kiss this

The grin at the edges of his muzzle grew as he saw the the annoyance on his childhood’s friend’s face while he bounced atop the moving soil; the awkward gracelessness was so unbefitting the serpent that it inwardly amused the Elephant. The amusement spread to pleasure as his great, spiraled spear found the flesh of his friend— but not too much flesh. Indeed, it seemed that Aji retained his lithe, agile fighting prowess while being the poisoner of the Council. Relief flooded the King as his hooves bit into the snow and icy earth, halting his massive momentum while his head snapped up, eyes attempting to track the limber movements of the snake. How disappointing this would have been had Aji not retained his sparring abilities.

A black rimmed ear flicked towards the circling Dorobian, catching the exhaled words while his great shoulders tensed to absorb the slipping of his ivory hooves in the snow and final, hard jarring as they bit into the icy soil to halt his massive body. A low grunt left his nostrils as a slight twinge bit through his right knee— the one that had been so infected earlier in the season. But it was short-lived, a momentary reminder of his dark mistakes.

His gaze sharpened on the taunting, flowing silk that streams behind Aji— and too late does his mind and motionless body see the stabbing trajectory of those sharp, dual horns. He snorted one loud, short breath before tensing the bulky muscles of his right shoulder— hoping to give those spiraled horns some kind of resistance and slow their sinking into his flesh. His great ivory hooves tried to shift sideways, away from the blow, but in those nanoseconds before impact little distance could be gained (even by the massive strides of the Elephant).

Impact came, and with it a grunt from the giant’s barrel. Aji’s horns were still as sharp and painful as he remembered— perhaps it was he that had grown soft, as he had once been able to avoid those horn-tips with ease; but not now. The initial stab stung, to be certain, but it was the upward rake of those kudu horns through muscle and hide that brought a searing pain to film his eyes in red.

The King had grown to expect the elephantine trumpets and familiar heat in his chest whenever anger or pain surfaced in him. He expected it and caged it— he did not want to burn another one of his friends alive. But, as his hoarse roar and gaping mouth suddenly froze mid-bite towards the serpent, he did not know to expect the sudden explosion of strength and size that unfolded from his barrel. For frozen moments in time, he grew larger (larger?! He was already elephantine!).

With Alysanne, the change that had rippled through him came from frustrated pain in his knee (and towards the Doctor). Now, it came from the pain in his shoulder— but it was not uncontrollable, merely unexpected. Still, despite his surprise, the old general used this advantage that had sprung from his skin.

Great ears flapped once, adjusting to their sudden size. His long, curved tusks drug through the air threateningly, but was his whipping trunk that held the brunt of his attack. His tusks could gore and kill— that was not the point of this spar. But his great trunk— that pendulous appendage with all it’s dextrous muscle; that was a weapon that could knock an opponent off their feet.

A deafening, echoing trumpet ripped from the transformed Elephant King, shaking snow from tree limbs and rippling the water beneath the ice.

WC: 608
A: 2/3
D: 0/1
Damage Tracker: Moderate flesh wound on right shoulder
Summary: Kiuaji's horns slice through muscle of right shoulder. He morphs into elephant and RAGES, BRO (tries to hit Aji with trunk) @Kiuaji

:: [ Magic: Earth | Can transform into an African Elephant. ]
:: [ Restrictions | Immobilized for 10 sec, can only transform once during battle. ]