battle basics - keeping up with jaws and claws [p]

[alec]

->> rookfire <<-
[ shadowclan enforcer | 17moons | purrks ]
a large scarred dark grey cat with minimal white markings and grey eyes

feeling a bit more comfortable with the situation he had put himself into, rookfire once again lead a group of apprentices into the territory, this time choosing to remain relatively close to camp. the thick forest, lush and deep green almost radiated enough peace and security that rookfire considered not obsessively scanning their surroundings, no actually, who are we trying to kid? no matter the warm blanked of summer sun shining down on the enforcers dark pelt, the quiet chirping of birds and the rustle of evergreen and deciduous greenery alike shifting in the wind, nothing would make rookfire forget about the cannibal, the darn murderer and the odd influx of badgers they apperantly had to also deal with. rookfire gave roachflare a nod, jerking his head up instead of down to signal the warrior to go on his way around the clearing they had gathered in, search for unfamiliar scents and ensure safety. and while rookfire wouldve preferred to see himself, the nod the tortie gave him in return was enough to calm his spirits a bit, tail curled around white tipped paws uselessly, he'd have to get back up soon.
"we'll be working on three foundational things today, front paw strike and cranial blow, duck and twist for defence purposes and finally actual combat. between moves you get the chance to practice, after we went through all im going to pair you up so you can put everything you've learned together." he announced, watching roachflares multi colour pelt shift in the corner of his eye, before resuming his guarding to rooks left, successfully covering the area of the forest rookfire couldnt view from where he was located, blind eye and all that stuff..

"lets beginn! front paw strike and cranial blow are both moves executed with one of your front paws, preferably the one you feel more stable and secure using, and both serve as a good starting point for more advanced moves and technique. the important difference is that unlike for a front paw strike, your claws are to be sheathed to execute a cranial blow." rookfire explained, back to his paws and turned to half face the apprentice and roachflare who he would use to demonstrate the moves with. the dark pelted enforcer lifted a paw to tap it against roachflares body, tortie patterned chest, shoulder, neck, side and head, "front paw strike aims to make your opponent bleed, everything above their shoulders will be more likely to kill. it is your choice how you shall treat this information." he explained, lostsparks own explaination to rookfire and the golden pelted apprentice bleeding out beneath his paws flashed through his mind. it was quite odd how much he now connected to moves that used to be boring theory, in riverclan anyway, he felt like he could remember ever word lostspark had said, sparking his curiousity about her condition and what lie beneath the facade of medicine cat turned enforcer.. and the death that was torn into his flesh, missing earn and ragged scars a almost welcome reminder to the power of tearing flesh from bone, well, he would almost say every battle related memory was one he was keen on keeping. "you can swipe from the side or from the top for both cranial blow and front paw strike" rookfire continued, repeating the motion on roachflare a few more times before moving on.
"cranial blow is used mostly to disorient. you hit the side or top of their head as hard as you can and if you do it right it'll buy you enough time to plan your next move or get your pelt out of shredding distance.. you'll need a good stable stance for either move so make you dont knock yourself over with the motion." more demonstration, slow and careful, before the enforcer turned to his students.
"now you practice, either on a tree or each other, though id prefer the tree option so no one has to bug mossfreckle later." rookfire finally instructed, letting silver eyes wander over the cats gathered once more, aiming to memorise their appearance as best he could, roachflares unique pelt and short statue, cinderpaws deep black pelt, lionpaws silver-red pelt that was pretty misleading in combination with the name, magpiepaws short legs and the thick split coloured fur, muddypaws well, muddy fur, gutspaws dark tabbied form, before taking a few steps back, offering them the majority of the clearing to practice while watching from the side lines.

__________________________

OOC:

- you are very welcome to have your character ask/need assistance from rook or roach, just mention me
- off topic conversations are welcome as long as your character participates
- there is no limit to the number of posts your cat can make between rooks big "group teaching" posts (i will be posting interactions in between those as well).
- i appreciate every ping :3


rundown of the lesson plan:
- front paw strike/cranial blow demo + practice (between now and my next post)
- bite and lock demo + practice (group teaching post 2)
- duck & twist demo + practice/ combat practice beginning (last group teaching post)
- combat evaluation + dismissal



people involved:
rookfire - me (teacher/guard)
roachflare - me (teacher/guard)

cinderpaw - @Neptune. (participant)
lionpaw - @Ladiebugg (participant)
magpiepaw - @Marigoldwhisper (participant)
muddypaw - @Dolomedes (participant)
gutspaw - @wolfie (participant)
gracklepaw - @chickadee (participant)


- inspiration taken from rooks own battle training by lostspark (@/rose) and hawkbite (@/suspiciousmindz) -
- let me know if anything needs correcting

-> next rook post: 25/07/24 OR earlier if everyone has replied <-

[Marigoldwhisper]

Magpiepaw
She, Her\Apprentice\10 moons\Shadowclan
"Why pick them when I can do it so much better?"

Purrks: Silvertonuge [ACTIVE] Kittysoftpaws [ACTIVE]



- - -

Oh, today was the day the forest would burn with Magpiepaw's radiance. Today, she'd learn how to fight and use it to everyone's benefit or for their suffering. Either was completely fine by her. Ripping pelts, shielding them, blah, blah, all the same! As long as she could fight something. She nearly couldn't contain herself as Rookfire lead them further through the forest. Uncharted territory Magpiepaw called it since she hadn't ever seen it before.

Usually, Magpiepaw wouldn't give a lecture the time of day. BORING! But, whatever Rookfire was talking about was about fighting and thus she listened (and shifted her weight from paw to paw like a thousand times). And finally, LECTURE DONE! And Magpiepaw knew exactly what to do, even if she was antsy, she wasn't dull by any means. She let those words burn into her brain like claw marks on stone. Never forget, not anything this important.

While she'd love to whack one of the cats here into oblivion, she figured practicing on the trees would be better, considering then she wouldn't be scolded for tearing a tree apart, but a clanmate? That's a one way ticket to taking her chances as an outsider, a big old no, no, no! Front paw strike was something Magpiepaw was genuinely looking forward to, given trees couldn't really be knocked out (unless she tore it down....), so she marched up to a tree and unsheathed her claws. Oh how she missed them.

Anything above the shoulders... Make them bleed.

Magpiepaw rendered anything above the low branches above a cats shoulders, higher than her and nearly unreachable. But not for the Great MAGPIEPAW! Since even reaching above their shoulders would be hard, Magpiepaw would have to prioritize pinning, dazing, and ankle biting. Swiping at their paws (the roots) would probably make them fall in utter pain, so perhaps that was her best bet at even reaching up there. But this wasn't a cat, this was a tree, thus her impossibly awesome ideas were practically useless. What joy.

Leaping? She could do that, yup, definitely! Without another thought (she was sick and tired of thinking, she just wanted to punch stuff!) she sprang up and aimed her paws at the low branches and used her other paw to aim higher up, her oddly long tail bristled in excitement. It. Is. On!

(I am not going to do rolls for this, die literally hate me and Magpiepaw lol, maybe in the next post.)

First of all, hitting at trees hurt. The impact left her paws stinging with pain. Bark sliced underneath her claws and sprayed everywhere she looked. The pain, the bark, the excitement. Soon enough, Magpiepaw found herself cackling. Oh, this was great! Absolutely amazing! Again, again, again! Crazy? No, no, no. Magpiepaw wasn't crazy! Just driven!

[wolfie]

ⵌ ➜ #GUTSPAW
˗ˏˋ ✮ it . teeth . bite . // thirteen moons ˎˊ˗　
small spiky-furred black tabby with striking icy blue eyes. has a huge fluffy tail & a few scars in the shapes of bite-marks - notch in left ear.

❝HIGH ACHIEVER, DON'T YOU SEE? BABY, NOTHING COMES FOR FREE !!❞

---

『 彡 ➜ @alec 』
It was about time teeth got proper battle training. The embarrassment was overwhelming — the best it had was whatever it taught itself. Gutspaw trailed behind Rookfire, icy irises dragging alongside the landscape. After the lesson concluded, it would most definitely take the chance to .. collect. The sounds of chirping birds signaled feathers may be in season. Oh great abyss, that would be perfect for its nest.

It entered into the clearing, sun beaming down on its dark pelt and showing the cold undertones. Rookfire was quick to jump into explanation and Gutspaw listened carefully. The first two moves seemed.. simple enough. An unsheathed front slash & a sheathed front paow. The eternal rest knows how many times its had to bap one of teeth's siblings on the head for being stupid. (A sudden sharp pang sparks in its heart. )

After Rookfire finished, the apprentice went towards a tree and started to practice. First, with its claws unsheathed it slashed at the bark both upwards, downwards, and sideways. The texture was rough, tugging unpleasantly on its claws.

 

It wasn't soft & easy to rip through like flesh was. The way blood would soon follow after, the scent that filled its senses and caused its mouth to water like a river. A metallic taste on its tongue.

Gutspaw blinked its eyes rapidly, snapping out of teeth's thoughts with a sudden wave of incredible discomfort overcoming it. And then the itch returned, prickling behind its skin and it slashed through the bark once more. It had to make the marks odd. One - two, three. Then, sheathed which was much more unpleasant than simply slashing. Again, in odd movements but at least the pain seemed to cover the hunger.

---

⸝⸝⊂➜﹒silk spinner ✮ kitty softpaws ✮ bewitched ⊃⸝⸝

❝THEY SAY I'M A CONTROL FREAK - DRIVEN BY A GREED TO SUCCEED !!❞

[Neptune.]

Cinderpaw
~<>~
44/100
9 moons || she/her || ShadowClan Apprentice
small black tabby with minimal white markings and 3 legs; amber eyes
[cw: mild internalized ableism]

Recently, Cinderpaw had come to a realization that she was never going to get any better, was never going to even have a moment to try to move on and rise above is she did not seize the chance for herself. She didn't currently have a mentor - her old one having gone missing during their move to the new camp a while ago - and she'd grown... somewhat lazy some might say. Scared, is how she would describe it. Scared that she wouldn't measure up to the expectations on her back, scared she would not be able to succeed thanks to her... deformity. It's funny, when she thinks about it, Cinderpaw only seems to have a problem with her own disability so long as she's directing the thoughts at herself, and yet, when she thinks of other cats who have less than four legs, she does not feel the same way towards them as she does herself.

Todays lessons with Rookfire were a way to gain back some semblance of control, a way to prove to herself that she could still do all she wished to do, and a chance to get a jump start on the training that she'd been neglecting up until now. A late start, but a start nonetheless.

Amber gaze stays unwavering on the enforcer as Rookfire demonstrates both the cranial blow and front paw strike, teaching about their uses as he shows. When he instructs them to practice now, Cinderpaw chooses to do so on a tree, not knowing the others in the lesson well enough to feel comfortable asking to use them as her own personal training dummy. Her stance, at first, is a little clumsy, and she has to try for a moment to find her center of gravity. Eventually, though, she finds that if she uses her left paw, then she can have opposite front and back feet on the ground and is able to increase her stability. It likely won't work every time, and she'll definitely need to figure out her more unbalanced side at some point, but it would do for now.

The tree doesn't move, so it's not a question of being able to hit her target, and, claws unsheathed, Cinderpaw slashes in the area where a cat's shoulders and neck might be. Make them bleed, her mind parrots, and she slashes again in a downwards diagonal. A few times she pulls out of her battle stance and paces back, trying to test herself on how quickly she could get into her fighting stance and then either slash, like for the front paw strike, or how fast she could wack around where a cats head might be, like for the cranial blow, and then how fast she could then back out of striking range.

It takes a few tries, and her first attempts are wobbly as she gets used to moving quickly on her three legs and troubleshooting her weight distribution and center of gravity, but buy her third and fourth strike, Cinderpaw feels as though she's gotten into the rhythm of things.

[alec]

->> rookfire <<-
[ shadowclan enforcer | 17moons | purrks ]
a large scarred dark grey cat with minimal white markings and grey eyes

rookfire circled the three apprentices that had already taken to practice, observing their moves with sharp grey eyes and poorly hidden curiosity. first, his attention was caught by magpiepaw who seemed to have had a moment of hesitation before actually choosing a tree, but then managed to execute the move fairly well. rookfire made a mental note about the apprentice swiping at the roots rather than what was directly in front of her, and, even though he had already half turned away, a very special note about leaping up to reach higher points. "no need to be so flashy" his tone was neutral enough to fly under the radar, but sharp enough to be realistically noticed, especially because magpiepaw wasnt a stranger to him. was quite the thing actually, to be training the cocky apprentice that had tried to impress and scare him so hard when he first arrived. how the tables have turned aye.
next, silver eyes found gutspaw who had quietly began slashing its claws at a tree, movement pretty alright for a first timer though sporting the same little tendency he would address to the whole group.
lastly, the small black tabby rookfire remembered as cinderpaw, who mustve lost her hind leg some time between rookfire joining shadowclan and now. the enforcer wondered what couldve caused a apprentice this young to have to go through a change like that, a change far more relevant and life changing than himself losing half his sight. he never had to worry much about adapting, naturally changing behaviour to make up for the lack of vision, and now, harder time locating overall after fadingsun so kindly relieved him of a perfectly fine ear. rookfire was supposed to be stern but knew if it came to cinderpaw he'd be more forgiving, not because he didnt think the apprentice could do it, but because he could understand taking more time. however, it appeared that rookfire mightve mentally babied cinderpaw too much either way, she appeared to be handling herself pretty well, aiming high enough that rook could imagine what she was trying to do, make them bleed. the enforcer hadnt meant to watch as long as he did, but witnessing another cat test their way through a move, figuring out weak points and picking up improvements was always something rookfire had found fascinating, especially if the cat he was watching was as methodical in that as cinderpaw.
"keep up the good work cinderpaw" he commented briefly before raising his voice to address the group as a whole.
"when you use your claws, make sure to swipe shallow enough to not get stuck, its okay to hurt a bit but i dont want anyone leavin with a torn claw"

[ @Neptune. ; @wolfie ; @Marigoldwhisper ; you dont have to reply but feel free to do so ]

[Ladiebugg]

LionPaw
LionKit

10 Moons | She/Her | Unknown

ShadowClan Apprentice

___

@alec - RookFire

___

LionPaw nodded before padding to a tree and unsheathing her claws. She slammed her left front paw down on the tree a good few times.

[alec]

->> rookfire <<-
[ shadowclan enforcer | 17moons | purrks ]
a large scarred dark grey cat with minimal white markings and grey eyes

less than satisfying, a lot of the cats he had originally expected to participate (they had voiced interest after all) in this lesson seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth, oh well, their loss. luckily, the remaining apprentices, magpiepaw, gutspaw, cinderpaw and lionpaw, seemed to be at a similar enough level and just so happened to be an even number so actual combat practice would hopefully not be a bit issue. lionpaw was the one who stepped up last but had proven herself alright enough to not require any more correction from rook at this current moment.
"good work. step away from your trees, eyes on me, we'll shift our focus to another basic aspect of your anatomy. teeth and bite force for now, can help you in defense and offense." the enforcer opened, turning his right to face the apprentice to give them a better look at the large shoulder wound still a long way from scarred over. rook didnt think they hadnt noticed, he was very aware how the battle patrol returning to camp, him blood drenched and limp on lostsparks back especially, mustve caught the attention of a good handful of the cats that had waited for them, and a missing ear and broken leg wasnt really something one could hide anyway.
"be it by biting down and tearing," he gave a nod to his shoulder, "or simply biting down to stay in place while attacking with your claws." neutrality, though he personally much preferred the slick of blood running down his throat after tearing out bits of flesh and now that he was letting the thought linger for more than a second he had to admit to himself that he was getting antsy, awaiting another battle or unfortunate outsider crossing over shadowclan borders. sigh it would truly be too bad if one did..
"since we cant really practice the tearing or biting overall on each other without risking injury, you'll just have to remember it for later and accept that we're moving onto defense now. first up, someone is swiping for your head, you dodge, easy concept. you have to stay alert to predict their movement" he did feel a bit silly explaining this, not because he wasnt sure he could beat every single cat attending this lesson, safe for roachflare maybe, but because he carried the scars of a battle lost. or so it appeared, in his books, his fight with fadingsun was a tie, though he could argue that he won anyway because fadingsun was the one to pull back, call for evacuation and run like a hurt bunny.
"pretend someones going for your head, you duck down." he swung a paw at roachflare who ducked out of the way. "if they come from the side or youre in a bad position you roll out of the way and get back to your paws quickly" this time roachflare was the one to 'attack' rookfire, who, despite the aching protest of his shoulder, rolled out of the way before getting back to his paws and facing his 'attacker'.
"combine the two and you can duck and then roll out of the way to be in a better position to attack again. find yourself a partner and practice. claws sheathed."

__________________________

[ greetings lads, you had a lot more time than i planned because life happened. the people that didnt reply dont get a mention because i dont wanna run after yall for this + i dont think it counts as a finished training session if they didnt actually do all the training lol. somehow completely forgot what i meant by bite and lock so youre getting duck&twist in this one already oups ]

[ @Marigoldwhisper - magpiepaw
@wolfie - gutspaw
@Neptune. - cinderpaw
@Ladiebugg - lionpaw ]

[Marigoldwhisper]

Magpiepaw
She, Her\Apprentice\10 moons\Shadowclan
"Why pick them when I can do it so much better?"

Purrks: Silvertonuge [ACTIVE] Kittysoftpaws [ACTIVE]



- - -

Defense was a skill Magpiepaw never thought to work on. All her fantasies of war didn't contain ducking or dodging or narrowly rolling out of the way. Magpiepaw just didn't think like that, why would she? Also, she wasn't sure what the heck Rookfire was trying to show her by showcasing his scars. Like, oh my goodness, they got it! His scars were super cool and envy inducing, now could they move on? Magpiepaw decided to busy herself by picking stray pieces of bark from her long and slick fur. She still kept her ears perked. As boring as this lecture was, something's could actually be useful.

The apprentice sure knew how to use her teeth. It was only on prey at the moment, but she had a knack for tearing things open with her oddly long canines. That was enough for her to slowly lift her head in the hopes of maybe, just maybe, using a bigger prey animal to practice combat (she could TOTALLY take it on). But, alas, defense was the new focus. Booooooo. Rookie was absolutely no fun! What if she wanted some cool scars as well? She hadn't gotten one! Not a single one!

A partner? She raised her head completely, her short neck elongating. She briefly scanned the catalog of cats, her caramel eyes slightly narrowed as the sun so very rudely flashed in her eyes. "Cinderpaw. I demand your acquaintanceship." She walked over to the three legged cat, her tail raised with high authority. Would they accept? Yes. What if they didn't? Impossible. Even if that very impossible thing did happen, Magpiepaw wouldn't care. She'd swing at them regardless and TWICE AS HARD for being so grudging towards her brilliant offer.

Tags:
@Neptune. // Cinderpaw (don't mind magpie, you can decline if wanted!)

[Neptune.]

Cinderpaw
~<>~
59/100
10 moons || she/her || ShadowClan Apprentice
small black tabby with minimal white markings and 3 legs; amber eyes

At Rookfire's praise, Cinderpaw feels her spirits lighten just a little. It was rare anyone said they were proud of her, let alone that she had done a good job, so she soaks it in for a moment, and then gets back to work, heeding the instructions not to go too hard, or else she might risk wrenching a claw.

Eventually, Rookfire called them back to attention and went over the use of teeth. Obviously, the couldn't do so on trees, and Cinderpaw found herself wondering if maybe they would find a rabbit to try on, when the enforcer moved on quickly, demonstrating ducking and weaving, before motioning them all to break into pairs and practice with each other. She was a little startled when another apprentice (Magpiepaw?) insisted they work together like she was a clan leader and expected to have her words followed.

Pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes, Cinderpaw looks Magpiepaw up and down, weighing her options. She could say no, this molly's enthusiasm was already exhausting, and Cinder didn't really like the way she was speaking to her. Although... why should she throw this away? It's not like she would always be able to pick and choose who she fought in battles, so she nods slowly.

"Alright," she signs, "are you striking first, or am I?"

[ @alec || @Marigoldwhisper ]

[wolfie]

ⵌ ➜ #GUTSPAW
˗ˏˋ ✮ it . teeth . bite . // fourteen moons ˎˊ˗　
small spiky-furred black tabby with striking icy blue eyes. has a huge fluffy tail & a few scars in the shapes of bite-marks - notch in left ear.

❝HIGH ACHIEVER, DON'T YOU SEE? BABY, NOTHING COMES FOR FREE !!❞

---

『 彡 ➜ @Ladiebugg 』
Gutspaw would take Rookfire's advice, continuing to practice the prior moves on the tree trunk until the warrior called for them to stop. The apprentice turned towards, taking a few steps closer to listen to him speak.

The moves seemed .. simple, honestly. It was a basic battle session, but it hoped the latter moves may prove to be more eye-opening. It was only the suggestion of using your teeth in combination of your claws to hold on that Gutspaw hadn't quite thought of. Not like trees or rocks could be bitten much.

Once Rookfire finished up, the feline glanced around to see who was open. To teeth's disbelief, Magpiepaw and Cinderpaw had already seemed to be paired up. It was the oldest one here and was not particularly keen on sparring with someone five moons younger. Even cats bite's own age was bothersome.

With a tired sigh, it trotted up to Lionpaw. "Yo. Let's spar. You can go first."

---

⸝⸝⊂➜﹒silk spinner ✮ kitty softpaws ✮ bewitched ⊃⸝⸝

❝THEY SAY I'M A CONTROL FREAK - DRIVEN BY A GREED TO SUCCEED !!❞