[Insidious]

The feline's dark red fur wasn't necessarily the easiest to blend in the with the green-and-white mixture of foliage and snow. It easily presented an issue when one, such as herself, was required to be stealthy and remain unseen while on the hunt. Thankfully, Firejay had no reason to be secluded from vision for this particular event.
After speaking with her fellow NightClan warrior, Snowlark, it was agreed that a battle session would be held between their two apprentices: Oxpaw and Darkpaw.
Firejay decided to organize this event due to Oxpaw's lack of understanding upon the concept of proper grace. He was like any stereotypical tom-cat: dedicated to brute strength and viewing no other traits as important when in spar. It was, with great relief, found that Darkpaw – the smaller-than-average NightClan apprentice with fur as dark as night and eyes of captivating silver – was entirely the opposite to Oxpaw. He fought with technique-oriented maneuvers and a grace that even seemed unusual to Firejay.
Hopefully, by the end of this afternoon, Oxpaw would realize how important it was to – if you weren't planning to be graceful yourself – at least recognize how powerful the quality can truly be in your opponent.

“Snowlark, Darkpaw.” Firejay greeted, pushing her slender frame through the last concealment of prickled foliage standing between the gathering of four. She halted before continuing forwardly, searching the undergrowth for any signs of her apprentice. “Oxpaw, hurry along.” This was many of the reasons Firejay wanted to address elegance. For a tom like Oxpaw with such a long coat of fur, maneuvering through the difficulties of a vast number of plant life was not always a challenge easily accomplished.


“As to you, Firejay.” Darkpaw blinked his large, rounded eyes of bright gray pigmentation, offering the she-cat a respectful dip of his head before allowing his gaze to wander passed her and into the foliage, where his competition of the afternoon was planned to appear from.
Oxpaw, from what Darkpaw understood of the tom-cat, was a newly made apprentice. Whereas Darkpaw was nearly a warrior. If his training had truly just began, perhaps it was required that he go easy on him? Darkpaw refrained from growing a smirk across his black lips, allowing his thoughts to travel away from the topic in order to remain collected with his facial expression.

There was no reason to underestimate Oxpaw because of the age difference. After all, wasn't the entire point behind this apprentice-on-apprentice spar so that Oxpaw could learn how to handle an elegant cat. Was that Firejay's way of saying he wasn't such an elegant cat?
Well then, all he would have to do is dance a few ghost-like circles around him, and this would be over.

[Fawn]

Ever punctual, Snowlark had collected Darkpaw just after the first few rays of dawnlight had started to peek at them through the snowy treetops; though they would not have to meet until the sun was a little higher, Snowlark had taken Darkpaw out into the forest for a brief bit of hunting, allowing him to loosen and warm up before the scheduled spar. While fighting was neither a weakness or an exemplary strength of hers, Snowlark was content in her teaching abilities as well as Darkpaw's natural grace that he would be in good standing against just about any opponent - Oxpaw should prove no exception.

Of course, Snowlark wasn't a mentor just so she could play the 'my apprentice is better than yours' game, she was a mentor simply for the pure joy that came with preparing and nurturing the next generation of warriors. Pretty dappled feline fixing Firejay with warm blue eyes, she gave a polite dip of her head, greeting both newcomers in her usual charming, easygoing tone; "Good morning Firejay, good morning Oxpaw. I hope you've slept well."

While Snowlark usually made a big show of getting to know each and every apprentice, Boneshadow's death and a seemingly never-ending barrage of other family related issues had stopped her from acquainting herself properly with Oxpaw, Strawberrypaw, Applepaw, and any of the other most-recent guests in the Apprentices' Den. Getting a good look at the fluffy, stocky young tom, Snowlark's bright blues settled on him, the corners of her muzzle lifting in a pleasant smile. Was he the type who bragged about his abilities? Was he shy? Had he been so excited for the spar this morning, he hadn't slept? Or was he one of those cool, aloof types who wouldn't so much as hint at his potential until it came down to the actual fight?

Studying him quietly, Snowlark finally lifted her gaze from the younger apprentice and onto her own dark-furred one. "Though I suspect you will be able to more than hold your own, Darkpaw, be mindful not to get carried away." Her words were a gentle prod, Snowlark fully aware of how he could sometimes show off a bit when it came to the she-cats, and Snowlark could only hope that Frogpaw - Darkpaw's closest friend who just so happened to be female - had chosen to stay in her nest a little while longer than usual. He needed to keep his focus on the fight, not on ways he could impress his pretty dappled companion.

---

Word Count: 419
Notes: ^^ None! Though I may have Froggie show up just to watch.

[Deleted]

O X P A W

Oxpaw grumbled to himself as he padded after his mentor through the thick foliage. A practice spar was actually something he was looking forward to, but why couldn’t they practice somewhere without all this undergrowth? Surely, there had to be some places that could be accessed easier. Already, his long pelt seemed to have trapped half the dead plant matter in the entire NightClan territory! He didn’t realize how far behind he was until Firejay meowed at him to hurry up and he couldn’t see her. With an impatient growl, the apprentice quickened the pace and finally dashed out of the undergrowth and into the clearing.

The long-haired tom sat down in the clearing, light blue eyes barely looking the other cats over as he focused on cleaning his coat off. He saw Snowlark a few times before (her pelt was weird and easily remembered), and Darkpaw was an older apprentice like Frogpaw. Great. So he was going to lose. Why would Firejay have him train with such an older apprentice anyway? Icy blue eyes glared at his mentor for a heartbeat before the tom resumed cleaning out his fur. The young tom did NOT appreciate being tricked into a losing situation like the one he was facing now. “Hello Snowlark,” Oxpaw mewed coolly to the she-cat, not upset with her yet still angry at the entire scenario.

Once his coat was clear of plant matter (and not a moment before), the grumpy apprentice looked at Firejay expectedly. “What is supposed to happen?” he meowed in annoyance. Obviously, they wouldn’t be having a typical sparring session… would they? They better. Oxpaw’s fluffy tail twitched in annoyance, wondering what the purpose of having a new apprentice fight with an almost-warrior were.

[Insidious]

Darkpaw acknowledged Snowlark's words with the swivel of his black ears in her direction, nodding quietly, though not actually bothering himself to spare a silver glance in her direction to fully assure his mentor that he was truly intending to remain 'mindful' as she had put it.
Perhaps, he would have taken the time to glance upward and into the eyes of Snowlark had his opponent of the afternoon not arrived and flanked himself beside Firejay before busying himself in a task of cleansing. Now, he was far too occupied by his analysis. Darkpaw's stare had a way of, at times, growing uncomfortable with the way it rarely withdrawled. His curiousity always had good intentions, though could easily be mistaken as him sizing up a foe.
In this situation, it was a possibility that Darkpaw was sizing up the tom. After all, they were supposed to be sharing a spar today. It was only natural for the black furred almost-warrior to familiarize himself with the outer appearance and qualities of Oxpaw. For, it was simpler to do so now instead of saving it for when the battle had truly begun and doing so would prove more difficult.

Darkpaw noticed that Oxpaw had failed to greet him as well, instead, offering his morning words to Snowlark and no other. He smirked at this, tail flicking dismissively in the long furred tom's direction before his gaze at last averted; satisfied with the calculations gathered by his thorough examination.

“What is supposed to happen?” Firejay locked her light green eyes upon her apprentice, brushing aside his tone of annoyance with an unusual ease – after training with the tom for a few afternoons, she had become increasingly less bothered by his gruff attitude. “You'll be engaging in a friendly spar with Snowlark's apprentice, Darkpaw. You two have very different approaches as to how a spar should be handled. Therefore, I figured this would be a good way for you to familiarize with the various fighting styles you may witness from opponents throughout the battles you face in your lifetime.” The dark red she-cat had purposefully put emphasis on the word 'friendly' to assure Oxpaw knew not to attempt to cause Darkpaw any real damage. However, just in case the emphasis had gone unnoticed, she addressed it further. “Be mindful that no intentional damage is to be dealt on your part, or Darkpaw's. For the most part, this will be a spar of dodging and putting your tactics into play to see what works, and what does not.”

At last lifting her gaze from Oxpaw, she turned her attention to Darkpaw to assure he too had heard her words and understood that they were also meant for him to acknowledge. Prior to this, Firejay hadn't conversed with the black furred tom-cat. She had no idea as to how he acted outside of his training, but, she didn't expect him of being a cat that took battle too far when it was not meant to be taken as so.
Besides, if he was like that, surely Snowlark would have warned her instead of agreeing to pit him against her younger apprentice.
“Anything to add before we have this begin, Snowlark?” The dark red she-cat flicked her tail, signaling for Oxpaw to maneuver forwardly and find his positioning.

Snowlark wasn't required to do so herself, for Darkpaw had already rose from his seated stance and collected himself a respectful distance from where Oxpaw was expected to stand, his light gray eyes fixated on each movement the younger tom strove to make.

[Fawn]

“Anything to add before we have this begin, Snowlark?”

"No I believe that's all. Fight fairly, you two, and remember that this is a friendly spar." Fixing a frost-blue gaze upon each apprentice in turn, she let it linger on the younger of the two toms, recognizing him to be rather aggressive and forward in his approach to fighting. Though she did not suspect Darkpaw would get seriously injured, the experienced she-cat was rather fond of the idea of Darkpaw not re-injuring his leg. He had promised it had healed completely, and Snowlark would just have to do her best to trust him.

Shifting on silent snow-dappled paws to take her place beside Firejay, the she-cat looked like a washed-out version of her fellow NightClan warrior. For eyes of bright green Firejay possessed, were eyes of frost blue, and with a richly pigmented ruddy coat, Snowlark had one as pale as the prefix of her name, with faint tawny rosettes as though to allude to a secretly more primordial personality than one first thought.

Snowlark did not have any sort of hidden aggression, despite whatever her pelt might be trying to tell anyone otherwise. She was elegant and graceful, eloquent and kind, the dignity with which she carried herself seeming to match her apprentice's perfectly.

The quiet snowfall and the silent darkness.

[Deleted]

O X P A W

The youngest cat of the four felt his fur prickle as Darkpaw stared at him, but his own ice-blue eyes stared determinedly back at the older apprentice. He would not show weakness in face of this opponent, even more so since they were in the same clan. The torment would be unbearable. Firejay’s words managed to reach his ears, who’s twitching was the only sign he heard his mentor’s instructions. A friendly spar seemed unlikely; it was probably just going to be a struggle just to not lose right away. After all, losing was inevitable. He hadn’t figured out why this spar was happening in the first place…

…until Firejay mentioned “dodging”. Light blue eyes finally turned from Darkpaw to glare at his mentor. She knew he was terrible at such things, and now she was setting him up to “test” his “abilities” with a much older apprentice. I’m onto you, Foxjay… He put the idea of intentionally harming the all-black cat out of his head; first of all, if any of his attacks actually landed, that was surely the fault of his mentor, the strangely-colored warrior with them now. Second, it was far more likely that Darkpaw would have needed that warning more, as he was far more likely to land a hit. Or two, or three, or ten…

He ignored his mentor’s instructions to pick a better spot, and instead kept seated right where he was, tail twitching sharply both in anger and in anticipation. Blue matched grey as Oxpaw returned the stare given to him and waited for the older tom to make a move. Truthfully, he had no idea how to start a fight, and most of the tactics he thought up involved countering. Launching the first attack would place him out of ideas, and the youngest cat figured he needed as many odds in his favor as he could get.

[Insidious]

Firejay of NightClan

As if Firejay expected this friendly spar to involve anything less than a few glares from her apprentice. Truthfully, she had inwardly hoped he would be 100% dedicated to cooperating. Although, this thought was continuously being proven an understatement whenever she was once again left to deal with Oxpaw's natural, gruff portrayal. Regardless, he didn't cower like a frightened kit. The challenge was meant to exploit Oxpaw's weaknesses; whether or not he currently viewed such an experimental spar in the same light as his dark red mentor. The only way to sharpen one's abilities, was to expose them to their weaknesses upon numerous occasions. Therefore, they would able to grow and, in time, no longer be considered weak under certain elements of battle.

For the current moment, Firejay didn't expect Oxpaw to be the victor of this spar – unless Snowlark so happened to talk with Darkpaw about this spar before-paw and tell him to go extremely easy and give the younger apprentice a fair chance. Though for some reason, she considered this thought unlikely. If Darkpaw was to go easy, it'd lessen Oxpaw's growth from the experience.

And now, as her long-furred apprentice stepped forward to be facing his opponent for this afternoon: she found her light green eyes narrowing hastily to examine the tactics exhibited by her apprentice in his first, semi-realistic battle.

Darkpaw of NightClan

Oxpaw seemed determined to give back precisely what Darkpaw emitted, a smirk lacing across his ebony lips upon meeting the fellow tom's blue stare from across the clearing. He flicked the tip of his tail from within his battle-stance, buckling his front limbs closer to the terrain upon taking recognition that Oxpaw wasn't about to perform the first move. Momentarily, the almost-warrior contemplated this. Was Oxpaw afraid to make the first move? Was he unwilling to challenge himself to the fullest extent in this friendly spar? Regardless, Darkpaw wasn't complaining. One was able to learn from their mistakes by doing, not by listening to a lecture. He knew he wasn't here to inflict harm upon his fellow NightClan apprentice, but instead, here to offer a new type of skills for Oxpaw to accustom himself to facing during spar. If Darkpaw was to make the first move, he'd assure it be a move that Oxpaw would need to think-on-his-paws for.

In a matter of a few short seconds, Darkpaw's natural elegance was presented with the way his ghost-like paws danced across the terrain in a forwardly sprint. Muscles rippled in his shoulder blades with the swift advancement, the closer he neared, the more apparent it became he was aiming unsheathed claws within his front paws for the cheek region upon Oxpaw's facial structure. Darkpaw was more of a technical fighter; known for his excellent dodging and stealthy attacks. However, for the time being, he would portray himself as the vigorous NightClan apprentice that aimed his first attack for a region that could be open to severe wound infliction in the case this spar was intentionally meant to damage. If Oxpaw was able to dodge or accustom himself to a proper counter attack, Darkpaw would inwardly admit to being impressed and therefore, give Oxpaw a real challenge.

If not, however, he would simply dance with calculated steps directly passed the tom-cat's flank, this meant so he could pivot with a quick, graceful radiation and hopefully launch himself upon the opponent's back, force him to the ground, and bring this spar to an unusually swift ending mark.