The days all blurred into one down here, but the steel soldier had enough awareness to judge that it was almost dusk. She wandered through the caves without purpose - she seemed to do a lot of that these days, in the absence of anything else to entertain herself with. Nyx had been sheltering beneath the surface of Helovia for longer than she cared to remember now, and she was growing more and more bored with each hour that passed; she was an active mare with a quick mind that needed stimulation, so she was not suited to hiding in these tunnels like a rabbit waiting to be dug out by a fox. She was simply biding her time, waiting until she detected some like-minded individuals to band together with and rise against the darkness that swarmed like mosquitos above their heads.
Her aimless meandering had ensured the iron woman knew the cave system like the back of her hoof; she knew where to rest so no loose rocks dropped onto her, she knew where to find the patches of sunlight to bathe and pretend she was outside. It was nowhere near as enjoyable as the Edge that she now considered home, but it would do - it was certainly preferable to being devoured by one of the demons that roamed around up above. Tonight her path led her to the underground waterfall that she had discovered mere days earlier; having a flowing water source meant she now only had to go above the ground to graze, and it was far more relaxing to be able to sate one's thirst without fear of being zombified from behind. With the thundering roar of the cascade in her ears, Nyx moved to the water's edge and dipped her head to drink; her neck arched, muscles twitching as droplets of spray landed like flies across her silver pelt. Once sated, the mare turned and began to move away from the water, careful to put a bit of distance between herself and it (she didn't want a wraith appearing out of nowhere and trying to drown her, did she?) Idly moving her neck from side to side to exercise it, the mare began to flex every muscle in her body in turn. It was difficult to keep in shape when she was confined to the caves, and she hungered for open fields to stretch her legs and keep herself in top condition. As it was, she had to settle for long trots through the twisting labyrinth of caverns, trying to ignore the echo of her own hoofbeats that jarred her sensitive ears. She itched to engage an opponent in the most primal dance of blood and glory; she knew a fight with the zombies was likely to arrive sooner rather than later, and she needed to train if she was to have any chance at defeating the undead. Perhaps, if she was lucky, somebody would turn up for her to engage with... "" ____________________ @[Archibald] In the Sunken Falls, early evening, quite near to the water. Feel free to use magic/companion Words: 496 0/3 |
Absent Abyss atk: 6.0 | def: 9.5 | dam: 8 |
Stallion :: Equine :: 18.3 hh :: 10 years HP: 80 | Buff: SHIELD |
Loretta :: Alaskan Malamute :: Time Slip Time |
| |||
I've been known for my hate,
but I'm a dealer of simple choices;
for me it's never too late.
please tag me
Deceased atk: 7.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.0 |
Mare :: Unicorn :: 16hh :: 11 HP: 72 | Buff: SWIFT |
Dominus :: White Lion :: None Snow |
Suddenly there was a thundering, very different to the crashing of the falls; this was a rythmic pounding, the unmistakeable sound of hooves on stone. The mare's ears pivoted, capturing the sound as she subconsciously prepared for an attack; perhaps it was a wraith, come to show her the way into the darkness. She stood tall, neck arching, wondering what it would feel like to have her body devoured from the outside in - what it would feel like to have her sanity flee her body and lock her consciousness behind a steel wall. Yet as the hoofbeats grew nearer, Nyx realised it wasn't the demon of her nightmares, but the earth-shaking stallion from the war council. By his side was the dog, to whom the soldier's eyes flickered; she was still wary of anything with sharp teeth, regardless of whether it was bonded to a fellow herbivore. Meat-eaters could not be trusted, and she almost shuddered to think of the creature's jaws around her neck, biting her life away. The man spoke, and Nyx's muzzle twitched into a wry smile. "Nyx the nobody," she replied, skull dipping in a nod of greeting. Then he spoke again, a clear challenge - "Only if I can see yours," came her cheery retort. O, her weakness - she had many, more than she cared to count. But right now, her focus was on discovering his, on exploiting them and praying he did not do the same to her.
Even as she prepared to strike, she knew she faced an uphill battle. He was massive, almost three hands taller than her, and one blow from those hooves could shatter her bones like glass. He had his hound by his side and his magic to quake the ground beneath her; in every way, he was the victor before they even began. The only advantage the grey dove could see was that he must surely have the maneuverability of a double-decker bus, whereas she was designed for speed and agilty, for quick blows and rapid barrages. Perhaps she could use her surroundings to her advantage, too, and she thought of the falls behind her, their soaking embrace waiting to caress the body of any equine who happened to accidentally enter. If she could get him to charge her...Of course, she wouldn't want him to drown, but a good drenching could ensure success. She had risen victorious in Helovia already, but that was against a green colt, untested in the art of war. Now she was against a man grown, who clearly knew his stuff and was armed to the teeth with everything the iron lady craved. Finally her gaze ceased its momentary assessment of him, her mind coating itself in steel as she prepared to begin. "Don't hold back," she said, not that she thought he would. She wanted to test herself, to feel the pain as blows rained down upon her, to face her fears and engage with his fanged companion. She would not pull her punches, and prayed he would return the favour. The mare charged, running straight for him - her neck arched, her obsidian blade brandished like a sword before her. It was all she had over him, and she was keen to bathe it in blood, combine black and crimson. She barrelled forwards at a steady canter, as though she was going to try and sink her horn into the centre of his chest - but at the last possible moment, the soldier feinted to her left, hooves clattering on the stone ground as she aimed to run parallel alongside him, right side to right side, head to tail. Her feet scrambled for purchase as she sought to arrest her momentum and come to a halt, pushing her weight onto her forequarters in an attempt to swing her hindquarters hard to the right. It had worked with Tamlin; she hoped to crash her meaty, muscular right flank into his right shoulder and the top of his right foreleg, hoping to use the thickest and sturdiest part of her body like a wrecking ball. She didn't have a hope in hell of knocking him over, as he was built like a tank on steroids, but she hoped the impact of her powerful backside might jar his muscles and cause some pain. Her jaws snapped to the right, blunt teeth aiming for his own right flank. She aimed to give the area a good hard nip, wanting to bruise and injure. The mare hoped that her combination of attacks would confuse him and allow at least one to hit, although she was painfully aware that she was exposing her own hindquarters to a retaliation from his greedy teeth - after all, nobody liked being bitten on the ass, did they? ____________________ Good luck to you too c: Words: 793 1/3 |
Absent Abyss atk: 6.0 | def: 9.5 | dam: 8 |
Stallion :: Equine :: 18.3 hh :: 10 years HP: 80 | Buff: SHIELD |
Loretta :: Alaskan Malamute :: Time Slip Time |
| |||
I've been known for my hate,
but I'm a dealer of simple choices;
for me it's never too late.
please tag me
Deceased atk: 7.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.0 |
Mare :: Unicorn :: 16hh :: 11 HP: 72 | Buff: SWIFT |
Dominus :: White Lion :: None Snow |
Despite his bulk, he was faster than she had anticipated; her hips swung into nothingness, and her teeth landed upon the join of his tail rather than his rump. Out of the corner of her eye she saw his hind hooves unfurling like a promise from beneath him, and knew she was in trouble. A double-kick like that to her ribs would shatter them, and likely cause her death as they punctured her lungs. Not likely. She rooted her forehooves and swung to her left, using her planted front half as the pivot; as a result, she was stood directly behind him as he kicked out. His hooves landed with sickening, dull thuds on her muscular chest, and she felt the area blossom into an obnoxious purple bruise, vivid and majestic against her steely fur. It hurt, quite considerably, and her lips peeled from her teeth in a hideous gurn of disgust. As fast as she could, she lowered her head and jousted sharply forwards with her horn, aiming for his dock once more; she timed the attack for the same second that his hooves hit her chest, in the hope of landing it before he whirled away. She aimed to sink the obsidian tip into the exact same area as she had bitten moments before, in the hope of further injuring the region - and, if her aim should happen to be off or he shifted, she might end up with a nice Archibald kebab. Although, admittedly, the notion of butt-horn wasn't a particularly appealing one.
She saw his dog move into action, shooting towards her like a furry rocket. Terror gripped her; this was what she had feared ever since entering Helovia, the idea of tangling with a creature with fangs long enough to shred her throat into pieces. Oh, she was scared; her ears laced against her skull, eyes rolling until her pupils were replaced with the ghastly whites. As a result of her turn to face Archibald's backside, Loretta now came towards Nyx's left side, and her teeth ripped into the upper part of the soldier's left foreleg whilst her claws rasped against the lower region. The fangs caused deep wounds which bled profusely, whilst the blunt claws barely nicked the surface of her thick flesh. It hurt, and a deafening scream rang from between the mare's clenched jaws. She vaguely noticed the stallion move to turn, and she seized the opportunity to turn herself, hoping to use her superior agility to accomplish the movement before he did; she threw her weight to her hindquarters and spun on them, swinging to the left in the hope of facing Loretta head-on. The spray-soaked ground beneath her hooves aided this movement, allowing her to turn on a sixpence, something she had mastered over the years due to her average build. Even as she turned, she was rearing - not high, as she did not want to expose an inch of tender underbelly to the fanged monster, but high enough to ensure there was a considerable amount of force gathered in her body. She then brought her weight down, hoping to crush the dog beneath her front hooves whilst her still-tucked head jerked downwards, ebony sword hoping to sink into the dog's back. At the moment the dog was the predator, a threat that she needed to target and eliminate; pragmatic, matter-of-fact, like drawing up a battle plan. Her horn was her greatest asset, and she hoped to run the beast through with it. Due to Nyx's movement, Archibald now faced her right side rather than her front, and his forehooves slipped beneath her and onto nothingness. His bite succeeded in snapping on her right ribcage, creating another small bruise; painful as this new wound was, it was nothing compared to the stacatto throb of her chest. She made no move to retaliate; she couldn't, so focused was she on attacking the dog. It was a formidable task to deal with two opponents, as she was forced to split her focus - at the moment, her attention was fully on the hound. Its master was strong, of that there was no doubt, but he had only blunt weapons and hooves at his disposal, not the savage arsenal that his dog possessed. The silver mare's natural instinct was to flee from anything with fangs, but she knew she couldn't, not without hiding her head in shame for evermore. She would not let Archibald see her weakness; no, she would prove her prowess, prove that magic, companion and sheer size could not always overwhelm the stubborn spirit of a soldier with a heart of steel. In everyday life she submitted to stallions readily, especially powerful ones, but the battlefield was her domain, and she was not easily bested by her male counterparts. ____________________
Words: 798 2/3 |
Absent Abyss atk: 6.0 | def: 9.5 | dam: 8 |
Stallion :: Equine :: 18.3 hh :: 10 years HP: 80 | Buff: SHIELD |
Loretta :: Alaskan Malamute :: Time Slip Time |
| |||
I've been known for my hate,
but I'm a dealer of simple choices;
for me it's never too late.
please tag me
Deceased atk: 7.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.0 |
Mare :: Unicorn :: 16hh :: 11 HP: 72 | Buff: SWIFT |
Dominus :: White Lion :: None Snow |
Her horn found its mark on the stallion's backside, but Nyx's main satisfaction was the sensation of one hoof clipping the dog's body; the yelp was a benediction, a confirmation that yes, the beast could be harmed. Perhaps the iron woman should have felt guilty for hurting the animal; after all, this was just a spar, and had she killed the dog it could have ripped her bonded apart. Yet Nyx's fear of carnivores was so great, her hatred of them so strong, that her most simple and primal urge for self-preservation had devoured her. She cared not for the dog's feelings, nor the rage of her stallion, only that she had ensured an attack by the creature and lived to tell the tale. Not only that, but she had fought back. The dog fled towards the pool and another spasm of macabre glee spread through the mare's body at the pain she had managed to cause - in the cold light of day, once the blazing blood of battle had left her, she would feel apologetic towards Archibald and his companion, but for now the steel soldier felt only sick pleasure at the fact she had managed to target her greatest threat, and eliminate it.
But it seemed she had incensed Archibald, and understandably so. He had replaced his dog as her main threat, and her warrior's mind instantly zoned in on him. He shot towards her, and Nyx gritted her teeth, spinning to her right and throwing her weight onto her forehooves as he charged towards her in the hope of reaching her right ribcage. Agony exploded in her injured chest and a bellow of agony fled her jaws - oh, she would regret this movement afterwards, as she could feel the tender muscles of her chest rubbing together, sending electric shocks down her spine. Her hind legs unfurled from beneath her and she aimed to kick him sharply in his own chest and leading left shoulder as he attempted to ram it into her. His bites peppered her dock and rump, bruises erupting where his teeth hit until her backside resembled a minefield. But the pain would all be worth it if she managed to kick her obsidian hooves into his onrushing chest - they didn't have the sheer wrecking-ball power that his own feathered weapons possessed, but they could sure as hell pack a punch, especially when the stones of the cave floor clung to them and gave them numerous sharp edges. After a single kick she returned her hindlegs to the ground, hoping to prevent him barging her over should he redouble his efforts. As she did, a sensation spread through her - she felt stiff, her muscles seizing up and her bones solidifying. Her ears pinned, but even that felt sluggish; it was like she was in a dream, running through concrete. She had thought he held only his earth-shaking magic, but this was something else, and a vicious hiss of disgust fled the mare's stone lips. She tried to turn to face him, but each movement was a huge effort - his hoof struck out, crashing into her right hindleg, mercifully just above the joint so her bone wasn't shattered. Instead a spasm of agony shot through her frozen body, this bruise large enough to rival the one on her chest. She continued to try and turn, her still-lowered head pointing in the direction of his chest with a desire to use that black sword of hers to do as much damage as possible, as now she, too, was angry and hell hath no fury like a woman with stone bones. Time seemed to slow down but finally, mercifully, she began to unfreeze. She had no idea how long it had taken, nor what untold damage had been done to her insides; a cold smile spread across one side of her face as it began to regain feeling. "That was just rude," she said, but her tones were equal amounts amused and jealous. She wanted power like that, and dammit, one day she would get it. She shot towards him, horn still pointed at his chest as she aimed to sink the lethal point right into the muscle and meat of the area. She aimed for the right side, not wanting to penetrate his heart and kill him; she wasn't that pissed off, but she did hope to cause considerable pain. At the same time, her left forehoof lifted a fraction off the ground and aimed to stomp sharply down, hoping to rasp down his right foreleg just below the knee. Again she hoped the sharp stones that clung to her hoof would give the attack a razor edge; would serve him bloody right if she cut his leg open after what he had just done to her. ____________________
Words: 800 (yay!) 3/3 |
Absent Abyss atk: 6.0 | def: 9.5 | dam: 8 |
Stallion :: Equine :: 18.3 hh :: 10 years HP: 80 | Buff: SHIELD |
Loretta :: Alaskan Malamute :: Time Slip Time |
| |||
I've been known for my hate,
but I'm a dealer of simple choices;
for me it's never too late.
please tag me
Deceased atk: 7.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.0 |
Mare :: Unicorn :: 16hh :: 11 HP: 72 | Buff: SWIFT |
Dominus :: White Lion :: None Snow |
She was still dazed with the aftereffects of the man's magic, and her innards still felt a bit squiffy. Any guilt she felt about attempting to hurt his dog had long since left - he was taking things too far now, and if he thought she would submit like some common whore then he had another thing coming. Her hooves found their mark, and his grunt gave her a morbid sense of satisfaction that she had finally managed to cause the giant oaf at least some pain, even if it was no more effective than a midge bite.
She was still so weakened and baffled by the bone-freezing magic that she could do nothing to prevent him moving around her; somehow he avoided severe damage from the lethal length of her horn, and she just caught sight of his platelike hind hooves lifting again. No chance. She swung her hindquarters to the left, hoping to bring herself to face his rear end again - summoning her last vestiges of energy she threw her weight to her left, hooves clacking as she sidestepped. As a result, only his left hind hoof made contact with her - it collided with her already-bruised chest, and the agony was something to behold. Her gaze threatened to fuzz out as pain roared through her like a wave, drawing a feral hiss from her jaws as her ears laced into her mane. She wanted to collapse, to fall at his feet, but she would be damned if she would submit to him; he might be bigger than her, he might be able to shatter her bones with a single kick, but she did not doubt he had an inflated sense of his own importance, like every stallion that ever walked the earth. Asshole. Asshole asshole asshole. She could feel the pinpricks of pain from the stones beneath her hooves pressing into her, yet the vast majority circled the hardest, most insensitive part of the hoof and thus caused mere discomfort. He turned in the hope of cow-kicking her; he might be fast for his size, but he wasn't that fast. Nyx shifted to her left again, and his hoof whistled past a hair's breadth from her right foreleg. She felt a certain thrill of horror at that - had it hit, it would likely have shattered her cannon bone like a sapling and ensured her slow and infinitely painful death. Well, wasn't he such a gentleman. Sweat beaded the iron lady's body, her breaths coming in quick, painful gasps due to the tightness of her injured chest. He cantered away from her, and she used the time to draw in a few more deep breaths, but he didn't charge at her to attack again as she had thought - she quirked a brow, mouth coated in froth as she fixed him with her piercing blue gaze. "If you think I'm going to bend the knee and kiss your ass, you can piss off," she said cheerfully - a final grunt fled her blackened muzzle, knowing their fates were in the hands of the gods now. ____________________ Good fight 8D Words: 513 Closing defence |
Administrator |
Stallion :: Equine :: :: |
Official |
N y x | A r c h i b a l d - - - - - By my verdict ARCHIBALD is the winner. NYX -- post 1 (attack only) [Realism] + 1| Attack: feint + 1| Attack: butt bump + 1| Attack: bite - careful, you’ve made yourself very unbalanced. Since you already threw her hips to the right, your balance depended on the counterweight of her head being left, but now that you’re biting towards the right you’ll be very easy to knock over. [Prose] + 1| Easy Read + 1| Emotion + 1| Flow ARCHIBALD -- post 1 [Realism] - 1| Defense: feint - Archibald could not have seen her feint that far ahead to have time to do his own repositioning, especially considering their breeds. + 1| Attack: kick to ribcage + 1| Defense: missed butt bump - plausible due to Dance buff. + 1| Defense: bit on tail dock + 1| Attack: companion bite to neck + 1| Attack: forehooves to knee + 1| Attack: bite towards face [Prose] + 1| Easy Read: typo “loot”, should be look. + 1| Emotion + 1| Flow NYX -- post 2 [Realism] 0| Defense: chest takes kick - because you were angled more to your right for your attacks, this turn was more than 180 degrees and probably wasn’t completed in time. Also bruises are not visible in horses except sometimes in their hooves. - 1| Attack: horn stab to dock - your timing description is what made this seem unrealistic. Saying you did this just as his hooves hit you is not plausible considering you were taking all that time just to move so your chest faced out, and additionally it discounts the damage and force of a double barrel kick which would at least stun her for a bit. + 1| Defense: companion attacks left foreleg 0| Attack: turns and horn to companion - with how close the companion is to you your horn is not very useful. - 1| Defense: knee missed hooves - the knee actually would have been put back into range due to Nyx turning with the companion, as opposed to face to face with Archibald. - 1| Defense: bite hit ribcage - again with her turn her head would be in range for Archibald’s bite. Either way he was aiming to bit an area ahead of his hoof attack and the ribcage is behind her chest where you said he missed, so it doesn’t make sense his bite would land there. [Prose] + 1| Easy read + 1| Emotion + 1| Flow ARCHIBALD -- post 2 [Realism] + 1| Defense: tail dock stabbed - 1| Injury: you need to describe in more detail the effects of being stabbed since you just brush this off + 1| Defense: companion cuffed and scratched + 1| Attack: ram + 1| Attack: bites + 1| Attack: stone magic + 1| Attack: forehoof strike [Prose] + 1| Easy read: typo of “and”, should be an. + 1| Emotion + 1| Flow NYX -- post 3 [Realism] + 1| Defense: dodges ram by moving forward - 1| Attack: bucks - considering how much damage her chest would have taken from his kicks, the fact she’s also running which would add more stress to those muscles, and the fact Archibald is already in movement and close proximity, meaning he has more force right now so kicking him would actually shove most of the momentum back into her. Her injuries should have been played on more here. + 1| Defense: bites to dock and haunches + 1| Defense: slowed by magic + 1| Defense: kicked in right hindleg - 1| Injury: the kick to your leg should have been much more impeding and better described, way beyond a bruise considering he hit it square and hard given his breed and description. + 1| Attack: horn jab + 1| Attack: stomp [Prose] + 1| Easy read + 2| Emotion + 1| Flow ARCHIBALD -- post 3 [Realism] + 1| Defense: kicked in chest + 1| Attack: bucks at her side + 1| Defense: dodges horn - dance buff makes this plausible - 1| Defense: hit by the stomp - this is awkward because of the timing. Nyx wrote the horn and stomp as happening simultaneously, whereas you split them up over the course of his buck. + 1| Attack: cow kicks at her leg [Prose] + 1| Easy read + 1| Emotion + 1| Flow NYX -- post 4 (defense only) [Realism] + 1| Defense: hit by buck, grazed + 1| Defense: dodges cow kick NYX [Bonus] + 1| Breed + 2| Surroundings [Injuries] None [Creativity] None. Comments: Overall you’re a definite skilled fighter, however some of your timing with attacks and defenses or the way you would move to attack or defend was not plausible or realistic. I would suggest you carefully plan out and use something to visualize your attacks and defenses to better understand the actual events as they occur. I’d also like to see more emphasis on injury and especially how sustained injuries affect you the rest of the fight. You got some major wounds here and then promptly ignored them. Great with the breed and surroundings mentions though and nice push for emotion, I’d just like to see more feelings next time, and rather than being told about your feelings, to feel them with you. Great job! ARCHIBALD [Bonus] + 1| Breed + 2| Surroundings + 1| Health [Injuries] None [Creativity] + 1| Interesting idea of saying small pebbles in the hoof caused him more damage from her kick, just be cautious you don’t over do it and force it upon her as something she must mention because then it becomes a form of power playing. Comments: As a whole you’re an advanced fighter, however at times you supply too many attacks in threads which can make it more confusing and difficult for your opponent to respond to. Take those words instead and supply more emotion which I felt a bit lacking in his posts, though there was some I know there could have been more given the scenario. Don’t just tell me there’s emotions, make me feel them! Similarly work on your timing and positioning a bit more, and don’t be afraid to take some damage, you just barely sprinkled wounds around but dance and aim won’t carry you completely. Great job with breed and surroundings though! TOTAL NYX - 72 ARCHIBALD - 77 |