I Could Show How To Be Strong in the Real Way

Jaystream walked between the reeds until his eyes met the tall beech trees coming up from the ground. Entering the thicket, he turned his sight back to the young she-cat. Her training was going quite well. After some days training, her muscles were now more adapted for swimming and she had been proved to be a good fisher, better than he was on her age. "Well, Vixenpaw, here we are.This place is known as the Beech Copse. These tall trees are used for climbing training and also this place is a good hunting spot for land prey. However, we're not here for any of that. Today you're going to learn how to fight and defend yourself and the clans from any threat." He mewed starting today's lesson. Unlike her, he never got the chance of having a mentor that taught him the battle skills of his clan and he had to learn in a hard way, during a battle between apprentices. But now Vixenpaw had the chance of learning properly, without getting hurt by enemy cats or predators.

Vixenpaw's eyes widened at the word 'fighting'. She was a lousy fighter and a pacifist at that. "Um... I don't... I can't..." she murmured, trying and failing to string together a sentence. After shaking her head slightly, she tried again. "I can't fight. Lakepaw can beat me in a fight with his left hind leg, and so can Ravenpaw and Darkpaw and even the kits in the nursery."

The tom smiled comprehensive as he walked to a bunch of reeds. "Hey, not everyone can be good at anything. You don't need to be the best fighter. Learn the basics of fighting is enough for your own safety and maybe, if you want to improve with more practice, you can protect others. Let's start at the beginning." The beckoned with his tail so the she-cat would approach him and stand right by his side. Training started now.

Unsheathing his claws and standing ina battle crouch, Jaystream slashed with a swift move the reeds in front of him. Then, he quickly returned to a defensive crouch which allowed him to fight back to any possible imaginary enemy. After that short demonstration, he looked back at the apprentice. "During a fight, claws, and paws are usually what you need the most. Keep your moves quick so the enemies won't have a chance of doing a counterattack back to you. But remember... you must never maim your rival unless is in self-defense as well as you must never kill any cat that isn't threatening your life. All right? Then, try to repeat what I did."

Jaystream used Front Paw Strike on Reeds, dealing 14 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Jaystream
100/100 HP
270/280 SP

Reeds
-14/??? HP
???/??? SP

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OOC: Okay then, the battle system is a bit more complex than the hunting system. Each possible move on the site is here: Battle System. As you might see, there are several moves and each rank deals different damage. For example, an apprentice that uses Front Paw Strike can only deal 6 damage using the same stamina as a young warrior that can deal 9 damage using the same move.

The stats of each rank is detailed here: Rank System. If you run out of stamina, you're out of combat. If you run out of HP, then you can either let your cat die, collapse or just run away from the battle. You can no longer fight if any of those stats are gone and you can only recover HP with the help of a medicine cat, so each time you get into a fight then you will have to set a healing topic for your cat in the Medicine Den.

BTW, there are also special moves for each clan (for example, Riverclan has the Underwater Push-Off and Underwater Clinch) and there are moves that can STUN your opponents. This attacks cannot be used twice in a row, which means if the rival ends its time stunned you must not use another move that can stun it again.

Moves like Leap-and-Hold and Teeth Grip uses the dices system. Instead of choosing the Hunting Dice like you did during hunting, you must choose the Effect Dice. Depending on the number is the time the opponent is stunned.

I think that is the basic you need to know but either way you should check too the Battle Rules

Vixenpaw joined Jaystream's side, watching with intrigue as he slashed at the reeds and quickly and nimbly changed stances. She attempted to copy him, dropping into a crouch similar to the one Jaystream did. She slashed clumsily at the reeds, hitting them but so slowly that she knew if it was a real enemy they would probably have enough time to take a walk halfway across the earth before she hit them. "Hey, at least there's no chance of me maiming or killing another cat, on purpose or otherwise." she said sarcastically, knowing what a klutz she was at fighting.

Vixenpaw used Front Paw Strike on Reeds, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Vixenpaw
20/20 HP
70/80 SP

Reeds
-6/??? HP
???/??? SP

The tom watched her apprentice attempt, analyzing each point of her posture and her moves. He frowned, thinking about what were the most important things that should be done. After her compliment, he approached her and put a paw on her hip, pressing gently. "Keep your hind legs a bit lower. I speed is not your best ability, then you can always use a boost stretching your hind legs in the right moment like you are going to jump but instead you focus that energy and strength in the attack of your front paws. Also, don't use all your strength over there because you can end up jumping and that's not your purpose. Now, try it again and never lost the focus on your enemy. Think of this as... fishing! Remember how fast you were hitting the fish with your paw and throwing it away? Well, the same idea but this time the fish is in front of you and not under your paws." He purred with a confident smile. The warrior stepped back again and sat, waiting for Vixenpaw's next try.

OOC: Good job there! If you have questions, ask me freely. After Vixenpaw's second attempt with Front Paw Strike we're going to work on moves that cause stuns.

Vixenpaw followed her mentor's instructions, lowering her hind legs and imagining the reeds to be a fish. Now this she knew how to do. She concentrated what energy she had into her front paws and focused on the 'fish'. Once the time was right, Vixenpaw reached out and slashed at the reeds like she was plucking a fish from the river, making sure to stretch her back legs a bit more. She went a bit further forward than intended, but she made up for it by taking a quick step back before the 'enemy' could react and slashed at the reeds. Still slow, but better.

Vixenpaw used Front Paw Strike on Reeds, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Vixenpaw
20/20 HP
60/80 SP

Reeds
-6/??? HP
???/??? SP

Jaystream his tail glad to see that he get what he meant. There was still some things to do better but for now, it was enough for basic battle. "Good! That last quick step you did was perfect and you never take away your eyes from the enemy as you moved backward. Now, let's go into some moves that would help to immobilize rival cats. Look at me and then copy." The warrior stood and turned his face to a bush not far away from the reeds they were using as training models. Trotting toward the bush, the tom leaped forward and landed on it, pretending it was the back of a cat. He bit some branches that were supposedly the neck of the cat and pinned it down putting his unsheathing claws over its "shoulders". He put all his weight over the bush and his four paws were strongly pinned into the branches and leaves.

Jaystream used Leap-and-Hold on Bush, dealing 14 damage and costing 10 stamina. Bush is stunned for one turn.

Jaystream
100/100 HP
260/280 SP

Bush
-14/??? HP
???/??? SP

OOC: As you might see, since I got number 1 in the dice, the bush or enemy cat is stunned for one turn. This turn only counts when the rper posted a reply with his or her cat stunned. After that turn, the enemy cat can attack you again. Now, try using the Effect Dice too :3

The member 'Jay Bird' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 1

Vixenpaw looked at Jaystream determinedly. She walked lightly to where he was standing and leapt onto the bush. Turns out she was good at jumping, she realised as she flew way over the bush. Managing to land on her feet, she went back to the bush and tried again. This time she made sure to focus on her hind legs and not to jump too high or too far. She leapt, landing squarely on the bush. She bit the branches and attempted to pin the bush down, succeding somewhat but also sinking a bit into it. "Like this?"

Vixenpaw used Leap-and-Hold on Bush, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 stamina. Bush is stunned for 1 turn.

Vixenpaw
20/20 HP
50/80 SP

Bush
-6/??? HP
???/??? SP

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

---

'Effect Dice' : 1

"Yes! That's it. Pretend that you're keeping down an enemy cat so you can make it feel tired." Jaystream demonstrated that pretending himself too. He attacked the "enemy cat" biting harder the scruff and putting more weight on its shoulders until he couldn't stand any longer. The gray tabby warrior jumped away, landing on his four paws using a defensive crouch on the end, ready for the next move. He kept his tail and his eyes focused on the imaginary opponent as he waited for Vixenpaw to do the same.

Jaystream keeps using Leap-and-Hold, dealing 14 damage. Bush is no longer stunned.

Jaystream
100/100 HP
260/280 SP

Bush
-14/??? HP
???/??? SP

OOC: Like you, since the move lasts one more turn, you can keep using without losing any stamina and still doing damage because Leap-and-Hold description says: Can't be hurt while using. Damage inflicted each turn move is in effect.

Vixenpaw smiled at Jaystream and then turned her attention to the bush. She bit down harder on the bush, visualising an enemy cat, then leapt off and dropped into a defensive crouch like her mentor. She kept focused on the bush, ready for any imaginary counter-attacks from the bush.

Vixenpaw keeps using Leap-and-Hold, dealing 6 damage. Bush is no longer stunned.

Vixenpaw
20/20 HP
50/80 SP

Bush
-6/??? HP
???/??? SP

Jaystream turned his body back at Vixenpaw, more relaxed and happy to see that even if fighting wasn't the best ability of the she-cat, the apprentice managed to at least learn the basics that a warrior needed for self-defense. "See? You're not a lousy fighter at all. You just need more practice and little push-up and then you'll be like any other warrior." He said with a fatherly smile as he congratulated all her hard work. She now knew how to fight back, attack and she even learned how to do the defensive crouch without much explanation. That's all that he wanted for her... to be safe and strong enough to stand for her clan and loved ones. Wasn't that the purpose of fighting? At least... that was his. He fought for his clan, for his love, for his apprentices, and for his family. The fight was the only resource he had to protect others.

"Even if you're not the best at battles, Vixenpaw, I can assure if you can be a stronger fighter than you think if you where real strength lies. We don't fight without reasons to do so. You can only be truly strong when you fight for what's right without running away when you fight for who you love and protect the ones you care. That's the purpose of you learning all this stuff. Fighting for just fighting is stupid and for weak-minded. I'm sure you can be more than that, Vixenpaw, and soon you'll become an honorable warrior worthy of Riverclan." Jaystream looked at her with gleaming serious but yet kind eyes. He really hoped his words would reach her as he wanted so she could be better... better than he was in the past.

OOC: I believe that's all I can teach you about the Battle System. Just one more advice: usually in battles with more than two rpers you must respect the order posting and wait until everyone else has posted until you can reply. That's all! Anything you wanna check now that we're here? Also, for your assessment or battle requirement, which one do you prefer?

Vixenpaw listened to Jaystream, enraptured with his words. Her confidence rose as he told her she would be a great warrior one day and she purred. "I understand! I will make you proud, Jaystream."

Ooc: Thanks for the advice. I understand everything concerning hunting and battling, so I'm fine on that front. I'd prefer an assessment. Thank you so much, you're a great help!

The warrior chuckled and with one paw he touched gently her forehead, messing up her fur, fatherly. "You're a great apprentice. I'm already proud of you, Vixenpaw, and I'm sure your mother is too as she watches over you from Starclan. Keep working hard, be loyal and take care of yourself. That would be enough for me." He purred, remembering Willowpetal as he saw her. Even if the tom didn't actually know her very much, he knew she was a kind and lovely warrior, just like Vixenpaw. The least he could do for his gone clanmate was to take care of her daughter and train her properly.

OOC: You're welcome! Every new member should get any help they need ;). Okay, checking Vixenkit's apprentice ceremony, she was officially made an apprentice on October 28th. So, the month requirement should be over on November 28th. We have 18 days before that day so, between that time, I suppose a Gathering will be made. When that happens and you post with Vixenpaw, we will do your assessment and after that, the Moonstone trip. So, all we have to do is wait for the next gathering. You're free to enjoy your time as an apprentice as much as you want! If you ever want to roleplay these two for any reason, pm me and I will be there ;)