A scream tore apart the air inside Maskan's ears.
They slicked back to his neck, cutting off the miserable sound of defeat.

Maskan took no joy in bringing agony to a foe such as this, and truthfully he was startled by the sudden outburst of the noise from Kaj's chest. He hadn't thought he'd struck so harshly, but perhaps he was being overzealous in his desire to crush the yellow youth, as was often his nature to take something to far.

The alarming cry had distracted him, allowing one of Kaj's hooves to slip past his own limbs and strike the meat of his breast. They were in close quarters and with legs so tangled the blow was not as direct as it could have been, but the skin along the left side of his chest grew taut with swelling as the flesh beneath took a deep bruise. It would further hinder his left side's mobility as the pain in his chest, though not dire, would be constant with each stride.

Soon this would need to end or they'd both never rise again. Mirage would have his head if that was the case, and she was a hell of a lot scarier now that she could turn into a dragon.

As it was sweat darkened the nape of Maskan, brought on by the exertion as much as pain. A bit more Maskan urged himself, gritting his teeth as he fell away from Kaj. He could not let his age best him, but he would have to remind Madyrn they needed to start training their endurance more.

As hooves reunited with the ground, Kaj's wing met Maskan's head. Barely able to catch the movement in his peripheral, Maskan jerked his head to the right, but the strong, bony front of the wing cuffed him across his left cheek like a club. His body staggered to the right, thrown off by the force of what Maskan had always considered a weak appendage, and lead by the momentum of his swinging skull. The buffeting blow brought a ringing to his ears and stars dancing in his eyes; it felt like his senses had just been jostled free and were swimming around with his brain. The skin split faintly, revealing a line of red, but the cut was shallow and soon scabbed, although beneath the surface the tissues were more damaged and he knew he would be tender to the touch for some days. He was sure Madyrn would constantly poke at it.

In the short time since Kaj wing-slapped him, Maskan had traveled somewhat to the right to re-cooperate. Though he still felt partially unsteady, there were no time for water breaks.
Hind hooves whistled through the air from Maskan's left side. His rump tucked instinctively and his body tensed, but Maskan hadn't the time to evade properly by the time he grew aware of the buck. Luckily he'd put enough space between them already, and by pulling more underneath himself he helped shave off Kaj's reach even further. Those hind hooves just grazed the roundness of his ass and felt more like a kiss than an attack.

The touch and sudden thrill of fear shot adrenaline into Maskan's system and helped yank him back to clarity. Knowing he needed to act quickly to gain distance, Maskan shoved to the left, being rough on his right limbs which ground into the hard soil. As his left side hit the dirt in stride, he winced. Pain jerked up his left cannon, but Maskan barreled through it with gritted teeth and sinking ears. Maskan meant to curve around, following Kaj's movements and staying on his right side. Maskan's left shoulder led him, hoping to use it to jam against Kaj's right flank. Feeding off the anger he felt with each step of pain Maskan's teeth flashed out at Kaj's coup in that same instant.

Maskan's true intent was to upset Kaj's balance or movement somewhat, so that Maskan could lunge forward, lifting himself up partially. Maskan arched to his left, towards Kaj, forehooves reaching out to Kaj's rear legs, but attempting to grip along either side. The act was as much to further tangle up Kaj's motion, but would also help Maskan haul his girth onto Kaj's rump, where he meant to force his weight entirely upon Kaj's backside and hopefully collapse or trip his haunches. In essence it was a clipped attempt at mounting Kaj, a display of dominance and an assault, Maskan's hooves likely bruising Kaj's legs where they would squeeze against.

Maskan reflected that Kaj was rather pretty, but not quite his type. His genitals did not stir, although Maskan mused that would be quite a surprise if he'd been willing to risk his manhood for a little mid-battle poking.

---

"talk"

W: 800
3/4