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Flying hooves met with less resistance than expected, clipping off flesh instead of landing with the thud that the grulla mare had hoped for. White-edged ears swept back in irritation, already knowing that the gold-dusted mare had reared up before Smoke had spun around. Clever, and fast, the Wild Rose begrudgingly acknowledged, if only in the privacy of her own mind. It was a bit on the uncommon side for the grulla to face a foe rivaling her own speed and agility. The novelty was pleasant in its own way, even in the depth of a potentially life and death battle.
But it wasn't something to linger on, and the grulla mare pushed away the distracting notion even as she lunged forward in a new attack. It seemed to be going quite well, until... How the hell...? Smoke wasn't quite sure how the unicorn got her knees to be in the way, but the idea of getting her teeth rattled that way had her trying to redirect around them. But not quite, for she ended up catching on the blunt curve of a knee. Pain exploded in her mouth, teeth rattled and jarred. It was a rather sufficient distraction, for the next thing she knew she was slamming into the other mare's hip and wasn't entirely sure how that had happened either. The fresh bloom of bruising pain on her right shoulder in result of that collision was only minutely milder than what she'd felt in her left, but the racket of disturbed earth and leaves to her right side was a fair indicator that it'd been more disasterous for her foe.
A flutter of thought and imagery in her mind alerted the sturdy healer that her bonded was ready. He had used to cover of the sounds of battle to skip from branch to branch, picking only the sturdiest ones that wouldn't be affected by his slight weight, until now he was poised above the battlers, sharing his dragon's-eye view with the slate colored mare who shared his soul. It was because of him that she saw the tail end of Illynx's wild slide from a wildly unusual angle, and hatched a new plot.
Loathe to bite again, when only the flexing of her jaws relieved the ache in her mouth, Smoke gave a quick cow-kick at where she assumed Illynx's head to be, hoping to rattle the unicorn mare as much as she herself had been rattled. Then she was plunging forward and left, hugging the tree as much as possible while trying to not catch her herb bag on the tree bark. It was a small miracle that it had not been punctured or torn already. Keen ears caught the beat of approaching hooves behind her, prompting a quick lash of a black tail toward where she assumed a biting attack would be coming from before thrusting the bulk of the tree between herself and her attacker, thus voiding the possibilities of any attacks behind the charge being successful.
Which proved too good an opportunity for Zaffre to pass up. With the deliberate action of a predator dropping on his next meal, the blue dragon leapt from his perch, attempting to compensate for Illynx's forward momentum and expected flinch in order to land on the gilded unicorn's back. Wings flexed, prepared to catch himself if his attack when terribly wrong. But he had every intent to dig his claws into unicorn flesh and grip on at least long enough to lash his barbed tail about the top of her haunches. Wild excitement ran through the lithe little dragon, only kept from being voiced in an equally wild shriek by the firm restraint of Smoke's influence. His attack was meant to be a painful decoy. If it went according to plan, it would last long enough for Smoke to complete her close circuit of the tree. At which point she should be behind Illynx, away from that damnable horn, unless the attack failed completely. That possibility, Smoke didn't have a plan for. The thought of being chased around this tree, golden horn and snapping teeth inches from tugging and tearing flesh, was disconcerting to the point of almost being terrifying. But Smoke hadn't made it here by being worried about what could go wrong, and she was determined to go forward by focusing on what she was doing now and would be doing shortly. With any luck, the latter would be chasing this upstart out of her forest.
[756 words, 3/4
Yes, I forgot that Smoke would be wearing her herb bag. XD Whoops?
Edited to add in two lost words, 'the next' in the phrase 'for the next thing she knew' which I thought I had written until I reread.]
But it wasn't something to linger on, and the grulla mare pushed away the distracting notion even as she lunged forward in a new attack. It seemed to be going quite well, until... How the hell...? Smoke wasn't quite sure how the unicorn got her knees to be in the way, but the idea of getting her teeth rattled that way had her trying to redirect around them. But not quite, for she ended up catching on the blunt curve of a knee. Pain exploded in her mouth, teeth rattled and jarred. It was a rather sufficient distraction, for the next thing she knew she was slamming into the other mare's hip and wasn't entirely sure how that had happened either. The fresh bloom of bruising pain on her right shoulder in result of that collision was only minutely milder than what she'd felt in her left, but the racket of disturbed earth and leaves to her right side was a fair indicator that it'd been more disasterous for her foe.
A flutter of thought and imagery in her mind alerted the sturdy healer that her bonded was ready. He had used to cover of the sounds of battle to skip from branch to branch, picking only the sturdiest ones that wouldn't be affected by his slight weight, until now he was poised above the battlers, sharing his dragon's-eye view with the slate colored mare who shared his soul. It was because of him that she saw the tail end of Illynx's wild slide from a wildly unusual angle, and hatched a new plot.
Loathe to bite again, when only the flexing of her jaws relieved the ache in her mouth, Smoke gave a quick cow-kick at where she assumed Illynx's head to be, hoping to rattle the unicorn mare as much as she herself had been rattled. Then she was plunging forward and left, hugging the tree as much as possible while trying to not catch her herb bag on the tree bark. It was a small miracle that it had not been punctured or torn already. Keen ears caught the beat of approaching hooves behind her, prompting a quick lash of a black tail toward where she assumed a biting attack would be coming from before thrusting the bulk of the tree between herself and her attacker, thus voiding the possibilities of any attacks behind the charge being successful.
Which proved too good an opportunity for Zaffre to pass up. With the deliberate action of a predator dropping on his next meal, the blue dragon leapt from his perch, attempting to compensate for Illynx's forward momentum and expected flinch in order to land on the gilded unicorn's back. Wings flexed, prepared to catch himself if his attack when terribly wrong. But he had every intent to dig his claws into unicorn flesh and grip on at least long enough to lash his barbed tail about the top of her haunches. Wild excitement ran through the lithe little dragon, only kept from being voiced in an equally wild shriek by the firm restraint of Smoke's influence. His attack was meant to be a painful decoy. If it went according to plan, it would last long enough for Smoke to complete her close circuit of the tree. At which point she should be behind Illynx, away from that damnable horn, unless the attack failed completely. That possibility, Smoke didn't have a plan for. The thought of being chased around this tree, golden horn and snapping teeth inches from tugging and tearing flesh, was disconcerting to the point of almost being terrifying. But Smoke hadn't made it here by being worried about what could go wrong, and she was determined to go forward by focusing on what she was doing now and would be doing shortly. With any luck, the latter would be chasing this upstart out of her forest.
[756 words, 3/4
Yes, I forgot that Smoke would be wearing her herb bag. XD Whoops?
Edited to add in two lost words, 'the next' in the phrase 'for the next thing she knew' which I thought I had written until I reread.]
