pafp FALLING ONE BY ONE [sparring]

➴➴ CW for mentions of death in the first paragraph!



Dark lips curl, exposing ice-white fangs dribbling with saliva. One swift bite, and this could all be over. One slash of claws, and pristine white fur turns into crimson spilling down a cut throat, splattered across their own chest, pooling upon the dirt beneath them. They are in the midst of battle, and Gooseberry lies motionless before them, splittering coughs dying out as his chest heaves one final time. They have hardly a moment to be horrified, however—a form, slim and cruel, bashes into their flank, throeing them off-balance. Their attacker does not let up once they’ve toppled over onto their side, though. Piercing eyes, frigid blue and flooded with hate, are only visible for a heartbeat before the feeling of claws tears through their underside. Gravelsnap hisses, drawing themself to their feet once again. They crouch down, preparing to lunge at Rumblerain’s face and score their claws down it. Thorn-sharp, deadly, right for the eye. Their limbs curl beneath them, eel-black tail wavering, and-

The dark-pointed cat before them is not their enemy any longer, but a friend. An ally. Their apprentice. At the last second, their claws withdraw, sheathed once again. Their paw, aiming to crash heavily down onto the top of Sheeppaw’s head, is no longer a weapon meant to deliver a killing blow—it is only a part of their apprentice’s training, now. Whether or not their first attack lands, the warrior darts backward, hazel eyes narrowing as they regard the younger tom. "You won’t be a warrior for another season, now." And thank the stars for that; without Sunstar’s decision, they had loathed the idea of sending Sheeppaw, half-grown and half-trained, out into the moorland as a warrior. "You should be quicker with your movements. Attack me, now. Show me what you’ve learned about battle."

  • ooc: @SHEEPPAW
  • 58921334_LvhpdhRxLH7s4eM.png
    GRAVELSNAP ❯❯ they/he, moor runner of windclan
    average-sized black and white warrior who seems smaller than he is. speaks rarely and quietly.
    mate to periwinklebreeze ; sibling to slateheart
    mentoring sheeppaw ; formerly mentored thriftfeather
    peaceful and healing powerplay is allowed, but they hate physical contact & will lash out if not close friends / family
    penned by foxlore
 
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He lets out a small 'ack-!' escape him, when a paw comes crashing down on his poor head. He had closed one of his eyes when the hit landed, but he had wobbled slightly. Dark paws set firmly on the ground, not wanting to fall over with a face full of dirt. Damn. Why couldn't he get this right!? Sheeppaw lets a sigh escape him, as an ears twitches forward to listen to his mentor speak.

A grimace twists onto his maw at the words of being a warrior soon. He already knows he's half-trained... it's frustrating! Dark plumy tail lashes behind him as the moor - runner apprentice blinks at Gravelsnap before chirping up. "Uh Huhhh, quicker movements right!" Dropping into a crouch, tail held low he narrows his eyes. He waits for a moment, before he springs forward with a fierce mew. Was his leap high enough? Was he doing it correctly? He doesn't really think on super cool battle moves, instead he clumsily lashes out with a paw out to try to smack Gravelsnap. With the cusp of totally falling down onto his face in the dirt.
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  • no ref yet </3
  • ( HEY! WHATCHA GOT? ) ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ SHEEPPAW. ╱ windclan apprentice.
    amab ; HE / HIM ; 9 MOONS & AGES EVERY 29TH.
    undecided / not looking / open to puppy-crushes
    a lanky, longhaired black smoke with high white and blue eyes
    thoughts ; "Speech, B9D6F2" ; attacks only
    may powerplay minor harm ╱ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted
    smells like early morning dew & windblown heather
    — all opinions are ic

    biography / @ on discord for plots
    — penned by calzone
 
LIKE A PICTURE IN A FRAME
WISH WE COULD'VE STAYED THE SAME
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
periwinklebreeze 24 moons demi-boy windclan lead warrior
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Even now, Periwinklebreeze struggles to tamper down the burst of affection he feels as he watches his mate sparring- though blu eyes wince as paw comes down heavily upon Sheeppaws had. " Watch them c-carefully, " he coaxes his own apprentice, nudging @Vulturekit. with his tail. " It's one th-thing to try and d-dodge a blow, b-but if you c-can't you'll need to be able t-to t-take it - see how Sheep-paw stayed standing? " in battle, there's hardly time to think between each blow, and he knows better then most that sometimes taking the hit can be the difference between living to see the end of the battle or... well. Neck aches at the thought, shoulders rolling absentmindedly at the reminder of how many of his scars had been earned doing just that.

actions & " speech, " & 'thoughts/quotes'
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I ' V E - A L W A Y S - B E E N - R E A L - B A D - W I T H - C H A N G E
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➴➴ The smack lands harshly on the top of Sheeppaw’s head, and the apprentice wobbles on his paws. Gravelsnap’s eyes narrow, muzzle tugging into a scowl—it will not do to have their apprentice falling over after one hit in battle. What are they doing wrong, they wonder. Are they being too gentle, too lenient with him? The dark-pointed tom lashes out in return, but the strike is clumsy, and the warrior dodges backward with ease. Now, outside of Sheeppaw’s range, they take a moment to spit out their next criticism. "Too slow. Falling on your face during battle will win you nothing." He cannot watch his apprentice be killed in battle. He had made his mistakes already with Thriftfeather—he should have the proper mentoring experience by now. What is he doing wrong?

Sheeppaw has an extra three months before his warrior ceremony, at least. There is still time to shape this young sprout of a WindClanner into a powerful, thorned wall of gorse. They do not lunge for an immediate counterattack; instead, Gravelsnap moves slowly as they demonstrate their next movement to both Sheeppaw and the now-observing pair of Peri and Vulturepaw. They crouch lower to the ground, black tail extended behind them, and then take a step closer to their apprentice. "Shift most of your weight to your hind legs. Tail out and up, to help with balance. Lower to the ground means better sense of balance." Their explanation to the younger tom comes in stilted sentences, and when they’re finished they strike once again. Their black-flecked paw moves quickly, claws extended as though to rip through an enemy’s body, but they meet nothing but thin air. An intentional miss, but still close enough that it will hopefully prompt Sheeppaw to dodge out of the way before striking back again.

  • ooc:
  • 58921334_LvhpdhRxLH7s4eM.png
    GRAVELSNAP ❯❯ they/he, moor runner of windclan
    average-sized black and white warrior who seems smaller than he is. speaks rarely and quietly.
    mate to periwinklebreeze ; sibling to slateheart
    mentoring sheeppaw ; formerly mentored thriftfeather
    peaceful and healing powerplay is allowed, but they hate physical contact & will lash out if not close friends / family
    penned by foxlore
 

˖⁺‧₊ ☽◯☾ ₊‧⁺˖  Vulturepaw's tail lashes as he watches the spar. He doesn't know if he'll ever get used to this... Gravelsnap fights as though he was built for it, Sheep-paw grimacing with frustration. Will that be him, soon? He glances to Periwinklebreeze, pelt riddled with scars. Is that how they got them, he wonders? Taking hits? His ears press back. "I'm watching," he murmurs, turning his focus back upon the fight. Gravelsnap is relentless in both attacks and words - but he teaches, still. He demonstrates a crouch, and Vulturepaw begins to imitate it hesitantly, face scrunching up in focus.


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    "SPEECH"
  • VULTUREPAW he / they, apprentice of windclan, six moons.
    a spiky-furred dark tabby with amber eyes.
    skittish and dour, with a superstitious sort of pessimism.
    micheal x npc, adopted by periwinklebreeze. sibling to dustpaw and bilberrypaw.
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
    penned by SATURNIDsaturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.