He pushed against her, and she was satisfied once again that she was able to bring a reaction out of him, a defence that did not involve him passively, stoically standing by to absorb the attacks she threw. Perhaps if she could continue inspiring this movement from him, she could tire him out, wear him down so that he stood still out of exhaustion rather than by choice. Shadowed lips curled again in a smirk, as she noted that her strikes of impact against him had made some difference to his movement, his posture, the way in which he carried himself. But the grit and determination with which he continued to plough onwards impressed her, even as he attempted to hide the pain he suffered from - it would take such determination to win against her, more still to impress her enough to earn the title of Captain.

Her advantage in smallness when compared to him allowed her hind hoof to hit the hard, bony length of his cannon bone, and she thanked the rising stars for the hindrance it would hopefully provide in his stride; her aim was to make him immobile, either through pain or exhaustion, both were effective and would allow her to dance about him like the delicate shadow she was. However, it seemed that he would not be stopped, not yet. Warily she watched him move, the rush of the fight giving him the strength to push on, to keep running when another, weaker willed soul, may have stopped.

His pushing against her had given her something to launch herself against and off, giving her a space of a couple of feet to his left after her attacks had been laid. He carved a path in front of her then, turning his bulky form and face her, before dancing off to the right so that he could engage the haunches that towered so high above her own for an attack. She assumed it was the weakness caused by the injuries she had inflicted that meant his aim was considerably lower than it could have been, his hind hoof rising only to the level of her chest, instead of utilising the potential to make a strike at her neck, or shoulder. Mirage had moved as Thor has turned away from her, making the angle less perpendicular, and more obtuse, but not completely straight behind him. The swiftness of the buck prevented her from evading it completely, she wanted to stay near him, to prevent such damaging blows as this from reaching their full potential for causing damage.

So his hoof glanced against the bony outcropping that was the point of her right shoulder, and instinctively she felt herself lean away from the pain, lifting her right foreleg, reluctant to place it upon the ground . Though it was a glancing blow, it vibrated down the entire leg, and she knew it would affect her stride, as she plotted to chase him down where he fled. Another amused smirk quirked the corners of her mouth, though it was swallowed up in the grim façade of concentration a moment later as she roused herself into motion once again.

The hind end was the powerhouse of the horse, and hers was working fine, her breeding leant her agility against the great beast that was Thor, and now the fact that his left side was affected by a double blow to his hind end, hindered further by the ache he was undoubtedly feeling in his shoulder, she was able to gain ground on him swiftly, though her canter stride was unbalanced, slightly rocky and perhaps lowering the accuracy with which she would have otherwise moved with. She chased him down, coming up along his left side once more; her style was methodical and relentless - chip away at the exposed weakness until the resolve of the beast crumbled. It was her only hope against a foe so naturally well defended against the dainty, wraith-like creature that she was.

With her tail flagged in the air behind her, she drew slightly ahead of him, so that her shoulder was just in front of his own. Then she put on the breaks, so to speak, dug her hind feet into the shallow, flinty turf below, and simultaneously rose into a rear, with her forelegs hopefully dangling over the same shoulder she had struck twice before. It was unfortunate that the nearest leg for her to use would be the one Thor had managed to hurt just before, as the mare struck out once, twice with her right hoof towards the broad shoulder blade of the steed, not enough to break the bone but certainly enough to increase the size of the bruise that was already swelling there should her attacks land true.



[ 800 words.
0/2 companion/magic.
3/4 attack posts, 0/1 closing defence.
Okay! I can definitely see that you are getting a bit overwhelmed with the directions of the battle. I recommend drawing a picture, or even pulling out little figurines/toys and playing out the scene (yes, I did this..), it really does help you ‘see’ exactly what is going on, both with what your opponent is doing, and may help you plan your next move too.
Much better carry-on of injury affects here, though don’t write them up too much, a bruise is only a bruise after all.
Mirage defended herself from the buck by following Thor as he moved, and thus adjusting the angle, so it still landed, but was more of a glancing blow than a complete impact against her. She then charged on ahead, and reared at his left shoulder again, striking out with her right foot. ]

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