There were advantages and disadvantages of close combat - it allowed one to monitor their enemy more acutely, it decreased the effectiveness of attacks that would require strength from a run-up, attacks that could deal an enormous amount of damage if landed, restricting one to utilise moves that required more skill, accuracy and ingenuity in order to be a valuable use of energy. As her teeth clasped down upon the warm skin of Thor, she hoped, for the sake of not receiving another mark upon her hide, that he would not be creative enough to think about striking at her in these close quarters - but at the same time, she did hope he would try and fulfil the image she held in her mind of the most perfect, ingenious Captain, one who would take every opportunity presented, one who would not hold back even when things seemed dire, hopeless.

He came through for her.

Beneath her teeth, she felt the muscles tense and bunch, coil and wind up, preparing the limb below for a single, powerful strike. It was difficult to know exactly what he was planning, but soon enough she felt the shuffling of hooves below and felt the hard blow of hoof upon bone. It struck her left cannon bone, perfectly midway between her pastern joint and her knee, and triggered a bone-deep thud to reverberate up her leg, inciting pain through every hurt on her body as it travelled, like a shockwave, up and down her spine. The only way she was able to lessen the impact was to move her foreleg back, but it was a delayed reaction, and did little to save her from any suffering caused by the dinner-plate-sized feet of Thor.

The metallic twang of blood hit her tongue as he pulled away after laying his attack, and with a snort she did her best to rid herself of the taste, teeth grinding together and eyes pinching tightly shut as all the hurts of this spar reminded her of their furious existence. Her shoulder radiated pain, and as it did so, it inflamed the throbbing of the bite higher up on the same side of her neck. So caught up on the great wave of pain that pulsed about her body, she was oblivious to the movement of Thor until he had gotten quite close to her left side. Instincts, and nothing else, told her to move forward, to disable those hooves attached to his hind legs from landing an attack that would be a hundred times more powerful than the one she had just been given. The rush of wind past her haunches, the scraping of the flat of his hoof against her buttock was all she felt from his effort.

He landed, and as she saw him pull away, she sighed deeply, heavily, releasing the tension of her muscles clinging tightly in preparedness to her skeleton, relaxing for the first time since coming across Thor this evening. A colourful trill from Akaith came from the treeline, it was somehow behind them now, the many twists and turns of the spar had left her addled in where it had been, where she was standing. The golden dragon flew down, crooning softly to the titanic beast on her way past, before alighting on the ground near her beloved. Through the bond, she could feel the pain in her beloved as if the wounds were upon her own scaled hide, she knew better than to alight upon the little mare's back despite wanting intimacy of touch in such a time of need.

The cushion effect of Akaith's soul however, was all Mirage needed to begin feeling herself again, however, as with an elegant tilt of her head, she turned towards Thor, her breaths coming swiftly still in the wake of the scuffle, her soft muzzle reaching out to him in a gesture of thanks, congratulations, and comradely affection. "You have done well." Was all her sweetly accented tones proffered, quietly, honestly. She was proud to call him a herdmate, prouder still that he would lend his skills in a fight to her, to their family, should the need ever arise. Her gait was uneven, the ache of her foreleg causing her to walk with a definite jarring tilt, the annoyance of her mane swaying against the bite upon her crest causing the muscles to twitch uncontrollably; she was hurt, yes, but she was deeply satisfied with the entire ordeal, she knew now that she would feel comfortable bestowing the title of Captain to this particular brute, however now the decision was out of her metaphorical hands, it was up to Thor to do well throughout this tournament in order to gain the title for himself.



[792 words.
4/4 attack posts. 1/1 closing defence. 2/2 magic/companion uses.
Mirage’s injuries sustained in total:
- Bite to left flank
- Right shoulder bruised
- Nasty bite on right side of neck
- Large bruise on left foreleg cannon bone
Once again, a great post Linds. I love Thor’s entire outlook on the fight, I love that he is consistently ‘there’ the whole time, like there is no point in time where I feel like I am just watching a horse go through the motions of having a spar.
I will admit that his final buck attack did leave me a bit lost, as far as, how exactly did he line himself up? He wheeled around yes, but then, to make the ‘V’ shape, it would have taken some tight manoeuvring, it was maybe pushing the bounds a bit far. But, still, it everything was nicely explained, you told me exactly what he was aiming for, and you carried on his injuries/magic affects really well. You should be so happy with yourself!
In this post, Mirage cannot avoid feeling his foreleg strike, though she does lift her foreleg just after it hits as a delayed reaction. The blow rekindles all the injuries she has sustained with a sharp clarity, and it is not until the last second that she realises what Thor’s next move is that she stumbles forward, and manages to only feel the flat of his hoof wall against her thigh.
Now, we wait for the Judge’s verdict. Whee~]

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