The stone soldier is, as Toulouse had assumed, patrolling. It's as boring as balls, but it's part of her job description, so Oizys tackles the task with as much gusto as she can muster. Having Ker at her side makes this duty far easier, as the raptor can help scan areas in seconds that would take the gargoyle hours. Together they amble through the Basin, searching for anything untoward that might need their attention, blissfully unaware that their peace is soon to be shattered.

Oizys does not get much warning of her impending testicle-free attacker. If it wasn't for Ker, she'd have had even less notice that she's being preyed upon - as it is, her eagle unleashes a loud, alarmed shriek that cuts into the mare's ears and bids her to swing around, scanning for the threat. "Behind!" squeals Ker, and Oizys turns again, but there's little chance of managing to avoid her assailant completely. Her movement means his blow lands squarely on the right side of her rump instead of her shoulder, and his razor-sharp teeth sink through her skin like knives. She's never been bitten in battle before, but she'd expected bruising, pinching, aching. Not slicing, not blood erupting from the gaping wound, not a spasm of agony as the teeth carve through flesh and into hard muscle.

She roars, blundering blindly forwards and hurling her weight to the right to try and pivot around and face her attacker, which causes his flailing hoof to mercifully miss its target. Her rump, though, is a hot pit of agony, the muscle badly sliced by the offending fangs and blood oozing freely from the twin pinpricks. Her movement causes them to create small slices as well, and the pain is ungodly. "Holy fuckity fuck," she bellows, her ears flattening down and her eyes rolling furiously in her head. They search for their attacker, ready to smash, ready to annihilate - and, finally, they see him.

It's him. Well, of course it is.

"What in the name of the Spark God's hairy ball-sack was that for?" she hisses, her ass stinging with an almost unbearable level of torment. She's used to pain - the harpy-scars on her face indicate that she's used to more pain than most people suffer in a lifetime - but there's something particularly acute about this agony. The way the fangs have carved so deeply into her...it feels like a violation, like her very body has been soiled by whatever unholy mutation Toulouse possesses. She knew he was dodgy as fuck from the moment she met him, but even she hadn't thought he had giant-ass fangs stashed in his lips.

His roar, though, indicates his intentions. A spar. Realisation flits across the mare's face and she hardens her expression, preparing herself for war. She's still new to the battlefield, but there's no chance she's going to make that obvious, so she assesses the gelding like a true warrior should. Their heights are identical, although Oizys' great bulk signifies her superior strength. Their speed and agility cannot be too far apart, but she's guessing his endurance outstrips hers - she will tire faster, so it's in her best interests to try and end the fight quickly.

She knows just the way to do that.

Ker shifts, moving like a lightning bolt. From Oizys' mane she grabs a vial, pulls the tail-hair plug from it and, in a fraction of a second, hangs it downwards in her claws so the crimson liquid within trickles into the gargoyle's waiting mouth. Without hesitation, Oizys lunges forwards, seeking to approach Toulouse head-on, and as she does so she calls upon her magic. Agony erupts, her bones snapping, crumbling, reforming, her thick bulk growing even larger, hair sprouting across her whole body - and instead of a young mare throwing herself at Toulouse, there's a massive grizzly bear, huge and muscled and deadly. From her muzzle she unleashes a thunderous snarl, lifting onto her hind legs and attempting to wrap her colossal forearms around the gelding's neck as though in an embrace. Her hooked claws seek to rasp against the flesh of his withers, trying to leave devastation in their wake, and she forces her weight downwards to try and wrestle him to the ground.

Her jaws unfurl, attempting to bite hard into the left side of his neck - she doesn't insert enough force to kill him should she hit, but he doesn't need to know that. Let him think he is about to be crushed by the titanic grizzly that is trying to drag him to the ground like prey. Let him know what it feels like to be bitten, to have his body infiltrated in such a way.

Let him suffer.

_________

@Toulouse !

1/3 - 785 words