A Brand New Dawn [Closed]

"Alois, I need you looking presentable, we have a guest today."

Theron scowled as she stood over Alois, the tom stirring from where he had been relaxing in a sunbeam. Her pelt was groomed to perfection, her eyes glimmering as she prodded at the large giant tom.

"...Wha?" the tom raised his head, yawning widely as he blinked up at his Captain, tilting his head. "...Guest?" he mumbled, giving his paw a quick lick as he swiped it over his ear.

A huff sounded from the side, Lexine stirring from where she had been curled up next to her brother - although her eyes glimmered with energy, showing that she hadn't been asleep like he was. "Yes, guest. Certainly you remember that Clan cat that has been around."

Alois blinked as he pushed himself to his paws, glancing between the two she-cats. "...Oh. I didn't realize that he was gonna be the guest - he has been here a couple times, didn't know he counted."

"Well he counts today because we are doing his training," Theron explained, sitting down as she straightened up, neck fur floofing with a grin. "For a Clan cat, he seems...Skilled enough - I can see why Iniko allowed him in. But he still isn't anywhere near our skills - so we'll be showing him how we do things today."

"And do you really need us for that?" Lexine rumbled as she got to her paws, flickering an ear at Theron. "The four..." she paused, glancing around."Well, three of us are hardly needed to help train a single cat. And where is Roe?"

Theron waved a paw, rolling her eyes. "Roe is off waiting for Dawnhawk to arrive - and the reason I want us all doing the training is that the tom needs to learn how we work - as a group. He can't be thinking he can be a lone fox. We never hunt alone for a good reason - and besides, we all have our...Talents. It will be easier to help improve his when we each have a paw in."

The two siblings glanced at each other, frowning softly but neither decided to speak up again against their Captain. And before they could think about changing their minds, the sound of approaching paws caught all three of their attentions.

"Ah, Roe! Good job fetching him," Theron purred as she jumped to her paws, turning to face the approaching Nightstriker and their guest for the evening.

"It wasn't hard," Roe retorted, although his eyes glimmered. "You just had me sitting at the entrance."

Theron waved her tail, stepping past Roe - who moved to take a seat next to Alois and Lexine - and approached Dawnhawk. "Welcome! Its a pleasure to properly get to start your training as a Nightstriker - and this time, without any kits to coddle. We have things to cover, things to do. But first...I suppose, do you have any questions?" she asked, tilting her head with a grin.

Dawnhawk had clearly taken a page from Bloodstrike's book, so to speak, when he strode into the Asylum Camp with a straight and confident, military-like posture. He had only made eye contact with Roe when the tom spoke to him, and even then, his face was as cold and expressionless as Bloodstrike's ever had been. Saying nothing, the ivory and gold decorated tom followed behind Roe until he was lead to Theron and the other two cats he didn't know much about yet. His eyes and ears focused on Theron as she spoke, still saying absolutely nothing until he was asked a question.

"I know you have your reservations about clan cats... well so do I, Theron. I have no questions for now, but I hope after this session you will see me in a much better light. I will let you know if I don't understand something." And that was all that he had to say for now. None of his opinions mattered to anyone here, and they shouldn't, for now. He had to earn respect here, a concept that he was quite comfortable with. If he ever really wanted to be accepted by someone, he'd never had a problem gaining it.

"I am ready to begin." Dawnhawk tilted his chin downward to cover his throat, but he did it subtly. Maybe they would see what he was doing, maybe they wouldn't. Aside from that, he awaited further instructions, looking as calm as ever on the outside.

On the inside, Dawnhawk was waiting to explode into action.

Theron's eyes narrowed as the tom spoke up - bringing up her 'reservation' about the cats of the Clans, her grin fading a little. As if he understood the burning hatred she felt toward WindClan - her desire to snuff out every single one of those soft-hearted, moor-runners. But... She also had to acknowledged that her desire would not come to pass - that was not why they were here. They were here to take over the Clans, not run them into the ground. Perhaps she would find her revenge in another way... But she wasn't about to tell him her backstory - it wasn't his business to know why she hated the Clans like she did. So, she brought back her smile, although it had lost its gleam. "Very well, Dawnhawk. I do hope you don't disappoint. Iniko and I don't see eye to eye, and I do love poking at him...But I do trust his judgement," she meowed, turning to pace back and forth as she raised her head.

"We Nightstrikers are the claws of Asylum - we are their protectors, their fighters. When troublesome mice stir up trouble, we are sent to remind them where they should stand. We fight the predators that threaten our livelihood - we force cats under our claws if they don't see the wisdom and glory that being under our paws bring." She came to a stop, pausing to raise a paw - sliding out her claws as she turned to look at Dawnhawk.

"We are seen as brutes by the other fractions - but I cannot say that their judgement is...Misplaced. We thrive in battle - live to see the fear in our enemy eyes. And while battle might seem to be all we know, we do have our own code. The most important being - Nightstrikers never hunt alone," she meowed, sweeping her paw in the direction of where Roe, Alois and Lexine were sitting. "This is my pack. When I am out in the field, I have one - or all of them - with me. When our prey is the most dangerous, to hunt alone is a foolish choice. No matter how skilled you think you are, a true Nightstriker always relies on their companion." There was a pause, a moment of hesitation as she lowed her paw, her eyes growing dark as she glanced away. "...I've seen one of the strongest fighters I've ever known die because we underestimated our target. Our focus was split - certain that we could take on each of our foes...And she paid with her life while our prey escaped," she hissed underneath her breath, giving her head a shake.

"...So, we never hunt alone."

There was a long pause before she raised her head, clearing her throat as she glanced over at her group...And flickered a tail at Alois. The heavy-set tom rose to his paws, stepping forward as Theron turned to circle around him, eyes falling onto Dawnhawk. "However, our stance on unity isn't our only strength. Every cat has their own fighting style. Smaller cats know how to take down bigger ones, cats with knowledge from many battles may know how to take down their foes with skilled but straight-forward strikes. Some cats know how to be offensive, some cats know how to better guard, some fight with a mix... Simply put, every group of cats come up with their own fighting styles - and we take pride in learning each and every one," she said, baring her fangs. She wacked her tail against Alois' shoulder, jerking her head in the direction of Dawnhawk. "That is what your training will cover - learning our different fighting styles. But in my mind, the best way to learn is by showing...So, you will be fighting Alois here. Show us what you know, and we will teach you what we know. Simple enough, eh?"

She stepped away, taking a seat some distance away from the two. Her tail curled around her paws as she smiled softly, excited to see what the tom would bring to the table. "I'll even be nice - you may have the first strike on Alois," she purred...Before she paused, eyes falling to Alois. "And Alois? Be gentle - he is our guest after all."

Dawnhawk indeed noticed Theron's facial reactions. It wasn't like she put forth any effort to hide them. Touched a nerve, did I? He managed to keep his face completely blank, but he mentally chuckled and logged her soft spot away in his mind. This was why Dawnhawk never dared reveal any true emotions to these cats. The more he knew about them and the less that they knew about him, the better. He didn't have plans on betraying them necessarily, but Bloodstrike had instilled suspicions and mistrust for clanless cats at the very least. Well... "clanless". This seemed very much like a clan to Dawnhawk, but he wasn't about to point it out while he was still learning about them.

Speaking of learning, Theron was one heck of a talker. Dawnhawk absorbed all of this information that he possibly could, making sure to note her reactions to things and even her tone and fluctuations of her voice. He could pick up pride, stress and regret. For not liking clan cats, she left herself to be an open book for one... Dawnhawk simply nodded once she finished telling her story, still not talking, still not displaying any emotions other than serious attentiveness. He would inform her of how the forest cats that she held such disdain for operated on a very similar level and he felt she was already once again underestimating her opponents, but he would wait until after the training session to do so. He still didn't know Theron enough to know if she would find his information useful or if she would become angered and chase him out of the camp. He wasn't interested in finding out just yet.

Upon mentioning Alois, Dawnhawk's eyes flicked over to him and settled, unblinkingly, like a hawk. Be gentle? Oh sweetheart... how highly you think of him... how lowly you think of me... and you have no information to go on about me yet. No wonder Nightstrikers are thought of to be brutes. Dawnhawk didn't wait for the word "go." He didn't wait for a signal. Theron had hardly finished speaking before Dawnhawk was already rushing forward and moving with supposed lethal intent. If Alois was so great, then Dawnhawk would not even give him time to set defenses or brace for any attacks. Maybe the tom really was that good. If that was the case, then fighting "fairly and with honor" was just stupid. Dawnhawk was known to be fast, catching rabbits with relative ease where his Skyclan brethren struggled... and all of that speed and agility was being directed at Alois.

Dawnhawk thought he put on a really good show of looking like he was going to barrel directly into the other tom, as a cat that weight twice as much as Dawnhawk would might. But no... at the last minute, Dawnhawk tilted his weight to his left and used his tail to counter balance himself, swinging around Alois like a drifting vehicle, and leaped for his side. Dawnhawk shamelessly buried his claws up to the first knuckle directly into Alois's shoulder with one paw, and sliced ferociously at the tendons that secured the back of his foreleg to his elbow. A potentially life-crippling move... but Alois was good, yes? Dawnhawk was a fairly young warrior with, he wagered, far less experience. If he could cripple or weaken the tom's ability to move around, then Dawnhawk would have at least that advantage over his adversary. Peeled and tattered tendons didn't care about pain tolerance either, so even if Alois was like Bloodstrike who only got energized by pain, it didn't matter.


Dawnhawk used Leap and Hold, dealing 9 damage and -10SP

Dawnhawk
45HP / 150SP (-10SP)

Alois
Stunned for TWO turns
???HP / ???SP (-9HP)

The member 'Tara' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 5

Alois had stood ridged, not moving a muscle even as Dawnhawk darted towards him - instead simply watching the tom with a glint of interest. The SkyClan's cat swift movements did catch him by surprise, shifting slightly under the new weight but he held on strong, even as his shoulder was ripped open. The burly tom bared his teeth - but there was a grin to it, amusement as even despite the pain, he crouched...And pushed off with his front legs - falling onto his back and squishing Dawnhawk before he quickly rolled to his paws, falling into a crouch as he tilted his head as he waited for Dawnhawk to make the next move.

Alois used Duck-and-Twist on Dawnhawk, dealing 7 damage and costing 25 stamina. Alois is no longer stunned.

Alois:
66/75 HP
175/200 SP (-25 SP)

Dawnhawk:
38/45 HP (-7 HP)
140/150 SP

Theron broke into a laugh at the sight of Dawnhawk easily scaling up Alois, eyes glimmering. "Oh, Iniko was right! You are Nightstriker material!" she purred, leaning forward with a grin. "Feisty, fearsome, brutal...Oh yes, you will look fine in that fox pelt of yours. Now come on, I want a good show between the two of you! Try not to kill each other however. We do need all paws for what is coming up soon enough."

Well. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Dawnhawk let out a huff when the other warrior rolled on him. Sucking in a greedy lungful of breath, Dawnhawk dug his claws in deeper, but allowed himself to slide under Alois's belly. At that point, he began to bury his claws deeply into the soft, sensitive belly flesh. Theron was saying something, but in the heat of the fight, her words were lost on his ears. Dawnhawk had hoped to do some nasty damage and prove that he was worth more than what these Nightstrikers thought, but actually beating the more experienced tom into submission wasn't something he was certain he could do. Still, it didn't mean he was going to lay down and give up. Dawnhawk was determined to fight until his legs gave out and he collapsed.

Dawnhawk used Half Turn Belly Rake, dealing 11 damage and -20SP

Dawnhawk
38HP / 120SP (-20SP)

Alois
55HP / 175SP (-11HP)

Alois stumbled back with a wince as Dawnhawk wormed his way beneath him, slicing at his stomach as the large, burly tom struggled to escape. He jumped back, before he reared up and brought down his claws in a flurry of blows against the SkyClan warrior - baring his teeth with every slash. That was, however, until a voice interrupted him.

Alois used Rending Front Paw on Dawnhawk, dealing 15 damage and costing 25 stamina.

Alois:
55/75 HP
150/200 SP (-25)

Dawnhawk:
23/45 HP (-15)
120/150 SP

"Alois, what did I say? Be gentle," Theron's voice rose up, low but loud enough to be heard over the combat...And brought the Nightstriker to a pause as he looked up at her. Her tail lashed, eyes narrowed as she tilted her head with a frown. "I understand, you are excited to be in a fight again but I'm not looking for you to scar him... Tsk, I've seen enough anyways," she meowed, jumping to her paws gracefully as she stalked over. Raising a paw, she pressed it against Alois' chest and the larger tom stumbled backwards like she had throw all her weight against him instead of a gentle push like she did. "Don't take this call off as an insult, Dawnhawk," she said, glancing down at the tom. "You performed excellently. You truly have the making of a great Nightstriker, you are vicious and determined - even if you did not end up winning, you would have done serious damage to Alois. Together, we will do great things," she purred. "I just don't want either of you to actually put each other out of commission - we do have things to be done." She sat down, curling her tail around her paws as Alois stalked off towards where his sister and Roe were still waiting. "So...What did you think of Alois? Are you ready to learn how to fight like a Nightstriker?

Dawnhawk growled as powerful claws came down on him from above. In his head, he could have dodged it, but his muscles had not fully recovered from the belly slashing he had just done. The reaction time was there, but his limbs could not obey him quick enough.

Furiously, Dawnhawk jumped back and crouched low, preparing to launch another assault. "You hit like a b-" Then Theron's voice put a stop to all of it. Dawnhawk grit his teeth and lashes his tail. -utterfly... he finished his insult in his head. His heart raced and his blood roared in his ears. White hot rage from the thrill of battle still consumed him, but he held his position. Theron explained herself and Dawnhawk reluctantly brought himself up out of a fighting stance.

"I think I can learn a lot from him." He admitted, despite his recent attempt at an insult. "Teach me to fight like a Nightstriker. I want to learn."