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Post by Fawn on Oct 12, 2016 21:42:36 GMT -5
46 Moons || Senior Warrior || Tom there's a light that you give me when I'm in shadow Tail yank, teeth grip, front paw blow, back kicks. Sprucefur was certain they’d spent enough time on the basics, that he and Badgerpaw could move on to more advanced moves. He would cover the badger defense last; it was difficult to master and would require the assistance of a larger cat than he—perhaps Zephyrfang or Skyfall could lend a paw.
Sprucefur stretched in the leaf-fall sun, having warmed up his muscles by running from camp to the hidden thicket, making sure his reflexes stayed sharp as he slipped through the brambles and narrow clusters of trees and fronds, trying to avoid snagging his pelt on anything. Now standing in the grassy heart of the hidden thicket, Sprucefur waited for the tell-tale scent of Badgerpaw, memories of his mornings with Nightmaple rushing back the longer he stood there.
I could never get the timing right on the ‘play dead’ maneuver. Sprucefur let out a low, quiet purr, recalling how frustrated and amused Nightmaple had been by his inability to stay still for so long. It wasn’t that he was a cat with more energy than he knew what to do with; it was more that Sprucefur was a wary cat, who trusted the other Clans about as much as a cat could trust a fox. Would a NightClan warrior really buy the ‘play dead’ maneuver? What if they just saw it as an opportunity to finish him off for good?
Sprucefur discarded that battle move from today’s lesson. If he trained her well enough and she got a good grasp of the leap-and-hold and the duck-and-twist, Badgerpaw may never find herself in a situation where she needed to use the play dead technique. It certainly wouldn’t work on a fox or a badger or on Demon. The pale golden-brown tom waited, the twitching tip of his tail the only indication that he was growing impatient.
Battle training was something he’d been eager to start since Badgerpaw had first been given to him.
there's a feeling you give me, an everglow --- Word Count: 330 Words Tags: @marshymutt Notes:
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2016 14:25:20 GMT -5
The fluffy apprentice made her way into the hidden thicket. Though she did her best to avoid getting her fur snagged in the process, it ended up happening anyways. It couldn't be helped though, even after moons had passed she still had loads of fluff on her body. Perhaps more than she had had when she was an actual kit. At this point though, Badgerpaw had simply figured that she was destined to become a fluffy cat and had accepted it.
That acceptance didn't make it hurt any less when she tried worming her way towards her mentor and ended up getting her fur caught on some brambles. It took a little while, but she eventually managed to get free and soon enough was trotting over to her mentor looking like a black and white burr with her fur sticking up in all directions. It didn't seem to phase her all that much though, and she settled herself in front of Sprucefur with a patient smile on her face. "Ready to start today's lesson Sprucefur!" She said cheerfully.
She'd been having a lot of fun lately, learning all of the battle techniques that her mentor could teach her. She seemed to do well at learning them, and it was great fun putting them to use and even combining them to see what all would work best for her. It was a lot more interesting to learn how to fight than it was to learn how to hunt, even if hunting was pretty exciting.
Words:253 Tags:Fawn Notes: I'm not the one who wants to hurt you
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Post by Fawn on Oct 21, 2016 14:15:56 GMT -5
46 Moons || Senior Warrior || Tom there's a light that you give me when I'm in shadow Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Badgerpaw struggled her way through the thicket, and he smiled just slightly, amused by her appearance. She looks like she has some hedgehogs in her ancestry. Sprucefur kept that thought to himself, however, and after greeting her with a gentle touch of his nose to her ear, he began the day's lesson.
"I'm glad to hear it. Today, we're learning the duck-and-twist, and the leap-and-hold. These are harder moves than you're used to, but crucial. Especially the duck-and-twist, it can help you avoid even the strongest enemy, if you time it well."
Sprucefur took up position in the center of the hidden thicket. After making sure she could see him properly from where she sat, he straightened. "I'll show you the duck-and-twist first." With that, Sprucefur dropped to the ground immediately, paws bunched beneath him as he made himself a flat target, imagining a clawed paw swiping the empty air where his head had been. In the span of a heartbeat, he rolled to the right as quick as he could and sprang up onto all four paws again, tail lashing as though ready to retaliate.
"It's easy to get dizzy the first few times, so just practice getting the move right, then we'll work on your speed." Sprucefur intended to see how she did for the first couple of tries, and then he could offer better advice or praise as needed. It felt good to be practicing battle moves again. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been in a decent battle... Not that he actively searched for those kinds of things. It was good to keep his skills honed, that was all.
there's a feeling you give me, an everglow --- Word Count: 288 Words Tags: @marshymutt Notes:
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2016 14:38:42 GMT -5
Badgerpaw didn't seem to have any problems with watching Sprucefur's every move as he demonstrated the technique to her. In fact, the look of deep focus in her young eyes spoke the exact opposite. She quietly took in every inch of her mentor's form, watching him move with fluidity as though he were truly dodging an attack aimed at him.
When he allowed her to step up and try for herself, it almost seemed as though the kitten were a little too eager for her own good. She had a look on her face akin to the most innocent and excited expression a kitten could manage. Almost as though she thought of fighting as some kind of game, like she was unaware of the potential of danger and harm that could occur during battle. Still, she always seemed to have that expression on her face during battle training. It was nothing really that new for her.
Eyes shining with kittenish excitement, Badgerpaw mimicked her mentor's movements nearly perfectly, dropping to the ground and flattening herself before rolling to the side and leaping to her paws. Unlike Sprucefur however, she had rolled to the left instead of the right, though realization had yet to hit her.
Words: 205 Tags: FawnNotes: I'm not the one who wants to hurt you
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Post by Fawn on Nov 6, 2016 22:48:14 GMT -5
46 Moons || Senior Warrior || Tom there's a light that you give me when I'm in shadow Badgerpaw was a quick learner, and he found himself nodding eagerly - his heart almost getting the jump on his head. He wanted to praise her, relieved that she was able to copy his move so well, but Sprucefur owed her better than that. "Try that again, please." He mewed, his tone light to show that he was far from disappointed.
She did, and Sprucefur completed his analysis. She had potential. "Well done. Can you try rolling the opposite way? Every cat seems to favor a side, or a paw to use more than the other, but it's good to practice with both. Your enemies won't really pause to let you adjust mid-battle."
The glow of innocence in her eyes, the pure, youthful joy on her face when she practiced battle moves... It warmed him to see her happy, yet worry pricked at his thoughts like the talons of Dark Forest cats, reminding him that life could be cruel. Life could be merciless. He did not want to be a hard, serious mentor; but if that was the cost of keeping her alive and sharpening her skills, he would do so willingly.
"Badgerpaw, when you picture a battle," he mewed slowly, signaling with his tail that she was to stop and consider his words. "What goes through your mind?" Did it excite her, the idea of fighting? Had she grown up on a steady diet of elders' tales about mighty conflicts and wars between the Clans? Or did she realize what being in a battle meant, and showed no fear?
there's a feeling you give me, an everglow --- Word Count: 248 Words Tags: @marshymutt Notes:
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2016 16:22:36 GMT -5
Obediently, the two-toned kitten performed the move again, this time rolling to the right as her mentor had requested. After performing the move a couple more times however, she halted upon hearing the older tom's voice, looking up at him with curious amber eyes.
The question he posed was one the apprentice had never been asked before. Perhaps that was a good thing though, as it caused her to pause and think about his words. True, she had often been told many a fanciful tale about the glories of battle and fighting for one's clan when she was just a kitten, but she knew better than to believe that was all that entailed.
Her mother, and on occasion her father before he had left, would often relay the truths of battle to her. She'd been told that cats usually get injured in battle, sometimes even dying in the process. Her parents had wanted to be realistic with her, so that she knew what she'd be getting into as she grew up.
"When I think of a battle, I usually picture......cats fighting as hard as they can, teeth and claws, fur flying everywhere. Both sides trying their hardest to overpower the other, sometimes going too far in the process and killing someone or getting killed themselves. Sometimes the killing isn't an accident though, Nightpool told me that there are cats that like to kill others, like to see them in pain." Badgerpaw mewled out truthfully.
Then a question spilled forth from the apprentice's mouth, seeping out of her in the most terrified tone one could ever have the displeasure of hearing from her. "Sprucefur......if I like fighting, that doesn't make me a bad cat does it?"
Words: 285 Tags: Fawn Notes: I'm not the one who wants to hurt you
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Post by Fawn on Dec 11, 2016 20:47:11 GMT -5
46 Moons || Senior Warrior || Tom there's a light that you give me when I'm in shadow It was clear to him now that her parents had, in order to prepare her, told her of the worst aspects of battle. Sprucefur nodded ruefully, feeling a sharp prickle of displeasure over the truthfulness of what Nightpool had said. There were cats who delighted in killing others, who enjoyed causing pain and suffering to both enemy and ally alike.
Seeing fear flash before the kitten's eyes, Sprucefur's tail thickened, the fur standing slightly on end as she made her desperate question. "Of course not," he mewed at once, beginning to settle down. "You're allowed to like fighting, Badgerpaw. It's important to know the difference between fighting and killing. Our Warrior Code forbids us from killing others, unless they are outside the Warrior Code. You have to remember, Badgerpaw, that our claws are used for two things; catching food for the Clan and protecting."
Sprucefur recounted the half-dozen battles he'd participated in, both serious and during training sessions. "Fighting can be very exhilarating. There was a senior warrior named Bloodtalon in the Clan, and he loved fighting." Sprucefur's pale yellow-green gaze fell to Badgerpaw, trying to soothe some of the crippling fear flickering in her own eyes like firelight. "I think he loved it even more than the Clan. But he didn't love killing. He was not a bad cat. Overzealous, maybe. Able to bend a few rules here and there, but not a bad cat. That's just an extreme example, Badgerpaw - but I wouldn't worry. Do you believe in the Warrior Code?"
That was the foundation on which their lives had been built. On which countless lives had been built. The Code was not a suggestion, it was a creed, and it was their duty both to themselves and to the cats that had come before to observe the creed as resolutely as they did their usual Clan chores.
there's a feeling you give me, an everglow --- Word Count: 312 Words Tags: @marshymutt Notes:
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2017 16:04:04 GMT -5
Sprucefur's words were enough to give the kitten a bit of hope. It was good to know that the feeling of joy she received from battle training didn't entail something bad. She was worried for a moment that she would one day grow to become a power hungry cat. That was the last thing she wanted to happen.
When the tom asked yet another question of her however she tilted her head curiously before replying. "Yes of course I believe in the Warrior Code" She replied without so much as a hint of hesitation in her voice yet she gave him a questioning look, as though she couldn't believe he had asked such a question of her.
"It exists for a reason, to keep us safe and to help keep us from being like rogues and fighting only for ourselves. But aren't there still cats out there that will hurt others even if they believe in the warrior code? Aren't there cats who try to claim that harming someone is what Starclan would want?" She questioned.
Words: 188 Tags: Fawn Notes: I'm not the one who wants to hurt you
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