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 Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 7:48 am
Nothing but a dark smirk came to the mare's lips. Lowering her head just a bit as she watched him circle around her and 'seemingly' corner her against the shore of the creek.
Show her how it's done. Yea...right.
Instead of letting him trap her in the muddy shore, Galaxia back peddled slightly into the water. Keeping her hooves lifted high as she passed through the muck. The water coming up to just barely below her knees. Eyes still focused on him as he snapped his jaws at her. She could feel his dark hair whip past her face.
The long, wavy ends of her hair soaked up water. Straightening out the waves, making it sleek and straight. "Alright then." Her head lowered just slightly as she watched his movements for just a little bit more.
Little did the stallion know what exactly she had planned. Silt kicked up from her entrance into the water made it difficult to see her legs that were submered. And there in the water, Galaxia dug her hoof beneath a large rock that was submerged as well.
Waiting for when the time was just right.
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 1:35 pm
Standing in the water would decrease Galaxia's mobility, but it wasn't enough. Not nearly. A small part of Cartan couldn't help but notice the way her hair pooled in the water, darkening to russet and flowing with the current of the stream. The rest of him noted that she hadn't made anything resembling an attack since they'd started.
Considering how aggressive she'd been the first time, it was suspicious as hell. Either Galaxia though he was too fragile to handle a tap or two, or, more likely, she was planning something.
But there wasn't time to think about that. In a true battle, split seconds were more valuable as tempered gold. A fraction of a moment, a quantum of reaction time, could spell out the difference between victory and defeat. Hesitation would only make him sloppy.
Vartan let his fore-hooves sink into the sticky mud, then lashed out with a speedy pair of kicks, splashing muck and algae up into Galaxia's face. He'd blind her, then cripple her forelegs with swift blows.
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 4:51 pm
She watched his movements carefully, biding her time. Yes, come on. Thats it. Follow me into the water.
Her mind ran ten paces ahead of herself. If this didn't work then she would fall back to something else. And the like. She'd go through the same dance as always. If one tactic fell through the next would quickly fall into place.
As he drew closer, kicking mud and algae at her face Galaxia quickly ducked her head. The mud and algae barely missing her eyes just in time, though quite a bit landed in her hair. No matter, it would wash out.
Her hoof had gotten deep enough beneath the rock and Vartan was close enough. Ears flicked back as she lifted her front hooves, launching herself partially into the air and onto her back hooves. The mare's front right leg coming up high as the rock she had been digging out of the creek bed lurched out of the water along with her.
This wasn't a well targeted attack. But if it missed his head like she had been aiming for it would at least distract him for a brief moment. Giving her enough time to get in even closer and possibly land something worse than just a smash upside the head with a rock.
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 5:54 pm
Vartan wouldn't have called his maneuvers tactics. He didn't calculate. He didn't need to. One gambit flowed into another, fueled by will and instinct, and his muscles moved with an efficiency drilled into them by countless hours of training. To him, battle was like the running water. He surveyed the situation and then went where the current took him.
The stallion swerved to the side to avoid the rock that had been aimed at his face, biting back a bark of a laugh. Finally. Finally! For a moment, there, Vartan had been worried Galaxia wasn't going to take this seriously. Her attack made him feel much more sure of where he stood. This was the mare he'd been longing to meet, the one he wanted to grind into the mud.
Now all he had to think about was disabling the target. His blood sang with the freedom of it.
Vartan's admiration distracted him for a second, true, and the aim of his attack was ruined. Yet his forward momentum hadn't slowed in the least, and the two rearing horses inevitably locked forelegs.
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 6:21 pm
Galaxia always had a plan. Or was at least formulating a plan. If there was no plan of attack then you were useless and would end up face down in the mud.
But the one thing she hadn't expected from this was her front legs tangling with his own. Now she was locked in this odd standing, with her back hooves sinking into the mud a bit from her own body weight.
A slight look of frustration washed over her face before all the muscles in her back legs flexed and she pushed herself up and forward into Vartan. Using all her body weight that she could to push him over. If she could get him down it might be enough to get her legs untangled.
Her head snapped forward as she made a quick attack at the side of his neck with her teeth.
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 6:41 pm
Vartan saw Galaxia's bite coming, of course, but there was no way to stop her without losing control of the grapple. She was fast - damn fast - and he had to appreciate the precision of her strike as she bared her teeth and lunged for his throat. It stung like a b***h when her teeth sunk into his flesh. He'd be wincing when he moved for days.
Spirits. What a mare.
"Congratulations! You have first blood."
But if a female thought that she could out-muscle him, then she could sure as hell think again.
Galaxia was pushing against him, and Vartan saw no need to exhaust himself by shoving back when he could use her own inertia against her. Instead he moved with the force she was using, keeping their legs locked together and employing his greater weight to twist her over.
If his movement worked, then they'd both go toppling into the creek on their sides, with him oh-so-conveniently falling on top of her. If she recovered, he'd have to come up with something else.
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Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 6:50 am
Hmph.
Well that would work for now. At least she was the first to draw blood anyway. Galaxia didn't plan on getting seriously injured in this fight anyway. She'd make damn sure of that. The mare was determined.
She wasn't going to let him take her down so easily. At least not without a fight. "I'll have last as well."
His body shifted and she could feel him twist slightly. Shifting her own weight against her, trying to pull her down into the water. Back hooves quickly spread out to keep her from falling over at that point. Her head pulling back before she made an attempt to head butt him hard in the jaw. The act might leave her a little light headed for a moment, but it'd certainly knock him for a loop if it landed.
The mare felt her legs strain from the twisting of her body. Her back hooves slipped and Galaxia could feel her body falling side ways. Not enough time to recover so she just let her body go. Though in the moment she was able to at least untangle one of her front legs and wriggle her body a bit more to the side to keep him from directly landing on top of her. He was larger than her yes. And if he fell on her that might of caused more damage than she would have liked to herself.
Dead weight was never something anyone enjoyed having land on them.
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Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 4:49 am
"Then you'll have to do better than nips, your highness."
Vartan wrenched his neck to the side so that the head-butt grazed past his cheek, bruising his jaw but hardly taking him down for the count. He had a half-second to consider a counter-attack. Then his opponent faltered, their balance shifted, and the world wrenched onto its side.
The water was damn cold. Cold, black, and almost fathomless. Galaxia's creek would never be deep, but the stars were shy that evening, and the moon had narrowed to a sliver. It was almost impossible to see what was going on beneath the surface.
The local wildlife had fled at the clamor of combat. Silence ruled. The harsh sounds of their breathing seemed almost impossibly loud. In the end, this was all there was for him. Pain, exhilaration, and a ceaseless battle to distract him from the dark.
Their legs were no longer tangled, and Galaxia had managed not to get pinned. That was fine. If Vartan couldn't wind her one way, he'd find another.
Instead of rushing to rise, he tensed his left hind leg and aimed a sharp kick at her midsection.
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Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 12:54 pm
The harsh kick to her midsection came with great surprise. She hadn't anticipated it. And all she could do was clench her teeth as her guts wrenched. Eyes snapping shut for one brief moment as all the muscles in her stomach tensed.
Oh, he'd pay for that.
Galaxia didn't waste any time getting back onto her hooves. Stepping back a few steps. A trickle of blood ran down the corner of her mouth. Spitting a bit of blood into the creek which was quickly swept away. All of her hair now was straightened and weighed down a bit by the water. And by now she almost looked like a drowned rat as all that hair clung to her face and shoulders. But she would not let it be a hindrance.
Tossing her head sideways, her mane flicked back and out of her way as she made a charge for him. Aiming her head for whatever part of his body she could get before in a split second rearing up on her back legs and flailing her sharp front hooves in the air at him.
She did not speak. No, the time for talking was long since past. Now there was only time for fighting.
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Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 4:31 pm
The best defense was a good offense, and Vartan felt a perverse sort of pride that he'd finally driven Galaxia to go all-out. No more games. No more feints. No more point and counterpoint. Just two Soquili reared back on their hind legs, hooves striking and blocking with steady precision. Even the hits that he managed to ward off jarred his frame and gave him bone-deep bruises.
If Vartan had been thinking, he would have noted that this was damn cathartic. But he was in a place where rational thought lost out to pain and and freedom and the rush of hot blood. He had never wanted to fly. All the thrill he'd ever needed was right there for the taking. All his built-up bitterness and frustration burnt off in the throes of battle and drifted away on the night wind.
Yet all good things had to come to an end, and this one was no exception. Galaxia probably hadn't rested for hours and Vartan was still recovering from his infection. Their blows grew slower, heavier, and inexcusably sloppy, until finally they were locked together just like they'd been in the creek.
Vartan rested his weight on the slighter Soquili, breathing heavily and not making any particular to shove her away. Every part of him was sore with exhaustion. It felt fantastic.
"I don't want to kill you," Vartan informed Galaxia, arching his neck forward to murmur into the shell of her ear. His eyes sparkled when he caught sight of the trickle of blood at the corner of her lips. The smirk that followed came more naturally than he ever would have thought. "I think... it'd be pretty damn inefficient."
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:59 am
Indeed it had been quite a while since Galaxia had rested. And even now she could start to feel the effects of this. Her muscles burned and her head felt light as adrenaline rushed through her blood. It wasn't any surprise to her though that being thrown into this fight so randomly, she still managed to remember what she had learned so long ago. How the flames of battle fanned her blood into a rage that only came to her the majority of the time on the battle field.
But still, it seemed just as well that her body started to protest as her movements became slower. Though it was not only her own. She noticed Vartan's had as well. The fool was probably still not one hundred percent recovered from his injury and yet he had taken her on despite that fact. Perhaps there were some redeeming qualities to him. Maybe.
Her forehead came to rest against his chest as her own heaved. Trying to catch her breath. At this point she hadn't controlled her breathing like she normally would have during a fight. The adrenaline had taken over, causing her to push herself to the brink. The mare's ear twitched as he murmured into it. A small smirk coming to her lips as Galaxia closed her red eyes. "I knew it. All talk." She wasn't about to admit that perhaps this fight was a bit pointless. And she sure as hell wasn't going to admit that even so perhaps she herself did not want to kill him either. At least to him anyway.
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Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 10:19 am
"Mmm, really? Those are fighting words," Vartan murmured, though he made no move to bite at Galaxia's ears or kick her away. He was pressed up against a warm, pretty mare, who smelled of blood and iron.
And she wasn't hitting him. How novel. Vartan surprised himself by finding that he... didn't mind.
In fact, the stallion was fairly certain that he didn't mind at all.
Perhaps if if he'd been less tired her words would have rankled him, like a burr caught in his hoof, but here and now Vartan was content enough to let Galaxia save face. There was no harm in sceding territory so long as he won the war.
"Guess if you're gonna keep challenging me, I'll have to keep trying to kick your a**. I meant what I said. It's a waste for alla those skills of yours to go to no damn use." Vartan chuckled, low in his throat. He was always more at ease after a battle, when his demons were sated, the tension has snapped, and he could bask in the afterglow of his combat rush. If he'd been a real Kalona, and lived a life of gore and violence, then he might have been as personable as the rest of his screwed-up clan. "Hey, do you want to know a secret?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 12:42 pm
She licked her lips lightly. They felt dry even though she was soaked from head to hoof. Her hair still weighted down a bit from all the water it had soaked up during their fight. A small smirk came to her lips as she glanced up at him through wet hair that clung to her forehead. "Yea well, that fight will have to be done another day."
It had been a long time since Galaxia had shared this kind of closeness with anyone. A very long time. Now a days she was more stand offish to say the least. But at the moment she didn't mind so much. She was tired, cold, wet. And the warmth of Vartan's body against her's felt almost welcoming.
The mare snorted lightly. Flicking an ear which caused a bit of mane to flop against the side of her face. "I suppose if your so adamant about it I have no choice in the matter." Closing her eyes, she let out a small sigh. Her breathing had calmed now and was much slower. The air filling her lungs burned, but it was a welcome burn. Perhaps he was right, in a way. It was a waste for her skills to be of no use. But she hadn't had a need or a purpose to use them. Until now.
Red eyes opened half way as she stared at his chest. A secret? And just what kind of secret was it that he wanted to tell her. It was a quite unusual request coming from him. He was a stallion of many secrets to her. Just showed up in her territory one day with no rhyme or reason. "Depends on what that secret is I guess."
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 4:23 pm
((I forgot to say in my last post: thank you for being so patient about my hiatus. <3 ))
A small, stubborn part of Vartan insisted that it wouldn't be so bad to stand there all night, to hell the wet and the cold night air. He didn't ordinarily let other Soquili this close to him when he wasn't trying to bite them. The experience bore further investigation, and he wasn't fool enough to think that Galaxia would let him cozy up like this again without a struggle.
Unfortunately, the greater part of Vartan was bettered, bruised, and weary almost to the point of collapse. It felt like his tendons were strained close to breaking. If the stallion didn't depart soon, he knew that he wouldn't leave with any dignity at all.
"I like you. That was fun."
Vartan gently disengaged himself from his opponent, shook out his main, and staggered slowly over to the edge of the clearing.
"Don't let it go to your head, okay?" He advised, clearing his throat awkwardly. Vartan was insensitive, antisocial, violent, and possibly a masochist. His seal of approval wasn't the exactly greatest endorsement out there. "So long as you stay out here, I'll see you around."
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 3:38 pm
Galaxia blinked. Once, twice and a third time.
After all this time and all the harshness he liked her? Well he was certainly an odd one at that. Apparently punishment got him off or something like that. Though she wasn't against dishing it out.
A light chuckle passed through her lips as he drew away. Her own hooves carrying herself backwards a few steps before she tossed her head lightly. Flicking away hair that had clung to her forehead. "I suppose your ok."
An ear twitched as a cold breeze ran along her spine. And for just a brief moment she missed being so close to him. But those thoughts quickly left. Eventually she'd need to get somewhere warm and dry. No use in being pent up with a cold.
"Yea well, we'll see I guess." The mare shot him a sly smile before turning from him. Long, wet hair dragging behind her before she glanced over her shoulder briefly then took off. She knew the perfect place to get dry and warm. Hell if she was going to stick around here any longer shivering her a** off.
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