Blood continued to dribble down Gaucho's neck, although it had begun the process of clotting. It was not the bleeding that Gaucho found problematic, but the incredible restriction of motion that he felt. From just behind his jaw to his shoulder felt completed shredded, even though the wound itself was clean and only half a foot long. The pain snaked outwards, playing tricks on his senses (as if Gaucho hadn't already had enough of that). He was thankful for the reprieve his creations gave him. A good warrior knows when to use the tools that are at his disposal.

Besides, they didn't call him the Wildfire for nothing.

Continuing to remain still he watched as Panzram snaked away from his flaming monsters, grinning grimly as burn marks seared the oddly-patterned flesh of his opponent. Through labored breaths Gaucho pivoted on his forehand, trying to keep the circling stallion squarely before him. He knew that if he needed to, his mind would be able to overcome the pain that tore relentlessly at his thoughts, but he would not flail needlessly. He was not some young buck who needed to demonstrate his prowess by galloping around the battlefield, nor was there anyone here to show off to. Besides - he thought the unicorn nearly as wounded as He - or perhaps Mara's bite has dangerously numbed his pain. Either way, the dun didn't think this battle would last much longer.

As the unicorn charged forward, Gaucho raised his left hoof and slammed it into the earth, causing the grasses to rumble and tremble as if some minor tremor had just passed through. It wasn't much, but if Mara's poison had seeped into the unicorn's system, perhaps it would be enough to knock him off balance.

Gaucho set his left shoulder more towards his oncoming attacker, thinking that if there was to be an impact, he didn't want it on his right side. However as Panz slid to a stop, leaning backwards and upwards to gain height and bite, Gaucho too tried to raise himself slightly in the air - more so to position his head high and out of the reach of snapping teeth.

Unable to feel the actual sensation of Panz's teeth as they bit onto the muscled flesh of Gaucho's neck, the Wildfire made the same sort of mistake he had when he had been sliced by his opponent's horn. However this time instead of pushing into the pain as he had done before, he pulled his neck away, curling his nose to the right to dislodge the unicorn's teeth from his flesh. In doing so however he only succeeded in allowing Panz to break and tear the skin. If he hadn't moved, perhaps the unicorn would have simply let go. As it was now, a teeth shaped blood-blister ring bubbled on the left side of his neck. Although not nearly as badly injured as the right side of his neck was, the parallel pulsing of pain on either side had a dizzying and disorienting effect.

Gaucho's left foreleg sought to shove the stallion's chest backwards as his large body returned to the ground. The dun's right foreleg moved in tandem with his left but its aim was not to find Panz's skin, for fear of further injuring the right side of Gaucho's already wounded neck.

Continuing to try and bully the stallion backwards, Gaucho pushed off with his hind end to more or less body-check his left shoulder towards Panz, hoping to hit his chest or shoulder with his spikes depending on how the unicorn had come down from his half rear.

Gaucho grit his teeth together preparing for the impact that wouldn't come - if he hit his opponent, all he would feel is his body stopping. He wouldn't (and hadn't) felt the heat or sweat of the unicorn, couldn't feel his flesh. When this quest was over, he would have Mara slither over every inch of his body just to remind him what actual contact felt like. Although maybe there was someone else equally up to the task...

His mind thought of Ampere as his bulk sought to drive Panzram backwards with enough force to end this spar. He was done with this - Gaucho didn't want to be reminded of the sensation he had lost any more.

Let it be finished.

---

Setting: Midday. Average temperature, slight breeze. Set near one of the edges in a grassy field with a stream running through it.

Summary: Gaucho lowers his head thinking Panz is going to horn attack him and is surprised when he flips around to be close to him. Because he can't feel he actually leans into Panz' horn attack on his neck for a moment - at the same time Mara strikes trying to bite the right side of Panz's neck using her venom. Gaucho pulls away and spins to try and face Panz, using his magic to conjure a bear and a stag composed of fire who try to attack the unicorn's shoulder simultaneously.


Timeline: Regular
WC: 720
Attack: 3.3
Teaching notes:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. THIS!!! Certainly, he could easily overtake me due to my own mistake of misjudging him, but the success of this singular attack revived a part of me that I had thought was beginning to die. Helovia had made me soft, caused me to be patient and obedient to so called 'leaders' and gods that I had never met, holding back my true intentions for the sake of their precious peace. It was this revitalizing spar that reminded me of what I had become, and rather than whisper about who I was, it shattered through all the barriers and screamed at the top of its lungs. I would have to thank this stallion one day... EPIC. So much win here. I absolutely LOVED this.

'You've got to be shitting me. Fight your own fucking battle instead of using your magic tricks!' -- I couldn't tell. Is he saying this out loud? I've just gotten used to words being in a different colour, but having it in apostrophes rather than quotations made me second guess whether or not it was speech vs thoughts. Regardless, I really liked this, and sort of wonder why more people don't call Gaucho out on relying on his magic so much.

So once again, you're NAILING the emotional bit. No more to say on that, keep doing what you're doing. I think you also did exceedingly well with describing Panz's movements this time :D

The only thing I could mention has to do with damage. I think you took the right amount (given that it was 12.5pts) but I wanted to have it described a little more. I know it hindered him (you mention that twice), but it wasn't fleshed out enough for me. Did Mara's bite itself hurt? He's panting and his vision is blurry but how bad? Why is it he can't fully rear up? Balance? Nausea?

Really this is only minor though - this post was extremely well written otherwise.