Battle Traininggg

[Robinstar]

( Alright, just thought I'd start a new thread xD I know this is late and I'm really sorry. Hopefully we can keep this thread shorter :3 Oakpaw )

Training had totally slipped Robinstar's mind, as he had just been appointed leader. Guilt weighed him down as he awoke, realizing he hadn't actually met Oakpaw at the Grassy Clearing the day he had told her to go. He stood and exited the leader's den, relieved it was still early, and headed straight for the apprentice's den. 

When he found her, he nudged his apprentice. "Oakpaw," he murmured, sitting back to wait for her to wake up. 

( This is kinda short, sorry )

[Oakpaw]

Being a normally light sleeper, Oakpaw's eyes drifted open as her name wormed it's way into her consciousness, wiping the sleep from her eyes. She turned to face her mentor.

"Hi," she said, running a paw over her ears with excitement. "Congratulations, by the way," she mewed, her voice gaining regular strength as she remembered of his new promotion.

"Are we training?"

(i also have -6 muse so all's good all's good)

[Robinstar]

"Thank you," he said, standing as she woke up. A little hint of pride entered his voice—he couldn't help it. He was so incredibly honored to be the leader of IceClan. Soon she seemed to be back to her active self, and he nodded. "Yes." He motioned for her to follow, heading outside of the apprentice's den. He'd rather talk outside where he wouldn't wake anyone else.

"I'm really sorry. I have to admit, I forgot about our training session with everything going on." Robinstar turned as he spoke. "But today we'll be doing battle, as I promised, in the Grassy Clearing. Think you can lead me to it?" They'd only been there twice together, but he knew she had a pretty good memory, so he stepped aside to let her lead.

[Oakpaw]

"That's all right," Oakpaw said, rounding out her eyes to hide previous resentment. "Yeah, I think so." She swallowed a yawn as she made her way out of the camp, tasting the air a couple of times to remember the trail. Pleased, she trotted off, making her way to the clearing.

(wow that was short)

[Robinstar]

( no worries :3 )

Robinstar nodded. With the leader naming ceremony and Wildstar's death, the thought had escaped his mind and he felt bad for it. The leader trotted after Oakpaw, and soon he found himself in the Grassy Clearing. He made his way to the center of it, beckoning for Oakpaw to follow. "All of the Clans, as you'd guess, have their advantages and disadvantages. It just so happens that we have an advantage over all the Clans—water. We swim, we like water, and we know how to fight in it.

"Along with that, we are able to climb and descend these mountains easily and we know this kind of terrain best. But, water is our main asset and, if you ever find yourself in combat with another cat, if possible, steer them towards the river." He nodded in the direction of the river. "Can you think of any disadvantages and advantages that RockClan, FireClan, and TreeClan might have?" They were all pretty obvious.

[Oakpaw]

Oakpaw flicked her tail as she followed him to the center of the clearing, and sat listening. She grinned a little and nodded--since he'd first taught her how to swim, she'd practiced several times and found she had quite a taste for it. "What's our disadvantage?"

She nodded as seriously as she could, then paused, moving from paw to paw as she thought. "Well, for RockClan, they're diggers. So I know they use that for Clan life, for dens and stuff, but that probably means their claws are really long too. That could hurt someone. Disadvantage... Um, they're really sturdily built so most of them might not be so fast?

"For FireClan, they're super fast which is easier for them since their territory is so... open. But then they might not be as good in offensive fighting or in closed spaces since they're not used to it. And TreeClan are all climbers so they could use trees as a tactical advantage in battle, jumping down on enemies and the like." She paused, wracking her brains. "Um. I don't know what their disadvantage might be."

[Robinstar]

"We aren't so apt at weaving through trees quickly, as TreeClanners would be," he said, pausing before listing more. "We aren't the best jumpers either, and we would be easily outrun by FireClanners." Those were the only ones he could think of then and there, though he was sure there were less important ones if he thought long and hard.

"Yes, you're correct. RockClanners have longer claws and larger paws, so they're able to hit their target more easily and the claws are self explanatory. They're also very muscular and have broad shoulders, so they can win by brute force. However, stereotypically they have little speed stamina on their side. They also aren't great at climbing and don't have the best balance like the rest of the Clans."

He nodded as she explained the rest. "They ar every graceful and have strong hind legs for jumping and climbing trees. However, though trees give them the element of surprise, they are their main advantage, so without them they aren't the best of fighters." He finished for her, before getting to his paws and stretching his legs slightly. "I'll teach you the basics first," he said, beckoning for her to stand up. "Show me what you know from play fighting as a kitten, and I'll correct you from there." He squared his shoulders, waiting for her attack.

[Oakpaw]

"Ok," she said, fighting the urge to defend her Clan with almost whiny inner-voice, reminding herself that everyone was flawed. "That makes sense," she said, nodding. It was odd to feel pleasure in hearing the other Clan's flaws, but it could only be normal.

She stood up uncomfortably. "Okay," she said, dragging the word out as she ran through a couple scenarios in her head, nervously miming a movement, marking a swipe. Truth be told, she had never done much/any play-fighting as a kit, but steeled her nerve, feeling rather lame as she gritted her teeth and swiped a paw through the air. "If you could--" She paused, trying to think her way around a physical problem. She crouched and swiped around again. "You could--" She paused. "With their legs," she mumbled, embarassed.

[Robinstar]

Robinstar nodded once when she seemed to agree with what he had said. He was glad he'd assigned himself as Oakpaw's mentor—it was good to keep in shape to know young apprentices, but she was also a quick learner and had a sharp mind. She easily figured things out, and he knew she'd make a great warrior.

He watched thoughtfully as she made strange-looking movements in the air with her paws. To him, though, they resembled something of a fish flopping on dry land. He gave her the tiniest of smiles, slight amusement showing on his face. She clearly didn't know much, but he could easily make her better.

"For one, spread your paws apart so that you're more steady and balanced. Otherwise, I could easily knock you over," he instructed, demonstrating by ramming softly into her shoulder. "And move more quickly—like a snake does, when it traps its prey." He showed her by dancing around her sides, batting at her chest and shoulders. "And put force behind each blow. Don't worry about me, I can take it as long as you don't use your claws." 

"Trip them?" He finished forward, leaping easily out of the way. "You'll have to be quicker than that, and have a stronger blow. You'll have to catch your opponent off balance for it to work, considering your smaller. Try it." 

[Oakpaw]

Oakpaw latched on to his tutelage with desperate relief, pelt burning. She could only imagine how stupid she must look. She stumbled backwards as he bumped her but managed to regain her footing, widening her stance as instructed and holding steady as he gently demonstrated attacks from all around. She flexed her shoulders, swaying but keeping her balance. She nodded, jumping from foot to foot as she imagined a snake, paused, and nodded again, miming the blow this time with much more effort and sure-footedness behind it. She was unsure if he meant to actually hit him or not.

She backed up, caught off guard. "Yes." She listened intently, trying to picture everything in her mind, and at last abandoned her attempt. She pawed at the ground once, remembered to sheathe her claws, and then in a quick (hopefully snake-like) motion shoved her right shoulder forward, her paw extended as she swiped at his legs with all the balanced force she could muster.

[Robinstar]

Robinstar watched as she pawed at the ground, remaining on his feet when she swiped at them. "That would certainly work," he responded, giving the slightest of chuckles at the strange way she'd chosen to distract him. "The only reason it didn't work was because I knew what you were doing." He nodded in approval—she seemed she was beginning to understand how it worked. 

"Those are the most basic moves. There are more complicated ones, like jumping onto your opponents back in order to pin them, rolling underneath them to claw at their stomach. Those will develop easily as you practice, and it's alway good to add your own touch to the moves." He told her. "One thing to remember, though, is to always go for the eyes. It may seem brutal and barbaric, but it works." 

"I'd like to show you water-combat, if you promise you'll practice with your friends." He watched her expectantly.

[Oakpaw]

She regained a bit of her ego as he gently reminded her that he'd known it was coming, nodding forcefully. The easy bob-bobbing of her head had grown from eagerness as a kit to a nervous tic as an apprentice and it was her natural response to almost anything.

Thinking on that, she tried to still herself as she looked up at him, her mind split, and so she absent-mindedly nodded once more at his advice to go for the eyes. Once she managed to actually process it, she stiffened a little, squeamishly imagining claws raking through that specific soft tissue, but swallowed a shudder and murmured a quiet assent.

"Oooh, yes," she mewed, forgetting herself as her eyes widened and she stood straight up. Water combat--now that must be what it truly was to be an IceClanner.

[Robinstar]

She seemed fairly excited when he mentioned water combat, and nodded. He lead her towards the river and followed along the banks until he found a thawed, shallow part. He stepped into the river, trying to ignore how cold it was against his long legs. He beckoned for Oakpaw to come in as well.

"The other Clans hate water and don't know how to deal with it, unlike us. So, if at all possible, try and direct any opponents to the river." Border skirmishes were always easy to do this with, though attacks and raids were much more difficult. "If you can, try and force your opponent's head under water—but leave them be once they're too weak to fight back. You don't want to drown them." 

He stood there, gesturing for her to try. "Now, obviously, don't actually force my head under water, but show me what move you think could work."

[Oakpaw]

She cautiously followed him into the chilly water at his request, shivering involuntarily. It sent a chill up her spine that she tried to ignore as she listened to his instructions.

She smiled. She could hardly imagine hating water but it was more than amusing to imagine an indignant FireClanner yowling the moment they got their paws wet. "Right." She nodded nervously, squinting for a second, then reared up on her hind legs, pushing gently on the back of his head. "Like that? Or with a feint maybe..." She trailed off.

[Robinstar]

He nodded slightly. "Yes, that would work." He watched her thoughtfully for a moment. "But only on smaller, weaker opponents. If you find yourself faced with a larger cat, it would be smart to lure them into deeper water." He nodded towards a deeper portion of the river. "Obviously, they can't swim and, if you manage to fool them, it would be easy to force them under water."

"But, always remember, do not kill them. That is part of the warrior code—once they're gone, it's out of your paws, but otherwise, you cannot kill."