Warrior Pride (Beechpaw/Rainstrike)

It had been only a day since his clan had settled at Twoleg place. Wounds were being treated, as well as smoke inhalation by a good portion of the warriors. Dawnpaw's training had been put aside, as his mentor was desperately needed elsewhere. Left with nothing to do, Dawnpaw decided to explore a bit. He wasn't going to go far, and he would probably be within yowling distance of his clan. Probably. The curious nose and eyes of the Skyclan apprentice drew him forward through the ruins of an old twoleg nest. He smelled and smelled, but no fresh Twoleg trails ever came to him. He climbed onto old Monster feet, walked around on them curiously for a few seconds, then jumped off of them and started looking for more things to look at. What an odd, interesting place this was. It was vastly different from the forest...

Dawnpaw needed a distraction like this... the burning of his home and seeing the burns on his father had been... a bit much. He knew he ought not to wander too far, but everything here was so alien. So fascinating. His brain buzzed with excitement and endorphins that it had been lacking for quite some time now. He was at least smart enough to creep around quietly and keep his ears rotating around for noise. He also inhaled through his nostrils and parted his mouth to detect danger, not completely trusting this new place just yet. What a perfect place to just be left alone... Hopefully. I'd love to just hide on one of these dead monsters and work on my words. He still didn't know what the thing was called where words were woven together to sound.... harmonious. One day he would know, he hoped.

Beechpaw eyed the abandoned twoleg nest uneasily. The clan needed food and herbs, and finding either would be helpful at this point. Dad was injured, Adderpaw was injured. Smokefeather's coughing was likely to scare off any prey if she tried hunting. The number of completely healthy Skyclan cats at this point was abysmal, if she had anything to say about it.

Beechpaw worried about them. She'd been helping Sagelight with what she could, but it didn't feel like it was enough. Going to the Moonstone for a formality was pointless now, so she was still technically Wolfcall's apprentice. Still a warrior apprentice. She wasn't quite sure how to feel about it anymore. For now at least, she could continue to hunt and fight as any other warrior. But she knew Sagelight hadn't forgotten about their conversation before the fire. Nor would he forget that she was trying to help where she could.

Ears swiveling back in irritation at the intrusive thoughts on her mind, Beechpaw prowled forward carefully, dark eyes flitting around the ruins with a wary curiosity. Hopefully there would be a bit of prey hidden in the decrepit den. Grass sprang up through cracks in the less-than smooth gray stone, and a the large paws of a monster lay off to one side. She caught the scent of Skyclan and paused. Dawnpaw, but she had no wish to interact with him at the moment. Their arguments seemed wholly irrelevant with the current situation that Skyclan was in, and there were more important things to do.

The faint sound of paws against the ground had the apprentice lifting her head and looking behind her, dark eyes searching for what had made the noise.

It was no surprise to Rainstrike that SkyClan had chosen Twolegplace to flee to. Though it was nothing like the forest, life was sustainable here, something she'd learned in her time since being exiled from ThunderClan. It had been hard at first, but she'd grown quite fond of the solitary lifestyle, and by now knew the ins and outs of Twolegplace as well as the very forest in which she'd been born. Little by little, the former warrior had been prioritizing her new home over her old one. Yes, she still quite often haunted the territory looking for victims to add to her resume, but not with quite a fervent desperation as she had before.

But since the clan of tree-cats had moved in on her new territory, Rainstrike was hopelessly curious. She wanted to get close, to find out who had died, who had not... to gather information that could be useful to her in the future. But she was unsure which cats knew about her exile. She knew that SkyClan had missed the latest gathering, and unless Oakstar had sent a messenger to announce her banishment, it was unlikely... but, still. Best to err on the side of caution.

So she'd lingered around the general area, avoiding direct contact with the SkyClanners but watching as they slowly grew bolder and bolder, advancing from the ruin of the Twoleg nest they'd claimed little by little. And now, what did she see, but an apprentice out on its own, with no warrior in sight. From her position sprawled beneath a thick bush, she could see the little silver tabby moving about, rightfully guarded. Rainstrike's one ear slicked to the side in thought. Was it worth the risk? What could she truly learn from a mere apprentice?

Eventually, though, her curiosity got the better of her, and Rainstrike stretched to her feet, deliberately loud pawsteps sounding behind Beechpaw as she approached. "SkyClan's seen better days, that's for sure," she said just as the she-cat looked over her shoulder, and Rainstrike's ruined face was there, the scarred right side long healed but still hideous. She flicked her tail, observing the apprentice with her single eye. "Though you'd think they'd know better than to send an apprentice out on their own, in unfamiliar territory. Are you truly that desperate?"

Dawnpaw hopped up onto a statue, though he didn't know the proper term for it, of a broken angel with a good portion of the upper left part of the body missing. It had broken and crumbled at some point in time, but for Dawnpaw it was a perfect spot to perch. He jumped up to it and scrabbled his claws a bit on the rough, weather-worn surface. He managed to climb up the broken side of it... and thats when his eyes landed on Beechpaw and... an unknown cat of warrior age. Dawnpaw froze in place, his body and tail hanging off the angel statue as if he was one of the angel's wings. Unsure of what was about to transpire, Dawnpaw was content to just watch for now. Still, his fur bristled and he held back a growl in his throat once the adult cat began to talk.

She sounded far from friendly.... If she dared to hurt Beechpaw, Dawnpaw for once thought he might actually get mad enough to peel the skin right off of another cat, maybe even go in for a killing bite.

Beechpaw's eyes landed on the cat that had approached, fur along her spine immediately rising defensively in response to the tone of the cat in question. The she-cat was older, larger, and looked like she'd seen better days. Her ruined face might've made the apprentice take a step back if she hadn't seen enough injuries recently. At least it seemed healed over. Either way, the stranger's possible difficulties weren't her concern.

Skyclan, desperate? Well, the rogue wasn't wrong. Not that Beechpaw would dare say so. "I don't see how it's any of your business, rogue." She growled in response, claws scratching at the ground as the fluffy apprentice eyed the silver and white cat apprehensively.

Beechpaw was aware that her words and tone weren't particularly diplomatic, but it seemed like this strange she-cat didn't much care for diplomacy either if she was going to just belittle Skyclan and joke about an apprentice being out on their own.

Beechpaw knew that her brother was near, or had been recently, but doubted he'd help her in a situation like this. Nor would she turn her head and look for him, just in case the rogue tried attacking her while her focus was elsewhere. The rogue's presence had the apprentice on edge more than she'd already been in the unfamiliar ruins of twolegplace.

A short, bark of a chuckle escaped Rainstrike at Beechpaw's insolent response, and the rogue eyed her up and down, moving closer and letting a smirk play at her lips at the apprentice's absolute refusal to look away. Her gaze flicked upward, behind Beechpaw, to see if perhaps she wasn't alone after all, but Rainstrike saw nothing. What to do, what to do? Her eyes narrowed in thought. She could tear this SkyClan apprentice in half without a whole lot of effort, but can and should warred for position in the front of her mind.

"It's my business, apprentice, because you're not in the forest anymore." Rainstrike bared her teeth, moving close enough to Beechpaw for her breath to wash over her face. "You're in my territory now, and you might want to show a little bit of respect-" the last bit of her sentence was strained as she lunged forward, slashing her claws across Beechpaw's chest.

Rainstrike used Rending Front Paws on Beechpaw, dealing 13 damage and costing 25 stamina.

Rainstrike:
HP 55/55
SP 145/170 (-25)

Beechpaw:
HP 7/20 (-13)
SP 80/80

Dawnpaw brought himself slowly up to the broken shoulder of the statue and his ears flattened back against his head. Beechpaw was showing bravery, but... what chance did she have against that thing? Dawnpaw's claws unsheathed and his nose wrinkled to reveal fangs beneath his lips. If you touch my sister your dirty piece of- A flash of a paw and the sound of flesh breaking under claws. Dawnpaw practically flew from the statue as The Dark Forest-sent fury burned away any conscious thought of who he was, where he was, and even time and space dissolved into the void. He couldn't recall the run toward the mutilated cat. All he knew was that one moment he was on the statue and the next he was barreling his entire being into the side of the clanless cat, claws flying and teeth looking to seek purchase on any piece of flesh he could find.

"How brave of you..." His voice rumbled and scratched, no longer the smooth, honey-like voice he typically had. Despite the anger that completely overtook every fiber and nerve-ending in his being, Dawnpaw's tone was level and fairly calm. It didn't match the wrinkled, twisted and even slightly contorted expression plastered on his face. The apprentice appeared to have aged endlessly, all within a fraction of a second. "An adult cat sucker-scratching a cat less than half their age." Dawnpaw moved himself to guard his sister, but she would be free to move around as she wished.

Dawnpaw used Run and Tackle, dealing 9 (6 initially, +3 for a surprise attack bonus) damage and -10SP

Dawnpaw
20HP / 70SP (-10SP)

Beechpaw
7HP / 80SP

Rainstrike
46HP / 145SP (-9HP)

Beechpaw's ears flattened as a low growl rumbled in her chest. The rogue stepped closer, and the apprentice deliberately took a step back in order to give herself room and to avoid the she-cat's breath. Beechpaw's lips peeled back into a snarl of her own at the talk of 'respect' the rogue seemed to think she deserved, but her reply was lost as the she-cat suddenly lunged forward.

Beechpaw stumbled back as blood immediately welled from the claws that had found their way past thick fur and sank into her chest. Before she could react, Dawnpaw was barreling into the she-cat. Beechpaw blinked for a moment, stunned. Was he... defending her?

She couldn't just leave him to fight the rogue on his own. They might have had their differences, might have even fought each other in the not-so-distant past, but they were family. Clanmates. She could fight alongside him now and think on what this all meant later. Regaining her footing, Beechpaw lunged forward as well, aiming unsheathed claws at her attacker's underside.

Beechpaw used Belly Rake on Rainstrike, costing -10 SP and dealing -7 damage.

Dawnpaw
20 / 20 HP
70 / 80 SP

Beechpaw
7 / 20 HP
70 / 80 SP (-10)

Rainstrike
39 / 55 HP (46 - 7)
145 / 170 SP

Rainstrike seemed unfazed by the second apprentice's appearance, and took his tackle with a lowered shoulder and a grunt of exertion, her claws grinding against the ground as she forced herself to keep footing. The sting of Beechpaw's claws against her belly caused a hiss to erupt from gritted teeth, and the former ThunderClanner leaped to the side, tail lashing, and rounding to face both apprentices. She kept herself far enough away to see them both through her one eye, a ghoulish smirk creeping across her ruined face. "Brave?" Rainstrike turned to stare at Dawnpaw with a short, derisive laugh.

"Bravery is a fool's prerogative, kit. Out here in the real world, there are only two options: survival, and death."

As she finished her last word, Rainstrike dashed forward, initially looking to go for Dawnpaw, but changing direction last second to lash out at Beechpaw again, instead. She sheathed her paw and hit the she-cat with a massive glancing blow from one powerful forepaw.

Rainstrike used Front Paw Blow on Beechpaw, costing 5 SP and dealing 9 damage. Beechpaw is KO'd.

Dawnpaw
20/20 HP
70/80 SP

Beechpaw
0/20 HP (-9)
70/80 SP

Rainstrike
39/55 HP
140/170 SP (-5)

Dawnpaw glanced at Beechpaw as she, rather swiftly, dove in for an attack and landed it. Dawnpaw's eyes locked with the lone cat's and a growl ripped from his throat. He listened to her speak, but his face never changed. She zipped forward and smacked Beechpaw again, which brought a fresh wave a burning wrath crashing through his bloodstream.

"Then you have breathed your last, you fox-hearted rat." His voice rumbled and gurgled his words before he dashed forward. Dawnpaw leaped high into the air and reached his grasping foreclaws forward to bury them up to his first knuckle into the lone cat's flesh. Unzip the fur. Peel back the skin. Expose the red muscle beneath.

Dawnpaw used leap and hold, as this is now a 1v1, dealing 6 damage and -10SP

Dawnpaw
20HP / 60SP (-10SP)

Rainstrike
Stunned for 1 turn
33HP / 140SP (-6HP)

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

---

'Effect Dice' : 3

Beechpaw didn't bother to respond to the she-cat's threat. It was meant to be a distraction, and would waste energy she could use to fight instead. And with the way her chest felt, she needed to really focus.

The rogue charged forward, towards Dawnpaw. Beechpaw tensed and would've leapt to block the she-cat from attacking her brother- Beechpaw was larger, stronger than Dawnpaw was after all- but the gray and white rogue changed direction before she could really move.

A sheathed paw slammed into her face, sending the fluffy apprentice stumbling back a few paces. Beechpaw tasted blood in her mouth, hers, she realized dimly. She struggled to her paws for a brief moment, driven to fight on, but between the agony of her chest and head, even Beechpaw realized that she was not going to be able to do much else except to lay there and attempt to catch her breath. And hope that Dawnpaw wasn't going to pay the price for her own failings.

Beechpaw -knocked out of the fight-
0/20 HP
70/80 SP

Dawnpaw
20/20 HP
60/80 SP

Rainstrike
33/55 HP
140/170 SP

((This ends my part with Beech, at least till the fight is officially over and these poor apprentices need to help each other back to camp lol))

The she-cat apprentice crumpled beneath the blow of her paw, and Rainstrike smirked, whirling around to face the other - but Dawnpaw had already decided to charge, and he met her as she was midstride, catching her off guard enough that she stumbled as he latched onto her, his claws digging deep into the muscle. Rainstrike snarled, stumbling forward again as she tried to shake him off but he held fast, and she was winded from the connection.

"I went easy on your friend, but I think I'll take my time with you," she snarled.

Rainstrike is stunned for this turn.

Beechpaw
0/20 HP
70/80 SP

Dawnpaw
20/20 HP
60/80 SP

Rainstrike
33/55 HP
140/170 SP

Dawnpaw ignored the words coming from the foul cat's mouth. Nothing she had to say would matter to him anyway. He allowed himself to slide down her ribs with his claws still firmly in her. Once he had slid around to her stomach, he unsheathed his claws and kicked away, allowing all of his rage to control his body. If her insides spilled out like that raccoon's had, then he'd wear her insides around his neck like a trophy back to camp.

Dawnpaw used Belly Rake, dealing 7 damage and -10SP

Dawnpaw
20HP / 50SP (-10SP)

Rainstrike
26HP / 140SP (-7HP)

After a moment of rest, which the apprentice used to his advantage to rake at her from above, Rainstrike surged upwards, four feet all leaving the ground at once. The younger cat was below her now, and she landed barely a mouse-length away from him, whipping around at once and rearing up to slash her claws across his shoulder.

Rainstrike used Upright Front Paws on Dawnpaw, costing 20 SP and dealing 12 damage.

Beechpaw
0/20 HP
70/80 SP

Dawnpaw
8/20 HP
50/80 SP

Rainstrike
26/55 HP
120/170 SP