Archibald was pleased with the fear that consumed AILITH’s amethyst eyes. Fear gave him power, power to tear down his opponent now. Loretta’s magic grasped the mare and made her falter, but the ability did not last as long as Archibald wanted, but he understood the nature of the ability compared to his companion. There was no way the ability could last any long length of time, for Loretta was just a dog, just as other opponents were just…simple creatures. Alas, Archibald was thankful for the strength she did possess, for it aided him greatly. In this battle, her magic helped his shoulder seek purchase on AILITH’s smaller body, sucking the air from her lungs. With one successful attack, the gears in the battle machine’s mind kept clicking, churning out ideas on how to strike her down. His feathered hoof missed her cannon by a few inches, grabbing air before falling back to the ground. His teeth, in such a glorious and redeeming fashion, ripped skin from her withers. The crimson, iron-filled liquid tasted sweet and familiar on his lips and the sight of it trickling down her body and staining her liquid gold coat gave him a great high.

The buckskin mare struck out with her own attack, but Archibald responded quickly. Pushing his forelegs off the ground, Archibald lifted himself into a low rear. When he had stopped and slammed himself into her, he had shifted his weight backwards in anticipation for his. Her attack was quick, and his reaction helped keep her bite small and less severe as his own attack on her. AILITH’s blunt teeth scraped the underside of his neck, surely leaving a bruise in their wake, but not breaking skin. The pain rippled down to his muscles, his mind doing all it could to push the sensation away. Archibald would not let the bite affect his performance, no, for it was merely a bee sting to the behemoth. AILITH moved quickly to his left side, her teeth striking for his unscathed hip. Snorting, the massive stallion shifts his weight again and lands his rear, throwing his weight to the left and upwards, hoping to slam the point of his hip into AILITH’s face and rattle her head. He had done so similarly when he was training against Locket. Locket had moved to attack the Dauntless’ hip and Archibald had countered by throwing his weight towards the Arabian and bucking out. Remembering the battle, the Dauntless smirked some, his words ringing true in his own ears now. Be ready for battle can call on us at any minute—this world is unpredictable. Archibald had spoken those words not thinking that he could be the one on the attacking lines. As he moved his weight now, just like in his training battle, Archibald felt AILITH’S teeth close in on his flesh, but his own movement caused the bite to lessen. Much like the bite on the underside of his neck, his hip tingled with pain from the mare’s blunt teeth, though no blood pooled from his body, unlike her.

AILITH moved away from Archibald, using her lither build to distance herself from him. Coward. She was built much like the mare Smoke, who Archibald had battled against in the past. Smoke and AILITH were both able to turn their bodies and move away quickly and gracefully. Archibald needed to bring her closer, and he decided instantaneously to use his most recent gift against her. Archibald turned then to face her. As he turned, she bucked out at him; however, her hooves clicked against nothing but air and his flicking tail, his hips moving out of the way with just a millisecond to save his rear from her strike. Simultaneously, the Dauntless released his magic on her. Once more, invisible tendrils gifted by the Gods sought to grip the mare. Archibald’s magic would harden her bones and expand them, hopefully slowing her down and making her motions painful for a short time. Focusing on pushing his magic into her, to keep it coming and not let it falter, he also worked to close the distance between them. AILITH had twisted her body and now the two were facing head-on again. With his ears pinned back and his chin tucked, Archibald hoped to drive himself parallel to her, on her right side. Tossing his weight forward and curling his head away to protect his face from her hooves, Archibald bucked and sent his massive rear hooves in an attempt to strike AILITH’s right front elbow.

The Dauntless could feel the earth growing warmer with each waking second. The dew was vanishing, giving the warriors a firmer stance, and he knew that by the end of this battle the warriors would feel the Tallsun heat and it would wear on them. For now, Archibald took solace in the cool aftermath of the night. Archibald wanted so much to feel this again, but not in battle. His body and mind longed for the mountains of his land, the land he had lived in longer than any of the Foothills members present, all combined. This was his home more than it was any of theirs, and today he was taking it back. Although he felt he had chosen his opponent wisely, he wished that AILITH’s buckskin form was Jackal’s red dun form, bleeding and reeling underneath his might.

[WC: 897 | Buffs: Endure and Swift | Magic: 1/2 | Companion: 1/2 | Attacking: AILITH | Defense:Rears to lessen the severity of her bite to his neck. Throws his body into her to lessen the severity of her hip bite. Ears pinned and head tucked away from her to protect his face. | Summary:He slams his body towards her when she bites his hip in an attempt to hurt her head/face/jaw. Archibald turns to face her and uses his bone-to-stone magic. He then runs at her in an attempt to get parallel to her on her right side. He then bucks, aiming his hooves for her right front legs, mostly near her elbow.]