Style Points

Gauge stood by as she watched the captain weigh the axe in her magical levitation field, getting a feel for its weight. Behind those eyes were a thousand calculations, and at least three different exciting flourishes for her throw. But Irisha was practical, she knew - those flourishes were only for those strike she'd practiced a thousand times. And she was thinking too long for this to be practiced.

But, who knows - Gauge thought. She's surprised me before.

Irisha set to placing her hooves very precisely, in a practiced manner. She moved slower than usual, but no less gracefully. The captain was dragging this out, trying to throw Gauge off by being mysterious. But Gauge knew her games, and this wasn't going to slip past her.
She felt the corners of her mouth turn upward in a slight smile as she watched, resolved.
The captain aimed only for a moment before launching a very precise strike at the center of the target with just enough force for the target to wobble just slightly. Gauge knew this was a competition of finesse rather than who can hit it, and Irisha had certainly put on a show with that strike.

The attending Druaesi, who had been nervously watching the pair size up their targets and one another, perked up at this. "Wow! Nice shot there friend!" they called out.

Before the attendant said anything more, Gauge had flipped up her axe with a flourish and caught it expertly between her teeth. No magic needed for this throw, and that was where she'd thrive. Returning Irisha's deadpan gaze with a playful wink, Gauge turned her attention to her target. The attendant's reminders drowned out as she set a  laser focus to the feel of the blade in her jaws and the exact point on the target she'd be hitting.

Irisha was a master marksman, but Gauge hadn't picked up this axe until now for a reason.
She could do it without planning.

Stepping back, she felt the weight of the axe and knew immediately where she wanted it. Tossing her head, she threw the axe in one smooth move. She felt it cut through the air exactly as she'd imagined, and land deep into the board, right into a previous cut from another match. She looked over her work for only a moment before smiling at Irisha, whose chin had lifted slightly in an impressed way.

The attendant jogged over to the boards to examine the placement, but seemed baffled. "I can't honestly tell who won - very impressive throws, you two."

Irisha spoke up, still looking at Gauge. "She won."

Gauge blinked, but smiled at the captain, "Why's that?"

Irisha looked at each board, then at the attendant. "Did you see that flourish? Expertly done, don't you think?"

Gauge chuckled gently. "I win on style points? Come on, that was a pretty good attempt at throwing me off." Irisha's eyes sparkled in a way that Gauge knew was her version of thanks. 

Gauge moved towards the target to retrieve her axe. "Well, we can always rematch," she offered coyly. "Maybe I'll pull out a spin move of my own, who knows?"

The confused attendant broke their banter with their own nervous chuckle. "I honestly wasn't sure if you two were going to hit the targets or each other at first, but I'm glad to see it worked out."

Gauge went to retrieve her axe as well, offering the attendant a gentle smile. "Don't let the Captain fool you, she's a sweetheart."

Irisha called back over her shoulder as she returned to the starting line, "I'm also adding ten feet to the challenge, so keep up."

Gauge winked at the attendant, who tried to get out of their way as fast as they could, unsure how fast these two would strike next.