Her leg bends nastily, and Volterra feels a pang of guilt at the grisly sight. Look at what he's just done to his own sister! What sort of man is he, to inflict such an injury upon his own kin? Oh, he can almost picture Tyradon's face, the Warbringer's raw fury and unbridled wrath; who would win in a fight to the death between Volterra and his esteemed sire?

"You, always," purr his dragons as they form their protective shield in front of Victorina.

The mare's growled words bring Volterra back to the present, to reality, to the very real fact that he's got work to do here. His sister, too, is of Tyradon's blood and that means she is unlikely to give up despite his threats, even if every ounce of his body hopes that she can still be saved. She pushes back against him but Volterra refuses to give an inch, standing like a pillar of brute strength against his smaller sibling. Limbs braced against the soil, the Indomitable is a fortress in onyx fur; he will not be moved. Her teeth lunge forwards and it's only now that the stallion allows himself to shift backwards an inch, causing Merida's teeth to snap hard against the left side of his neck. It's only a glancing blow, but it's enough to develop a reasonably-sized bruise that aches painfully against his skin.

Those crimson eyes of his flash dangerously again, and it takes every ounce of his control to refrain from going for the kill. She's your sister, he reminds himself. Mercy is not a word commonly associated with the mammoth warlord, but Merida is family - if he can save her, he will. The sight of Vitani's corpse makes him think he should murder her despite her blood-link to him, yet it feels morally wrong, somehow. Vitani was his friend, his lover, and her death will truly hit him when the emotions of this battle have died away, but is that enough to sign the death warrant of his own sibling? When she tried to attack Victorina, however...That is where he draws the line. That is when he truly becomes the Indomitable.

He will give her one last chance. One final opportunity to back down, to flee, to live. "This is your last chance, Merida," he snarls, his voice an earthquake, an authoritative bellow. The dragons add their roars like punctuation, and the gentle wind blows the leviathan's mane into a frenzy as he stares down at the mare; he cuts a terrifying picture, his ears pinned back and his muscles tense and ready to strike. If she has any sense left, she'll accept his offer of clemency. "I will kill you if I have to." If she knows him at all, she will realise that he does not make idle threats.

He barges forwards again, chest thrust out as he attempts to slam her backwards once again, hoping to unbalance her and shake her resolve. His left front hoof lunges forwards in a mirror image of his first attack, aiming for her wounded right knee; this time he pulls no punches, hoping to make the limb buckle and twist. A badly damaged leg might be enough to deter her, and whilst it will be agonising, it will be something she recovers from. If she continues down the road she's on, she will die - and that is not reversible.

________

Fight for @Merida ! Continuation of this thread.

Merida will be dying at the end of the 3 round fight.

2/3 - 569 words