leaping into combat (as safely as possible)

[occultation]

( @Mica )

Fadingsun cared about Eaglepaw.

He didn't want to see her hurt.

That meant she needed to be able to defend herself, as well as an apprentice could. Fadingsun hadn't had the chance to teach her any significant battle moves; that needed to be fixed immediately.

Poking his head into the warriors' den, he called, "Eaglepaw? Come out here, if you're in there. It's time for you to learn some battle moves from me."

[Mica]

Eaglepaw
RiverClan
she/her | 8 moons | 78/100
[Golden and white tuxedo tabby with green eyes]
Purrks: Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T2
· · ────────────── · ·
[Fadingsun - @occultation ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Eaglepaw glanced up as Fadingsun called her, the maine coon apprentice pushing herself to large paws and following him out into the open air. Battle moves, hm? Ever eager to learn, Eaglepaw felt her heart lift a little. Fadingsun still wanted to teach her, which was a good sign. He hadn't abandoned her yet. All she had to do was ace this, and she would remain his apprentice. Their talk under the stars still stuck with her, even though the voices in her head screamed that he was only biding his time before turning on her. She did her best to ignore them as they settled into their spot for training. Eaglepaw gave Fadingsun a nod when she was ready, kneading her paws eagerly.

[occultation]

( @Mica )

After leading Eaglepaw out into the territory, Fadingsun turned to face her. "When you're inexperienced, it's better to focus on defending yourself rather than going on the offense. You're still young and not fully grown; you won't be able to hold your own against a fully-grown cat."

This area had some soft ground; if Eaglepaw tumbled around a lot during this training session, she wouldn't get hurt beyond a few bruises. "Darting in, trying to strike your opponent, and then darting back out of reach is a good way to defensively approach combat. It helps you stay out of your opponent's reach, but you need to be agile and quick. I want you to practice that on me. Rush forward and hit me, then dart back, then rush forward and strike again. Repeat until I say stop. For now, I'll stay put to make it easy."

[Mica]

Eaglepaw
RiverClan
she/her | 8 moons | 78/100
[Golden and white tuxedo tabby with green eyes]
Purrks: Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T2
· · ────────────── · ·
[Fadingsun - @occultation ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Eaglepaw glanced at Fadingsun with a semi-incredulous look as he advised her in not taking on a fully grown cat. She didn't know if he had noticed, but Eaglepaw was already larger than a good chunk of fully grown warriors. But her lack of training made her vulnerable enough.

Her first instructions were to rush in, swipe, and dart away. Eaglepaw nodded, stepping back from Fadingsun where they had paused, taking a breath. Without a word, Eaglepaw leapt forward, aiming a swipe at Fadingsun's flank before scrambling out of reach. It was sloppy, and had her slipping a bit before she managed to catch her footing.

The next few tries were similar in their execution, but unlike when Eaglepaw was a brand-new apprentice, she didn't seem to care about messing up. In fact, she seemed rather apathetic as to what was happening. It was almost mechanical for her. She made the same mistakes over and over again--run too fast, throw her weight too far, hold her swipe back too much so she ended up missing. But each try had her slowly improving, learning her weaknesses and working on them with harsh discrimination. Eaglepaw panted through each move, becoming lighter and lighter on her paws. Her size would negatively impact her speed overall, but she could make the best of it.

[occultation]

( @Mica )

Fadingsun waited patiently as Eaglepaw struck him again and again. It was messy at first, as he expected, but that was the point. Repetition was the key to mastery, and that was evidenced by the gradual improvement in her hits. She began to learn better footwork herself, better timing, better accuracy. It still wasn't warrior-level by any means, but it was good progress.

Eventually, Fadingsun commanded her to stop. His side was actually a little achy from the repeat hits, but he didn't let it show. Instead, he cast a smile down her way.

"See? You were able to improve on your own, over time. That's the value of practice. That's why it's important to always keep practicing your skills, even after you become a warrior. Keep working on your footwork and precision; paw placement is absolutely critical when it comes to being fast and agile in battle. You can always practice against a tree trunk or a rock.

"Now, let's try adding something to this move. I want you to rush forward and attempt to strike my side again; this time, though, I'm going to respond by spinning to face you. When I do, I want you to swipe at my face as fast as you can. No claws, please; these scars are enough!"

[Mica]

Eaglepaw
RiverClan
she/her | 8 moons
[Golden and white tuxedo tabby with green eyes]
Purrks: Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T2
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The Star ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
· · ────────────── · ·
[Fadingsun - occultation ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Slightly out of breath from the constant moving, but Eaglepaw was feeling good. This was sort of fun, if she didn't have to think about how many cats she would kill in the future. Living in the clans seemed to be a very bloody existence.

The next move seemed simple enough. She nodded her understanding, then readied up. Suddenly leaping forward, she aimed a swipe at Fadingsun's flank. As he spun around she yelped, surprised by his sudden closeness to her face, and stumbled backward. Her heart thundered in her chest, tail bushed up a bit. Eye contact was already stressful enough, but having another cat's face right in front of hers was downright scary! She cursed herself silently, but didn't give Fadingsun a chance to comment on it. She lunged again, this time steeling herself for his inevitable turn.

[occultation]

( @Mica )

The first time Eaglepaw tried to do as he instructed, she stumbled. It was as if she'd been expecting something different than what happened. To her credit, she immediately tried again. That earned a smile from Fadingsun, although she probably wouldn't notice it given that her focus was on battling.

He turned, except this time he was going to throw a little extra in. Battle was chaotic and unpredictable, whereas battle training was often predictable and even-tempered. The sooner Eaglepaw learned to expect the unexpected with combat, the better.

As she lunged and he turned, he lashed out with a paw and attempted to hook it under her body. If he succeeded, he'd flip her on her back.

[Mica]

Eaglepaw
RiverClan
she/her | 8 moons
[Golden and white tuxedo tabby with green eyes]
Purrks: Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T2
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The Star ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
· · ────────────── · ·
[Fadingsun - @occultation ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Just when she thought she'd have an easier time lunging at Fadingsun, her mentor decided to turn it around on her. She squealed as he stuck out a paw for her belly, instinctively rolling to the side and skidding to an unstable halt behind him. While she wanted to pause to snap at him to quit it, she knew that she better take advantage of the situation. Thinking too hard is what had her hesitating in the first place. So, if she wanted to do this right... she better not think at all.

Eaglepaw threw herself at Fadingsun's back, aiming to ram her shoulder into his haunches and buckle his hind legs so he would fall over.

[Short post, sorry!! Look at the goobers <3]

[occultation]

( @Mica )

Eaglepaw had a sloppy landing due to his sudden action; she landed behind him, causing him to turn. She continued on with the spar without too much of a reaction, which was a good sign. She was focused and determined.

Since he'd turned as soon as she landed behind him, he was ready for her lunge. She was quick, and managed to collide with his chest. He leaned back right before the collision, softening it just a little. It still knocked some of the wind out of him, however.

In response, he reared back on his hind legs and brought his front paws down, one after the other. His right paw aimed for Eaglepaw's left shoulder, while his left paw aimed for her right cheek.

[Mica]

Eaglepaw
RiverClan
she/her | 8 moons
[Golden and white tuxedo tabby with green eyes]
Purrks: Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T2
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The Star ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
· · ────────────── · ·
[Fadingsun - @occultation ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Paws came raining down over her shoulder and face. Eaglepaw brought up a paw to knock Fadingsun's arm out of the way, but she wasn't fast enough. The blow hit, not at full strength but still enough to disorient the apprentice. Eaglepaw stumbled away, cheek smarting in a way that brought her back to the past, ears ringing with screams of pain and face aching from where she had been hit by stray blows of chaotic paws as she skirted the camp borders. An instinct Eaglepaw hadn't known she had sparked to life, body reacting as though this simple spar had become an actual threat. Tail lashing, Eaglepaw lunged forward with her teeth bared and aimed to latch her arms around Fadingsun's neck and wrestle him to the ground.

[This is where the fun begins~ /ref]