Firefly Cove

[furrensic]

SUNFLARE
he/him. 25-30 moons. golden tabby; ginger and white markings; amber eyes, tattered right ear
[ beefed up T1, just a scratch ]

sunflare leaves the camp in quick strides, tail swaying behind him as he leads larkswoop through the territory. he slows to a stop once they reach firefly cove, amber gaze sweeping over the meadow. the perfect place to hunt, in his humble opinion. little predators, and a relatively peaceful aura around the area. also more forgiving when it comes to his unintentional loudness compared to some other landmarks.

he turns to look at larkswoop, head angled just a tad so his left ear faces her direction. "let's try to catch a decent amount!! two pieces each at the minimum!" he decides with a firm nod, wide grin still splayed on his maw. he's sure he can catch that much at the least. if he's truthful, his hunting skills are lacking compared to his combat or tree climbing..but, he persists. as a warrior should!

"let's meet back here, yes?" sunflare offers with a small tilt of his head. once he's heard or seen an agreement from larkswoop, the warrior departs with a dip of his head. he parts his jaws, trying to catch any scents lingering in the air.

[ @isla ]

[Rani]

Mudhound
Thunderclan Hornet | They/them | 35 Moons
Bilingual T2 | Flock Together T3 | Rapid Recovery | Beefed up T3

The tripod had to admit they were kinda surprised they of all cats had been approached to give battle training to a small group. Like they were a hornet so were pretty competent in a fight however it wasnt what they were known for in comparison to more warlike clanmates like Wolfhive or Spiderthroat or even Bumblestar. Mudhound supposed they were more approachable then those cats and that Wolfhive was kinda sick so it made sense, but regardless they were happy to help and pleasantly lead the group to a quiet spot where they could have room to train.


"Ok kiddos! So, battle! Its scary but sometimes you dont have a choice so its my job here today to make sure you live and can hold your own~ We're gonna cover the basics for sure however if we're lucky we can breeze through to get to advanced stuff, though if not feel free to find someone to cover that because thats where you get into the 'awesome' stuff like bone breaking.


First though, battle stance!


Paws wide, a bit more then shoulder width and legs slightly bent so you can dart around!

Then keep your ears pinned and head slightly low to make sure you dont catch an errant claw and finally! Tuck your tail. Your choice if you just tuck it below you or wrap around your leg but keep it out of the way or some jerk will try and grab and bite it in a fight. You can even loose the tail if worst comes so seriously make sure its hidden away.


Show me yours now and Ill go around and correct while we do a thinking game!

Most of the best blows made in a fight arent with super special moves but simple claws swipes and bites! Why? Well its all location of the hit and some do more damage and can end a fight then others.


Where do you all think would be a good place to target a cat?"
As Mudhound talked about stances they showed theirs off, a little different then they'd described owing to their missing leg but still good. Front paws were wide, creating a stable base that could absorb blows without knocking them over and their legs were bent so they could spring forward or away to dodge (as they demonstrated) if needed. Tail was tucked not wrapped for them but it was out of the way regardless as the tripod even showed a couple of swipes from the stance that'd be typical in a battle.


@Rowan @Dolomedes @Weekend-Wondering

[Rowan]

°StormPaw°
Male / Apprentice / 6 Moons / ThunderClan / Mentor: Skunk’Ridge
light gray tabby tom with fluffy cloud-like fur and stormy blue eyes. his ears have white fur tufts at the top
Purrks: None
Interaction For: @Rani



He'd been enthusiastic to finally get some battle training, especially since he had been focusing on hunting as it was a skill he seemed good at. He wouldn't say he was afraid to branch out to fighting and be bad at it…but was he? No. He shook his head. He didn't want to hurt others unnecessarily, that's all.

But doing the training with a Hornet seemed cool! He wanted to be one someday, and the leader and deputy were the cats he looked up to the most. They were just so cool and noble and scary and fierce and loyal an- oh- they were talking now. He should probably pay attention. Battle stance? Sounded scary but easy enough! When the Hornet said paws wide he sprawled out, but he didn't need them to tell him that was wrong. He felt ridiculous. That clearly wasn't right. He shot his legs in a bit. Better. It felt more comfortable at least. He bent his legs, not enough but he hadn't known that.

He tucked his tail in, but thanks to how fluffy it was, it stuck out a bit, and his excitement made it flock back and forth a bid. Head down low? Okay. He craned his neck down and pinned his ears back tightly. He thought he pretty much had it, perhaps a bit too sloppy, but good for a first try.

A thinking game? Sometimes he wasn't the best at thinking, but he'd try. A good place? Well….he decided to think out loud. “Maybe the legs because it could knock them off balance a bit or make moving hard for them? The head if you hit right will do damage but if you don't I imagine it wouldn't…oo maybe-” his voice faded out as he realized he was rambling. “Sorry” he squeaked out an apology as his head went down a bit lower. He didn't want to be too chatty. This cat was evaluating them after all! And she could influence if he becomes a Hornet–his dream–in the future.

[Dolomedes]

Morningpaw
He/him | TC apprentice | Moons: 6 | No purrks

Morningpaw padded after the group, lagging behind in just the slightest bit of ways. These apprentices weren't ones that he was very aware of, though they were probably made an apprentice while he was lost, given their ages. Still it made him annoyed, what kind of failure can't even say they know their denmates' names. His floppy ear flicked with annoyance and while he tried to keep his expression even he knew that it was probably some sort of glare on it, even if it was small. He was always irritated these days, except when he was with Wolfpaw. Though that's because Wolfpaw was, you know, his brother and one of the last remaining family members he had. Well... whatever... that's why he needed to you know, pay attention?? Not only was this lesson direly needed, after all he was trying to make up being missing for two entire damn moons.

Morningpaw wouldn't say that he was taught battling though he did have a brief encounter with being taught though he couldn't remember a single thing. Some 'camp' didn't even last long enough to give him anything of substance. Green eyes lifted from bi-colored forepaws, and landed on the tripod hornet. Hopefully this was something that was worth his time. He turned his attention from the tripod to the apprentices accompanying him. Stormpaw and Rosepaw, if he wasn't mistaken. None of them have done anything remarkable enough to warrant his attention since his return and he assumed they were more of the lackadaisical types. How useless, but perhaps they could prove themselves of worth with this encounter.

Mudhound began the lesson swiftly, good, all the talking before was useless. Morningpaw watched the hornet with slightly squinted eyes, as he slowed to a stop and watched carefully. That seemed all easy enough in concept and his ears pinned, his floppy one feeling odd against his skull, and his tail wrapped around his back leg. Then came the matter of his actual form, he crouched down, not so much with a hunting crouch, this was much different. Though the lesson with Orange Guy came to mind anyways. Morningpaw had never gotten his name in the end, not that it really mattered to him, though referring to someone as only Orange Guy in his head was starting to get a bit annoying admittedly. He widened his stance, that was good enough wasn't it? Perhaps if he had more experienced eyes he would noticed his paws were a bit too wide.

Then came to the matter of the thinking exercise. His green eyes darted from the hornet to Stormpaw as the latter began to yap uselessly. If he wasn't answering why open you muzzle at all. You give straight answers, not maybes. Annoying. He tried to keep a glare off his face and a growl from his voice but Morningpaw took reign of the conversation after Stormpaw pathetically trailed off with an apology. FOR WHAT? "Look. Stormpaw, was it? Be confident in what you say, if you're wrong then wow- it's almost like this is a lesson, you remember failure better anyways. Don't apologize when it's unnecessary as well, it's only pathetic and annoying. Keep your head up." Sharp words, that's the only thing Morningpaw is good at anyways. "I agree with you anyways, legs are your main means of dodging after all, if you mess one up, the rest will likely follow and then what good are you then? I believe the throat would also be good for simple attacks, after all its your most vulnerable, but also face and specifically eyes. You aim to disarm. So you have time for more devastating blows."

[ @Rani - Mudhound | @Rowan - Stormpaw | @Weekend-Wondering - Rosepaw ]
[ Don't mind Morningpaw hehe, he's a bit mean ]

[Weekend-Wondering]

Rosepaw
Header by @/Dolomedes / Male / 6 Moons / ThunderClan /Bisexual
Chocolate-brown and russet tabby Tom with fluffy fur and bright amber eyes, thin scars on his legs and a large scar shaved across the bottom half of his face that exposes several teeth

“Sure, I’ve got half a face, but you’ve got yourself half a brain, so I’m sure we’ll get along just fine, ey?”
~ Rosepaw, 8/100

✽❀✽

Rosepaw trailed after the small training group, dirt at his heels. Despite his usual reluctance to allow too many happy feelings to enter his head, fearing that those kinds of emotions would end up being simple distractions in the near future, excitement was nibbling at the young tom’s heart. The newly made apprentice hurried after his clanmates, eyes wide and heart beating quickly, his ears perked for any sound of instruction and/or advice from the warrior leading them all. There was Stormpaw, a light gray tabby who Rosepaw had never spoken to directly, as well as a black and orange cat called Morningpaw that he hadn’t interacted with either. Rosepaw was not here to get to know anybody and make friends, but at the same time, he was curious to see some of his denmates’ personalities now that he shared their rank. He knew nothing of the majority of ThunderClan’s apprentices, even though he spent every night cramped up within the same den as them all. With so many young faces all over the place all of the time, it got complicated to focus on anybody in particular, and on top of that, Rosepaw couldn’t care less for a healthy social life at the moment. It was just training, training, training- and at six moons, he felt required to have this stone-still, isolated mindset. What was wrong with some… motivation? Some ambition? The russet apprentice fixated his amber gaze on the three legged warrior in front of him, narrowing his eyes a little bit. An’ speakin’ of trainin’ an’ all’a that- we’ve got Mudhound teachin’ us, and they’re a hornet, so that’s an immediate ‘YUP’. Good to know we’re bein’ educated by the right kinda cat, then, ain’t we? The russet apprentice smirked in spite of himself. Well, I’ve gotta remember what Raggedear, n’ Spottedfire, n’… uh… the rest’s those guys… told me back over in the Rose-Baby days, an’ I’ll be good to go, I’m sure of it. Some confidence felt nice, so Rosepaw was happy to allow it to thrive.

The russet tabby tom came to a stop to listen to Mudhound start to speak, blinking curiously as the tripod began their explanation. They started off by making it clear that battle was frightening, but sometimes you did not have a choice, leaving it to Mudhound today to make sure they live and can hold their own if the time ever came for them to fight. Rosepaw sneered slightly. Ah, scary- sure, but if that’s our biggest worry, we’re dead as heck already, without havin’ even stepped a single paw onto the battlegrounds. Ha, Mudhound’s makin’ us look real pathetic already, then. Hmph. The large brown warrior told the three waiting apprentices that they were going to cover the basics for sure, possibly even breeze through to get to the advanced stuff, and at the sound of that, Rosepaw straightened and lifted his chin. Ah, we better! I’m sure I have SOME of the basics down by now… hopefully we’ll get through those ones quickly, eh? Bright amber eyes briefly flashing with interest and determination, a brightness that conveniently shimmered even more at the sound of Mudhound’s next words, “Bone-Breaking.” Fun stuff, ey? Nah, ain’t fun, it’s just n’ easier way to knock some idiot outta your way r’ save yourself faster, yeah. But, I s’pose it’s more fun than just spendin’ all day just learnin’ to crouch. Pretty dumb, if ya’ ask me. Then when Mudhound began to explain how they were going to begin with battle stance, Rosepaw released a small sigh of relief. Great, that was a basic that he had already practiced before, that he had already been taught. He remembered himself slowly but surely being told where exactly to out his paws, how to match his tail nicely to the ground, and to keep his weight evened out on all four of his paws, all of those good things, and his heart started to rise. Mudhound’s explanation about the combat position quickly checked off each and every bit and pieces that Rosepaw had memorized from an earlier age (and despite the fact that he was a bit too humiliated to admit it, he had occasionally found himself practicing all by himself in the early morning in the back of the nursery), including the wide paws, shoulder width, bent legs, ears pinned… that was something Rosepaw actually had not heard before, similarly to the lowered head part, but when it came to tucking in the tail, he knew. So still grinning, he glowed with confidence as he listened to Mudhound finish their explanation on it all, whiskers twitching with amusement.

Eventually, their got to the try-out part of it all, and the moment the words, “show me yours” left Mudhound’s mouth, the russet and brown tabby apprentice felt his heart jump right into his throat. This was the fun part… participation! But there was a catch. A thinking game… to be specific. Rosepaw cocked his head to the side slightly. Thinkin’? Well, I’m sure we’ve all done that once or twice… well, we’ll just have’ta see, ey? So Rosepaw prepared himself to drop down into a battle stance, simultaneously hearing out what all the brown warrior had to question them about. Prodding the ground with his paws, Rosepaw listened as Mudhound told them that most blows made in a fight weren’t made with special moves, but simple claw swipes and bites, because of the location of the hits and the amount of damage each could cause. Rosepaw nodded along with the words, and once the warrior was done asking their question, the russet and brown tabby sighed and mumbled, “A’ight, Stormpaw, Mornin’paw. Don’t go tumblin’ ‘round too much, ‘cause then you’ll get everybody else stuck on the basics along with ya’, ey? Don’t drag the rest’s us down ‘cause of your lack of talent.” Hopefully he had made his impatience with cats his age clear. Then casually, Rosepaw shrank down into a crouch, spreading his paws wide and an equal distance down from his shoulders. He made sure to flatten his ears and dip his head slightly, amber eyes narrowing into a squint and landing directly on Mudhound, as if the warrior was some sort of target. Finally, the tabby apprentice bent his legs slightly and stabilized himself, briefly prodding at the ground and shifting his paws to confirm that he wasn’t setting himself up for any sort of tumble. Then once it felt perfect and precise enough for his liking, keeping his head bent low and his eyes locked on Mudhound, he listed to his fellow apprentices as they spoke to one another.

The russet tabby apprentice listened with great concentration as Stormpaw spoke up about his own thought, suggesting that the legs might be a good hit because they could knock the, off balance or make movement of the enemy less easy. The gray tabby apprentice then debated with himself out loud about whether or not the head would make a good target, and Rosepaw barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Boredom crept into his gaze as he thought about what the tabby had said so far. The legs, ‘course- that should be right, to knock ‘em off balance n’ all that good stuff- but after that? They ain’t just gonna stay on the ground, n’ what’s Stormpaw here gonna do here, just stomp on his head? Guy’s probably too much of an anxious ball of anxiety to do much for ‘emself, anyway… can’t just kick the legs n’ move on. I might outta add on somethi- But soon after, Stormpaw let another word slip form his mouth: ‘sorry.’ Rosepaw felt a small pring of annoyance. Waste of breath on his end… yeah, whatever, we’ll just assume that he said what all he wanted to say, and boom, Morningpaw’s turn, ey? With the same concentration, Rosepaw listened to the black and orange apprentice. Morningpaw first confirmed Stormpaw’s name, and once that was finished, he briefly abandoned the question to hate on Stormpaw’s unnecessary usage of apologies. He told Stormpaw to be confident in what he said, despite its possible inaccuracy, and Rosepaw felt some small bits of anger crack through his excitement. Huh. Not sure why Mornin’paw’s gettin’ so worked up ‘bout somethin’ that’s barely got anythin’ to do with ‘em, but… oh well. Weird guy, ey? The newly made apprentice’s anger began to fade away, but at the sound of Morningpaw’s next comments, it came flooding right on back. He, of course, simply told Morningpaw that he shouldn’t keep apologizing when it isn’t necessary. And that was all there was to it, right? Nope. No, Morningpaw felt the need to call it pathetic, he felt the need to call it annoying, and on top of it all, he spoke sharply. Rosepaw’s anger stole his concentration for a moment, and he shifted his glare from Mudhound to Morningpaw. Glowering darkly at the apprentice, he was silent. As Morningpaw agreed that legs were your main means of dodging and would be good targets, also including some other details about other hit-worthy areas.

Eventually, Rosepaw focused his glare back onto Mudhound, still angry with Morningpaw’s unnecessary commentary from the beginning of his little speech. Then raising his voice, he began to give his own explanation. “I agree with both Stormpaw and… Morningpaw,” Goodness, he had to fight so hard to not give the rude apprentice a nasty nickname. “Anyway, legs are a good go. Knock ‘em off balance, ‘course, buys ya’ some time… but what next? I personally would say the eyes, which Mornin’ over here already pointed out. But the order is important. Ya’ should immediately go for the eyes, I think, ‘cause then the opponents already got the basic idea of where you are and where they need to attack in order to hit ya’. So I’d get the legs, surprise them like that and when they’re fazed, get to the eyes. But assumin’ you don’t want to maim them, you shouldn’t blind them, so just some scratches should do for that moment. From then on, with them off balance and sightless, ya’ know, fighting’ outta be a breeze, assumin’ they ain’t some sorta mutant-scent-scout r’ somethin’ unrealistic like that crap.” Then nodding at his own words, Rosepaw grunted, and returned his glare to Morningpaw. “Though, as much as I’ve gotta agree with what ya’ said about fightin’, you’re a real idiot when it comes to the rest’s the words that come spillin’ outta your mouth, if ya’ hadn’t noticed. Sure, his apology wasn’t very effective, but ya’ went on a whole freakin’ monologue ‘bout it, didn’t ya’ now? Talk about unnecessary, ya’ hypocrite- he’s obviously the jumpy type, but at least he ain’t wastin’ his time botherin’ him for a simple. Dang. WORD.” Then with another sneer and snarl, Rosepaw’s concentration returned to Mudhound.


✽❀✽

~ @Rani {Mudhound}~
~ @Dolomedes { Morningpaw // I genuinely apologize for Rosepaw. Sorry. ;-; }
~ @Rowan { Stormpaw }

[Rani]

Mudhound
Thunderclan Hornet | They/them | 35 Moons
Bilingual T2 | Flock Together T3 | Rapid Recovery | Beefed up T3

For a long moment Mudhound let the apprentices talk and theorize between themselves, the tripod circulating and occasionally murmuring to a young cat, paw shifting them into a better place.
"Bend a little bit more Stormpaw... There you go! Remember dodging is a big part of battle so you need to be able to spring away at any moment from that post. And keep your tail in a biiiiiit more. Your stance will get more tidy and tight with time so thats good for now hold that.


Uh Morningpaw not a huntin- yep you got it!



Ooooh Rosepaw have you learned this before, your stance is very smooth!"
There was no need to linger more on stances it seemed, the tripod was pretty confident they got it down so now it was just to focus on the.... less then smooth responses. That was ok though! Mudhound did not expect them to get it perfect and they were on the right track! They did expect the group to not fight though



Stars was Moringpaw really sweet Wolfpaws sibling? Mudhound had found their new apprentice so lovely despite his bad circumstance but this was a little sharper then they'd expect and the hornets folded ears pinned back as they snapped.

"Hey!! Woah woah woah there! Quit it you three (not you Stormpaw) that is not called for!
Morningpaw! You are not a warrior and are not to comment on Stormpaw, you are all new apprentices its reasonable to be a bit hesitant, its not a flaw! Confidence comes in time and your 'correction' isnt needed, keep focused on the training, not your fellows.


And Rosepaw! Youre not a warrior either, it isnt your job to insult or reprimand your fellow apprentices! Uncalled for it may have been but so are your words so that is enough out of the both of you.

Say sorry you two and I want you on track for the rest of the session focusing on yourself and your own skills or you can go find someone else to teach you. Clear?"
The tripod would wait for the apology before relaxing again, disliking being strict, and leaning over to nuzzle Stormpaw and briefly reassured him "Youre alright, nothing to be sorry for and plenty of the best warriors (like Redhawk) were even less confident at your age." before moving on.




"Ok so you are all right! Legs are a good place to hit, especially on the ankle right above the paw. Its a weak point and while higher on the leg means an enemy might be able to bear through but there and they stand a good chance of getting their paws taken from out them! A down enemy is rife with opportunities.



And the head too yes! A really hard blow from a strong warrior can stun or even knock out but youre still little so where you hit on the head will need to be specific. So, as Morningpaw said, eyes, you can blind directly or scratch across or above them and the blood will temporarily blind for you. Other good targets are ears or noses, which hurt and bleed a lot.



Finally throat as mentioned is good but also a kill blow so be very certain that the path you wish to take while going for it. Theres little room for a non lethal blow and medicine cats can do little, you can never go back from taking a life."
They'd all made some good points and Mudhound was really proud of that, but cleared their throat to explain some more.
"Back and flank doesnt hurt a lot but are a good place for long blows cats sometimes protect less then more critical targets. A loose tail can be (as I said) ripped right off or broken which is a fight ender. Finally is the belly! Soft it bleeds and hurts a lot and you cant even really move when its hurt, immediate fight finisher even if not hit deeply but can kill if done so."


A part of the hornets gaze was vacant as they explained, pointing out each part on their own body recalling how they learned this and how they'd used it in turn. Mudhound had killed and maimed using this knowledge before, would these apprentices do the same one day?

"Now youre gonna take a crack trying to attack me with bites and slashes (claws sheathed and gentle of course!) but Im gonna be dodging and not make it easy for you!"


@Rowan @Dolomedes @Weekend-Wondering