Golden eyes watched from the vantage point of the Grey, noting characteristics about each Foothills resident that showed up. The Dauntless knew they were standing to defend their home, but they were standing on coward-encouraged bravery. Among the scoffers, Jackal was not to be seen. Fury raged inside of Archibald in that moment, the words of the Foothills members falling deaf on his ears. Jackal had been so full of piss and vinegar to challenge his leadership, and now he was not standing in his own herd’s front lines. Today, Archibald finally understood the cowardice of the King of Thieves. Juxtaposed, Archibald felt no mercy for the herd members he was going to mow down. Each of them deserved to fall under the hooves and prowess of the Grey for their loyalty to a boy and his fucking reptile, their idiocy would be a message to all those that listened to the red snowflake’s words—words that meant nothing, words that veiled his true drive for this herd. Today, the Foothills will know that they should have stayed loyal to him and his brothers.

With Loretta still snarling beside him and his body still tensed and prepared for battle, Archibald chose his target, the buckskin mare that moved to the front of the lines. Yes, Archibald felt very pleased with his choice and flashed Loretta an image of blood and snapping jaws. Knowing her duty, Loretta sprinted ahead, eyes dead set on the buckskin mare. Archibald followed his companion, hooves pounding into the ground with incredible force. His large body was slower, but he was an imposing force when closing the distance on a battle field. The sun danced behind him, warming his back and the earth under his hooves, but the sun was not warming fast enough. Dew bounced with each driving stride the draft took, wetting the ends of his flawless white feathers and making them snap around. The dew, however, was not enough to loosen his footing like the rain and mud had been in his battles against Locket and Jackal. Might and power surged through Archibald’s muscles as he ran towards his opponent with his neck curled, chin tucked, and ears pinned flat against his skin. Feeling Loretta’s anticipation rise as the bitch sprinted towards AILITH, Archibald gave her the signal she had been waiting for. A simple mental, “go” was all she needed. Skidding to a stop, Loretta pinned her eyes on AILITH and sent her magic flying.

Invisible tendrils of life-sucking force spewed from Loretta’s angry body. The red malamute snarled and pinned her ears back, tail stiffening to stand straight in the air behind her dominantly and aggressively. She felt victorious in this moment, if simply only for fighting in this war. Archibald had not let her be a part of the Qian Invasion of the Edge, but now this was her fight just as much as it was her bonded’s. Archibald moved past Loretta, still at a gallop, heading straight towards AILITH, who he now hoped was feeling the effects of his companion’s time slip magic. Hopefully, by turning her into an infant again mentally, she would stay in her place, dazed and confused.

As he neared her, Archibald moved his body slightly to the right, rolling his shoulder to try and throw it into her chest, hopefully landing just right of the point of her sternum. While attacking, his ears still stayed pinned defensively, and his legs splayed some, closing in to a stop. Bulging muscles in his hindquarters tightened further and he focused his weight backwards, lowering his center of balance to strike out with his right fore-hoof to hopefully strike a blow on AILITH’s front right cannon. Fluidly with his attempted cannon attack, Archibald curled his neck inwards towards AILITH, teeth aiming to snap over her withers or back. Archibald needed to keep her close, to overpower her with everything he had. She was smaller, lither than him, surely able to outrun him if she chose to run away like a yellow-belly. Archibald focused on his power, knowing his muscle mass and strength were great.

Archibald, in these moments, was only focused on one thing: the demise of these defenders.

[WC: 709 | Buffs: Endure and Swift | Magic: 0/2 | Companion: 1/2 | Attacking: AILITH | Defense: Ears pinned and balance focused on his hind legs. | Loretta uses her magic TIME SLIP. Archibald runs at AILITH hoping to kick her right front cannon, throw his shoulder into her chest, and bite at her withers or back. ]