Eagle's Battle Training

Nightcloud stood right outside of the ShadowClan camp, her gaze fixed on the marshy land around her. She waited quietly for her new apprentice, Eaglepaw. It was a bit odd, having a new apprentice so soon after Cinderfrost got her name but she understood why. Eaglepaw had a hard past, and it seemed like she had been the only one to break though the shell he had locked himself in. She smiled softly, happy that she had gotten Eaglepaw. She was going to make him into a warrior that his mother would have no choice but to be proud of.

Eaglepaw padded into the clearing after Nightcloud, glancing around. "This is the rest of the territory? What are we going to do today?" he asked, his tail lashing eagerly.

Nightcloud smiled softly as she saw Eaglepaw, and nodded. "Yup, this would be our territory but I'll be showing you around it later. First, we are doing battle training." She started to pad into the territory, looking back to make sure her apprentice was following her. "Fighting is a big part of the Clans life-style, and we ShadowClan cats are known for being skilled at it, while also being able to sneak around in the dark without being seen." Soon, she stopped in a middle of a clearing, a dead log sitting on one side marked it as her favorite place to do battle training. She looked at Eaglepaw with a grin. "Ready to learn how to fight?"

He nodded eagerly, instinctively crouching low to the muddy ground and lashing his tail. "Yea!" he responded, his eyes glinting with excitement.

The silver tabby nodded as she flickered her tail. "The first move you are learning today is Front Paw Strike. It is a basic move, but it is also one of the most used moves in battle. Easy to use, it can be a great help in turning the tide of battle. The move is nothing more than striking your enemy with your claws unsheathed." As she finished talking, she turned to the dead log and lashed out with her claw, adding another streak of claw marks to it. She paused and nodded at Eaglepaw as she stepped away from the log to let Eaglepaw take a swing at it. "Now you try."

Eaglepaw stepped up to the log, narrowing his blazing amber eyes at it. The rogue that he'd seen kill his mother flashed in his mind, snarling with the intent to kill prominent in it's gaze. With a low growl he lashed out at the log, scoring another set of claw marks and getting bark wedged between his claws. Shaking his mottled white paw, he watched the slimy tree bark drift to the ground and he turned to Nightcloud. "Was that good?"

Nightcloud nodded, clearing her throat as she got ready to go to the next lesson. "Next is the Belly Rake. I am sure you can figure out what it is from the name. Belly Rank is a useful move when fighting somebody that is larger than yourself. Using your speed, most cats will duck under their enemy's bellies and rank their claws down the soft part which can easily bring a cat down if you deal enough damage. However, if you are larger than your enemy, you can knock the smaller cat over and rank your claws down their bellies, and also if you are pinning somebody on their back it is a great move to use. Now, I want you to try it on me. Remember to sheath your claws thought, as this is after all just training."

Eaglepaw turned around, then dashed at Nightcloud. Narrowing his eyes, he ducked under her and raked his paws through her belly fur, then raced out the other side of her. Standing up, he turned back to her.

"Very good!" Nightcloud praised as she turned to face Eaglepaw, smiling widely at him. "Now, onto the next move. The last one we are learning today is Leap-and-Hold. Like almost all the other moves, it is exactly how it sounds. You leap onto the back of your enemy. If you are larger then them, you can pin them down and keep them from moving and if you are smaller, than it is just a great place to stay out of their reach." She turned toward the log, and quickly jumped onto it and dug her claws into it. "See? Simple, of course it is a bit harder when your target is able to move under you. And because of that, I want you to try it on me like you did with the last move. You can use your claws, but just be careful with them." She jumped from the log and turned to face Eaglepaw, waiting for him to use the move on her.

Narrowing his eyes, Eaglepaw darted around her side. She'll be expecting me to leap from the front, so I'll leap from behind. Skidding to a halt, he turned and shoved off, landing on her back and curling his claws into her scruff so as not to harm her.

Nightcloud stumbled a bit as Eaglepaw landed on her, but she smiled as she gently tried to shake him off. Of course; as she failed to do so, she just nodded happily. "Very good, Eaglepaw. Jumping on me from behide; very smart. I didn't even have time to turn around to face you. or try to block you before you landed on me." She paused as she attempted to turn her head to look at him, and carefully shook her body a bit harder, trying to dislodge him for real this time. "Now come on, we should head back to camp. Maybe you can show some kits the moves you learned. I am sure they would love to see you in 'action.'"

He unhinged his claws and toppled off of her as she shook again, then eagerly got to his paws. "Yea! I'll be a part of making ShadowClan's future warriors better!" he exclaimed, heading towards where they'd arrived at the clearing.