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((Ok, so for fighting, roll one four sided die to determine if your attack lands. My roll determines how Ire's attack hits
1= Attack completely misses
2= Attack hits, barely. Mostly dodged/deflected
3= Attack hits, is partly deflected/dodged, but still does a decent hurt
4= Attack hits exactly as planned))

The beauty of being on the defensive at the beginning of any battle was that it gave you the opportunity to study and to deflect. Unless he had a suitable opening, Ire detested having to make the first move; consequently, he had to give Somnium a great deal of credit for doing what any fighter knew was a foolish undertaking: making a head-on opening attack.

Ire was ready for him as the other stallion dove at him, and swiftly pivoted to dodge the attack, wheeling around and lashing out with his forelegs to deliver a good kick right to the other stallion's chest. He would have liked to get a good hit in on Somnium's left side; observation had showed him that the other's scar was on that side, and where one was weak was an excellent place to hit. However, the angle of Somnium's attack had thwarted that thought.

Still, the fight was only beginning!

It was unfortunate that the attack didn't hit square on, but Ire could at least be satisfied that he'd done some amount of damage to the other stallion. It was folly to let himself relax, though, and the unexpected buckling of the other stallion was proof of that. For a moment, Ire had the appalled thought that the other was already falling, only to realize too late that it was actually an attack. Somnium's horns hit him full in the side, the force of the impact causing Ire to stagger briefly. He could feel the blood start to trickle from the wound, and cursed inwardly his own carelessness. Still, it was a pleasure to take on a creature who actually knew how to fight!

Sucking in a breath, Ire wheeled, bringing his tail into action in a calculated lash at the top of other's neck. As Somnium was already a bit breathless, he might be able to use that momentum and bring him all the way to the ground.

Gratifying as it was to be able to down his opponent, Ire couldn't allow himself any time to gloat. Not when the would at his side was oozing blood and the other stallion had a formidable array of combat attribute ready to bring to the fore. Much as he might disparage the 'weakness' of kalona that lead them to mate with lesser races, he had to admit that in Somnium's case at least one attribute was not wasted. He had been carefully watching the other's stallion's feet, keeping a safe distance between the burning flames and his own vulnerable parts, but he hadn't been expecting this: control over the very size of the flames!

Being as close as he was to the other stallion as a result of his down move, he couldn't completely avoid the fanned flames, but years of fighting reflexes allowed him to swerve away, avoiding all injury aside of a minor singe to his own ankle and a small flash of white spots at his eyes. A couple of rapid blinks were enough to drive the spots away, and he was rapidly wheeling back into the fight, trying to take as much advantage of his opponent's downed state as he could. That in mind, he drove straight in, sharply pointed tail spearing straight at Somnium's shoulder with the intent of taking the other's good shoulder out of action. It would be a pity to have the fight end soon, but a good battle was never a waste!

One of the more laughable bits of drivel that Ire had heard from non-kalonas in his time was a bit of nonsense uttered by an insipid mare, one of that apparently suicidal breed of non-kalona females who take it into their heads that a kalona would be a perfect mate to fulfill one of the female's idiotic 'romantic fantasies'. This particular female had said how it was too bad that kalonas had the thick, solid, spade-tipped tails instead of hair tails, because 'spade tails really aren't pretty'. Had Ire been inclined to humor that sort at all, he might almost have laughed at the idiocy; had he been a different type of kalona, he would have put her out of his misery AND demonstrated the practical uses of that tail in fell swoop.

But lack of 'prettiness' aside, his tail had always been one of his greatest assets in any sort of combat situation; as a weapon, a grasping limb, a prop, a distraction; it could be used to apply pressure to a wound, pull himself up, and keep him from losing his balance. And, like the serpentine animal it resembled, it could be hard to keep down.

Keeping his forward momentum, he was able to keep the lash of his tail out of range of the other stallion's fangs, drawing it back and around and out of reach. If he had to guess, he would say that the other stallion was still staggered, but he was nonetheless impressed. After all, staggered or no Somnium had managed to dodge what should have been a debilitating blow. Ire would have to up his own game.

With that thought, he drove straight at the base of the other stallion's neck, his own fangs bared for a lunge that, while certainly not fatal, would make a pretty nasty wound and hopefully incapacitate that good shoulder that his tail had failed to truly injure beyond a mere scratch. "You're to be commended for your skill, Friend."

The problem with a a move as blatant as Ire's was that is left him vulnerable to attack from his opponent's fangs and hooves both; he was relying of speed and injury to slow the other kalona down, and for the most part it seemed to be working. Though he had misjudged his attack and hadn't inflicted as much damage as he'd intended, he had still managed to inflict a sizable tear on the other's shoulder and come away mostly unscathed. Ducking under the hooves that came flying at his head, Ire felt only a brief scraping as one of them grazed the side of his head, fortunately missing both his ear and his horn and instead landing lightly at the sturdiest part of his skull. But rather than savor the almost complete miss, he instead drove forward, taking advantage of the other stallion's rearing to ram his horns up into Somnium's underside.

It had been a calculated risk, going up under a rearing horse, and even though Ire had the satisfaction of feelings his horns drive up deep into the other stallion's underside, he had no way to dodge the following attack and gritted his teeth against the powerful blow to his skull from the other's hooves. Pain ripped through his head, and he could feel the warm trickle of blood as it started to seep down from the large tear caused by Somnium's hooves. To voice that pain would be weak, but there certainly was a temptation to make some verbal recognition of the injury.

Instead, he drew himself backwards and out of reach, adopting a safe distance from the other stallion as he surveyed both the damage done to Somnium and took stock of his own injuries. His head was killing him and he could feel the steady oozing from the wound in his side, but for the most part he'd only suffered minor injuries. Still, even a minor injury was something to be reflected on; this had thus far been an intense and enjoyable fight.

Eying the other stallion, Ire allowed himself a small, cold, but respectful smile. "Do you feel like continuing, or would you say that this encounter has served its purpose?" It wasn't that he feared pain or was unwilling to continue, but it was a waste to kill a kalona whose mind was in the right place, and even if Somnium was of tainted blood, he was still a respectable opponent. Already their match had drawn much blood, and Ire could easily one of them dying if it was kept for too much longer. He didn't intend it to be him, but his day to die was going to come eventually...

For Ire, fighting served a myriad of purposes. It was a way to stay in shape, to improve himself as a kalona, to prove his superiority, to strengthen his weaknesses, to test whether someone was a worthwhile acquaintance...very rarely did he fight to the death. As he never bothered with lessers, killing them didn't come up; the prey animals that made up his diet never had a chance to fight back, and most kalona he met with were, like him, looking for a test rather than killing blows. It would be a waste and useless posturing to continue past this point in the fight; it wouldn't prove anything more than what had already been proven.

And that was that in spite of being a half-breed, Somnium was alright. At his remark regarding a future match, Ire nodded himself, the expression far more courteous than anything he'd ever given to a half-breed before. "I believe that a rematch will be requisite in the future, when we both have had time to heal and re-evaluate combat strategies. But I believe that this match has been suitably completed...for today."