private cause socially speaking // ivorypaw // we’re the same

[Scarletpaw]

// @ivorypaw

The forest is quiet but for the soft crunch of frostbitten leaves beneath Scarletpaw's paws. She glances over her shoulder at Ivorypaw with her own mentor, the tension in her shoulders betraying the calm she is trying to project. How did I let Raccoonstripe talk me into this? A sparring session with her former best friend. The one cat in ThunderClan who she wants to avoid at all costs. The chocolate tortoiseshell flicks her tail as she faces forward again, letting it drag lazily against the snow as they enter the Sandy Hollow. It's quiet today, the frost-touched soil bordered by towering oaks that cast long shadows in the pale leaf-bare light. No one should interrupt today. She turns to face the white she-cat as their mentors move off to the side to watch, forcing herself to hold her gaze steady.

She kneads the cold sand, testing the bite of the ground beneath her paws. "You've been keeping up with your training, right?" She asks, her tone edging toward casual but not quite making it. Her orange and blue gaze flicks over the other apprentice's form, searching for any sign of weakness. She's quite confident that she'll finish this spar in heartbeats. "I'm not going to go easy on you just because you-" She catches herself before she can finish the thought. Because you're a kittypet. She hesitates, then says instead, "because it's been a while." She shifts her weight, crouching slightly in preparation to spring. "Well? Come on. Show me what you've got." Her words are firm, cool-toned, but her stomach twists with a strange, unfamiliar knot of apprehension and something that feels a little too much like guilt.
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[ivorypaw]

Ivorypaw has never disobeyed Palefire, but this might be the closest she's ever come. She pads quietly behind Scarletpaw, her eyes low to the ground; she does her best to avoid gazing at feathery hindquarters, at rich, dappled fur. She had long-since recovered from her battle with the ShadowClan warrior, but he had left his mark on her — where there had previously only been pristine snow-colored fur, there are pink ridges, battle scars. She had lost her match, and though the initial self-hatred that had accompanied that fact has faded, there is lingering shame.

The pale apprentice dutifully plods into the Sandy Hollow with Scarletpaw. The sand is frigid, unyielding under her paws. It would hurt to fall back on, today. But that is not what causes her trepidation. She meets Scarletpaw's mismatched gaze with newly-scarred brown eyes and answers, "Are you asking me if I've been slacking?" There's a slight edge to her voice, one she wouldn't take with any other cat.

Her last battle with Scarletpaw is at the forefront of her mind. Her face pushed into mud, the way the other she-cat had yowled at her, "You don't belong here!" Ivorypaw levels her with a knowing look as she says, "I'm not going to go easy on you just because you — because it's been a while." The white she-cat's eyes narrow. Does Scarletpaw think her mousebrained?

She sinks her claws into the sand, as if to anchor herself. "Gladly." Ivorypaw launches herself forward, kicking sand out behind her in frosted plumes. She aims a sheathed blow toward the right side of Scarletpaw's pretty face. If it lands, she will pivot and aim a second blow with the other paw to box her left ear.

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• Adora . Ivorykit . Ivorypaw, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — "speech", thoughts, attack
  — 9 moons old, ages realistically on the 16th.
  — mentored by Palefire ; mentoring n/a ; previously mentored n/a.
  — thunderclan apprentice. npc x npc, gen 1.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  lh white she-cat with curled ears and brown eyes. compassionate, righteous, naive, idealistic, self-doubting, self-destructive.

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[Scarletpaw]

Scarletpaw's muscles tense as Ivorypaw leaps forward, a blur of white against the muted tones of the Sandy Hollow. Focus sharpening, her prideful eyes flick to the sheathed paw slicing toward her face - she really thinks she can land the first blow? With a growl rumbling in her throat, the tortoiseshell ducks, her split gaze locked on her opponent's form. The blow grazes her ear fur, but she twists sharply to the side, letting the other apprentice's momentum carry her forward. It's almost not fair, she thinks, for them to compete like this. Scarletpaw has proven to be one of the most skilled apprentices in the clan - how could a kittypet possibly stand against her?

"Nice try," She sneers, her voice as sharp as the leaf-bare wind. She pivots on her hind paws, lashing out with a sheathed strike toward Ivorypaw's exposed flank. "But you'll have to do better than that!" She doesn't wait to see if the strike lands, her movements quick and precise as she dances backward, tail lashing. She then plants her paws firmly, digging them into the frosted sand with a cool, calculating expression. Heat simmers beneath her fur as she challenges, "I thought you said you weren't slacking, Ivorypaw. Prove it." The words taste bitter as they leave her tongue, and guilt nips at the edges of her thoughts, but she shoves it down. The spar is a test - of skill, of will, of pride. I won't lose.
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[ivorypaw]

Ivorypaw's blow narrowly misses; she can feel the pink flesh of her paw pads graze Scarletpaw's ear fur. "Nice try," the tortoiseshell says, her teeth flashing like slivers of moonlight. "But you'll have to do better than that!" A blow thuds against her exposed flank, and the white-furred apprentice's flesh broils with frustration. She'd been careless, leaving herself so exposed; had Scarletpaw attacked her with claws, the attack could have left a nasty wound.

She lands with a heaving exhale, her tail beginning to frizz behind her. Scarletpaw's mismatched gaze is cold and filled with challenge. "I thought you said you weren't slacking, Ivorypaw. Prove it." Ivorypaw's breath catches like a bramble in her throat; her dark eyes narrow in her round face, a snarl building behind her mew. "Say what you really mean, why don't you?"

Ivorypaw kicks herself forward, using the frozen sand for momentum. She lifts her forepaws and attempts to slam them down on Scarletpaw's shoulders, hoping to knock her off-balance and wipe the smug expression from her face. "This isn't about me slacking, is it?" She challenges, aiming a sheathed blow toward the mottled she-cat's muzzle. It's about where I come from. It always has been. So stop being a coward and just say it!

… ❞​

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[Scarletpaw]

Scarletpaw braces herself, but Ivorypaw's weight slams into her shoulders before she can fully react. She stumbles back in shock, sand kicking up around her paws, and a hiss escapes her as she doesn't dodge quickly enough to escape the blow to her muzzle. Her head is struck sideways, knocking a gasp from her. The she-cat's wounded pride flares hotter than the sting of the hit, her split gaze narrowing back on her opponent as her claws dig into the frozen sand to steady herself.

"I don't know what you're talking about," She spits, though the guilt gnawing at her belly betrays her words. Scarletpaw lashes her tail, her muscles bunching before she launches herself sideways in an attempt to circle Ivorypaw. She moves quickly, aiming a sweeping blow toward the white she-cat's hind legs, hoping to unbalance her in turn. "You think you've got me figured out?" Come the snarled words as she does so. "You don't."

Whether her blow hits or not, she tries to scramble away with flattened ears, attempting to get out of range before Ivorypaw can make her next move. Heart pounding against her ribs, she knows deep down what this fight is really about, but she refuses to let it show.
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