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01-06-2015, 02:31 AM
GAUCHO
And I'd bring you further roses but it does you no good
And I'd bring you further roses but it does you no good
Gaucho can hear Buce's words and so doesn't need Mara's sight to know that his attack has hit. A broad grin parts the Wildfire's lips as his Chancellor hints at the sarcastic personality that he normally displays. "Not demons of hell-" Gaucho shouted back, allowing the breeze to carry his voice. "-demons of Gaucho!"
Without Mara this battle would have ended long ago - possibly before it began. All he could see without her assistance was Buce's vague shadow upon the ground, and the way the sunlight seemed to filter through something above him every now and then. He could hear the wind whistle past, and also hear when it was disturbed but the sound was too faint and too fleeting to be of any real use. Perhaps if he remained in this nearly-blind state long enough his ears would serve him better. For now, he relied heavily on his companion to keep him apprised of the situation as it unfolded.
As Bucephalus dove - as seen through the eyes of the snake - Gaucho surged forward. His chest muscles felt better after having received a brief reprieve as Buce danced with Gaucho's fire creations, and did not scream as much as a lesser warrior's might have.
Pain was a friend. One that Gaucho flew with often.
While Buce's size and endurance would surely be to his advantage, Gaucho's speed was unfettered by his bulk. The dun was agile and fast despite his mammoth size. So if Buce's plan was to dive down from the skies, Gaucho would ensure the ground was the only target he would find. Gaucho's wings snapped to his flanks and released another arc of fire. However this one was not directed at his opponent - rather Gaucho wanted to hoard the heat that the fire produced to further increase his speed. Using the warmer air beneath him, Gaucho surged forward, blackened wings pumping at his sides. He heard Bucephalus cut somewhere behind him, although without sight and with the wind rushing in his ears he couldn't tell by how much.
But it was as his old war master used to say: off by an inch, off by a mile.
The flurry of wings behind him was a give away that Bucephalus was in pursuit. Still, Mara's onyx gaze peered at him through Gaucho's antlers, projecting the image into her bonded's mind. It appeared as though the stallion was merely coasting by using the decreased push of the wind caused by Gaucho's large body. Why would he linger? Surely he hadn't forgotten the dragons that just attacked him. Gaucho was more than capable of creating more - and those creations did not require any specific directionality of their conjurer in order to hit successfully. He wasn't hiding back there, was he? By now he had to know that Mara's aid provided ample sight - Gaucho knew exactly where he was. So what was the point of this?
Was he perhaps trying to taunt Gaucho into using force that didn't require his magic to scald his opponent? The idea crossed Gaucho's mind, and then his lips in the form of a smile. Buce had dared Gaucho into the skies - perhaps he was now daring Gaucho as well. But just like before, his Chancellor would be disappointed by the Sultan's lack of weakness even when disadvantaged.
Fire bloomed under Gaucho's wings as he flew, arcing downwards. Yet the Wildfire twisted his left wing up as soon as the fire had left, so that the upward force caused by the heat interacted with only his right. The dun leaned away from the pressure to the left, allowing the heat as well as the rotation of his body to pivot him in the air, as he leaned slightly backwards moving in a half-circle. His left wing snapped down as the motion completed a rotation, to stall himself once his body had rotated 180 degrees, yet he did not lean forward. Gaucho was a large creature, but his magic aided in his speed, as did the massive black wings that sprouted from his shoulders. Now almost in an aerial rear, all four of Gaucho's limbs lashed out towards the oncoming MorningStar. He sought to strike shoulder, or perhaps the broad flank of his Chancellor should he have tried to turn as well once he realized what the Wildfire meant to do.
Gaucho's wings fanned towards the direction his Chancellor had been coming from, trying to stabilize the Wildfire against reciprocated attacks. Gaucho's antlered skull was twisted backwards, so that flying appendages or teeth would not find his sensitive nose piercing or ears.
Setting is in the arena on the Island. It's just after midday, so plenty of light.
WC: 765
Attack: 3/3
Defense: 0/1
Summary: Gaucho uses his magic to aid him in flying out of the way of Buce's dive. He then uses his magic to help spin him around in the air, by pulling one wing up, and leaning to the opposite side to spin. He then kicks with all of his legs trying to hit whatever part of Buce is closest.
Teaching Notes:
I know who Altan is now, but last time we sparred and he came out I had no idea what was happening. And I know a few people have mentioned things like "Does Buce have a companion?" "Whose Altan?" So given that this is judged I think you need to introduce his alter-ego a big more, or things get hella confusing.
But I liked the dialogue! I also like the feel of this post way more - it felt more like Buce. Of course your characters can be angry when they want (and even if they don't have reason to be) but your previous post was lacking motivation for me. Here, I am right in the groove with his mind (I think) and loving it!
Okay! A few things to work on! These are going to be two points about realism.
The first is damage. 8.5 points is ... not huge but it isn't minor. All you said was that he grit his teeth and that it hurt. Later when he's flying you mention that it hurts then too, but there's no actual description. Where do the dragon's burn him specifically? How bad are the wounds? Can you smell burning hair? etc. Saying that 'it hurt' isn't going to be enough when the point of a spar is to describe what is actually happening. A big part of that is taking injury. Given that you had more words to use, it may hurt you later.
The second has to do with Buce's attack. When flying if he wants to land on Gaucho's back (given that he isn't small), that has the potential to cause SERIOUS injury. This is a friendly spar but the move you just described could break Gaucho's back. That's another thing to consider once you get more experience with sparring is not just realistic attacks, but also realistically held back attacks. Gaucho is never going to go for attacks that will break bones, but you'd better believe if I was in a challenge that's exactly how I'd be describing them. So, if you want to use attacks like this that have potentially very serious ramifications you might want to include something about how he's only doing it to show his Sultan that he's capable of more, but can also exercise restraint, or something like that.
Your next round: You rolled a critical miss. you need to think about how to write this so you don't lose realism points. So when you roll a miss it's basically like your character misses so spectacularly that they hurt themselves. ("Bucephalus is confused. Bucephalus hurt himself in his confusion!" - pokemon ref ftw).
Spelling and grammar greatly improved this post. A+ ! BUT USE YOUR WORD COUNT. Like you said that the air was cold on his burns, but it's a birdsong afternoon. Why is it cold? Is there suddenly a cold breeze? Is it because of how fast he's flying?
Table style by Tamme! Image Credits
Please tag me in every post! Magic/Force is allowed on Gaucho at any time.
