Aryel had always appreciated the simple things in life. A beautiful sunset, a good hearty meal, the rise of wind under her wings...<br/><br/>And the feeling of her fist slamming into some arrogant bastard's jaw.<br/><br/>She had thrown every ounce of her weight into the punch, knowing that at these close quarters, it would be difficult to really get a good windup. His remarks had only served to add even more vitriol to the attack. And to her immense satisfaction, it paid off beautifully. He went flying back, even skipping across the dust a few times as his bandits roared behind him. She spat out the blood that had trickled into her mouth, wiping it clear with the top of her hand. "Don't flatter yourself." As if she'd ever fuck the likes of him.<br/><br/>After a few moments of catatonia, he pulled himself up out of the dust like a broken marionette on strings, head lolling on his shoulders for a moment as he righted. His dislocated jaw was contorted into a rictus grin, his bruised and burned cheek already beginning to repair itself. Healing spells would be a difficult thing to work around, though she figured if she poured on the damage, she could at least try to overload them. He pushed his lower jaw back into place with a sickening click and rushed her again, evidently eager to get decked again. She held her fists at the ready and widened her stance like a boxer, ready to meet his charge with a grin of her own.<br/><br/>She saw his sword shift again, plating his fist in thick metal, saw him wind up and throw the punch high. Easy to see coming, easy to dodge. She crouched smoothly as he swung over her head, tilting it so that her even her horns evaded his miniature battering ram, and that was where everything started to go to hell.<br/><br/>Focused on the gleaming metallic fist, she didn't register his other strike coming in until it was too late. The air she had managed to suck back into her lungs abandoned her once more as his fist slammed into her gut, right where his knee had bludgeoned her before.<i>"Hgghk--"</i>was the only noise that escaped her as she doubled over, suddenly feeling his other hand clamp down onto her horn again. Though the impact had staggered her, she still tried to steady herself and get a grip on his arm, determined not to let him use the same trick twice. But he was ready for that, and gave her head a vicious shake that almost pulled her off her feet before he started wailing on her in earnest, landing blow after blow. Though her chestplate and pauldrons were light metal, the cuirass protecting her abdomen was just leather, and with his added charms for strength, her armor did precious little to protect her now.<br/><br/>He pummeled her without mercy, until the pain of each strike simply bled together into one wave of dull, nauseating agony. Feebly, she braced her knees in an effort to remain standing, but her head was quickly swimming from a lack of sufficient oxygen--his punches made it almost impossible to breathe. Only when she felt she was about to lose consciousness did the brutalization end, punctuated by a releasing of her horn and a final kick to the stomach that sent her staggering backwards. She fell to her knees, doubled over, her wings sprawled out to either side as she wrapped her arms across her battered torso and wheezed desperately for air.<br/><br/><i>Get up.</i><br/><br/>Her stomach heaved, and she spat up a mixture of spit, blood, and bile onto the dust before her. Her cuirass had a sizable dent in it, and she'd be lucky if he hadn't ruptured an organ or two with those strikes--it hurt bad enough that she wouldn't have been surprised if he had.<br/><br/><i>GET. UP.</i><br/><br/>A hollow, shuddering breath rattled in her chest as she braced one foot against the ground and pushed herself up again, swaying unsteadily on her feet as she glared at him through her dark locks. One arm was kept protectively over her stomach, but the other was held at the ready in a last, stubborn show of defiance. "That...Is that all you've got?" She'd keep going as long as she could, until her body shut down of its own accord. She didn't<i>have</i>to beat him, after all. She repeated that fact to herself in her mind, willing herself to remain up and facing him for as long as it took for her fellows to get to safety.