Tempest and Triumph [Sootpaw]

"Sootpaw," Swiftspirit mewed, rousing the dark-furred apprentice. It was early yet, soft rays of sunlight just beginning to stain the sky with shades of orange and gold, the last of the stars slowly fading from view. The leaf-fall air held a crispness to it that should've made a short-pelted cat like Swiftspirit shiver, but the warrior found herself appreciating the lack of humidity. She shifted slightly on her paws, itching to get out of camp and begin the day's training.

Sootpaw was... Difficult, to put it bluntly. He was haughty and seemed to care little for others, though attitude aside, Swiftspirit was pleased with how his training had progressed. There hadn't been any mishaps beyond their first day of hunting, and Swiftspirit hoped that that luck would continue today.

"We'll get some sparring done today, I think." Swiftspirit mewed. Turning, she led her apprentice out of camp with a flick of her tail, paws light as they made their way out onto the open moorland. There was a shallow dip not far from camp, the grass flattened by the paws of clanmates, and that's where she lead Sootpaw now, coming to a stop and turning to face her apprentice expectantly.

"The first move is yours." She mewed, then waited, tail tip twitching. He was far enough along in his training now that she didn't need to outline what she expected of him, and he needed to strategize on his own, without her guidance anyways.

Sootpaw was already awake when his mentor came for him, odd-coloured hues glittering in the low light as he was roused from his deep thoughts. he had already eaten as well, burying the remains of the mouse after he had finished. He nodded at her comment about doing battle training that day. His hunting skills were already quite sharp, he'd say, but battling skills could always be improved.

So, he followed her obediently out of camp, not giving a second glance to the medicine den as they passed it and continued onto the moor. The tom looked at the flat surroundings, musing on how the scenery was so disadvantageous for his training. If there were ever a battle in the marshes or the forest, he'd be very much vulnerable. The terrain would be so different and hindering.

It was a pity that their territory didn't even have a small patch of forest to train in, at the least or a swampy patch of ground. He supposed he'd just have to use his logic more in a fight on unfamiliar land...

The flame-pattered tom stood before his mentor, scar from his mishap with a hare from his first hunt long since faded. It had been a minor wound, and any scar that it may have left was hidden under his thickening melanistic pelt.

He was quite satisfied with his mentor. Her raining was efficient, to the point, and she rarely meddled with his sparse personal life. It was all protocols he expected from a mentor-apprentice relationship. As a result, he had grown to respect her more than others he had to deal with.

Sootpaw glanced around, his first leafbare was coming up, and he was hoping he'd be able to survive it without any problems. His sister would need to stock up on herbs while she still had the time, he had faith that she'd be able to manage as well though. Despite her emotional nature, she did her duties well.

The apprentice refocused on his task, eyeing his mentor levelly. He was still rather impassive in nature, and while he had spoken to his mentor before, the times were few and far between, for the most part, he remains silent unless he had questions he needed answers to. Whenever he did talk to her, it was professional in nature, with no unnecessary emotions behind his words. He was straight, to the point or, as Ashfall described him, analytical.

He reviewed the options he had for attacks, and slowly began circling the older feline, the circle growing a bit larger every complete round. Orange and green eyes calculating and impassive. As per usual, he kept his claws sheathed despite how he thought it counter-productive in nature.

Finally, after the pause, he swiftly shifted footing, crouching and darted towards his mentor, swerving around to their other side and twisting sharply to slam a paw against her side.

After that he lept back and crouched low, shielding his more vulnerable underside while still being in a position to retaliate or dodge.

The fight had begun.

Sootpaw began to circle Swiftspirit, mismatched eyes shining. Swiftspirit turned so that she continued to face him, tail flicking lazily back and forth as she waited for what he'd attempt. He was promising and had learned fairly quickly so far, and this was proven when he feinted to one side before his forepaw caught her in the side. A hint of a smile crossed Swiftspirit's face, though for now she gave no voice to the approval. Talking when sparring was reserved only for showing an apprentice the very basics, and was something she would never tolerate in any sparring beyond that, much less a real battle. It was a waste of breath and a distraction, nothing more.

Sootpaw leaped away from her, crouched with his head bent to protect his throat. Swiftspirit followed, jumping towards the tom with outstretched paws. Her claws remained sheathed, and she was careful to keep her blows within reason. There would be plenty of real battles for Sootpaw to find injury in, and Swiftspirit would not let sparring become one of those.

Swiftspirit used Jumping Strike for -7 sp, dealing -7 (8-1) damage.
Moor Runner active, damage taken by Windclan reduced by -1.

Sootpaw
13 / 20 hp (20 - 7)
53 / 60 sp

Swiftspirit
55 / 60 hp
133 / 140 sp (140 - 7)

He knew the counterattack would come rather quickly. Still, his mentor was quite swift (it was in her name after all), her attack hit regardless of his readiness for it. Immediately he moved back and to the side afterwards, tensing his muscles for his next blow.

He'd be sure to dodge her next attack.

Jumping towards her as if to pin her he instead lept over her, slamming a paw against the crook of her hind leg to try and knock it out from under her. If this were a real battle he'd try to damage the tendon with his claws to disable his opponent, at least, that is what he noted for the future. He wasn't sure if it'd actually work in a real fight, he may have to forgo a paw strike and resort to a bite for more piercing damage.

After the attack the apprentice made more space between himself and his mentor and stalked around her swiftly, intending not to be an unmoving target. His head was still low, eyes narrowed. He continued to try and protect his more vulnerable areas despite there being no risk to his life in this spar.

It was smarter to train as if your life was in danger, so you won't be complacent or make bad habits that could cost you it in a real battle.

Sootpaw made a habit of calculating everything in battle training, hopefully, he wouldn't lose nerve and forget that ability if worse ever came to worse.

((OOC: Front paw strike would deal -5 damage with moor runner, not -4 damage [that's unmodified front paw blow damage]. You used the correct SP value for it [tho it wasn't actually subtracted] so I'm assuming that's what you meant. If not I'll change it.))

Swiftspirit tensed as her apprenticed leapt for her... Then over her, rather than attempting to hold her down like she'd been expecting. The blow with his paws aimed for her hind leg knocked her slightly off balance, and she adjusted, pivoting to face Sootpaw once more. Good, very good. He'd shown good foresight in feinting to pull his opponent off-balance rather than the expected pinning attempt, and Swiftspirit hoped that he'd continue with that line of thought. She lashed out with a sheathed forepaw of her own, aiming to catch the younger tom's flank before circling around him.

Swiftspirit used Front Paw Strike for -7 sp, dealing -10 damage.
Moor Runner active, damage taken by Windclan reduced by -1.

Sootpaw
4 / 20 hp (13 - 9)
46 / 60 sp

Swiftspirit
50 / 60 hp
126 / 140 sp (133 - 7)

There.

He saw the movement, and his eyes tracked it sharply. He was getting worn out from the fight and knew he'd be out for the count soon, but he wanted to land at most two more good blows before disengaging from the spar.

Lithely he sidestepped the attack from his mentor, darting forwards down her outstretched foreleg and under her stomach to the other side. Then he twisted, slamming a paw against her flank and trying to throw her off-balance once more thanks to one of her legs not granting her full stability due to her attack.

After his blow landed he'd jump back, panting slightly as he crouched low to the ground once again and kept a sharp eye on his mentor. He had avoided a blow, but it had taken up some more of his energy, hopefully, he was performing favourably throughout all of this. He wanted to be sure to show his mentor that she had not wasted her time training him.

After all, he knew it probably took more mental energy to deal with a blunt cat such as himself.

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

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'Effect Dice' : 6