⋆⋆⋆ A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong | Open Spar ⋆⋆⋆

[Amberhaze]

⚛︎₊˚‧ The Great Sycamore loomed overhead, its cataclysmic shadows casting a foreboding blanket across the open space below, slivers of precious golden light flittering weakly in their efforts to illuminate something that was cursed to never be allowed the warm kiss of a blazing sun which sat concealed behind thick pine needles and brittle bark. It was almost like a terrible omen of what misfortune was to come, something that was felt deep inside the cavity of Amberhaze's hollow chest as he approached his opponent with trembling limbs and twitching features. He could not and would not meet the eyes of the cat before him, for if he did he knew he would surely falter before even allowing himself the opportunity to make a move. Deep breaths burned incessantly inside his throat, getting caught there much more often than they were allowed to be released.

He needed this. Never much of a fighter, his strengths lied in his agility and hauntingly silent paw steps, both of which were attributes that made him one of the best hunters ShadowClan had to offer. Never once had he returned with empty jaws from any hunting patrol, oftentimes laden enough that he had to drape carcass after carcass over his back and across his protruding shoulder blades. For everything he seemed to lack, this was one of the few if only things that was worthy enough for him to brag about, though he never would. Unfortunately, an easy catch would never be impressive enough to ward off a hostile enemy, and his small frame did him little in the ways of favor. Yes, he needed this, as much as his muscles grew taught with their instinctive desire to flee the clearing and hide away, he knew there would eventually come a time where he would be forced to pull his ivory claws from their sheaths and rake them across soft flesh if he wanted to survive and protect. He was not ready for it as he was now, but perhaps with practice he could be.

"O-Okay, uh...Tell me what to do, I guess...I-I'm ready. I think." He wasn't, not truly. But that's what it means to survive, right? Be ready for anything, no matter how impossible it may seem in the present, it didn't ever mean that it would remain an impossibility in the future.

✧　°　.　⚠︎　.　°　✧​

ooc Information

• ooc: Feel free to place your character into the thread as his opponent! This is an open spar between Amberhaze and anyone who may be interested in helping him train combatively, anyone is free to join and spar with him!
• 

  AMBERHAZE — HE/HIM ･ 20 MOONS ･ WARRIOR OF SHADOWCLAN ･ PENNED BY SLOANE

  a short but lengthy black cat with a boney build and striking ocher eyes filled with unveiled trepidation. black oriental shorthair.

​

 

[SALAMANDERSNAP]

"Starclan.... how did you ever become a warrior?" She groans as Amberhaze stands before her somewhat awkwardly, asking her to tell him what to do. Shaking her head she sighs, trying to have some amount of pity for him. After all, Salamandersnap was shocked that he'd come to her asking for help with his battle moves. Reluctantly (and still in a daze of shock) she'd agreed, and they'd left for the Great Sycamore to practice. At least this would prove to be useful when Mirestar gave her an apprentice of her own right?

"Okay, let's just start from the beginning. Show me your stance. If you don't have a good grasp of the basics then jumping straight into a spar won't prove to be useful." This was a rare and unusual side of Salamandersnap, and she was doing her best to be patient and keep her tone as friendly as possible (given her record), as she tried to be helpful to her clanmate. Seeing how terrified he was only made it more clear that anyone else who needed additional support should probably join in. There hadn't been any major wars or battles recently, and it was within her best interest to ensure that her clanmates felt they could protect themselves at the very least, even if she wasn't someone who could really organize big things like that. But one clanmate seeking help from her specifically had to be a good thing right?

I AM THICK TAR ON THE INSIDE BURNING ☽｡⋆ DO YOU REMEMBER ME

• ooc. — ​

• 

• SALAMANDERSNAP
  ↪ salamandersnap / cisgender female (she/her)
  ↪ 24 moons / ages realistically on the 19th
  ↪ shadowclan warrior
  ↪ lh black smoke
  ↪ "speech" / thoughts
  ↪ peaceful/healing actions may be powerplayed / attack in underline & @/account
  ↪ note: all thoughts/actions are based off ic opinions only !!
  ↪ penned by halimede
  ​

​

 

[Willowburn]

THE GODS CAN KNEEL ⋆⁺₊⋆
Willowburn blinked slowly in a relaxed manner as he settled himself down to watch the pair as the little session seemed to begin. In truth he did feel for Amberhaze as he ended up with Salamandersnap of all cats. Well, it was probably best to lurk about as to avoid the spilling of tears. He had already tailed them this far, it seemed silly to leave before any drama could occur. Where else was he going to get his entertainment? ”Remember to take your time. Nothing gained from rushing.”

- ⋆ -​

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[Carrionpaw]

❝ SHE HAS GOT TO MOVE THE WORLD ☠ ⋆ ₊˚ ————————————
Carrionpaw had been dragged from her nest for this. To watch Amberhaze tremble under Salamandersnap's critical eye. She was not as skilled as some of her denmates at sparring, but even she had a better form than Amberhaze did now. She also agreed with her clanmates about Salamandersnap's attitude, but if she were a warrior this would be the time she put the she-cat in her place. Luckily, she wasn't a warrior and she wasn't up to spar against the feisty she-cat.

Carrionpaw looked up at Willowburn as he spoke and gave an audible sigh. "I think you should kill him, Salamandersnap," she teased in a flat tone. Maybe she really would. That would be exciting. She craned her neck behind her to watch for any other clanmates to join the audience. It seemed like it would be a satisfying watch.

[penned by muddly - ☠]

———————————— ˚₊ ⋆ ☠ GOT TO MOVE THE WORLD ❞ ​

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[Amberhaze]

⚛︎₊˚‧ Amberhaze did his best to allow Salamandersnap's discouraging words fall off of him like water from the hydrophobic feathers of a duck, though it was clear it struck a chord in him from the way his eyelids twitched in time with her comment. It was true he was not the greatest fighter, and the main reason he had seen his apprenticeship to fruition was primarily due to his impressive skills as a hunter- quite possibly the only reason. He had no trouble keeping the bellies of his clanmate's full, but should he ever need to defend one with glinting ivory claws and stained teeth...this was a different story, one he sought to change.

At her command, he would shift his weight into an uncoordinated crouch, his elongated body like a coiled snake the way his back arched just a little too high and his chest a little too close to the ground. It was not fit for a pounce, and truthfully he was unsure if he would even be able to move at all. "Uh- how's this?" Skin slid grotesquely over jutting bones as his gangly frame repositioned itself, his eyes like a pair of full harvest moons darting every which way as he did so, trailing with harrowed uncertainty onto a humble pair of companions who had trailed alongside himself and his sparring partner to watch him fail. To gawk at his shortcomings.

Willowburn's gentle encouragement came as a surprise to him, but it was a welcome one as he flashed the mahogany tom an small, uncertain smile, his taut muscles visibly relaxing for a moment before his relief was shattered by the more jarring voice of another.

"I think you should kill him, Salamandersnap."

His expression would drop at this, body seizing with a force so great his breath poured from his lungs like a cascading waterfall. Flashing a final, almost uncharacteristically disdainful glance at Carrionpaw, he would size up Salamandersnap in an attempt to take in her physique and read her expression- was she angry with him? Annoyed, surely, but not so much as to cause him any genuine harm? How much of her was fur, fat, or pure concentrated muscle? Did such things even matter given how little of such things he himself possessed? He concluded that it did not, but it was too late for him to go back on his request now despite the sudden screaming overtaking his cranium telling him to flee.

✧　°　.　⚠︎　.　°　✧​

ooc Information

• ooc: —
• 

  AMBERHAZE — HE/HIM ･ 20 MOONS ･ WARRIOR OF SHADOWCLAN ･ PENNED BY SLOANE

  a short but lengthy black cat with a boney build and striking ocher eyes filled with unveiled trepidation. black oriental shorthair.

​

 

[SALAMANDERSNAP]

Chuckling with Carrionpaw's comment about "killing" Amberhaze she notices the way he becomes almost petrified of her and the situation. Flicking her tail in acknowledgement to Willowburn and the young apprentice, she turns back to Amberhaze with a forced exhale. "She's only teasing you know." Of course she wasn't foolish enough to kill a clanmate, especially one who wasn't as evenly matched in self-defense (at the very least) as she. "I'm not going to hurt you. I have more pride than that." Motioning for him to return to his crouch, she waits patiently for him to fall back into the same stance as she circles him, checking his form.

"That's almost perfect actually." Surprise creeps into her voice that he nearly had hit the nail on the head, and was only slightly off. "Keep your chest up a little higher, and your back not so arched." Using her tail to gently encourage him to dip his back down, she then uses her paw to raise his chest to the proper height. "You should feel more balanced now. Does that feel better?"

Watching his reaction, she waits to see how he settles into the proper stance before they went any further. Part of her was already nervous with only two spectators. Surely they wouldn't keep their traps shut from yapping about how much nicer than normal she was being. That was something that would surely attract the entire clan's attention, all rushing to witness the miracle from Starclan. Of course Amberhaze didn't need that right now.

I AM THICK TAR ON THE INSIDE BURNING ☽｡⋆ DO YOU REMEMBER ME

• ooc. — ​

• 

• SALAMANDERSNAP
  ↪ salamandersnap / cisgender female (she/her)
  ↪ 24 moons / ages realistically on the 19th
  ↪ shadowclan warrior
  ↪ lh black smoke
  ↪ "speech" / thoughts
  ↪ peaceful/healing actions may be powerplayed / attack in underline & @/account
  ↪ note: all thoughts/actions are based off ic opinions only !!
  ↪ penned by halimede
  ​

​

 

[Amberhaze]

⚛︎₊˚‧ Salamandersnap's hardened attempt at soothing Amberhaze's rapidly shot nerves did little in the ways of calming him down, however he would simply nod in reluctant agreement at her words. Her touch, however, was a different story- the sensation of a plumed tail dancing along his back like a snake paired with the pressure of a disciplinary paw causing his body to stretch and contort to a more suitable position something that caused him to jump upon initial contact. He was not a very touchy cat, not even to those who he considered friends, so it was not hard to imagine how he might feel being repositioned by someone who he seemed to fear. The only saving grace about the ordeal was her unexpected praise, the mention of "almost perfect" making Amberhaze's mouth twitch with the effort to force back a smile. Such an unassuming and unnoticeable thing he was, so often he figured he may as well be invisible...or dead- and so to be spoken to in a manner that exceeded one used for an individual who's mind had been lost was something he held in high regard- even if insincere.

"You should feel more balanced now. Does that feel better?" She would ask him then, his thoughts returning to the moment at hand and his expression hardening subtly with the effort of concentration. "Yeah, i-it does. Uh- thank you." He flexed his claws, unsheathing ivory talons that would pierce the muddied soil below with ease as if anchoring himself, fixing himself in this new position that he had been contorted into. He worried that if he were to move even an inch, he would fall back into disarray and ruin the form that Salamandersnap had instructed him to keep. And yet he felt the overwhelming urge to move, first something that was a mere desire quickly turned to an intensified tingle that made his pelt prickle and his muscles grow taut with anticipation.

With a deep breath, he would utter only two words: "I'm ready."

✧　°　.　⚠︎　.　°　✧​

ooc Information

• ooc: —
• 

  AMBERHAZE — HE/HIM ･ 20 MOONS ･ WARRIOR OF SHADOWCLAN ･ PENNED BY SLOANE

  a short but lengthy black cat with a boney build and striking ocher eyes filled with unveiled trepidation. black oriental shorthair.

​