ULRIC

Warden of the Dawn Court

we are men amongst mountains, pressing into the night

The Stormsinger calls him forth to the battlefield once more.


Before, they had been mere strangers, coming together in the Steppe by little more than chance, but since then Ulric had seen her again in Delumine. The situation had been less than ideal, tense for the many who had been present, yet surely Aislinn more than anyone.


Although Ulric still didn’t understand the details of that evening during the harvest festival, his opinion of the stormy mare remained all the same – that she was a force to be reckoned with, a worthy opponent who had managed to strike him down previously -  a total badass, for lack of better terms.


The Warden’s blood thrummed in his veins, excitement palpable in the air around him. Leaving Delumine behind had not been an easy choice, but with a promise to Somnus that he would return at once and assuring that their wariors stood on guard, Ulric headed to the rugged battleground just southeast of the Dawn Court.


Emerging from the trees beyond the creek, Ulric spots the lady of the hour with ease, her ebony coat standing out against the brilliance of the rising sun behind her. Facing the sun, already the Warden is at a slight disadvantage, and so he treads carefully over the burrow and hole riddled ground of the steppe as he approached, the silken ribbon woven into his mane billowing gently at his side.


“Hero?” He repeats with the quirk of a brow and the cock of his head, a positively amused grin spreading across dark lips before he hummed. “Guy could get used to that.”


But as much joy as the roan finds in playful banter, not to mention being referred to as a hero, it wasn’t the purpose of their union here today. No; they were here to fight, to shed blood and help make the other a stronger, more able-bodied and experienced individual.


Without another wasted moment, black rimmed ears dip backwards as the roan begins. His hooves strike hard and fast against the ground beneath him, stretching far and then drawing short in order to avoid losing a foot in the burrows that he could see. As he nears, he does not slow, and points himself towards her left side. Muscles tense and coil beneath his silvered hide, drawing his hind legs in beneath him as the fronts stretch out to halt his charge, hooves sliding and grinding against the uneven ground. Dropping his head, the Warden strikes out at the Stormsinger, hoping to pinpoint her tender flank.


"Talk."

ULRIC

Warden of the Dawn Court

we are men amongst mountains, pressing into the night

Quick as he may be, his initial attack is too easy to guess. Aislinn is too nimble on her feet, and unsurprisingly, his hooves strike nothing but empty space where she had once stood. His muscles coil and tense with the anticipation of her riposte, and indeed it does come. Before he can completely right himself, her own hooves beat deftly against his ribcage, right in front of his left flank.


The pain is sharp and produces a deep grunt from the roan as all fours finally meet the cracked ground beneath him once more, struggling briefly for purchase from the force of the kick. Just how it would afflict him later was unknown, as adrenaline drowned out the worst of the sting for the time being, but he was still mobile and the furthest from feeling like he would keel over from pain – and that was good enough in his book.


Pushing against the burrow riddled ground with powerful hindquarters, the Warden threw his weight to the left to become parallel with the Stormsinger. Only once he was close enough, considering his rival didn’t slip away like sand through fingers, did he launch his front half towards the sky and aim to come down upon her at somewhat of an angle, with his left leg hooked over her withers so he could not so easily be thrown down, as he bared down upon her and bodily attempted to bring her to the ground before she could completely recover from her own attack or grasp what was happening. He pulled savagely against her, hooves scraping and digging into the dirt below, as the Glaive attempted to bring the Storm down.

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ooc - I bet Aislinn didn't know she was getting into a wrestling match, did she? x'D

"Talk."