towers of gold (c)

Ever since the lightning strike, Perchstar had been feeling odd. She had gotten her hearing back--well, mostly. There were still times where she heard a loud ringing that came from nowhere, echoing dimly inside her head, buzzing faintly and making her dizzy. But it wasn't only that. Sometimes, she felt as if she would lose her balance, despite standing with four paws firmly on the ground. Sometimes she felt her steps slow, felt her heartbeat race, and felt her breaths stagger. But these moments were few and far between. She had no clue what the cause was, and whether they were a problem at all. So for now, she simply ignored them and went about her daily life.

Today, she was on a patrol with Crowpaw. He was one of the rogue kits that she and Owlcall had found in the forest. Despite their unknown heritage, all of them had risen to the challenge of being apprentices, and embraced the RiverClan way of life wholeheartedly. She did not feel uncertain about them at all. They were just as RiverClan as the other cats here. It may not have been in their blood, but it was the way of life they chose, and the one that they followed. Crowpaw seemed to be no exception. She knew little about him, but he was being mentored by her son Tinyshadow, and seemed to be doing well so far. Still, she supposed she ought to ask. "Do you feel that your training is going well?" Perchstar inquired neutrally, sparing a quick glance for the dark-furred apprentice walking by her.

The tom couldn't help but feel excited that he was on patrol with Perchstar. His leader. It was his chance to show off what Tinyshadow had been teaching him. She had been nothing but kind to he and his siblings, it just made sense to do the same in turn. "Yes! It's been great. I'd bet about six of my rocks that I'll be better than all my siblings by the time we're all warriors." It was no joke either, if he lost he'd just cast off the rocks into the river. He wouldn't keep rocks that he had bet away, even if no one was betting against him.

"Did you like your training, when you were an apprentice?" Crowpaw couldn't help but ask the same question to Perchstar, looking up inquisitively. He supposed not all mentors were all that good, maybe she had a story to share before they found anything.

Perchstar was glad to see Crowpaw's enthusiasm. She'd worried once or twice about the foundling kits properly integrating into the rest of the Clan, but they seemed to be doing well. It also seemed that Tinyshadow had been doing well during his first time as a mentor, which made a light sting of pride touch her heart. That emotion had been growing far more familiar to her, it seemed. His mention of rocks momentarily reminded her of Beetlepaw, but she dismissed the tired pang of long-dead grief. Just in time to hear him innocently ask the same question her son had about a moon ago. Perchstar blinked, wondering for a second whether the stars were mocking her in some fashion. Twistpool, Sparrowclaw's last living relative, had passed only recently. Was this his doing, perhaps? Some way to continually remind her of her own lacking apprenticeship?

Still, it was not Crowpaw's fault, and the question was not amiss. Perchstar let out an inaudible sigh before she began to respond. "As all apprentices did, I enjoyed going out on the territory, and learning to hunt and fight," she said simply. "Aside from that, I--" A twig snapped. Perchstar's head shot up from where she had been meeting Crowpaw's eyes, looking around for the source of the sound. That was odd... none of her Clanmates should be patrolling in this area at this time. And all of them should be too well-trained to crack a beech branch in that way. It had been a very loud crack. "Something's off," she whispered, feeling the fur along her spine begin to stand on end. "Stay close."

She didn't have to wait long to find out what the problem was. Just moments later, an odd scent hit her nose, and her hackles rose. It was a smell she'd become all too familiar with during her escape from Twolegplace. Dog-scent. This was bad. How had one gotten so deep into the territory without her notice? Had it escaped from near the farm, perhaps? "Look out!" The words had hardly left her mouth by the time the dog came crashing out of a thickly-packed cluster of willow trees. The dog was taller than her, limbs flexing with tight sinew, lean and dangerous. Not the biggest she'd seen, but not small by any means. Its eyes were wild, and its teeth flashed as it charged towards her. Perchstar braced herself for impact, claws digging into the soil beneath her. Her desperation to keep herself between it and Crowpaw meant she would have no time to attempt to dodge the blow. The blow did, in fact, come--a paw smacked the side of her shoulder with a force that sent her skidding across the ground. Her bracing meant it did not knock her prone, however. She had just enough traction with her claws to regain her balance and retaliate. A small stream was nearby. Not as helpful as the river, but enough for her to use it to her advantage. Perchstar leapt atop the dog, using her full weight to push its head down into the water. It struggled under her, but the element of surprise was on her side. It likely hadn't expected her to return to fighting it so soon. "Try to stay away from its jaws," the leader called out, voice strained with the effort of pushing the dog's head under. "Either run to camp for help, or try attacking it with me--but carefully. Don't do anything reckless!" This was bad. Could she really take down a dog on her own?

Dog used Heavy Blow on Perchstar, dealing 17 damage and costing 22 stamina.
Perchstar used Underwater Cinch on Dog, dealing 11 (9+2) damage and costing 10 stamina. Dog is stunned for 1 turn.

Perchstar:
63/80 HP
160/170 SP

Dog:
89/100 HP
178/200 SP

Crowpaw was happy to listen to Perchstar's tale, though, it was short lived. His ears pricked up as a loud crack sounded through the air, and a terrible scent hit his nose. Taking a few steps back, the tom's eyes widened as a dog leapt through the underbrush, setting its sights on his leader. It hit her, and there was blood. The tom was taken aback for a second. He had never seen an injury before. Suddenly, Perchstar's words rang through clear to him. He was no runner, he would fight!

He wouldn't be reckless, he'd go for weak spots. Surely those had to be the same on all animals, right? Unsheathing his claws, Crowpaw ran to slash at the back of the dog's hind legs. If it was limping, then it'd be harder for it to hit Perchstar, or him.

Crowpaw used Front Paw Strike, dealing 6 damage and using 7 stamina!

Perchstar
63/80 HP
160/170 SP

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

Dog
83/100 HP (-6)
178/200 SP

The dog was big and reasonably strong. She couldn't keep it like this indefinitely. So before it got away from her, Perchstar let go. As she backed away, she slashed at it with her claws, hopefully dissuading it from following. It seemed to still be getting its bearings, half-stunned by the sensation of being shoved under the water as it had been. But after she attacked, the leader moved back, trying to stay within its vision. Maybe then it wouldn't notice Crowpaw attacking it from the back.

Perchstar used Front Paw Strike and Desperate Blows, dealing 20 (10+6+2+2) damage and costing 14 (7+7) stamina.
Dog is no longer stunned!

Perchstar:
63/80 HP
146/180 SP

Dog:
63/100 HP
178/200 SP

Crowpaw:
20/20 HP
53/60 SP

Backing up, the tom watched with wide eyes as Perchstar leap from the dog, clawing with all her might. It was incredible! With his own jaws, he clamped down on the dog's leg where he had already clawed, praying to Starclan that it would go down soon. He was already getting tired, and the battle had only just started.

Crowpaw used Snap, dealing 6 damage and using 7 stamina!

Perchstar:
63/80 HP
146/180 SP

Dog:
57/100 HP (-6)
178/200 SP

Crowpaw:
20/20 HP
46/60 SP (-7)

The dog was, unfortunately, beginning to get its bearings. It was injured somewhat badly--it couldn't run anymore, and its mobility was severely limited. That did not dissuade it from fighting. If anything, it only made its efforts to win more desperate. Its attention was still focused on the bigger cat, since it had yet to see Crowpaw behind it and might not have deemed him a threat even if it had. Instead it lashed out again, teeth snapping, at the cat attacking it most harshly.

Perchstar saw the dog's maw coming for her, sharp fangs headed straight for one of her legs. Heart pounding, she managed to roll past it and aim a quick swipe of her claws as she did. It was severely weakened, but now that fleeing wasn't an option, it would continue to fight until it was dead. That left her and Crowpaw with few options but to continue the fight. At least the fox wasn't attacking him so far. "Good job," she told him, though her eyes were still on the threat. "See if you can grab its tail from back there. That might stun it for a little while."

Dog used Iron Bite on Perchstar, costing 30 stamina.
Perchstar used Dodge-and-Fight. Counterattack successful!, dealing 9 (7+2) damage and costing 7 stamina.

Perchstar:
63/80 HP
1437180 SP

Dog:
48/100 HP
148/200 SP

Crowpaw:
20/20 HP
46/60 SP

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

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'Effect Dice' : 6