I feel the weight of his tail under my hooves and I smirk, pushing off and sailing further into the air. My wings claw hungrily as I tear forward and passed the range of his legs, not happy until I am well out of his reach, settling in my currents with ease and gliding out past the cliff face of the World's Edge. I let out a joyous laugh past my lips, glancing back toward the little area of cleared forest, seeing his massive body begin to twist, turn and rumble forward on massive hooves. I cut back on my speed, allowing my pace to slow into a near crawl, as far as flight is concerned. I would let Goliath catch up. After all, I am far from afraid.

Vikram might be larger and physically stronger, but I am more determined; I'd stake my life on it.

His lumbering body makes its way into the air. I am amazed by the strength of his wings. To be able to lift his mass into the air like that, they are certainly a limb to be avoided. The flap of air as it smacks against the leathery surface, it is a different sound than the whistle that rushes through my wings. I am reminded, once more, that my opponent is vastly different than me. We are winged brethren, but our heritage is traced in different directions. He is large, armored naturally, and I would dare believe houses some sort of nasty abilities I cannot imagine. I remember that dragons are infamous for breathing fire. Is this half-blood capable of such things? I prayed not. Even if we are not enemies but friends, rookies often tapped the easy way to a victory.

I allow myself to face forward, flying easily. An ear cocks back to listen to the sound of skin and air, flapping with a sound that makes me strangely uneasy. I am not entirely certain where he is in the air, but I can estimate his general distance. As the sound grows larger, I glance toward the left, tilting my face slightly up to catch sight of him closing in. A smile grows on my lips; time to have fun. While I was not afraid to take hits, I knew with our size comparison that Vikram's blows would hit heavier upon me than a regular opponent. I was strong, stubborn, and brave, but I was not, have never been, invincible. In another fight, against another opponent, I might have found my next tactic to be cowardly. Instead, I would view it as cunning.

I angle my body slightly off kilter, my left side dropping toward the earth at an acute angle, my wings flapping once powerfully as wind rushes underneath them to push me speedily out of the way from Vikram's attack, though not entirely. His left hoof still manages to graze my right hip and down, tearing a small cut which stings when the wind blows against it, but it is minor. I smile as I am free, my dark eyes taking on the fiery light of excitement. The dance of battle, strong and true, had begun in the air. In this kingdom, Vikram might find that his mass was a disadvantage. I would be able to move with the confidence and speed of tried practice in aerial combat, aided by the speed of the wind. Let us hope that dragon-boy has a few tricks to make up for the disparity.

My evasion has brought me slight up and toward the left of Vikram's original aim, and so I turn my front end, tucking my wings close to my side as I push downward, diving toward his left barrel with my front hooves extended, aiming for an area a good distance from his wing joint. I did not want to cripple a friend, nor did I want to send him sailing back toward the world below. While his mass might be able to support me should I fall, I am definitely not lifting his fatass back to safety. As my hooves would aim to strike his flesh, my teeth aim to catch onto the middle of his nape.
""

[ WC: 735; 3/4; 0/2 magic ]