Soaringpaw's Battle Training [P]

[Fits]

Heroneye
| she/her | RiverClan | Lionheart |

[ Heroneye rolled a six out of ten. ]

The Lionheart had been expecting it when the apprentice faked to the right, then darted to the left. It was the natural response, after all; the whole point was to catch Heroneye off-guard. She turned as the apprentice moved, following her movement and continuously facing forward.

What Heroneye hadn't been expecting, however, was the strike that Soaringpaw landed on her face. A somewhat injured pride mixed with approval. That was what battle was all about: adaptability. Decision-making. Can't pull off one move? Try another. Still, though, the idea was to pull off the leap-and-hold--at least for the sake of training.

"Keep trying," Heroneye said simply. She'd wanted to mention that Soaringpaw had done well by using another move, but she couldn't bring herself to break concentration--be it hers or Soaringpaw's. She could emphasize that later, not when they were in the thick of their faux battle.

She didn't intend to strike back. Not yet, anyway. Soaringpaw was showing promise, but the Lionheart didn't want to rush or overwhelm her. Perhaps closer to the end, then.

( @Spooky Minku - Soaringpaw )

[Minku]

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Soaringpaw
RC Apprentice. She/Her. 8 Moons
Agatha Kitty

[ @Fits ]

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post 13

She nodded back off slightly. It wasn't a surprise to Soaringpaw. It could've been too obvious already that she planned to trick Heroneye. The lionheart was more experience in battling, so trickery would be harder to pull off than on someone the same experience as her. She already figured. If the move was to try and get a hold of an enemy's back, then obviously one would try to trick their opponent and catch them off-guard; that's what Soaringpaw had tried. Which didn't work. So she wasn't gonna try the same thing again. What would be more unexpectant? Her trying to trick Heroneye again in another way, or her just going straight for it? There wasn't else much to use to her advantage in the area, the move's really just relying on agility and awareness. And she needs to figure out a way for her opponent to not predict her moves

She'll give it a try again, until she finds a way to do the technique properly. It's best to not try a failed strategy twice in a row, with the exact same cat, so she needed to try and find another one that'll work better than the last. Her blue eyes narrowed before the apprentice began to sprint forward. Straight forward this time. Not to the left, not to the right. This time, she'll be going in a straight line until last second when Soaringpaw sprung herself to her left and tried to leap on that way. If Heroneye still managed to catch up to her plan, she'll try to dart for the right side instead when Heroneye was still in the process of turning. Would that work? It wan't the most complicated move, but it was slightly more compared to the last. She's never seen a battle, she wasn't sure what strategies were more common to use and which one had never been used before

[Fits]

Heroneye
| she/her | RiverClan | Lionheart |

[ Heroneye rolled a four out of ten. ]

Heroneye watched as the apprentice rushed towards her. Evidently, she was trying a different approach now. Before, by going to the right, it was fairly easy to guess that she'd end up doubling back to the left. In going straight, though, her actions became more obfuscated. Would she continue going in that direction, or to the side? If the latter, would she go left or right?

Heroneye would watch Soaringpaw for hints as to her intentions--a quick glance one way or the other, for instance--but by the time such hints revealed themselves, it was too late, and the apprentice had already completed the leap-and-hold. She would try gently to shake off the apprentice, who would hopefully be quick to relinquish.

Heroneye, being Heroneye, quickly began to doubt herself. How would it look, then, to have allowed the apprentice to pull off the leap-and-hold so easily. Surely she could have put up a better fight than that against an apprentice. Or perhaps that was unreasonable. The point of the lesson wasn't to appear strong, but to demonstrate the fundamentals of battle. But that didn't mean she wouldn't like to (selfishly) at least have the appearance of being a half-decent warrior.

"Good job," she said honestly, though her stony expression didn't reveal much. "You were quick on your paws, fast to adapt. That's important.

"If you're ready, we'll move on to the next move. That will likely be the last move I teach before we spar properly."

( @Spooky Minku - Soaringpaw )

[Minku]

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Soaringpaw
RC Apprentice. She/Her. 9 Moons
Agatha Kitty

[ @Fits ]

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post 14

The move landed; a success. Soaringpaw quickly got off once Heroneye tried to shake her off, looking at the Lionheart and waiting for what she was going to say. The lesson was going decent so far, at least for Soaringpaw's first try at battle techniques, although she didn't think of it much yet; she wasn't the type to celebrate. And she still didn't know what's last on the list. So far, all she knew is that a next move seem to be slightly more complicated than the last. Involves more thinking. She definitely wasn't stupid, she knows damn well there was stupider cats out there. But if she makes a strategy, would she have to think of a back up plan for when plan a fails? It's always good to have a backup, right? So she doesn't get killed? The thought of dead cats doesn't exactly scare her, it's the thought of herself as the dead cat that does. She knew she needs bravery, and she's been brave enough to proceed with her life; but what would she be like during a real battle? The anxiety she had when she first encountered Brokenstream on the border? The nervousness of meeting Stormstar for the first time? She's weaker than she ever wants to make herself look, and she knew that's why she refused to let her guard down. Even now. Carelessness is a predator that sneaks up on it's prey

...the lesson. She needed to put her lesson first, thoughts second. She shook her thoughts away as soon as it came, not wanting to let herself get distracted. As long as she's not stubborn and she's willing to proceed, she'll become the type of cat that she wants to become. "I'm ready for the next move" while she didn't want it to be impossible for her to do, but she didn't want it to be too simple. But she keeps her preferences for herself and do what she needs to do

[Fits]

Heroneye
| she/her | RiverClan | Lionheart |

Heroneye nodded slightly at Soaringpaw's words, though she supposed there was nothing to affirm. Strangely, she got the impression that she and the apprentice were quite similar--for better or for worse, she supposed. She barely knew Soaringpaw, of course, she reminded her of herself, strangely. Perhaps because they were both on the more stoic side? That sort of thinking wasn't relevant to training, though, so she continued.

"The final move will be the half-turn belly rake." Honestly, these move names were becoming increasingly ridiculous, in Heroneye's opinion. Still, she gave no indication of this as she spoke. That was its proper name, after all, and she was meant to convey it to Soaringpaw regardless of her own feelings. Still, though, the elaborate name was quite descriptive and made the move fairly self-explanatory.

The move itself required quite a bit of coordination, but Soaringpaw had shown an ability to learn quickly and react well to failure, so the Lionheart was fairly confident that she could do it. Perhaps not perfectly, but it would still be more valuable than learning a move she found easy, right?

It's about what it sounds like," Heroneye began, slipping into a crouch as she began to demonstrate the move. "One slides towards one's opponent, striking their chest or belly with one's claws as you go--" she paused, all the while acting out her words on an invisible enemy. "before jumping back to one's paws after one had passed them.

"You can try it on the air or on me, if you think you're ready," she finished simply. Heroneye felt that it would be better to practice on an imaginary target first, just to get all the movements down before adding extra variables. But Soaringpaw wasn't her and had her own ways of doing things, the Lionheart was sure, so she'd leave that up to the apprentice.

( @Spooky Minku - Soaringpaw )

[Minku]

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Soaringpaw
RC Apprentice. She/Her. 9 Moons
Agatha Kitty

[ @Fits ]
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post 16

Half-turn... Half-turn belly rake. A mouth full it seems. She really didn't know who named these. Definitely not Heroneye. But these names were rather straightforward. Even if a cat just heard the name they could get an idea of what it's about.. Soaringpaw was pretty sure whoever came up with these moves just decided to use it at some point and noted down each movement they and their opponent did just to come up with a bunch of names afterwards. The apprentice had an idea of how to do it, but she didn't actually know how to go about a 'Half-turn' quickly. She needed to pay close attention to how Heroneye did it, to pay attention to how the older she places her paws. It seems like a high-risk high-reward technique, at least from Soaringpaw's perspective. Although one would argue that's all of them and that fighting in general has a high risk and reward. It's just that this move sems slightly more dangerous if one messes up. At least with the last two you're still on all four paws

She watched Heroneye, taking in how she gets down then back up on her paws. That was a visualization how well she wanted her attempt to go, but there's no point in hoping. She knows she won't do well on her first try, if the the last moves were any evidence. But the thing she didn't want was to take too long on a single move. So far she needed 2 tries to improve and she didn't want that to increase into 4 or maybe even 5 tries.

When Heroneye was done, Soaringpaw quickly got into her crouching position (she supposes it helps her train her crouching at the same time?). As much as she wanted to try it out on an actual target, if Heroneye gives her an option to try it out on an imaginary target first; there's probably a reason for it. She imagines the same cat she used the front paw blow on earlier, then springing herself forward. She tried her best to move her paws and strike the air above her as soon as she slipped under her imaginary targer. The disadvantage of this is that she wasn't sure if she was actually hitting the right spot, but she assumes it'll come to her once she actually tries it out on Heroneye later. She made one strike before using her paws to push herself on a straight standing position again; She knew she probably didn't get back on her paws as quick as Heroneye did. "How was it?" after a few moments passed she asked, turning her head towards Heroneye.

[Fits]

Heroneye
| she/her | RiverClan | Lionheart |

Heroneye watched Soaringpaw's attempt at completing the move. She had elected to use it on an invisible target, which was helpful in that it made it easier for the Lionheart to watch. Soaringpaw seemed to have the form more or less down; it was clear that she had been making great improvements over the course of the lesson.

"You seem to know what to do; it's just a matter of making it smoother, I suppose," said Heroneye, probably rather unhelpfully, but she didn't think anything other than practice could fix that. "In any case, I believe you're ready to try the move on a real target." At this, she began to brace herself for Soaringpaw's next attempt.

( @Minku - Soaringpaw )

[Minku]

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Soaringpaw
RC Apprentice. She/Her. 9 Moons
Agatha Kitty

[ @Fits ]
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post 19

It went well actually.. And now Soaring was tasked with an actual target. She assumed it'd go kind of similar to the leap-and-hold where she'd have to figure out a way to do the move successfully. She'll see how it goes. She nodded and got herself into a crouch again after a second or two of thinking how she'd pull it off. She brought herself forward, trying to get below Heroneye and strike the under belly in a timely manner. With sheathed claws, of course. That part's already obvious. Soaringpaw tried to take advantage of her smaller form to slide under the Lionheart easier and quicker. If the move turns out a success, she'd bring her paws back on the ground and get up as quickly as she can. She keeps telling herself to pay attention to balance; If she stumbles like her first attempt at a front-paw-blow her future opponent could take advantage of that and get payback. No. She can't let her defense walls down in the heat of battle. Would she actually be able to spar later? She didn't want to say no since she'd gotten better as the lesson goes one and telling herself she couldn't would affect her performance. But she wouldn't get her hopes up and say yes either. Something else she also shouldn't do in battle is to overthink things like this, dammit. She'll get sneaked up on and get killed easier. No..Soaringpaw, don't end up dead.

[Fits]

Heroneye
| she/her | RiverClan | Lionheart |

Soaringpaw had completed the move successfully, and quite a bit faster than her previous attempt. There was still room to grow, but of course there would be. She had made great strides, and Heroneye felt confident that she would be ready for the final stage of the lesson.

"With that, I believe we're ready to spar," she said, steadying herself after Soaringpaw's practice. Heroneye was considering exactly how to handle this; she obviously wouldn't be fighting with the same ferocity as in a real battle, but she couldn't go too easy on the apprentice, either. That wouldn't help anyone.

"For the final time, imagine that I'm an opponent from another Clan," she instructed. "What do you do?" She would gage Soaringpaw's course of action, be it attack or distract, and chart a path forward from there. That would be fine, right?

( @Minku - Soaringpaw )

[Minku]

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Soaringpaw
RC Apprentice. She/Her. 9 Moons
Agatha Kitty, Just a Scratch

[ @Fits ]
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post 21

Soaringpaw quietly took a deep breath for a moment before turning to directly facing Heroneye, pondering what her moves should and shouldn’t be. She already did the leap-and-hold that failed and turned into a front-paw-blot earlier, so would Heroneye be expecting something similar if she goes for a leap-n-hold? It’s kind of scary how in a real battle she probably won't be given any time to think over her strategies; but that’s why she shouldn’t take too long here. Soaringpaw decided to give it a go, but switch out some stuff with other moves she learned. Maybe she could use her paw to bat at Heroneye’s face to distract her.. If this isn't a real battle yet, she had a chance to try out what moves work and what doesn’t when she faces a more experienced cat..right? She..needed to figure out plans that she'd be able to use in battle and not..get herself punted into starclan..that's where Brokenstream said dead clan cats go..right?

Soaringpaw momentarily got into a crouch, using the back legs and leap forward faster, but kept the height of the jump closer to the ground. Really she only needed it to get closer to her opponent faster. As soon as she was in distance, she lifted her paw and tried to hit Heroneye with it. Whether it did hit or if the older cat dodged it..hopefully won’t matter much if Soaringpaw intended to use it more as a distraction than the actual attack. Although she can't really be certain with these cats. She tried to move herself beside then jump onto Heroneye. She wasn’t exactly sure if she's be allowed to use claws here so her next best bet if she managed to get on top won't be to cling on and do damage, but to make Heroneye lose balance. But would that mean Soaringpaw would lose balance as well? Being on the ground doesn't like a pleasant situation for the apprentice.. But did say the same thing on the third move she learned: high risk high reward. But she really wanted to try to minimize her own risks