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 ]