§Mistpaw && Sootclaw§ [BATTLE TRAINING]

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Tiny gray paws pattered slowly into a large clearing, dead leaves and twigs scattered formationless across the cold floor. A small silver she-cat leapt lightly from a rock and into the center of the oval-shaped premises. Her thin ears alert, she twitched long white whiskers and searched for any sign of her mentor.

He should be here soon, a voice in her mind told her. Rocking back on her dainty haunches, the she-cat sat quietly on the ground, her almost-russet tipped tail wrapping snugly around her forepaws. Glancing around with extremely pale eyes, she scented nor heard any sign of the tom who was to be giving her lessons on how to become a warrior.

"Sootclaw?"

[/color] Mistpaw mewed cautiously; she was hoping to hear the loud reply of a lithe black tom that should be with her. Mistpaw enjoyed being alone sometimes, but right now she really only wished for the company of one of her favorite cats.

Sootclaw has always been friendly to her. Slowly growing fonder of him as the days go by, Mistpaw knows that he is the only cat in StreamClan she can truely open up to -- not that she's planning on it, of course. Sometimes being quiet about things was the best thing for cats. She was still glad, however, that she had him to confide in, if she dare to one day.

Her lithe silver body lowered into a comfortable crouch as Mistpaw patiently waited for Sootclaw. Patience was one of the few traits she had that most did not. Personally, she was glad to be waiting -- otherwise she might be stuck in camp cleaning dens and removing ticks. Her green-silver eyes narrowing contently, she let a small purr erupt from her throat. It was quickly quieted, however, as the sound of rustling bushes grew steadily louder.

"Hello? Are you ready, Sootclaw?"[/color][/size][/center]

[Whiskers]

It had been an interesting idea, sending Mistpaw ahead of him, instead of traveling with her to the training area. The idea had popped into his head one night and Sootclaw had mused over it over his breakfast fish, before finally deciding to use it. He had long avoided battle training, but today would be the day he would finally give Mistpaw something to defend herself with... but still, Sootclaw loathed the idea. He hated it. Even as he trotted toward the training area, his stomach content and full, he felt mysteriously sick.

When he heard Mistpaw's rustling ahead of him, he slowed down and the feeling increased in intensity. Still, Sootclaw only lowered his head, his large body becoming strangely graceful and quiet as he crawled the rest of the way. He felt cruel for sneaking up on her like this, like a real enemy would. She was so very fragile in his eyes. She should be handled with care, pampered and held softly, like a piece of lace. She shouldn't be attacked, clawed at, broken down... this whole battle training was a terrible idea. Really, the pretty little kitten he was about to attack should be safe in a two-leg's home.

Get a hold on yourself. What type of mentor are you, thinking of sending your own apprentice to a couple of fleshies? He used his own term as he hissed at himself. Just ignore her softness. She's more than a kit. She'll be a full-grown cat soon and you're acting like you own her.

"Hello? Are you ready, Sootclaw?

He hardened his heart and tensed his muscles, trembling a bit at his nonsensical aniexty. Then he gave a low growl. Her only warning that yes, he was here, and yes, he was ready. And he was going to leap out and attack her like he would any other cat who was on Streamclan land. Before he could lose his resolve again, he sprang out of the bushes and onto Mistpaw.

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From the bushes to her right, an immense growl exploded. Mistpaw knew he was ready. She tensed her fragile, lithe body into a ready crouch, hardened muscles stretching luxuriously over tough, yet thin bones. Her tail lashed once; eyes peeled, she faced the bush and let her silver ears rove around on top of her tiny head. She was ready. She knew, deep down, she was a pitiful fighter. Her determination is the only thing that kept her planted as she snarled a bit through curled grey lips.

Almost immediately after, a huge black shape pelted out from behind the bush, straight at Mistpaw. The thoughts in her brain dashing around each other in a frantic attempt to tell her how to react, she crouched, frozen to the floor as she desperately cleaved her brain for an attack strategy.

As Sootclaw came dangerously close, she decided; sucking a deep breath of air, Mistpaw shot out directly to the side, her long almost-russet tail waving behind her. She spun around, the adrenaline coursing through her veins making her heart pound furiously, and stuck out two tiny silver paws. As Sootclaw passed, her forepaws grated his fur as it snagged in her slightly unsheathed razors of claws.

After he passed her, Mistpaw squared her body to him, but let her hackles droop. "Was that good?"

[/color] she asked worriedly. "Did I hurt you?"[/color] Her pale eyes, practically blending in with her pelt, scanned Sootclaw's face nervously. She didn't move her eyes, in case he decided to keep attacking, but nevertheless tried to relax and hope she didn't do anything wrong.[/center][/size]

[Whiskers]

Sootclaw's aniexty, which has bundled up and tightened his nerves, seemed to explode as he came near Mistpaw, her soft silver fur so close that his paws could almost feel the velvet-like texture of her pelt. He has steeled his resolve, made himself jump, but now he wished he could pause or back away. What if he crushed her? Being twice her size, it would be easy. Like stepping on a twig. Snap. That's all it would take.

But Mistpaw was quick on the draw, it seemed, and Sootclaw's dark amber eyes found her own light eyes a split second before he landed, and she seemed to read the quiet pleading in his head. Don't let me hit you. Like a rabbit, she hopped aside, and like a feather, she landed without a sound. He hit nothing, skid a bit on the dusty ground, and felt a tiny little tug on his side.

And that was all.

He rotated his body toward her and felt immense relief fall off him as he let his shoulders fall slack and his fur lay flat. Though his expression was usually one of collectiveness and certitude, he never let himself really smile, yet one cracked through his mask and he smiled down at Mistpaw for the first time. It was a real smile, a gentle one, and he felt pride and fondness blossom in his chest as she piped up.

"Was that good?"

[/b] She asked, seeking for his approval with her simple question. She spoke, like usual, in a quiet tone and her voice was very airy. It occured to him that if she was something else, besides a cat, she would most likely be a flower or a spring breeze. He did hope that when she died she would be lilly; then, when he was a current in a stream, he could carry her with him on his gentle waters. "Did I hurt you?[/b]

Sootclaw chuckled; another first for him. "No, you didn't hurt me. I can hardly feel a thing. But I am proud of you for you dodge. It was very... graceful, very quick... right now, your speed is your strong point. But your strength is lacking. Next time, when you try to hit me, hit me like you hate me. Like I took away from you something so precious that you want me dead." He told her and as he did, he began to back away and get ready for the next round.

"This time, I want you to attack me."[/center][/size]

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Mistpaw let out a long sigh of relief. Good, I didn't hurt him, she thought, like I could, anyway. She gazed at him happily, glad her dodge was worthy of praise. She watched his dark eyes intently, waiting for advice. Would he comment her strength? Agility? What do I need to improve on? she thought desperately. Her eyes darted away. What use would she be to her clan if she couldn't fight decently? But the confidence that swelled in her like a lion blossomed, a look of pure determination spread quickly across her face.

"...right now, your speed is your strong point. But your strength is lacking. "

I figured, she thought to herself. Mistpaw flexed her forelegs. The muscled rippled smoothly, but it was nothing to make any cat worried. Her thin build and small muscles were not made for fighting. No matter, she would just have to try even harder.

"... hit me like you hate me. Like I took away from you something so precious that you want me dead."

Her mind instantly flashed to her family. First, she wondered where they were. Now, imagining Sootclaw to have killed them, her face contorted with rage. My family! a piercing voice inside her wanted to wail, you vile piece of fox-dung! But then, as quickly as it came, realization flooded over her. Sootclaw didn't do anything of the sort! What was she thinking?

Forcing a sad smile onto her face, Mistpaw dipped her head and backed up. She surveyed the black tom, her pale eyes travelling over each distinct ripple of tough muscle. Trying to be smart, she charged towards his left side. Hoping he would think to jump to the right, she made a last minute turn and pounced directly to the right of where she was aiming seconds before.

[Whiskers]

Sootclaw watched Mistpaw with careful eyes, his smile retreating behind his mask again as he himself tried to switch gears and become a target. He would dodge, but he would try to be slow for her. She was fast enough to catch him, he was sure of that. Her speed was excellent. Like he had told her, he was testing her strength now. Sootclaw wanted her to do damage to him, though she was at quite a disadvantage because of his sheer size compared to hers. What could she do? Scratch him, maybe? She couldn't push him over and pin him down.

"You can use your claws," he meowed quickly, before she attacked. Without those sharp weapons, she couldn't do anything to him. At least this way she could break his skin. A little pain, a little blood wasn't hard to handle.

His eyes flicked to her feet and he watched as her feet shifted. He dragged his eyes upward and followed the outline of her body until he found her face, her delicate features slightly contorted. Is she concentrating? He asked himself, ears perking curiously. Or is she trying to find a reason to hate me? He chuckled inwardly at that thought. Little Mistpaw, hate someone? It seemed so impossible.

He had been so absorbed into his own musings that he didn't notice that Mistpaw had moved and was charging at him swiftly, as if she had a pair of wings on her paws. He snapped back to reality and instinctively jumped away, but simply fell prey to her trap. As she pounced onto his flank, he stumbled a few steps backward and then steadied himself. Ah, I should have been paying attention! I would have noticed how she switched... stupid. So stupid. What am I, a cat, or a mindless mouse?!

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Mistpaw bounced off Sootclaw and onto the clearing's floor, her eyes sparkling with triumph and her tail lashing in happiness. She turned to her mentor. "How was that? I tricked you!"

[/color] She purred at him, her almost silver eyes in slits of joy. "What do you think? Try again?"[/color]

She watched him, surprised she did so much as make him stumble. Thinking she would only just land on him, she felt extreme pride at the fact that her speed gave her an advantage that her strength could not. She stared down at her claws -- they were stuck in a few clumps of fine black fur. Shaking out each paw, Mistpaw allowed her face to twist into a tiny smile. This was a moment she should be proud. And her family would have been proud, too.

Her family... Mistpaw averted her gaze and quickly cleared her head. Now was not the time to think about that. She turned, forcing herself to look happy again, and faced her mentor. "That was fun. Are we going to do more? Or are we done for today?"[/color]


ooc// short, sorry.[/size][/center]

[Whiskers]

As Mistpaw rejoyced over her victory, Sootclaw could only manage a superficial look of pleasure, as he shook off his pelt a bit. He felt like a fool for letting his apprentice get the best of him. He could have easily dodged that attack! His job was to teach her how to actually fight a real enemy, and he was just holding her paw throughout this entire exercise. Cloudstar had been insane to make him a mentor so quickly.

"That was good but you'll still never win a battle if you don't use those claws, Mistpaw," he meowed before licking his chest fur back into place. "And yes, we'll try one more time, with you attacking me again. I want to feel the sting of your claws this time," Sootclaw looked up now and observed her carefully. He knew that the idea of hurting him was one that Mistpaw would shy away from. Sootclaw lowered his voice to one of a softer, more comforting tone as he continued, "A little scratch here and there won't hurt me at all. Don't worry about that."

Sootclaw slowly crouched into a defensive position, his ears flattening against his head as his round orange eyes focused ahead of him. "All right... go."

ooc// And I give you permission to gm a little bit, so we can keep this going at a fast pace. I don't mind, as long as you keep it reasonable. And I'm sure you will.

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Mistpaw watched her mentor straighten up and remind her to use her claws. "How about my teeth?" she squealed, snapping her jaws playfully at him. In her head, she really didn't want to hurt him. Or any other cat, for that matter -- unless they did something where they honestly deserved it. Mistpaw was a cat for peace, and battle training was for the exact opposite purpose.

The smile etched on her face vanished as she tried to concentrate. Time to attack, she thought. How am I going to do this? She surveyed Sootclaw, her pale green eyes traveling over every bone and muscle in his body as she yet again looked for a weak spot. He crouched; she mimed him, the muscles in her small hind legs folding bones perfectly on top of each other. Mind whirling, Mistpaw's heart nearly skipped a beat when he mewed.

"All right... go."

Mistpaw spent a second's time mulling over how she were to attack. If she just walked over and attacked, her weak forepaws would do no damage whatsoever to the larger black tom. She knew she had to use her skills to her advantage -- in this case, speed. Planning in her mind how she was going to attack, she hastily backed up a fox-length, staying in a controlled crouch the whole time.

With a final sweep of her long tail, springs seemed to go off in Mistpaw's legs as she was propelled forward. Rushing at Sootclaw, her eyes locked on him as she drew steadily nearer. If her theory was correct, he was going to jump aside.

She was right, he did. But she was ready -- With a mighty leap, Mistpaw launched herself high into the air, spun around, and landed on the other side of Sootclaw. She began raking his flank as hard as she could before she pounced over his back to the other side as he turned to face where she was just a moment ago, clawing at him again. After a moment, she bounded away, her heart pounding heavily as she panted, her tiny pink tongue lolling out of her delicate maw.

"Did I.... do good?... or should i.... go... straight at you?"

[Whiskers]

Sootclaw reacted immediately as she darted forward. His muscles tensed and his powerful legs propelled him to one side. When Mistpaw switched direction, he was impressed at how good she was at predicting the moves he would make. He was trying to be generic and to go easy on her, but for one of their first battle training sessions, she didn't really seem to need that. He didn't dodge again (it would have been hard to anyway) and he braced himself for Mistpaw's impact, wincing inwardly at the pain he was expecting.

Her claws came and pierced through his fine black hair and he instinctively jerked to one side. This caused Mistpaw to become detached, but she reacted well and simply went for his other side and attacked with a frenzy that Sootclaw was very proud of. He dug his own claws (which had become unsheathed because of habit) into the ground so he wouldn't move again. For this session, he was more or less her scratching post.

Mistpaw then retreated rather abruptly, leaping away to the other side of the clearing before plopping her behind on the ground. She looked tired but there was an excited light in her eyes that he had never seen before. Sootclaw shook his fur a little bit and a small drop of scarlet fell onto the ground, which he ignored as he trotted forward toward Mistpaw. He licked the top of her head and smiled down at her. "No, that was absolutely fine. Next time, however, I'm going to fight back against you. But we can save that for another day."

Sootclaw could only take so much, after all. He didn't want to exhaust his mind with the idea of fighting Mistpaw right now. He'd save that for tomorrow, or the day after that. "For now, how about we relax and go hunting? he suggested with a purr. If Mistpaw was too tired though, he'd retire to camp with her. He never really went out if it wasn't without Mistpaw, and he had no intention to.

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