Battle Basics [Open to ShC]

[Mica]

Birdpaw
ShadowClan
she/her | 7 moons | 17/100
[Blue-grey tabby with dark blue overcoat, white underside and amber eyes]
Purrks: Lyrebird's Lullaby [PERMANENTLY ACTIVE]
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Birdpaw watched with wide eyes as Hawkbite began demonstrating, the apprentice having definitely been there the entire time mhm yep. Finding her own tree, Birdpaw watched everyone begin. Simple strike. Easy-peasy!

Birdpaw reared up and swiped, her tiny claws barely missing the tree. She stumbled a little as her paw came down crossed with her other front leg, but managed to not fall over. A frown twisted her lips, and Birdpaw continued to watch everyone else. She had to hit harder!!

Birdpaw growled a little at the tree to make it cower in submission before swiping with her full body weight behind it. She nearly crowed in delight when she felt bark give way under her paw, but it was lodged in her throat as she realized... she was stuck. Wuh oh.

Birdpaw glanced at Hawkbite, eyes wide, before yanking her paw from the tree. She hissed in pain, but the dull throbbing faded quickly. A quick flex of her claws revealed that she hadn't been hurt, though she did feel a little silly. But that was okay!! She could try again!!

This time, Birdpaw wanted to try toeing the line between too light and too heavy. If she could find that balance, then surely this would be easy. Taking a deep breath to settle herself like Freckle taught her, Birdpaw squared up against the tree. Once more she swiped her claws in a diagonal line across the tree, focusing more on her momentum rather than her strength. This time, a piece of bark flaked off and bounced on the ground near her paws. Birdpaw chirped in delight, tucking the piece of bark behind her. She would have to show Freckle later!! But for now, she would continue practicing.

[Luminous]

Pigeonpaw

It wasn't a huge group that showed up (why would anyone waste the chance to get buff??) but Pigeonpaw was still pretty happy with the amount that were there. Not too few for it to be boring and not so many that it would be difficult to keep track of. Not that Pigeonpaw had ever minded a bit of chaos, in fact, she had revelled in it the new times it had brewed up, but she also wanted to learn some moves to show off to Palesong later!

After a short wait, they all headed out, and... starting with just a swipe. Ok maybe Pigeonpaw had wished to learn more than that, but surely they would get to it later! He picked a nice-looking young spruce and flexed her claws a little before attempting to rake them across the bark. OW! The grey appearance had aimed for her claws to fly easily over the treetrunk with that satisfying "swish", maybe tossing off a few pieces of the bark like Hawkybites had done, but instead her claws momentarily caught on a piece of bark before ripping it off but also making her lose her momentum.

Shaking the chunk loose, she tried again, aiming a little differently now so that her claws wouldn't dig into anything and instead cleanly swipe across the bark. It a took a few tries to get it just right, but not too long before Pigeonpaw got a hang off it. Okiedokie with the exception of a little miss it wasn't too heard yet, and the grey apprentice continued to chipp clearly away the the tough bark while waiting for Hawkybites to show them something else.

[Estelle]

Battle training; Sleepypaw had begun her battle training by this point, Yellowtwist had taught her a variety of attacks and moves but she needed more. She needed to do better. And at the end of the day, she could only assume Miss Grandmama had more trust in Hawkbite than she did Yellowtwist - Hawkbite ought to be more reliable with additional training. That is why she heeded the call today, joining the mass of apprentices (and keeping a respectable distance) as she followed the lot out of camp and towards... A tree. She supposed this lesson was going to be quite different than Yellowtwist's one-on-one lesson.

She watched with care and subtle interest as Hawkbite's claws sliced clean and sent bark flying about, an evident show of strength. Or mastery of momentum, he seemed to say - and their first lesson. Sleepypaw was sceptical. For all that it's worth, she a bone-y cat, seemingly lacking in muscles compared to some of the clan. Still, if it relied on momentum and her strength would grow through this... She ought to give it a try. And so, she did.

Her first attempt was one that took her by surprise; with unsheathed claws so slashed them across the bark of the tree facing her, leaving clean slicing marks through the middle. It went less bad than she had thought, and prompted the feline to try again - this time, and bit farther, a bit stronger, but though her claws dug further into the bark upon her second attempt, they got snagged within it halfway through and, with much embarrassment, she had to pry her claws out and shake her paw to loose the tension. Then, came the third try. Now, she was uncertain where this sudden dexterity came from but when she lifted her paw and aimed to slash the bark a third time, the bark splintered and went flying around her, leaving clear marks on the tree in its wake. She blinked for a moment, but decided to continue trying, telling herself the hold on the bark must have loosened with her previous attempts.

[Hound]

Kestrelpaw
He/him || 7 moons || ShadowClan ||
short-haired blue-grey tabby tom with white circles under his amber eyes

Moving forward, Kestrelpaw took a seat by a tree of his own as ordered. The tree he claimed was decently big with deep ridges and grooves that moved upwards in a wavy fashion. that made the tree look as though bark had stripes. letting his attention drift he noticed a thin pattern of moss that clung to one of its sides and gnarled roots, twisted around his paws and kneaded into the ground behind him

Kestrelpaw watched with rapt attention as Hawkbite's claws cleanly sliced at a tree, leaving a deep mark and sending wood flying about. Blasts harp of tree skin littered the floor like an uneven carpet and Kestrelpaw to back up from the spray. It seemed pretty simple, easy even. When Hawkbite finished up with the tree, he turned towards his own. Focusing his attention, Kestrelpaw unsheathed his claws and attempted to copy the Commander's swing.

His first attempt was one that took her by surprise; it not a success by any means but he fared pretty well. With unsheathed claws Kestrelpaw reared up and slashed them across the bark of the tree facing him. As he pulled his claws away, he managed not to get a claw stuck in the tree skin great! but there was barely a mark on the wood. He'd been to light

'Okay... bad luck, but that was okay!! He could try again.' The second time - this time, and bit harder, a bit stronger, Kestrelpaw swiped with a little more motion, sending his claws flying with more momentum, making a clean slice through the bark. In his wake A line of back was ripped away from the tree leaving the soft, tawny-tan color of inner bark. A few bits of striped bark, and a few tufts of moss flew around her paws, and the bark splintered under his claws rather uncomfortably, but he'd struck the tree and hadn't gotten stuck. 'Yes! I did it!'

He blinked for a moment started at his own success and couldn't help but let his face split into a wide grin of satisfaction. He tried this move a couple more times, tail lashing with excitement as he prepared to go again with every swipe as she tried to put the most force possible into the movement while also staying stable enough to not get stuck.

[alec]

->> rookpaw <<-
[ they/she | shadowclan | 14moons | purrks ]
a scarred dark blueish grey cat with minimal white markings and grey eyes

white grey striped tail unwrapped from around the apprentices paws before getting up to follow the enforcer, briefly almost coming to a halt before he ordered them to find a tree. rookpaw chose one close enough to have good visual and auditory, thought it was admittedly mostly the visual that she wouldve had to worry about had she chosen an odd angle on accident, the tree was dark and not necesarrily thick, with a few ants and other bugs she couldnt identify crawling along the spotty bark. focus finally taken off the tree and the pattern of moss that had grown along one of its sides and the semi exposed roots, off white paws quietly kneaded the ground, claws experimentally extracting and scraping along needle and soil white cold grey eyes lingered on the warrior.
when the warrior finished his explaination rookpaw took a moment to observe the bark again, tracking a single reddish brown ant wandering sky wards, before exposing her claws once again and swiping at the tree. bits of spotty bark, the ants, and a few tufts of moss flew off to her right somewhere, and rookpaw took the time to shake tree dust out her fur and off her face before repeating the move a few more times. the apprentice hadnt done this kind of exercise before, but brief battle experience and other training in addition to her age made it mostly a success, leaving rook to focus mostly on perfecting technique. striped tail extended with loose tension and slightly shifting with every swipe as she tried to put the most force possible into the movement while also staying stable. a light dusting of tiny dry bits of tree bark, moss and soil had settled on dark grey and off white pelt, rookpaw took a moment to observe the other apprentices.

[zozelen]

Brownpaw, She/her, 8 Moons
Shadowclan Apprentice

"Ah- I'm here, hello!", Brownpaw squeaked, not that loudly, but still hurrying in to join the group with an eager expression on her face. It was time to learn battle training! From Hawkbite! Her mentor! And there were lots of other apprentices here too, like Sleepypaw and Willowpaw and Rookpaw, starting with those she knew best. So many cats to spend time with... it was like a normal training session, but even better.

Brownpaw had come in a bit late, busy with trying to get herself untangled from those couple of moss beds. She probably still had some fluffy bits on her, but it was okay, moss was nice. So for some reason, Hawkbite was attacking a... tree? Oh, it was a demonstration. That made sense-

Brownpaw's thoughts were suddenly cut off as a stray piece of bark flung towards her, hitting the apprentice right on the forehead. She made a little surprised noise, but it didn't hurt that much so she was okay. Not even bleeding, probably! That just went to show how powerful Hawkbite's attack was, that he could even attack Brownpaw from tail lengths away!

Brownpaw quietly wiped any little splinters off from her fur, looking around at the rest of her classmates and seeing that they were all attacking trees like Hawkbite did. Brownpaw could do that too, no problem.

(brownpaw rolled a 15!)

Brownpaw found her own tree to practice on, feeling a little bad that she'd be shredding it's bark, since trees were quite important... but reasoning that this one looked big and strong, hence why she picked it. So it'd be okay with a little bark wound. She unsheathed her claws, raising her paw into the air and quickly swiping across, leaving as deep of grooves as her claws could manage in the old, thick wood. Wow, that didn't feel hard at all, actually...

Brownpaw turned back around to look at Hawkbite, waiting for his next instructions. She had never tried any battle moves before, so she was a little worried something might go wrong, but that was actually fine! The apprentice had a pleased look on her face, feeling quite optimistic for the rest of the lesson.

[chickadee]

(header by @/marigoldwhisper!)


Gracklepaw
12 moons || ShadowClan || 62/100

Alright. Time to learn how to fight. For real this time. It made him proud to be learning how to fight with all the real ShadowClan cats. He’d been a part of this Clan for a while now, and he was getting older than most of the other apprentices. It made him nervous. He really, really didn’t want to disappoint anyone. Especially Magpiepaw, Slytiger, and of course, Dawnstar.

He listened and watched Hawkbite’s example carefully. Alright. Swing at the bark with his claws. He found a nearby tree, readying himself mentally and physically, then began to swing.

1st swing. The tom had shifted his weight around to find a nice stance, then unsheathed his claws and swung at the tree. This was it! He’d leave his mark (literally) and-

… apparently get his claws stuck in the bark.

Whoops.

Okay. That’s failed. But Gracklepaw was an optimist! He’d just try again. He pried his claws out from the bark. Okay. This time he’d just have to swing harder. That was okay. He readied himself once more, and swung his paw across the bark even more aggressively… it still didn’t work.

He looked around bashfully, hoping no one would notice how he’d failed twice. It didn’t seem like anyone did though. They were all attacking their own trees.

Third times a charm! Thats what they say, so he’d go on to try again. Maybe lighter this time. He should be more swift and fluid with his movements, more focused on momentum. No need to rush things. He swiped across the wood again. This time it was more gentle, gentle enough not to get stick, but still make a mark. It was a fluid and controlled attack. That’s what fighting was about, he assumed.

His torn ear flicked as he thought about it. His heart flooded with pride, although he couldn’t help but remember those rogues and their assault and the way he scrambled away like a coward. He vowed never to be that coward again.

. . .

[Myling]

〚~Willow'Paw~〛
| 9 Moons | ShadowClan Apprentice | Female, She/Her | Purrks:
Kitty Soft Paws, Heightened Perception [smell]
[a small, fluffy tortoiseshell she-cat with pale green eyes and an atrociously fluffy tail]

[continuation of the last post!]


Her claw grumbled. From her experience, claws were not meant to grumble that much. Uh, if you could call it experience. Clawing at leaves as a kit counted right?


Willowpaw took a basic swipe. OK. That was a pretty good start, she could work off that.

Willowpaw tried a lot of things: slashing vertically, slashing with her back paws, slashing with her eyes closed, slashing with all four paws, slashing with her head when she got it wrong, and biting the trees bark among other things. None of them were really successful. She'd thought battle training would be scary, not infuriating.

She made and internal sound of wanting to slam her head into the ground with annoyance, and wildy lashed out at the tree. Her claws didn't actually ache that much. Willowpaw went: .

Small bark piles where scattered around the base of the tree. She was saved from failure-ville!

Willowpaw did what she'd done when she went rage-mode, a small spark of maybe-i-can-do-this spawning. This time tho, she didn't go all-out on it. She made one clean swipe, imitating what she'd done before. Two pawfuls of bark bapped her face.


After feeling a huge amount of happi and smiling, her heart tightened a rope around herself, as she wondered if cat fur did that too.


If it did, she'd be burying herself by Moonlit Grove, thank you.

[SuspiciousMindz]

[Hawkbite]
Enforcer Commander
Shadow Fiend | Agatha Kitty | Kitty Softpaws

[Rainpaw]: Hawkbite gave the apprentice a small nod of approval, carrying on fairly quickly after seeing she successfully completed the move.

[Willowpaw]: "You've almost got it there, Willowpaw. Rely less on your strength and more on how your body moves with the swing and you'll get it in no time. If your claws get stuck, just go straight back out the way you went in, it'll be less painful," Hawkbite spoke as he watched the uncertainty fester in Willowpaw. Once more, Hawkbite demonstrated the move, just in the air. He made sure to exaggerate the movement of his body as he did it.

[Birdpaw]: "Same for you, Birdpaw. Make sure you go straight out the way your claws go in when you get stuck. It comes unstuck much easier. Try to sheath your claws too if you can, otherwise, good job. Keep up the good work," Hawkbite praised before he'd move on.

[Pigeonpaw]: As Hawkbite strolled by, it appeared Pigeonpaw had gotten the hang of the move. Another nod of approval escaped Hawkbite before he'd move on.

[Sleepypaw]: "Good job, Sleepypaw," Hawkbite spoke lightly as he passed the apprentice. He'd have to keep an eye on her, perhaps give her a couple more lesson to learn who she really was.

[Kestrelpaw]: "Great job," Hawkbite praised the next apprentice. This batch of apprentices seemed more competent and ready to learn than the ones he'd trained in the past. He was pretty grateful for that.

[Rookpaw]: Another nod of approval as he continued to walk by. Hawkbite was keeping a closer eye on the former RiverClanner, but so far, they weren't disappointing.

[Brownpaw]: His own apprentice did make an appearance. Awesome. He expected no less from her. He also was glad the apprentice wasn't holding his bad temper over his head. The execution of that one warrior wasn't the best way to start her apprenticeship. "Good job, Brownpaw," Hawkbite would speak lightly.

[Gracklepaw]: "It gets easier the more you do it," Hawkbite spoke as he passed the last apprentice. "Good job."

-----

"Good first round, guys. There's two more for the basics that we'll cover," Hawkbite spoke. He was treating this class a little different. It would strictly be the basics to make things move quicker. If they wanted further training, they would seek it out. . . hopefully. He already knew Sleepypaw -- if anyone -- would. The apprentice was eager to learn and provide.

"Since you got the first basic slashing motion down, let's discuss how you can use this in other forms of battle. When you slash at your opponents, you want to hit the weak points," Hawkbite began, gesturing to each spot as he'd list it. "The ankles, flank, shoulders, ears, throat, and anywhere on the face." Hawkbite inhaled softly as he awaited everyone to process that. "Practice that move until it's second nature."

DUCKING
Now, we move on to defense. What do you do when someone's coming at one of your weak points?" He'd pause so everyone could answer. "Dodge." Hawkbite would do a little hop to the side to demonstrate a basic move. "Let's practice like someone's coming at you head on. If their paw is coming at your head, duck down," Hawkbite got into a quick crouch then waited for everyone to mimic him.

ROLLING
Hawkbite waited until everyone was down practicing that move before moving on. He stood with his tail waving to catch their attention. "Now, if they're coming at your side or flank, you can hop to the side," Hawkbite did just that, "But usually you find yourself needing to roll out of the way. Anyone can jump to the side to dodge, but you need to practice how you can roll away and not lose your fight." Hawkbite then did just that. The Commander rolled quickly, keeping his limbs tucked close to his body and finding his footing again quickly. He'd hop to his paws then turn expectantly towards the apprentices. Green eyes would watch and wait to see how they did when they mimicked.

DUCKING AND ROLLING
"Lastly, you can combine the two. Duck and roll," Hawkbite copied both the previous moves, ducking then rolling out of the way to leap to his paws back into a battle stance.

"Practice that. I'll be around to offer tips. If you'd like to work together and practice actually dodging things, pair up. Otherwise, I can practice with you or you can just do the moves until your muscles learn them."

-----

How This Works
> I'll be posting a date for Hawk's next post.
> Your apprentice has until the next group post to make a reply.
> You're welcome to make multiple posts and interact with peers and/or Hawk himself.
> After two skips, your apprentice will have failed the class.

Hawks Next Group Post: June 16th
Can be sooner if everyone replies before the date.

 

@alec - Rookpaw | @Mica - Birdpaw | @zozelen - Brownpaw | @Hound - Kestrelpaw | @chickadee - Gracklepaw | @Myling - Willowpaw | @Luminous - Pigeonpaw | @Estelle - Sleepypaw

[SuspiciousMindz]

[Rainpaw]
ShadowClan Apprentice
No Purrks

Rainpaw was pleased by the praise from Hawkbite. She'd done it! She was actually learning how to fight. The black and white molly would listen more closely as the Commander spoke about cat weak spots. She'd definitely have to remember those spots! Especially now that she knew where to expect cats to hit her.

Hawkbite was speaking about how to dodge attacks correctly. Rainpaw's ears perked upwards and she understood the task at hand. The first one was simple. Rainpaw pretended like someone was standing in front of her before crouching down quickly. The apprentice would repeat this move until Hawkbite moved on. Her muscles were already beginning to ache from the motions. They were moving muscles they weren't used to and it was starting to show.

The next was also pretty simple -- or so it seemed. Rainpaw found herself crouched down and swishing her tail eagerly. When given the okay, she pretended as if someone was to her side and she dove over quickly. The first roll was a failure. It was clumsy. It was messy. Her limbs flailed as she kicked up sand and moss from the ground. She'd growl to herself and try again with similar results, but she was starting to understand she needed to keep her limbs closer to her body. The third and forth attempt were cleaner, but she knew she had to get to her paws faster. That would come with time, she assumed. She'd have to practice that more later, maybe with someone to motivate her.

The last move was a combination of the last two. Rainpaw crouched down in a dodge and rolled. It wasn't very fast, again, but she would practice it. The molly would attempt this move a couple times, getting a little quicker with each roll. Her muscles burned more and more, but it seemed to motivate her to keep going. Her blue eyes would flash to look at the other apprentices, curious to see if anyone would want to partner up and try the moves with her.

[open to anyone]