Själ

It was not confidence that had driven the young mare across the fields toward the earth queen before her; no, it was a special kind of desperation, fed by the need to protect those (the one) she loved.  Själ had no knowledge of the fighting arts, no experience in the ways of war, and as she plunged headlong along the radius of her circle, she felt a thrill of adrenaline rush through her.  She was suddenly feeling too much at once - she was excited, terrified, bloodthirsty, squeamish - she had no time to process the emotions assaulting her - she was upon the larger mare, and there was no more time to think -

Själ had not meant to hit the mare; she had been trying to dodge to the side, feinting to distract the stranger while Ansgar attacked from above.  To her surprise, her horn caught angrily on flesh and sliced violently through sinew; as she carved along the mare's side, Själ felt her horn scrape on bone beneath the stranger's skin.  Her horn had hit ribs as she galloped by, and despite the gritty scrape of bone-on-bone and the sudden spray of blood upon her face, Själ was giddy with an unexpected glee.  I hit her! she exalted.  Who knew that she would like spilling blood?  The young mare flicked her head, trying to free herself and get away from the (now sure-to-be-angry) hybrid, but her horn merely stabbed into the other mare's shoulder (how little control she had, how very frustrating).  The bigger horse turned frantically away from the pain that Själ had accidentally inflicted, and Själ veered in the opposite direction in an attempt to get out of the Mountain's range.

Ansgar was diving, intent on her prey, and it was not until she saw an icy wave extend below her that she realized that she had made a mistake.  The griffin and her bonded had both assumed that the dragon would be as distracted as its master by Själ's antics; neither had guessed that it might intercept the griffin in its frigid breath.  By then it was too late to halt her descent, so Ansgar flared her wings and angled herself toward the ground.  Her altered path allowed her to drop through the edges of the ice rather than its center, but she still shrieked angrily as her belly and legs went numb, tiny icicles forming in her fur from the water in the air.  Själ winced as she felt a shadow of the griffin's chill; Ansgar muttered reassurances through the bond.

A scream split the air, turning both Själ and her griffin's attention toward the stranger.  The unicorn's ears flattened against her skull, protecting her from the sudden sound.  Ansgar screeched angrily in return, unimpressed by what she felt was an overdramatic response to pain.  Själ felt a sudden wave of guilt, for however much she may have enjoyed causing the wound, she had enough of a conscience to feel bad about it.  She was slowing, turning slightly, halting with her right side facing the Mountain. Her mouth opened to apologize and offer help, but then she noticed that the earth was moving.  Fear spread through her, paralyzing her in the face of the growing ball of mud that was forming in the air.  Shitshitshitshitshit -

A shower of icy shards exploded around the ball, surprising the unicorn and spurring her into action.  She leaped forward, trying to trace the circle she had previously made around the stranger, but it was too late - the icy ball of mud collided with her the right side of her barrel, so hard that it nearly knocked her over.  She staggered sideways, suddenly unable to breathe, pain exploding along her side.  She didn't know what it felt like to lose her breath, nor that it would pass.  A gasping, choking sound erupted from her throat (Can't breathe, no air -) as her mind was overtaken with the terror that comes with suffocation.  Later, she would realize that the ribs that had broken were the more pressing issue.

A furious shriek cut the air as Ansgar, having recovered from her mild chill, lunged toward the stranger, hoping to avoid the dragon's breath for long enough to actually hit the mare this time.  Pools of darkness swirled around her paws as she flew close to the ground; with one eye on the reptile, the griffin attempted to swoop quickly onto the Mountain's back from her left side to hook sharp claws into the mare's shoulders.  The darkness, if she succeeded, would pervade the mare's senses, draining away life and magic to protect the unicorn and distract their opponents, giving Själ time to try to recover.

"Talk."

Words :: 787
Attack :: 2/3

--Ansgar.--