.svg/2000px-Google_Chrome_icon_(2011).svg.png){kind=icon}
08-17-2013, 09:47 AM
 The mare moved her crest down forcefully and purposefully, her eyesight momentarily obscured by the speed of the movement and the tendrils of hair that fell over her face. The length of her mane was the it was braided, but even then her forelock refused to be tamed much like the mare herself. Despite the momentary blindness, she felt the ivory of her dagger connect. The attack felt shallow. Iron-cast eyes shifted slightly to the earth, where deep skid marks from dug in hooves had formed, flattening the dew soaked grass. The filly appeared to have skidded out of harms way, for the most part, though it was not apparent whether it had been simply luck or a well calculated risk on the smaller equines part. Artemis snapped up her head immediately after her attack to survey the damage; her aim was true, yet the dodge had caused only a thin flesh wound that snaked down her opponents back from below her hip, back toward the dock. Had the filly stopped faster, the wound would surely had hindered the movement in the leg. Luck was on the child's side, it seemed. The filly cried out in pain and the mare felt a moment of hesitation gasp at her heels; she was a filly grown, trained fighter who was maiming a horse a couple years her junior. Her mother had taught her that the weak must be defended, and that had been her sole reasoning behind joining the Grey. Antheia had invited her to join the very herd she was now destroying. Had she made the wrong decision? Her hesitation hindered her slightly, but not enough for her to ignore the fading of the scream nor the bucking of her legs as the child retaliated. The first hit her chest, her hooves battering the tough muscles of her bodice. That would surely bruise, and indeed it did ache. She grunted, a hiss of hurt slipping from between clenched teeth as the titan reared. The filly lashed out again, this time clipping Artemis's knees and gashing the delicate skin over the joint. As her forelegs kicked out mid-rear, she attempted to strike the filly's dock, where the existing wound would amplify the pain of the hit. Spinning her lithe form around, the young one faced her opponent with rage filled eyes. The badger marking on her face raced down toward her muzzle like a thick, ghostly tear. Artemis's knee ached and a thin line of blood was slowly dribbling from a nick in the skin where the quick footed hooves of the filly had ricocheted from her form. Artemis did not want to hurt the child, yet her choice had been made. Right or wrong, it mattered little. It was a decision she could no longer reverse. As the acolyte moved back, Artemis shadowed her and took a step for each one the female made, keeping their distance close. Attempting to gallop to close the gap would be tiresome and clumsy. By walking she allowed her size to attempt to intimidate the child; her crest arched and her ears pricked forwards, eyes pinned upon hers with her intent clear and resonating from her optics. Her nares flared and snorted loudly as a cleft hoof dug at the earth like a raging bull. It mattered little that she felt no rage toward the child; all that mattered was the act and the fake role she portrayed. Then, as suddenly as she could muster upon the slick earth, she attacked. Plunging forwards, hooves slipping slightly on the lubricious dew, she lowered her horn in a charge; seemingly mimicking the foolish choice the filly had made. Yet it was a bluff; Artemis shied to the right of the horse. Forcing herself to a halt just as she reached the shoulders of the acolyte and knowing her mammoth form would be further propelled forward by the damp grass as the filly had, she let herself slide slightly past the black horse as she rotated her body to the right so that her back was to the side of her opponent. As she reached a stop, front hooves digging into the mud, she kicked back her massive hind legs. Her knee ached under the pressure where the child had struck her. The sinewy trunks were forced toward the filly's flank as the titan aimed for Laila's ribs, hoping to knock the equine down or wind her badly. As her hind legs met earth once more, the muscular unicorn attempted to shift her body around to the right in a semi circle, lowering her head and swinging her horn as she moved. She hoped to cut the shoulders of the filly, or to stop her from retaliating by presenting the ivory dagger to the child's hopefully fallen form. [Setting: Early morning, misty/foggy. Edge borders, forest. 800 words. Rears back to shield her face during Laila's attack and lashes out with her forelegs. Feigns a lunge but spins around, kicking back with her hind legs. 3/4 invasion duel system. 0 magic used. 0 companion used. ] |
