and we'll laugh about all that we've lost

Batbite was used to sleepless nights. For most of her life they'd plagued her, and she'd made up for them with short rests in the sunlight when she found the time to spare. Here in the barn, they never seemed to run out of time; but she tried to be awake alongside Strom more often than not.

Which brought her to where she was now, wide awake and outside the barn well before sunhigh after another sleepless night.

("Just because we're here to find peace," she'd explained, "doesn't mean we should let go of what we've learned.")

(Batbite's apprenticeship had taught her many lessons, some harsher than others; and she carried them with her wherever she went. Danger could lurk around any corner, and she wouldn't let any looming shadows take from them the happiness they'd found here.)

"Alright," she said in the present. "Seeing as you've taught me plenty of things, I suppose it's my turn to share what I know. As much as I'd love to teach you all of ThunderClan's fighting techniques, though... I never exactly mastered them myself." A hint of something that might have been disappointment - in herself or something else - crossed her face then. "However, I've taught myself plenty of other things because of that; and I'd like to believe I'm at least as good with trees as the mouse-brain collective that calls itself SkyClan."

(Old habits were hard to break, she supposed; as her desire to mock the tree-dwelling Clan of the forest hadn't faded in the least since she left it.)

She had learned quickly that weakness could be twisted into strength. She lacked power, true; and most cats her age outmatched her in size and strength. But what she lacked in those things, she would choose to believe she more than made up for with skill and intellect. She'd learned to swim, sneak, run and climb. If it wasn't direct combat, she'd probably been practicing it for as long as she could remember.

"You just have to know what you're good at and what you have trouble with, and then you figure out a way to make that work for you. Take advantage of the situation."

It felt nice, she noted, to be lecturing someone else. Even if it was someone she cared deeply for. Perhaps it was simply an aftereffect of having endured so many lectures under Oakstar's guidance (and several more from others, admittedly, but those were far less likely to be related to training).

It also felt pretty nice to explain how she did things. But if it were her listening, she'd probably be tuning all this out by now, so she supposed she'd talked long enough.

"Show me what you can do, Strom," she purred, standing as tall as she could.

(Which, admittedly, wasn't very tall.)

It was an open invitation to attack. She trusted him not to do any lasting damage, after all; sparring was a simple enough concept, and in her opinion doing was the best way to learn.

Strom listened as Batbite talked, nodding as she explained exactly why they were there. There's always room for a few more skills.... And, to be honest, he genuinely was curious as to how ThunderClan moves varied from RiverClan's. Getting taught by Bat, too, would be interesting. He gave an amused snort at her referral to SkyClan, struggling and failing to keep a smile off his face.

"You just have to know what you're good at and what you have trouble with, and then you figure out a way to make that work for you. Take advantage of the situation."

He nodded, keeping his paws solid underneath him, but with a bit of bend. That's something I could do with listening to a bit more. He couldn't help remembering the times he'd fought in a real battle - pretty much every single one had ended with him on the short end, reeling and wounded, but more importantly, defeated. Even with his best efforts, every tactic and move he'd ever been taught, he'd still failed and lost. It's time I learnt my strengths, and improved my weaknesses.

To be honest, it was something he suddenly looked very much forward to.

He smiled back as she stood tall, beckoning him to start the sparring match. Quick as a fish, he slipped forward, swiping a sheathed paw across her shoulder, making sure not to hit too hard, but still firmly.

Strom used Front Paw Strike, Dealing -6 in Damage & Costing -10 in Stamina.

Strom:
20/20 HP
70/80 SP

Batbite:
34/40 HP
120/120 SP

Batbite withstood the attack. It was necessary for what she had planned, after all. Slowly, she backed up, and suddenly raced forward; launching herself at her opponent. She pinned Strom down with her paws, though with her small size she wasn't sure how long she could hold it for. "Excellent, for a first try," she offered teasingly.

Batbite used Leap-and-Hold, dealing 8 damage and costing 10 stamina. Strom is pinned for one turn.

Strom:
12/20 HP
70/80 SP

Batbite:
34/40 HP
110/120 SP

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

---

'Effect Dice' : 2

"Oomph!" Strom grunted, stunned, as Batbite leapt on top of him. Though her weight wasn't much, it still kept him pinned as the grass pressed up against his chin. Annoyed at himself for not seeing it coming, he bunched up his muscles, breaking the pin and stumbling back to his paws, panting to get his breath back and wincing slightly. "I think I should have been a bit more adventurous...."

Strom is no longer pinned.

"Maybe so," Batbite agreed, batting at him with much less force than before. This was meant to be a lesson after all, not just a beatdown. Though she was enjoying the opportunity to show off a little more than she probably should. "But you have a chance to do that now, don't you?"

Batbite used Front Paw Blow, dealing 6 damage and costing 5 stamina.

Strom:
6/20 HP
70/80 SP

Batbite:
34/40 HP
105/120 SP

Strom saw her paw flash out of the corner of his eye. In a flash, he swayed back out of reach, the tip of her paw ruffling his fur. Sending her a smile as he stepped back again, he crouched low, watching for her next move as he fell back to a defensive position. If I try to attack now, I'll probably miss. Best just to hunker down and try to dodge. His eyes twinkled as he said, out loud, "I hope so. Depends on whether I get flattened again, though."

Strom used Dodge-and-fight (without the fight part), using 15 of SP and dodging Batbite's attack!

Strom
HP: 12/20
SP: 55/80

Batbite
HP: 34/40
SP: 105/120

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

---

'Effect Dice' : 3

"You're improving already," Batbite admitted, though that didn't stop her lunging at him again. "The ability to avoid your opponent's attacks is a very important one to remember."

Batbite used Front Paw Strike, dealing 8 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Strom
HP: 4/20
SP: 55/80

Batbite
HP: 34/40
SP: 95/120

Strom felt her paw connect, a solid hit he couldn't avoid. Not this time. And this, He thought as he tensed his muscles, is why I need extra training. It had been too long since he'd last fought against someone in a real fight, one he had an actual chance in - however slight that chance was - and now he was finding just how out of practice he truly was. Not to mention the past few sunrises of generally lazing around. Already he could feel his limbs beginning to slow, his breath coming harder.

But he wasn't going down without a fight; not now that he was into it, anyway.

"It's not easy to replicate, though," He panted, eyeing her as he crouched down slightly, preparing himself. "And not exactly the most useful."

Leaping forwards, he attempted to tackle her to the ground, though not as hard as he would have in a real fight.

Strom used Belly-Rake, dealing 7 of damage and costing 10 stamina.

Strom
HP: 4/20
SP: 45/80

Batbite
HP: 27/40
SP: 95/120

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

---

'Effect Dice' : 2

"So you say," Batbite replied, observing his movements. As she attacked, though, she easily sidestepped and darted out of range. "But that depends on your strategy, doesn't it? This is something I learned in ThunderClan." She'd learned to use her size to her advantage over time. She wasn't that small, not really, but compared to how large some of her Clanmates had been... Well. It was easy to dodge low when your opponent was aiming high. "Try again. I won't run this time." Not that she could, she thought to herself. She wouldn't be able to pull off another display like that until she caught her breath, at least.

Batbite used Lightning Reflexes, dodging the move and costing 10 stamina!

Strom
HP: 4/20
SP: 45/80

Batbite
HP: 34/40
SP: 85/120 (-10)

Strom stumbled as she darted out of the way, his whiskers leaping forwards in surprise as the momentum from his leap propelled him forwards and he nearly landed flat on his face. He skidded to a stop, turning to face her, his tail twitching behind him slightly as a halfway ashamed smile grew on his face. Of course two could play at that game. Too cocky.

But then, he'd always had a tendency to be a little too sure of himself.

He shook his head, admiration mixing with the shame. "They don't call you ThunderClan for nothing. I don't think I've ever seen a cat move so fast." He shook his pelt out as he straightened, turning to face her fully.

"Try again. I won't run this time."

A smile twitched at the corner of his maw. This sparring match was beginning to remind him of training with Mottledspark. Except that had been a lot more punishing, and Mottledspark had been a grizzled old tom, not, well, Batbite.

But that wasn't what he should be thinking about now. So he shook the thoughts from his head, leaping forwards and knocking her to the ground.

Strom used Leap-and-Hold, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 stamina! Batbite is pinned for 1 turn.

Strom
HP: 4/20
SP: 35/80 (-10)

Batbite
HP: 28/40 (-6)
SP: 85/120

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

---

'Effect Dice' : 3

"I think you're finally starting to get the idea," Batbite huffed as she was pinned down. He was bigger than her, so she couldn't overpower him to escape the hold; instead resigning herself to this position for the moment. "Excellent work."

Batbite is no longer pinned.