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Starrypaw nodded quietly, following the group of apprentices behind the dark-scarred tom.
She had already been trained by Wormbite, and she had definitely enjoyed it. But today, she didn't think she would be able to focus at all on the training she would have to do.
The Starcave was still collapsed, and it seemed that no one cared at all! But her, Starrypaw, couldn't bear the thought of her beloved sister unable to reach her. She wanted her protection, her eyes. She wanted to be followed by the Starclan kit.
A little frog bounced in front of her and splashed some mud on her chest. She licked it off while it jumped away into the security of a puddle, remaining a bit behind the others.
Seapaw was nice, and... maybe she'd talked with Spiderpaw once? She couldn't remember at all right now, but she blinked gratefully at the adult trained before joining Seapaw on one side of this nice pond. "I'd never come here. It's so... peaceful..." Her voice whispered away like the echo of the breeze.
"I'd like to... stay on land, if you're okay with it.." She commented while fidgeting with her paws. It's just... I didn't have almost any training of fighting, so I wouldn't know what to do. I'd rather stay here and try to avoid Seapaw getting me. But she was a bit embarrassed about it, so she didn't admit it.
Instead, she took her position and steadied her legs, then turned to gaze at Wormbite's expression and waited for further instructions.
Spiderpaw, Mallowpaw, Starrypaw and Crowpaw. He knew Spiderpaw and Starrypaw, the others he didn't at all. "Hiya," he dipped his head to them in greeting, before trotting along behind Wormbite who led them to a peaceful pond. He wasn't sure he'd visited this exact spot before - it was nice. They'd make sure to come here again. Sage eyes flitted across the water, instantly drawn to it - a small pond skater zipped across it, not knowing it was about to be disturbed by a whole bunch of apprentices. What would that be like? To zip across water like that? It was so interesting to him. How did the little bug do it? Was there a way for cats to do it? Probably not. It must be part of being a teeny tiny bug, far lighter than a cat. He blinked back into reality, as Wormbite began to speak. They'd be in pairs today - that was nice. Oh, and he was with Starrypaw! Nice!
Wormbite spoke again, going over the basics. The bengal tilted his head to listen. Then froze - wasn't it all a little scary? Water combat could kill you? Seapaw gulped. He'd thought he'd be far more likely to die during land combat, and the water could serve as a free escape, but now Wormbite was saying it was even more dangerous... He thought, for a second, about running back to camp and escaping all this. But he couldn't. He needed to do this. If he was going to get his warrior ceremony alongside his sister, he absolutely had to do this. At the end of the day, he could always swim away from his opponent, right? They were a fast swimmer, hopefully faster than predators or other clans.
He nodded at Wormbite's explanation, taking it all in. They had to get their pair into the water or vice versa. Okay, got it. Good job this was just a training session, and no one would actually get hurt. Starrypaw approached him, and he offered her a kind smile. He'd forgotten just how quiet she could be - he titled his head to listen properly, "It really is, huh?" They agreed. Starrypaw wanted to stay on land, and he was more than happy with that. "That's fine by me!" Any excuse to get in the water! They stepped in, making sure not to cause too much of a splash. Oh he'd missed the water so much! It was so nice to finally be in some again. "Ready whenever you are!"
• she/her • 16 moons • riverclan/apprentice • the collector —> this character may express themes of depression, grieving, ptsd, and self-hate
CrowPaw trailed behind the others, barely making a sound. Her eyes didn’t wander, not to the flickering frog or the ripples in the pond—they stayed low, half-lidded, fixed on the ground just ahead of her paws. Her movements were careful, like each step had to be measured. Like she was still afraid of stepping wrong.
The mention of death didn’t make her flinch, but her tail twitched once. Sharp. She didn’t need reminding. Her thoughts still drifted, too often, to the image of them—LarkPaw. ShadowPaw. Gone in the blink of a heartbeat.
She stood still as WormBite assigned pairs, ears flicking only slightly when her name was spoken. Her gaze briefly met his, then dropped. Her mentor had been different. Unsteady. Commanding…in a bad way. A way that got her injured without a care. Wormbite wasn’t. That should’ve been reassuring.
It wasn’t.
He didn’t push. Didn’t bark at her. Just offered the choice. Her throat tightened. Even a small choice felt... heavy. She shifted her paws, eyes flicking between the water and the dry, patchy grass along the edge.
“I’ll—start on land,” she said finally. Her voice was quiet, but it didn’t waver. “I-I wa-want to- t-to get my footing b-before I t-tr-try anything else.” That wasn’t weakness. It was strategy. Right? She stepped forward, putting herself where she needed to be—solid ground, firm stance, weight balanced. Her posture was tense, tail low, but she lifted her head slightly and nodded to WormBite. “I’m ready,” she said, even if it was only halfway true.
my characters opinions are not my own! —> reply time depends on my motivation and schedule!
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mallowpaw still didn't know where they were going. but she was more than happy to follow along. she appreciated the opportunity to get out of camp, see the territory a little bit. she'd only been out one other time, so she occupied the quiet journey with the examination of her surroundings. the air smelled...not cleaner, but less dense than back in camp. she could still smell cats, but it was as if their scents had been spread out, and the space between the signatures was filled with exciting new aromas. of course, she was unable to decipher them yet, but she was content nonetheless. it didn't take much to make her happy, and everyone knew that.
they arrived at a pond, which was a good sign. mallowpaw loved the water. more than even most of her fellow riverclanners. she'd been told she was a natural at swimming. she didn't really know what that meant, but she sure liked paddling around and floating. maybe that's what they were doing here? wormbite began pairing them up. ooh, maybe a race? she flicked her ears in acknowledgement of her assignment, offering spiderpaw an easygoing smile.
oh. this was not a race. water combat, training, opponent. mallowpaw only understood about half of what wormbite was saying. she'd never had battle training before, but she supposed this was a rather integrative way to kick things off. she didn't want to hurt her fellow apprentice though. spiderpaw was older but mallowpaw was larger, and she had no clue how much training her partner had. huh, maybe mallowpaw should be more worried about herself. but she trusted her clanmates and felt confident all would be well.
"thanks, i'll take the water," she offered in response to spiderpaw. she approached the pond's edge, placing her forelegs in first. not too cold. she tread the rest of the way in slowly, not wanting to plunge down if the terrain suddenly dropped into deeper waters. chest-deep in the pond, she rotated to face spiderpaw. "good to go?" she asked amiably, tilting her head up at her temporary opponent. wormbite had told them to begin when ready, but it felt wrong to just attack without at least confirming.
SPIDERPAW
Riverclan Apprentice | 9 moons | Lanky, amber eyed, blue-grey tabby she-cat with white paws, chin, and tail tip.
Heightened perception: Smell
~~~
Okay, it was definitely easier with Mallowpaw making the choice. Spiderpaw nodded and gave another, small smile in return. She would take up the land portion of the fighting training. Amber eyes took in the whole of the environment, remembering her lesson with Heroneye. Water combat couldn't be that terribly different from land training. She could take advantage of anything she wanted in the area. Reeds would bring plenty of small distractions and cover.
As Mallowpaw got in place in the water, Spiderpaw moved closer to the edge where she was surrounded by reeds and cattails. She nodded and slipped into a comfortable battle stance. Balanced and ready. Mallowpaw was a bit of a wildcard, so she needed to focus on defense to keep herself on dry land. She wondered how many times they would switch back and forth before the day was over.
"Ready when you are." She mewed, feeling her heartbeat kick up a few notches as she got ready for a fight. Spiderpaw did enjoy sparring. She got ready to swipe at Mallowpaw as soon as the apprentice moved in, a motion that would move the plants into the other apprentice's face and hopefully give her an opening to pull Mallowpaw closer by grabbing and pulling at her elbows. She would be careful to avoid unsheathing her claws, but she wasn't sure how well this would work with the size difference between the two of them.
Mosstangle is an Enforcer in Shadowclan! Mention me whenever she is needed! My characters' thoughts, emotions, and actions are simply descriptions and roleplay, and do not align with my personal thoughts, emotions, and actions. *Pockets Full Of Purrkies active!*
Starrypaw braced herself for a hit, but there was something odd about her today. She wasn't as focused as she'd liked to be, and the sight of dragonflies and little frogs' splashes didn't help. She gulped, suddenly feeling hot from anxiety. What should she do now? She'd tried to paw at imaginary enemies from Primroseadder's brief lessons, but that was all. Was she even capable of avoiding paws?
"I'm ready.." She murmured, tensing her leg muscles, ready to bounce away.
Starrypaw braced herself for a hit, but there was something odd about her today. She wasn't as focused as she'd liked to be, and the sight of dragonflies and little frogs' splashes didn't help. She gulped, suddenly feeling hot from anxiety. What should she do now? She'd tried to paw at imaginary enemies from Primroseadder's brief lessons, but that was all. Was she even capable of avoiding paws?
"I'm ready.." She murmured, tensing her leg muscles, ready to bounce away.
Seapaw
he/they - 13 moons
Go with the flow, Mind Reader
Okay, ready to go. What should he do first? Heroneye had taught them some moves, but they didn't seem applicable to the water. A simple swipe wouldn't do anything to lure Starrypaw into the water - the other specific move he'd learnt was that back jump thing. Which, he obviously couldn't do if Starrypaw was on land. They supposed in the water, a cat could do that to shove the other underwater.... But that could drown someone. Especially if they didn't know how to swim. That was terrifying. They never wanted to drown anyone, ever. He figured he could use the water as more of an escape plan, right? Splash and swim away, become an annoyance. If his enemy ever looked like they were about to drown, he'd pull them out of the water. Killing someone was just too much for him.
They took a deep breath, zoning back into the real world. Getting Starrypaw into the water, that was their aim. They couldn't splash her - that would just drive her away. Maybe... A paw grab? They jolted forward, going to grab one of Starrypaw's forepaws with his paws. Maybe, if he messed up her balance, she'd have no choice but to get in the water: if she was falling over, she'd had to get in the water to avoid tumbling down. If she was a strong swimmer, that was - he presumed most RiverClan cats were.
Starrypaw was scanning her thoughts, trying to imagine what Seapaw's next move would be, following strictly his eye movements to see where they were going to lunge. This was so weird! Oh, my... I never fought with anyone so far. Just alone. I wonder what I should d-... Just as her thought was finishing, Seapaw sprinted toward her. They were looking at her paws! But she waited just for a fraction of a moment, and before Seapaw could grab her leg, she withdrew it and leaped back.
Now they were both out of the water.
What to do? What to do?
She decided she should make a feint. She looked at his neck and bounced forward, her fore legs extended so she could make the biggest leap possible. Still staring at his neck, she pretended she was going to bite him until she was just past him. Then, she landed in the water and splashed water all around her.
She didn't know what to do, so she waited for Seapaw to do their next move.
@sleepyyjax
Re: ᯓ★ WATER COMBAT TRAINING - 5/5 apprentices !!
