the Rift


untested

Tandavi The Fire Dancer Posts: 245
World's Edge Nurse atk: 6.5 | def: 9 | dam: 4
Mare :: Equine :: 16.1 :: 5 HP: 65 | Buff: NOVICE
Natraj :: Plain Kitsune :: Fire Charks
#1

TANDAVI & NATRAJ</style>
we walked a lonely road
beneath the fire of a thousand suns
</style>

She intends to leave the island. She is weary of death. Yet when it comes time for slate hooves to step off the perimeter and fall back to Earth, she finds herself tracing the edge of the world, lingering upon the impossible land, a languid walk belying the heat and passionate frenzy of fervent thoughts. The girl cannot draw her mind away from death, free it from the fear that she has not done enough. Were it her against a killer, would she be a last line of defense? She doubts it- she is weak, narrow, a fire without fuel to sustain it, pretty words from an ugly face. She had sworn to Gaucho she needed no protection, yet who could she possibly take in a fight?

Copper filly kicks a rock, and watches it fall a thousand feet, vanishing into the world below. What would she do if the body belonged to someone she loved?

What would she do if the killer stepped, light-footed and eyes ablaze, into the bowels of her very home?

What use was a knight, without even a sword?

No- no, these thoughts are useless and vain, remnants of a girl who has found herself reborn. Eyes clench against their crashing might, blocking out dismay in favor of strength, fighting against terror and fueling possibility. Perhaps she is weak, small and untested- but that does not mean she need be so forever. There is still time to learn to defend her friends, protect the weak and hold those she loves close. There is still time to harness her body and make it a tool.

Long limbs change their course, purpose replacing the languid lethargy. She has seen others spar on the island- why not offer her body to the cause? She will show Gaucho she does not need defense, will hone her figure against attack, build her way to a paladin, a knight.

Lose enough fights, and one day she is bound to win them all.

It is past midday when she reaches her destination, and the sun hangs low in the Western sky, shrouded lightly by a misting of clouds. Hooves brush up against the sandy basin; she waits at the rim of the central arena, suddenly unsure anyone will come. Her plan seems foolish all at once, a child's willful expectation that the world will bend to her demands, a romantic notion of simple perfection which taunts her, laughing in the gold-slashed face. A birdsong breeze tugs at her mane: How will you get better if none will help you learn? it taunts, and sends her sparks into frenzied spirals, presses her ears back onto her neck.

Fire dancer sets her teeth, prepared to wait until the world falls. She will learn to be a fighter. She will be able to protect her friends.

At her hooves, her brother laughs, utterly amused at the melodrama which rolls of his sister in palpable waves.


[ @[Gaucho]
0/3, birdsong afternoon. Light breeze, mild sun.
Current magic: Gaucho's [able to summon fire creatures when blood is spilled], Amaris' [able to summon two small spirit dragons], Mauja's [able to summon fire birds]
Basically ALL THE FIRE :D ]
"blah blah blah."


credit | credit

o. pixel pony credit to tamme
o. permission granted to use force and magic on Tavi
o. only tag me in opening posts, please!

Ascended Helovian

Gaucho The Wildfire Posts: 1,004
Deceased atk: 8.5 | def: 11.5 | dam: 8
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 17.2 :: 12 HP: 85 | Buff: PINNACLE
Mara :: Black Mamba Snake :: Paralyze & Vorsa :: Plain Zephyr :: Phoenix Odd
#2
And it's not a cry, that you hear at night -- It's not somebody, who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Was he confident in his decision to make Tandavi his Sultana? He wasn't entirely sure yet. The girl's promotion - like Bucephalus' - had been born out of a need. Was she the best candidate at the time for the position? She certainly was. Was she the best candidate period? Of that ... he was still undecided.

Sssssssshe good, Mara silently encouraged, liking the Fire Dancer's fire of both soul and magic. The girl certainly had potential, and she filled the gap left by Sohalia well. So what if she was untested? She wouldn't remain that way for long.

To the Island Gaucho returned; ever the Island, always the Island. The dun was sure that the culminations of the murders would be revealed here, for here it had began. Why did he think it would end here? He didn't know, he only felt certain that it would. Things in Helovia had a way of neatly wrapping themselves up that way.

Far below Mara alerted him to the presence of the girl who interrupted his thoughts. He still couldn't see, for the herd had not yet completed their quest, but as time dragged on he and Mara had worked out a system. The steel coloured snake had been in enough battles with her bonded to have some intuitive sense of what he was and wasn't able to discern about his opponents - she was slowly figuring out when he would need her eyes and when her mental flashes would merely be a distraction. It wasn't perfect, but the pair were learning together.

He had fought in this arena recently - with Bucephalus. The sand provided an easy way to identify where his opponent was which would be useful, for the overcast light failed to provide a crisp shadow of his Sultana as she moved below.

Descending without calling out to her, the Wildfire tucked his flaming wings against his flanks - shooting towards the ground like a hawk might after some small mouse. Currently he was coming at her from behind, although he was sure she would eventually hear him, or be alerted by some means and turn. His flaming wings fanned out from his sides as he neared the ground, beating hard and fast to slow his speed so that his body could transition easily from aerial dive to galloping on the sand. Using Mara's gaze, he focused hard and fast on the Fire Dancer, his blackened wings shifting ever so slightly to try and keep her before him. As his hooves touched down - perhaps 10 feet or so before the girl, one last beat of his wings sent an arc of fire heading towards Tandavi and Natraj, with Gaucho following swiftly in its wake.

The dun meant to try and body-check the Fire Dancer by throwing his left shoulder into her own left (assuming that she had in fact turned towards him - if not, he would be happy to feel the curve of her right thigh and flank against his skin). She was tall enough that his spikes might find and peel away her golden skin as well, though his intention was to send her skinny body skittering across the sands from the sheer force of his own, much bulkier mass.

He had come without warning, without asking if she was up for this, or in the mood. He had come with fire, and muscle, and bone. He had come as any threat would - regardless of your attitude towards it. If she was to be his Sultana she needed to be ready at any and all instants. All it would take is one to infiltrate their herd and challenge her. He didn't expect her to beat him, but he did expect her to hold fast.

If she crumbled now, he would know he had made a mistake.




Attack: 1/3
WC: 632
Summary: Gaucho flies in the air behind her. He dives and lands on the ground, throwing an arc of fire at her and then tries to body check her (either her left shoulder if she turns to face him, or her right side if she doesn't).



Image Credits
Please tag me in every post! Magic/Force is allowed on Gaucho at any time.


Tandavi The Fire Dancer Posts: 245
World's Edge Nurse atk: 6.5 | def: 9 | dam: 4
Mare :: Equine :: 16.1 :: 5 HP: 65 | Buff: NOVICE
Natraj :: Plain Kitsune :: Fire Charks
#3

TANDAVI & NATRAJ</style>
we walked a lonely road
beneath the fire of a thousand suns
</style>

Like a cannon the Wildfire erupts into her awareness, placed there by a brother far more alert than she. The kitsune inundates her mind with the image of Gaucho's plummeting form, his shadowy wings tucked tight against his body, his mane and tail a banner in the pale afternoon light. The girl responds to Natraj's warning with a distracted what? and pale alarm, dark eyes lifting to the overcast sun and widening quickly as realization rises. She had wanted a challenge, to learn to fight. She had not expected it to take this form.

Long limbs react instinctively, this very place setting her on edge. From beneath her a three-tailed shadow darts, Natraj excusing himself from the impending attack. She turns, legs crossing as her hips swing right and her forelegs left, bringing her nearly parallel to the brute who lands upon the waiting sands, reeking of magic and muscle and strength. The girl is uncertain as to what she wants – on the one hand, Gaucho would be a fine trainer for the untested child; on another, she is loathes the idea that he should see her weakness, discover the truth of the mistake he has made – but he gives her no time to make a decision, no time to question his intent. Tension makes wiry muscles bulges; her body hesitates at the precipice of flight and her mind hangs with it, painfully unaware of the Wildfire's intent.

There is an instant of silence and then a great roar as the behemoth beats his wings, an arc of fire barreling toward her exposed left side. Fire Dancer uncoils like a spring, muscles releasing and sending her forward, mind alight with the singular need to not die. A squeal escapes her as she leaves the ground, flying to the giant's left- late, too late, for she can feel the heat of his magic as it encases her hindquarters, searing her flanks and singing the length of her exposed hind. Why is he doing this? Ire coats her throat.

Luckily her movement is enough to spare her the brunt of the burn; only her thigh and buttock are truly wounded, the raised muscle screaming as fire licks away splashes of hair, leaving bubbling blisters and stinging skin. It bores into her blood, taking the place of something else, filling her with a surging power she embraces in her growing rage.

Fire is not all he hurls at her. Her left hind threatens to buckle and bend as she lands; fire dancer grimaces against the pain, then gasps as she finds herself violently yanked back, roughly pulled by some unknown force. Gaucho's surging body missed all but her tail, but their height difference put her tail in the danger zone, making it a perfect prey for the wicked spikes on his vicious collar. She cries out as silver hairs are tugged from her dock, throwing her hinds in a furious kick, hoping to use the bulk of him as leverage to get away. She thinks if she hits something, it should be his left stifle- though at that moment she wishes it were his head. Anger pounds a lusty pattern in the beating of her heart- what was he playing at, striking at her unprovoked? Did he regret her promotion so much that he wanted to kill her? Ears fall back; she silently snarls.

I have fire, too.

Slate hooves slam back into forgiving sand as fire erupts from the girl's skin. She isn't sure what the magic does, only that it feels like the right one to use. Boldness is rewarded; birds of flame soar outward from her slender form, ten small raptors which survive a length before vanishing into the afternoon air. The girl does not wait to see if they've hit. Her legs are already moving, scrambling inelegantly, tearing up turf; she cringes against the pain in her hip but does not relinquish her need to get away. If she can only escape she can maybe regroup, catch her breath and figure out what the fuck is going on. Gaucho has every advantage, it seems- taller. Stronger. He has wings and horns, spines and shoes, and all that pales beneath his vast experience.

All the girl has are her lanky limbs and her searing wit, and a tenacious desire to prove herself to this brute and the world.


[ 1/3 | 727 words ]

Tandavi turns in time to be parallel to Gaucho, then jumps out of the way, taking some fire to her left hindquarters. Tail gets caught in Gaucho's collar when he charges. Kicks out, aiming for Gaucho's stifle, and uses Mauja's fire magic before scrambling away

Current magic: Gaucho's [able to beat wings and cause explosion - just gained ], Amaris' [able to summon two small spirit dragons], Mauja's [able to summon fire birds - used]
"blah blah blah."


credit | credit

o. pixel pony credit to tamme
o. permission granted to use force and magic on Tavi
o. only tag me in opening posts, please!

Ascended Helovian

Gaucho The Wildfire Posts: 1,004
Deceased atk: 8.5 | def: 11.5 | dam: 8
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 17.2 :: 12 HP: 85 | Buff: PINNACLE
Mara :: Black Mamba Snake :: Paralyze & Vorsa :: Plain Zephyr :: Phoenix Odd
#4
And it's not a cry, that you hear at night -- It's not somebody, who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Tandavi was fast. A slight snarl parted Gaucho's dark lips as his body was entirely robbed of the opportunity to shove her golden frame aside. He imagined that Tandavi would likely crumble easily beneath his weight and momentum. Instead, he felt only the heat of her body, burned by his magic as it danced before him, her tail catching in the spikes of his collar as if inviting him to follow into the pounding of her hooves. He felt her kick resonate weakly through his left stifle - her aim had been true, although there was little damage. Through Mara's eyes, he could see the rage painting her golden features, and it made him smirk. Had there ever been a time that Tandavi had not appeared angry in some way? At herd meetings, in discussions with him in private, and now? Did the girl really have nothing between 'silent' and 'imma-cut-you' ? This was the Sultana he chose? He had thought her eloquent when she had screamed at him for not being enough of a team player, certainly she had seemed capable of diplomacy. She had enough ideas on the subject.

Perhaps luckily, the fire birds were not blind to him as the fire dancer was. He watched with a mixture of intrigue and amusement as they blurred seemingly out of nowhere, before flying towards him. Had Gaucho known that they were created by Mauja's magic, the spar might have taken a very different turn. Tavi's loyalties would have been questioned in light of Mauja's part in the invasion of years past. Luckily however, the Wildfire was dumb to this information, allowing his brain to completely focus on avoiding the creatures. Gaucho had enough experience with ethereal fire compositions to know that there was no use fighting them. Their wings and eyes and claws could only be snuffed out by depleting their oxygen source, or waiting for their bodies to burn up the magic that composed them.

Grunting, Gaucho spun rather nimbly on his hind-end. Tandavi might have youth on her side, but Gaucho had been training for longer than the girl had been alive. His body swung to the left as his long legs extended beneath him, pulling his dun body forward and away from the fiery birds as they sailed after him. With a grunt, Gaucho felt two collide with his right hindquarter, causing him to buck reflexively as pain and heat bled down his thigh. The pain was not very great, although where the fire had struck already felt tight - stretched almost.

This was the second time Tandavi had thrown fire at him. The first time he had promoted her because of it. Now however, he would merely pursue her.

Through Mara's eyes he watched as the girl scrambled across the sands, and he immediately set off after her. A dull ache from both of his hind-legs served as a reminder that the fire dancer was not completely useless, and yet for all of her fire (both literally and figuratively) he thought her wick might be rather short. He wanted to find out just how short.

Gaucho's large hooves crossed the sand easily - the Throat had trained them both as to how to run across the exhausting terrain. Whatever reprieve Tavi was looking for, Gaucho wanted to ensure that she did not receive it. Her new title as Sultana would allow her no rest, not when danger loomed.

And danger was definitely looming.

Unlike Tavi, Gaucho was laughing. A warm and joyous sound fell from his dark lips, as his bright gaze searched for her shadow on the sands. "Ezhiray vorsa!" He called to her, his native language elegantly and articulately wavering on the slight breeze.

As Gaucho charged, he angled himself to try and come at her left shoulder, using his chest and right shoulder to try and slam into her and shove her backwards. It was similar to what he had just tried - only this time he would feel her skin break against his own. She couldn't run forever. Should she twist, his body would follow. Should she rear, he would knock her down. Should she throw more flames his direction ... well, then he would be burned, for he wasn't about to alter his course now.

Surprisingly white teeth stretched out, trying to clamp down on the many braids that decorated her pretty neck, and while he couldn't see them, he knew that there were enough of them matted together that he should be able to find purchase.




ezhiray vorsa: fire dancer

Attack: 2/3
WC: 751
Summary: Gaucho takes her kick, though it isn't hard. He turns to avoid the fire birds, though two burn his right hindquarter. He runs after her, trying to slam into her left shoulder and bite at her braids.


Image Credits
Please tag me in every post! Magic/Force is allowed on Gaucho at any time.


Official Posts: 847
Administrator
Stallion :: Equine :: ::
Official
#5
21 days have passed. Tandavi defaults to Gaucho. Gaucho received .5 VP


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