She was going easy on it, both because she knew that if she were at her full might and her full effort, the Oilstone wouldn't stand a chance. All she had to do was knock it to the ground and wait for it to give up. If she was trying to kill, that would be even easier. Its head could fit pretty easily into her massive jaws.

But that was not the point of this - she was here to test and observe. So she allowed it a moment to get to its feet and when it turned to leap away, its tail came swatting at her and she met it in the middle. A heavy jerk of her head towards the spiked tail and she felt the sharp edges digging into the scales of her cheek, but little blood welled up - it would take more then that to get through the natural armor she wore. Still, her grin cracked open at the sting. A good defense against less heavily-armored brutes like her.

She probably could have minimized how deep the spikes penetrated her hide, but the resounding hit would jerk the tail, probably. The muscles would probably hurt from the hit and it wouldn't be pleasant, trying that attack again.

Now it had some distance from her. Her head lowered and she began to lumber forward after it giving the chase it wanted. She knew she would not be able to catch it, but she was a creature of persistence and endurance, while it specialized in speedy ambush. Lets see which one would win out.

She watched it run and a part of her wanted to be disappointed that it was fleeing, but she knew better. It was not retreating - not during a spar. She had not detected any mote of cowardice from it, only a thoughtful, open mind.

Eventually stopped giving chase, knowing there would be no way to outrun it. Instead, she raise a claw to slam her foot on the ground, breaking any nearby stones and rubble, breaking them into little, sharp pieces, scattered around her immediate vicinity. The grinding sound of shattering stone filled the air as shards of rock clattered to the ground. It would have to be careful when it approached her again, lest it impale its foot on one of them.

She waited, patient, prowling around her little trap for a moment until the Oilstone was darting back to her, quick as lightning. She took a brief second to admire its pure speed before the leap came and she flew into action.

As its leap went askew, she took the opportunity while it was still airborne to throw herself forward. Both valkhounds were large, massive creatures, but in pure size and bulk, Tectus easily came out on top. She used this to her advantage, throwing her body weight forward to slam the Oilstone to the ground and hold it there, pinned beneath her massive bulk.

"You are fast!" she hissed. "Lets see what you do when you cannot run!"

She figured it would panic and squirm, trying to buck her off or wriggle out - neither of those things would work, not under the hard scales and heavy mass of the Overseer. But instead, it kicked and the paw that connect was burning hot and the smell of charred scales wafted through the air. Through the thick armor of her scales, she felt the heat but it didn't penetrate deep enough to do lasting damage. Still, it was shock enough that she flinched.

Good instincts, she thought to herself. She decided she'd give it a chance there - she reared back, as if flinching away from the heat, giving the Oilstone a second to flee from underneath her bulk before she came crashing back down.

Her front paws landed heavily on the stones, empty of the fiery valkhound. It was a blur against the stones as it darted away and, this time, the Overseer gave chase, lumbering forward on heavy legs - slow, but it would take her a long time to tire.

She had given it a couple short tests at disadvantage - close range, pinned beneath, and it had freed itself successfully from her grasp. Now she wanted to see it at its best. Chasing, darting away, flying in to deliver swift gouts of flame and burns and darting out before the opponent can catch them.

Tectus was not built to chase. She was a tank, made to take hits without flinching and deal heavy, devastating blows. So her own sprint towards the Oilstone was fairly pathetic, but the ground shook with the force of her every step.