We Few

Fredericke Got a simple nod in return the creature done picking at odd angled teeth, stretched and rose to a standing position. Having so studied each creature in return you'd wisely note the whipcord muscle beneath taught scaled hide. An odd criss-cross of scars running up her legs and about her equine muzzle. She wasn't as pretty to look at as the other Cas but her lack of beauty was made up for in her graceful movement.
Each step was precise, placed intention one in front of the other. Her long lengthy tail crinked at the end, perhaps broken at some point in life kept tucked about her back right leg, wrapped like a readied whip. Her skin was a mottled black and gray, the scales seemingly unable to decide if they should fully be a jet black or a smoggy gray. The only color on this lady was the jutting horn and odd eyes, both a calm azure blue.

Stretching just once her legs lengthy and her feet hideously clawed it wouldn't be hard to imagine losing your whole face to one swipe. She setups across from you leisurely giving you a respectable distance from her, at least a full Caradras length away. Perhaps she did this for you, or perhaps she expected you to be able to make up for it. Whatever the reason she huffed and pawed the ground raking the dirt and scattering grass.

Ready ashen one?

Her smile was hideously wide, oh yes. She knew, that unmistakable smell of sulfur and scale. Come on dragon, let the dance begin. She pivoted on a back right leg and with the sound of a crack one of the two tails she had whipped forwards and aimed for your side!

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The scout calmly eyed the approaching War, astride his horse he was reasonably close to being just as tall as she was. Though her bulk by far still dwarfed the horseman and his mount. But she was no fool, she knew just from the smell and look in his eye the seriousness of her situation. In fact the Corner Stone stared almost worriedly at his Scout.

In fact all creatures present wordlessly turned to stare, adjust and wait. The air still remained charged, but a silence fell heavy on the group. It was an almost detached feeling, one where if something went wrong it would go wrong fast and hard. Though all of them stared none stepped forwards to help the scout. Their complete trust lay plain for those to see. Whatever the outcome it was up to the Scout alone.

Regarding her situation with a critical eye the scout did something odd for such a large creature. She raised her front feet and began to stamp slowly a rythm, her blunted claws gouging the soil and rumbling the earth. She grunted and growled in a sing song way.

'Riding, riding, riding. He that is Crimson Red. No Mercy for those whom are weak, your outcome is bleak, the rider yet comes again.
A lion shall pierce the gilded cage, making two one. A death will be but not the one you think, a victory will cry but not the one you expect.'

The creature's eyes glittered a tinted pink and she curled her lips in defiance. The song was nothing but here say as prophesies though common in their history weren't always accurate and often doubted. But here sat the lion, and here sat the man that is two and his gilded cage.

Pacing back a full two caradras space the Scout took up her stance. She stretched and moved her huge frame shaking as muscles bunched and relaxed the sounds of crackling still audible from where she was at. Out in the sun it was obvious her scales where much bigger and more obvious than the rest of her band. In fact they where a pale shade of red to go along with the black. Her hide had several patches of these scales missing, where wounds and hurts had healed and or scarred. A fresh few lay along her front legs and throat. Obviously this Scout had been in quite a battle as she was still stiff in her movements, her back right foot especially.

'I care not your thoughts on Mercy or practice. For War is nothing but that. War. You cannot fathom any concept beyond your own. This I do not blame you, for you are what you are as I am what I am. But what I dislike is your need to butt in.'

Voice a husky sound her eyes pierced into War and all the muscles along her neck clenched, her teeth grinding the odd crimson horn atop her head glittered and shined, flickering.

Her mind tore at Wars to delve, she roared into his being and knocked at the cage that was Arieh or at least tried.

"Rise Up, scream, cry. But Rise!"

Her mental facilities could do nothing more than this, barely knock at the cage of war and even that had a toll, a headache slammed into the creature as she tried to reach that naggling screaming child stuck inside. She would not help him struggle out, but she would chide him for his screaming, this was not how you handled an aspect, you rise, you fight!
She hunkered down and pushing on the soil raised divots as she charged War head on a thundering roar ripping from her equine throat.

------

That is all that we ask.
The Corner Stones lips curled up in a smile, one to match Nec's or perhaps to challenge that tusky grin of yours. His eyes though flicked back and forth between you and your friend Arieh, he seemed to wait a moment or two before finally making a wave with a large paw and having you pace over aways from the group to spare. Each creature broke into pairs with a friend of yours or be it as it may Touches the Sky and Ogre Eye moved off to their own match.
Everyone was well spaced apart, the creatures minded or at least respected a good distances from the towering eight figured stone burrows so as not to break them. Corner Stone rolled his shoulders and gave a good long stretch. His front feet sliding forwards, sickle claws extending. His two long tails with strange razor like pads on the ends unfurled from around a leg to lay at the ready for combat. He was not as built as the scout but he wasn't skinny like Vipers Bite or Ogre eye. In fact his front legs seemed quite muscular and his chest a barrel, it looked like gathered fat but Nec you where much too use to seeing combat not to know that THIS was just healthy muscle. In fact the more you looked at this Corner Stone fellow it would seem he was more top heavy than anything. His back legs less developed than his front. Weird.
He said nothing but once done raised himself up and gave one last shake to settle his gray scales and readied himself for a good fight.
Grinning like a mad beast he gave an incline of his head, you first? or was he going to charge you?

Fredericke knew what sandpaper felt like against her skin. It was normally like a tickling feeling. She imagine that what she was feeling from the scales piercing and dragging along her skin that this is what sandpaper was actually suppose to do her skin. No wonder Rune always told her to be careful with it.

"And you are a tricky one." She knew when she had been tricked. Knew when someone wanted to appear as if they didn't want to be pulled in. The caradras wasn't a small animal at all and Fredericke had expected some work, but to have her coming in like willing puppy was a totally different outcome. But if it was fist to fist that Viper's Bite wanted...

Well, Fredericke was only too happy to oblige.

She saw that leg coming in for her side and wrenching the arm with the tail still wrapped around it, she tried to take some of that slack and catch the leg before it could get to her. Her timing was a bit off and she took in a hiss of breath as she felt her ribs bruise up. Thank the dragons that she had inherited her mother's bone density and not her father's. All that mass of her dragon form had to go somewhere after all.

Rather of not that worked, Fredericke would attempt to dive under Viper's belly. Anything to try and tangle her tail even more up with her legs and to make it a little less likely she was going to get a forceful kick the side again.

Her breathing quicken as her heartbeat faster. Someone might take it for fear or survival instinct, but one look at the grin on Fredericke's face would prove that wrong. She didn't have to hold back too much in this fight and was going to enjoy every minute of it.

The drop down would have worked. It did work for the most part as Fredericke was forced to released the tail and roll over onto her back, knees coming up so she could brace her feet against Viper's Bite belly. She didn't want all that weight to have been distributed evenly along her body. It would make moving that much more difficult. However, if she was able to shift that weight even a bit, it should give her some leverage to move.

Rather that be launching Viper's Bite into the air or just keep herself from being crushed to death was a moot point. Viper's bite was rolling over and Fredericke felt her arm come free from the tail. Suddenly a lot lighter, Fredericke barely managed to get it out of bite range as she rolled to the left. She wanted a bit of distance for even just a half a second as she reevaluated her opponent.

Speed. Strength. Even a bit of cunning...But how much cunning?

Quickly, she decided the risk was worth it as she moved back in. A fist came flying, heading straight for Viper's Bite's maw. If it connected, it was going to at least leave a bruise. If it missed...It would put her arm within bite range, but in the end, that was what Fredericke was counting on. An almost irresistible temptation and as soon as those jaws would clamp down (if Viper's Bite took the bait), Fredericke would bring her other arm around in an attempt to capture Viper's bite in a headlock and lift her off the ground.

What she did from there...Well, Fredericke would think of that when she came to it.