Make sure to congratulate Versailles on their promotion from c-mod in training to fully fledged chat moderator! They've worked very hard, and we can't wait to see where they go from here!
Newtbelly let out a small yawn as he emerged from the Warriors' den. It was early as usual, just how he liked it. And he had plans for the day. Wrangle this apprentice into a lesson. He skulked on over to the apprentice den, and poked his head in. "Venompaw." He gave her a nudge with his paw, "lesson time." He quickly left, and waited by the exit. He didn't like spending much time in the apprentice den, it always reminded him of a weird stage of his life.
Venompaw grumbled softly as a nudge woke her from her deep slumber. "Wha..?" Blinking sleep from her eyes, she drowsily sat up in a sloppy sitting position. Lesson time...oh!! Snapping out of her sleepy trance, the apprentice gave her pelt a brief shake before launching herself out the exit and racing past Newtbelly. Not considering the chance that manically bolting like that could knock her mentor over, or at least cause some disturbance.
"What're we doing?! Better be something fun!" Grinning hysterically as paced around in an excited trot. Wonder what she'd be learning today! Quietraven had already taught her how to hunt so she did not want to repeat that fiasco. Attempting to somewhat push Newtbelly towards the exit with her body she continued eagerly yelling the poor man. "C'mon, c'mon!! Let's get goin'!!!"
Venompaw grumbled softly as a nudge woke her from her deep slumber. "Wha..?" Blinking sleep from her eyes, she drowsily sat up in a sloppy sitting position. Lesson time...oh!! Snapping out of her sleepy trance, the apprentice gave her pelt a brief shake before launching herself out the exit and racing past Newtbelly. Not considering the chance that manically bolting like that could knock her mentor over, or at least cause some disturbance.
"What're we doing?! Better be something fun!" Grinning hysterically as paced around in an excited trot. Wonder what she'd be learning today! Quietraven had already taught her how to hunt so she did not want to repeat that fiasco. Attempting to somewhat push Newtbelly towards the exit with her body she continued eagerly yelling the poor man. "C'mon, c'mon!! Let's get goin'!!!"
Enthusiasm was always good, at least, he’d thought so until now. Venompaw’s sudden exit changed his mind quickly. He’d already dealt with Tickpaw going missing, he was not going to deal with another one! Sure, she knew the territory, but she didn't know how to fight other cats yet, never mind predators. “Venompaw!!” He called sternly, turning around, but not bothering to chase after her. A relaxed sigh escaped him, as he saw she hadn’t gone far at all. “Do not go running off like that.” He scolded, but it was clear he wasn’t quite angry. "I know it's exciting, but it's dangerous out there." He didn't have it in him to get angry at apprentices, unless they were bing exceptionally cocky.
"But yes, it is something fun, a personal favourite, actually." He finally exited camp, leading the way through the territory. Combat had always been second to stealth for him, or perhaps on par. As an apprentice, he'd been desperate to prove himself (perhaps that never went away), and combat had proved the perfect opportunity. His enthusiasm for it had certainly secured Owlthroat's favour. "Today, we're doing combat." He announced, coming to a stop in the Dawning Woods. It was a good place for a first session, plenty of shadows, but plenty of light. A good mix. "Let's start with basics, though. Show me your best battle stance." He adopted one himself, lowering closer to the ground, knees bend and ready to spring, tail tucked neatly out of the way.
Venompaw's run slowed into a sort of jog once more as Newtbelly called out to her. "Yeah, yeah, sure!!" She yowled back light heartedly. Reckless as ever. Besides, her mentor didn't seem angry at her so it couldn't be that serious right? She wasn't going to run straight into a badger!!
Eager squeaks and growls escaped the young tabby as she bounded around her mentor, briefly sniffiing around her surronding as they travelled. Newtbelly confirmed they were doing something fun, and he wasn't a total stick in the mud sometimes so she'd keep her hopes up and her eyes open.
Combat!!! Amber green eyes shined in delight as their topic for today was declared. Awesome!! Fighting! Venompaw loved that, for sure!! At Newtbelly's command, she immediately got into her best battle position: Legs spread far apart, fur puffed out, claws unsheathed, long fangs bared and head dipped to shoulder length. "Like dis'?" She asked, looking for approval.
Venompaw's run slowed into a sort of jog once more as Newtbelly called out to her. "Yeah, yeah, sure!!" She yowled back light heartedly. Reckless as ever. Besides, her mentor didn't seem angry at her so it couldn't be that serious right? She wasn't going to run straight into a badger!!
Eager squeaks and growls escaped the young tabby as she bounded around her mentor, briefly sniffiing around her surronding as they travelled. Newtbelly confirmed they were doing something fun, and he wasn't a total stick in the mud sometimes so she'd keep her hopes up and her eyes open.
Combat!!! Amber green eyes shined in delight as their topic for today was declared. Awesome!! Fighting! Venompaw loved that, for sure!! At Newtbelly's command, she immediately got into her best battle position: Legs spread far apart, fur puffed out, claws unsheathed, long fangs bared and head dipped to shoulder length. "Like dis'?" She asked, looking for approval.
He looked on, as Venompaw tried the stance. Not bad at all. "Good. You want to position yourself in a way that makes it easy to move. So, you might want to bring your paws a bit closer together." It really was pretty good, though. "Your stance might change a bit, as your combat style develops, but it's not worth putting yourself into a box like that yet. Just try different things as you go, and see what sticks" He explained. "I normally stay a bit lower to the ground, because I need to be faster than any larger opponents." The small calico explained. "Whilst, a big muscular cat, like your mother, would be more likely to bulk themselves up a bit, and use that to their advantage." That's all the time he'd spend on that for now. There was no point getting stuck on stances without any practical training.
"Enough of that though. Let's get onto some basic attacks, hm?" Venompaw seemed excited about this lesson, and he didn't want to dull that excitement with the boring bits. It was a good motivator, after all. "First, a simple forepaw slash - or swipe, whatever you wanna call it." He backed up, then demonstrated: lashing out with one forepaw. It flew through the air, with unsheathed claws. "Imagine there's an enemy in front of you, and give it a go." Once she'd given it a try, he'd get onto the whole spiel about where to aim, ect. ect.
Venompaw followed Newtbelly's advice as he criticised her stance: moving her paws closer together and not putting herself in a box. Though her mentor did make a good point of sticking to the basics until she learned to develop her own style. At the mention of her mother her ears perked up a bit. Yeah, Mammy was really strong!! Most likely the young she cat would develop a fighting technique closer to her since they did somewhat share the same build and traits.
Ooooh yay! The more exciting part!! Actually learning a move!!! The braided tabby focused intensely on the enforcer's demonstration of a forepaw slash or swipe or whatever she wanted to call it. Easy peasy! At Newtbelly's instruction, She unsheathed her talons and attemtped to slash at the air, putting more focus into power than speed on the contrary to her mentor. "Was dat good?"
Venompaw followed Newtbelly's advice as he criticised her stance: moving her paws closer together and not putting herself in a box. Though her mentor did make a good point of sticking to the basics until she learned to develop her own style. At the mention of her mother her ears perked up a bit. Yeah, Mammy was really strong!! Most likely the young she cat would develop a fighting technique closer to her since they did somewhat share the same build and traits.
Ooooh yay! The more exciting part!! Actually learning a move!!! The braided tabby focused intensely on the enforcer's demonstration of a forepaw slash or swipe or whatever she wanted to call it. Easy peasy! At Newtbelly's instruction, She unsheathed her talons and attemtped to slash at the air, putting more focus into power than speed on the contrary to her mentor. "Was dat good?"
He tilted his head, watching intently as Venompaw tried the move. There was a clear emphasis on the power of the strike than the speed, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He nodded. "Good, once you're able to combine speed with that power, it'll be devastating." Though, was power enough, at her age? "You might want to put a little more emphasis on speed, though, till you're a bit bigger." He'd move on quickly - Venompaw would get a chance to practice the moves later, but for now he wanted to get through as much as possible. Imagine if foxes or badgers attacked camp tomorrow?! She'd need as much variety as possible.
He began to explain the details. "The best way to defeat a cat is by going for the throat - easiest to do when pinning them. Belly's good too, but harder to damage. Plus, most cats will fend you away form there with their back paws." He had no clue what ShadowClan's wider opinion was, but Owlthroat had always taught him that extreme violence was nothing to be scared of. After all, it was you or them. That's one thing they had on other clans - they weren't scared to be brutal. "Most cats'll flee if you go for their throat, but if they don't back down, remember it's your life our theirs - you gotta do what you gotta do." He shrugged. Hopefully Venompaw wasn't too sensitive to that subject - he doubted she would be, with Dawnstar for a mother, but who could tell?
"Anyway, to reach a cat's vitals in the first place, you've got to wack them around a bit. You can do that by going for the face, or even the paws. Other places are good, but not ideal." He padded back and forth as he spoke. No doubt Venompaw was getting tired of all the speaking, but it'd be done soon. "That is to say, the forepaw slash is a great one to aim at the face and paws. Another good one for the face - or head, is a simple forepaw blow. You'd normally use this to hit the top of your opponent's head." He demonstrated, throwing a forepaw out, and wacking downwardwith as much force as possible. "Lots of cats do this with their claws sheathed, but there's no good reason to keep them unsheathed, in my opinion. Sure the move's about hitting your opponent in the head, more so than scratching them, but why not have the best of both?" He explained.
"Give that a go, then I reckon we should get into a practice spar, there's not much better than trying things out for real, hm?" He stretched out his back as he spoke. Of course, he wouldn't be throwing any heavy hits, but it'd be nice to get a workout in.
Combine speed with power. Got it. Venompaw gave a little "Alrighty!" in acknowledgement of Newtbelly's advice. Plopping herself back down, she listened to her mentor's lecture with growing boredom. Go for throat, belly and don't back down. Simple! Plus it wasn't like her to surrender, most of the time she was the one initiating a fight!! If she needed to kill she would, no problem.
Face, paws, whack em, blah, blah, unsheathe claws on forepaw blow cause why not. "Yep.." Ughhh, she got it old man!! When were they gonna do some proper fighting!? Ooh finally! Venompaw's uninterested expression was wiped off her face the moment Newtbelly offered a spar. Instantly, she got into the battle position he had just showed her, eyes flaming and tails lashing avidly. "Yeah, yeah!! C'mon let's go!!!"
Venom Training! ᓚ₍ ^. .^₎
