The Apprentice Games [For All of Skyclan]

Blossomheart gasped. Her apprentice! "Will she be okay, Mintpaw? Do you need me to get something?" Her eyes darted to the tired grey tom who was following. "Willowflight, you obviously need rest. Don't worry, there's enough of us that we can handle it." She darted up to the fox, reared up, and clawed it. She slipped away to gather a few cobwebs. Then she retreated back to where her apprentice lay bleeding and put some cobwebs on. She knew that cobwebs helped stop bleeding.

Blossomheart used Upright Front Paws, dealing 11 damage and using 20 stamina!

Blossom
45/45
140/160

Fox
11/90
270/290

Mintpaw looked up, her murky green eyes wide as other warriors and apprentices showed up. Although the little apprentice wanted to let herself feel secure, she knew that she had to stay on guard. Foxes were unpredictable, and who knew what could happen if it suddenly charged? "Yes- Tigerpaw, you have to help me get her out of here, and back to camp." Despite the situation, Mintpaw's stutter completely disappeared. Her usually squeaky voice was low and authoritative. Mintpaw couldn't hunt, but she could thrive under pressure. "Are you strong enough to carry her on your own? I need to run ahead and get my supplies ready."

Tigerpaw's yellow eyes flicked from Mintpaw to Ripplepaw. The latter apprentice had regained her consciousness and her eyes were open, but it was clear that she would not be able to return to camp on her own. For a few seconds, Tigerpaw chewed gently on the inside of her mouth, eyeing Ripplepaw with uncertainty. Then she gave a firm nod. "Yes, I should be able to." She mewed. Her voice had a determination in it that usually wasn't present. Although she wasn't a particularly large cat, she was older than Ripplepaw and had been an apprentice for a longer period of time. Different from Mintpaw who was a medicine cat, she spent most of her time training to become a strong warrior that could protect SkyClan. She should be strong enough to carry Ripplepaw on her own. If she wanted to help her younger sister, there was no more time for hesitation.

The vixen snarled and shook her head as claws met her pelt, and a low growl rumbled from her chest as the warrior stood and charged towards her, digging his claws into her back. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t shake him off. Her struggles were definitely growing weaker, but there was no way she would back down now. She would get her meal, or she would die trying. When the older cat clawed her again, the red beast couldn’t hold back a wild screech of agony. She had to keep going! Yet another cat came and ripped at her pelt, her blood scattering across the floor as she shook to get free and fight these troublesome cats.

Fox is no longer stunned.

~~~~~~~~~

Ripplepaw grit her teeth to keep from crying. Her leg hurt like the Dark Forest, but she was reassured by the cats surrounding her. She tried to smile at Tigerpaw, Blossomheart and Mintpaw, but because of her pain, it just looked like she had toothache. She blinked a few times more, her ears flattened at the viscous snarling coming from the fox’s direction. If any of her Clanmates died because of her, she would never forgive herself.

Blossomheart licked her apprentice. "You'll be okay, Ripplepaw, don't you worry one bit..."

Echo was stunned for a moment when the fox snarled. Then she slid her small body under the fox before it could attack and raked its belly.

Echo used Belly Rake, dealing 7 damage and costing 10 stamina

Echo
20/20 HP
60/80 SP

Fox
4/90 HP
270/290 SP

Mumblefoot's claws dug in with every ounce of strength he had. The way the creature thrashed and bucked made it hard to focus and push away the fear. Right now, they had the upper paw. But, he didn't think about that as the vixen threw itself sideways. His grip loosened slightly, unbalancing him. Before he lost it entirely, one forepaw darted forwards to tear at its ear as best as he could from that position. Instead of allowing himself to get thrown once more, the warrior leaped to the side and landed squarely on all forepaw. He only stumbled slightly as the blood loss got worse. Adrenaline still drove him on for the attack, wounds would matter later. He had never imagined he would be a cat to think that, and yet, here he was, unconsciously registering the thought. Before he could attack, the warrior watched as he father lunged forwards and sunk his teeth into their opponent.

Mumblefoot used front paw strike, dealing 9 damage and using 10 stamina.

Mumblefoot
25/45 HP
140/160 SP

Fox
KO'd

As Rippedsky's teeth snapped around the fox's throat, they tore easily through the flesh and veins there. Almost immediately, blood poured from the deadly move. After he felt the life ebb away from the vixen and its snarls die out, he dropped it to the ground. Upon standing up, the deputy spat a mouth full of blood into the ground. Patches of fur that were once white on his maw, chest, and paws were now stained a deep scarlet. For a moment, he stood and simply looked at the fox to make sure it didn't move. Although, as soon as he was reassured, the black and white tom turned to survey the rest of the scene.

Rippedsky used killing bite. Fox is heckin dead.

It looked as if Mintpaw and a couple of their clanmates had already set to work on getting Ripplepaw back to the medicine cat's den. Good. The apprentice seemed to stir as they left, indicating she would be okay, but she still needed assistance and rest. One glance at Mumblefoot told him the warrior likely needed to go after them, "You fought bravely, Mumblefoot. Go back with them. Don't risk that getting too bad."

Congratulating his youngest son on bravery was something he had thought he would never do. The little, tailless warrior had never exhibited anything other than fear in his youth. But, in learning to take on responsibilities and care for others, it seemed he was shaping up into being a productive warrior. Ever since their trip to the moonstone, the effort had been there. He dipped his head to the younger tom before turning back. Thankfully, they were far enough away that the kits were spared from the carnage. For a moment, he considered if it would be best to send everyone back to camp now. Although, this was just daily life. Fighting and skirmishes and wounds were part of clan life. They needed to push through. Mintpaw would handle things. Besides, the next game would only serve to sharpen their battle skills.

"Willowflight," he meowed, still not believing that name left his maw to address the cat that had been dead to him for so long, "there is prey back with the rest of the clan, you can eat and rest there. Blossomheart, gather the rest of the apprentices. Russetpelt, Dandeliondapple, and I will determine the winner of this round and we will continue on." Rippedsky walked next to his oldest son, prepared to support the exhausted tom by any means possible. They would discuss specifics of his return later, for now, he was just glad to have them back.
__

Mumblefoot nodded to his father, but couldn't muster any words to say. He was in utter disbelief of what had just happened. The pounding in his veins died down and he padded towards where he faintly remembered hearing some cat call Drizzlekit's name. He would check on her first before heading towards camp where Mintpaw would help to patch him up. Pain seemed to radiate from the wound on the back of his neck and his head seemed to swim a bit, but it wasn't as awful as he had expected. Really bad, but not deadly. For the first time in his life, the tom had faced his greatest fear and won out--pain.

"What are you doing here, Drizzlekit? I told you to stay back. You could have been injured... or worse!" At the sight of his kit, Mumblefoot quickly realized what had happened. He practically hissed at her, although, he couldn't bring himself to do it. The black and white tom shot a thankful look to Brokenpaw as he sighed, "I-I'm sorry... you just need to listen, okay? I can't let anything back happen to you." Panic and relief seemed to ebb and flow as he processed through the situation. Regardless, he was just reassured by the fact his kit hadn't gotten in the way of the fox. He had managed to keep her safe, along with the other cats who fought.

(ooc: bump. where my skyclan ppl at. we still have some battles to do boyes. time to beat your clanmates)

Brokenpaw sighed with relief that Drizzlekit had stopped chasing after Mumblefoot, and stayed out of harms way. He nodded back to Mumblefoot at his recognition, and then slowly turned back to the other apprentices.

Blossomheart was beginning to gather all the apprentices, and so Brokenpaw walked quietly to where the group seemed to be gathering, still taking in all that had happened a little numbly. He had been confused before when the new cat had showed up, but he was more worried now for those who had been hurt badly. And he was thankful that his mentor had put an end to the fox with the help of the others. If only all the clans worked together perhaps they would be better able to defend themselves when attacks came, especially when they were in the middle of training exercises with young cats about.

Keeping all this stored inside himself, Brokenpaw stole glances up from the ground as he thought, and waited to hear what would happen next.

Blossomheart nodded. "Alright apprentices, gather round! We want to move on to the next part, right?"