There was a resistance that Ampere was not familiar with when she called upon the metal. Her shield obliged well enough, but her dagger was stuck, still thrust inside Hotaru. That was fine, but Ampere didn't intend to leave one of her prized daggers wedged in the bitch's ribs, except it was... unresponsive. That realization drew upon Ampere in the sharp press of a confused 'brow. She might have given it more thought if not for the dozens of other concerns she already carried, so when an electric snap came back at her, the force of the amulet pushing her ability back, she didn't put it all together. Like static in Orangemoon air the sensation snarled against her, more startling than painful, but it caused her head to jerk up which thrust another bout of fire against the musculature there. She swore under her breath, defensively lowering and faintly tucking her head.

She would have reached again, might have tried to yank the damn armor off Hotaru's backside out of sheer frustration and mounting exhaustion, but suddenly there was a storm, and not just the metaphorical kind.

In tempo with Hotaru's voice, snow and ground whirled in a violent vortex. Ampere gasped, then grunted as her surprise slowed her and jammed her injured foreleg. Her momentum lurched, and hastily she tugged on the electrical strings of her shield, pulling it up to protect her head and neck from the biting hurricane. The shield's lack of weight upon her body didn't make it any easier to hold with magic, and she knew she couldn't hide behind it for long.

It didn't save her anyway, not all the way at least. All around her exposed body she felt the wind tear into her, literally. Cuts of all various length and depths criss-crossed against her flesh, tearing away hair at the best, spilling out blood at the worst. It was terrible, inescapable, and with a rising sort of panic that came from not having control or even options, Ampere bolted. The abrupt movement jarred her neck and her leg which slowed her considerably, but the scream of those wounds was lost beneath the shrill cries of each new laceration, the small individual sensations merging into one overwhelming chorus of despair and torture that deafened her to everything else (though somewhere Hotaru was shouting). Running, ducked behind her shield, flinching at the unrelenting pain of the encompassing foe, Ampere was blind by all accounts. Out of her mind, without her senses, she was just a freight train barreling off course. She ran the same direction she had been going originally, just because that was easiest more than from any sort of tactic, but it should still be towards Hotaru.

Each stride was a drum of pain, beating to the pulse of the battle that raged like the storm. It threatened to blow her over with its cruel gales, but her stocky body and low center of gravity kept Ampere on course. She led with her shield, and like a battering ram it and she were likely to collide with Hotaru's front side. It lacked any real vigor though, and the snow was tough to get good traction on. Fear was certainly a strong and capable motivator, but already worn and weary from Hotaru's past blows, and too distracted by the current assault, Ampere hardly put strength into it. With luck though it might knock Hotaru off balance enough to rip her concentration and dissolve the tempest, and maybe a stray hoof or two from Ampere's stampede would knock or scrape on Hotaru's forelimbs. The impact would probably send the shield to the ground; as it was Ampere was doing her best to just hold its protective barrier up, self preservation giving her that shred of sanity.

Luckily Kygo didn't have to deal with this. Although she'd never have permitted him to fight, he was far too much a chicken to even bother trying, much less to disobey her. Maybe it was the difference of him being prey rather than predator in life's circle, but Kygo was more keen on mischief than war. He was tucked well away in safety, accustomed to Ampere leaving him on his own. Alice however, was not so lucky.

"Her blood would be on YOUR hide," Ampere hissed, the voice that was a dull moan in the background of the storm registering louder and clearer as Ampere pressed in closer; Hotaru's shrieking. "Don't blame me for the result of war. You thrust her into it, unnaturally and unfairly. Have the strength to account for it!" she seethed. She reached electrically for her blade again in a hasty desire to stab Hotaru for her ignorance. Probably still between her teeth, it would hopefully shred her loud mouth.

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A: 3/4
W: 798/800