Feather Dusting [Dustpaw]

The clan had made it to Twolegplace. The nest that they had settled in had been abandoned, seemingly, but it still made Smokefeather uneasy. This wasn't the forest they were used to, and even in nest where the clan had made "camp" she felt exposed.

At least it was cooler than it had been in the forest. At least there was no fire. Her family was alive, if smoke-stained, singed, and ragged. It was... something, the pale tortoiseshell supposed.

Making her way to the corner of the nest where the apprentices had curled up in, Smokefeather paused. Mistrain was missing, and that meant Dustpaw was currently out of a mentor. Smokefeather hoped that the gray and cream warrior would show up, but with each passing hour it seemed less likely when she remembered the inferno that had become their camp and swept through the territory as Skyclan had fled.

Still, apprentices needed to train. And the non-existent fresh-kill pile would need to be solved sooner rather than later. Or maybe Dustpaw needed to work on her combat skills. Those would certainly need to be sharpened with the dangerous, unfamiliar Twolegplace they were sheltering in. Rogues and loners generally kept out of clan territory. This was not clan territory. Several of the clan's warriors who had apprentices were either missing or too injured to take the apprentices out. None of them had escaped completely unscathed, but some were at least less injured than others.

"Dustpaw," Smokefeather called softly, gently pressing a paw to her side. Her voice was raspy, her throat ached still from the smoke inhalation, and Smokefeather was determinedly suppressing a nasty cough, but someone had to train the apprentices. Sitting around would do them no good. And Smokefeather wasn't about to sit around and let Sagelight fuss over her cough or burned pawpads. She could deal with the pain just fine. There were cats who needed him far more than she did at the moment.

Smokefeather would allow Dustpaw a few moments to wake up before motioning for her to follow her out of the Twoleg den with a flick of her bushy tail. Glancing up at the sky, she could still see the heavy smoke in the direction of what had been their territory. The fire still burned even now, it seemed. Not a good sign of things to come, Smokefeather was sure, but her expression remained neutral as she turned to face Dustpaw.

"We could go hunting, or spar. The situation isn't ideal, and while the clan needs food, Twolegplace is also dangerous on a good day, so combat is just as important. What would you prefer?" She wasn't sure where Mistrain had started or what they'd mostly been focusing on in Dustpaw's training. She was normally more decisive when it came to Primrosepaw, but she figured it would be a better idea to ask Dustpaw. She was sure that her training with her own apprentice looked far different than Dustpaw's and Mistrain's training.

Even though she hadn't really wanted to sleep, and figured she'd had been fine...the adrenaline from the recent events had knocked her out once the clan settled down in their "temporary" clan spot for the moment. When Dustpaw felt a soft paw press at her side she didn't move for a while, not entirely recognizing it as something meant to wake her up. Nonetheless, she slowly opened her eyes and noticed her mother standing beside her before walking out and presumably telling her to follow with a flick of her tail.

With a groan Dustpaw managed to roll over onto her paws and "shook" out her drowsiness. Of all cats, her mother was most certainly not one she would ignore, most of the time at least. She headed outside and was met by a rather simple question by her mother, but she still paused to think about it. As she said, there was the fact that the clan had very little to no food at the moment, but she wasn't entirely interested in hunting for prey at the moment. Dustpaw wanted to learn how to fight and effectively go about it.

She looked up at Smokefeather and declared, "I want to learn how to fight, I would rather spar. But are you really in a state to be able to teach me how?" Dustpaw looked her over, thinking there must have been something her mother was hiding from her, or the rest of the clan in general.

Smokefeather eyed her daughter with some concern, the fluffy apprentice looked tired, and she had half a mind to just let her crawl back into her nest and sleep. But that wouldn't help their current situation, and Smokefeather couldn't just sit around idle, either. She'd tried that for long enough.

Dustpaw wanted to learn to fight. That was good. Those skills would be useful to her.

"I'm fine." She replied, somewhat more shortly than she had intended, though the rasp in her voice was more evident, evidence that her words weren't entirely true. "Nothing that will keep me from training apprentices, anyway." That much was true, at least. "What about you? You're not trying to get out of training, are you?" This last was said teasingly, but it was also clear that Smokefeather was worried for Dustpaw too. With everything that had happened recently, between the fire itself and then needing to leave behind the only territory they'd ever known, she expected her daughter to be on edge just as much as the rest of her clanmates were. Likely she'd crashed hard when she finally did get to sleep the night before. The world would not wait for them to rest, though, all they could do was keep moving forward.

"You've been hunting before. Learning to fight draws on a lot of what you've already been taught. Balance is important, as are learning the weak points of an enemy, their belly, ears, eyes. Learning to keep them off balance so it's harder for them to dodge your attacks and strike in turn." Smokefeather thought back to her own days as an apprentice under Sunflower's "tutelage." The tom hadn't been an exceptional hunter, and had been a worse fighter. She'd mostly learned through annoying Bloodstrike into training her.

Studying the apprentice in front of her, it was then that Smokefeather realized just how much her kits had grown. Dustpaw and Beechpaw were still the largest of the litter even now, and they each had long fur that contributed to them seeming larger still. They weren't full-grown, but she could see Dustpaw being closer to her father in size rather than her mother.

"Your size and weight are something you can also use to your advantage. A smaller opponent will be able to rely on their speed more and might be lighter on their paws, but won't be as strong and will be easier to pin down in a real fight." Much of what Smokefeather said was simply common sense, at least she thought so, but understanding that was a basic cornerstone in learning how to fight effectively.

((ooc: I can force a predator for the "battle topic with an enemy" requirement, or this can just simply be the two of them sparring.))

At her mother's response Dustpaw huffed and tossed her head to the side almost dramatically. "Now why would I ever want to get out of boring old training? I would just rather you not fall over from pain while trying to show me how to fight." Her general rude air and tone dropped at the end for but a moment before being picked back up with yet another huff and a wave of her tail. She may be nicer to her mother and family in general, sort of, but that doesn't mean other cats should be aware just because they happened to walk by when she was with family rather than any other cat.

Dustpaw listened as Smokefeather started to list off the things that needed to be understood should she ever have to battle and nodded from time to time so it looked like she was actively listening even though she wasn't entirely...a lot of the things her mother was saying seemed pretty obvious to her, but ehh they were important more or less.

"So you're saying one of the easiest ways to throw another...something off-balance and all is to go for the eyes? And since I'm bigger than the average cat, for the most part right now since I'm still young, I could theoretically overpower another cat just by being bigger and heavier than they are?" She cocked her head to the side wonder what her mother's response would be at that. It might be cruel to go for another cat's eyes, maybe, but if it meant she'd win a fight then she had no issue with it, even if it would catch her by the tail later in life if she succeeded in something like that.

"Well, where to mother? We are going to spar or do something right? Where do you wanna go? I figure you have more knowledge of this area than I do..." Dustpaw wasn't actually too sure on that one. But there's nothing wrong with assuming an older cat, who just so happened to be her mother, would know more about the area right? There was a bit of worry nagging at her though, what if Smokefeather didn't actually know the area? Would she say stay close just in case? Would they run into something if they strayed too far?

((ooc: predators etc a-okay, love trauma and battle scars cause tired characters))

"Disrespect..." Smokefeather muttered, "I do something nice by offering to train you and this is how you speak to me? Your mother?" Her tone had started out as serious, but quickly lost said seriousness as she affectionately bumped her daughter's head with her own.

Whiskers twitching in amusement at Dustpaw's question, Smokefeather replied, "Blood or fur dripping into your eyes will obscure your vision and slow you down. You can trip someone just as easily by knocking their legs from under them or pull them off balance by yanking their tail. You can force an opponent to fight more defensively, giving them less of a chance to harm you. And that's why a smart opponent will pin their ears against their head and keep their tails close to their body in an effort to avoid that."

"Bloodstrike does exactly that, it's effective. Can't attack an opponent if you're pinned to the ground and can't move. You get to rely on your strength and weight, whereas a smaller opponent wouldn't be able to throw you off easily. There's a small clearing not far from here where we can spar and not disturb anyone." She added. She'd found the place while hunting, and while it hadn't yielded any prey, the ground was flat and it was secluded from the untrustworthy thunderpaths. There was even a tree that shaded the earth from the hot sun.

"Or we can just fight a raccoon instead..." Smokefeather muttered sourly as the creature slipped out from behind one of the weird bushes that the twoleg properties were often surrounded by.

Sure enough, the gray and black creature spotted them and immediately rushed at Smokefeather, who immediately moved to keep herself between Dustpaw and the raccoon. Stupid, unpredictable twolegplace.

Raccoon used Quick Swipe on Smokefeather, dealing -20 damage and costing -10 SP.

Ears flattening against her head, Smokefeather hissed as the raccoon's claws sank into her shoulder. She lunged at it in retaliation, aiming to land on it's back and keep it from the apprentice, fully intended to rake her claws through the beast's flesh and cause as much damage as she could while the raccoon was pinned beneath her. She hoped Dustpaw had been paying attention to her little speech earlier, because that would come in useful right about now.

Smokefeather used Leap and Hold on Raccoon, dealing -9 damage and costing -10 SP. LAH effect dice: 1,2,3: pinned+damage for one turn. 4,5,6: pinned+damage for two turns.

Smokefeather
25 / 45 HP (45 - 20)
150 / 160 SP (160 - 10)

Dustpaw
20 / 20 HP
80 / 80 SP

Raccoon -pinned and unable to attack for two turns-
21 / 30 HP (30 - 9)
290 / 300 SP (300 - 10)

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

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'Effect Dice' : 4

Dustpaw more or less just kept nodding at all the things Smokefeather said. Everything made sense and she didn't think there was a reason to say something in between when all of it would've mostly just gotten an 'okay'.

She followed along behind her mother who just so happened to be muttering about them fighting a raccoon when the bushes nearby rustled and with the rustling came a raccoon shooting out going straight for Smokefeather. Dustpaw scowled, "Well, speak of something and it very well may appear..." She made sure to stay behind her mother as the raccoon had rushed at her and Smokefeather had moved to keep herself between it and Dustpaw, getting what looked to be a nasty bite to the shoulder as she did so. Dustpaw watched as in almost no time at all the raccoon was pinned. After a brief moment of staring in awe it dawned on her that she should take advantage of the raccoon being pinned under her mother and moved closer to slash at its belly, making sure not to get snagged by it most likely trying to wriggle its way free from the pin or Smokefeather as she was on top of it after all.

Dustpaw used Belly Rake on Raccoon, dealing -7 damage and costing -10 SP.

She slashed at it without much issue, but she remembered what Smokefeather had said about how cats should flatten their ears and tuck in their tails when in fights, which Dustpaw clearly hadn't done. While the raccoon was indeed pinned in this instance and it didn't matter so much, she immediately fixed her error by flattening her ears and tucking in her tail as best she could. It was something she needed to get used to, necessary or not.

"Are we actually going to manage killing this raccoon, mom? What should we do with it when it's dead?" She was genuinely curious. She didn't think the clan would eat a raccoon...probably, so what would they do with it? Just leave it there dead?

Smokefeather
25/45 HP
150/160 SP

Dustpaw
20/20 HP
70/80 SP (80-10)

Raccoon
14/30 HP (21-7)
290/300 SP

"Good." She nodded at Dustpaw when the apprentice raked the raccoon's belly. She'd have responded to Dustpaw's earlier quip with some amusement, but she was firmly focused on the current threat rather than her daughter's sarcasm. She'd need to work on her reflexes, simply staring in awe would do her no good in a real fight.

"I'd rather it be dead than so close to 'camp' and alive." Smokefeather responded, continuing to rake her claws down the raccoon's back, shoulders and flanks. It's struggling had grown noticeably weaker, but weak did not mean less dangerous, and she'd rather not give the black and gray creature time to recover.

"There's no real place to bury things here, so we might as well just leave it under the bush." There were predators around, and that meant there would be prey to hunt and scavengers that would pick on the soon-to-be-dead raccoon. As Smokefeather continued to claw at it, the creature only faded more. It couldn't take much more damage now, and Smokefeather's extra weight on it's back would only hinder it further. She deliberately shifted her weight slightly, pressing down harder on the raccoon and keeping it pinned to the ground.

Smokefeather - second turn of using leap and hold-
25/45 HP
150/160 SP

Dustpaw
20/20 HP
70/80 SP

Raccoon - pinned and unable to attack for 1 turn-
5/30 HP (14 - 9)
290/300 SP

Dustpaw turned her head slightly at the reply. "Okay...leave it here it is." If anything, she was more than a little glad that her mother didn't say anything about bringing it back to camp and eating it. Eating a raccoon seemed kind of gross...

She looked at the raccoon still pinned beneath Smokefeather. It was struggling, weaker now, but still struggling and trying to squirm its way out from under her. There was no use in asking more stupid questions, it was time to finish it off so they could go back to doing...whatever it was they were going to do, unless it was called off now because of this raccoon.

Dustpaw used Front Paw Strike on Raccoon, dealing -6 damage and costing -10 SP.

With a clawed paw she swiped at the raccoon and watched as its squirming slowed to a stop. Was that it? Dustpaw slowly reached out after a moment and pressed a paw against its bloodied side, seems dead. She shrugged and sighed, a "well that was lame" escaping her mouth as she did so. She then went on to rub her paws on the ground in an attempt to get of the stickiness left on them and soon went back to being bored.

"After all that excitement from the raccoon what do we do now, kind of bored you see." Dustpaw enjoyed having a paw in the dramatics sometimes and twirled around as best a cat could in place before stopping and looking at her mother expectantly.

Smokefeather
25/45 HP
150/160 SP

Dustpaw
20/20 HP
60/80 SP (70-10)

Raccoon
0/30 HP (5-6)
290/300 SP

The raccoon had died beneath their paws, and Smokefeather unceremoniously dragged it over to the bushes before beginning to clean her own bloody paws. When that was done, she craned her neck to look at the wound the raccoon had inflicted, gingerly licking the blood off of her fur, a look of mild disgust crossing her face. The cuts weren't that deep, and she flexed her shoulder experimentally. It's not that bad, she decided. So long as she kept the wound clean, there was little reason to bother Sagelight about it. The old medicine cat had enough to deal with anyways, he didn't need any extra work.

At Dustpaw's antics, she affectionately flicked her tail over the apprentice's ear, though her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked Dustpaw over carefully. The raccoon hadn't been able to do anything to her, but Smokefeather couldn't not make sure she was okay.

"Are you alright?" She asked, "We can go back to camp, unless you still want to spar?"