The blue limped forwards, face twisted in pain, the dramatic expression hiding her thrill. She believed she had deceived him. "Erebos," she whimpered again, shifting her weight side to side. The burn on her hindquarters still throbbed, and she was sure it would still remain to hinder her when she decided to drop her facade. She enjoyed her ploy, reveling in the sense of control. It was all she could do to escape the pain that swelled in her joints and muscle and sinew. The pain she could give concrete reasons for helped dull the ache in her psyche, which bothered her more than what she felt on a physical level. She forced herself to believe the hurt she felt in her soul wasn't real. It was an illusion. It was something she imagined, not something concrete.

All she was doing was lying to herself. She did hurt deeper than what touched her skin. Her heart was broken. She was beginning to feel as though she was failing as a corporal. Her father's words, that she was only worth her achievements on the battlefield, jaded the luster of her young heart. The only place she felt alive, felt uninhibited, felt free of her shackles, was upon the battlefield. Her victories were limited, and her teachings few. If she didn't make a difference here, did her presence even matter? But as she continued her injured bird routine, the blue didn't have time to consider her failures.

Silver eyes flicked up, brows furrowing as a smirk replaced her frown. "Erebos," she said again, but this time it was a sultry mix of sneer and purr.

Suddenly and all at once, she sprang. She bounded towards him, fore hooves heaving her forward until the space between them shrank. She bore the brunt of her weight on her right hind leg. But before she could make it, before she could bury herself into the buck, the teeth she had so narrowly avoided previously were buried into her lashing tail. The soldier had fallen victim to her cunning, but the kitsune knew better. The corporal may have been clever, but there was nothing more cunning in this world than a fox. But weren't those who were bonded able to communicate via a mental tie? How had the kitsune caught onto her deception while Erebos stood dumbly planted in his spot? Unless she had been duped and the prince knew the whole time, and he had simply allowed her to fall victim to her own trap.

A pained whinny burst from her lips and she kicked out, aiming for the blackened fox. It was instinct that spurred her to kick, the sudden defense mechanism not allowing her move to be quelled by thought. Otherwise she would have avoided such an attack, knowing a solid buck could kill the much smaller creature at her heels. Her tail hung limp behind her. As it dragged, the white of her tail grew slick and red, and the sand that was sprayed by her hind hooves became ground into the laceration. It was broken, that was for sure, and her balance would certainly suffer.

Still, perhaps she still retained some sense of surprise despite the hinderance the kitsune caused. The star girl gave one more solid push, throwing herself at her adversary. Her muscles braced for impact, especially her left shoulder, her back arching as she drove herself towards him. She swung her head to the left, teeth bared, trying to catch one more taste of him. Her bloodlust was not easily sated, and even thought this was a friendly spar, she wanted to leave a reminder on him, force herself to linger in his memory long after they went their separate ways and left the endless shore. The sand gave way beneath her hooves as she careened towards him, her weight unevenly distributed between the ache in her hind leg and the ground sliding from beneath her. She was sure he was having similar difficulty as she with the terrain; perhaps she could disrupt his balance.

As the fight began to wind down, the corporal could feel her endurance begin to waver. Her sides heaved with heavy breath, and the sweat that filmed over her starry hide mingled with the salted spray of the ocean air. The searing pain in her painfully crooked tail came in waves matching the tempo of those that washed the shore. A gull cried above them, and his song was swallowed by the crashing of the surf. The girl knew the end of their dance was approaching, and the impending finish seemed to conclude with the dying of the sun.

What a beautiful way for it to end.

3/3 || WC 784 || Summary:: Ki'irha continues her facade of playing weak and injured. She then lunges at him, but before she can make it to him, Orsino's bite lands on her tail, breaking the fragile bones and lacerating the skin. She's thrown off and distracted and kicked at Orsino, before resuming her path towards Erebos head-on. She shifts slightly to the right but straight at him, and attempts to bite the left side of the neck/withers/shoulders, and collide with him/slam her left shoulder into him/his chest.