Or perhaps that was just wishful thinking, and his delicate age belied the hardened warrior beneath.

There was no time to dwell; the storm hissed overhead, and Tamlin made his move. He came for her left side, his gluttonous teeth snapping towards her left haunch, and the mare had little time to do anything but pivot her hindquarters to the right. She was assisted by the ground, which was already growing slippy beneath the sudden downpour of rain - it likely hadn't rained in quite some time, and the parched ground was unable to absorb the torrent, creating a slick coating of mud above the hardened soil. This helped her hooves slide, but she could not avoid his attack completely. His teeth nipped hard at the flesh and muscle of her haunch, causing a bruise to blossom swiftly beneath her skin, however her movement to her right had lessened the damage and hopefully prevented a grip. It still bloody well hurt, though, and her ears pinned to her head as a yelp of disgust fled her jaws. She continued to swing her hindquarters to the right, whilst at the same time her forequarters moved to her left, hoping to bring her powerful frame in a semicircle to face Tamlin's left shoulder in a T-shape. She knew to try and prevent her foe having access to her sides, especially her flanks, where her teeth couldn't reach and her hooves couldn't easily kick - if she could keep her front half near his own kicky and bitey bits, she would be in with a chance.

The storm screamed above them, invigorating the mare as rain began to flow in rivulets off her pelt. This was marginally inconvenient, as it would mean bites would slip off slathered flesh far faster than in dry weather, but she did not let that deter her. There wasn't enough room between them for her to bring her horn down and attack with it, and so she was condemned to using her teeth, just as he had. Her skull snaked forwards and down, attempting to lay a sharp nip on the meat of his left shoulder - she knew her blunt teeth were unlikely to draw blood, but she certainly wouldn't object to a lovely big bruise, to match the one he'd given her. She was quite a vengeful girl, and didn't take kindly to being bitten on her frankly magnificent backside. Simultaneously her weight surged forwards, leading with her chest; she sought to slam it into his left shoulder or the top of his left foreleg, just below where her teeth were aiming for. Her aim was to disrupt his balance by pushing herself forwards from her powerful hindquarters, hoping to make his feet slip on the slick ground as hers were. She doubted she would be able to knock him over - she didn't have enough of a weight advantage - but hoped she may be able to make him stumble. Her blue eyes flashed with macabre delight, the lightning making her silver fur glisten; what more could she want from life than to be duelling beneath her favourite element?

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