Only half a season til Orangemoon. That was the main thought that occupied Aryel's mind. Half a season til her duel with Crowley. Half a season til she could finally send the arrogant unicorn crying for his mommy. She couldn't wait.

But although the mare was foolhardy, she wasn't a complete idiot. If she was going to fight Crowley and do it well, she would need to be at the top of her game. Practice made perfect.

The first horse willing to spar with her was Note, another Throat soldier. She had met him briefly once, but they had not had a chance to speak much before they had to resume their patrols again. Neither of them had duty today, however.

"And again, I really appreciate you lending your time for this." the blue mare was saying as the two of them navigated the small canyon that led to her favorite sparring ground within the Throat. The walls of the canyon were far over their heads, and a lonely wind whistled through the sandstone gorge. A canyon certainly was an odd place to spar, but Aryel knew it wouldn't be narrow for too long. She had used the walk there to explain about her future fight with the Basin's Weaver, as well as her desire to train until then. "Oh, here we are." she said as the canyon opened up into what was nothing less than a natural arena. The ground sloped down slightly into a large, circular floor of sand ringed by canyon walls. The ring was not enormous, but more than wide enough to give two sparring horses plenty of space. She had fought here before, with Levi. She felt a pang as she realized it was the last time she had him. Where was her friend?

Aryel paced towards a large outcrop of rock that bulged out of the wall, then turned to look over her shoulder at the bundle of sleeping bat that crouched on her withers. "Java." she said quietly, causing the bat to wake with a tiny snort. Noticing the rock, he clambered up her neck and across the bridge of her nose to cling to the rock with his hind claws, wrapped his wings securely about himself, then went to sleep again almost immediately. Once her companion was secure, she trotted to the center of the ring to wait for Note. "We can start whenever you're ready." she said, turning to face the stallion and assuming a light-hoofed battle stance.

(No magic or companions, 3 posts each. I can sketch out the arena if you need me to.)

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"Talk talk talk talk."

The stallion's taciturn answer hadn't bothered her at all. While she occasionally became a chatterbox herself, she didn't mind horses who weren't frequent speakers. Gaucho, another Throat horse, spoke even less than Note, and he was all right. She waited as Note slipped his cub into a bush, then watched as he approached. It was yet another opponent bigger and stronger then her. If she wanted to win, she needed to put her agility to good use.

There was a tense second before Note charged. She saw the twitch of the brute's muscles before he pushed off, and then he was lunging at her. She had a matter of moments before he made contact. She considered surging forward to meet his charge and attempt a tackle herself, but she had a feeling he wouldn't be quite as affected as she was. Instead, she pivoted, lifting her hindquarters up and swinging them sharply to the left and throwing herself backwards in an attempt to dodge him. She managed to avoid the brunt of his slam, he only clipped her, but his teeth bruised her throat and held tight. With a snort, she reared up and pulled herself away, already beginning to feel that familiar sense of adrenaline flowing through her system. Even though she had yet to win a proper fight in Helovia, she still loved sparring. The pain wasn't dulled by her excitement, her throat still stung, but it was a thing to be endured, and gain strength by enduring. The sun beat down on her back, which was slightly harder to ignore, and she made a mental note not to spar here after midday until the sun went down. The canyon was a great sparring ring, but there was no shade.

Managing to put some space between herself and Note, she turned again, this time a full 180 degrees, so her rear faced the stallion. She began kicking up gouts of sand at him with her hind hooves, aiming to break Note's concentration and impede his vision. She kicked up a final burst of sand, then turned sharply and charged him herself. Hopefully, the sand would slow his reaction time, but she braced herself for a rough collision all the same. When she reached the stallion, instead of simply tackling him like he had done, she reared up and struck out with her front hooves using all the strength he could muster, aiming for the left side of his head and neck, as she was on that side of him. Her wings half-flared to help her keep her balance, silver markings glinting slightly in the sunlight. A faint sheen of sweat had begun to appear on her coat, soon to be flecked into foam, and she could foresee a long bath in the oasis in her future.

Words: 466
Summary: Pivots to dodge most of his bodyslam but suffers a bite to the neck, half-rears and jumps back on her hind hooves to put some distance between them, then turns and kicks sand in his face before turning again and charging, flailing out with her front hooves
Injuries: Abrasion from neck bite

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"Talk talk talk talk."

When Aryel had reared up, she had used the momentum from her charge to push herself forward. So when her hooves hit thin air instead of soft flesh, she was unbalanced, nearly stumbling as her front hooves crashed into the sandy floor. She hadn't expected Note to sidestep quite like that. Still, she wasn't about to give up just yet. Their fight had begun to stir up the grit and dust, and while it did not impede her vision, it clung to her sweaty coat uncomfortably.

Before she could recover, Note reared, hooves shooting out at her left side. One thunked solidly on her shoulder, causing her to "Oof" in pain. Note was quickly proving himself to be a formidable opponent. Instead of feeling animosity towards him, the Sergeant felt a small spark of pride, knowing that such a coordinated fighter was in their ranks. As Note reared, she had caught sight of a nasty scar stretching the length of his body.

There was no time to wonder about that, though, as Note was coming at her again, teeth aimed at her neck. Instead of going into yet another rear, she decided to do something unexpected. She surged forward, lowering her neck and curving it so her head pointed slightly upwards towards his own neck, essentially trying to go under his attack. She tilted her head to prevent her nose from being bashed in and bit at the base of his neck where it almost met his chest, at the same time pushing herself forward and trying to unbalance Note by shoving him back and up. Their collision was rough, but she had braced herself and sustained little damage.

When she completed her neck bite, or at least tried to, her head whipped down and snapped at his left leg where it met his chest, trying to chomp onto the muscle. Her teeth were more likely to bruise than cut, but they could clamp like a vice. Injuring his leg, she hoped, would leave him a little slow when rearing or kicking.

She couldn't stay shoved up against him for long without being countered, though, and broke away, backing up a couple steps before charging down his left side, her rear facing him at a slight angle. When she had sufficient room to kick, she stopped and bucked out with her hind hooves at his barrel, or his chest, if he was to turn. She knew she had originally intended to try and dance her way through the fight, but sometimes you just needed to go at it tooth and nail.

2/3
Words: 431
Summary: Takes a hoof to the left shoulder, and when he tries to bite, charges forward between his raised front legs and bites at the base of his neck, then his left leg muscles. Breaks away, runs down his left side, then bucks at his barrel
Injuries: Neck abrasion, shoulder bruising


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"Talk talk talk talk."

The metallic taste of blood sat uncomfortably in her mouth, reminding her that she needed to be less vicious. As an herbivore, someone else's blood in her mouth tasted bad unless the battle fury was gripping her mind. Before her teeth could connect fully with his shoulder, though, Note's wings bore him aloft and out of reach. Clever, she thought as her teeth only scraped him ineffectually, yanking off a few hairs but otherwise not hurting him. She had expected him to try and put distance between the two of them, not attack. His flight, more of a wing-assisted leap, culminated when he dropped towards her again, hooves stretched towards her right wing. Her eyes widened, wing muscles instinctually tensing up in anticipation of the blow. She threw herself to the left, trying to avoid him, but his hooves still made contact her wing, knocking out a few feathers and glancing off the "wrist" joint. She managed to avoid serious injury, though. Still, the attack had shaken her. Perhaps she deserved it for that nasty neck bite.

As he came down, she followed through with her barrel buck, but to her dismay, Note skittered out of reach. He was a quick opponent, to be sure. And he had muscle on his side. Aryel did not consider his advantages unfair, though. She had come to learn that life wasn't fair a lot of the time, and asking it pretty please would just earn you a mocking laugh. While she mused, Note had made a sharp turn and was coming back at her, apparently aiming for her flanks while she was still off-balance. There was no opportunity to react, and his chest collided with her left haunch, further unbalancing her. Her rear half was knocked to the ground, leaving her in a sort of awkward sitting position. By bracing her front hooves and throwing her head to the left to counteract Note's shove, she was able to avoid rolling over fully onto her back. She reflected ironically that she often enjoyed rolling in dust, mud, or water, but not when she was shoved into it.

She snapped at the air once, to ward off her opponent in case he tried to go after her while she was down, then managed to scramble back to her feet. She backed up several feet, constantly watching Note to ensure he wasn't pursuing her. Maybe he just needed a taste of his own medicine. Aryel unfurled her wings, then began to beat them rapidly, intentionally stirring up the clouds of dust. Soon enough, the reddish sand cloaked the center of the arena in billowing clouds, reducing both horses to faint forms in eachother's vision. Aryel scanned the dust, trying to make out a hint of movement, a dark form, anything to distinguish Note from the sand clouds surrounding him. Catching a glimpse of his dusty pelt, she charged forward, bringing her left shoulder to bear as she neared him. She intended to ram her shoulder into his chest, making use of the blind spot horses had directly in front of them in order to reduce the time he would have to react. Her hoofbeats, muffled as they were by the sand, could still give her away, but she was counting and swiftness and a little bit of luck to pull her through.

3/3
Words: 556
Summary: Her first bite lands, while her second does not. Note's skyward leap surprises her, and she throws herself to the left to try and avoid it, but takes a glancing blow to her wing. Note's ram knocks her halfway down, but she scrambles back up after snapping at him to ward him off. She backs up several feet, then whips up a dust cloud with her wings. Finally, she charges Note head-on, playing on the blind spot present in equine vision, intending to hit him with her left shoulder.
Injuries: Neck abrasion, shoulder bruising, wing soreness

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"Talk talk talk talk."

Another spar, another defeat on her end, but at least it assured her that another soldier was up to snuff. She came to a stop, her sweat-streaked sides heaving as she regarded Note. "Good work." she said, nodding in approval. "That was a great fight, Note, and I hope you'll be able to put those moves to work in a serious attack some day." As a Sergeant, it was her job to ensure the warriors were fit for battle, not just pound on them herself for her own gain. Still, the new loss in a consecutive streak perturbed her. Was she really worthy of being a Sergeant? The most "vicious" thing about her was her mouth. She liked to believe that Kri had promoted her for reasons other than battle prowess, but the self-doubt would not go away.

Shaking out her mane, she surveyed Note's injuries, then her own. They would both be sore in the morning, but there was nothing serious. "I recommend you get some rest and a bath. I plan to do the same." She walked to the outcropping Java was clinging to, and slipped the drowsy bat onto her neck. "I'll see you later." she called behind her before opening her wings. Wincing as her sore muscles protested, she beat her wings, lifted herself into the air and gliding over the canyon walls towards the oasis.

(Just a short post to wrap things up.)

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"Talk talk talk talk."