Although Gaucho was a strong creature, the muscles in his neck were still getting used to the weight of the rack of antlers upon his brow. To begin the spar, he had set himself up defensively, with his head lowered, planning on using the antlers to fight Ayaka off, should she come for him straight on. Having only fought equines before, Gaucho was astonished to see how quickly a creature her size could move. As she launched herself towards his left shoulder, Gaucho awkwardly raised his head, trying to block her using his antlers, and failing completely. The weight felt foreign, and as he swung his neck he found his momentum and balance faltering. Gaucho grunted as her teeth sank into the skin on his left shoulder. The brute immediately pressed his wings to his sides instinctively - by holding them out at the angle he was, he may have in fact aided her in attacking his shoulder.

As blood trickled from the flayed skin on his shoulder, he felt that sensation again, that darkness he had felt when the antlers bonded to his forehead. It was like an itching behind his eye and under his skin. Snorting, his lip snarling as his mind tried to deduce whether this was a pleasurable, or painful sensation. What had she done? Was there some venom in her bite that was now effecting him? Emitting a sharp squeal, Gaucho found that at least he was still able to move, or so it seemed. Lost in the experience of his body accepting his new magic for the first time, he failed to defend himself against Ayaka's attack to his back. As he felt her claws grip onto his wide back and folded wings, his mind suddenly snapped back into sharp focus. The combination of her teeth and claws on his skin was infuriating; magic would be no aid to him if he was distracted by it. Grunting, he dropped his left shoulder hoping to dislodge her, and bucked.

As she jumped from his back, he continued to whirl all the way to the left, facing her. The itch of his magic now became like a wave within him - sloshing behind his eyes and tingling in his hooves. Unknowingly, Ayaka's initial bite had released the potential energy of his magic, and now it was simply waiting to be let out. As Ayaka howled, Gaucho found himself astonished to see a stream of fire coming from her throat. Instinctively he shoved himself backwards, his nostrils flaring as his steely blue gaze eyed the fire fearfully. Rearing into the air, he pawed defensively at the flames, singeing the hair around his fetlocks, and causing a sun-burn like sensation on his knees and lower forelegs.

Without truly understanding how, he felt a wave of cold rush within him. The beads on the dreamcatcher, laced between his horns began to glow faintly, as three distinct spirits comprised of smoke poured out of the dream catcher. They were each of them smaller than Ayaka, taking the form of wolves with flashing teeth and hungry eyes. Floating to the ground they issued unearthly barks and snarls as they moved to circle the she-wolf. Instinctively, without any rational basis, Gaucho believed that they would not harm him. Using the opportunity to his advantage, Gaucho lunged towards Ayaka, lowering his antlers and moving much like a bulldozer, hoping to knock into her using the spines of his rack. As he moved, following her movements, he began to toss his lowered head, while he kicked out with exaggerated movements, hoping to strike her using his forelegs.

[Magic is definitely okay!

Summary: Tries to block her using his antlers and misses. He folds his wings to his back, but becomes distracted by his magic allowing her to jump onto his back. Snapping back, he drops his left shoulder and bucks to get her off. Spinning around (rotating left) to face her, he backs up frightening as she howls fire at him, and rears pawing at the flames, burning his hair and singeing his forelegs/knees. Using his magic, three wolf-spirits, smaller than Ayaka come from his dreamcatcher and try to circle her (I believe if she bites at them, they would just disappear :) ), hoping she will be distracted, he lowered his head and tries to bulldoze her with his horns, and kick out at her using his front legs.

Attack 1/2 : Magic - 3 small spirits, Tries to hit her with his horns and kicks at her using his front hooves.]

The sensation of picking up the she-wolf with his antlers was incredibly satisfying. He felt...empowered somehow by this action. He was a large creature, and had used his size to his advantage in the majority of his spars, by knocking into his opponents and sending them staggering. Yet actually lifting her, was a magnificent feeling. Although this was only a spar, Gaucho could still feel the itch in the back of his brain, telling him how easy it would be in that moment to completely crush the life out of her. To perhaps cage her under his rack and beat her senseless with his hooves. For a primitive creature like Gaucho, the idea of killing someone was utterly consuming. Of snuffing their life out, of watching their hot blood running until finally it would run no more...It was a sensual feeling, warming his belly and causing a stirring in his loins just thinking about it. As his hoof connected with hers, he felt the sensation increase. At the beginning of the spar he had anticipated how hard it would be to strike her with his hooves, and he had been right. The connection between their flesh was made that much more satisfying by her speed and agility.

Had Gaucho been aware that one of the tines of his antler had in fact gashed Ayaka, he may have pulled back slightly. Gaucho was not one to throw a spar simply to see if his opponent was alright, but nor did the brute typically maim and injury senselessly. As the antlers did not grow from his head, all he felt was the impact of her body against the rack, rather than any specific point piercing her flesh. As she howled out in pain, a primal grin etched across his features, though given the downwards position of his head, he was unable to see the true pain in her eyes, or see her begin to favor her wounded leg.

With his head still mostly lowered, his reaction time was not as quick as it could have been, as she moved from nurturing her wounded paw, to running under his belly. As she moved around him, beginning to run under his stomach, he hopped into the air, extending all four legs straight off the ground, and beating his wings to try and increase the distance. From a standstill, the only ‘airtime’ he managed to achieve was possibly lifting himself an additional inch or two off of the ground, but it meant the difference between having her teeth tear off his flesh, or merely gouge him. Managing the latter of the two, Gaucho felt Ayaka’s teeth graze his soft underbelly, brutally scratching and causing instant blood-blister track marks where her teeth had been. Emitting a sharp squeal of anger, having never been bitten on his stomach before, he whirled around in time to see her reddish body leaping towards the right side of his neck. Driven by instinct and the knowledge that he was far bigger and could easily counter her momentum, Gaucho pushed himself forwards, raising his right shoulder to try and impact her as she struck his neck. Raising his muzzle high into the air to avoid her claws or teeth from doing any damage to his eyes, he hurtled his outstretched right wing towards her body, hoping to knock into her shoulder and causing her to fall from him. He could feel blood rushing to the surface of his neck, and could feel the stinging sensation of where her teeth had sunk into his thick muscles. His blood, mixing with his slick sweat and the moisture from the heated Tallsun afternoon, caused trickles of milky pink to begin making small tributaries on his dark hide.

As she leaped off, Gaucho grunted with pain as the muscles in the right side of his neck began to immediately stiffen from the impact. Just as he was about to lunge for her again, she opened to her mouth once again to emit a howl of flame. A look of terrified fury overtook his emotionless gaze as he quickly stepped back about 4 paces from the wall of flame. Snorting impatiently, he eyed the fire warily as it crackled and tried to consume the lush moist grass. As much as he wanted to simply go through, his primal nature told him that fire was to be feared, and treated with respect. If she could create a fire simply by howling, how was he to know that it was regular fire that burned so brightly in front of him? He could fly over it, of course, but given the time it would take him to get his large self air-born, it would give her enough time to easily avoid him as he landed. Feeling blistering sweat pop up on his shoulders and chest from the heat of the fire, and the sun, Gaucho reared up, flapping his great black wings at the flames, to try and blow them towards Ayaka, possibly burning her with her own magic. Having spilled more blood now, instead of three small vapors, 1 large smokey-spirit ebbed from his antlers, in the shape of a great bear, easily twice the size of Ayaka. Made of star-stuff, the bear easily lumbered through the fire, leaping over Ayaka magically and trying to barricade her between its body, and the flames Gaucho was blowing her way.


[I’m assuming the barricade you had her make was supposed to be big enough he couldn’t jump over, or just quickly run around? You didn’t specify, so I’m just going to act as though it wasn’t something Gaucho could quickly avoid. :)

Summary: Gaucho continues to attack Ayaka, unaware that one of his antler-tines pierced her. He hops into the air to try and avoid her biting his stomach, but only succeeds in lessening the severity. Her teeth scrape the skin causing blood-blisters and bruising, but not tearing the flesh. Turning, he sees her flying towards him and throws his right shoulder into her oncoming attack and raises his head to avoid injury. As she bites at his neck, causing wounds, he tries to hit her with his right wing to get her off. Once she creates the flame-wall, he rears and flaps his wings at the blaze to try and redirect the flames towards her. Having spilled more blood, a spirit the size and shape of a bear emerge from his antlers, magically sailing over the fire and trying to barricade her between itself and the flames. Note, if she touches the larger spirit, there is the potential for her to feel a chill or numbing for 15 seconds, as well as feeling fear.

Defense: Hops into the air to avoid her teeth, hits her with his right wing as she attacks his neck.
Attack 2/2 : Uses his wings to try and move the fire towards her, issues a spirit-bear at her. ]

With each stroke of his wings, fanning the flames, he felt the tightness on the right side of his neck increase. As the muscles in his shoulder and back pulled and pushed, he could feel his neck tensing - causing more blood to rush to the surface of his thick muscular neck; blood drooling out of the wounds Ayaka's teeth had created. Gaucho had to ignore the primal urge in the back of his mind to run from the flames - to ignore the heat on his knees and nose as the backdraft of the fire began to slowly envelope him. But the day was already swelteringly hot - and being in the Heavenly Fields, that much closer to the sun, was not helping.


Due to the height of the flames, Gaucho could not see whether or not Ayaka had been effected by his strategy, or by the spirit-bear. As her cry of pain wafted over the sound of burning grass and his own laboured breaths, he grunted with relief, immediately dropping to all-fours once again, and spinning hard to the right to distance himself from the fire. Trotting a few steps and panting heavily, Gaucho turned again to the right, having moved in a large oval, to face the flames once more from a safer distance. Lowering his head, his flanks heaving out and in, his wings drooped wearily down, his longest flight feathers brushing the lush grass. He was exhausted - The combination of his initial charge towards Ayaka, combined with the energy he expelled by beating his wings in such a fury to fan the flames, was draining to say the least. However, combining that with the pain of her bites and scratches on his neck and belly, and the sweltering heat from the sun and fire, made his efforts all the more gruelling

Perking his ears forward, his steely grey eyes monitored the flames, expecting to see her form leaping through at any moment for another attack. When none came, the brute grunted, relieved that the spar was over.He feared he had perhaps been too strong with the she-wolf, and may have hurt her unnecessarily. If she was of the Throat, he didn't want to cause her any undo harm. While he had taken into consideration how difficult it would be to land an attack on her swift, lithe form, he had not considered the potential damage that he could cause when he did land an attack.

His body was now slick with sweat, and yet oddly the war-paint markings were completely unaffected. The blood on his neck, having clotted somewhat, was now a mess of pinkish foam, and the cut on his nose was simply bright pink skin. "Ayaka?" He called out, eyeing the flames warily still, and moving no closer. Flicking his tail, he felt beads of sweat fly off, and sizzle onto the burning grass. He would be careful the next time he sparred with a wolf - he had been bitten by fellow equines before, but their herbivore teeth typically only caused bruises, or blood-blisters. Ayaka's teeth and claws on the other hand, had flayed the skin from his nose, bruised his belly, and wounded his neck. The red she-wolf was a true predator, and the brute found that he had a deeper respect for her now, than when they first began.


[Summary: Spins away from the flames once he hears Ayaka call out in pain. Moves back a few feet and calls out to her, still eyeing the flames.

Defence: Moves away from the flames.

Yay! I needed the practise too! Continue back in the fields? It would be your post I believe :3 ]