Truly a 'Wumbo Combo' [P]

[Fish]

Adderpaw
Determined ⋆ Loyal ⋆ Lawful Good ⋆ She/Her ⋆ Beefed Up T3
“One day I’ll be the greatest warrior of all the clans!”

@Dust @Tiabirb

Adderpaw was done with her warrior training that was until Fadingsun added a few more trainings on top of what she had already done. Did she resent him for adding more things for her to learn? No. Honestly it was getting boring around the camp. Sure she exercised all the time but it felt not enough for the ambitious apprentice, now given more things to learn and do excited her. Finally something to do! Another challenge! It certainly better than rotting around while waiting to become a warrior.



To her endless delight and thankfulness, two warriors were willing to teach her more advanced combat moves. It was thrilling if be it a little daunting thinking about having to actually use them. She killed once and dreaded doing it again. Right can't dwell on the past, it was time to learn!

"Cherryswirl! Starlingflight! It time to train! LetsgoLetsgoLetsgoLetsgoLetsgo!" Adderpaw cheered.

[Tiabirb]

Starlingflight
60 Moons
She/Her
Purrk(s): Go With the Flow
---------------


She was cleaning her face after a mousey meal when Adderpaw practically pounced upon her and begged to hurry forth and rush and...

"Now is that very polite?" The old warrior rasped in mock annoyance. She looked about for Cherryswirl briefly as she licked the last bits of morsel from her lips and rose to her paws. She stretched out with a growl, claws flexing.

"You youngins always in a hurry. Don't worry, squirt; You'll most likely be spending the rest of your life as a warrior, so there's no reason to rush." She grumbled softly, "It ain't like it's running away from you."


"So while we wait for Cherryswirl, I'll give you a brief rundown of what we're looking to accomplish; It's one of our sneakiest tricks, and it will be very difficult to master. It's called the Underwater Push-off; You hold your breath and crouch underwater, and when an enemy comes near the water's edge, you pounce on them from beneath the water."

"Another tactic we will try to work into this training is the leg-sweep; striking at your opponents hind legs, hooking them to knock them off-balance. If you can't get a proper pounce from the push-off, the leg sweep is a great fallback to remain on the offensive." Starlingflight made sure to speak clear and concise. "Any thoughts or questions?"

@Dust @Fish

[Dust]

[ Cherryswirl - 54 Moons]

She/Her | Chaotic Good | Warrior
Go With The Flow [Active]

Time already? Cherryswirl had been soaking up some early afternoon ray prior to Adderpaw's loud call out, her memory of offering up some swimming lessons to the older apprentice quite clear in her mind. Creaks and pops sounded from her joints as she rose, stretching out mindlessly before she meandered her way over to the already gathered pair.

"Underwater push-offs, huh?" She mewed softly, dipping her head in greeting to the older warrior and apprentice, arriving just shortly after the mention of her name. Though, she remained quiet as Starlingflight continued on, nodding her head in agreement,

"That's some intense stuff!" Swirls grinned, tilting her head to the side. The warrior leaned close to Adderpaw, barely trying to conceal her whisper, "Woe is me who has to face off against Starling to teach you this-" Swirls chortled, "She's gonna turn me into fish food!" It was all in good playful fun - in fact, Cherryswirl seemed quite excited at the prospect! A chance to go swimming? Perhaps...

"I got a question! You're gonna go easy on me, right Starling?"

[ @Fish - Adderpaw | @Tiabirb - Starlingflight ]

[Fish]

Adderpaw
Determined ⋆ Loyal ⋆ Lawful Good ⋆ She/Her ⋆ Beefed Up T3
“One day I’ll be the greatest warrior of all the clans!”
@Tiabirb @Dust

Wow underwater push-offs, now that sounded like something that would scare the soul out of any cat, even a Riverclanner. That was perfect! Get the fools to run off with their tails behind their legs, after a big beating up, and they could tell how scary this clan was now. "Ah questions? No I can't think of any but I am excited to see how this works!" Adderpaw said with her usual cheer.

Adderpaw couldn't help but make a little chuckle to Cherryswirl's soft humor. They always seemed like such a cheerful individual. "I hope the fish don't like cats! Imagine them nipping at our toes!" Adderpaw giggle before getting a more serious look.

[Tiabirb]

Starlingflight
60 Moons
She/Her
Purrk(s): Go With the Flow
---------------


She dipped her head in return to Cherryswirl as her fellow warrior joined them. Though she was less...emotive regarding Cherryswirl's comments and jokes, giving the ginger warrior a deadpan stare for an uncomfortable amount of time.

"Right," She cleared her throat, the only sign that she was affected by Cherryswirl's jests, which was still high praise nonetheless. She wasn't...sure how to reply, so she let her lips twitch to show her appreciation for the humor before growing stone-faced once more and turned her attention back to Adderpaw, "I suggest practicing some breathing exercises as we walk." She said with a bit of a twitch in her whiskers, "Get your body used to holding breath for periods of time. Cherryswirl, do you think you can help coach her with them?" Starlingflight asked. It was a pretty simple but important task;
As Adderpaw worked to hold her breath for a little longer each time, Cherryswirl would hopefully keep an eye and call when Adderpaw needed to 'resurface' for air and ensure she takes the proper breaths between each exercise attempt.

So with a wave of her thick tail, Starlingflight headed for the camp's entrance with a lazy trot.

@Dust @Fish

[Dust]

[ Cherryswirl - 54 Moons]

She/Her | Chaotic Good | Warrior
Go With The Flow [Active]

Ha! Wow! What in the stars was that look Starling had given her! There was a part of Swirls that was quite proud she had pulled even just a twitch of a smile from the older warrior. Though, she couldn't help but wonder if.... Starlingflight and Sparrowsnarl were related. Come to think of it, Swirls hadn't seen her old stonefaced, grumpy friend around since she had been back... It was concerning, but could be dealt with another time.

"Absolutely I can." She hummed, following after Starlingflight - but not before ushering Adderpaw along as well.

"First things first, I need to know what you already know. Have you done breathing exercises before? With your mentor or with another warrior? And, if you have, did you practice them in the water or on land?" Simple enough line of questioning. Knowing where to start was always good.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, "Andddd is there anything you would like to learn aside from this while we're at the river?"

[ @Fish - Adderpaw | @Tiabirb - Starlingflight ]

[Fish]

Adderpaw
Determined ⋆ Loyal ⋆ Lawful Good ⋆ She/Her ⋆ Beefed Up T3
“One day I’ll be the greatest warrior of all the clans!”
@Tiabirb @Dust
Sorry depression been kicking my butt, going to try to respond quickly again to get adderwarrior!

"Welllll... I learned to calm my breathing before taking a deep breath... But I think I could expand upon that." Adderpaw said thoughtfully. Then she perked up when more learning was mentioned. "Oh yeah actually! Could you two teach me any advanced land moves as well? Cover both of the bases and all?" She said with a sweet smile. The youngster was so excited to learn at any opportunity.

Now how could one work further on breathing? The young apprentice tested her brain on thinking about this while she walked along to the river they were going to practice at. Adderpaw took a very slow deep breath. She held onto the air as long as she could while slowly letting the air in her lungs go. Like she was slowly blowing air on a tiny flame, enough to move it but not kill it. Slow and measured. Calm and efficient.

[Tiabirb]

Starlingflight
60 Moons
She/Her
Purrk(s): Go With the Flow
---------------

"Of course," The old she-cat rasped to Adderpaw's question of more training. "I think..." She mused, stretching out her thoughts a little, "Since we're already doing water combat against Clan cat enemies...whatever we show you on the ground will be something to use against predators. So take your pick; Fox or badger?"

While the exercises proceeded, Starlingflight would occasionally steal a glance back, watching Adderpaw, counting the breaths and the time between them in her own head, but she simply gave Adderpaw a satisfied nod each time. What a relief it was to see a young cat actually putting in the effort.

It was nearing sunhigh by the time they reached the riverbank, and Starlingflight watched the signs of sounds of newleaf take her for a moment; The breeze rustled the grass, the river was bubbling and slow, with no signs of flooding. She caught glimpses of silver beneath the surface, and she felt herself growing a bit hungry. Ah well, maybe later. Food would just be a distraction right now. Her paw grabbed up a pebble from the soil, and she flicked it across the river, splashing nearby the silvery bodies, which promptly fled from the disturbance. She let her gaze track the movements around the immediate part of the river, watching for snakes, turtles, or worse, pikes. Nasty fish with a bite that would leave a cat needing immediate medical attention.

When she decided there was no water dwelling problems to contend with, Starlingflight gave her thick pelt a vigorous shake, unsettling her feathery fur and fluffing out her undercoat. "Alright, first things first; Demonstration. I'm going to slip underwater, and wait for Cherryswirl to walk past." She eyed Cherryswirl with a level of humor, a rare sight from ol' flight. "You wouldn't mind closing your eyes, would you? Adderpaw can tell you when to open them again. It's not really a good ambush if you know where I am, is it?" She let her whiskers twitch at the light-hearted suggestion, but without further ado, Starlingflight waded out into the river, using her claws to root herself to the bottom. She snorted through her nose once when the water reached her chin, clearing her nose, and then she inhaled one long, slow breath, her head ducking into the water and disappearing from sight.

She hadn't made so much as a ripple.

Starlingflight felt oddly...calm under the water, her eyes adjusting to the murk in a few blinks, and she refocused her gaze on the shattered, shimmering and hazy distortions of the surface world. She could feel the current tugging at her, and this..this could give away her position. So she let her weight lift, letting the current sweep her just a small distance where it grew weaker. Starlingflight re-rooted herself, a bit downstream of Cherryswirl and Adderpaw, and practically stalked her way closer. As a precaution, she dared to tip her nose up and peek from the surface, drawing in a fresh lot of air as quietly as possible. A mouth-breath would leave her likely to spit, gag, or gasp. Silence tended to be best suited for stealthy tactics like this.

Fresh air allotted, Starlingflight retreated back under the surface quickly, crouching low as she waited for her partner to seek her out.

@Fish @Dust