***
As all horses do, Raymond had a powerful kick, but he would be lying if he said he was not surprised by the immediate and dramatic outcome of his attack.Distrust and combat pragmatism warned him against drawing near enough to ask if the pale stallion was okay. Blood streaked his nose and mouth like war paint, stark white against the pink of his flesh, and he lurched toward Raymond again with all the hallmarks of a wounded and desperate animal. Raymond arched his neck, echoing the curve of his bladed tail, every sinuous line of his body a threat.
Perhaps he wanted the white stallion to yield, to take what licks he had received without being subjected to Plan B. But Toro was as tenacious as he was delicate, and even breathing in his own life's blood was not enough to stop him from coming around for a second bite at the apple.
Plan B it would be, then.
Toro lunged at Raymond's left flank. The act was reckless, indefensible, and with Toro's movements slowed by the blood leaking inexorably into his damaged lung the red stallion might even have been able to dodge the attack again as readily as he had before. Dodging, though, would negate the whole reason they'd come here in the first place and, where Toro's struggle might awaken mercy in some, it only hardened the ranger's resolve. He believed in rewarding persistence.
Raymond chose not to retreat, tilting his hindquarters when he should yield them to avoid injury - because in yielding, he would yield the setup of the answer Toro had traveled days to hear. He angled himself only enough to lessen the blow somewhat and gritted his teeth in anticipation of the impact, tail sweeping away from the white stallion in a preparatory maneuver.
The white stallion's horns struck him shallowly in the meat of his hindquarters, hooking up before they could penetrate too deeply. It hurt like a bitch - Raymond was not so self-conscious as to bite back the pained grunt squatting in his throat. Instead, as Toro's weight in the dense muscle of his rump forced his back end sideways, he set the scythe loose like an angry wasp. He had curled it away from Toro and around himself to allow for a maximal swing, and with the other stallion's horns embedded under his skin he was banking on at least a moment when his target couldn't simply pull away.
The blade cut a wide arc, whistling as it split the air, aiming for Toro's right side. From this proximity nearly all of the other stallion's side should be in reach of the deadly weapon, and for once he aimed to attack in earnest, to repay in kind the blood he had sacrificed to afford himself the opportunity.
His attack spent, the red stallion disentangled himself from Toro's horns with a throaty grunt. Thin runnels of blood - dark against his gleaming coat - traced the muscular contour of his left hind leg from the twin punctures in his flank as he limped out of reach, ears guardedly pinned and teeth bared.
***
Raymond
And at his feet they'll cast their golden crowns
When the man comes around.
Raymond
And at his feet they'll cast their golden crowns
When the man comes around.
Summary: Raymond chooses not to avoid Toro's lunge and Toro hooks him in the meat of his left hind leg, pushing his hind end a bit from the force. Hoping to take advantage of Toro being embedded in his flesh, Raymond swings his tail blade to try and slice Toro's right side. Once he's made his move, he extricates himself from Toro's horns and maintains careful watch, just in case Toro wishes to continue.
Attack Used: 1
Attack(s) Left: 0
Block Used: 0
Block(s) Left: 0
Item(s) Used: None
Response Deadline: 07/22/18
Tags: @El Toro, @
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