He inched closer, his scent strong to her despite the dull of her senses from the alcohol. The faintest of grins slid across her muzzle as her emerald gaze took him in like a prize. The hazy sound of a growl from Volterra’s lips reached her ears, while her shoulder pulsed with the tension of a small bruise beginning to grow. It tightened with her movements as she began to follow him, walking behind him as if she were a child. Her grey head hung low, yet her ears perked forward to him in interest, still bearing that ghostish smirk against her pink snipped lips. Shade began to cover the two of them, painting different shapes from the leaves against her already dappled hide. The shade caused the air around them to cool ever so slightly; and that was when she noticed the flat piece of land that he guided her to. When his words reached her ears, as the Gladiator offered her a lesson in battle, her head lifted as a small amount of nervousness settled in her stomach.

“And the reward afterwards, of course.” His words sounded far away against her clouded mind. The alcohol continued to burn, as a small smoldering sensation deep within her barrel at the event she had just signed up for. Her emerald gaze looked to him, wide and deer-like as she began to steady her breath, unaware she had started to gulp air like a fish out of water. Aelfwine shifted her weight uncomfortably as she glanced around the area, taking a bit more notice in her surroundings, looking for anything she could use. The earth beneath her wasn’t too soft, nor was it too hard; a perfect cushion for the mare if she were to fall. It provided some solace to the dappled doe as she returned her gaze to his challenging scarlet ones, the same color as the blood that began to dry as it stained the prongs of her dark antlers from her previous playful attempts at battle.

She went from timid and unsure, to confidently accepting his challenge. Whether that was due to the alcohol in her system, the family trait of stubbornness, or the fact she wouldn’t be proven wrong about willing to learn from him, she wasn’t sure. She decided in that split second that she wouldn’t give up. She shifted once more, flicking her charcoal tail against her hocks, her head lowering as a smile grazed the corners of her lips once again. “Teach me everything.” She finally answered him. Aelfwine had no clue what she was getting herself into. The idea that she could take on a gladiator out of everyone else she knew, despite the spars she had participated in back when she spent time with Bartholomeo and his crew, were different beasts entirely and hadn’t quite registered in her mind. Volterra was massive in comparison to her, too. Anyone would have thought twice about taking him on, even for lessons. He had nearly two hands on her in height, and the muscles that rippled beneath his onyx skin screamed brute force. Aelfwine should have known not to bite off more than she could chew, but she was too stubborn. Nor did she think he would take her up on the offer.

Aelfwine pawed at the earth twice with her left cloven hoof before leaning back on her hind quarters and springing out toward him, slightly aiming herself towards her right to try and graze his left shoulder should he stay in place. Her hooves gripped the earth easily as she barreled toward him, bounding against the lush grasses of the field beneath her. Deep down, she hoped she would collide with him. She hoped she could show him what she was capable of. She hoped she could show him that she wasn’t just a pretty face that was incapable of handling her own battles. She made terrible choices often, though. Perhaps Volterra was one of those miscalculations.

"Talk."
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Attack: 1/3 – Words: 665
Damage tracker: --
Summary: She's a bit nervous at first, gathers her nerves and faces Vol before pawing at the ground and runs at him, aiming her antlers at Vol's left shoulder.
OOC: -- Snow’s generously offered to give me a teaching spar! <3