Much had happened indeed. Martin had taken in Rostislav's new armor with equal parts apprehension and thoughtfulness, knowing the advantage it afforded in protection came at the cost of speed, agility, and stamina, but he had never faced an opponent thusly clad. Battle armor was something spoken of only in the oldest lays of his people. There was the animal companion to consider also.
Ah, well.
The gilded unicorn had been thrown enough curveballs in his relatively short life that he would not balk at this new development, which was a rather fortunate truth because no sooner had he come to terms with his status as the obvious underdog than the armored bay had begun to charge.
Martin braced himself, weighing his options at the reactive speed of instinct. He had plenty of time to turn and retreat from the oncoming adversary, but inertia would work in Rostislav's favor if he had a greater distance in which to work up steam, and it was far too much to hope for that he should tire himself in the space of a single short-distance charge. It would be better to take the initiative out of Rostislav's hands, to cut short his wind-up and thus starve his strike of a bit of its intended power.
So that's exactly what he did. Instead of surrendering to prey instincts and attempting to leap away, Martin set his jaw with kindling determination and met Rostislav's advance with his neck arched and horn held at the ready, warning away any serious threat that the other stallion's teeth might have posed. He rose into a rear with his opponent in the time-honored tradition of two testosterone-charged males battling for dominance, though for his part he knew he would have little headway to do damage himself against Rostislav's armored breastplate.
His purpose here was simple: in rising to meet Rostislav rather than turning to avoid him, he intended to prevent the other stallion from taking full advantage of either his body or gravity to land the most effective blow possible. However he was reacting to Rostislav's actions, and the other stallion's hooves came down at an angle along the meaty base of his neck and chest, digging in briefly where the two structures met before skipping off the sides of the gemstone at his heart. It would blossom into a proper abrasion, though he couldn't assess the damage easily without delaying long enough to open himself up for another attack, but he knew it could have been much worse if taken standing still.
The impact forced him back down to all fours, knees jarring slightly as he absorbed the shock of the landing, but he knew he did not have time to dawdle. In such close quarters, Rostislav's greater weight would garner the greater advantage if he was allowed any time to regroup from his own efforts. Martin pressed the offensive immediately, harnessing the downward momentum from his landing to lunge forward at a slight angle to Rostislav's left and reach out with his left foreleg in an effort to deal some damage to Rostislav's own unprotected left foreleg as he himself attempted to lunge past and into open quarters. It was less of a proper kick and more of an opportunistic, deliberate misstep, but - unlike the rest of Rostislav - that leg might actually be somewhat vulnerable to attack, and a wounded leg would be no good to a horse so burdened with extra mass and armor.
If all went well, Martin would be able to spring clear and round away to his right, keeping Rostislav in his sights for the next onslaught. His chest burned with the steady buildup of blood in the skin (a sure sign of inflammation to come), but he could yet bring his horn to bear if need be.
Summary: Martin mirrors Rostislav's half-rear and takes his attack in the fleshy part of his neck just above his gemstone. When he lands immediately after, he lunges toward Rostislav's left side and attempts to rake down Rostislav's left foreleg with his own left foreleg as he escapes close quarters and circles right to keep Rosti in his sights.
Attack Used: 1
Attack(s) Left: 1
Block Used: 0
Block(s) Left: 1
Item(s) Used: N/A
Response Deadline: 3 days from 7/22...that's 7/25 rite?
Tags: @Rostislav, @Sid, @inkbone
