Twist&Shout [FinchxBright] my way out

[Whiskers]

Finchpaw had been in the training hollow many times over ihs apprenticeship to Brightnose, but never to train. He had crossed through it on his way to collect herbs. He had pulled up a few plants from the actual area itself and he had even secretly watched battle sessions commence.

Now it was his turn.

It was pretty exciting to Finchpaw, and the excitement-- plus the fresh air-- was making him act a little out of character. At least, out of character from what Brightnose was used to. Finchpaw was once again showing his true colors, as he trotted beside Brightnose and talked adamantly about what Firepaw had told him about battle sessions and how eager he was to find out if what he had said was true or not. There were a few times where Finchpaw slowed down to actually-- and this was probably more surprising-- point out a herb they were passing and ask a question.

Out of the den, with the pressure off, Finchpaw was a much better student.

When they arrived at the battle hollow though, all his energy became strangely more subdued, as he sat down opposite Brightnose with a calculative and slightly devious expression.

"Alright, Brightnose. Teach me."

[/size]

[Cloud of Diamonds]

The calico had enjoyed the trip to the hollow. Finchpaw had been incredibly...bright, asking questions. She had answered with slight surprise and happiness, though she never let it show. Maybe they should do this more often.

Why could he never be as...outgoing when it came to work? True, she didn't expect him to be so all the time, but once in a while it would be nice if he showed some more enthusiasm while on the job. Oh well. She'd simply have to talk to him about it, eventually, though she disliked such personal, emotional things.

Besides, what could she say? Oh, Finchpaw, would you mind being more focused with the same love you have for being outside? Thanks, really appreciate it.

Ridiculous.

When they were positioned in the hollow, and he spoke, she had already been planning a move and before he had hardly finished speaking, she leaped into the air, smacking his ear sharply before landing behind him and turning around. She would have no mercy on him.

Maybe this would teach him to enjoy his den sessions, she thought with a bit of anger.

And there was a story behind that anger.

When Brightnose had made the decision to become a wild cat, she'd left everything behind - her home, her sister, her parents, everything. She'd sacrificed her entire way of life for what she loved - and it had been worth it. But it angered - yes, angered she of the cold heart - that Finchpaw was so...dull about it. He got for free what she'd had to look for and earn: healing education. He hadn't had to try and find a reasonable teacher to learn how to survive.

No, he had grown up in a Clan, having it easy his whole life.

The calico felt a bit of resentment at how ungrateful he was for all the effort she put into educating him.

Now, when he was in an element he knew only the basics of, let him flail and be confused, when she would not guide him, but would let him rely only on his instincts and the few lessons he knew.

Let him realize that he should be more invested in his training, the she-cat thought, as she waited with an intense expression, body ready to move at a second's notice.

[Whiskers]

Finchpaw was not made to fight. His body was built skinny and tall, his paws were small and 'dainty,' and he possessed no natural instinct for fighting either. When he had been younger (and much smaller), fighting had been easier just because he could hop to and fro with the agility and enthusiasm of a young grasshopper. However, dodging would be harder now that he was bigger, though he had a better chance running away from the enemy, than running towards them.

Which is why his first instinct was to duck, when he saw Brightnose leap at him. Unfortunately, he ducked too late (clearly he didn't react fast enough), and he got a hard hit over his head for his failure. The blow had been reeling to the side, but Finchpaw found his balance and then whirled around to face Brightnose, falling into a perfectly balanced crouch. The only way he was going to win against Brightnose was if he treated her like prey...hunting was his strength so he had to play to his strengths, and ignore the many disadvantages he had.

So what was the next step, he asked himself. Brightnose was not a mouse, or a vole, not a bird or a rabbit. She was his size, a little heavier, more experienced. He would have to knock her off guard in order to successfully pounce, pin her down and finish the kill, but that meant offense, didn't it? That didn't sound good, not to Finchpaw, who knew that if he charged at her, she could either dodge or knock him off his feet.

So he would the prey come to him instead. For now, Finchpaw remained on the defense.

[/size]

[Cloud of Diamonds]

The calico figured out the base of her apprentice's strategy as easily as she breathed; obviously, he was going for defensive, it only made sense. Unless he meant to surprise her by lashing out at the last second. But she doubted that; it wasn't Finchpaw's style.

Though she knew she was almost certainly falling into a trap (relatively speaking) if she simply stood here being tense nothing would happen and he would not learn. So motion it was. She decided to try a simplistic move that he could respond to in many ways; and then she would talk to him.

Jumping to her right, she reached out with her left paw, aiming for his eyes, though she had her claws sheathed, of course. She wanted to see how the ginger and white tom would react; whether he would try and dodge, or counterattack, or both. And also where he would aim. Then when he had done his chosen action, she would discuss technique.

[Whiskers]

For what felt like minutes, Finchpaw and Brightnose's eyes met and they had a stare down, with Finchpaw, at first, only concentrating on the way she stood, and what she would do next. But then it felt...different for Finchpaw. Something shifted, in that second where their eyes met, and Finchpaw felt like she was almost accusing him of something. Of what? And why? Finchpaw wanted to shake his head out and get rid of the thoughts (which were paranoid, he recognized, and hated himself for that paranoia. He was too much like his father in this respect), but he couldn't. So, finally, he chalked it up to the fact that he was staring at Brightnose like the enemy, and she was doing the same. They had never done that before. Even when they were angry at each other, even when Finchpaw lost his cool, he had never seen Brightnose as his enemy.

Maybe he had though, deep down. Though it was not her fault that he was a medicine cat apprentice, she still represented all the lies he told, represented the type of cat he pretended to be, and was afraid of truly becoming.

It was all unleashed when Brightnose attacked.

Finchpaw momentarily panicked, lost his cool, and forgot his head. He froze, his eyes locked on her body and the paw that was coming toward him quickly. She was going to deliver a blow to his eyes. What was his strategy again? Get her off balance, he thought. Get her off balance, or he could always dodge, he had time to dodge!

He did a combination of both. He ducked and then rammed his head forward, hitting Brightnose squarely in the chest. He did not have much strength in his body but this could upset her balance a little?

[/size]

[Cloud of Diamonds]

The medicine cat had to admit she was surprised when Finchpaw attacked. It was true she had not expected this, but she mustered enough concentration to not be completely thrown off. She crashed down on the ground, but due to her quick reflexes she was back on her paws in an instant, hazel eyes wide and fur shedding.

Now where would he least expect an attack...his tail. Obviously. If Brightnose could neutralize his center of balance, or at least pretend to damage it, she would gain an advantage. She already knew that the small-bodied tom relied mostly on his speed and agility to perform moves, and those would be difficult to attain with a cat encumbering his hindquarters.

As she sprang towards his hind legs and tail, she remembered that she had wanted to discuss technique. Oh well. Later. She was having too much...er, enjoying the challenges of the exercise. Fun was not something a mature and important Clan member took part in.

[Whiskers]

His attack had worked! Finchpaw's whole expression-- fitted into a concentrated frown-- lifted as he saw what he had done. Using strategy, and his very own strength, he had managed to throw Brightnose off of him. He had evaded an attack, attacked himself, and put his mentor onto her back. Okay, okay, Finchpaw couldn't help it. It felt proud of himself. It was an odd feeling, since Finchpaw rarely felt it. But he had seen it enough on his father and brother's faces to know what it was, and now he was experiencing it. He had done well!

But there was no time to really bask in his mediocre victory. Finchpaw recognized that when he saw Brightnose jump up to her feet in a split second. He could have blinked and missed it. And he was certainly surprised at her agile recovery. How had she done that? He had knocked her back...well, she had moons on him in the experience department.

His opponent was trickier than he had thought. He'd have to apply more force, do direct blows. Direct, consistant blows. He could not let her recover next time.

Problem was, how was he going to get out of this situation? Finchpaw braced himself for her next attack, but when Brightnose had headed for his tail (his tail? really?), the idea of dodging didn't occur to him. He whirled around his head, bringing his hindquarters a little to the left, but it was too late-- Brightnose had landed on his tail. The jolt of it sent a yowl through Finchpaw and he fell back onto his hindquarters. Great. Now he was sitting down, with an adult she-cat perched on his tail.

This was embarrassing. Any pride was long gone.

Finchpaw acted on instinct. He tried to twist around and hit her on the side of her head with his paws. If any blow actually hit the mark, there was no guarantee that it would get Brightnose off his tail.

[/size]

[Cloud of Diamonds]

On pure instinct, the calico ducked. His paw still grazed her ear slightly, but there was only a tiny amount of pain. Unfortunately, this meant her grip on his tail was relinquished slightly in surprise. However, he only had a second to enjoy it before she tightened her grip again. Not too much, she didn't want to cause him too much pain, but enough to see that the ginger and white tom was going nowhere in a hurry.

Now it was time to discuss technique.

"So, Finchpaw, what are you going to do? If I were you I would aim at my eyes."

She said casually. It was good advice, for if he managed to make her close her eyes for even a few seconds, her shock and lack of vision would provide a good opportunity to get free, and for further attacks. Of course, that was depending on whether he could hit her or not, disabled like this.

[Whiskers]

The embarrassment Finchpaw felt escalated at Brightnose’s offhanded suggestion. He was usually not a difficult student—he listened to Brightnose (okay, well, he tried his best to) and he adapted whatever knowledge he gathered. He had his outburst, his temper tantrums, but he also had his questions and his good moments, moments where he impressed the calico she-cat. And over all, the last thing Finchpaw did was outright reject his mentor’s suggestions.

But he wanted to this time, just because it was the obvious thing to do, and Brightnose said it as if she were speaking to a kit. He was a kit though, in regards to fighting, with hardly any knowledge or practice, save the occasional playfight. So he should listen, should strike Brightnose hard in the eyes, and then slip away from her before she could strike him back.

Mm…your enemy won’t always stop and tell you how to proceed though, Finchpaw thought. And Brightnose won’t be by your side, giving you pointers either. And she’ll be expecting me to follow her advice, so she already has a counter-attack for it. It may be the easy way to get out of this, but it can’t be the only way. There is always more than one solution to a problem, you just have to think.
Finchpaw furrowed his brow and did just that, gathering the facts in front of him. She was on his tail—all her weight was pressed down upon it. She was sitting, waiting for his move, taking a breather, giving him time to think. He could not move because he was not strong enough to tug himself free. He could not use his claws because it was a practice fight and he did not actually wish to draw blood. And he was stubbornly against her suggestion. What could he do?

Well…he could fall back onto Brightnose…? If he let his whole body go slack and plummet backwards, that would surprise her. It would also hurt the base of his tail, but if she jumped off, then his tail would be free. He would be on the ground, belly up though. He would have to regain his footing very quickly if that was to work.

This was a practice fight and part of the point of a practice fight was to experiment with different fighting techniques and moves. So why not try it, even if, in the end, he lost the fight? He would have at least learned something.

With that thought in mind, Finchpaw let himself fall back, slamming into his mentor and hopefully surprising her enough to get her off his tail.

[/size]

[Cloud of Diamonds]

Oh, mousedung. While it wasn't the best tactical maneuver, it was brave and she had to admire that a little. Not enough to be satisfied, however. No, it was rather difficult to be satisfied with a bony but admittedly still somewhat heavy apprentice on her back. The calico grunted, surprised by the sudden weight on her back. Now how to get out of this before she was too crushed to think...

Tactics. She had restricted movement, however her opponent did also. She wasn't quite strong enough to throw him off with one move, so...how to make it easier to get out. He was likely in pain, but still hamper her if she moved the wrong way. So...slippery moves would be best.

Letting the tension in her hunched legs evaporate, she wiggled quickly and precisely to the right - and then pushed as much up and out as she could with her back legs. It wasn't a particularly strong push, but it was hopefully abrupt enough to surprise Finchpaw for a moment while she gathered herself.