Learn Something New Every Day

Murkystar led the way through the territory, trusting that the warrior behind her was following her pawsteps. Her ears were perked for danger, but they encountered nothing too out of the normal, swiftly reaching their destination. Murkystar stopped when the ground underpaw started to get wet and sticky, and when she lifted her paw a thin coating of mud covered it. "This spot is perfect." She mewed, turning to face Deerleap.

"So, you have plenty of experience in our territory to know that it is quite wet. With all the water in the soil, this thick mud is created." As she spoke, she curled her paw and dug into the wet earth, scooping up a pawful of mud and letting it fall with a plop. "Over the generations, ShadowClan has worked to make this condition in our territory beneficial to us, more than the usual slipping and sticking that comes with it to those who aren't accustomed to traversing such a landscape. And that is to temporarily blind our opponent by slapping the mud in their face. Some clans say it's an underpawed tactic - I say it's not more underpawed than their own tactics." She mewed, scooping up another pawful and flicking it in a different direction as her clanmate, the globs of mud and water coursing through the air before falling to the ground with another wet plop.

Deerleap nodded to Murystar's words. they made sense, and it explained why Webshadow had slapped mud into her when they were sparring. back then, she had failed about and would have lost if not for Swiftheart being there. "Ok, like this?" She asked as she raised a paw and skimmed it over the muddy surface, sending a wave of sticky mud in a direction of a bramble thicket.

"Yes, just like that! Well done, Deerleap." Murkystar exclaimed, purring. "Now if you want a more pointed attack, you can collect it on your paw, and flick it - this method is especially useful if you are fighting alongside your clanmates. You wouldn't want to get mud into their eyes by accident, so a more targeted clump of mud that's smaller would be more effective." She mewed, dipping her paw in the mud and flicking it, a single large clump of mud sailing through the air before splatting against a nearby tree.

"Oh, I see!" Deerleap gasped with excitement as she understood what Murkystar was trying to say. she rasied a paw and dipped it into the sticky mud, then flicked it upwards. a large blob of mud flew through the air, but it was much more upwards than forward.

she frowned and tried again, but this time she pushed the mud a bit more than flick, and this time the mud flew much farther. "Like that?" she asked once she was satisfied.

Murkystar watch the first attempt silently, but before she could say anything or attempt to correct, Deerleap seemed to realize where they had gone wrong and corrected it, sending mud much farther. "Yes, that was perfect! Well done. So just remember, a large swipe and spray is good with multiple opponents, and a focused attack is best when fighting with allies nearby." She purred, pleased with how quickly the young warrior had picked the move up.

Deerleap could sense the she-cat's approval. "Thank you! Should I try it out of you? it might be a better way to learn to aim, especially if the target is moving!" She suggested, though at the back of her mind she was already making up plans for a training session with Wrenpaw.

"Yes, absolutely. I'll start here, and run to that tree over there. Do your best, okay? Once you get it down, we'll try another angle if you want!" Murkystar mewed, gesturing to a tree a few tail lengths away. Once Deerleap was ready, she began to sprint towards the tree she had pointed out, hoping both that she would hit and that she would miss. Mud was so hard to get out of long fur....

Deerleap narrowed her eyes at the blur. calculating quickly where Murkystar would be by the time the mud landed, Deerleap flicked a huge blob of sticky brown mud at the direction just slightly behind the tree. she sat back and watched the mud sail through the air in an almost straight line, aiming straight for tortoiseshell fur.

Murkystar ran as fast as she could, and as she neared the tree she felt a rush of relief that the mud had missed. That moment was short-lived however, because just as her front paws cleared the tree she felt the cold, wet mud smack against her side. Skidding to a stop as the mud fell to the ground, she stepped out from behind the tree panting. "That was well done, Deerleap. Good aim!" She mewed, shaking out her pelt. The area that the mud hit stood out in spiky points against the rest of her fur, and she trotted over to the young warrior. "Do you want any more practice?"

Deerleap blinked as mud actually hit fur. she wasn't expecting that. a small smile worked its way on her maw, but it quickly disappeared. "I think we should head back now. It's been a really educational experience, but I still have to bring Wrenpaw out for training. I'll definitely teach her this one of these days. Thank you," she mewed and dipped her head.