There's a song in your lung and a dream in your eye.
The day is brisk, the chill of late fall hanging heavily in the morning air. It is early yet, the sun having just cleared the horizon, hanging low and bright in a blue and purple sky studded with puffy white clouds. A slight wind stirs, tugging at the pale locks that hang in tangled waves down her neck. She has come to the battlefield not to fight in earnest, but rather to get some practice. The ground is hard packed, no hint of green to relieve the unrelenting brown of the hard earth beneath her feat. It is largely flat, only a few rocks scattered here and there to trip up unwary feet and a lone boulder nearly thirty horse lengths away. With luck and some skill, they could hopefully avoid it. She didn’t particularly relish the thought of skinning her shins on the thing.
Turning her golden gaze, she studies her opponent. Lagertha had graciously agreed to partner with her today. She is glad the woman had agreed. She needs all the practice she can get, and who better than such an experienced warrior?
Joscelin is shorter than Lagertha, lighter and more refined. She does not make the mistake however, of believing that gives her much, if any, advantage in the speed and agility department. At best, it would probably only give her the slight (very slight) advantage of being a smaller target to aim for. But she has flight on her side where Lagertha does not. And she hopes that Lagertha’s armor might slow her down enough to give her a small speed advantage. She is not counting on it though.
She is still and quiet, taking in her opponent for several long minutes before finally executing her first attack. Launching at her opponent, she drives forward with as much strength as she can muster. Using her more powerful hind legs to give herself momentum and her wingless flight to give herself lift, she attacks from the front, aiming her hooves at the juncture between Lagertha’s right shoulder and neck. It is a sensitive area, one involved in a variety of ranges of motion as well as being associated with one of the more weight bearing areas of the body. No doubt Lagertha’s armor would give her protection against such an attack, but given that it is an area that needs to be free for movement, she hopes there is enough of a chink in her armor that she might score a hit. Of course, given that her aim on such an attack could easily be off, combined with Lagertha’s ability to move out of the way, there is a good chance she could hit either the neck, shoulder, or leg. While likely less inhibiting, it still had the potential of causing at least some discomfort. Or she could miss. Missing is always a possibility if Lagertha is quick enough, rendering her attack ineffective.
She allows the momentum of her first attack to carry her forward, landing along Lagertha’s right side (her right side as well) with a soft thud. Coiling her compact body, she transfers her weight to her front before bunching her powerful hindquarters in order to give a swift, opportunistic buck, aiming her hind legs as well as she can towards Lagertha’s underside. She isn’t entirely certain where she might land a blow, though pretty much anywhere she hit on Lagertha’s underside could be hindering. A blow to her soft belly would no doubt be incredibly painful. While she hadn’t put enough power into the buck to do any serious damage, it would still cause some serious discomfort. Hitting her barrel could be painful too, though less damaging. Or she might simply scrape along her side, which might cause painful bruising but would be unlikely to do any real damage. Her armor would, in all likelihood, protect her no matter where she hit, mitigating any real damage she might do. Or she might miss. Then she would just be shit outta luck.
Dropping her hindquarters to the ground, she lurches forward, away from Lagertha and potential retribution.
Joscelin
Tiphon x Elysteria