Gaucho was pleased to see the graying stallion accept his silent invitation to spar. In truth, Gaucho had never sparred with a Unicorn before, and was more than happy to test himself against whatever defenses such a creature might have. Surely he would need to be wary of the stallion’s horn - he would not be able to throw his weight around in the manner he normally did in spars. Were he to land wrong, or leave any part of his body exposed, that horn, already coloured bright red, might brighten with the addition of his own blood. Grunting, Gaucho felt his muscles quiver with apprehension; adrenaline coursing through the thick muscles of his chest. This would surely be an interesting fight - for while Gaucho appeared larger, possibly due to his colouring and the addition of his wings, he estimated that he and Valentine were actually quite close in height. In fact, even their breeding appeared to be similar given their lines and distributions. Despite the fact that Gaucho would not have any sort of clear advantage against the red-horned Stallion, he rose to the challenge none the less.

While playing the defense-card right off the bat was not normally Gaucho’s style, he was not particularly interested in being skewered either. Gaucho stood quite still while Val ran towards him - almost as if he didn’t intend to move. Given the distance between the two of them when Val began to rush at the bay, Gaucho could have easily moved out of the way, and yet he stood completely stock still. Muscles tense, Gaucho waited until the tip of Val’s horn just passed where Gaucho’s muzzle was, making it unlikely that his momentum would change. Lunging forward, Gaucho lowered his head slightly, aiming to deflect Val’s blow by stifling him with his antlers. He tried to aim his momentum as he lunged, so that is antlers would wrap around the front of Val’s face, and behind his ears - making it such that Gaucho’s forehead would hit squarely on Val’s right cheek, hoping to shove him back.

In order to fully push the stallion away without severely hurting his own neck, Gaucho was forced to move with Valentine, as he carried on. Pivoting on his hind legs, turning into the right, he thrashed with his front hooves, thrusting himself into a forward leap towards the Grey. Given that Val’s horn had already passed, Gaucho was more confident about throwing himself around, without any repercussions. Pushing off with his hind end as he turned with Val, he struck out with his front left leg, aiming for Val’s right shoulder. As his hoof slammed down, Gaucho reached out, teeth flashing, to try and bite at Val’s neck. Given that Val was moving forward, and Gaucho was leaping and kicking and biting, the bay’s momentum was decreasing. Not wanting to turn this into a race, especially in the hot sun, Gaucho tucked his muzzle to his right shoulder, and turned his considerable hind quarters towards the unicorn, bucking defensively towards Val’s right hip.

Deflecting Val’s initial blow had been bittersweet for the warrior. While naturally Gaucho did not want to be impaled by an already blood-red horn, if his blood was not spilled in battle, his magic could not take effect. He could fill it lurking in the back of his mind, urging him to spill his own blood - just a little nip to his knee, is all it would take. Was that crazy? Gaucho wasn’t sure - he had not yet had time to properly investigate his magic, or it’s source. For now, given that he hadn’t a clue who the Throat’s healer was, he decided it best to leave the blood spilling to the God’s, and his opponents. Although his heart was pumping fresh oxygen to his muscles, Gaucho was still not used to the heat of the Throat. Was it simply psychological, that the warmer air did not seem to quench his muscles need for oxygen? Or was there some meteorological fact of the matter, about how increasing heart rate was effected by warmer climates? Now was certainly not the time for such thoughts, but given the sweat already on his chest and between his thighs, Gaucho wondered if it wouldn’t be a good question to ask the sar-gents or My-dus about later.


[WC: 744
Summary: Gaucho stands still until Valentine is close. Once his horn passes Gaucho's muzzle, he tries to push Val away by head-butting him in the cheek, which would wrap his horns around the front of Val's face, and behind his ears. Pivoting with Val, he lunges forward and tries to slam his front left hoof into Val's right shoulder, and bite his neck. Turning to the right, Gaucho bucks at Val's right thigh.

Attack 1/2: Tries to slam his hoof into Val's shoulder; tries to bite; bucks at Val's thigh.
Defense: Tries to knock Val away with his antlers, bucks defensively to cover his exit. ]