Maple and Pine fighting lesson! [P]

[Poprock]

Maplemouse
Warrior || She/her ||13 Moons || Lanky tortoiseshell she-cat with one green eye and one blue eye

Maplemouse needed to learn the ropes - and fast. Her first day in Thunderclan was coming to an end; the setting sun already casting a deep orange across the territory. Tomorrow she would need to report to Spiderstar with an update on her knowledge. Who would be the first to educate her?

Pineblossom. The name came to mind immediately. She’d seemed nice enough at the meeting. Despite Maplemouse awkwardly looming in the shadows, the hornet had gone out of her way to welcome the tortie to Thunderclan.

“Pardon me.” She meowed quietly, dipping her head in greeting. Were hornets a higher rank than warriors? Did they require such a formal greeting, or was she making a fool of herself in front of the one cat who she needed to get along with the most?

“I have no skills in combat.” Blunt, but she couldn’t afford to beat around the bush. A kit could take her down if they really wanted to. “I was hoping you could show me the basics.”

@Fenrir

[Fenrir]

⋆⁺‧₊☽The Thorn-Crowned Amazon☾₊‧⁺⋆
☆-Pineblossom-☆
ThunderClan Hornet
[She/Her]
{33 Moons}
~Straight~
"And I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want, just not home."
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Pineblossom turned her head slightly at the voice coming her way. Maplemouse. The large she-cat turned to meet the friendly voice, nodding as the she-cat spoke.

"I'm glad you are wanting to learn," Pineblossom mewed, her emerald gaze glinted with mixed joy and respect. "I'd be thrilled to teach you," she mewed coolly. Her fluffy tail lashed back in forth, anticipation of the training already getting to her. This wouldn't be like training Cicadapaw, though she really hadn't taught him battle moves at all yet.

"Follow me," she purred, her large frame walking out of the camp, towards the training hollow. "This is where we will train. Now, lets get right into it, shall we," the queen mewed. "No claws, more for your safety than my own," she mewed. "Show me what you've got,".

@Poprock

[Poprock]

With a simple nod of thanks from Maplemouse the two were of, padding towards the training grounds without any hesitation with a little extra pep in her step. That was... easier than she expected, but very welcome. No nonsense, no time to waste. Not even a poorly timed dad joke like a certain someone.

Maplemouse wondered if her former caretaker and Pineblossom would have gotten along.

Ah, so Pineblossom wanted to see what she was working with. Well, she was about to be extremely disappointed. Maplemouse blinked once at the hornet before nodding. Suddenly the energy from before was gone - replaced with something more... blegh. This wasn't going to be pretty.

An unsure bap. Unless Pineblossom was slow as a snail - or wanted the feather light touch to land - Maplemouse was simply just swatting at air. What else was fighting if not bapping each other really hard?

Her face did not show the immense embarrassment she felt, but anyone could see the way her tail thrashed around behind her. She was acting like a fool!!! She had to try again, show Pineblossom that no, Maplemouse wasn't a complete failure.

"That was... a joke." To sell her totally hilarious "joke", Maplemouse did something she has never done. She smiled. Or... what she thought was a smile. It stretched slowly across her maw; the ends of her lips creeping upwards like a ghostly presence was pulling them itself. Her green and blue eyes widened... because thats what smiling did to your eyes right???? She had no clue. Hopefully she wasn't looking like a snake who had just stumbled upon a mouse party.

Then came her second attempt. After backing up a few paces, the tortie charged. Her plan after? Uh. Well. Who knows? Charging at your opponent and knocking them over seemed like a good plan??? Maybe???

@Fenrir LOL

[Fenrir]

⋆⁺‧₊☽The Thorn-Crowned Amazon☾₊‧⁺⋆
☆-Pineblossom-☆
ThunderClan Hornet
[She/Her]
{33 Moons}
~Straight~
"And I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want, just not home."
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Well then. This was sure to be... different. Pineblossom sat still as the she-cat's bap landed on her nose. Like a tap from a mother to a kit. Her emerald gaze looked at the young she-cat, unfazed. Thats when the silence was broken with, that was a joke. She sure hoped so.

The she-cats next strategy was... okay, but unless she had a way to counter Pineblossom's parry, it was highly unlikely to work. Pineblossom leapt in the air, cleanly avoiding Maplemouse's charge, proceeding to land behind her and whip around, looking at her with mild curiousity. "Intriguing, but rushing is never going to be your best option," she mewed coolly.

@Poprock - Shes just like what-

[Poprock]

Maplemouse
Warrior || She/her ||13 Moons || Lanky tortoiseshell she-cat with one green eye and one blue eye

So the rush didn't work. Maplemouse couldn't say she was too surprised... though Pineblossom's graceful leap was interesting to watch. Her tail lashed once before turning back to listen to the warrior's advice.

"So I should be a bit more... calculated?" She wondered aloud. Strength wasn't her specialty - stars her legs looked like twigs compared to Pineblossom's. Speed wasn't either. She wasn't experienced enough to rush in to battle and let her instincts take over. Perhaps Pineblossom's point was to analyze her opponent a bit more?

"I've got one more idea." She spoke after a moment, lowering her body into a hunter's crouch. Then, she rushed forward once more. Instead of blazing full steam ahead, she skid to a stop just in front of the hornet and raised a front paw. A bap was aimed to her shoulder - a real one this time. Then, the other paw raised. Another attempted bap. Stronger this time. To end her attempted assault, both paws moved to wrap around Pineblossom's neck. If she even got that far, the tortie would shove her nose into the side of the hornet's neck - mimicking a bite.

@Fenrir

[Fenrir]

⋆⁺‧₊☽The Thorn-Crowned Amazon☾₊‧⁺⋆
☆-Pineblossom-☆
ThunderClan Hornet
[She/Her]
{33 Moons}
~Straight~
"And I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want, just not home."
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Pineblossom nodded. "Going directly for your opponent when they are expecting it is never going to work, if they have space and time to avoid you," she mewed. She watched as the young warrior walked the opposite direction, attempting a new plan.

Pineblossom didn't move. She didn't need to. At least give the new warrior a chance to learn something. When Maplemouse stopped and bapped her, the hornet flinched slightly. Followed by another bap, then an attempt to hook into her neck. Alright, she knew something. That was a start. However, she wouldn't learn if Pineblossom went easy on her.

The large she-cat returned the favor, wrapping her paws around the wiry she-cat's neck, rolling to throw her off. "You have the calculated part," she purred. "But now comes the logistical part,". Pineblossom turned to look at Maplemouse. "Gauge your opponent. Their size compared to yours. If they are bulky, speed around them. If their lanky, match their speed," she mewed. She was definitely bigger than the former loner, bulkier and longer, but she was also roughly 3 times her age, and a born warrior.

@Poprock