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.]