V-Onyx-Three had already begun recalculating their strategy. The bow clearly wasn't working and now their leg was also broken. Was magic the solution? No, not yet. It was even more of a gamble than he ever liked to risk unless in the most desperate situation. Even if Tourmaline did show him that it was successful sometimes, this was really not the time.

They couldn't tell from Vargas' lunge whether he was aiming for a direct attack or something else. But did that matter? This was an attack in close proximity. Their body jolted forwards as Vargas grabbed the bow. Screw the bow. Rather than keep up the struggle of maintaining their hold upon the weapon, V-Onyx-Three instead pushed against the ground with his good leg and tail to try and launch himself onto Vargas' forearm. He would then attempt to latch on using his teeth and claws.

This was all, of course, if Vargas didn't try to interrupt him at any point in this process which was all a huge gamble itself. Not to mention, there were so many things that could go wrong, such as the fact that he had huge spikes on his arm should V-Onyx-Three miscalculate the angle of this attempt.

Round: 4/5
Attempt: Latch onto Vargas' arm
Defense: Thick fur, spikes
Injuries: Broken left leg

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

A brief internal conflict struck the Leviathan: did he stop? Should he stop? V-Onyx-Three had asked for a no-holds-barred spar--but how far would Vargas take that? He didn't want to truly harm him. But at the same time, it wasn't as though they were weak; it was that Vargas was made for brawling, for hunting and killing. Onyx-Three was not.

V-Onyx-Three was latched onto his arm, much like a vicious dog; it was weighing him down on that side, an imbalance, claws and teeth digging in. Vargas drew his other arm back and began slamming it for Onyx-Three, repeatedly. He kept his fist closed; he didn't want to rake open Onyx's flesh, at least. He wasn't aiming to bleed the archer out. But he aimed, while he was close and attached to a single position (namely: his other damn arm), to batter Onyx-Three with heavy punches. To the head, the torso, the shoulders, the sides--whatever he could reach that his own arm didn't block.

He didn't hold back on strength; but... he didn't use claws or teeth, himself.

Round: 4/5
Attempt: Lotta punchin'
Defense: None
Injuries: injured eye

@V-Onyx-Three

The gamble had paid off-- but also left them vulnerable. Hanging onto Vargas' arm by teeth and claw was in no way a stable position. The milliseconds ticked by. Hold on? Release? They'd lose their advantage if they were to let go, especially given the disparity in size. Size... what had he learned from the fight with the sandworm? Use magic, or get on top of it. Their gaze darted along Vargas' form. It was doable, even if the spikes made it a far more difficult task. At the very least if they succeeded, they could make themselves harder to reach for direct attacks.

But there was no time to think. Vargas raised his hand.

V-Onyx-Three scrambled against the tough outer hide, trying to find any purchase he could to drag himself up along Vargas' arm to try and at least get onto his shoulder. But the blows still came raining down, hard and fast, some dodged, some landing on his body leaving bruises behind. It was unlikely he would be able to get all that far up with the combination of spikes and punches impeding the climb.

The continued strain of the broken leg in combination with the difficulty of holding on was taking a visible toll on him now. His chest heaved, gasps of air escaping him with each movement. It was difficult to think too-- head spinning, the only thing his vision could capture being the next few inches ahead of him. The edges of his sight blurred away and refused to focus. V-Onyx-Three was pretty sure he wasn't losing much blood, but if he was, he couldn't tell. It would be the exhaustion and inner wounds that took the greatest toll.

But give up now? No, not an option. Even if he wasn't going to die, he was perfectly content with fighting until complete failure.

Round: 5/5
Attempt: Climb up Vargas' arm to dodge
Defense: Thick fur, spikes
Injuries: Broken left leg, bruises across body

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas did not want an opponent getting to his neck. Not that he had much of a neck. He was built different. Not... necessarily in a good way, in that regard; the weird, bulbous muscle between jaw and shoulder wasn't exactly nice to look at. But regardless of how he looked--neckless--it wasn't a good place for an enemy to get claws and teeth into.

Irritatingly, Onyx-Three was dodging. Irritating, because it meant Vargas was quite literally punching himself, if with glancing blows. And Vargas hit hard. Admittedly, he had to admire that: even in the midst of battle he took note. Onyx-Three was clambering, scrambling, possibly broken-limbed or at least sore and yet clinging and maneuvering with agility and intense determination. It would be something to mention, after the battle, though he was already realizing its fighting style didn't fit well with the bow. Brawling and ranged, fragile attacks did not mix well. And that was Vargas's fault, for not realizing this sooner. Perhaps Cain- he thought, but he had no real time to finish that sentence.

Because, yes, it was about to reach his shoulder, his neck, his face and he really didn't want to lose all his eyes.

Vargas flung himself sideways and down, aiming to throw his weight down on that shoulder, and then roll; to force Onyx-Three to throw itself clear, or to be steamrolled under his bulk.

Round: 5/5
Attempt: Stop drop & roll
Defense: None
Injuries: injured eye

@V-Onyx-Three

He was almost there, almost--

The blows halted. Everything... shifted. Once again the decision: hang on or let go? Some foolish part of him was reluctant to let go of the lead he had fought so hard to gain. Not much of a lead at all, but the position was a considerably more advantageous one than it had been previously. Now he was about to lose it. Perhaps they could try and disable the shoulder joint... somehow. But that would in no way guarantee that Vargas would be effectively knocked off course from crushing them under his weight. And how would they even do that? With no bow and arrow there was little hope of doing much damage.

His limbs were already being pushed to their limits trying to hang on. The prospect of release was a welcome one even though his leg was against such a move. Sense sunk in. V-Onyx-Three would have a whole lot more broken limbs than just his leg if he stayed.

They pushed off. The ground neared. In that moment of airborne panic, V-Onyx-Three had forgotten that not all of his limbs were equally functional. Instinctively they reached out with their arms followed by their legs, crouching to absorb the impact. A flash of pain jolted through their leg as it collapsed under the applied weight and sent them tumbling onto their side. Not a clean landing, but at least one that only worsened a pre-existing injury instead of adding more to the mix.

Looking down at the leg now, it was bent at an odd angle, now pulsating a pain impossible to ignore despite the adrenaline.

Round: 6/6
Attempt: Fling himself (hopefully safely) to the ground
Defense: Thick fur, spikes
Injuries: Even more broken left leg, bruises across body

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

His first instinct was to leap forward, to pin, to finish it. But that was an instinct of an Overseer, a hunter, a Valkhound.

His instinct as Master immediately stayed his hand, and he grimaced and stopped, his uninjured eyes falling to Onyx-Three's leg. "Stop," he commanded. And then, more wryly, "I think we both need to find someone who can heal our injuries." He hoped that Onyx-Three did stop; he was coming quickly to a realization--and a subsequent plan.

His previous thought of Cain blossomed into a full concept. Yes: Onyx-Three needed training with his chosen weapon, and the tactics that went with it. And Vargas did have some knowledge of it. He raised a hand to his eye, feeling at it. He... thought the eyeball was still there, but wounded. Scratched, pierced, but maybe fixable. The wound that curved across his face where he'd flinched away was jagged, would scar, and still dripped glowing chartreuse blood.

He grunted and dropped a bloodied, glowing hand, studying Onyx with five eyes, and one squinted shut and bloody. "I've made a mistake in your training. But you've done remarkably well despite that. Let us go to Pisces, and see if Tenzin is willing to help us with our wounds--you can sit on my back for that, if you like--and I will explain along the way. If you are able. Unless you know someone closer who can heal?"

@V-Onyx-Three

No. He didn't want to stop. But V-Onyx-Three was not a stupid creature. Though in any real scenario he would've kept fighting to the end, sustaining such an injury likely spelled a death sentence for him. There was no need for him to continue a fruitless struggle now, one where it was unlikely more could be learned. And it was Vargas who called on them to stop. And so they would, giving him an understanding nod.

V-Onyx-Three used his tail and arms to prop himself up into a sitting position. "Mistake?" they repeated. The word echoed over and over again in their mind. Mistake. How? Perhaps he could chance a guess at what it was but that didn't change the fact that something had gone wrong. Was all his training up to this point a waste? How much time had he wasted? What if it set him cycles off his goal? Would he even be useful? No no no. No. This couldn't be true. But he snapped back into attention a few seconds later, in time to catch Vargas' offer at an explanation, and proposal to visit Tenzin for healing.

"I do not." Funny, how most of his interactions with others had been through combat. Such interactions certainly did not lend themselves to include healers. They swallowed back the other questions that attempted to tumble out following their short usage of speech. He had said an explanation would be provided. Patience was good.

V-Onyx-Three reached out at arm towards Vargas at the offer of a ride on his back. "Thank you. I can sit. Can you help lift?" He would probably be able to hang on well enough, but it would be getting up there with a broken leg that provided the biggest difficulty. "I hope the mistake is not severe. I do not wish to be useless for too long."

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas gave a short laugh--one with little humor in it, though humor was there, nonetheless. He explained, as he reached down to help V-Onyx-Three onto his back, as requested. "The mistake is not how I struck you." Notably, he didn't apologize for that. "It is in your training. I have never seen an army at work, but I know enough of how they do. The archers are at the rear. When hunting large prey--a hunter, with his bow, is hidden, often in the trees. When you are engaged in close range, you are at a disadvantage--as you see."

He glanced back, but he couldn't really see over his own back. "Are you secured?" he asked. The spines and quills were dangerous, yes, but no doubt Onyx-Three could grab them without impaling himself, at least. "Let's be off."

His stride he kept carefully even and slow enough not to dislodge his passenger. And he was pretty sure this was the first time anyone had ridden him, before, but necessity was what it was. He really did not want to lose an eye. "Your strikes were good," he explained, as they walked. "There are few who've ever wounded me in a worthwhile manner. But if you were perched somewhere high, or hidden in the shadows-? You could have done that half a dozen times, perhaps more, if I could not get to you in turn."

Vargas let that sit for a moment as he moved on, his stride taking them past the exit of Draco and into the tunnel beyond.

"I think the best way to approach this..." Our archer Master is dead. That was a complication. Ugh. "...might be to go to Cain. While we do not have a dedicated archer in this era, Overseer Cain can at least teach you how to hide yourself. Explain this specific issue: tell it that an archer is a ranged attacker who must remain both hidden and beyond reach, and ask it to teach you how to do so. Come to me--either of you--with any questions. Or if the Overseer does not have time, ask it to speak to me."

He'd sort that problem if and when they came to it.

@V-Onyx-Three (lmk if you want to fade, or do Tenzin on-screen in a new thread or what! I imagine Onyx-Three would still need a week or two to heal the leg even with help though, Vargas's eye too-)