"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, i will go first
Up to two attacks or counter attacks per post
No complete dodges.
A Max word count of around 500?
And again Archams stats:
Archam
Warlander
17hh
Bay Roan
No traits
Archam
Archam had little interaction with the Kingdom, aside from his duties as a warrior. So it was not odd that he had little interaction with this mare, I guess it was his duty to offer mock battles with the other army members. He looked at the medicine hat mare, name Nitika that he briefly conversed with, once in the field and once in the Falls when his lead mare Anahi brought her to the kingdom. He smiled briefly at the mare who has come a long way and was now here to mock battle with Archam.
He gazed over the mare, he has never fought an equine of the opposite gender, primarily because he had no reason to, but to benefit the kingdom he agreed to battle this mare. He glanced at the mare who was much smaller than he was, but from his mock with a pony he knew that there size offered more balance and speed. The sun was beating down on them, it was early in the morning and the heat was at its peak. Slightly windy offering relief from the sun, while a the same time leaves and dirt blew past them. Alas it was his turn to make a move, they stood across from each other and she awaited his attack. I look forward to learning your skills He dipped his head almost in a peace offering before launching himself towards her, he lifted himself off the ground(rearing) letting a whinny escape his maw he slammed down to the ground, striking his front legs towards her shoulder, hopeful to hit her on the neck or stomach.
Nitika Paint Horse 14.3 hands Medicine Hat No traits
I'll agree to all the terms/rules you've set.
Nitika stood tall and proud as she faced the bay roan stallion. She’d seen him a couple of times throughout the Kingdom, even if they’d never spoken. Even while both of them were warriors, Nitika often stayed away from the others to practice her skills alone, or to head to other parts of the territory to explore and meet the herd mares that lived here.
However, she held respect for this stallion. He gave off a powerful aura, showing that not only was he strong physically, but most likely of mind as well. The strength of his mind and body gave him the two biggest advantages to lead and protect his herd. It was admirable, really. But Nitika wasn’t a mare that was easily impressed. Just because one was tall and appeared powerful said nothing about one’s skills are a warrior.
Nitika had learned to hone her size to her advantage. True, it gave her a better chance of speed, since, while she was muscular, her body style was lean and small, compact, which helped her to move faster as opposed to the taller horses, like Archam. She knew she’d never be that tall, and that was fine with her. She liked her smaller size; it made it easier to hide, even though her bright coloring gave her presence away fairly easily.
So that was why she began to hon her fighting skills, so that since predators might find her easily, she could protect herself. Her hooves and teeth had seen battle, she was no newbie to it. She could hold her own in battle, and that was something she would show this stallion, so he’d understand that, if he ever wanted to come after her in the future, she would not be swayed lightly, or taken easily whatsoever.
Archam dipped his head and told her he looked forward to learning from her, to see how she could do. Nitika was eager to meet that expectation; she’d show him that size never mattered, or gender either. Then, he was charging at her. He reared, and Nitika moved to the side, squealing in irritation when she felt his hooves make contact with her shoulder.
Stepping away from him quickly, Nitika took a small second to assess herself. The wound stung, much like a rash, from where his hooves had hit her, but it was nowhere near a fatal wound. If anything, it spurred her to fight. Like a flash of lightning, Nitika was charging back, lashing out with her teeth, aiming form his muzzle. However, just before she could make contact, she changed course. She kicked out with her back hooves, aiming to strike his hind legs to weaken the strength he held in them, something that would hopefully give her an advantage later in the battle.
Archams lips curled into a smile as he successfully landed an attack on her shoulder. He gazed over the mare who seemed knowledgeable in fighting which was something he could admire. It was nice to see a mare who could defend herself, and had no problem fighting another stallion. It was also something that the kingdom would benefit from should they ever participate in a war.
The two stood about seven or eight paces away from each other and she was quick to recover and charged the stallion. Her teeth were bared and she was aiming for his face, although to his surprise the mare duped him and once she approached swiftly turned kicking her back legs out. It was a low kick and to her success landed a few inches above his knee. It certainly stung and his legs grew sore carrying his weight. His ears flicked back slightly as he grew angry, not at her, but that she had such a tactic.
Before the mare could move away he stepped forward and extended his neck out hopeful to land a bite on her rear, and break the skin.
While Archam had managed to stay on his hooves despite the blow above his knees, Nitika was pleased her attack had struck true. Even if the soreness did go away over time, he would no doubt be feeling it for the duration of this fight, and his speed might be slowed because he couldn't deal with supporting his muscular body.
The medicine hat mare was prepared to lash out with her hind hooves again, since she was in position, but before she could, the stallion got there first. Using his teeth, he bit her on the hip, something that caused a pained squeal to erupt from the mare's mouth. Nitika stepped away, her hind legs struggling as she assessed the damage.
The wound was nowhere near fatal, but considering that his teeth had broken the skin, it stung like hell. The blood dripping from the wound, though not severely, stained her white coat. This motivated the mare to try harder, to increase the speed of her attacks so that she could finish this battle. The bite mark definitely stung more than the kick to his legs had, that was for sure. She had to finish this; she wanted to see if she could come out on top, or at the very least, see if the stallion would back down first.
Rearing up, Nitika aimed her front hooves for his shoulder, her teeth bared and heading for the crest of his neck as she started coming down. She didn't know which attack Archam would try to avoid, but no matter which, she didn't care really. She only cared about finishing this battle, to see who would be the first to give up.
