Meesei did not behave quite as expected, though neither were Harriet's attacks entirely ineffective. Despite the reach of her spear, Meesei behaved decidedly defensively. Instead of thrusting when presented the opportunity, Meesei feigned, them moved to parry Harriet's blade. Unfortunately, Harriet's reactions were like lightning, allowing her to readjust mid-swing and snap the blade toward Meesei's forearm. The shield spell immediately proved its usefulness, as blades which struck at a sufficient angle would simply deflect away, as if they had struck armor. Harriet's strike was a bit more direct, but the blade was still slowed enough that the cut it left through her scales was relatively minor. Nevertheless, the sudden pain was enough to cause Meesei to flinch, leaving an opening towards her shoulder that Harriet was, of course, quick to exploit. The blade would have found its mark directly, but as soon as her guard was down Meesei used a bolt escape to essentially teleport a few feet behind herself and out of danger. As long as she did not pass through Harriet, the lightning would not be reflected back. 

Meesei expected some surprise from Harriet at the sudden use of such a lightning spell, though she doubted her body language would show it. That technique, along with several others Meesei knew, was from magical traditions that many mages in Tamriel considered lost. She had never met a mage outside of a cluster of a few villages in her homeland who had heard of the technique, much less seen it in practice. Undoubtedly, there were other magical traditions in other parts of Tamriel of which Meesei was unaware, but it was unlikely that Harriet would be making use of such magic. 

With a bit more distance between them, Meesei readied her spear and watched Harriet's movements closely. Harriet's skill with a blade was undeniable, and for Meesei, would be insurmountable in any normal fight. She knew she simply could not keep up with Harriet's rapid, and expertly timed attacks. If Meesei wanted to attain any form of success, she would need to be clever and unpredictable in her tactics. 

This time, when Harriet moved to close the gap, Meesei initiated an attack as well. She thrust the spear forward, towards Harriet's neck, but when she went to parry, Meesei suddenly dispelled the bound weapon just before the blade reached it. As her momentum carried her blade clean through the space the spear once occupied, Meesei thrust her left hand forward at Harriet's now-exposed torso while simultaneously conjuring a bound sword in it. Meesei doubted it would end so easily, but hopefully she could show that Harriet was not so untouchable.