It seemed he was not the only one with wide eyes after his hit landed, and he didn’t know who was more surprised, she or him. Though there were far more important things to consider, like, oh I don’t know, not getting his face melted off by an angry dragon. It certainly made one appreciate the span of one's life, getting a nice morning shower of fire and death. Whatever lunge she made for him went unnoticed, his head ducked away from the scorching flame as it was. But his name comes through loud and clear, a screech of panic that clearly communicated to Kaj that she was not the one in control of Valiance’s attacks any longer. That means this is serious, he told himself grimly. Changing from spar mode to survival mode was far easier than he could ever truly be comfortable with, but his past had a lot to lend to him in that aspect.

Wings tucked down at his sides, instinctively hiding the tinder that they were suddenly representing. No longer were they assets, but hindrances. Feathers were just as flammable as hair, and he couldn’t trust himself to not genuinely attempt to kill Valiance if the dragon left him flightless for the rest of his life out of anger from a spar gone wrong. The thud of Resplendence’s body had him jerking his head high in the respite given to him from Valiance, and his stomach clenched with horror, a sick swoop and lurch that kicked him into high gear. I told you not to let yourself fall in a fight! he wailed internally. Though, he’d never truly spoken it, only thought it just as he had there. Approaching heat and a sudden flare of light from above had survival as his priority, and he struggled up from his half-squat where he’d landed avoiding the first gout of flame.

Kicking off in another desperate, muscle-reliant maneuver, he shot ahead and to the left where his body had already naturally been leaning from his landing. The fire barely even warmed his hocks, but as he’d suspected, Valiance was persistent in his protective rage. If it would do any good, he likely would've been liable to scream Resplendence’s head off for the danger her damnable companion posed. Just like the first time when he’d had to scold her because of Valiance.

Her screaming resonated in Kaj’s head, though this time it wasn’t his name but Valiance’s that echoed from her lips. His magic cut to an abrupt halt, not wanting the dry air his storms caused to emblaze the already magnificently disastrous gouts in the dragon’s jaws. The turbulent air was already magnifying it enough. Before he could swing right fast enough, heavy, bulky limbs caught in the deep troughs of the sand, fire danced and flirted with the skin of his left shoulder, only furthering the agony from where Resplendence had kicked him early on. It was easily a second degree burn, but it hurt beyond belief when coupled with the deep bruising and clotted laceration. Eventually he seemed to be called back to his companion’s side, leaving Kaj heaving and shaking beneath the weight of his own adrenaline. Instinct dictate he finish the fight, deal the last blow, or his foe would come back to do so himself. He was caught in the throes of the survivalist mindset he’d thrust himself into to best deal with Valiance’s sudden trip off the tracks.

Resplendence’s apologies came shooting out of her mouth long before Kaj was capable of comprehending them, and he gave a bone-deep sigh and trudged over to her, relying heavily on his right side. A hind leg he could have dealt with, but Kaj despised foreleg injuries. He would be sore and aching for the next few days, with a sizable burn on his left shoulder. Not to mention his unwanted mohawk, but he could begrudge that later since it hadn’t really hurt him aside the peppering of hot cinders.

Fixing Resplendence with a steady stare, he spoke quietly. “And if he had blinded me? If he had disfigured me? If he had left your other opponents with a fear of fire, of you, of fighting? Would you excuse him then, for being a danger? I never would have truly hurt you, the blow was accidental as all spars usually end. I would have stopped immediately had he not attacked. I cannot forgive that.” It was too mighty a blow, and though a mild grievance when directed towards him, he could not help but think of Kahlua, or any other less capable fighter that could have been permanently ruined by her companion’s idiocy. He held to himself the promotion he intended to give her, far more focused on the lesson she needed to learn.