Her attacks earned her modest success. The brute sidestepped to his left and as a result none of her attacks hit their intended target. The front of her left shoulder struck the front of Kassander's right shoulder; later a modest bruise would form across the bony front of Skadi's shoulder. Her paw missed its target entirely. Instead of crushing the toes of the young king's left paw, her nails simply raked down the outside of his right foreleg. The huntress' bite was perhaps the most successful; it at least drew blood.
He was quick to retaliate, his right forepaw sneakily wrapping around the middle of her left foreleg a split second after her toes touched earth. Instead of resisting, Skadi rolled with it and acted quickly. Her weight, already shifted to accommodate her toe stomp, stayed the same (distributed among her remaining three limbs) and her hind legs quickly sidestepped twice to her right in an effort to change the angle between her and her opponent—a move that she hoped would line the lower left side of her chest up with the inside crease of the brute's right shoulder (at the point where his leg connected to his chest). She straightened her left foreleg and attempted to ram forward, hoping the appendage would glide through Kassander's grip with ease. As she did so, her left shoulder jutted forward once more. Her aim was to jam the bony front of her left shoulder into the inside of his right shoulder socket in the hopes of straining the connective tissue there and (maybe, if she was super, super lucky) possibly dislocate his shoulder. All of this happened in rapid succession. So quick was she in her movements that the execution of her shoulder throw and her opponent's were within heartbeats of one another. [Counter to Kass' shoulder throw; damage pending]
Her right shoulder rolled forward, bony front jutting out, in the hopes that, with her already attempting to shove forward, it too would make contact. She sought to drive it into the right side of his chest just above his sternum. With this move she was hoping to knock the breath from his lungs and create moderate bruising.
Skadi's defenses were as follows: Her eyes were narrowed, her muzzle wrinkled and her brow furrowed, the skin around her eyes crinkling protectively. Ears fell back to press firmly into her crown. Skadi's hackles rose to protect her spine. Behind her, her tail was level with her spine. Her stance was wide and her knees were bent, her toes spread and her nails digging into the earth. Unable to loosen up if she tried, she remained tense and on edge, ready to act at a moment's notice. Her chin was tucked and her shoulders were rolled forward.
Pain flared up along her right side as the brute's bite succeeded. Her attempt to line the lower left side of her chest up with the inside crease of Kassander's right shoulder took his intended target out of reach. Instead of biting into the space behind her ribs, the brute's teeth landed several inches behind Skadi's right shoulder and about halfway down the side of her ribcage. His teeth sunk in deeply, creating moderate puncture wounds.
Retaliation came swiftly. Skadi's head tipped to her right and her head snaked down as she sought to sink her fangs into the right side of the brute's neck. She zeroed in on the place right in front of his right shoulder and just beneath his spine. Her intention was to cause debilitating damage to the muscles in his neck by sinking her upper teeth in just beneath his spine and her lower teeth in several inches directly below that, and driving her jaws shut.
SKADI versus KASSANDER for PARTIAL BLINDING/FACIAL SCARRING
Round TWO of TWO
