The Sunspire snake eater

Veteran huffed in chagrin, realizing that the inside of his neck had been tagged. If it had been a real fight, that would would have been a serious wound. His mother had taught him the placement of the major blood vessels in his body, and he knew the neck housed some important arteries. He needed to do a better job protecting himself.  

Germanicus confirmed it; the tilt of his head had telegraphed the attack. The Imperator commanded him to attack again, and Veteran complied. This time he kept his chin tucked, protecting those arteries in a manner that would have made Lane proud. However, he remained tucked just a little too long this time, and he pulled away too quickly. He had guarded himself too carefully this time, and he was only able to reach the height of Germanicus's sternum with his attack. His attempted tag rebounded uselessly, leaving his nose smarting from the run-in with Germanicus's hard, muscled chest.

"Damn it," he mumbled, wriggling his aching nose. He scuffed the ground with his foot in frustration.