The metallic taste of blood sat uncomfortably in her mouth, reminding her that she needed to be less vicious. As an herbivore, someone else's blood in her mouth tasted bad unless the battle fury was gripping her mind. Before her teeth could connect fully with his shoulder, though, Note's wings bore him aloft and out of reach. Clever, she thought as her teeth only scraped him ineffectually, yanking off a few hairs but otherwise not hurting him. She had expected him to try and put distance between the two of them, not attack. His flight, more of a wing-assisted leap, culminated when he dropped towards her again, hooves stretched towards her right wing. Her eyes widened, wing muscles instinctually tensing up in anticipation of the blow. She threw herself to the left, trying to avoid him, but his hooves still made contact her wing, knocking out a few feathers and glancing off the "wrist" joint. She managed to avoid serious injury, though. Still, the attack had shaken her. Perhaps she deserved it for that nasty neck bite.

As he came down, she followed through with her barrel buck, but to her dismay, Note skittered out of reach. He was a quick opponent, to be sure. And he had muscle on his side. Aryel did not consider his advantages unfair, though. She had come to learn that life wasn't fair a lot of the time, and asking it pretty please would just earn you a mocking laugh. While she mused, Note had made a sharp turn and was coming back at her, apparently aiming for her flanks while she was still off-balance. There was no opportunity to react, and his chest collided with her left haunch, further unbalancing her. Her rear half was knocked to the ground, leaving her in a sort of awkward sitting position. By bracing her front hooves and throwing her head to the left to counteract Note's shove, she was able to avoid rolling over fully onto her back. She reflected ironically that she often enjoyed rolling in dust, mud, or water, but not when she was shoved into it.

She snapped at the air once, to ward off her opponent in case he tried to go after her while she was down, then managed to scramble back to her feet. She backed up several feet, constantly watching Note to ensure he wasn't pursuing her. Maybe he just needed a taste of his own medicine. Aryel unfurled her wings, then began to beat them rapidly, intentionally stirring up the clouds of dust. Soon enough, the reddish sand cloaked the center of the arena in billowing clouds, reducing both horses to faint forms in eachother's vision. Aryel scanned the dust, trying to make out a hint of movement, a dark form, anything to distinguish Note from the sand clouds surrounding him. Catching a glimpse of his dusty pelt, she charged forward, bringing her left shoulder to bear as she neared him. She intended to ram her shoulder into his chest, making use of the blind spot horses had directly in front of them in order to reduce the time he would have to react. Her hoofbeats, muffled as they were by the sand, could still give her away, but she was counting and swiftness and a little bit of luck to pull her through.

3/3
Words: 556
Summary: Her first bite lands, while her second does not. Note's skyward leap surprises her, and she throws herself to the left to try and avoid it, but takes a glancing blow to her wing. Note's ram knocks her halfway down, but she scrambles back up after snapping at him to ward him off. She backs up several feet, then whips up a dust cloud with her wings. Finally, she charges Note head-on, playing on the blind spot present in equine vision, intending to hit him with her left shoulder.
Injuries: Neck abrasion, shoulder bruising, wing soreness

Walk walk walk walk.
"Talk talk talk talk."