Archibald merely rolled his eyes and grunted at the bitch, his momentum still pressed forward. There is never improvement in strategy and skill if you take an easy route. Be silent, hound. He snorted to finish, thick tree-trunk like limbs lifting into a trot that carried him into a small clearing. His companion, silenced despite the thick wall of discontent, followed him loyally. Her crimson rimmed ears perked forward as the behemoth stopped. There is no opponent. She spoke plainly as the golden-eyed King looked around the forest. Above their heads the canopy hung low, but thick, and blocked out the noontime sun that the pair knew raged outside of the forest. Birdsong was in full swing, and the muddy remnants of Frostfall were drying up with the approaching summer. One will come. The Dauntless comforted his companion, turning to look towards where they had just come.

The pair had not stretched their fighting muscles since the invasion. All winter the pair spent long hours on politics, patrols, and watching the herd. As hard as Archibald's heart beat for being a leader, especially a leader of the "family" he had acquired, there was a pull, strong and undefeatable, at his heart from his warrior's roots. The beast within the dark stallion's chest was ravenous for blood, and its talons clawed deep, its voice growling and screaming to be released. This fighting itch he felt, the burning and tingling desire within his breast, could not be dealt with against someone of his own herd--save that for Ktulu, perhaps--and he traveled away from them in search of someone else, be it an outcast or an ally, to quench the thirst. 

"I call forth an opponent for battle -- be not faint of heart!" Archibald roared into the dark forest, stomping his feet eagerly. Muscles clenched beneath obsidian fur and molten eyes narrowed. The steel breastplate against his chest thumped as he pranced, head tossing above his broad shoulders.





[PC: 0/3 | WC: 342 | Setting: In the darker depths of the Dark Forest. Large, overhanging, but mostly dead, trees surround them with no break in the canopy and the nearest branch being about ten feet off the ground. There is only a small clearing (about seven feet x five feet), and the underbrush around the clearing is thick with brambles and large logs. Several large rocks dot the clearing. This is a truly treacherous place to battle. Move with caution. @Megaera ]