[aliyaah]

Round 3

Aftershock (TrinitySilph ) vs Danika (Pippin )

Two days into the tournament, and all the contestants are feeling their wounds. It has stopped snowing, but the previous day's storm has left a blanket of the fluffy white stuff coating the ground. This battle is taking place just after sunrise, near to a river that courses rapidly by the Colosseum. The waters are frigid, and their banks slippery... Beware, you don't want to fall in to these rapids. 

---

Please remember that this post serves as the first post of the battle. It is taken as though both your characters are now present, and your following posts will begin the fighting (unlike regular battles where one equine enters and has to wait for the other to arrive). 

All battles are fought with the rules 3 attacks, 1 dodge, 3 days to reply. There will be no extensions given out, no exception. As these are meant to be shorter, quicker battles, the maximum word count is 800 words. 

*If the second poster finishes the thread with an attack, the first poster may post OOC to describe the results of said attack prior to judging (still needs to follow the three day rule).

Please ensure you utilize the battle for just like regular battles. 

Pippin , you were drawn to post first. You have 3 days from this point to make your first post. Let the battles begin!

[Pippin]

The snow from the day before had stopped falling and now a layer of the stuff covered the ground. The cold held everything in close and caused her body to ache more deeply in the places she had already taken injuries. Danika shifted slightly as she looked across at her next opponent. He at least would not tower over her like the brute Hound, even still he looked to be much bulker than her own light draft frame. Again she figured her best bet was to avoid closing with him as best she could. She knew from mistakes in her last match that she could not move with as much agility as the fancy moves she tired had caused great flare ups of pain. The ground was also much slicker today, even before she added in that today they fought on the banks of a river. She let her caramel eyes fall on that sight for a moment for looking back at the stallion. 'Okay, don't let him close with you and don't let him box you in towards that river.' She though to herself and then a sound rang out signaling the start of the match.

Danika at once went into motion, her steps quick and precise as she hoped to gain an upper hand early on. She closed in quickly with the stallion ignoring as best she could the burn of pain throughout her body. Ideally she would have charged and reared, lashing him with her front hooves. But she knew that would cause undo pain and stress on her rear leg and for the moment she wanted to avoid that kind of stuff until it was necessary. So instead Dankia closed in closer, attempting to land a deep bite with her teeth onto his broad shoulder. She then spun away, careful not to move too quickly so she didn't loss footing as she darted back out of his range.             


 

Name: Danika
Breed: Black Forest Horse
Age: 8
Gender: Mare
Height: 15 hh
Alliance: Light
Health: 80%

Battle One:
-Bite wound to left side of her face, just slightly to side and above her eye. Has scabbed over but possible it could reopen and bleed freely again.
-Right shoulder is hit and bruised. Movement is slightly impaired because of stiffness and sudden movements could cause spikes of pain.
Battle Two:
-Deep bite on her withers that will further impact her range of movement.
-Slightly bruised from hitting the ground. Should not impact her.
-Grazing bite on her rear left leg near stifle joint. Will have pain when moving but should not overly impact her. 

Attacks:
1 - Aiming a bite at his shoulder. 
2 - 
3 -
Dodges:
1 -

TrinitySilph

[TrinitySilph]

He felt numb. The endless slog of his long wandering, the lack of sleep, the climb over the mountain to Ittudale, and now this… were he not so desperate to prove himself, he might have forfeited already. However, Rianne had challenged him, and purpose had sunk its teeth into him like the cruel fangs of a snake. No pain could make him give up now.

The little mare before him did not seem much of a seasoned fighter, but he knew better than to judge by appearances. Aftershock took as much of a look at her as he could before she began her charge.

Smaller than him, but not by much. Face wound, healing. Favouring right foreleg, barely noticeable limp.

She was upon him. Driving away from the looming threat of the river, she came in low, causing him a brief blip of surprise. He had expected the little mare to rear and go for something more vital, but instead…
Aftershock’s head flew up instinctively as he started to rise into a rear. Best to protect his eyes, yes? Best to have the advantage of height, despite the stinging ache of the wound in his neck. But instead, Danika’s teeth sank into his shoulder and he barely pulled himself out of the way enough to avoid real damage.
Damn…she’s quick…!

As he threw his forelegs back down, he pivoted on his hooves and kicked. The motion was too fast, too unplanned, to expect where precisely it would land. Would he strike her shoulder? Her belly? Her face? Anything would be good enough - it wasn’t like he had much choice.

His hooves slipped in the fresh snow. It wasn’t enough to take him down, but it was a warning, to be sure: Don’t be too sure of yourself. Don’t be so sure of the land or your body.
He ached. His legs ached. His chest ached. The snow and the rapids and the frigid air whispered threats in the back of his mind.
But he couldn’t give up. He wouldn’t give up.
He would prove himself.

Name: Aftershock
Breed: Irish Draught x Georgian Grande
Age: 6
Gender: Stallion
Height: 16.2hh
Alliance: Unallied
Health: 60%

Attacks:
1. Attempts to kick Danika with both back hooves
2.
3.

Dodge:
1.

Previous Injuries:
1. Bruised, stiff shoulders
2. Shallow gash on his flank.
3. Badly bruised chest, will cause a limp and could affect breathing, depending on exertion.
4. Torn flesh and bruising along left side of jaw. Painful, but won’t get in the way in most cases, though it could make eating awkward until healed.
5. Large gash to the right side of his neck, near his throat. Will take a long time to heal and will scar. Makes it painful to move his head left.
6. Badly bruised forelegs.

New Injuries:
1. Shallow gash to left shoulder. Potential for scarring, will likely impede movement when adrenaline wears off and cold sets in.

Note: Health would have been reduced to 65% following battle with Perihelion and resulting injuries. Reduction to 60% includes this round with Danika. =)

Pippin

[Pippin]

She felt her teeth meet flesh, but the contact was over quickly as the stallion jerked away. She was already on the move, hoping to put distance between them again as he turned and shot an un-aimed kick at her. She felt his back hooves briefly find contact on her side, then she was out of his range. The place his hooves had struck stung but she had luckily avoided the brunt force of his kick. She pulled herself to a stop. Feeling hooves slide on the snow covered ground a little as she turned to face the stallion once more. She let herself smile slightly as she saw the new mark she had left on his shoulder. It looked deeper than she had thought it would be, leaving a shallow gash on his flesh. She hoped that it would hamper his movements, if even just a little bit.  

She panted, feeling the burn of pain throughout her body as she sought for her next opening. She dared not stand still for long though and as one heartbeat lead into another she decided that she would have to make an opening. There was no high winds or battling pairs this time to create unknowns and distractions. So she surged forward again, the aches of her body screaming at her that she needed to take more care. She ignored the warnings. She came in low, looking as if she was going to try and bite him again. Aiming for the soft flesh where rounded middle turned to belly. At the last moment though Danika reared up, feeling her back leg sear with pain. She latched out with front hooves, attempting to land a lashing kick to the side of his rear end. 

She then pulled away, almost losing her footing as her shoulder nearly gave out when she landed back down on the limb. Instead of turning around she rushed all the way past him, realizing with horror her move had sent her closer to the icy river.                


Name: Danika
Breed: Black Forest Horse
Age: 8
Gender: Mare
Height: 15 hh
Alliance: Light
Health: 75%
-Took a glancing kick to right side. Hurts but will not impact her much.  

Battle One:
-Bite wound to left side of her face, just slightly to side and above her eye. Has scabbed over but possible it could reopen and bleed freely again.
-Right shoulder is hit and bruised. Movement is slightly impaired because of stiffness and sudden movements could cause spikes of pain.
Battle Two:
-Deep bite on her withers that will further impact her range of movement.
-Slightly bruised from hitting the ground. Should not impact her.
-Grazing bite on her rear left leg near stifle joint. Will have pain when moving but should not overly impact her. 

Attacks:
1 - Aiming a bite at his shoulder. 
2 - Aiming a lashing kick with front hooves at side/rump.
3 -
Dodges:
1 -

TrinitySilph  

[TrinitySilph]

The snow slipped under his hooves, turning to slush where their violent dance stirred it. His chest ached and burned; his shoulders sang with pain. The twisting motion he had made to kick Danika had opened the wound in his neck and now it, too, screamed for relief - he could feel the blood beginning to trickle down from the wound like water, ready to freeze in the icy air. In his mind, war raged all around him, but Danika was the only horse there. They were watched, to be sure, but from afar, isolated on their little battleground. He could hear the screams of the fallen and dying in the back of his mind, echoes of a world long forgotten.

Danika snaked in close again, lunging for Aftershock’s side with a little grin, like she was so pleased to have drawn first blood. Did she think him stupid? Did she think he would fall for the same trick twice? Sure enough, she jerked her head away at the last moment and lashed out instead with her forehooves.
”Try again, witch,” he snarled as he spun, feeling her hooves clip his rump before she lunged away from him again… right towards the river.

Now it was Aftershock’s turn to grin, toothy and vicious as she backed herself into a corner, illuminated by the blindingly golden light of early morning and framed by rushing water too close for comfort.
His neck was bleeding. His entire front end ached. His left shoulder resisted every motion. Breath came raggedly, inhibited by the intense bruising he had sustained. He felt it all through a haze of adrenaline, distant from himself, even as he knew his body could not go on like this forever.

Aftershock drove forward in a wild rush, throwing his full weight against Danika in an attempt to throw her off balance and knock her to the ground. If he was successful, his bulk should bruise her chest and wind her. If he was lucky, she might just fall in the river.
If he was unsuccessful, well… then he supposed he would have to try something a little more vicious.

Name: Aftershock
Breed: Irish Draught x Georgian Grande
Age: 6
Gender: Stallion
Height: 16.2hh
Alliance: Unallied
Health: 55%

Attacks:
1. Attempts to kick Danika with both back hooves
2. Attempts to body-slam Danika in an attempt to knock her off her hooves, either onto the ground or into the river
3.

Dodge:
1.

Previous Injuries:
1. Bruised, stiff shoulders
2. Shallow gash on his flank.
3. Badly bruised chest, will cause a limp and could affect breathing, depending on exertion.
4. Torn flesh and bruising along left side of jaw. Painful, but won’t get in the way in most cases, though it could make eating awkward until healed.
5. Large gash to the right side of his neck, near his throat. Will take a long time to heal and will scar. Makes it painful to move his head left.
6. Badly bruised forelegs.

New Injuries:
1. Shallow gash to left shoulder. Potential for scarring, will likely impede movement when adrenaline wears off and cold sets in. **UPDATE** Starting to stiffen in the cold.
2. Light bruising to rump. Will hurt to touch but won’t impact movement for long.

Pippin

[Pippin]

She had just barely pulled herself to a stop and started to turn around. Desperate to get away from the river, even if that meant closing back closer with her opponent when she caught sight of the stallion in question. Charging right at her. Panic set it and before she could formulate a plan his lager bulk was crashing into her. She felt her breath whoosh out of her in gasp. On instinct she tried to push her own bulk against him. She lasted all of two seconds before his weight and the screaming pain of the past days hurts won out and she lost her footing. She twisted as she fell turning her left and less bruised side towards the ground. Once more she felt air leave her body in a burst as she hit the ground. She however did not have time to catch her breath as the momentum of his push had her now sliding backwards, towards the river. She thrashed and fought to get her hooves under her once more, to stop her slide towards the deadly water. Her battle with the stallion forgotten for the moment.

She felt rocks and other small objects just hidden under the snow as she crashed over them. Each small impact insignificant on there own but added up together left her feeling like a million tiny daggers danced across her body. The deep bite on her withers reopened and she felt the hot blood start to flow once more in contrast to the icy cold around her. She banged her head on another small rock and felt the gash on her face reopen as well and the blood threaten to impair her vision in that left eye. She at last managed to stop her slide, at the very edge of the river. She felt the spray of cold water as it raced over rapids just beside her. With an effort she pulled herself to standing and then the battle and thoughts of her opponent came rushing back to her. She quickly found him. She had felt like her slid had been forever, an endless track of time. But in reality it had only lasted a minuet, probably less, and had only sent her a few feet away from the stallion. She was in a worse position now, the river at her feet and him standing on the high ground. So hurt all over from the fall and had to keep blinking to keep her left eye clear of the fresh running blood. Taking in huge gasps of air she thought fast. This battle had to end soon, she did not think she could go on much longer. Her body felt on the verge of giving out fully on her, then add in the threat of the river at her back and things had taken a deadly turn.

With a snarl of desperation Danika charged the bigger stallion. She felt her body protest and burn with pain. She felt the last her strength ebb away as she pushed herself to her limit and than past it. She had no hope of overpowering the stallion, and all her other ticks had fallen short. So she charged low, feeling hooves slip on unstable ground but managing to keep herself from crashing back down onto it. Her target was his forelegs, her goal to bite onto either limb and pull it out from under him. To attempt to send him falling and sliding in the same deadly battle with the river she had just won. She didn't wait to see if her plan worked as she let her charge continue to send her forward and past him, away from the river and whatever counter he would try.                  

                   
Name: Danika
Breed: Black Forest Horse
Age: 8
Gender: Mare
Height: 15 hh
Alliance: Light
Health: 50%
-Took a glancing kick to right side. Hurts but will not impact her much.
-Chest is bruised from where his body slammed into her. Will probably effect certain movements.
-Slightly bruised from hitting the ground. 
-Many small scrapes and cuts from sliding into rocks on the ground.  
 

Battle One:
-Bite wound to left side of her face, just slightly to side and above her eye. Has scabbed over but possible it could reopen and bleed freely again.
-Right shoulder is hit and bruised. Movement is slightly impaired because of stiffness and sudden movements could cause spikes of pain.
Battle Two:
-Deep bite on her withers that will further impact her range of movement.
-Slightly bruised from hitting the ground. Should not impact her.
-Grazing bite on her rear left leg near stifle joint. Will have pain when moving but should not overly impact her. 

Attacks:
1 - Aiming a bite at his shoulder. 
2 - Aiming a lashing kick with front hooves at side/rump.
3 - Aiming a bite at front legs, in an attempt to send him off balance 
Dodges:
1 -

TrinitySilph  

[TrinitySilph]

Time froze as he looked down at the mare on the riverbank. He hadn’t even been sure he could hit her that hard, but there she went, skidding and sliding in a wild, uncontrolled tumble towards the water. Had she really been that unbalanced? Or perhaps he had merely caught her off guard. For a moment, he thought she might fall into the river.
If she did, the fight would be over.
If she did… he supposed he’d feel a little guilty, when he came back to himself.
It was a distant kind of regret, the kind held in the back of one’s mind when one knew one’s actions were justified, but still distasteful. A soldier’s shield against the realities of their duties.

Focus, fool! It’s nearly over, and then you can rest.

The mare was getting up, dragging herself out of the slushy muck just before the water’s edge. A relief, perhaps, but frustration, too.
Fine, then.

Danika charged him, looking stiff and weary - he couldn’t blame her. What horse would be comfortable running uphill after a fall like that? Still, all the better for him.
Aftershock watched her slip and scramble towards him and settled his weight backwards, onto his hind hooves, ready for an attack. She snaked out her neck and he reared. Her teeth closed on empty air. Pain lanced through his withers, his chest, his legs. All he had to do was lift his forelegs high enough that she couldn’t bite him… since when did that require such effort?
Under his feet, slick snow and mud played havoc on his balance and he nearly fell as he threw his weight around to chase her. The wound on his neck screamed as he moved his head the wrong way. He felt fresh blood shiver down sweat-soaked skin.
Gods damn this infernal weather!

His breath rasped up and down his throat, and each gasp bled fire into his veins. He could feel his heartbeat in each inflamed muscle fibre. Blood ran freely down his neck and onto his chest. This battle had to end before she could do him any more damage!
Squinting in the sunlight as it glanced off the snow and into his eyes, he pushed himself as hard as he could and aimed to return her favour: where she had tried to bite his foreleg, he attempted to sink his teeth into her left hock.
He could hardly see, blinded by golden light and crystal snow, by pain and by exhaustion, but if his aim was true, perhaps he would survive one more battle.

Name: Aftershock
Breed: Irish Draught x Georgian Grande
Age: 6
Gender: Stallion
Height: 16.2hh
Alliance: Unallied
Health: 50%

Attacks:
1. Attempts to kick Danika with both back hooves
2. Attempts to body-slam Danika in an attempt to knock her off her hooves, either onto the ground or into the river
3. Aims a bite at Danika’s left hock

Dodge:
1. Dodges attempted bite to forelegs

Previous Injuries:
1. Bruised, stiff shoulders
2. Shallow gash on his flank.
3. Badly bruised chest, will cause a limp and could affect breathing, depending on exertion.
4. Torn flesh and bruising along left side of jaw. Painful, but won’t get in the way in most cases, though it could make eating awkward until healed.
5. Large gash to the right side of his neck, near his throat. Will take a long time to heal and will scar. Makes it painful to move his head left.
6. Badly bruised forelegs.

New Injuries:
1. Shallow gash to left shoulder. Potential for scarring, will likely impede movement when adrenaline wears off and cold sets in. **UPDATE** Starting to stiffen in the cold.
2. Light bruising to rump. Will hurt to touch but won’t impact movement for long.
3. Growing exhaustion, exacerbated chest bruising is causing minor difficulty breathing

Pippin

[Pippin]

OOC Response:

Already on the move past him Danika manages to keep ahead of his seeking teeth and avoid the bite he was aiming for her left hock.   
        

                   
Name: Danika
Breed: Black Forest Horse
Age: 8
Gender: Mare
Height: 15 hh
Alliance: Light
Health: 50%
-Took a glancing kick to right side. Hurts but will not impact her much.
-Chest is bruised from where his body slammed into her. Will probably effect certain movements.
-Slightly bruised from hitting the ground. 
-Many small scrapes and cuts from sliding into rocks on the ground.  
 

Battle One:
-Bite wound to left side of her face, just slightly to side and above her eye. Has scabbed over but possible it could reopen and bleed freely again.
-Right shoulder is hit and bruised. Movement is slightly impaired because of stiffness and sudden movements could cause spikes of pain.
Battle Two:
-Deep bite on her withers that will further impact her range of movement.
-Slightly bruised from hitting the ground. Should not impact her.
-Grazing bite on her rear left leg near stifle joint. Will have pain when moving but should not overly impact her. 

Attacks:
1 - Aiming a bite at his shoulder. 
2 - Aiming a lashing kick with front hooves at side/rump.
3 - Aiming a bite at front legs, in an attempt to send him off balance 
Dodges:
1 - Avoids bite he was trying to land on her left hock

TrinitySilph  

Notes: Great battle Trinity! This is ready to be judged! 

[❅ Icy Dragon ✩]

I will tally.
Waiting on judge collection: No
Judge 1 Collection: Collected
Judge 2 Collection: Collected
Tally-ing Scores: Yes

[❅ Icy Dragon ✩]

Roleplayer & Character: Pippin with Danika
Cohesiveness: 3
Comments:
- “Though to herself” - should be thought
-“He at least would not tower over her like the brute Hound, even still he looked to be much bulker than your own light draft frame” - bulker should be bulkier. In addition this sentence is just a bit off. It would have sounded better if it were more like “While he would at least not tower over her like the brute hound, he still looked to be much bulkier than her own light draft frame.”
- “Again she figured her best bet was to avoid closing with him as best as she could” - maybe closing the distance between them? Closing in on him?
- “As the fancy moves she tired” - should be tried
- “She let her caramel eyes fall on that sight for a moment for looking back at the stallion” - should be before, not for.
- “So she didn’t loss footing” - should be lose footing.
- “So instead Dankia closed in closer” - Dankia should be Danika
- “Feeling hooves slide on the snow covered ground as she turned to face the stallion once more.” This sentence could be better. It should be “She felt her hooves slide as she turned to face”.
- “She latched out with front hooves” should be lashed out.
- “Desperate to get away from the river, even if that meant closing back closer with her opponent when she caught sight of the stallion in question.” This sentence sort of changes directions half way through. It’s two different ideas here that could have been written in a better way. For example, “She was desperate to get away from the river, even if that meant putting herself closer with her opponent. Moving away from the water, she then caught sight of the stallion in question….” etc etc
- The words “bulk” were used a few times close together in your third post, would have liked to see a larger variety of vocabulary.
- “She had felt like her slid had been forever” slid should be slide.
- “But in reality it had only lasted a minuet” minuet should be minute.
- “So hurt all over from the fall and had to keep blinking to keep her left eye clear” - Either should be “she hurt all over, and she had to keep blinking”.
- He at least would not tower over her like the brute Hound, even still he looked to be much bulker than her own light draft frame. -- Bulker should be bulkier
- Again she figured her best bet was to avoid closing with him as best she could. -- Sentence reads awkwardly, unable to determine what it's supposed to mean
- She knew from mistakes in her last match that she could not move with as much agility as the fancy moves she tired had caused great flare ups of pain. -- Tired should be tried
- She though to herself and then a sound rang out signaling the start of the match. -- Though should be thought
- She then spun away, careful not to move too quickly so she didn't loss footing as she darted back out of his range. -- Loss should be lose
- There was no high winds or battling pairs this time to create unknowns and distractions. - Was should be were
- Panic set it and before she could formulate a plan his lager bulk was crashing into her. -- Lager should be larger
- She felt her breath whoosh out of her in gasp. -- Gasp should be a gasp
- Each small impact insignificant on there own but added up together left her feeling like a million tiny daggers danced across her body. -- There should be their
- She had felt like her slid had been forever, an endless track of time -- Slid should be slide
- But in reality it had only lasted a minuet, probably less, and had only sent her a few feet away from the stallion. -- Minuet should be minute
- She felt the last her strength ebb away as she pushed herself to her limit and than past it. -- Should be "of her strength" and also then not than
- Consistent spelling/grammar issues made posts difficult to read
Realism: 9.5
Comments:
- Took note of the environment around her and how it effected her, particularly in the post where she nearly ends up in the river
- Attacks felt realistic.
- I like her constantly addressing the environment.
- Where I took off a point here is addressing her injuries, and how much they have affected her. In her first battle, she went down to 85% health. In her second battle, she received a deep injury on her wither from a bite from Hound, she was slightly battered from hitting the ground, AND she received another bite near her stifle. I think it's a little unrealistic that, on top of the pain she was feeling from her first battle, that that only did 5% damage. I would have preferred to see her start at a lower health percentage, considering.
Movement: 9
Comments:
- After Aftershock’s first attack, it said that Danika felt his kick but then she was out of his range, but it doesn’t describe how she got out of his range. I would have liked to see a better description here.
- Otherwise, Danika's attacks, as well as how she moved after the attacks, felt well thought out.
- Movements felt like they didn't make the most sense when she got up and rushed Aftershock after her near fall into the river
Completion of Form: 10
Comments:
- Completed correctly (other than what I mentioned above for more consideration of health percentage)
- Completed

TOTAL: 31.5

---

Roleplayer & Character: TrinitySilph with Aftershock
Cohesiveness: 10
Comments:
- I greatly appreciate your writing ability, and how you're able to describe things, but while keeping it short and concise. Really nice read.
- "Breath came raggedly" I feel like should have been breaths, or each breath.
- Posts flowed nicely and read well
Realism: 10
Comments:
- Took note of opponents current injuries
- Attacks felt realistic.
- Took into account the environment in each post.
Movement: 10
Comments:
- Attacks felt reasonable.
- Movements made more sense compared to opponent
Completion of the Form: 10
Comments:
- Completed correctly.

TOTAL: 40

The winner of this round is TrinitySilph & Aftershock!
Please prepare yourself for the fourth round of battling.