Gaucho had never been to the Steppe before. It was almost as far away from the warm sands of the Throat, as one could go. Yet the brute had been feeling restless; his patrolling shift did not begin until later that evening, and Gaucho felt no desire to lounge around the Throat, avoiding idle chatter with the harem of mares.Although his sense of duty to protect his family was as strong as ever, he still felt distant from a great many of them, as he often failed to understand simple societal etiquette, or to even hold a conversation. He was a warrior, a sold-jur as My-dus called him; his duty was to guard and defend, not to chit-chat. Yet he constantly felt as though he was expected to uphold these strange and awkward customs. It was confusing, and while his primitive mind could not fully comprehend the complexities of the emotions he was feeling, he felt frustrated none the less.

And so, Gaucho flew.

Mara, the black mamba snake who had taken a liking to him, and literally hung around (in his antlers), did not approve of flying at all. As the altitude increased and the air pressure and temperature dropped, her cold-blooded body grew stiff and lifeless, and the mental bond that they shared became erratic and hostile. Still, Gaucho did not pay much attention - it was she who chose to stick around, and while he would provide for her the ways he could, he would not alter his decisions purely for her own physical comfort.

Nearing the Arch, the brute was intrigued by the labyrinth of caves which gleamed in the mid-day sun below. Bringing his wings to his sides and descending downwards, he landed upon the snow with a soft thud, marveling at how crystalline and unaffected by the sun these lands appeared to be. With a grunt, the large bay entered into one of the caves, folding his massive wings neatly at his sides, as the width of the cave dictated so. Moving towards the back - which was not a back, but merely an entrance to another cave - Gaucho’s gray-blue gaze inspected the walls with interest, noting how smooth the surfaces appeared to be.

Fight me...fight me...f i gh t m e .....

Perking his ears forward, he caught an echo which sounded relatively close, saying one of his favourite phrases. Without a moments thought, the bay lurched forward, picking up a bouncy trot as he moved deeper into the maze. Rounding a corner, still moving forward quite quickly, he spied a rather tall roan unicorn facing him, with some sort of contraption at her side. In the blink of an eye, Gaucho’s primitive mind did what it did best: it turned off. He no longer thought, he merely processed information. He took in the mare, and assumed it was she who made the challenge. He noted the horn, recalling his spar with the hearted-stallion, and became aware of the dangers of leaving her an opening to spear him. Finally, he noted the slick walls of the cave, and how little room there was on either side - room for them to pass each other, but not much more. All of this, his simple mind took in, in seconds, spitting out one simple command: fight

With a grunt, Gaucho’s trot increased to a choppy canter, as his large hooves slammed into the icy floor, trying not to skid. He was only about 10 feet away when this charge began, and quickly the distance between the two began to diminish. As Gaucho neared Sno’s left shoulder, he lowered his rack of antlers, meaning to scrape against her lower neck and upper shoulder as he passed. Assuming that she would likely try to step to the side, or rush past him as he came at her, he waited until the point when their shoulders might pass, and as his left foreleg was about to hit the ground, he threw his weight to left, into her flank, hoping to shove her body into the ice wall. As he passed, he tucked his head defensively away, to the right, incase her hooves should begin to fly. As he did so, he bucked towards her rear once he gauged he has passed her, hoping to smack her in the ass, should she be stupid enough to have stood still. Continuing his momentum, noting that it would be hard to stop on the ice without sliding, Gaucho continued down the labyrinth corridor, hoping it would end up in another cave, with more room to move around, rather than the hallway-like area he had just come from.

[WC 800. 1/3 Attack. 0/2 Magic/Companion. Gaucho will be using buffs endure, and bulk.]

Gaucho was still not used to the way it felt to have his antlers scrape against flesh. Because they were magically affixed to his brow, rather than protruding from his brow bone as surely they must with elk and moose, they felt…thick to him, relaying little information back to his brain. As he struck the Unicorn, Gaucho was unable to tell where he had exactly hit her; had it been her shoulder, as he was aiming for? Had it been lower, higher? Had it pierced her flesh, or merely scraped against her coat? Moving far too quickly to be able to tell, Gaucho swung his body left as his left foreleg struck the ground, but hit only air. Grunting, the bay concluded that he must have misperceived the width of the corridor they were currently in, as he had previously believed there was not room to turn length-wise with him next to her - but then, she was somewhat smaller; perhaps the reflection of the ice had played a trick on his eyes? Blending in her whitish coat with the icy walls? Whatever it was, she hadn't been nearly fast enough. Girl is dumb he thought with a grunt, hearing her hooves strike the ground twice as she kicked in his direction - though he was already easily out of her reach, having cleared the length of her body in one stride after gauging her with his antlers.

The footing beneath him was slick with black ice, the type that coated the rock colourlessly, only revealing how slippery its surface was once stepped upon. As Gaucho came into a large cave, this one about 30 feet in diameter, he skidded to a stop, spreading his massive black wings as he did so to buffet against the air and slow him down. Bringing his right wing into his body, he swung around to the right, like a crude skater. The unicorn was behind him, having followed at about 20 paces. Without hesitation, Gaucho lunged forward, his large hooves slamming down into the ice with the front of his hooves striking first, as if using the edge to push off with and aid in traction. He also kept his wings out spread to aid in balance, as he raced towards her. He gauged that even should she try to stop, surely she would slide as he did: she was smaller than he, but not that much smaller, and had a somewhat thicker build which would add additional weight. As he ice-picked his way towards her, he was glad that he had trained in the mud with Aryel, and on the sands with Lupus and Valentine. His muscles did not feel tired, as they once might have, from the increased effort and strength required to move oneself steadily and quickly across the ice.

Rather than veering for her shoulder like last time, Gaucho's bulk was aimed head-on. With outspread wings, Gaucho was able to correct his movements, and kept his steely gaze directed upon Sno to combat any defence she might make, whether it to be to veer to the side, or spin to kick him. He was aiming to use his antlers, once again. As he neared her, brow lowered, he intended to heatbutt her cheek, or to catch her horn in his antlers should she try to stab him. With his head lowered, although Mara could not participate on the ground, given the temperature, she could still aid Gaucho from her place in his antlers. Her black eyes were focused on the white unicorn, just waiting for Gaucho to bring her within reach. All it would take was to be within 6 inches…Like a flash, as Gaucho neared Sno (either hitting her or not), the white snake lashed out. Holding on with her tail to Gaucho's antlers, she launched herself towards the right side of Sno's neck her white body elongating like a thrown yo-yo, aiming for somewhere near where where Sno's neck connected to her jaw. At the same time, Gaucho braced for impact, throwing his body forward hard, using his bulk to his advantage as he had learned to do in his past array of spars.

As Gaucho's momentum carried him onwards , his primitive mind wondered why a creature with even less resources to use to combat the ice than he had, would demand a challenge in a place like this? Of course Gaucho would never turn away from a spar regardless of how odd the terrain was - he merely considered it a learning opportunity, and a way to gage his skills, but still. An ice maze? Flaring his wings up and out to slow himself and block her from attack his face, he kept his considerable ass pointed in her direction, defensively.



[WC: 796. Attack 2/3, Magic/Companion 1/2 ]

As Gaucho glided towards Sno, he watched as her body turned perpendicular, her horn angled at his right wing. Still a few strides out, Gaucho had time to sweep his wing up, pulling it closer to his body, but not completely out of the way. His focus became her thick white barrel which was now directly before him, rather than her cheek, which was guarded by her horn. Maybe not so dumb he thought halfheartedly. Still, she was stupid enough to stand still while he was charging at her. Bracing himself, he waited for a collision that did not come. ?????? his mind blanked. Magicz? he wondered frustratedly, but it was cut short by the feeling of her horn gliding between his feathers. Given the amount he had pulled the appendage up and in, her horn only grazed against the bottom, pulling a few feathers out and slicing the surface cleanly. The wound was shallow and not very long, but like with any paper-cut type wound, stung like a bitch. SssssssssssssSS Came a sound that felt like physical static to Gaucho’s soft mind, distracting him from the sting of his wound; it was Mara, internally screaming her rage as she recoiled with only a mouthful of mane. Her anger only confused the bruiser more; Yes, the unicorn must have magic- it would explain how the snake could find purchase on her neck, her horn could slice him, without Gaucho’s body ever hitting her.

As he swung his ass to the right, he felt a flare of red-hot pain, as one of her hooves caught the muscle on the back of his hindquarter. Luckily the cold of the ice caves likely diminished the immediate pain he might otherwise have felt, but no doubt it would leave a bruise tomorrow. As she galloped, Gaucho grunted with frustration, now understanding why she had chosen an icy arena; she must have some sort of ice-magic that allowed her to begin moving so quickly on such a slippery surface. He thought he had been clever digging his hooves into the ice, but clearly the stocky mare had more up her sleeve.

As his momentum slowed somewhat and Gaucho neared the side of the cave wall, finally turning without fear of slipping, out of the corner of his gaze, he spied the whitish mare turning with uncanny precision on the black ice. Slowly Gaucho felt the deliciously overwhelming feeling of his magic begin to grow, as the small sliced capillaries in his wing gently released what little blood they had within them. The wound was small, but it was enough to arouse his magic. Rotating on his hind-end to face Sno as she cantered his way, he threw caution to the wind. Twice now, he had hurled his massive frame towards her stocky body, and had hit nothing; all he wanted was to crush this illusive bitch. Digging his hooves into the ice as he had done before, he charged towards her; his purchase on the slippery cave floor was slow at first, but as his momentum increased he was able to ice-pick his hooves into the ground with growing accuracy and force. He didn’t care that she was running at him, nor that her horn was lowered his way: she wasn’t the only one with magic.

As he charged, an ethereal mist bled from his antlers, dropping in front of him but keeping pace with him as he moved. The mist took the form of a massive bear, who charged before Gaucho with uncanny speed. As their bodies neared, the bear leaped into the air - aiming itself straight for Sno. Its massive paws spread to either side, as if to clap on either sides of her skull, as its gaping jaws aimed for her muzzle. Roaring, its scream echoed throughout the cave. Moving with little fatigue, Gaucho lowered his right shoulder and pushed off with the left side of his hindquarter, feeling a twang of pain the muscle from her previous kick, and drifted to her left. Given the spirit-bear’s monstrous presence, Gaucho was unable to fully see the unicorn through the veil; relying on instincts and the ricochet of her hooves against the floor, he threw his body to the left once he gauged their shoulders where just passing. As he attempted to slam his left shoulder into any part of her right flank, he snapped his teeth as he turned his head to the left for just a stride, hoping to take a chunk out of the soft flesh behind her rib cage as he charged by. Defensively, Gaucho then tossed his head to the right, out of the way of flying hooves, and bucked towards her left hip, before continuing towards the opposite side of the cave.

[WC: 800 Cut down from 873 :| Attack 3/3, Magic and Companion 2/2
Closing Defense 0/1]

In his last few spars, Gaucho had been perfecting his shoulder-check method, employing it whenever it was possible for him to do so. He had learned how to push off with his opposing hind leg, to throw his considerable bulk into his opponent, and always enjoyed the feeling of their bodies skirting away under his force. Given how elusive this filly has been during their ice-escapades, Gaucho grunted pleasurably as he felt her body’s trajectory change after contact with his. His primitive mind flooded with emotion, something akin to, about fucking time. He was a little disappointed that she had evaded his long-legged buck, but given that she had not retaliated in anyway, he supposed that was alright.

Nearing the opposing end of the cave, Gaucho slowed his momentum, raising his massive black wings to aid in stopping. Turning on the ice, he eyed the filly stoically, his steely gray-blue gaze blank and emotionless. Finish? He heard her call out. His large ears flicked forward to catch the sound, then his left ear pointed backwards as her voice echoed throughout the enclosed cave. Snorting, the bone piercing his nose moving as he did so, he felt Mara pressing upon his mind with her will, wanting to attack again. She was the one who had issued the challenge after all...But as his gaze took in the blood on Sno’s side from where he had launched her into the wall, even his primitive mind could understand. She was a child after all, perhaps looking for nothing more than a way to pass the time - not a way to break her bones. Knowing nothing of the racism of the Basin, not that he would understand it if he had, he decided to let things be. He had fought a new opponent who had challenged, and bested him on the slippery ice, and for that he was grateful. While some might be annoyed at having been disadvantaged in such an arena, Gaucho was forever looking for opportunities to better his skills, and this filly had unknowingly aided him in that.

Gaucho nodded, his thick muscular neck arching it somewhat, in the manner of stallion’s, as he extended his right wing, where a thin line of blood had formed on the surface from her slice. Holding it out for a moment, as if to say perhaps You held your own, he folded the wing back to his side. His left hip was a little sore from her kick; no doubt the chill of the cave had numbed the flesh somewhat, masking the bruising which was sure to come. Perhaps he would walk a little more in this frozen place, so different from his herd land, to stretch out his bruised muscle, but also to learn what this area had to offer strategically, should he ever find himself sparring here again.

With a grunt, Gaucho turned from the filly, ignoring Mara’s flashes of striking at her again, and exited the cave.

[WC: 510 Closing Defense 1/1 Great sparring with you as well! Thanks!]