Time to Shine [Training]

Cold wind swept over Larchpaw, ruffling his thick multicolored fur, but he hardly noticed. His eyes were stuck traversing the territory in front of him. Stars, it went on forever, fox-length after fox-length of rolling snow-coated hills and thick clumps of gorse bushes. It was so beautiful. He could just pick a direction and start running and run that direction forever. The only difficult thing was making sure that his steps landed squarely atop the powdery snow, rather than accidentally slipping and falling into it. That would be embarrassing and he had to make a good impression on his first patrol ever! Though he knew Nectarflower was being a bit smug about it, he couldn't help but return her smile with a wide grin of his own. He was intoxicated by the scent of fresh snowfall and moor winds. "It's absolutely stunning," he agreed. "I want to see every inch of it, someday. Though I understand that's not really possible on my first day. I'm just glad to be out here, you know? If I just ran forever in a place like this, I could die happy." A warm shiver ran through him. Life was good.

Nectarflower's words brought him back to the present, though. Self-defense... a good idea. If he ran into some awful rogue or if ShadowClan came to attack them again like in the elders' stories, he wanted to be useful. Larchpaw rolled his shoulders back and flicked one of his pointy ears. Hopefully his mentor would be impressed with his innate prowess! It was just a guess, since he'd never fought besides minor tussles with kits when he was younger, but he had to be good at this. Then she'd definitely think he was worth training. "I was born ready," he declared.

Larchpaw had to admit that this version of Nectarflower was far more fun to spend time with than when she was keeping them stuck in camp as kits. Not that she'd ever been all that horrible back then either, nowhere near as bad as Elmbreeze at least, but in this context, the light of encouragement in her eyes seemed like an invitation more than a condescension. He responded with his own bright smile, his winningest grin. "Okay! That's a promise. Hunting next time, sparring now. I'll do my best with both." Was he seeming too eager? Oh, hopefully not. Maybe he was supposed to be more hard to please? Well, it was far too late for that now. But Nectarflower seemed to be pleased with him, at least a little bit. So that had to be good, then.

Carefully his golden eyes narrowed, watching her movements. The way that she lowered herself into a crouch was different than the flailing limbs of kit playfighting. She spread her weight so efficiently, and even her tail was a part of the balancing act. His eyes followed her as she walked around, head turning slowly, taking mental notes of how he would mimic it. So she would attack him... and he had to dodge. That didn't sound too difficult. It was just like how Pipitpaw would always lunge for him when they were kits, and he'd have to roll out of the way. Just that--but with real attacks, and full-sized warriors. It was a good thing he'd been watching Nectarflower, because suddenly he saw her muscles tense. That could only mean she was going for an attack. Bristling slightly, Larchpaw forced the idea to move through his brain just in time, rolling quickly out of the way of her paw headed for his shoulder. In fact he'd been paying attention so well that after he got back to his feet, he had just enough extra momentum to reach out and bap her on the shoulder himself. No claws, of course. But it had all been so fast! Panting, feeling adrenaline rush through his veins belatedly, he stood with legs trembling and eyes glowing. "I did it! That was pretty good, right? I got you too!" Stars. He was even better than he thought.

Larchpaw used Dodge-and-Fight, dealing 5 damage and using 7 stamina. Counterattack successful! Damage negated.

Larchpaw:
20/20 HP
53/60 SP

Nectarflower:
53/60 HP
115/140 SP

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

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'Effect Dice' : 6

Pride glimmered in Larchpaw's golden eyes at his mentor's praise, and he waved his tail in self-satisfaction. It felt so fulfilling to really learn and understand all this stuff. He was going to be a natural. Of course he was. He was going to be the best that anyone had ever seen. All his hard work was going to pay off! The fact that he'd barely begun learning seemed like a minor obstacle to the glory he envisioned for himself. But he blinked hard and went back to paying attention as soon as Nectarflower spoke again. "Avoid a counterattack... fast reflexes... surroundings," he repeated to himself quietly. It was as if she was giving him a puzzle. All the pieces were before him--he just had to figure out an answer.

The apprentice wore a thoughtful expression as he surveyed the area, its rolling fields and long snow-buried grasses, and considered the options. He could just run in and attack, then try to run past her faster than she could attack him, but that seemed risky. Her reach was far greater than his due to her larger size and longer limbs. She could probably smack him before he scampered out of the way. Maybe if he distracted her, though? Or if he attacked from an angle that she couldn't reach him from? Larchpaw circled Nectarflower once, taking in his options. Then he backed away, tilted his head, and finally smiled when he got an idea. Maybe this would work. Maybe he could impress her again. He lowered into a half-pounce, then sprang forward, running at Nectarflower with as much speed as his previous adrenaline granted. Then, he skidded to a stop right in front of her--displacing snow with his paws, right into her face, halting her vision. Quickly he bapped at her shoulder with his paw, then nimbly he ran as far in the other direction as he could before stopping when he was out of her reach. His lungs heaved with effort, but he loved it. Had it worked? Or had she gotten him?

Larchpaw used Front Paw Blow, dealing 4 damage and costing 5 stamina.

Larchpaw:
20/20 HP
48/60 SP

Nectarflower:
49/60 HP
115/140 SP

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

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'Effect Dice' : 4

Larchpaw was feeling pretty good about himself--scampering off, a wide grin on his face--but a gentle blow at his heels stopped him. He managed to keep from tripping, but the pride he'd felt curdled in an instant. He'd messed up. There goes my perfect first outing as an apprentice. His tall ears pinned back slightly, but he replaced his grin when he turned around, trying to shrug it off as if it wasn't a big deal at all. Maybe then Nectarflower wouldn't be disappointed. "Ahh, I thought I had it." The fake nonchalance was difficult, but it stopped when his mentor purred. A genuine smile, for him. Maybe his failure hadn't been too bad after all. Why had his heart stopped dead in his chest for a moment? Why were his veins still itching as if the simple mistake had activated his fight-or-flight response? Anyway. The flame-orange calico tabby shook out his pelt and returned Nectarflower's grin. "Right! Yeah, like I said, I was close. No big deal. I would probably get it next time, I'm sure."

Yeah... when he talked to Pipitpaw later about how amazing of an apprentice he was, he'd simply omit this part.

Pride and praise made everything better. Larchpaw grinned wider, allowing a purr to rumble deep in his throat at his mentor's words. She really wasn't so bad after all, he decided. Anyone who could recognize his instinctive greatness had to be a pretty decent cat. "Well, I'm sure with your help, I'll get it in no time. ShadowClan had better look out for both of us." His tail waved behind him. At the mention of food, his ears perked up. Now that she mentioned it... a rabbit did sound great right now. He'd never worked so hard before in his life. Not that he minded, but it would be nice to get a reward for his skill. "All right! Sounds good to me." It was hard to shake the smile from his face as he followed after Nectarflower. What an odd question she asked, though. An attempt to get to know him, maybe? He shrugged one shoulder, golden eyes glittering. "I mean, I've never tried much besides rabbit. I guess I'll have to try every single kind in order to know what my favorite is! Except for fish. You couldn't force me to eat anything slimy." The thought made him shudder good-naturedly. "But, I do like rabbits."