the Rift


[JUDGED] Land Ho! [Open Spar]

Ciceron Posts: 315
Outcast atk: 6.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16.2 :: 6 HP: 69.5 | Buff: ENDURE
Kiara :: White Tiger :: Poison nickel
#1
Ciceron
&
Kiara
You don't understand what it's like
to live always at war, to grow up with
battle and sacrifice;
Ciceron Speaks


Muscles rolled effortlessly underneath a satiny sheet of iron dapples making each stride fluid and precise as the iron clad stallion galloped along. Alveoli stretched and shrank in careful synchronicity as oxygen pushed away the carbon dioxide in one breath as his lungs strived to keep up and fulfill their duties. Every system was functioning to its fullest capacity to fuel the powerhouse in his adventures as the duo searched for their next challenge. Planting his hooves deeply into the greenery the dappled stallion slid to a stop as silver eyes scanned over the rocky landscape before him soaking in each and every detail to the finest pixel possible, nothing could be overlooked in his meticulous planning. The wide ledges of stone jutted out of the oceanic themed battleground from all angles creating rough exterior edges for each contestant to use to their advantage or to their demise while small pools of water lay stagnant across much of the ground from the previous night’s storm.  A single cliff rose to his left while the ocean’s expanse lay out to his far right. It might be a gamble but it was one he was willing to take to try and push himself out of his comfort zone and try something new and perhaps a little more challenging for a change

Looking over to his partner as she prowled around for any major hazards he watched with amusement as a crab snapped its pincers as the feline drew too close. The tigress paid little attention to the crustacean as she walked along until one of those claws drew a little too close for her comfort as a low snarl drew her teeth out of hiding to threaten the lowly creature. Really there was no competition between the two one being nothing more than prey and the other a highly skilled predator capable of crunching through the crabs tough armor in one bite. Obviously the crab soon weighed out its chances as pretty soon afterwards it was seen scurrying down the beach towards the water. After that last battle with Bellona the stallion still felt bad for the rather unfortunate crab that had gotten caught up in their battle only to be flung towards the airborne mare. Ya that might not have been his smartest move but it had a least done the job in bringing her within striking distance, that battle had been a disaster from the beginning anyway.

Looking up to the rising sun and the low tide he figured that it had to be at least mid morning by now, plenty of time for those lazy inhabitants to get themselves out of bed and active. Shaking off the brightness the warrior allowed his long forelock to drape down across his face obscuring the light just enough to block the sunlight but not enough to hinder his view. Taking a breath he let a loud whinny fill the airwaves hoping to draw the attention of a suitable contestant for them to battle. Now it was just a matter of waiting to see what the tide would turn up. Be prepared because here we go.



Words: 523/800
Open to Anyone
Location: Endless blue, Mid Morning – beach with various rocks and ledges rising out from the cliff beside them. Water is at low tide, puddles are everywhere across the beach from previous nights storm.
Weather: Clear and sunny
Attacks: 0/3
Use of magic and companions permitted




Image Credit
[Image: ciceron_by_foxyfirewings-d7npcjn.png][Image: untitled_2_by_moonstone_designs-d9fwqyy.png]
Pixel Base- BronzeHalo
**Please Tag Me In All Posts**
Permission to attack, use magic and injure with the exception of maiming or death.

Volterra the Indomitable Posts: 785
Dragon's Throat Sultan atk: 8.5 | def: 11.5 | dam: 8.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 17'2hh :: 3 HP: 80 | Buff: SENSE
Vérzés :: Common Red Dragon :: Frost Breath & Toxic Breath & Vadir :: Royal Gold Dragon :: Fire Breath & Shock Breath Snow
#2


Salt air tickles the monolith's tongue as he descends upon the beach, all stormy mane and sharp, masculine angles. Battle beckons him, like the call of a lover. When he stood here a few months ago, a man newly grown, and called for a foe, none came. They were all too afraid. Today, there is no danger of that, as it is him heeding somebody else's battlecry, sating someone else's thirst for blood. He can tell little from the voice that stings his ears, save for that it comes from the jaws of a stallion.

Good. He needs a fight against another man, a glorious symphony of testosterone and glory.

His red dragon circles overhead, and it's through his eyes that the blackened titan sees his opponent for the first time. Small, dappled, horned, and undoubtedly older than Volterra - excitement quivers his flesh at the notion of testing his mettle against an older, more experienced stallion. He regularly practices fighting roving rogues of a similar age to himself, but there is a different sort of challenge in standing against a grizzled old warrior who has undoubtedly weathered many battles. Win or lose, he will learn a lot from fighting somebody vastly more experienced, lessons he can take through to the rest of his life.

The young warlord's massive, feathered hooves crunch over sand and seawater alike as he moves at a heavy trot towards his would-be foe. Muscle bulks beneath his tight black flesh, flecked with seaspray and grains of sand. Vérzés' gaze lingers on the man's companion, a tiger, and Volterra feels his dragon's hunger as he contemplates taking down and devouring a fellow predator. The leviathan's crimson gaze rests upon the unicorn, no emotion showing on his rough, brutish features. "Volterra, and Vérzés," he introduces, his voice the gravelly rasp of rocks on concrete. "You may strike first." There's no room or time for niceties, not when their flesh will soon be slapping together in beautiful war and they will be going hell for leather to beat the shit out of one another. The young stallion stands before the older one, sea to his left and rocks to his right, and waits to be attacked.

_____________

@Ciceron ! Good luck!
0/3 - 350 words

BLESSED BY A BITCH FROM A BASTARD'S SEED
PLEASURE TO MEET YOU, PREPARE TO BLEED


[ you can't stray from what you are, you're the closest thing to hell i've seen so far  ]
[ use of force/magic on him is permitted aside from death/maiming ]




Ciceron Posts: 315
Outcast atk: 6.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16.2 :: 6 HP: 69.5 | Buff: ENDURE
Kiara :: White Tiger :: Poison nickel
#3
Ciceron
&
Kiara
You don't understand what it's like
to live always at war, to grow up with
battle and sacrifice;;
Lorem ipsum dolor



Nostrils quiver as the stench of another stallion wafts along through the salty air igniting the flame from smoldering ash once more. Harks at alert it is the crunching of stone that allows the grey brute to begin to draw a mental image of his foe before even seeing the nightly warrior for himself. The heavy footfalls leave him to believe that whoever beckons to him is of relative stature to himself or even slightly larger based upon the degree of crunching as hoof connects with sand and stone. Closing his eyes for a minute to study the sounds the grey opens his eyes only to find the black giant and his companion staring him down on the opposing end of the makeshift battleground. Shit, not exactly what he had been expecting but they would do. If he had his choice of opponents for his Kiara it likely wouldn’t be anything that could breathe fire! “Watch out for that dragon! I don’t want you to become lightly toasted.” He joked trying to keep his tone as light as possible despite his internal fear for her safety.

Sizing Volterra up to find that his assumptions had been mostly correct he nods politely grateful that introductions are kept short and sweet instead of being drawn out and tediously annoying as some seemed to prefer. “Ciceron and Kiara.” He replies in the same timely manner keeping his own reservations at bay for the time being. This was no time for doubt or speculations so that part of his mind was going to have to shut down and shut up until the battle was over. Win or lose this was about the experience not the outcome, to improve meant they needed to practice their skills and wield them with accuracy and precision. There was little room for mistakes and he for one was hoping to incur as little damage as possible so that he did not walk away from this in a full body cast.

Pushing forward into a lengthy trot the beast circled around his opponent’s studying them for a few moments before figuring out the best way to start this off without wasting time needlessly. He wanted to be accurate but he also wanted to maximize the amount of damage the pair of them could deal, but what would be the correct combination. Kiara waited calmly her blue gaze pinned to the red dragon like a hawk to its prey just itching to see what all she had learned from playing around with the dragons of the Fall’s. Each had their own talents but with such also came certain weaknesses, what would this flying rawhide’s weakness be?

Standing about a hand or so taller this Volterra seemed to have the advantage when it came to his weight and overall size but with the height and weight also came the limitations. His own size had similar restrictions in which he had grown accustomed to over time but with the giant being oversized surely each aspect would be increased tenfold. Flashing his tail harshly against the air like a whip the mighty grey lunged in towards the brute with his head lowered as if to try and skewer his target like a nice plump veggie on a stick. Counting his strides until impact the stallion shortened his gait pushing the full power into his hindquarters to propel himself faster aiming towards the black’s right shoulder. Leaping forward the giant used the momentum he had built to throw the weight into his forelimbs as he twisted around instead to try and slam his hind hooves directly into the poor sucker’s rib cage. It was in his hope that the initial intentions of his attack would throw off his opponent letting his hooves sneak in there and do what he had intended all along. Following through with the motion his hind hooves soon touched back into the moist sand with a soft thud propelling him away from the direct strike zone, unknowing whether or not his attack had proved to be a success or a complete flop. Kiara having sensed her partner’s intentions leapt forward to try and play decoy to try and pull some of the attention away from her grey’s attack and to hopefully keep Vérzés interest as well.



Ciceron Speaks
Kiara Speaks
Silent Speech


Words: 714
Attack: 1/3
Injuries: None
Summary: Introduces themselves briefly before trotting forward to circle Volterra and Verzes. Appears to attempt to attack Volterra's right shoulder by spearing it with his horn but last minute changes his tactic and spins around to try and buck kick Volterra in the ribs instead. Kiara attempts to distract both Volterra and Verzes by launching herself towards them hoping to draw their attention.


Image Credit
[Image: ciceron_by_foxyfirewings-d7npcjn.png][Image: untitled_2_by_moonstone_designs-d9fwqyy.png]
Pixel Base- BronzeHalo
**Please Tag Me In All Posts**
Permission to attack, use magic and injure with the exception of maiming or death.

Volterra the Indomitable Posts: 785
Dragon's Throat Sultan atk: 8.5 | def: 11.5 | dam: 8.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 17'2hh :: 3 HP: 80 | Buff: SENSE
Vérzés :: Common Red Dragon :: Frost Breath & Toxic Breath & Vadir :: Royal Gold Dragon :: Fire Breath & Shock Breath Snow
#4


The man gives his name, and with that, the hellion's face clouds over into a mask of concentration. It is war now. His crimson gaze darts across the older stallion, noting his smaller stature - there's a hand between their sizes, which Volterra intends to use to his advantage. What he lacks in battle experience, he can more than make up for in brute strength.

The battleground has its own perks, too. The sand makes for good padding, so heavy footfalls will hopefully not damage joints or tendons. On tired limbs, however, the sand will probably feel like wet mud, sucking aching feet down into its grasp. The puddles are a trip hazard waiting to happen, but save for that, the conditions are ideal for a man of Volterra's bulk. In confined spaces, his lack of agility causes him to suffer; he wasn't bred for tight turns and elegance. Here, his only real danger is forgetting his brakes and slicing himself open on the nearby cliff.

The dappled one breaks into a trot, and Volterra arches his thick neck to swing his gaze after the older male as he's circled like prey. Ah, don't you know I'm the predator here? His colossal hooves shift and he begins to shuffle around on the spot, so as not to allow the horned stallion to flank him. As a result, when Ciceron charges towards him, Volterra is hopefully facing him; the attack comes for him head-on, and the earthen giant braces himself for impact. It looks for all the world like the unicorn is going to use his horn to skewer straight through him, but - oh, the little trickster! Instead he twirls, and hooves sprawl towards the leviathan's chest. The giant flings his weight to his left, gaining purchase on the damp sand and using it to launch himself; Ciceron's double-hooved kick slams hard into his right shoulder as he swerves, creating a muscle-deep bruise that immediately bursts into life beneath his flesh. Pain stabs through him and he feels the area stiffen, which will restrict movement in that leg - not catastrophically, but enough to be annoying.

Anger begins to bubble beneath the stallion's skin. Ah, there it is; a rising volcano. This is what he uses to fight with. This is his weapon, his shield. This is what he channels whenever he fights, to lend greater strength to his blows and anaesthetic to his wounds. His red eyes flash, signalling danger, and each fearsome muscle bunches in frenzied anticipation.

He is the oncoming storm; his temper is a sleeping giant, and it's stirring.

Out of the corner of one blazing eye, he sees the tigress lurking nearby; he sends a mental javelin up to his circling dragon. Vérzés, deal with the cat. Pleasure radiates through their bond, a sick, twisted sort of pleasure as the crimson blood-dragon contemplates murder. His usual prey are deer and rabbits, so the thought of taking down a tiger fills him with the same sort of glee that Volterra feels whenever a mare is nearby. Ruby wings fold and like an angel of death he descends, a bloodied bullet aiming towards Kiara. His jaws open and from them blossoms a beam of frost, which he aims for the tigress' face. He hopes to create ice-burns on her flesh, to cause considerable agony - his dextrous forepaws unfurl and he aims a sharp clawed smack for the left side of her snout, too.

Volterra, meanwhile, throws his weight to his right, swinging around to see Ciceron departing in the aftermath of his attack. I don't think so. With a masculine grunt of exertion, the giant commands a small hummock of ground to erupt directly in front of where he hopes the unicorn is about to stand - it is only knee-height, but he hopes Ciceron will bang both his forelegs against it and perhaps trip over it, too. Either way, the brute's aim is to slow or stop his opponent's departure in the aftermath of the grey's attack, to lessen the distance Volterra has to move to catch him. Sand sprays beneath the titan's hooves as he lunges forwards, sweat beginning to slick on his obsidian flesh from the pain in his leg and the strain of his magic. His stride is slower than usual due to his injury, but like a storming freight train he aims to approach from behind his foe. His colossal chest seeks to slam hard into the smaller stallion's rump to try and send him sprawling forwards, in an attempt to make him trip over Volterra's earth-structure in front of him if he hasn't already. Similtaneously, the black barbarian's teeth bare and he aims a sharp nip for the base of Ciceron's tail, hoping to leave a nasty bruise in his wake.

_____________

@Ciceron ! Vérzés uses frost breath towards Kiara and tries to claw her snout, Volterra uses his magic to lift a knee-height stump in front of Ciceron then tries to slam chest into his rump and bite it.
1/3 - 796 words

BLESSED BY A BITCH FROM A BASTARD'S SEED
PLEASURE TO MEET YOU, PREPARE TO BLEED


[ you can't stray from what you are, you're the closest thing to hell i've seen so far  ]
[ use of force/magic on him is permitted aside from death/maiming ]




Ciceron Posts: 315
Outcast atk: 6.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16.2 :: 6 HP: 69.5 | Buff: ENDURE
Kiara :: White Tiger :: Poison nickel
#5
Ciceron
&
Kiara
You don't understand what it's like
to live always at war, to grow up with
battle and sacrifice;;
Lorem ipsum dolor


Sand flies as the excitement begins with the first successful strike as his hooves touch back down into the soft soil the satisfying sound of justice rolls over him. In a way the inner child in him felt like he had just won the lottery being the first to make landfall but the warrior that had been ingrained into him easily squashed such a childish thought casting it away into the abyss. Kiara’s voice screaming in his head brought his mind back to the presence just in time to see the ground rising before him like nothing he had seen before. What in the hell was going on here?!?

Gathering himself hastily the grey barely manages to sink his weight back to his haunches before having to leap into the air to avoid a nearly inevitable collision with said piece of earth. Landing with a thud his hooves sink deeper into the water logged ground than he had intended causing his strides to be much slower than he would have liked as clods of dirt go flying up behind him.  Well if that was considered an attack this giant might want to think twice about trying that again, he was to sly to get caught in something like that, geesh what did he think he was? A toddler?  Ha, he would have to do better than that to bring him down. Unlike his foe this was not his first time in a battle arena there was wits and knowledge to contend with other than the brute strength of course! While he loved the way all this sounded in his head , yes he was probably over exaggerating just a wee bit. He wasn’t no old geezer yet so there was always much to be learned even from the youngest of opponents, hopefully though he was remember enough not to get sat on by this dude.

Turning his mighty head back to face the black stag his eyes seem to automatically turn to Kiara who not only has her paws full but a blast of frost coming towards her! “DUCK!!” He screamed at her silently hoping that it would at least keep her from turning into a catsicle. Pinned ears great the dragon as anger slowly begins to boil up inside him, hurt him all they want but leave Kiara out of this! Ivories bare wide as he leaps forward trying to snap at the dragon to deter it from its intended target before his focus returns to the monster that was a little more in his size category. Despite that he wants to keep Kiara safe he cannot endanger them both by forgetting about big foot over there who posed a much greater threat. Veering back towards his path the stag tilts his head slightly to study the damage his hooves had made upon the stag’s shoulder. Well it might slow him down a little bit but he would have to do better than that if he wanted to be triumphant. Meanwhile Kiara takes a dive forward to avoid the worst of the frost as a angered rumble expels from her chest. Snapping at the incoming dragon she tries to grab hold of it with her claws to prevent anymore sneak attacks.

Wheels spin round frantically in his head searching for options as the seconds tick by and the ground begins to slowly turn into a rather slippery mud hole as hooves churn in the depths.  Water… wait a minute...  A light bulb erupts to life as he processes what was laid out before his eyes. Sand, water, mud, yes it would surely work by now with the amount of movement there had been and the amount of water, what could he stand lose?  Digging his hooves into the muck the silver warrior lengthens his stride as he thunders back towards the brutes right side, head once again lowered, his horn erect and pointing towards his foe. It was a challenge to control the timing but gritting his teeth he managed to hold the spark until he was within five meters before turning it loose. Strong waves of electrical energy explode from around him as he aims to get up in near to Volterra so that he hopefully cannot fight off the attack or the electricity from travelling through his carcass. If he was going to try and use the earth against him low and behold he would use the electricity to turn things up a notch. Let’s see how Volterra liked this he mused silently as he threw his body forward into the attack.


Ciceron Speaks
Kiara Speaks
Silent Speech

Words: 772
Attack: 2/3
Injuries: None
Summary: Avoids damage by Volterra, snaps at Verzes to try and draw his attention before turning back to Volterra. Charges Volterra from the right side aiming to spear him in the chest or abdomen with his horn while calling upon his magic.

[ Magic: DarkxSpark | Can create a cloud of high-voltage static electricity around himself ] :: [ Restrictions | Limited to a radius of 5m ]

Image Credit
[Image: ciceron_by_foxyfirewings-d7npcjn.png][Image: untitled_2_by_moonstone_designs-d9fwqyy.png]
Pixel Base- BronzeHalo
**Please Tag Me In All Posts**
Permission to attack, use magic and injure with the exception of maiming or death.

Volterra the Indomitable Posts: 785
Dragon's Throat Sultan atk: 8.5 | def: 11.5 | dam: 8.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 17'2hh :: 3 HP: 80 | Buff: SENSE
Vérzés :: Common Red Dragon :: Frost Breath & Toxic Breath & Vadir :: Royal Gold Dragon :: Fire Breath & Shock Breath Snow
#6


He misses - he fucking misses.

How, he isn't quite sure. Nor is his dragon, who releases a foul hiss as his attacks land on thin air. They were hardly 'sneak attacks', as the red had gone directly for the face - which is about as 'sneaky' as a god damn wrecking ball - but perhaps that is where he went wrong. Not subtle enough. Too obvious. Neither stallion nor dragon can quite comprehend what has just happened, but if there's one good thing to come from it, it's that the giant's temper finally snaps.

Because what the fuck is the point of sparring if your opponent isn't going to take a hit? If he isn't going to man the fuck up and feel some pain?

His blood boils, and he seethes. The volcano inside him erupts, and fire rains down behind his eyes.

He drags his lump of earth back into the ground with a savage war-bellow, swinging his tail against his flanks just to feel the sting, to drive him to greater heights. His dragon angles his wings and soars upwards, away from the tigress' reaching claws and the snap of her companion. As he surges towards the heavens, he slams his thick, muscular tail towards the feline's face in an attempt to crunch it hard into the bones of her skull, pulling no punches as he channels the fury from his mammoth bonded.

With aching muscles, the black colossus arrests his momentum. Great waves of rage roll from him, each sweating ounce of flesh heaving with the desire to win. Each beat of his heart tells him he shouldn't care about the result of this fight, because it's just for practice, to test his mettle in battle; and yet he can't help but hunger for victory. Or, at the very least, to leave his opponent screaming, with many a memento of this little skirmish.

The unicorn's horn comes for the warlord's right side, and with a grunt the beast throws his weight forwards, digging his massive hooves hard into the churned sand. As a result, Ciceron's horn just clips his thick right rump, etching a small, shallow cut that bleeds gently down his backside, but hurts scarcely more than a fly bite. In the same movement, the beast feels a tingle, which rapidly intensifies to a holy shitting hell what is this as the magic takes hold. Because of his forwards movement, Ciceron's magic only catches Volterra's retreating backside, so he doesn't get the full effect of the agony. It still hurts, though, and the stallion's hair stands on end as the current surges through him. Mercifully, he has a hoof lifted in motion at the time, because if he'd had all four limbs planted then the electricity could have had its wicked way straight through his body.

Like a lightning bolt to a conductor, it fuels the beast inside. The anger rises, beating down the cage that Volterra keeps it in, fighting for release.

As the giant feels the ground churning beneath his feet, he thinks a similar thing to Ciceron - and so does Vérzés. Halting his spiral to the heavens, the red tilts his wings and dives towards the ground, jaws opening as frost blooms again from his deadly jaws. He aims not for Ciceron, but for the muddy ground just in front of the charging grey stallion - water is visible in the churned sand, and it is this that the crimson blood-beast aims to caress with the deadly kiss of his breath. He hopes to turn the ground into an ice-rink and cause Ciceron to slide and lose his balance. He times this for just after the unicorn has struck Volterra's rump, in the hope that Ciceron will not have chance to slam on his brakes before he reaches the perilous frozen ground.

In the same movement, Volterra throws his weight onto his forelegs, grimacing at the spasms that rocket through his injured leg - he'll only be able to do this once, so he hopes to make it count. Given his movement forwards, he hopes Ciceron will now be behind him, and with a grunt he unleashes his hindlegs like pistons. He aims to slam them hard into Ciceron's right shoulder, knowing that they're massive enough to cause serious damage if they hit. After all, Volterra only has his brute strength, given that he lacks his foe's experience. It doesn't take years of battle knowledge to suss out that using his rear end strength and huge hooves to kick someone in the side should hurt like a bitch.

He only manages one kick before his aching foreleg demands to be relinquished from the duty of holding up his weight, and he returns his hind hooves to the muddied ground with a groan of relief.

_____________

@Ciceron ! Vérzés tries to smack Kiara in face with his tail, then uses frost breath to try and freeze the ground in front of Ciceron. Volterra tries to slam hindhooves into Ciceron's right shoulder.
2/3 - 797 words

BLESSED BY A BITCH FROM A BASTARD'S SEED
PLEASURE TO MEET YOU, PREPARE TO BLEED


[ you can't stray from what you are, you're the closest thing to hell i've seen so far  ]
[ use of force/magic on him is permitted aside from death/maiming ]




Ciceron Posts: 315
Outcast atk: 6.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16.2 :: 6 HP: 69.5 | Buff: ENDURE
Kiara :: White Tiger :: Poison nickel
#7
Ciceron
&
Kiara
You don't understand what it's like
to live always at war, to grow up with
battle and sacrifice;;
Lorem ipsum dolor


As the electricity fades away the silver stag automatically braces himself for retaliatory pain as he catches the black brute from the corner of his eye. Cow hopping sideways as a blur of motion streaks out towards him, he could hear the whistling of air as hooves strike nothing but thin air. A moment of relief and surprise washes over him as he realizes that Volterra has yet to make any successful attack. Whether it be by sheer luck of due to the soreness that shoulder of his must be feeling by now, he did not mind one little bit. Pain was something that he had never been afraid of but it sure was nice to end up on the undamaged side of the fence for a change.

Inhaling a short burst of salty air the grey manages to take a quick second to survey where he stood at this point. Silver eyes ignored majority of the landscape to single out the black powerhouse that was still out for his blood. So far having missed both attempted attacks he was sure that this was not sitting well, hell he would be infuriated with himself! If his final attack made contact it was sure to bring all the associated rage with it, well it sure would if it were him in his hooves. Now more than ever he had to be aware of everything that was going on especially the ice he was about to run into. ICE! Where the fuck did that come from?!?

Slamming on the brakes was not an option with his current momentum so that left improvisation, but with what? Avoiding it was out of the question so he guessed that that left leaping... Mentally taking tally of where in the world his feet where the silver warrior rocked his weight backwards and took flight. Ok step one, complete. Step two, to land without slipping and sliding his ass into the dirt. Easier said than done but gravity was quickly taking away his prep time as his mass descended from its airborne state back to earth. Stretching his legs forward he awaited the last possible moment to allow his hooves to touch back down.

The inevitable crunch of shattering ice exploded beneath him as his hooves slid a few centimeters forward before his hind finally caught up. Now ice was one thing but going from solid ground into muck was a completely different feeling altogether. It was like a toasted marshmallow flying through the air only to get snagged in someone's hair and be pulled up short. Not the best feeling in the world at all. Shaking it off the grey snapped his silver orbs back to the black brute beside him knowing that this was his last chance to do some damage. Planting his hind feet to hopefully slid in a tighter circle he rounded on what he hoped would be the brute's left side slamming his front hooves deeply into the muck. With being close enough he hoped using war stomp would set the youngster off balance to enable him to come at for his final attack. Kiara wouldn't be much help with that pesky dragon trying to rip into her face so it was all up to him, now it just needed to work.

Kiara having been unable to prevent the icy blast towards her bonded growled her displeasure as poison dripped caustically from her fangs to the ground below. Lunging forward with renewed determination to stop the dragon's damage she threw her entire weight forward opening her jaws wide. It was her plan to sink her poison laced fangs into that dragon's juicy hide and give it a taste of its own medicine.

Lifting his feet with slight effort from the mud hole they found themselves in the dappled warrior dipped his head forward. If he could just manage to knock the bastard off balance enough with his previous war stomp just maybe he could throw his horn into the belly of the beast. Sweat had begun to later his coat in a lovely coating of foam and mud perhaps giving him the lubricated advantage to slip in and out without fail once more, at least he could hope. Gathering his remaining energy the silver stallion threw himself into the fray once more aiming to finish this battle with a victory.


Ciceron Speaks
Kiara Speaks
Silent Speech

Tags: @Volterra
Words: 723
Injuries: None
Attack: 3/3
Summary: Again manages to avoid injury and the ice. Rounds on Volterra and uses war stomp to try and throw him off balance before lunging at him hoping to pierce his abdomen with his horn. (if that's what is there when he gets there). Kiara lunges at Verzes to try and grab a hold of him using her mouth of claws, aims to try and bite him and poison him.


Image Credit
[Image: ciceron_by_foxyfirewings-d7npcjn.png][Image: untitled_2_by_moonstone_designs-d9fwqyy.png]
Pixel Base- BronzeHalo
**Please Tag Me In All Posts**
Permission to attack, use magic and injure with the exception of maiming or death.

Volterra the Indomitable Posts: 785
Dragon's Throat Sultan atk: 8.5 | def: 11.5 | dam: 8.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 17'2hh :: 3 HP: 80 | Buff: SENSE
Vérzés :: Common Red Dragon :: Frost Breath & Toxic Breath & Vadir :: Royal Gold Dragon :: Fire Breath & Shock Breath Snow
#8


What the unholy fuck?

The roar that rips from the stallion's jaws is demonic, a bestial bellow of rage that damn near shakes the ground in front of them. Like a slippery little eel, the unicorn slides from Volterra's grasp again, inexplicably avoiding damage for the second time in a row.

It's like he's fucking cursed. Either that, or this man has been mounting one of the Gods - what other reason can there possibly be for everything to favour him and not Volterra?

All his fight training, all his bulbous muscle and fierce warrior's mind, mean sweet fuck all when your opponent is part horse, part fish. In none of the behemoth's practice battles, his spars against unwitting rogues, did this happen. It's as though the unicorn has a forcefield around himself which cannot be penetrated by any means, and Volterra's fragile temper snaps completely. His ears lose themselves in the thrashing strands of his mane, foam swinging from his gaping jaws as he lands fully in the aftermath of his previous attack. He boosts just a single step forwards before digging his hooves into the mire and wheeling around to try and face Ciceron, his turn aided by the slippy surface below. He is living fire as he stands there, each hard muscle bunched to its fullest extent, neck arched and eyes flashing, exuding power, exuding anger.

Even ice doesn't fell the grey bastard, and Vérzés wheels back into the sky with a scream of fury. The tigress' poison jaws fall wide of their mark as he spirals upwards with a contemptous flick of his tail, circling the battlefield for a moment and lending his sight to Volterra's. Through his dragon's eyes as well as his own, the black goliath sees Ciceron avoid the ice and turn towards him - and then the ground begins to shake. Confusion flashes across the giant's features, but he stands his ground even as it vibrates below him. He faces Ciceron head-on, unafraid - unlike some, no part of the demon shies from a potential hit. He can take his beatings with his head held high, but there's little use in that when his opponent will do anything to avoid pain.

The incessant throbbing of the ground distracts him enough for the unicorn's horn to slice against the centre of his chest, drawing a medium-depth laceration into the hard, sweating black flesh. With another powerful bellow, the stallion summons his magic again, this time aiming to create a large plateau directly beneath the grey's back hooves. He hopes to cause the unicorn to lurch awkwardly forwards, because surely even he, oh-magic-ninja, cannot forsee that? Unless he has eyeballs in his back feet, which admittedly wouldn't surprise the ebony colossus at this point.

Simultaneously to this, the black behemoth summons his final vestiges of strength and throws his weight onto his back hooves. He lifts into a rear, thrashing his front hooves in an attempt to smack them into Ciceron's head. Given the unicorn's smaller size, the beast is aiming downwards, which should add more force to the attack. He hopes that the grey will be lurched forwards by the lifted earth beneath his back feet, and will fall straight into the behemoth's onrushing hooves - landing this final hit would give the stallion one small modicum of comfort, at least. Chances are, he isn't going to win. You can't win against black fucking magic, against a man who has a deal with the devil. But he wants to land a blow, at least, leave this little shit with a memento of this short and infuriating battle. The experience will help, too, for future fights against snakes.

Red wings fold as the dragon descends again, opening his jaws and aiming to rake Ciceron from arse to head with his frost breath. His breath is so cold it can turn flesh to ice, and this is precisely what he tries to do to the unicorn. He, like his bonded, is frustrated and furious by the progress of this battle, and for all his arguments with Volterra, he would do anything for the massive stallion. This has been a learning curve, to say the least, and both will take a lot from it. For now, though, they try in unison to cause damage one final time - to at least make this fucker hurt, even if they cannot claim victory.

_____________

@Ciceron ! If I didn't laugh at the dice rolls in this fight, I'd cry xD Just hope it keeps within 20 points so it gets judged!

Vérzés uses frost breath on Ciceron, whilst Volterra tries to lift the ground directly beneath Ciceron's back hooves to try and lurch him forwards and rears to kick him in the head.
3/3 - 730 words

BLESSED BY A BITCH FROM A BASTARD'S SEED
PLEASURE TO MEET YOU, PREPARE TO BLEED


[ you can't stray from what you are, you're the closest thing to hell i've seen so far  ]
[ use of force/magic on him is permitted aside from death/maiming ]




Ciceron Posts: 315
Outcast atk: 6.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16.2 :: 6 HP: 69.5 | Buff: ENDURE
Kiara :: White Tiger :: Poison nickel
#9
Ciceron
&
Kiara
You don't understand what it's like
to live always at war, to grow up with
battle and sacrifice;;
Lorem ipsum dolor


No sooner had his horn connected into flesh did the grey stallion find hooves coming towards him at a deadly speed. Throwing his head skyward the brute tries to sink his hind hooves into the dirt only to find a fucking mound rising below them. What was this demon part gopher?

Instead of helping him to get out of the way the damn mound causes his hooves to slide back down towards the black butt head putting him directly into the line of fire. Dammit, this was going to hurt. No sooner had the thought touched the tips of his mind did the attack hit him in the right shoulder. Cringing back and almost tripping over that damn molehill yet again he can feel the bruising already starting to spread out across the muscle. It may not hurt all that much right now but it would surely stiffen up with the colder weather later on tonight and into the morning. Pinning his ears back to his skull the whistling of wind alerts him to Verzes (if Kiara's screaming didn't do the job already).

With no intentions to become a half frozen popsicle the only thing left to do was to get his ass out of the way! Finding hold in the disgusting pig pen that had once been a battlefield he throws himself forward hoping that it is enough to avoid being blasted with the ice. His shoulder protests the movement already stiffening from the blow but he considers himself lucky to have avoided more than half Volterra's attacks. To his utter relief moving away seems to have avoided that pesky dragon's freezing breath, that is until he decides to try and move his tail. From tip to about midway up his tail has turned to ice making it feel more like a broom handle than his normal luxurious banner. Swinging it to the side the strands barely bend to the weight of gravity bringing a slight chuckle to his lips at the situation he finds himself in.

"That's enough brother." He states firmly softening his features from the angry battle worn soldier he had been moments before. "Ye have fought well and I commend you for your relentless passion."

Looking over to Kiara to find her snickering he could only shake his head and laugh along with her. He had to hand it to her for being still so young she could handle herself in battle and seemed no worse for wear. She had somehow occupied the red dragon and managed not to have any part of her frozen, yet he deals with the thing for one minute and look where it gets him. Guess he might have to finally accept some pointers from her on how not to become a popsicle.


Ciceron Speaks
Kiara Speaks
Silent Speech

Words: 462 | Closing Defence
Attack: 3/3 (No attack made this round)
Summary: Gets thrown off balance by Volterra's earth pile, gets hit in the right shoulder by his attack. Avoids majority of Verzes's frost breath except for his tail.
Notes: I loved reading Vol's reactions, very well written :)
Image Credit
[Image: ciceron_by_foxyfirewings-d7npcjn.png][Image: untitled_2_by_moonstone_designs-d9fwqyy.png]
Pixel Base- BronzeHalo
**Please Tag Me In All Posts**
Permission to attack, use magic and injure with the exception of maiming or death.

Official Posts: 847
Administrator
Stallion :: Equine :: ::
Official
#10
By my verdict: CICERON is the winner!

CICERON
Realism [-1]
Your realism is good in the attack and defense areas, but you seem to struggle with forms of powerplay, mainly dealing with the timing of events and failure to react to all of your opponent’s attacks. For instance, even in your first post you say that you circle Volterra, but you should write it as if you attempt to circle Volterra. In your second and third post you go on to change the timeline of Volterra’s attacks. In post 2 the dragon is attacking Kiara first, if not in fact simultaneous to when Volterra attacks Ciceron, yet you have Kiara warn Ciceron of Volterra’s attack to help him dodge it, and then have Ciceron warn Kiara and help her dodge the dragon and have Ciceron run over to bite at the dragon. When you mention Volterra’s attack you also only mention the earth mound, not Volterra’s physical ram, and similarly with Kiara you only mention the dragon’s frost, not its claw attack - just because you roll a miss doesn’t mean you can discount attacks which are written, you need to mention how and why they miss.

Similarly in your third post you have Volterra’s buck occurring before the dragon ices the sand, but the dragon is written as icing the sand before/during the buck. You also fail to mention the dragon’s tail attack at Kiara.

There were a few cases as well where your explanation didn’t fully make sense to me. You try to tie in the pools of water in the sand in your second post to help your electrical attack, but I don’t understand how the sandy water would help you. If you meant the water would help conduct the electricity then you need to say that. In post 3 I’m also confused about how Ciceron jumps over the iced sand, but cracks part of it (without slipping). Considering he already crow-hopped to the side to avoid the buck, that could have easily been enough to also avoid the ice, or just have him slip on the ice but not have it hurt him; the confusing and complex jump but hit on the ice was harder to understand and less likely. In your last post I’m also confused about how he was hit in the shoulder when Volterra aimed at his head, especially since you said Volterra’ earth magic worked, which was a large portion of earth moved (written as a plateau) not a molehill as you call it. Because the earth worked it should have unbalanced Ciceron forward as Volterra wrote it - if that’s not how it happened you needed to say as much, but instead you just say Ciceron is unbalanced/trips over the earth and is then hit in the shoulder which doesn’t explain anything. I did enjoy your tail being frozen though! Even though the dragon’s attack came right after Volterra’s, if not possibly at the same time, that he was moving around because of Volterra’s attack made sense that the dragon’s frost didn’t fully hit him.

There were times you mentioned breed and surroundings, but I’d love to see it play a larger role in your writing to help give substance to your location and opponent. I thought that other than what was mentioned, you took good injury and had plausible attacks and defenses. You worked well with your companion.


Emotion [+0]
Overall I felt your emotion very lacking in each post, though it did seem best in your second post. There were attempts at humor here and there, but mostly in the way you wrote something as the narrator, not in Ciceron’s actions or real thoughts. I also never fully understood his reaction to Volterra and the dragon during the fight, or to Ciceron’s continued evasive luck. There was some brief mentions of feeling, but always told and never shown, so it felt very dry and activity heavy which left me disconnected from Ciceron and Kiara as characters.


Prose [+1.5]
Your posts had some good flow throughout them, but I felt the lacked good description and imagery that could draw me into the scenery and the movement of the fight. Most of your vocabulary was very layman’s terms and there was mostly factual information versus sections that let me imagine the post and its characters. Spice up your wording a bit with some metaphors/similes and descriptive language!


Readability [+1]
Your posts were frequently confusing due in part to all the grammar issues and typos, but also because you so frequently used “him” and “he” and “his” which makes it difficult to distinguish when both fighters are male. Please don’t be afraid to use names! You also had some tense changes here and there, particularly in your second post. Take the time to proofread and even read your posts aloud to make sure they’re clear and correct.

P1:
“...he nods politely grateful…” (comma after politely)
“...the outcome, to improve…” (period or semi-colon not comma)
“...circled around his opponent’s studying…” (no apostrophe)
“...keep Vérzés interest…” (Vérzés’)

P2:
“...successful strike as his hooves touch back…” (run on sentence)
“...back to the presence…” (present)
“..was to sly.” (too)
“While he loved the…” (this sentence didn’t make sense)
“...he was remember…” (would?)
“...ears great the…” (greet)
“...he stand lose?” (+to)
“... towards the brutes right…” (brute’s)

P3:
“Cow hopping sideways…” (crow-hopping)
“...luck of due…” (or)
“...ignored majority …” (+the)
“...his feet where…” (were)
“...slid in a tighter…” (slide)
“...begun to later his coat…” (lather)


Finally tally: 57+(1.5*2)= 60 HP

*******************************************

VOLTERRA
Realism [+2]
Your realism does very well and it’s clear you have a good handle on how to attack and defend. What I struggled with was that you only took a bruise in your first post when the damage roll was for a 5, meaning the injury should have been a lot more extensive. You also used that injured leg essentially immediately after taking the hit which didn’t seem realistic. I did appreciate how you mention your injury affecting you during the fight, particularly in your second post.

Your second post was extremely well written from a realism standpoint - you did exceptionally well with including breed and scenery mentions as well as incorporating injury. Your third post however seemed rather lacking - it felt a bit rushed which was probably what caused the lack of explanation about how Volterra sustained his cut chest. You mention the war stomp distracts him causing him to take the injury, but you essentially write he just stands there so I don’t understand how Ciceron didn’t collide with him and fully impale him. The injury description also falls short and seems to have no effect on Volterra directly after as he rears. Unfortunately this post drug your realism score down quite a bit, so do be sure to follow through the whole of the fight!

Otherwise keep up the great work, it’s all there, just stay consistent.


Emotion [+2]
I felt very connected to Volterra throughout the entire fight, and was especially drawn in by his continued anger over the missed attacks - your second post was especially nice for the feelings! I always felt I clearly understood his motivation, not just for fighting but for each attack and defense strategy as well.


Prose [+3.5]
You had beautiful pose all throughout the fight which made you posts a joy to read. You used imagery and flow very well and had a nice assortment of vocabulary.


Readability [+3]
Very readable and well proof read with clear grammar and sentence structure adherence.


Finally tally: 37.5+(10.5*2)= 58.5 HP


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