[Aqua]

After what felt like an eternity of being stuck in camp, Hawkeye was more than happy to escape for the day. The greencough that had hit the camp had spread like wildfire and he was among the several cats that ended up with severe symptoms. He spent so many days in the medicine cat den that he almost forgot what his own nest had felt like when he recovered. Heck, even the warmth of the sun felt like something he had totally missed out on. So working on training with Birchpaw was a welcome change of pace for the tom. He needed to get his legs stretched out and get back into the swing of things.

The tabby tom made his way through the wood until he reached the Safe Clearing. As the land changed, the trees spread out leaving an open area that was perfect to test the fighting skills of his apprentice. Birchpaw was a spitfire of a she-cat, always voicing her opinion on pretty much everything they did. While the tom found it somewhat annoying at times, he tolerated it for the sake of training purposes. She needed to learn how to be a great warrior one day so there was no time to really argue with her. That and he didn't want to disappoint Cloverstar if he couldn't handle this task. She had trusted him with being a mentor and he had to show her what he could do.

Lanky legs moved to and fro as the tom found a flat spot of the clearing, making it a temporary seat. He wraps his tail over his paws, patiently waiting for Birchpaw to join him. While he would have enjoyed playing a game of hide and seek like Brindlemask had once did with him, this place was far from suitable for that. In fact, there wasn't many places in their territory now that could be used in that manner. So he would have to just square off with her here in the clearing, in the more typical way of training. Maybe he could conjure up something different once they got started.

Made by Aqua || Tagged: Jos || Words: #

[Jos]

BIRCHPAW

Birchpaw had been stuck in camp while her mentor recovered from Greencough. It was lucky that she hadn’t caught it herself, but the medicine cats had done a good job of medicating and isolating sick cats. At least, she thought so. Her opinion was clouded with bias, considering one of the medicine cats was like a father to her and she thought the moon and stars shined out of his rear end. To keep herself busy, she had begun with the typical apprentice chores of cleaning out old nests and pulling ticks off elders. It was hard work but Birchpaw saw to it religiously and by the time Hawkeye was able to take her out for some real training, there was not a single tick or wad of soiled bedding left in camp.

Today was to be her first battle training day! A day all apprentices look forward to, a time for apprentice and mentor to square off and test each-other’s skills. Birchpaw had imagined every paw step of every move she could think of and practiced on pebbles in and around the apprentice’s den when she thought no one was watching. The elders had talked (at length they talked!) about old battles from their younger years and Birchpaw had listened with eager ears. The one thing they all agreed on was that the best weapon was a well planned attack, with the element of surprise.

So as Hawkeye lead her to the clearing, she followed, uncharacteristically quiet as she examined their surroundings and the way her opponent moved in them. She held back as he shuffled around the clearing, making a spot for himself. He was probably going to talk her through the moves, but there was no time for talking, they had battle moves to learn! Birchpaw, as per usual, knew exactly what to do.

Her mentor had barely turned himself around to face her when she leaped at him, pelt bristling but claws sheathed. She was bigger and stronger than when Shadowchaser found her three moons ago, and her confidence had only grown. She needed to show Hawkeye, Cloverstar—the whole clan!—that she was stronger than any clan-born cat, even fully trained warriors. Then surely they would think that rescuing her had been worthwhile.

Then she thought, what if I hurt him? Hawkeye was basically just fluff anyways…she should hold back a little, so she doesn’t injure poor Hawkeye. Besides, how embarrassing would it be to be knocked over by your apprentice on the first go? She couldn’t do that to him. She decided to take it easy on him.

All of the bravado and, honestly, her sheer cockiness, was knocked out of her along with her breath as she collided with Hawkeye’s surprisingly muscular body. She bounced off him like a leaf on a stone! She landed on her side and struggled to her feet, staggering a bit. “Why didn’t that work?” she yowled indignantly, “It was a surprise attack, and I’m almost as big as you now, I shouldn’t have just BOUNCED off of you!” she shook herself, then narrowed her eyes at her mentor, “You cheated somehow!”

[Aqua]

Just as Hawkeye settled, Birchpaw didn't give him a second to plan out anything. She jumped towards him, hackles raised, and poised for the attack. A look of surprise crossed his face at her forward approach but the tom did not move. With the smallest motion, the tom spread his front paws a little further apart. If she tried to barrel him over, he wanted to be planted to the ground in a way that he could try to recover his balance quicker. A firm foundation, one could say. While he had no idea what move the she-cat would make next, his curiousity was definitely piqued. She always felt that she knew everything during their training so he was eager to see what she had brewing in that brain of hers.

Amber eyes narrowed, eyeing the she-cat like the bird the tom was named for. Studying every little twitch of her face as it contorted into this determined look. The tom braced himself, planting his paws hard against the ground as the cocky she-cat charged at him. As the she-cat collided with his chest, he pushed forward ever so slightly with his back paws to keep himself from falling back at the force. The opposing forces caused the she-cat to go skidding across the ground on her side. The tom stood up from his spot, hardly phased by the attempt she made to knock him over.

“You cheated somehow!”

Hawkeye began to laugh as the she-cat accused him of cheating. They were standing in the middle of a clearing, how in the world could he have cheated out here? The tom shook his head at the she-cat. "There is absolutely nothing close enough to use in order to cheat but sure. Distributing your weight to each of your paws to keep yourself balanced is totally cheating." Hawkeye teased. "That and did you thorougly think your surprise attack through or did you just up and jump at me without considering what could happen?" He questioned as he slowly moved to her right.

The tom considered lecturing her more on what she needed to do but at the same time she clearly did not want to talk about things. So he would abide by her wishes. Standing a little ways off to her right now, Hawkeye suddenly lunged at her, swiping a paw at her back leg in an attempt to throw her off balance. Since balance was something she clearly needed to learn the most here. He intended on testing it whenever he found the opportunity.

Made by Aqua || Tagged: Jos || Words: #

[Jos]

Birchpaw

"That and did you thorougly think your surprise attack through or did you just up and jump at me without considering what could happen?"

Birchpaw hissed, "It's called the element of surprise, and I did consider what could happen. I just thought that what would happen would have happened more successfully." It killed her that he had gotten the best of her. Sure he was a fully fledged warrior and she was just a new apprentice, but she should have been able to at least surprise him. Well, he did seem surprised but not in the way she intended. She began pacing back and forth, her tail lashing as she considered Hawkeyes (admittedly, valid) criticism.

She wasn't ready for him when he swiped at her.

Birchpaw hadn't expected Hawkeye to use the element of surprise! That was supposed to be her element! That was her strategy, how very dare he!

The young apprentice was swept off her paws by the stronger tom and landed with a thud on the soft ground. This area was nicer to fall on than, say, a rocky patch. That was why the clan had chosen it for training no doubt, to avoid unnecessary injuries. The she-cat hit the ground with her shoulder, but she was springy with youth so she almost literally bounced back on to her feet. She would have to change her tactics. She took a quick look at Hawkeye and noted how he was standing, the way he had his feet spread out, how low his body was to the ground, what position his tail was in. If she was going to knock him down she would have to use his body against him.

Birchpaw feigned left but at the last moment went right, swiping at him as she did so in an attempt to weaken his balance and knock him down. 

[Aqua]

Hawkeye smirked as he used the same tactic back on the youngster, taking her off guard. The she-cat hit the ground with a thud, bouncing back to her feet very quick. Being that they hadn't been going at this for very long, it wasn't a shock that she easily got back up. Now it was a matter of what move she'd go for next. "I know what the element of surprise is, wouldn't you say?" He mocked playfully, trying to get her worked up. He wanted to see how she did if he played against that ego of hers. How would she handle that stubborn temper in a fight against another cat? That could be the difference between life and death in a battle.

Hawkeye eyed the she-cat, his body and tail low to the ground as if he were hunting something. His paws spread to evenly hold up all of his weight as she studied him. 'Come on Birch.' The tom thought as he watched her. She could do this, he was confident of that. The she-cat suddenly turns to the left, moving that direction for her next move. Hawkeye takes a different route, running straight towards where she had been originally standing. At the last moment, Birchpaw had suddenly whipped back to the right, swiping towards where he had been. This move unexpectedly put the she-cat right into his path, his eyes grow wide as he realizes he was about to topple overtop of her. He yanks himself to the left, slipping and skidding across the ground more than a fox-length from her. The overall speed of his movement had caused him to lose his footing, landing awkwardly on his side. While her swipe did not work, her unexpected change of direction caught him off guard. If she had been an enemy, Hawkeye would have toppled right over her with no remorse and used it to his advantage. But in this case, he didn't want to potentially injure the she-cat. So he gave her that successful, "surprise attack" for her training. Because while her attack didn't smack him as intended, her change of direction caused him to go off balance.

The tom grumbles as he climbs back up to his feet, his legs aching from the skidding across the uneven ground. "That change of direction was pretty clever." He meows, his fur littered with dirt and grass. "Knocking an opponent off balance can definitely provide an advantage. Good job."

Made by Aqua || Tagged: Jos || Words: #411