Blitzkrieg: Dude...that's just wrong. [2]

The serum of a will destroyed;

Saphira feels Ozymandias’s presence long before she sees him. The feeling of his earth swirling around her, suffocating, draining. Her lightning sparked its obvious fury, giving a dazzling display of light and subdued power. Saphira’s eye rolls back a fraction, and she snorts loudly. She had only ever fought one stallion who’d held an advantage over her, and it had not been in a long time. Aggression pooled around her, her sapphire eyes gleaming at him with ready anticipation. He might be an earth child, but Saphira was a child of storm and sea. Her water rushing around her to protect the volatile lightning, soothing it. Her water drips from her body in steady uneven drops. The ground may solidify around him, although I doubt it, but her water would only churn it up for him. Never forget you aren’t at a total advantage. Oh no. Never that.

Saphira is moving, compressed and watching. She is not foolish enough to allow the stallion to come up behind her. She is facing him of course, for it is the only rational explanation, and she would continue to move no matter how he adjusted to suit this need. So as his teeth extend towards her, he does not drive her forward in a chase of cat and mouse. Instead she does not move away, she stays close, waiting.

Your attack is like that of a flailing bird trying to fly. You are here, then there, and everywhere at once. You somehow manage to go from facing her, to passing her, to spinning 90 degrees to be parallel to her, and then you somehow miraculously are going to attack her knee. Sure her knee would be there if she hadn’t moved at all, but this is where you would be mistaken. Saphira has had plenty of time to avoid you all together (given the fact you need to do all your movement preparations, then shift back on your haunches, and rise high enough, and then to strike), even in the deep and muddy footing. Saphira rocked back on her haunches, but she does not push off in haste. It is well balanced, methodical. But as she is moving in such close proximity to him her lightning quails, screaming for release from his smouldering earth. Saphira cringes visibly, slowing her movement slightly.

And then she feels it. Not his attack, but this feeling of pain that consumes her body. Her eyes roll backwards, her ears flattening in response to this unknown force. She almost gasps, but grits her teeth against it. Setting her jaw, refusing to make voice to the now blinding pain. She moves almost blindly, dark splotches appearing in her eyes, clouding out the stallion aside her. She then feels his hoof connect with the lower portion of her stifle. Causing her to slide unwillingly in the mud. The sound is a dull thud, a smacking of flesh and sinew. It was painful to be sure; the full pressure of her weight would undoubtedly cause her pain. But it was nothing compared to the overall burning and rotting sensation that rippled across her. She could feel it, them crawling inside her skin. Eating their way through the skin, killing her body from the inside out. The smell repulsed her, causing her to toss her head in agony. She was completely unaware of anything but the feeling of the maggots are they crawled inside her. Weaving and eating their way through her body. Still she makes no audible sound, only the irregular sound of her heart, and her laboured breathing would give away her pain. Calling into count her ability Counter because Saphira knew she needed to attack before the pain was all too unbearable. As he is descending from the attack to her stifle, Saphira expels the limb at him in a cow-kick fashion. It is aiming at the Lateral digital extensor of Ozymandias’s left front leg. It is the tendon and muscle that originates from the inside and middle section of the forearm, and from the back of the shoulder joint, which in turn becomes the lateral digital extensor again at the approximate position of the metacarpus, also known as the soft spot in the knee. This muscle/tendon is vital for movement. It is in control of extending the knee joint, pastern, and coffin joints, the small bones in the hoof itself. Without use of these vital areas, Ozymandias’s would still be able to bear weight (although painfully) but any hope of forward movement, would be unlikely. Especially since a horse carries about 60% of its weight on the forehand. Making her attack all the more devastating. Because you see, although she is aiming lower on his leg, her target effects the entire leg in regards to muscle and tendon usage.

Now Ozymandias is again moving with unhorse like speed. Coming from behind her, to in front, to past her, to angle towards her haunches and come running back to her. Even in her vulnerable state such a task would take him longer than he seems to make of it. More than a mere short few seconds, longer given the thickness and draft like quality of his body. Saphira moved to face him, to watch him head on as best she could. At the same time she is becoming more adjusted to the severe pain. That is not to say it is not still incapacitating, but just as one gets use to chronic pain does she now manage to push it aside if by nothing but sheer survival instinct. She can see him, vaguely by his outline, and the sound of his heavy hooves drumming against the sodden earth. Saphira does only what she can. She moves as though almost completely blind, but it is a ruse. To a certain extent. She can feel his earth consuming her, surrounding her. The power of his Corpsetouch slithering around her body. Eating her.

And then he is attacking again, aiming at her forearm. (relative height of the hock, since she is facing him, not he facing her haunches). Again to him it seems to happen in a matter of a second, he is neither here nor there. But Saphira was ready for him, using her blind-like movements to her advantage. It is hard to get an accurate target when the other is moving is staggering steps, changing direction like the coming and going of ocean tides. His attack comes at the same time as a muscle spasm, and her body twists away from the pain, and from him. His hooves scrape and slide across her forearm and down. Ripping open the skin, blood and mud oozing together. Again the sound of earth and lightning connecting is like a nuke ripping through the ground. Saphira trembles on contact, her element screaming its release. His attacks were over, and Corpsetouch fades ever slightly. The maggots begin to die, and Saphira shakes her body free of the nasty parasites. However, her body can still feel the gaping holes, can smell the rot of her own flesh. But now it is her turn, and you won’t be so lucky.

Now Ozymandias runs past her a few strides, but Saphira has begun her attack the moment he had finished his. Rocking her weight onto her forehand she kicks out with her haunches, although they scream their protest. But no pain, no gain. She calls into use her ability of Combo. Saphira’s haunches aim about 10-20 inches behind your shoulder. It is almost instantaneous from the moment Ozymandias begins his stride. Saphira’s hoof are aimed at the Olecranon Tuber, that joint just behind the large shoulder muscle that is needed to extend the foreleg, and to take weight from the forehand. And since a horse carries 60% of its body weight on its front end, this attack could be devastating should it be performed like she intended. Ozymandias would favour his left side; it would slow down his movements and compromise his balance. Spelling certain victory for our sea creature. The second aiming for the underside of his ribcage. This would cause bruising, fractured ribs, swelling under the skin which would be painful in both extension and compression. Also it could likely wind Ozymandias again, giving away those precious seconds. Her hind legs scream their protest, the collision of elements making the closeness almost unbearable. But she was done, and that was all that mattered.

SLV. S A P H I R A

WATER III | LIGHTNING III