Training at Dusk [c]

Comfreyheart

Sandy Hollow

Comfreyheart’s pawsteps were swift and quick.
The sooner they got to the Sandy Hollow the sooner she could begin training. The long-furred, black molly would of course slow down when Twilightpaw needed, but she mainly kept an eager pace. Soon they were at the chosen training grounds. The sandy arena was prime place for learning to fight, the soft ground a mixture of red sand and dirt. If one of them were to fall hard, they were less likely to be badly hurt.

“Alright, here is where you'll begin to learn about fighting. Fighting is very important in warrior life. You will use it to defend your clan against all sorts of dangers. Mainly predators, second to other clans. I have a pretty awesome move I’ll teach you today, one only us Thunderclan cats know!” The molly’s excitement only grew as she talked. She truly loved getting to teach future warriors. “But first let’s see what natural talents you have. Attack me, however you’d like.”

Comfreyheart

Sandy Hollow

While she could see countless opportunities to dodge or counterattack, she refrained for the sake of seeing how hard Twilightpaw could hit. “Good!” she cheered, though the unpracticed strike didn’t effect her much. We'll work on that later. For the moment though she would continue the assessment, and it was her turn. “Now watch out-” To see how well he could react, Comfreyheart rushed her head at where the apprentice stood. Hopefully this wouldn't hurt too much.

---

[Comfreyheart used Headbutt, dealing 7 damage and costing 5 stamina.]

- Twilightpaw -
13 / 20 HP (-7)
55 / 60 SP

- Comfreyheart -
46 / 50 HP
115 / 120 SP (-5)

Comfreyheart

Sandy Hollow

She was surprised by the tom,
narrowly avoiding his claws. During her hesitance Twilightpaw bit into her shoulder, causing Comfreyheart to yelp. She shook the apprentice off and leapt out of his range. Turning back to him, her eyes showed nothing but concern and guilt. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Did I hurt you bad?” she asked before licking the bite clean. Perhaps the molly didn’t know her own strength. While she loved being a mentor, this was only her second time. The molly's battle prowess had improved much since her first apprentice. This needs a lot more delicacy than something like sparring with my brothers.

Comfreyheart

Sandy Hollow

Comfreyheart relaxed,
“You did great Twilightpaw. That was the ideal reaction to an attack, I guess I was just wasn’t expecting it,” The molly offered a supportive smile before continuing,

“I want to teach you a better strike, as well as tie in that Thunderclan-exclusive move I mentioned. Thunderclan is all about strength in battle, so we train to build our muscles and the power in our strikes. One move that will certainly give your opponent a headache is what we call Thunderous Stomp! It’s where you rapidly bash the enemy’s head with your paws, stunning them for a few seconds. Every second is an advantage in battle, so it’s good to take that advantage with moves like these.”

During her monologue the warrior had padded to the edge of the hollow, dragging a somewhat thick branch back in. She laid it in front of her apprentice before taking stance beside him. “So, to practice your strike, I want you to break this branch with your paws. Make sure not to hurt yourself though- try swatting down on it like you would with a leaf or mouse. Watch carefully.”

Comfreyheart demonstrated for the tom, raising her paw as high as her jaw before slamming it down with controlled force. “You don’t whack it with your paw, but more like pushing it down into the earth. Make sense?” She turned to Twilightpaw, hoping that was explained well enough.