A small groove in the stone beneath me gave way under my weight before I realized just how much Mirage had actually clipped my left hind cannon. Flames licked through the tendons there and I faltered. It was a short misstep that I was trying to avoid but after taking her first two blows openly, there was nothing I could do to save the tender flesh that had been damaged in her assault. The warm throb pulsing upon my shoulder was paid little heed due to the fact that it would not lay me on my back if smattered once more. However as the pain grew, siphoning through the nerve endings like ice water, I was unsure about how true that former revelation actually was. However, Mirage didn’t give me much time to nurse my new wounds nor really even consider their worth. There was too much at stake now as we raced along the stone floor toward the cliff’s edge.

My legs seemed to stretch beneath me, flying wildly away from the wraith but knowing that I would not succeed. She came as predicted, pushing her weight into my shoulder in a powerful lunge. My shoulder turned inward and trembled, showing signs of wear as I knew it would, as she knew it would. My neck snaked low at this attack and leaned into her blow to try and counteract her damaged by lessening the weight my front left leg carried, but it was difficult. I faltered once more before regaining step and trying to veer away from her, further and further towards the left, toward the sea that cheered from below the ragged edge. But Mirage had other ideas because her legs were sent careening back into my injured left hind cannon and part of me wanted to cry out, but instead rage ensued.

The lip lie ahead before I skidded to a halt and pivoted back to face her, fluidly moving into her path of ascent but before I could precede her entirely, I moved quickly upon her right side whereupon my hind feet left the stone hoping to find purchase upon her left front breast. We now stood in an awkward “L”, she facing the sea and I facing the long path that wrapped along our borders along the crag’s face. When I came back down from the vicious buck, a searing strike of agony roved through my injured hind leg. I was helpless to avoid yet another faltering step but at least this time I was ready for the pain that I knew would follow such rapid movement.

I had been disappointed in myself for missing my shot at her delicate nape and the bitter taste of withdrawn hair clung to my dry lips. I had tugged a few stray pieces free but it obviously did little in the way of affecting her. A golden ray caught my eye as Akaith awaited in the tree tops where I had formerly seen her in the beginning of the spar and the little gold gave me a bit of hope. I thought of her happy chatter and used it to concentrate on a rhythm that I thought would help me through the course of this brutal dance. I had tried to aim true in my kick, but my brain hadn’t registered the hit just yet and the lack of feeling brought me back into her side again, her right and my left. The flash of teeth was again unmistakable but I felt so entirely off-kilter that I wasn’t even sure that I would find the release that I desperately sought.

The heaviness in my step was distinctive now and I tried to make it bear my weight more naturally so that she wouldn’t see the pain in my eyes. I had to push through it, I had to prevail. I wondered what was to come next as I quickly learned that my adversary was quite unpredictable. But if my heels were able to make purchase I knew that the hit would not be a light one. I didn’t want to be underestimated here, not now. My step was aimed to angle away from the small black mare but it was incredibly difficult after her second attack to my cannon. The cornet started to ache now, a sign of obvious future bruising and perhaps a few days of rest because the bottom of her heel had managed to graze the tender bone there and my shoulder quaked from the open gash upon it. Even as I turned away from her now to protect my already throbbing wounds, I knew that I would face her once again to prove myself in spite of the pain. It only goaded me further, pushed me harder.

Word Count: 794
2/4 Attack Posts
Summary: Thor tried to subdue Mirage’s first attack by leaning into her and using his neck to take a bit of the blow so that his shoulder would not suffer more, however, the wound still throbs and trembles from the strain and promise of later bruising. While dealing with the pain in his shoulder that causes him to falter in his step, Mirage is able to land a vicious kick to his left back cannon. This again causes him to falter but he uses the pain to fuel his next attack. Racing ahead of Mirage he cuts her off before looping around to her right side to buck at her front left breast (chest). After bucking he attempts to regain footing and bite again at her hind right flank but his footing is questionable. He then tries to run away from her in the opposite direction in order to protect himself from further attack.

Ooc: I feel like I’m losing myself in all of the directions from left to right. XD I think that’s what hinders me the most. I tried to include more about the injuries and how they felt and affected him and this time I made sure that he wasn’t so idle. I also tried to be more specific about which parts of the body he was trying to hit or had been hit on him so just let me know if there’s more that I need to think about. I tend to be a bit narrow-minded.