Hector dropped two fore hooves and gently lowered his stout legs onto the heated ground, dust picking up at his cantering momentum that was eventually brought to a halt near the crystal blue sea that shimmered in the suns rays. Wings that were splashed in his signature orange slotted themselves comfortably into his toned sides and his gaze shifted to watch the ocean that lapped over his hooves. He considered his role amongst the mighty Throat herd, that he was just one small wave in a tsunami of members, a wave that needed to become more powerful. So if Kri summoned her warriors he would not doubt himself and could stand confidently by her side and defend the home he had come to love. These little insecurities were not good in a fight, his old teacher had always taught him the value of a clear mind in the midst of battle.

Another tiny wave lapped over his feet as teeth clenched and his resolve took over his emotions. Leonine tail flicked and he turned like a stallion that knew what path now lie before him. He thought of those he admired, the bravery of Midas who stood the lone General and the sorrow of Azzuen. He knew little of Azzuen though he remembered the stallion's motivation in his first ever warriors meet and it saddened him greatly to learn that such a fine fighter had passed away, lastly there was Kri, a role model to look up to and a goal to achieve. Hector was young and naive, but he filled himself with purpose. "Come Veci, there is something we must do."

The boggart responded happily, taking strength from Hector's growing excitable mood. It would be Veci's first battle though the boggart could do little other than offer support, the experience was all that counted and as the years tallied up the child would soon learn that he had more power than he first realized. His orange bonded stood with his back to the ocean with the sun high in the sky and raised his velvet lips to the warm air. Calling for his Lead. "Kri! My mighty Commander I ask for your aid in a friendly spar. So I may one day stand as tall as you do."

His voice was filled with determination and a sense of duty, Hector desired no win or loss against the formidable Resolute. He instead sought a peace within his heart that would give him confidence for the rough days ahead.

--

[418 words]
[Friendly Spar :D
800 word max. 3 Rounds + Closing Defence.
Set where the ocean meets the Dragons Throat at Midday.
Feel free to use magic/companions]

His Leader was quick to reply, her compact form appearing in the blue sky of midday. Hector took a breath, he had only heard the rumours of Kri's battle prowess yet he'd not seen it for himself. The little he did know of her was what he could glean from a first glance, her stature much shorter than his bulk, but she most certainly wasn't short on power. If the Soldier had to guess he'd imagined she'd be the type of mare that didn't mind getting in your face when battling, her experience was already much greater than his own, but if he had to start somewhere he might as well start from the very top. The orange stallion did his best to remember the lessons from his old sparring teacher, so young he had been and his mind did drift often. Hector knew that from this one fight he would learn what he could do and what he couldn't do, but if one thing was a certainty he had the guts to try to defeat the Resolute. The fight would surely be pointless otherwise.

Hooves spurred into action as eyes widened in surprise, it seemed Kri didn't like to mess around when it came to fighting. With a flare that Hector had to admire she made her first attack at the same time as saying "hello" to which the tribrid obliged with a nicker from velvet lips and a quick sidestep to his left, wings quickly darting upwards. Avoiding her barging body as it bulldozed dangerously close his barrel. Though he hadn't managed to get himself completely out of the woods unscathed, his dance to the side may have missed her first attack, but her teeth found some purchase on his well toned neck. A minor scratch marred his flesh, the pain was sharp, but would not linger for long and it was all the wake up call Hector needed as the power surged from his rear end and forwards he cantered. Flicking his leonine tail as he did, attempting to slap Kri soundly in the face with a mischievous smile playing around his lips. Brown wings unsheathed themselves from his side and flapped forcefully to lift his body off the ground, his face had grown serious now as he tried to form a quick strategy.

Hector knew his own strengths, his breeding had given him a body of oozing power and his sheer height only added to that fact. The Soldier began to wonder if he could use Kri's short stature to his advantage, if he could over power her he might have a chance of landing a blow. So the rhino horned stallion attempted to climb higher above Kri, using his large wings to power him upwards as fast as he possibly could. The familiar presence of Veci climbed with him, the boggart had been alarmed at first when the Commander had swooped down to attack his bonded, but now Veci was slowly beginning to understand what was going on. The spectre stayed by his friend's side, ready to give support whenever he could.

The sun beat down, it was the hottest time of the day and Hector puffed under its gaze. Each move he made would have to be swift and precise, a drawn out spar would only hamper him. Hoping he had succeeded in gaining the advantage, Hector tried to circle round to Kri's left and dived downwards towards where the Resolute had been parallel to him and attempted to take his large muscled right shoulder to her smaller left one, raising his wings out of the way as he did so. He prayed he had succeeded and tried flying away to the right, his bulky body not good in a close up battle, he needed room to manoeuvre.

Veci stayed close beside him with an anxious look towards Kri.

[w/c: 645 || 1/3 || 0/2 companion uses]

The tribrid could feel the sting on his thick, leonine tail where he had successfully managed to slap Kri. He never thought in a million years that he would slap the Resolute like that, shouldn't it be the other way around? Yet, this was a battle and if he was going to show Kri exactly what he could do, then he couldn't hold back. She was their Commander, an incredible warrior, if he did less than his best she would surely make him pay for it. No, he was a proud warrior of the Dragons Throat, the warriors here didn't go down unless their life was taken. As his long, muscled tail flapped in the wind there was a noticeable bald patch where Kri's late lunging bite had snatched out some of his orange hairs. Well, considering he had just smacked her, the Soldier decided he'd got off lightly ... For now.

Dust formed where his opponent had quickly taken off and his wild shoulder barge plummeted into nothing. Orange eyes widened and Hector grunted in surprise, only catching the odd brown feather ascend and the swooping noise of flapping wings as Kri made her swift dodge. The stallion quickly braced his wings against the air to form a glide just before he plunged straight into the ocean, hooves splashing against the top of it. Hector had guessed she would be fast, but sweet Gods he wasn't expecting that. Teeth grit together as he suddenly realized he'd have to rethink his plans and silently berated himself for not fully grasping the extraordinaire that was Kri. How could he overpower her if he couldn't catch her? He struggled to think of a way around it, but he knew that if he managed to get one shot at her, then maybe he could grasp an advantage.

Surely, there was some loop hole he could use?!

He had hardly seconds to think it through, however, before Kri was upon him again. His wings flapping furiously to his right as her hooves came down and across for a gentle blow to his head and the stallion lurched his hefty body to the left, swinging his head and neck around to place his right shoulder there instead. Wincing as her dainty hooves struck him. Better a solid shoulder than his horned face, maybe he could have got a shot off with his two swords, but injuring his face was not an option. She was fast enough as it was, he'd have no chance with a dizzy head. There was not much force to her strike and Hector found some semblance of balance when her front legs lashed out for his haunches whilst her back powered upwards, causing Hector to instinctively raise his head in defence to keep away from them. The Soldier grimaced and tactically took the blow to his rear end, wincing again before slamming his wings downwards and driving forward.

It was a rather reckless move to say the least, but hit and run simply was not going to work. The orange stallion attempted to drive towards Kri, hoping she'd lost some momentum when attacking and turned in on his left to aim his chest to barge into her left barrel. With hopes he had succeeded, Hector unfurled his teeth from grey lips to lash out a bite for her withers at the same time. It was an ambitious move in his eyes, but he had to find some way of overpowering her.

Fur had ripped away from both his right shoulder and left haunch, leaving the feeling of being bruised. If this was an actual fight against an enemy, he might have been in a much worse condition by now, but that was why they practised.

[w/c: 623 || 2/3 || 0/2 companion uses]
(ooc; thank you for being so patient boom <3)

It was warm. So warm. Hector could feel the fatigue seeping into his bones, this was just a sparring match, but hell! Such pace! Never before had he been pushed to such an extent, the attacks may not be brutal, but the speed sure damned was. His body represented that of a well-toned warmblood, but it was his wings that were Hector's real hassle in the air. With their largeness came slower movements. He often chafed at his snail pace and needed momentum to produce the kind of speed that Kri was demanding of him now. As his barrage of movement met the target of her barrel, it appeared the little silver bay had taken the blow on purpose with her wings slamming down as she built up the speed needed to fly away. His teeth missing their aim and instead grazed against her fleeing barrel, leaving him to deal with the downside to his masses of power.

So this was what it was like to face one's Commander. Even in his scramble to re-balance himself Hector could feel the awe inside his heart, a craving to become stronger and a strange new taste for battle. Before, most of his fights had been confined to one-on-one with his old teacher, there was only so much he could learn as a colt. In his fight with Kri, a whole new world began to open up to him and he rather liked the prospect of exploring it.

These were feelings of a fleeting moment, however, and the stallion outstretched his wings to slow his pace. His body dips, angling slightly downwards to his right as feathery appendages attempt to glide his hulking body toward the sandy ground. Ears of ginger were swivelling atop his head and a gust of wind welcomed his right side blowing folds of orange mane as determined eyes met the form of Kri once again, who dived in for another attack. Dainty fore hooves extending outwards and aiming straight for his injured shoulder as a small smile played on his lips at his lead's cunning moves. Hector's body shifted like a horse who had one final resort up his orange sleeve, distributing his wings to angle himself even more into his right side, forcing his injured shoulder to dip downwards with a slight wince from his gaze to force the Resolute's attack to glance off his withers. Her bite catching the fiery fur that coated his right ear, both areas of contact tingling at the small scale impacts.

Hoping he had timed his move correctly as he soared downwards, Hector aimed his final attack for her right back hock, sliding his ears back when his neck snaked out. Teeth bared and hoping to catch hold of flesh before he descended further, leonine tail floating in natural balance until hooves finally touched the sandy floor and for a moment he stared at it's grainy surface. Face a mask of contorted thoughts as he ran through each sequence, his quick mind already finding fault and forming other plans of action he could have taken. Veci, his ever-faithful spectre, floating silently by his side. The boggart had not participated, but instead watched from close up. Both ghost and hybrid had learned much today and finally Hector swung his head round to gaze upon wherever Kri had ended up. Face beaming with his typical boyish smile.

"I will make you proud of me one day!" He joyously announced before bowing his head flamboyantly. "Forever your loyal servant" one day, Kri he silently added on to the end before stretching his wings and flying off to rest for the afternoon to think upon the improvements he needed to make. Quite happily content with his new found confidence.

[WC: 624 || 3/3 || 0/2 Companion Uses]
(Danke for the awesome fight boomly.)