Shadepaw's Battle Training (Closed)

"Okay, but how would I practice the damaging part on this log? It's not going to get any deader by me clawing or biting it. It might break, but that's about it." Shadepaw said as a gust of wind shook the branch that she still had her claws dug into. The wind was strong enough that it shook Shadepaw slightly, making her start to lose her grip.

Mottleheart shook his head at Shadepaw's question, a sigh escaping him but still there was a smile on his face. "True, it won't get any 'deader' but you can at least figure out which is the best way to attack your opponent while keeping your grip," he pointed out lightly, keeping his voice soft and warm. "Try letting go with each of your paws and figure out which of them are supporting you on the log the most - then you can use the others to deal damage. Sure, it won't do anything to the log but if you are ever in a fight but knowing how to optimized your damage isn't something you want to figure out in the middle of it all. Once you have figured out the best way to attack from up there, we can go over the final move for the day."

Shadepaw sighed and said, "I'm sorry for my response back there. I got a little carried away." She didn't mean to be a smart alec. Suddenly she got lost in thought as she was still standing on that branch, her claws deeply inside. Unsure of what to do to harm this branch, she gave it a good scratching with her claws and a good bite with her teeth. She was treating this branch as if it was an enemy's fur.

"Its fine, Shadepaw, no harm was done," Mottleheart said with a flicker of his tail as the apprentice apologized. Shadepaw, like himself, seemed to prefer the logic of things. It was something he could respect but it seemed like Shadepaw perhaps had trouble with imagination - her first instinct was to teach the fallen tree she was perched on like it was...A fallen tree instead of picturing it like it was an enemy to test her moves on. It had taken his words to inspire her to do so. But it wasn't something that could be helped, imagination was good but it wouldn't be needed for hunting or fighting. He focused as Shadepaw feebly attempted to damage the tree and he purred slightly in amusement. Perhaps Shadepaw did have a point - it wasn't the best tool for learning but it was the only way he could think of to properly show her how to use leap and hold. "Good!" he said after a few moments. "If you think you got a good idea of how to attack from the enemy's back, hop down and we can go over the last move for the day."

Shadepaw smiled quietly but with delight, seeing that Mottleheart was pleased with her work. She was ready to go over the last move so that they could go home, as she could hear that her stomach was growling with hunger. She let out a giggle as she leaped off the branch. "What is the last move for today?" Shadepaw asked him.

ooc: Sorry for the late and short reply, I don't have that much time right now D:

"Something simple - a stunning move," Mottleheart explained as he padded away from the log so that they would have more room. He was a bit stumped on how they were going to test out this move...Perhaps he would allow himself to be the target. After all, no real damage would be done with this move. He came to a stop, turning to look at Shadepaw. "When you are fighting your opponents, its smart do you whatever you can to open up an opportunity to deal more damage - even if its for just a second. A good way of doing that is yanking on your opponent's tail as hard as you can. It will throw them off balance enough to let you get in an extra blow before they recover."

OOC: Its cool, take your time~

Shadepaw nodded, listening. She thought about when she would use the move and how. Then she asked her mentor, "How can I practice this move?" She had to admit that she was enjoying being out of camp and learning things. This was her first real day out of the camp, her first real day as a WindClan warrior apprentice. Before today, she was in the clan but she never really understood very much because she was very limited to what she could do as a kit. Also, she had been a skittish kit as well because of her dark past before entering WindClan.

"We are going to practice with a small make-shift fight," he said with a glimmer in his eyes. He knew Shadepaw wasn't eager for fighting but this was the best way he could think of practicing this move. Besides, it would give him an opportunity to see how she behaved in combat - even if it was fake. "Pretend that I am a big RiverClan cat. I'm invading and I am bigger and stronger then you - a few blows from me can knock you out. WindClan is known for their speed - you may not be WindClan born but I think you have what it takes to keep up with us so use that speed to get around me and throw me off balance the best you can with a good yank on my tail," he said with a small dip of his head, planting his paws firm as he stared at his apprentice. "Then I want you to get a light blow on the back of my head with sheathed claws, alright?" With a big nod of his head to show that he was ready, he dropped into a fighting stance. He wasn't going to really try to stop Shadepaw from throwing him all balance, he was going to give her the room to do so but only if she got close to his paws would he try to throw her off balance instead with a well timed blow.

Shadepaw nodded and walked around to the back side of Mottleheart. She backed up before racing over to him and yanked his tail to try to throw him off balance. Then she gave him a small slash on the back of his head with sheathed claws, like she was asked to do.

Mottleheart watched Shadepaw with a careful gaze as she moved around him, keeping himself braced to try to trip her if she got close. When she darted forward, it took a conscious effort to keep his movements slow instead of whirling around to pull his tail from her reach but she didn't disappoint him. Before he could truly react to her, he felt the strong tug on his tail and all of his focus went to keeping himself stable. He felt the brush of her paw against his head and he knew that would have been a very painful blow if it had been a real battle.

There was a smile on his face as he turned to face her properly with a proud nod of his head. "Very good!" he cheered with a swish of his tail, glancing up at the sky to see the position of the sun before looking back at the young apprentice before him. "That is all the training for today - you did very well...Lets just hope it has to be a long time before you have to put these skills to use."

OOC: I've made Shadepaw's Assessment if you didn't see.

Shadepaw smiled happily as Mottleheart was pleased with her efforts. "I sure hope I don't use these for a while." Shadepaw said, as Mottleheart also said before her. She was proud that she had successfully completed her battle training. She was finally starting to feel like she was a part of her clan. Even though she was shy, quiet, and had several soft spots there was no doubt that Shadepaw would make a loyal warrior of WindClan.

Mottleheart smiled softly, happy that she thought the same way about not wanting to use the skills he had just taught her for a long time. "Come on, we should head back to the camp," he purred with a glimmer in his eyes. "You can use the rest of the day to relax, alright? Then back to training tomorrow," he said as he turned and headed off into the direction of the WindClan camp.