Rise and Shine [Shrew Spar]

Letting her body and mind recover from recent events, Firefly was more eager than ever to start on her first apprentices training. She thought a lot about it, actually: first, they would spar and after they would hunt. Perhaps in that time she'd get to know more about Shrewpaw. She didn't know any other way how other than training, actually. That was how she became best friends with Curlyfluff and start a budding friendship with Acornstem.

Unfortunately for any apprentices currently sleeping, Firefly was up before the sun had even begun to rise. "Shrewpaw, wake up. Meet me in the sandy hollow." It would be in Shrewpaw's best interest to listen, otherwise Firefly may remove her by force. Spars were very serious matters.

Copperlark was somewhere off to the side shooting her sister an approving glance as she dug her way deep into the red apprentice's fur.  Her body felt incredibly warm, drawing a purr from her throat that would rip the leaves off all the trees in the forest. Green eyes peered up at orange, and when the tom opened his mouth to speak an unfamiliar voice came out. Rather, it seemed to breach her dream, shocking the she-cat out of what was quite possibly the best dream she'd ever had. "Th-the wha?" Shrewpaw blinked the sleep from her eyes, shaking her head in an attempt to jumpstart her brain. Meet me in the sandy hollow... A groan slipped from the molly as she pushed herself to her paws, sparing a glance at her soft nest before exiting the den.

If not for the scent trail left by Firefly, Shrewpaw knew she would have gotten lost along the way to the hollow. Why did she think that her apprentice knew her way around their territory already? Was it just because of the amount of patrols she had been on? Who even paid attention during those!

Shrewpaw's pace quickened as the form of her mentor came into view, and she lifted her tail in greeting as she neared. The golden molly stopped just a few tail-lengths from Firefly, still secretly afraid of that thing that seemed to breathe on her face. She knew it was stupid, but Shrewpaw feared that if she got too close that thing might jump from her mentor's face and infect her too... Er, was she staring? "Did we have to do this so early? You woke me up from a really awesome dream." There was a little bitterness in the molly's tone. She would never get to hear what Cedarpaw was going to say...

Green eyes narrowed at the prolonged stare her apprentice was giving her. She knew what Shrewpaw was looking at, and she would choose to ignore it. For now, her attention would be focused on the golden apprentices whining. "Early? Early would have been yesterday." She meowed simply. This cat was beginning to remind her of her Forever-Apprentice sister, Rosepaw. She loved her dearly, but Rosepaw had the family perk. Shrewpaw was sitting at Daydreaming-Apprentice currently.

"Quickly now! Before the sun starts to rise; there is work to be done with the rest of your day." Russet paws stamped the ground as she braced for whatever Shrewpaw had give.

Shrewpaw blinked. "Er, sparring?" That had to be what this was. They couldn't have started with a hunt, or even with Firefly showing off a couple of moves for her? Shrewpaw was completely clueless when it came to fighting, her only practical spar had quickly devolved into light and fluffy slaps. Oh! There was that dream! Firefly had been there, and they had been doing some crazy looking moves! The apprentice tried to mirror her mentor's stance, taking in a deep breath as she contemplated how this would work. She was already under me, so I just have to find a way to...

The golden molly burst into motion, twisting herself under the larger cat as deftly as she could possibly be. She had never practiced this before, but she hoped it wouldn't upset Firefly too much. With as much power as she could force into her limbs Shrewpaw gave a mighty push at Firefly's belly. A victorious cry erupted from the apprentice as she felt her paws make contact, a good first strike!

The member 'Romantica' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Effect Dice' : 6

There was no mistaking the perfect mirroring of a move Firefly herself often used during spars and real fights - Shrewpaw taking a running start, only to slide directly under the russet warrior and land a blow to her belly. Yes! Exactly how a ThunderClan cat should fight! Pride surged through her immediately: her apprentice was a natural born fighter! Praise to StarClan!

Stumbling to regain balance after such a fantastic surprise, Firefly leapt into action. A russet paw colliding with her apprentices shoulder. "That was a perfect belly rake, Shrewpaw. Now prepare to fight till the end." Even if Firefly was far stronger than an apprentice, the fight would not end until Shrewpaw lost or wanted to stop.

Firefly used Front Paw Blow, dealing 7 damage and costing 5 SP.

Shrewpaw:
13 / 20 HP (-7)
60 / 60 SP

Firefly:
60 / 60 HP
135 / 140 SP (-5)

"Um, thank you Firefly!" Shrewpaw felt the pride start to swell in her body at Firefly's praise. She wanted to show her mentor more moves that she had learned, but this was the only one that she had been practicing. Where would she even begin with the other ones? Every other move she had observed seemed incredibly hard to replicate, so she would just stick to something basic, something that was guaranteed to work.

Shrewpaw stood her ground and returned a wild rush of paw strikes aimed at the older warrior's chest. Normally she would have gone for the face, but that thing made the apprentice wary of the concept. Well, that and she wasn't sure how Firefly would react to a strike to the face. Very poorly if Shrewpaw had to guess, but that was the curse of being a worm mother.

Front Paw Strike and Desperate Blows, dealing 10 damage and costing 14 SP

Shrewpaw:
13 / 20 HP
21 / 60 SP (-14)

Firefly:
40 / 60 HP (-10)
135 / 140 SP

A somewhat suppressed purr came from the russet warrior as she watched her apprentices confidence grow. Not to sing her praises, but it felt like she was doing a pretty good job for a first time mentor.

Especially when Shrewpaw pulled off a combo move, hitting Firefly directly in the chest. An odd move, considering this would usually leave one open to an immediate return of claws. The head or face would have at least disoriented her opponent.

But when she really thought about it, there had been some passive glances from her apprentice that often resulted in Shrewpaw looking away or avoiding eye contact. This was nothing new for Firefly, and there was no need to even ask what the problem was. If Shrewpaw thought this was horrific, then it would be best her path never crossed with Beechfang. Truly a sight.

With Shrewpaw now up close, Firefly lunged forward, her head knocking into Shrewpaw's. Not with enough force to cause any damage.

Firefly used headbutt, dealing 7 damage and costing 5 SP.

Shrewpaw:
6 / 20 HP (-7)
21 / 60 SP

Firefly:
40 / 60 HP
130 / 140 SP (-5)

Rolling for belly rake~

The member 'Romantica' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Effect Dice' : 1

It was impossible for the apprentice to brace herself in time for the sudden attack, not that she needed to however. The headbutt had been oddly free of pain, more of a shock than anything. She would need to return fire. Contemplating her next move, Shrewpaw could only think of that "belly rake". It had been enough to make Firefly praise her, which was something the young apprentice hadn't even known she'd wanted. One more time then, another perfect belly rake would surely earn her more praise!

Golden fur twisted once more as Shrewpaw positioned herself swiftly under the older warrior. Sheathed paws pushed upward, though this time they missed their mark completely and swiped across something that felt... Smooth? That didn't seem right. Shrewpaw crawled out from under Firefly, dropping back into a fighting stance as she tried to anticipate what the warrior would do next.

She's breathing really loud! Did I hurt her? No, it wasn't Firefly. Shrewpaw became aware of her heaving chest, her mouth that had opened wide to suck in more air, and the fatigue that had slowly started occupying her. She had tried to earn Firefly's praise but had failed, and the worst part was still to come. "I-I can't anymore." It was all she could get out between breaths. Shrewpaw sat back on her haunches, green eyes drifting away from Firefly. She had wanted to avoid any looks of disappointment, though knowing Firefly as she did Shrewpaw knew the molly would voice her opinion soon enough.

Shrewpaw used belly rake, missing and costing 25 SP

Shrewpaw:
6 / 20 HP
-4 / 60 SP (-25)

Firefly:
40 / 60 HP
130 / 140 SP

A gasp escaped Firefly as a paw slid across the right side of her face: nerves that were still attempting to mend themselves all these moons were sensitive, causing a jolt of pain to run through her scarred face. She felt immediate rage, ears burning. It's not her fault. It's not her fault... It's not her fault! She hadn't meant to let her maw twist into a snarl. Shrewpaw had done it purely by accident. The continued reminder of her mutilated face was what angered her. Jayfrost angered her. He had done this. But this was no time to let her temper take hold.

Heavy breathing brought her back to her senses, the nasty look on her face gone as she looked on at her apprentice - who had turned her eyes away from the fiery molly. "Then we're done here."

"Are you alright?" A long, drawn out silence as she waited for Shrewpaw's breathing to slow. She needed her to listen to what she had to say next, "Failure is needed in order to learn. I'm very proud and impressed with you for taking this seriously. You risked uncertain battle tactics without hesitation... That's a true ThunderClan cat. You've dome magnificent." She gave a slight bow of her head in recognition.

Green eyes looked upwards throught the treetops: the sun was beginning to set. "Would you like to head back?"