how hard could it possibly be? [c]

Silverpaw

Silverpaw did little. He had little to do. Only a few days— a week, maybe, he had started to lose track of time —had passed since he dragged Honeylight home. He was joining patrols again. Be it out of sympathy or obligation, various warriors offered him direct training: hunting, sparring, going over borders again. If it weren’t for the vital piece missing, everything would be exactly the same as it had been before.

But that piece was missing, and Silverpaw hated every warrior that thought they were helping. He wanted nothing to do with anyone. He was not their apprentice. None of them were his mentor. They were not his brother. He hated them for daring to try. He hated their farces of normalcy. He hated himself, for hating everyone else. His claws flexed, digging deep into the peat.

And then a voice broke him out of his hazy thoughts.

Realizing he’d been staring blankly ahead, Silverpaw shook himself out, retracting his claws and sitting straighter. His tail flicked, a brief indication of his irritation, but he bit his tongue. It was only Blackpaw, anyway; his denmates did not score as much of his recent ire. His eyes narrowed at her suggestion. “For your benefit, I’m sure.” He snorted dismissively and got to his paws. Couldn’t she have asked for a spar because she wanted one? His ears burned with maddening frustration. It was so senseless and stupid, but the anger was persistent. Annoyed as Echomist’s suggestion made him, it would be a good distraction. It would give him something else to do, make his muscles sore again so he could think about that for a few days, instead.

Without waiting or assuring she was following, Silverpaw padded off. He led them through the thicket guarding camp to a clear space just on the opposite side of the walls, so they had room to move but could not be accused of wandering away. He turned to level with Blackpaw, lowering into a fighting stance as he did so. “Complain to Echomist when you lose. I know how to fight.” His tail flicked once again and Silverpaw sprang forward, paws outstretched, to bowl smoothly into her.

Night Finesse is active for this fight.
Silverpaw used Jumping Strike, dealing 10 (6+3+1) damage and costing 7 SP.

Silverpaw
20/20 HP
53/60 (-7) SP

Blackpaw
10/20 (-10) HP
60/60 SP

Silverpaw

He’d been sure, as trite as the tactic was, that throwing himself at Blackpaw would land him an easy first hit. It wasn’t an elegant leap, but she slid out of the way, scrabbling against mud before her paws caught up with her. Silverpaw’s head followed her, even before his paws touched earth again, eyes wide with surprise. Momentary anger, too, but the flicker of mirth in her features stayed the rage before it could grow beyond the hollow of his chest where it resided. Still annoyed that he'd missed, but the invitation of proper competition was surprisingly welcome.

“I never said beating you would be easy.” He spat, but there was a faint note of something warm in his voice. “You’re younger than I am, but you’ve been an apprentice long enough that I’d be stupid to think you can’t fight.” Silverpaw stalked to the side, one measured step at a time, before jerking hard to throw himself at her again– this time, sure his paws connected with her shoulders, hard enough to shove her down into the mud. He grimaced when it splashed against his own coat, but he put his attention on pressing as much weight into his forepaws as he could to hold her in place.

“But I don’t think you can beat me, either.” It was posturing, sure… but he hadn’t lost a fight yet. A heartbeat of gathering his will let him conjure a leering smirk, all teeth and stretched wide across his maw. “You can run around me all you want, but I don’t lose.”

Silverpaw used Leap and Hold, dealing 6 damage and costing 15 SP. Blackpaw is pinned for 2 turns.

Silverpaw
20/20 HP
38/60 (-15) SP

Blackpaw [pinned]
14/20 (-6) HP
45/60 SP