"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
- Two posts each.
- Two attacks/counter attacks per post.
- Four days between posts.
- Reasonable extensions allowed.
- Traits allowed (I can limit Lyris if you like, but I'd like to have some traits because they can be fun).
- I don't really care who goes first. If you'd like me to go first, we'll have to wait until possibly Wednesday of next week.
He steps onto the open land. Bones, and twigs snapping underfoot. He makes his way across the plains reminesing the histories of beqanna, the lives given to preserve or change the ages and ideals set in the minds of the lands residents. Its along the edge he trots, warming his muscles, edgy with anticipation. His nostrils spread wide searching for the scent of fresh blood. his ears flicking forward and back searching for the cry of challenge.
He could hear the thundering hooves of warriors past, the deep grooves scarring the land. The craters of clashed bodies leaving the stories of fallen warriors. the call carries across the thin air. The heavy thud of hooves digging into the ground making their valiant stand. He is near, it is time, the stallion is close.
His eyes light up, the adrenaline coursing through his body. His wings stretch out, he picks up his pace rolling the muscles in his wings to create a gust of wind. Grasses flatten in his wake. Dirt rises, dry as the bones sprawling on the land. Taking off his mane and tail stream behind him bannering his silent entrance. No longer did the shade hide him, no longer did the trees cluster around him. Left in the open, his pools glint in the sunlight that he is charging towards.
He watches the grounds waiting for the speck of a horse to appear. The steed finally rising in his vision. Training his attention towards the warrior he pauses for a moment. Ears flick around calculating, he only has a moment. He hopes that he has the eliment of suprise. Hopes that she won't see his approach.
Even so with so many variables he finds that he still has a trick up his sleeve. Though its with great disappointment that he finds this would be his only oportunity to use it. He begins working his wings, dragging his heavy body through the air. Tearing his mane in the wind. Climbing up, fighting gravityuntil he peaks. Finally he is dirrectin the light of the sun, having circled once attempting to force her to look into the blinding 11am rays. Its in the light he begins to dive his way towards her. A black shadow warping into what could appear to be a raven if not for the strange tail and mane that whipped off his neck and hind quarters.
Tucking his wings he wraps his legs tight agianst his body. Stretching his neck forward the steed appears as a black bullet, stretching his neck out he continues to stretch it past the natural limits of a horse. Speeding his way to the other he continues to stretch his neck lengthening it with each minute that passes. Finally at what he judges must be the right timing of roughly fifteen feet away, he lashes out to right. His neck making up the distance between their bodies.
Swinging his head wide to snake its way to her body his teeth snap yawning for flesh, his head having aimed for her whithers. He continues to hold his body tight to itself, following up with the immediate attack of plummeting himself against her body.
He knew that she could easily lash out at him and do some damage, it was an unavoidable dissapointment. But because of the lucrid of his body there would be nothing but sore muscles and bruises to deal with later. Something he viewed as a consequence of battle.
If she dodged his first attack then it would offset her balance making his second attack quite effective, but if she stood and took the first attack he would have a strong grip making it simple to reel in his neck and lurch his momentum towards her more dirrectly.
Or she could easily run away, but then again he doubted that someone asking for a challenge would run from the fight when it came. If she did well then that makes it simple for him. He still had a moment to unfurl the wings and land without taking to much damage if she chose to do so.
Phaedrus
DEATH GIVES US SLEEP, ETERNAL YOUTH, AND IMMORTALITY
It doesn't take long for someone to answer Lyris’ summons, much to her surprise. The kingdoms have been less active as of late, and she had expected to wait a while for someone to accept her challenge.
But accept someone does. And such an interesting looking someone too.
Lyris eyes the tiny speck of a stallion from across the packed earth of the mock-grounds. It’s hard to tell from such a distance, but he appears to be a big beast, far bigger than herself. There’s likely with some draft blood in there. Size not always an advantage though - her lower centre of gravity could make it easier for her to unbalance him. Maybe.
But there’s no time to stop and consider that now. Her eyes narrow as the black and blue stallion wastes no time in getting started - instantly taking to the air. It’s a place that is often considered to be an advantage for a battle, but not so much in this case. Two can play at that game.
Lyris gathers the winds to herself with practiced ease, drawing them in and under herself and thrusting herself up into the air. She explodes from the ground in a shower of dirt and grass, rocketing up and up until she has a better view of her challenger. It should look odd to his eyes. She hopes it does. She still has the airforce wings that Lagertha had granted her, but she does not use them. Instead they remain tightly tucked into her sides. It is far more efficient and simple for her to use the winds.
But she’s wasted too much time with theatrics. She can barely make out a black speck through the brightness of the sun. The stallion is dive-bombing her, intentionally using the sun to obscure her vision. Pretty clever, actually. Too bad for him he’s battling a weather-user.
Lyris concentrates for but a moment, and the moisture in the air condenses, forming a thick, fluffy white cloud in front of the sun. Her view clears and when it does, she immediately notices there’s something, odd, about the stallion’s appearance. Wasn’t he thicker?! And why on earth are his legs bent like that?!
Well that is a very, very strange ability.
She freezes for just a second too long, and then he has her. His neck snakes out unnaturally (does he not have bones?!) and his teeth find purchase in the skin and hair at her withers. Lyris gasps aloud at the sudden sting.
Fuck this noise.
She releases the winds away all at once, directing them both upwards and sideways. The winds spiral out away from her with vicious speed. Hopefully the ones moving sideways will catch the elastic stallion unawares as he continues his descent, and send him tumbling out of control. An out of control stallion is a vulnerable one.
As for herself, the winds that she’s released upwards take her with them, throwing her even higher into the sky and hopefully far out of Phaedrus’ reach. Once she has the height advantage (though she’s sure it won’t last for long), she looks down and considers him. Direct attacks are clearly worthless on this one - the stallion’s strange, stretchy body could simply bend out of the way of any kick or bite she tries to throw at him. She needs to use something on a larger scale.
She throws her head up to the sky above her, letting her adrenalin fuel the suddenly growing storm. She lets it build and build, and at the last moment, uses a westerly wind to throw herself out of the way.
Hail the size of golfballs (that is, if she knew what golfballs were) begins raining down from above. Not big enough to kill, but certainly big enough to leave sizeable dents. She can’t help but let a smug smile cross her face. Let him bend his way out of that one.
Well completely and miserably failing in a recruitment, his pride sank. He is determined to gain it back. This is the one place that he is certain that his skills prevail. Though it doesn't take long for the stallion to find that his ariel attack is one that would not quite be to his advantage. She is rising in the air, and it seems to take no use of her wings. His eyes squint in suprise. He would need to recalculate some of his ideas because of this.
He sees a shadow cover her, and can only assume that the rays of the sun no longer blind her to his location either. He concentrates harder focusing in on her whithers. Biting at his lip, he works to contort his neck and bones to bend with the elastic effect of his body. Finding her skin he snatches a firm grip, the unexpected side wind catching him just as he finds purchase.
Straightening out his neck would be difficult with these new winds, so instead of fighting them he lets the angling gusts carry and shift his position. Turning his previously 90 degree angle into a 40 degree angle from point of contact.
Finding out quickly enough that his neck is not being kissed with the gusts. She pushes the winds out away from her. He is able to sink his teeth deeper into her, allowing him to keep his hold. Hardening his muscles and bones slowly at first to keep his body angling towards her without snapping his bones from the momentum. He is slightly slowed from the delay of forced change of plans in the middle of the attack. That is the whole fun of battle though. The adrenilzed thrill of bending and twisting. A vicious dance of blood and tissue. Coordination creates a beatiful show of strength and pride, rallying those that may be watching.
The winds sway his body so that he no longer aims dirrectly towards her at a 90 degree angle. Instead at a roughly 40 degree angle from point of contact he dives towards her head on. Her mane whipping in his eyes blinding him while he has purchase.
His body dives towards her his angles are obscurred slightly. His neck muscles almost ripped apart. The burn of strain and forced flexing against the natural angle of his dive make him grunt. It would probably only result in a glancing blow, against her shoulder point now. At least it would do something, or he could hope so.
He could tell these winds are not a natural occurance. Unfurling his wings he lets her go, As she rises away from him. His muscles and bones twisting to to bring him back into his natural form. Arial skills as sharp as they are, will be no match for weather. Considering himself lucky that he could get away with all that he has, Phaedrus does not push the envolope so to speak, but instead begins circling. Glancing up, watching as she gathers a storm to aid her.
He curls himself into a ball his wings unfurled, one eye peeking from under his skin, it was a rather large akward thing that he wraps up into. His bones and muscles soft with the pliableness of his body. He attempts to dodge the stones, one of them landing on his frame, that would give a headache later on for sure. He had guessed that she would not have the storms within her range. So it is with great effort that he twists and turns his wings working his way towards her. He would have to stay close to her to make a impact, that he could already see.
With great effort, and some skill he is lucky that he gets out of the storm with a sore wing and a headache made for a bull. Fighting her winds proves to be slow, and painful requiring him to favor the one wing. If he is able to manage it he rises to her side, smiling with a chuckle. Forgive my rudeness Unfurling himself he doesn't attempt to retake his shape, this time instead he drapes himself around her neck on the side that he had previously attempted to shatter. Wrapping himself as a band around her neck, he tightens his body constricting around her wind pipe. Of course allowing that she would make another attempt at himself as well. He starts the process wary of any suprises she may hold.
Though he doesn't fear kicks or bites, her weather manipulation would prove to be a difficulty for him to get around. Not that he wouldn't have the skill to do so. Battle is his nature, and its with eager anticipation that he accepts her ability. In any case his head reaches for the tender underside of her neck and teeth nash to crush her throat in that small tender crook between head and neck.
After this he awaits her attacks wondering just what defenses he would be able to use to forego to much damage.
Phaedrus
DEATH GIVES US SLEEP, ETERNAL YOUTH, AND IMMORTALITY
OOC: no worries, I am enjoying. Do you want me to forego the defense post after you get your next on up? Doesn't matter to me, hopefully I didn't break any of the rules lol. <3
Lyris writhes as the black and blue stallion sinks his teeth deeper in, digging into the muscle. She yells in frustration as the stallion somehow manages to move against the wind, drawing his body closer in to hers.
Without warning, a glancing blow hits her shoulder. Nothing serious, but it causes her to veer violently to the side. And immediately after, the teeth in her withers finally release, and Phaedrus is pushed away by the winds.
She sighs with relief as she rises up above the stallion’s head, watching him as becomes smaller and smaller her below her. The bite on her withers still smarts. What a scrappy bastard!
She is both amused and impressed when she sees his plan for protecting himself against the hail now falling from the sky. Her eyes narrow as she watches the odd rubber like ball of stallion huddling down against the onslaught of hail. Effective, but not perfect. His vital organs are protected - hidden away from the the falling balls of ice - but his extremities are more vulnerable. She can still bang him up a bit, though she won’t seriously injure him. Which is good. This is a mock after all! She doesn’t want to cause lasting damage. She can’t help but smirk though as a couple of the hail chunks strike him.
But he doesn’t stay down for long. After a short while, the black and blue stallion manages to struggle out of the storm. Lyris grins as he fights his way towards her, slowly rising up from the ground, without retaking his proper solid shape. She notes that he appears to be favouring one of his wings - clearly she got him with one of the chunks of hail.
His odd, rubbery body grows ever closer, and Lyris’ own caution grows. Shaking the bastard loose the first time had been more than a little difficult. She’s not exactly willing to go through the experience a second time. She waits until the very last possible moment, then drops out of the sky, completely avoiding his attack.
She drops in free-fall, the air rushing past her at an alarming rate. When she’s a safe distance away, she finally unfurls her wings and forces the wind up against her body, bring herself to a jerky, but soft landing.
But, she doesn’t stop. The battle isn’t over yet. She reaches upward, letting her still raging adrenalin lend strength to her power, and calling upon the storm she’s already created. The thick grey clouds turn black, and light begins to flicker through them. Energy begins to build. Then, she draws it down. She aims the lightning blast in Phaedrus’ general direction, but she doesn’t bother too much with accuracy. She doesn’t actually want to hit the stallion - she could seriously injure him if she did that. She just wants to distract him from her second attack.
She pulls the cold air down from the sky and draws warm air up, causing them to converge. The funnel that forms is a small one - long and thin, arching down to the dirt. She could call up bigger of course, but she doesn’t actually want to kill Phaedrus.
She throws the little tornado in Phaedrus’ direction, controlling it with changes in pressure, temperature and wind. Considering his wings, his odd rubbery body and the small size of the vortex, she likely won’t hurt him badly. But she could at least throw him around a bit. And that would be entertaining.
Lyris
I’ll burn this whole city down
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Sorry again for the horrendous wait!
Up to you! It's not necessary though.
Its ok, I am fine with ending it there. Great battle. Sorry about the misunderstanding with the wind gusts xD thanx for doing this this with me. Very intertaining. <3
