Even as Gaucho reared into Levi, he had not seen the blood from the wound on Levi's stomach - as his snout was raised high in the air to protect his eyes from possible bites or lashes from Levi's hooves. But as the battle overcame him, the scent of blood was unmistakable in the air. It was an acrid and metallic taste on his tongue; pleasurable, although surprising. Gaucho didn't give his opponents well-being more than a moments consideration, for Levi quickly rose up to meet Gaucho, which was confirmation enough that the grulla wished to continue despite his injury. Still, in the back of Gaucho's mind, he wondered how it was that he was injured so badly. An old wound, perhaps. Gaucho quickly felt the pull of blood-lust overcoming him, causing his vision to be tainted by the desire to wound, and maim. Still, his primitive mind was socialized enough to not flip the switch between spar, and all out domination. And yet...the temptation to feel Levi's bones break beneath his hooves was tantalizing.

As he was rearing, Gaucho felt Levi attempt to head-butt his shoulder, and snarled in anger. His hooves thrashed against the stallion as Levi rose up, mirroring Gaucho's position. Given their height differences, Levi's hooves were no where near Gaucho's head, although the stallion did successful grate along Gaucho neck, striking his throat painfully. Grunting as his throat flared in pain, his windpipe feeling bruised with each breath, Gaucho viscously shoved Levi back to protect his neck from being attacked any more.

Without warning, for Gaucho hadn't even seen Levi move* as he lowered himself back to the ground, he felt a stinging sensation in his thigh. Luckily Levi was still close - he couldn't have had time to leap away and get a full range of motion behind his kick, and yet even at short range, Gaucho felt his muscle cramp. It felt as though Levi had almost kicked the war-paint brand on his hip. A snarl braced his lips as he remembered how those brands came to reside on his hide, and he had to check himself from lashing out at Levi violently. The combination of blood, and the disrespect that Levi had unknowingly shown by kicking at that marking, made Gaucho see red. But Levi couldn't have known, even a primitive and simple creature like Gaucho understood that. Horses of the throat used words like sar-gent to tell others who they were within the herd; where Gaucho had come from, they had used brands, and the bay took his very seriously.

Feeling the heat of the sun beating down on him, Gaucho was again glad that he hadn't charged to meet Levi earlier. His bay coat provided no insulation from the sun, and seemed to absorb the rays, rather than reflect them. He felt a slick lather between his thighs, and the dizziness that came from trying to revive his oxygen-craved muscles using hot air. He wasn't sure which was warmer: the air he was breathing out in hot fast streams, or the stagnant air he was pulling into his lungs.

With a final effort, Gaucho lunged forward, leading with his left shoulder. Tucking his wings back, he hurtled his muscular frame at Levi's right flank, aiming to contact just behind his shoulder joint. Opening his jaws wide, Gaucho mashed his teeth together hoping to land a bite on Levi's neck as he flung himself at the grullo. (Either hitting him or not), Gaucho tucked his muzzle to his right shoulder, shielding his large head from a further attack, and turned into his right, away from Levi, bucking at the stallion's flank as he defensively moved away.





[Sorry Ava! I definitely thought I had been good with the directions. I tried to make things clear in this post - and I"ll definitely keep that in mind for the future!


* I was a little confused here: First they are rearing, facing one another, and then suddenly it seems like Levi is parallel to Gaucho, with them both facing the same way - that's the only way I can visualize Levi using his right hind leg, to hit Gaucho's left thigh. But it doesn't seem like you said Levi moved, only that "Gravity pulled him down". I'm assuming that he swung his butt back around to kick at Gaucho, since visually I think that makes the most sense. Sorry if I"m reading you wrong!

Attack 2/2: Lunges at Levi's right flank/just behind his shoulder, and also tries to bite his neck.
Defence: tucks his head and turns to the right, bucking at Levi's flank as he moves away.

Injuries: Bruised windpipe, sore left hip.