Kids in America [C]

Newtspring was content to shelter in the warrior's den today, eager to hide himself from the roasting sun of late Greenleaf. He'd stayed curled up there through sunrise, almost dozing back off before he remembered with a start he had an apprentice to look after now. The mottled tabby snorted, grumbled, and took as much time as he could to get up and stretch his limbs. The heat was already overwhelming when he stepped outside, and he dragged himself over to the apprentice's den with a great deal of huffing and puffing over the fact he didn't shoot out of his nest right at dawn. Ducking inside, he was careless of any outstretched legs or tails as he weaved his way over to Olivepaw. Nosing her shoulder, he mewed, "C'mon, up 'n' at'em. Trainin, remember? Let's go," before retreating back into camp proper to wait for her.

Olivepaw lifted her head, confused as to why someone had woken her. Oh right, training. She scrambled up and hurried out of the den after her mentor. It took a moment for her paws to adjust to the warm ground. She usually liked a sunny day but this was just uncomfortable, especially with her thick fur. She managed to get over to Newtspring, he looked as if he didn't hate the heat any less. "I'm ready, what will we be doing today?" she wondered, excited for learning how to serve her clan.

When Olivepaw made her appearance, Newtspring turned away immediately to lead the way out into the territory. It felt hotter out here, somehow, and his steps were slow and heavy as he guided her along. "Sparrin'." He turned to look back at her, flashing an eager, toothy grin before turning his attention forward again. "I'm bias, 's my favorite. Never gonna complain 'bout a chance to stretch m'legs. Plus," his sentence drifted off, and for a second he seemed to hesitate before pushing out the rest of his sentence, "it's important all our li'l warriors can stand up f'r 'emselves. I don't want ya gettin' your ears pulled off 'cause I didn't do m'job." He cleared his throat and picked up the pace a little, not wanting his thoughts to drift too far.

Soon enough, the territory started to rise, the steady incline sharpening underpaw. "Great Ridge." His words were simple, and he nodded towards the distant shape of Twolegplace below them. "Neat li'l spot, eh? Too bad we ain't here for sight-seein'." Turning to face Olivepaw fully, Newtspring sat down with a yawn, scratching his chest. "Ready when y'are. Go 'head, throw y'rself at me. I wanna see what y'think ya can do. Promise I'll go easy on ya." The mottled tabby laughed, and his ever-present smirk widened as he waited for her to act.

Olivepaw kept pace with the warrior as he answered her question. Sparring, okay, she could do that. She took a deep breath to focus herself, continuing listening to Newtspring explain why they would be focusing on battle today. She agreed, it was wise to situate an apprentice with fighting skills before anything else. Olivepaw followed him up steep terrain where they came upon a ridge. Great Ridge, as he called it. Her attention stayed on the horizon for just a moment before Newtspring spoke. She faced him with a hint of hesitance on her face, unsure how to attack him. She flicked her tail when he laughed. Crouching down, Olivepaw quickly launched at the mottled tom, stretching out unsheathed paws. Aiming to knock him over, she ungracefully bashed into Newtspring, doing her best to claw at him once she did.

Olivepaw used Jumping Strike on Newtspring, dealing 4 damage and costing 7 stamina.

Olivepaw
20HP/53SP (-7sp)

Newtspring
26HP/80SP (-4hp)

For a moment, the warrior was worried Olivepaw wouldn't make a move. It was just a beat of hesitation, but it was long enough for him to tilt his head– and before he could think any longer, she was flying forward, throwing her full weight into him.

"Good!" Newtspring purred as his paws slid over the stone. He let his body give under her, a controlled fall to the earth that ended in a little huff. "Watch y'r'paws, though. 's not hard to knock a cat off balance." He wriggled under Olivepaw, twisting his body to look up at her. "M'kay. Whaddaya think's important in a fight? How can ya hit me where it hurts? What can y'do to win?" As he spoke, Newtspring twisted his hind legs too, kicking up into Olivepaw's belly and forcing her off him. Rolling himself onto his paws, he hovered over her, ears twitching.

Newtspring used Belly Rake, dealing 9 damage and costing 15 SP.

Newtspring
26/30 | 65/80

Olivepaw
11/20 | 53/60

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

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'Effect Dice' : 4

Olivepaw felt satisfied when he fell beneath her paws, and his praise. She flicked her ears at his questions, caught off guard when he kicked her off of him. She fell on her back, shaking her head before rising to her paws. "Well the belly sure hurts," she said a tad bitterly, replying to his questions, "I guess what I think should be important in a battle is defense, making sure you're safe. I want to get better at that. In order to win I could scare the enemy, hurting them bad enough to make them leave me alone. Or outlast them, depleting their energy or will to fight." She probably could have lunged at him again but she would rather not get struck in the stomach another time. Once was enough.

Newtspring chuckled, shaking his head a little at her snappy remark. "I know, 's why I did it. I wanna be the one kickin' my apprentice 'round, not some feather-brained rogue." Another laugh, warm and deep, and he relaxed his muscles when it seemed like she wasn't going to attack again. "Good answers. Defense is good." He paused, looking out over the horizon thoughtfully, then refocused on her with a tilt of his head. "We can work on that. I can give ya some ideas, act some things out with ya." Even if she was young, he wanted her to be ready when she had to fight for real. "Just tell me what'ya wanna do, we'll do it. We start fightin' again, though, and I won't play so nice." Newtspring winked and snickered, shifting his weight between paws as he spoke.

A small laugh escaped her, deep and soft, as the tom replied to her first answer. Despite her initial doubt, maybe this would be fun. Olivepaw listened to the rest of his comments before padding to the edge of the ridge. The view was stunning, she loved it. Watching the cheery blue sky with half closed eyes and a soft smile, she decided what she wanted to do. She wanted to know as much as could about fighting, to be prepared. Turning back to Newtspring the big she-cat replied, "Let's hunt, I want to see more of the territory."

"Sure, sure. C'mon," Newtspring jerked his head, padding away from the ridge, letting the slope guide his paws downward. "Hopefully there's a bird or somethin' out. Can show ya how t'run up a tree." The large tom snickered, his steady lope picking up into a trot. It was warm, and the sun was getting steadily higher.

Soon enough, he lead them to a little copse of trees, yawning as he looked around. "Stars, 'm tired. Greenleaf kills." Newtspring muttered, scanning the area before his sights landed on a squirrel. A fat one, too. Situating himself, he lowered his body into a crouch, realizing just how much he'd grown since first becoming an apprentice. It still felt awkward folding his legs under himself. "Body low, alright? Be still 'n' quiet as ya can." He took a measured step forward, pausing to look back at Olivepaw. "Don't rush it, you'll scare 'em off." Then his attention was back on the squirrel, and he took a few more creeping steps forward before rushing to catch his prey in quick claws. A nip to the neck, and Newtspring gave his apprentice a quick nod. "Real simple. Birds're a bit harder– put your claws above 'em so they fly into ya instead'a... well, away."

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

Olivepaw stuck close to Newtspring as they got to a nice spot beneath the trees. The sun burned through the leaves onto the pair of cats, she thought it was both beautiful and annoying. Crouching down with her mentor she listened to his words with care, following them perfectly. Her ear moved the slightest bit as he succeeded in his catch. A simple nod and she was off to find her own, creeping through the warm grass. To the right was a faint squeak, she followed it. Strong smell of vole filled her nose, it was super close. She froze her limbs, using her senses to locate the rodent. Olivepaw took a few more seconds to ready herself before darting where she knew the prey was at. Correction, thought where the prey was at. It seemed the large apprentice had miscalculated terribly, scaring off any prey that might have been near. She stood alone in the ferns as her tail swayed through them. Next time, she promised before padding back to Newtspring.

Olivepaw attempted to catch a vole and was unsuccesful, costing 3 stamina.

Olivepaw:
20/20 HP
57/60 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6