to arms [closed]

She'd been trying her best to regain her strength and abilities since having been confined to the medicine den for so long. Hunting had gone well, the apprentice finding ease in hunting when the prey was plentiful. If anything, she considered it a blessing of sorts to be able to learn during this particular season. Fighting, on the other paw, was an entirely different story. It still winded her, so she pushed herself perpetually to attempt to make up for that. Day by day she was recovering, the wheeze no longer in her voice from a simple trot. If anything, it only struck when she had done too much. Still, Mistpaw found herself trying to fight beyond it, to continue strengthening her body. It was working, so why would she stop?

Though, there were only so many times she could spar against Poppyshine before her mentor would need to go disappear for other duties that she was bound to. Such was the life of the deputy, and Mistpaw had respected it. She easily could have attempted to seek out one of her siblings, but glancing around found them... nowhere. No Willowpaw, no Wrenpaw. Her whiskers twitched as she spotted another clanmate, but something kept her paws rooted to the ground. The desire to approach was simply not there, despite the clanmate being an easy solution to her dilemma. With features that found themselves hardening in a defensive attempt to hide her anxieties, Mistpaw brought herself to her paws.

She looked rather stiff as she walked over, attempting to do nothing more than fully compact herself into the image of a mighty leader, like her mother. Those stiff steps loosened slightly to appear more natural, but it didn't still the persistent thrumming in her chest as she got closer to the unfamiliar clanmate. What exactly she was to do with what she felt, the apprentice had little clue. All she knew to do was to tuck them away. Surely, she'd learn from Poppyshine when they were useful, right? Shaking that thought away, the question formed itself in her mind, shaping in perhaps a hundred different ways before she finally spoke. "Would you like to spar?"

"I would hope not." Those were the first words out of Mistpaw's maw in response to the other apprentice. He was certainly one of the more odd ones of the den, but just as valuable a member of the Clan as any. It seemed as if Riverclan's most recent influx of warriors weren't exactly the super soft, sappy type like their deputy. Whether they realized it or not, they all mimicked Mistpaw's mother in one way or another. Much more stoic, but secretly fluid like the waves of the waters that they claimed their name from.

Finding a spot just outside of the camp, Mistpaw turned to signal to Larkpaw that this would be where they would spar. "Traditional rules." she clarified. She'd heard of once or twice where the apprentices sparred with much harsher rules, allowing the use of only teeth but no claws, or even vice versa. She had no interest in literally tearing into a clanmate's pelt. None in the slightest. And with one slight of her head...

The apprentice launched herself at the tuxedo-pelted tom, ready for their fight to begin.

Mistpaw used jumping strike! A total of 9 (6+3) 'damage' was dealt and used 7 stamina.
Mistpaw
20 / 20 HP
53 / 60 SP [-7]

Larkpaw
11 / 20 HP [-11]
60 / 60 SP

Mistpaw couldn't help the healthy dose of frustration and disappointment that seemed to ripple through her frame, ultimately exiting as a rather fast whip of her feathered tail. It was no problem, even as her nose found itself matched by the paw of the other apprentice. Her plan became rather simple, rather quickly: Stun her opponent. She would take her chances soon enough, though, as a surge of adrenaline had her bounding forward, batting fervently at her clanmate's frame with enough force to show she wanted to knock him unsteady.

Mistpaw used Front Paw Strike + Desperate Blows! She dealt 10 damage (6 + 4) and used 14 stamina (7 + 7)
Mistpaw
15 / 20 HP
39 / 60 SP [-5]

Larkpaw
10 / 20 HP [-10]
53 / 60 SP