His hooves met nothing but empty air, and it was with a sense of dissatisfaction the slightly taller steed touched down, the impact with the ground made unsteady by the layer of snow. It would have been far better if it had been spring or even Tallsun; Lace needed all the strength, skill and traction he could get as the abrupt stop of the young mare made him sense danger. Immediately he jerked the head back before teeth had a chance to impact with flesh, he grunted from the effort of forcing his quickly tiring body into yet another rear - this time in hope of avoiding the set of hard hooves that came shooting towards his chest.

It was unexpectedly hard to fight in the darkness. The dull light from the cluster of trees nearby cast only faint shadows and made it hard to accurately judge the distance. White silk danced like a misty veil around the sweaty neck, and with a clatter of hooves and legs the masked warrior hissed in pain as the sharp semi-circles of the storm-child collided with his shins. Skin scraped off, surface vessels burst and with a grim smile Lace knew how much the bruises would ache come the next day. It made him careful as gravity pulled him to the ground again, anxious not to break too harshly through the crust of snow, lest he raked off the skin entirely and risked dying the snow with his own blood.

There was no time for thoughts, barely time enough to breathe. Even as the washed out soldier regained his balance and shifted the weight between the legs the nimble filly turned around in a supple motion and unleashed her teeth towards his knee. Snorting in anger over her audacity the silver sculpture sunk down in a graceful bow to protect his already bruised foreleg, moments before she too mimicked the gesture. Blunt ivories clamped down on the more muscled and less sensitive area of his upper right foreleg, and with a snort the seasoned mercenary allowed the bite, intent on making use of it. Still kneeling he snaked the head forth, aiming his bite not at her legs, but at the thin area of neck just behind the poll.

He wanted to grab her, shake her and tell her not to be so predictable - it wasn't just about following instincts, one had to be cunning in battles as well. Was she acting naive on purpose? It was hard to believe it with the effortless and secure way she moved through their violent dance. Despite her fragile beauty there was steel in the glaring eyes, temper expressed by the tucked-back ears and flashing teeth. Was she a natural or simply not smart enough to think deeper about her moves?

In any case, the lightning-bird should have known better than to expose her neck like that. Ignoring the snow and the chill as his body heat liquefied the icy crystals the cob-webbed brute heaved himself back up on the feet, counting on the girl to follow back up in order to protect her head. For the third time in mere moments, despite a precarious tremble of the worn thigh muscles, Lace reared and thrust the forelegs towards her, aiming the sharp ebonies at her chest to pummel the swelling muscles there. Teeth flashed in the dull light as lips pulled back, ears slicked back while Lace angled a bite towards the rounded cheek of her face. Would it reach her this time? Or had he fallen so low indeed, that a little girl barely wet behind the ears could best him?

Oh dreadful thought.

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Post: 2/3
Word Count: 610
Summary: Lace touches down, then forces himself to rear immediately again, receiving her hooves against his forelegs. Gets scrubs and bruises. Comes down again and regain his balance as she turn around, kneeling to avoid the first bite at his knees. Receives the second bite on the upper right leg. Aims a bite towards her neck behind the poll.
Comes up on his feet again, rears a third time and try to kick her in the chest, biting at her left cheek.