They collided with a small sound that the otherwise silent bog consumed, greedy for noise. Ophelia went staggering away, much to Ampere's surprise. She hadn't thought herself to be moving fast enough to cause that, but perhaps it was more a testament to Ophelia's weakness than Ampere's strength. She cursed the dainty girl under her breath as she tried to follow and stay on Ophelia's left side, wary of the horn.
Ampere slid her haunches around right, trying to stay behind the horn. The slick mud helped with that at least, but her feet proved slower than Ophelia's desperation to keep her at bay. The tip of the pale horn left an angry red line along the right side of Ampere's neck before she ducked out of its range. Her hide opened up a new smile and crimson markings patterned her shoulder where it dripped. It was not deep enough to be fatal, but it had cut some of the muscle and it burned a pain not so easy to ignore. In this swamp it could easily fester - Ampere must be cautious,
and faster she thought, gritting her teeth.
With the way Ophelia swung her sword Ampere wasn't sure she would walk away with her life intact. Often in the heat of battle the greater purpose can be forgotten in favor of the immediate desire to
win. Ampere knew that overriding sensation far too well.
The hasty scramble to get back beside Ophelia lessened the impact of Ampere's assaults as did Ophelia's shifting, her horn tilting. Ampere stayed out of reach with the pale shoulder, but fumbling as she was her hooves barely struck. Ampere's injured fore smarted, aggravated more so by her quick motion than the passing blow. Grunting with her pain, both the old and the new, Ampere's teeth clipped only air and her wings fell back to her sides.
Though staying distant from Ophelia was perilous, it would be false to say staying beside her was safe.
Wings rustled the air as Tinek dove in, lifting above Ophelia's head like a living crown of the snow princess. Ampere cried out in surprise as a jolt of electricity thrummed from the silver throat.
Hooves scrambled in either direction, Ophelia fleeing the tree while Ampere backpedaled, yanking out strands of her tail as her haunches sucked back so eagerly. The dry bank sloped beneath her, rear hooves splashing into the water. She froze,
not the mud. The lightning came like a snake, feasting on the flesh of Ampere's left fore before she could yank it back. Her skin sizzled and her hair smoked, but worst of all was the seizing jolt that run up her limb, numbing it from shoulder down. At least it was some respite from the previous pain, but electricity was not kind and soon enough it would feel like every cord of her muscles were being stabbed as the nerves re-awoke, furious from over-stimulation. It hung like a club from her body as Ampere stood, gaping.
What dragon is this, Ampere thought, barely coherent. Dragons were masters of flame not ice and shock!
"I AM THE LIGHTNING THAT BREATHES!" she screamed, her awe and confusion shifting to fury at Tinek.
As she spoke the tree that Ophelia had snagged herself on rippled. Bark fell away and quivered into blue while roots hummed with new life. The lower half of the tree transformed into blue electricity, roaring into existence as a jaguar that rushed towards Ophelia, leaping with outspread claws to try and grip her flanks and zap a bite into her coup. The upper half of the tree, now without its base (transforming the entirety would have been too much energy/time), now crashed to the swamp away from the horses.
Ampere rushed forward, wings open at her sides. She limped badly, her left fore fumbling awkwardly underneath her, but she needn't go far. With every stride her wings pumped, and as she reached the tree she leapt, wings striking down. The air pulled, but it wasn't enough. Rear legs kicked again, hitting the tree and giving her the shove she needed to go airborne. She labored to stay aloft in this dead air, but she needn't sail long. Ampere banked to her left, meaning to sweep behind and above Ophelia.
Ampere tucked her wings, her right fore aimed at Ophelia's withers as she dove.
The descent was not far and the momentum would not be great, but Ampere hoped to drive Ophelia down into the bog and wrestle her into submission while their lungs threatened to fill with the rotted water. Ophelia's body should give Ampere the more ideal position, but this could prove madness.
So much for keeping cautious.
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[complete] Smash the Floor [open spar]
