the way by.

½ magic uses

726 words)