figuring it out [c]

Something about her sister's disappearance had shaken her to her core, and it was her return that had been the only thing to provide some semblance of stability for the silver-flecked molly after what felt like moons of worry. She had never stopped decorating her fur with her sister's findings after that, always having some set of flowers or woven grasses in some portion of her pelt. But the other portion of her life had been training, and Stars, she would forever thank her father for giving her Sagefeather as a mentor. The tom had been nothing but patient and kind are we sure this is a Tara character?, and she wouldn't have been able to survive her training otherwise.

With a singular strand of lavender tucked in the long fur behind her ear, she pranced towards the familiar flame-colored tom by the entrance to camp. "I'm ready for battle training today, Sagefeather." She'd gotten a particularly good night of rest, too. So, with energy and enthusiasm, she would follow her mentor's instructions.

I am capable of making good boys! Rude! /J

Sagefeather hid it well, he thought, but he could sense how disturbed and upended his apprentice was over the disappearance of her sibling. His heart ached to the point he could and would shed a few tears with her, if she needed. Along those same lines, he would be respectful and not speak of it unless she brought it up. He would not touch the tender wound if she'd rather it be let be, but he would also gladly be her friend, her shoulder to cry on, and a patient ear to listen to all of her vents, frustrations and heartaches.

Seeing her energetic and bright-eyed, he wasn't about to dampen her mood. Banishing his heavy heart of compassion for now, Sagefeather gave her a bright eyed, enthusiastic smile back. He stood up straight, his tail was high and the moonlight glistened silver off of his red fur.

"Glad to hear it! Battle training can be intense, but it doesn't have to be. I will go at your pace, just let me know if something is confusing to you or if you feel like you could handle something more complex than what I am teaching you. Okay?" Sagefeather dropped into a defensive stance.

He was crouched with his paws spread evenly apart in a perfect rectangle. "First, we will talk about setting your defenses. Having a good defensive stance could save your life, and is arguably more important than lashing out with a hard attack. Master this first, or you'll be an easy target for your enemy.

Firstly, balance. You've learned some of this already with stalking, but fighting is slightly different. Get a good, strong stance like this and it will be harder for your enemy to knock you over. You don't want your belly exposed. Ever." Sagefeather then dropped his head, tucked his chin to his chest and flattened his ears to his head. "Next, cover your throat. This is very important. I don't think I need to tell you why. Tuck your chin, touch your chest and your enemy can't get to it. Flatten your ears too, because while you won't die from someone biting or clawing off an ear, it is painful and bleeds a lot. Sometimes the blood can get in your eyes and blind you temporarily, but even a second is important in a battle."

Sagefeather then rolled his shoulders forward and set his tail straight out behind him.

"Try to push your extra skin, or any fat if you have it, around the sides of your neck with your shoulders. You can use your shoulders to guard the sides of your neck too, but trust me when I say getting bit on the side of the neck doesn't have to be as lethal as a bite to the throat if you have defenses set up correctly. As for you tail... well you have two options really. You can leave it straight out behind you for extra balance and maneuverability, but you can also curl it under you like so." He then curled his tail under him and tucked it to the inside of a hind leg.

"When your tail is under you, it can't be grabbed as easily, but you won't be able to maneuver as well. It's up to you and the fighting style you will develop on your own as you learn."

Sagefeather set his tail straight back out, preferring to be nimble for his own fighting style.

"For attacking an opponent that actually sets their defenses, and it may not always look like mine, the easiest way to break a defense is to rush forward and hit them with either your skull or your shoulder. That way, you compromise your own balance as little as possible and you don't have to drop your defenses, like uncovering your throat to reach out and bite. Your opponent, however, will likely respond to you running into them with some kind of attack. You can then use that to your advantage. Watch."

Sagefeather reached out a sheathed paw as if he was attacking his apprentice, but held it in it's fully stretched out attack and posed.

"I'm off balance now. Do you see that I need to lean my weight to one side to attack you? Take advantage. Sometimes that means getting scratched, but if you can knock me on my side it won't matter. You'll be able to reach my throat and my stomach and you'll get a quick win." He dropped his paw back into it's proper place in the rectangle.

"Go ahead, try to break my defense. Don't be discouraged if you can't at first. Practice is everything, and hard work beats natural talent." He gave her an encouraging smile, then braced for impact.

It was easy to slip back into the mindset of training with Sagefeather. He was definitely patient. He went at her own pace and didn't admonish her for needing more time--something that she didn't realize how much she had needed until she spoke with a few of the other apprentices. Each Shadowclan cat had their own methods of teaching, but for Hollowpaw... this was what she needed. For a tom that had excelled so quickly in her training, she would have expected a similar explosive tactic. She had to give her father some credit, though. Probably unbeknownst to Sablestrike, Sagefeather knew the secret to allowing someone to grow quickly: Nurturing them where they were at.

She listened, and listened closely. Her eyes narrowed with the slight intent and ferocity that powered her movements as she mimicked that of the red tom. Her paws spread defensively, rooting herself to the ground, and her chin tucked in enough to protect the most of her neck that she could without sacrificing too much of her vision. Even just by looking at her mentor, she knew it was somewhat instinctive -- but there was training in it, too.

Hollowpaw almost reacted as his paw came her way, but she was quick to correct her instincts as he had paused to give her more information. She let him hold it for a heartbeat as she assessed his position, looking for the cues that told her of her opponent's weight. His claws seemed to flex a bit more in the earth than hers did when he was using one leg to support him over another.

"Get you off-balance... got it." Hollowpaw didn't quite want to think out loud as she considered her options, but... an idea formed into her mind. He liked to keep his tail out. Perhaps that'd come to her advantage.

Prowling just a short ways away from her mentor, once she was close enough to his flank, she charged forwards. It would have seemed as if she had zapped right past him, his tail near her neck, but she used that to her advantage. Suddenly tucking her chin in, and his tail with it, the apprentice swiped a quick but strong paw to a hind leg. The goal was to have him attempt to move--but be thrown off by having his tail impaired.

Hollowpaw uses Trip on Sagefeather! Dealt 4 HP of damage and used 15 EP.
Hollowpaw
20HP / 25EP

Sagefeather
44HP / 130EP