The future's in your paws. Shape it well.Roleplay in a cat Clan of warriors. Based off the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Takes place in an AU before the cats in the books existed.
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Sunlight streamed across Perchstar's back as she regarded the last pair of apprentices who had yet to spar. This one perhaps held the greatest dichotomy of care for her. One apprentice was a tom who had never shown her anything but rude inconsideration, and who--according to her reports--had been giving Rowansong a great deal of trouble. The other was her beloved daughter, the newly-named medicine cat apprentice, Wrenpaw. One of the lights of her life. If Wrenpaw was to be believed (which Perchstar did, wholeheartedly), the two had already had an altercation in camp a moon or so back. Larkpaw had fought with a kit and Wrenpaw had stepped in. It was a believable tale. But still, Perchstar would not permit herself to show favoritism. Instead, she settled for a light brush of her tail against her daughter's flank as they reached the clearing where the spar would take place. "Remember that I will be supervising you, so there should be no bloodshed or serious injury." Though she had said the warning before, it felt more real this time. Too many medicine cats had been harmed. This should not be one of those times. Wrenpaw ought to learn to defend herself, of course, but if Larkpaw went in with claws unsheathed.... She made sure not to glare at him, even if she wanted to. Her gaze meeting his eyes was perfectly neutral. "Ready--set--begin."
The dice determine who goes first. 1, 2, 3= Larkpaw. 4, 5, 6= Wrenpaw. Dice rolling....
Larkpaw was excited for this spar, though his expression made him look irritated at best. It would be a pleasure to battle against Wrenpaw of all cats. Larkpaw did not go out of his way to be violent (despite what some cats may believe,) but Wrenpaw had always been one of the cats he wanted to tousle with because of how high she kept her nose held. He was unable to do that when she became medicine cat apprentice, of course, but it seemed that today was an exception. He was not going to go easy on her just because she was a medicine cat.
He glanced at Perchstar and then back at Wrenpaw. He wondered, irritably, if she was silently rooting for her daughter. She must be, right? He hoped that Rookpaw was rooting for him in the same manner. He would prove himself victorious.
When Perchstar stepped back and announced the battle to begin, Larkpaw sprung forward. Wrenpaw did not have the same experience that those being trained did, but she was still bulky, and he would not give her the chance to get the upper paw on him. His paws met with Wrenpaw’s head and he pushed her down into the puddles of the territory to stun her and give him a chance to deliver another swipe.
Larkpaw used Underwater Clinch! Wrenpaw is stunned for 1 turn.
Wrenpaw always loved a good wrestle. She practically begged Perchstar to be involved (though thankfully it didn’t take much convincing) when she heard about the tournament. She usually wrestled with people she really loved, but today she would get the opportunity to fight Larkpaw. She’d looong wanted to knock some sense into his grumpy little head, and so she was more than happy to face him now. Even if she probably couldn't actually knock any sense into him, since that seemed impossible at this point, she'd at least have fun. She may be the Medicine Cat Apprentice but she was still taught by Poppyshine, and she could hold her own.
Wrenpaw sputtered when Larkpaw was suddenly on her and pushing her down as soon as the battle began. She was almost too stunned to recover, but a rush of adrenaline allowed her to twist from beneath Larkpaw, shaking the water from her fur and grinning wide as she swiped at Larkpaw in retaliation, careful of course to keep her claws in.
Wrenpaw used Random Recall to overcome the sun, costing -5 SP, and used Front Paw Strike, dealing -6 damage and costing -7 SP.
Larkpaw’s body was tense and he was about to go in for another blow when Wrenpaw suddenly recovered from the dunking in the water and smacked him back! He snarled in frustration and lunged forward with his own slap against her nose. He hopped back on ginger toes, and his fur puffs along his spine. Surely he can beat a medicine cat apprentice, someone who barely got any real warrior training before she switched to being cooped up with herbs all day.
Larkpaw used Front Paw Strike, dealing 6 damage and costing 7 SP.
Wrenpaw was panting by now, feeling herself wane just a little bit, but stubbornness, pride, and adrenaline kept her moving, her teeth baring right back when Larkpaw snarled at her. Mind racing to remember what Poppyshine taught her before she switched to working with Sandyshell, Wrenpaw leapt forward, diving behind Larkpaw and grabbing hold of his tail to yank him down, careful, of course, not to actually hurt him, just stun him. If she could just keep him down for a moment, she could keep the upper hand.
Wrenpaw used Tail Yank, dealing -7 damage and costing -15 SP! Larkpaw is stunned for one turn.
Larkpaw squawked when Wrenpaw suddenly grabbed at his tail and pulled on him. He stumbled back and his mind felt fuzzy from the grab. It doesn’t really hurt though and he breathes heavily through his nose. “No…” he growled and he pushed through his dizziness to instead smack at Wrenpaw to keep her back.
Larkpaw used Random Recall to overcome the stun, costing 5 SP. He also used Front Paw Strike, dealing 6 damage and costing 7 SP.
Wrenpaw stumbled back in response, breathing out hard. She knew she couldn’t keep this up for much longer, so now it was all or nothing. She could call defeat, but Perchstar didn’t raise a quitter, so she decides to try a move Poppyshine taught her just before she switched mentors. It was risky, but she was liable to lose anyway, so why not?
Shaking out her fur, Wrenpaw dove forward and underneath Larkpaw. To her surprise and delight, she actually managed to get a good hold, and she kicked her backpaws into his soft underbelly to knock him down.
Wrenpaw attempted belly rake, and succeeded! It dealt -10 damage and cost -25 SP.
Larkpaw hissed and yowled when suddenly Wrenpaw was on top of him. She was so big and easily pinned him down, but she did not stop there. Her back paws battered against Larkpaw’s belly and he yelled again. It didn’t hurt more than a little bit of a sting since there were no claws used, but it certainly bruised his ego badly by the time she got off and he was out of breath and clearly not able to fight any longer. He swiped at her, missing easily; it was more of a last ditch hit than anything else. He panted and got to his paws, his fur still frazzled and puffed.
How many things was he going to be bad at? He was a RiverClan cat that still hadn’t been taught to swim. He’d barely hunted. He couldn’t even beat a medicine cat who hadn’t gotten full training. What a joke.
Larkpaw didn’t give Wrenpaw any cheerful words or congratulations for a spar well done. He turned away from her and sulked to the back of the gathering of cats. If it wasn’t for his sibling who was going to be fighting in the next round, he would have walked off entirely. This whole tournament is stupid.
Perchstar could not help but be slightly invested in this battle. Of course, it did not show outwardly. She remained the perfect picture of neutrality as she stepped back and observed. But inwardly, she felt tense as she watched every darting blow, every successful or failed move that Wrenpaw tried to make. Her daughter may have been a medicine cat apprentice, but she'd received enough battle training to at least hold her own in a mock fight. That should have eased a bit of worry from her mind. Instead, she sucked in a quick breath at the daring final blow--and then let out an inaudible sigh of relief when it landed. Not that she would have been unhappy if Larkpaw had won. She was just... proud of her daughter. But it would only make the tom angrier if she showed it.
"Well done to both of you," the leader began to say as she stepped forward, but Larkpaw had already stormed off before she could declare the battle over. A simple blink covered the mixture of astonishment and frustration. Well, it couldn't be helped. Perchstar turned to her daughter with a far softer expression. "Good job, Wrenpaw." The words were simple, but conveyed all of the warmth that she was feeling. "Rest up and get ready for your next spar."
