never take advice from someone who just admitted to being devious and just confessed to treason
His surprise tactic worked! The Thief could hardly believe his good fortune. Perhaps he'd been too hard on himself, believing that any and all fighting skill he might have once possessed had been long lost. Now there was no stifling the surge of pride he felt at having landed a blow, never mind the fact that it was a small victory. At first he had been wondering just how much a fool he could make of himself before their spar was done, but it seemed some rare luck might be on his side. Unfortunately, it was not over yet. Pinning his ears anxiously against his skull, Roland watched the mare turn to him, recovering from his attack quickly. She wasted no time in closing the gap between them, and the Thief felt a sick kind of fear in his stomach as she approached, wondering if it might have been his heart that was stuck in his throat, making it difficult to breathe.
His confidence evaporated just as abruptly as his opponent descended upon him, darting in one direction first as she approached, only to dance to the other side as soon as he turned to face her. Within seconds she was upon him, lifting up from the ground and looming over him, a flash of black shadow over his head. The Thief flinched away from the blur of her hooves before his face, her dark coat catching the yellow light of the afternoon sun before Roland was scrambling away from her, an uncoordinated and entirely ungraceful backwards retreat. His hooves slipped in the mud and he almost lost his footing, letting out a curse beneath his breath as the mare came crashing down before him in a rush of cool wind. Roland shook his forelock from his eyes, heart pounding against his ribs as he watched her turn on her heel to escape his reach. For a split second the Thief could only stand there, attempting to catch his breath as his gaze turned away from the mare's retreating frame. The trees were boasting new greenery, and it was pleasant to hear the rustle of leaves against the breeze instead of the hiss of snow across rock and ice. He attempted to focus upon the sound, ignoring the roar of blood pounding through his head.
Gradually recovering from the initial shock of her attack- and the relief that he had been quick enough to dodge it- the Thief attempted to make the best of her back turned towards him. His pursuit was not quiet, nor was it stealthy; the sound of his feet splashing through mud and over wet grass would be hard to miss, but he didn't necessarily require surprise to execute his next move. The moment she wheeled to face him Roland slowed, hooves sliding over wet ground as he turned his side towards the mare, hoping to use his forward momentum to propel his left shoulder into her right forequarter. He kept his head ducked low to avoid knocking their skulls together, or catching her with his horn. It was an awkward attack, and not entirely foolproof. Upon closer inspection, the mare seemed to be built heavier than Roland himself, not quite as slight as she had appeared at a distance. His weight against hers was not guaranteed to be all that effective, but somehow the Thief had difficulty swallowing the idea of grievously harming a fellow citizen of the Basin in a simple spar. Despite his pride at having landed a blow previously, he did feel bad.
For now, however, he hoped to knock her off balance at the very least. It might buy him the chance to make another move before she could lash out at him, unless she was more securely rooted to the ground than Roland was hoping for. His tail swung out behind him as he regained his footing, and instead of beating a hasty retreat as he had before, he swung his hindquarters away and turned to face her head on, keeping well within her reach. He had reclaimed a wary grip upon his confidence, and didn't intend to let her sway him as easily as she'd done before.
---
@[Sialia]
[WC: 698/800
Attack: 2/3
Summary: Roland follows after Sialia as she retreats. Once she stops and turns towards him, he uses his forward momentum to throw his left shoulder against her right shoulder, hoping to knock her off balance. He stands his ground and turns to face her straight on.]
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[JUDGED] Heroes and Cons [xRoland]
