Battle Training

[//Sunneh// is FuMiNg]

[shadow=orange,left,300]Strickenshadow[/shadow]

Strickenshadow prowled around the clearing. He let out a low growl of frustration, causing a few cats to glance uneasily at him. It seemed as if every IvyClan cat was completely oblivious to the growing tension between them and FrostClan. If they had any common sense they would be training!
It wasn't that Strickenshadow wanted a war--that was the last thing he thought the clans needed. It was simply because Strickenshadow didn't like being caught unprepared. When a cat was his size, they learned to always be ready.
He waited, somewhat impatiently, for a cat, any cat, to get wise and train with him.

[fαllεη •]

Maybe Tigerpelt was just a sucker for punishment, or maybe everyone should just shut up and believe him. He loved training. There was little you could do to keep him away from showing his strength and skill, and his strict plan for every day meant that he'd set aside a whole morning for it, if border patrols weren't on the cards. Now, heading down to the clearing, he noted that the log he'd carved up -the only opponent that he could unsheathe his claws with- was still there, lying disused in a corner. He frowned at it. 'Unless someone else shows up soon, you'll be getting another treatment.'

He couldn't help but bask a little in the filter of sunlight. Everywhere else in IvyClan territory seldom saw daylight, which meant that he, with his short coat, was never particularly warm. 'Another reason to love fighting. And running.' But not hunting. Hunting kept you still for long periods, and that was something that inevitably ended in Tigerpelt getting colder than he'd like.

To Tigerpelt's pleasure, the clearing -while far from filled- had a few dregs lurking around the edges. All the better to put fear into their hearts. He'd show them what a real IvyClan warrior was made of, the lazy lumps.
He caught sight of a shrimpy-looking white warrior with black paws, whose pelt seemed far too well-groomed to be a fighter. And yet, here he was: glaring at the other cats. He looked like he was looking for a fight. And Tigerpelt would be pleased to give it to him.
"Hey, you!" he called, padding closer and making sure to allow his muscles time to flow and undulate under his pelt. 'Show this kit what he's up against.'

[//Sunneh// is FuMiNg]

"Hey, you!"
Strickenshadow knew the warrior was there before he made a sound. How could he not notice the cat with that big hulking shadow looming over him, blocking out the sun.
Ah-hah...
Strickenshadow turned, slowly, deliberately, to face the warrior. It was Tigerpelt, that loud tabby that was always clawing away at a log as if his life depended on it. Strickenshadow wasn't the least bit surprised; though he had never sparred with Tigerpelt, he had seen him come to train here often. And now it was Strickenshadow's turn. The small warrior glanced at the log, studying the long claw marks scored into the bark with a blank expression.
'Hey you' indeed...
Strickenshadow smiled at Tigerpelt, looking the part of one of the typical arrogant warriors that hung around the training grounds, trying to impress the she-cats. "Why hello," he said pleasantly, his eyes narrowed into amber slits to keep out the unusually bright sun. "I take it you want to spar with me?"
It was a rheutorical question, but for some reason, Strickenshadow expected an answer. Don't underestimate him! Strickenshadow reprimanded himself. He could be a braniac for all you know! Strickenshadow moved into a defensive position, his muscles tensed. He assumed Tigerpelt would attack first. You don't get reputations like the tabby had by just standing there.

[Raccoonstar]

WINDPAW

Windpaw watched intently as Strickenshadow and Tigerpelt as they fought. He idolized both, and the memories of meeting Evenigpaw and feeling what he now knew was kindness melted away like snow in greenleaf. He had memorized both cat's stlye of fighting, and wished deeply that one of these poweful warriors was his mentor, and not the light-hearted Owlfeather. But he had to give Owlfeather credit. Owlfeather had a hidden ddark side to him, and this was why Windpaw did not complain...aloud. But Strickenshadow and Tigerpelt's dark side was easily seen, and with it their strengths and weaknesses.

[owlfeather]

Owlfeather sighed inward, the frustration and anger wanting to push its self toward the surface. He saw Windpaw, idolizing the two toms. He knew that Windpaw wanted to see the dark side to him, and he really didn't want some things to get that out of control. Owlfeather's dark side was...dark. And the only cat that needed to see that was himself. He was known as "Lighthearted?" Well, the statement was not true. Only having been with Windpaw once, he hadn't had a great chance to show his meanness.

Owlfeather scowled, and then yowled at Windpaw. "Get away from them, leave them be" he snarled, and then flicked his tail.

[Raccoonstar]

WINDPAW

Windpaw was memorizing a new move style used by Strickenshadow when Owlfeather yowled at him to get away. "I'm learning training moves." Windpaw stated with false innocence, then copied the moves. Tigerpelt and Strickenshadow appeared to be matched in fighting skills. Their dark side was being clearly show to the whole of the training grounds, with Tigerpelt's just slightly more visible. He observed the cats closely, cpoying a few moves that were esecially good. When he looked behind him and saw Owlfeather's look of discontent, he ignored it and continued watching, hopeful that Owlfeather would leave and let him "learn" some more.

[fαllεη •]

Strickenshadow! That was the cat's name. Ah, he was finishing his apprentice ceremony while Strickenkit was still bouncing at his mother's feet. Strange how times changed and cats grew up. But just because Strickenshadow had been the weakling of the litter, Tigerpelt wasn't about to show him any mercy.
"Why hello. I take it you want to spar with me?"
Tigerpelt bared his teeth into a grin, his tail swaying gently from side to side. "If you think you can hold up."

He was used to this word-play, and while he wasn't terribly quick on his feet, he could manage the back-and-forth like any other cat. It was a pity that there were seldom any she-cats here; he would like to see how he stood against them. Unlike other toms, he didn't have anything against sparring with she-cats. If they could hold their own, then they could. If not, then they were weak. He didn't have any prejudices against she-cats for being just that. Anyone could become a good fighter.

Of course, the only reason that Tigerpelt could afford to be so magnanimous was that he seldom lost.

Tigerpelt allowed himself a toothy grin as Strickenshadow automatically assumed the defensive position. It was clear what Strickenshadow thought of him, and he didn't mind. In fact, he was amused: he might be a bulky thing (and not socially apt) but he wasn't an idiot when it came to fighting. He kept his stance regular for a few moments; padding so, so slowly to his opponent's right, and did so for long enough that he could feel eyes on his back. Then, with a lumbering gait that might be expected of such bulk, he rolled towards Strickenshadow's front right like a flood: power, unstoppable and simple. It was obvious that he intended to knock Strickenshadow out of the way: his huge right paw was ready to slam into the shoulder if he missed. But if he missed -as he fully expected to do- his hind paws would dig into the earth and turn him straight back around, turning all his momentum back towards his opponent. Both would work well as back-up plans. Both he was fully prepared to carry out.

---

((OOC: With fighting, I'm used to stating what the cat is aiming for and what might happen if it doesn't work, so you get to decided which happens. I'm not really used to doing it any other way XD))

[//Sunneh// is FuMiNg]

Strickenshadow's eyes never left Tigerpelt as his opponent circled him. He studied Tigerpelt's position, the way he was balanced, looking for the tell-tale flex of muscle that came before a sudden pounce. The lazy smile still graced his face.
If Strickenshadow expected any cunning, complex attacks from Tigerpelt, he was disappointed. The large warrior just charged towards him, as if he was trying to bowl his smaller opponent over. Strickenshadow had to move quickly. He lunged upwards, a strange move in his current predicament. But with small size came great grace and he sailed over Tigerpelt's head, propelled himself forward on the large warrior's back with his front paws and landed behind him.

Unfortunately for Strickenshadow, Tigerpelt didn't completely miss. He had turned around, quite quickly for his size, and caught Strickenshadow on the side of his face. Strickenshadow couldn't tell what had hit him, but it had hit him hard. He would probably be bruised there for a moon.

Recovering quickly, Strickenshadow charged toward Tigerpelt. He covered the small distance between them in three steps, then threw hisself at his opponent's legs. His scanty weight wasn't enough to knock the warrior down, but that wasn't Strickenshadow's plan. Faster than thought, Strickenshadow scooped up a pawful of sand and flung it at Tigerpelt's eyes, giving him a blow underneath the chin to boot. He then jumped a safe distance away. Hopefully the sand had effectively blinded Tigerpelt, at least for a time.

[Raccoonstar]

WINDPAW

Windpaw was amazed at Strickenshadow's blow. It would save him some time to attack while giving Tigerpelt a great dodge that backfired only because of Tigerpelt's plan. He memorized the blinding blow, copying it over and over again against an invisible opponent which he imagined was that traitor Duskwing. He hated her and hoped she went to hell. No, that was too little of a punishment, Windpaw thought. She deserves to stay here, forever mocked by all of IvyClan. That was what a traitor deserved.

[fαllεη •]

Strickenshadow's smile was matched glint for glint by Tigerpelt. The tom was only paying as much attention to his opponent's face as he needed to see the casual flick of any eye that might tell him where he was headed: as it was, he should have been looking at Strickenshadow's paws. The slippery warrior simply leaped over his head, dodging his first attack completely, and Tigerpelt had the unpleasant sensation of someone dancing down his spine. Fortunately, his quick turn was rewarded with a resounding slap on the side of Strickenshadow's face. Perfect. He allowed his teeth just a little bit of extra glint as he stepped forward to press the advantage, noting the distance between the two. But just as the burly warrior was about to go for a neat, matching strike with his left paw, Strickenshadow shot forward and into Tigerpelt's paws. A strange move, but Tigerpelt wasn't about to question the prize that had just fallen into his lap. He reared up onto his hind legs, ready to bring both paws down in a powerful blow behind Strickenshadow's shoulders, a wide snarl on his face.

He didn't expect what came next.

The white tom scooped up some sand and flung it right into Tigerpelt's face. He had just opened his mouth to give his attack more weight, but as he came down, Strickenshadow was gone and the pawful of sand went right into his mouth. He hacked furiously at the back of his throat. Most of the sand had gone into his mouth, drying it out as effectively as if he'd been left in SnakeClan during green-leaf, but some of it was blurring his vision, and he couldn't quite make out what Strickenshadow was doing. IvyClan cats were pretty used to fighting blind, what with their dark, thick forest: you never quite knew where an attack would come from next. But the sand had also gone up his nose, and he sneezed violently. Although the sneeze would make his eyes water enough to clear them, he'd also been forced to close them... and to let himself fall back to earth, without the satisfying warmth of the defeated under his paws.

[owlfeather]

Owlfeather shook his head, and then turned. "Windpaw, don't forget, tomorrow we shall try a little new stuff" he said, flicking his tail and grinning.

[Raccoonstar]

WINDPAW

Windpaw's attention flickered from the fight to Owlfeather. "New stuff?" Windpaw inquired. "What do you mean, new stuff?" He was curious to find out about this 'new stuff.'

[owlfeather]

Owlfeather looked at Windpaw and then nodded. "Well, you will see. But for now, get some rest, and be prepared for tomorrow" he was going to surprise Windpaw, even it took a lot of arguing about sleep. He wanted to tell him about the fighting things he had learned, and the special guest that they might have, but all he said was, 'You'll soon find out". Owlfeather smiled grimly at Windpaw, and then sighed.

[Raccoonstar]

WINDPAW

Windpaw nodded. He tore his gaze from the interesting fight and padded into the almost empty apprentices' den. He made himself comfortable on the best bed, (none dared to challenge him on getting it) and slept, dreaming of what Owlfeather was talking about. That, and if Owlfeather would ever show his dark side, though he hinted it when he spoke last.

[//Sunneh// is FuMiNg]

Strickenshadow watched as Tigerpelt coughed up some of the sand. It must of gotten into more places than the burly warriors' mouth. He felt a twinge of guilt for pulling such a dirty trick on a clanmate, then quickly shook it off. IvyClan warriors were strong enough to take any sort of punishment.
He eyed Tigerpelt suspicously, his amber eyes narrowed into unforgiving slits. His opponent had landed heavily and looked quite disoriented. Had the burly warrior been defeated? Strickenshadow strongly doubted it, but he didn't want to attack until he was sure.
"Have you had enough?" he called, a patronizing tone to his voice. He wanted to gode Tigerpelt into attacking again--if the warrior was well enough to attack, that is.