shared ground [closed]

In retrospect, it seemed obvious that Stormbringer couldn’t lead every patrol Snowpaw went on. Being deputy of a Clan with so few warriors kept her busy enough, even without him and Tawnypaw to teach. On top of that, the first hurdle in his training had already presented itself: no matter how well leaf-bare hid his pelt, it couldn’t disguise his unpracticed steps. At least the fish couldn’t hear him. Being asked to patrol the borders rather than hunt hadn’t surprised him, but since he’d found out who his patrolmate would be, he’d kind-of-sort-of been dreading it. If Torrentstar’s…if Torrentstar had managed to leave Snowpaw unsettled, he could only guess how his ever-anxious father would respond.

Part of him refused to relax even now, and insisted on sneaking glances in Addershade’s direction every so often. The rest of him, however, had decided this was a perfect opportunity to show his father just how well he’d been doing. That was the part that shone brightest as the two of them drew nearer to the Gorge. Snowpaw raised his head, opening his mouth to speak—and suddenly, a new scent was there. His mouth snapped shut. He couldn’t put names to most scents yet, but it was too strong to be old, too unfamiliar to be RiverClan’s. Which Clan did they share the Gorge with, again? The white-furred tom wrinkled his nose. After a moment, he gave up on remembering and flicked his tail against his father’s side. ”Hey, Dad? What’s that?”

Crowspirit was oblivious to the other cats, eyes bright as he neared the gorge. “I’m sure your mentor has showed you this already, Smallpaw. But did he tell you younger cats like to make a competition of jumping the gorge?” He took a running start, leaping over and grinning. “Naturally I’m pretty great at it. It’s a little bit in RiverClan’s territory, but as long as no cat’s around it’s fi-“

Suddenly, he seemed to realize his situation. Stupid, why didn’t he check? Now he was face-to-face with a RiverClan warrior and apprentice. He gave a sheepish grin, tail and head ducked as he eyed the RiverClanners. “Don’t mind me, just, uh, showing my son around?” Oh, now he was in for it. These two didn’t seem like the type to mess around, either.

Smallpaw followed his father to the gorge, finally feeling worry free after what seemed like moons. His steps seemed lighter, and a weight felt like it was lifted off his shoulders. As the pair neared the gorge, he didn't want this patrol to end. "Yeah, I've b-been here before." He mewed, relishing the gust of wind blowing from behind him. He watched as he saw his father leap over the gorge, going on about how it should be okay if there's no cats around to notice. "You s-said that there's competitions about jumping o-over this g-gorge?" He asked, peeking over the side. Down below he saw a raging river and many jagged rocks. If some cat fell in there, they'd be done for. "That doesn't seem v-very safe to me. This g-gorge has been known t-to kill cats." The apprentice himself knew that his father could be trusted with jumping over the narrow valley, but many cats he knew, including himself, probably wouldn't be the best at the sport. Plus, it was leading straight into enemy territory.

He looked up at his father to just see his point being proved. Crowspirit had found himself practically nose to nose with a small Riverclan patrol, consisting of an apprentice and a warrior. Would he ever get a break from fights? Smallpaw sighed and proceeded to jump over the mighty gorge, giving himself a long head start to ensure that he would make it across. He landed safely on the other side and stood proudly next to his father. Though he was still a nervous cat overall, the apprentice no longer felt as much worry during fights due to his multiple encounters with other clan cats at borders, in which he was forced to fight. And just because a Riverclan patrol had come along doesn't mean that he was going to let them break his best mood in moons.

Many of Addershade's kits were apprentices now, which meant they were going to be going out into a dangerous world. And he knew there was nothing he could do about that, not really. It was a part of life; he couldn't stop them from growing up. Still, he was grateful to have been assigned to patrol with his son. Maybe he couldn't do much to protect him...but StarClan knew he would do what he could. He just hoped nothing would go wrong.

But of course, as always, it did, as Addershade found himself and his son face to face with two WindClanners.

There was no doubt in his mind that these cats would start a fight. It didn't matter to him if they didn't sound like that was their intention. Addershade assumed anyone and everyone could be a threat in the right scenario. And if they were willing to trespass, they'd probably be willing to attack. He couldn't let them get the advantage of attacking first. Not when he had his son with him.

"Please stay behind me, Snowpaw..." Addershade spoke quietly and shot the apprentice a worried glance.

"You should not be here," Addershade took a step forward, his voice in a low growl. In a swift movement he slashed at the WindClan warrior, his claws connecting lightly with the other tom's shoulder. He tried now to make the wound too serious; he didn't really want to hurt him too badly, and he didn't really want to start a full blown fight if he could avoid it. He was hoping if he made a show of strength, and convinced the other cats that they meant business, they'd decide it wasn't worth the trouble and just leave.

But what good had hoping ever done?


Addershade used Front Paw Strike on Crowspirit, dealing 11 damage and costing 10 stamina

Addershade:
HP: 60/60
SP: 190/200 (-10)

Crowspirit
HP: 29/40 (-11)
SP: 120/120

A heartbeat after he’d asked the question, Snowpaw got part of an answer: a black-and-gray cat jumped over the Gorge, landing neatly on their side with a grin stretched over his muzzle, and the odd scent abruptly grew stronger. As the warrior’s grin turned from proud to sheepish, Snowpaw stared up at him. Sure, he couldn’t quite recall which Clan lived on the other side of this border, but he knew where the border itself was. Being split into halves made it easy to remember. This was trespassing. This was what border patrols were for! A smaller, lighter-furred tom (the warrior’s son?) stopped beside the warrior; standing on tiptoe, Snowpaw puffed out his chest.

Addershade whispered something to him. However badly Snowpaw wanted to think he’d misheard, he knew he hadn’t, especially when he saw the all-too-familiar look on his father’s face. Something like hurt flashed in his eyes. ”Stay behind me”? What little he knew about self-defense, he'd learned from one of RiverClan’s strongest. Of course, that didn't make him a younger version of Stormbringer, but as stung as he was, that fact didn't matter. It was two against one. Without him, it wouldn't be fair. I know how to fight! Why won’t you let me—

Then it clicked. That hurt morphed into solid, sharp resolve. …Let me show you. Wasn’t that half the point of this patrol? An experienced cat might have seen how shallow Addershade’s blow had been; Snowpaw only saw a paw lashing out. The battle had begun. "Sorry, Dad," he murmured, and launched himself at the shorter trespasser. All at once, he remembered the Gorge behind them. Horror punctured his determination—only briefly, but it was enough. Skidding to a stop before they could collide, he attempted to rake his claws across Smallpaw’s shoulder instead, mimicking what his father had done.

Snowpaw used Front Paw Strike on Smallpaw, dealing 6 damage and using 10 stamina.

Snowpaw
15/15 HP
40/50 SP (-10)

Smallpaw
14/20 HP (-6)
80/80 SP

Crowspirit recoiled in surprise- he through that the RiverClanners might give them a chance to apologize and retreat, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Then again, he had just announced that WindClanners did it regularly. But he wasn’t really breaking the rules, was he? It wasn’t like he wanted to try and go past the little stretch of ground on the other side of the gorge. He wasn’t about to catch their fish or find their camp.

But, it seemed that the opinion of these other cats was that trespassing was trespassing, and now Crowspirit was paying the price. The other warrior was bigger and stronger than him, but at least Smallpaw seemed evenly matched.

If he had any hope of winning this fight, he had to use speed and determination. So he shot forward, rearing, and brought his claws down on the other tom’s shoulders. He didn’t really want to hurt the other warrior badly, but he had attacked first. The attack wasn’t as vicious as it could have been, and the younger tom kept his claws far from the other warrior’s face and ears. Nothing lasting, unless his opponent tried to do something like that to him first.

Crowspirit used Rear-up-to-slash, dealing 9 Damage and using 15 Stamina.

Crowspirit
29/40 HP
105/120 SP
Addershade
51/60 HP
190/200 SP

Smallpaw backed up a bit when the opposing warrior aimed a blow at Crowspirit's shoulder. Immediately, the gorge came to his mind. He turned around and saw that there was a moderate amount of distance between the tussle and the great valley. He let out a sight of relief. This meant that there was a smaller chance of some cat falling in. After all, he and his father hadn't been looking for a fight, and if Smallpaw could help it he'd avoid a fight. But it looked like there was no way out of this one.

He turned back around to the sight of the other apprentice flying at him. Fear flooded him as thoughts of hanging off of the side of the gorge filled his mind. He assumed the Riverclanner had thought of the same thing, as instead of barreling into Smallpaw like it had seemed he wanted to do, he'd come to a halt before they crashed into each other. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt razor sharp claws slashing his shoulder open, and looked over to see a small gash. Not as bad as he'd expected, but that didn't mean it didn't still cause pain. It seemed as though the other patrol didn't want to cause harm either, only to prove a point. Even so, they wouldn't let he and his father leave, so they had no choice but to fight. Not a moment after his opponent had attacked him, he returned the favor by raking his claws down the larger apprentice's shoulder, imitating what he'd just done.



Smallpaw used Front Paw Strike on Snowpaw, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 stamina

Smallpaw
14/20 HP
70/80 SP (-10)

Snowpaw
09/15 HP (-6)
40/50 SP

Addershade watched as his son launched at the WindClan apprentice.

No! No! This is exactly what I wanted to avoid! he thought in a panic He's--he's--he's going to get hurt-- and it will be my fault. It'll be all my fault. Why didn't I just...let these cats be? Of course that plan backfired! And now we're fighting, because of course we are, because--

Claws came crashing down onto the dark-pelted warrior, and he quickly realized he didn't have time to think through all of this right now-- they were in a full-on fight now. Addershade launched himself at his opponent in a decidedly more aggressive attack this time, rearing up and striking with his unsheathed claws at the WindClan warrior's face. No point in trying to land purposefully weak blows now that it was a real fight. Now, it was about doing whatever it took to end this skirmish as quickly as possible. Before...before his son got seriously hurt....or....or worse

And it would be because of me...

Addershade used Upright Front Paws, dealing 12 damage and costing 20 stamina

Addershade
HP: 51/60
SP: 170/200 (-20)

Crowspirit
HP: 17/40 (-12)
SP: 105/120

Though Snowpaw had seen it before during his lessons, the blood welling where his claws had made contact still startled him. He blinked. That was when the sounds of the first fight caught his attention. Was Addershade strong enough to win this? The other warrior had jumped the Gorge in a single leap, after all, and though Snowpaw knew no Clan cat could get their full name without some battle training, he had never seen his father fight. Was he good? That was sort of hard to imagine, but from what Snowpaw could see—

Claws dug into his own shoulder, a match for how he’d hit Smallpaw, and Snowpaw very nearly howled as if he’d lost a limb. Thankfully, he managed to stifle the worst of the sound; all that escaped was a yelp. Much like his opponent had, he whirled around to assess the damage. The mark was short, but a mark nonetheless. Worse, it was bleeding, all over his tidy white fur. Even if that was a natural side effect of battle, he didn’t have to like it. With a low growl born more of adrenaline than anger, he wheeled around and sprang at Smallpaw as if pouncing on a water vole.

He soon discovered that balancing on a cat smaller than himself was harder than balancing on Stormbringer. Maybe because this was a real fight. Snowpaw buried his claws in Smallpaw’s back and squeezed his eyes shut, focused more on hanging on for dear life than actually attacking.

Snowpaw used Leap-and-Hold on Smallpaw, dealing 6 damage and using 10 stamina. Smallpaw is pinned for 2 turns.

Snowpaw
9/15 HP
30/50 SP (-10)

Smallpaw
8/20 HP (-6)
70/80 SP

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

---

'Effect Dice' : 6

(Whoops only just remembered the auto KO, ignore this))

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

---

'Effect Dice' : 1