Fighting was necessary, Owlheart understood this and accepted that. It was one of the pillars of protecting the camp and her clan. She used to hate it as an apprentice, then as she grew into her later moons she found herself lacking in it due to overthinking the process. She was mechanical and lacked any form of prowess because she treated it like a textbook, a set of instructions to follow. If your opponent swings then you try to duck, if they show a weakness you strike. Nothing fancy ever went into it, she focused on knowing enough to pass her assessment and keep her alive and for a while that had been enough. Recently though, since the cusp of being named a warrior she would meet with Chrysaliswing to spar intermittently. Realising that what she had wasn’t enough and needing to become more fluid she had been working hard in her free time to try and remedy a moon's long cemented issue of being too rigid.
Above all else though she believed due to her own training that fighting should be done with honour. Using dirty tricks was perceived as below her and her stubborn pride had her believe that her way was the right way with that world view. To be a warrior was an honour and no matter the conflict, at least with other clans, that honour should be upheld. Maybe that’s why she watches Emberpaw spar with a frown; she had taken Cloudpaw down to the Sandy Ravine a plethora of times. Occasionally she has seen the apprentice there too and in between breaks had watched her train with interest. The young she-cat seemed to rely on the tactics that Owlheart was less than thrilled to see be used, kicking up the sand as she sparred.
The warrior wanted to know why she would rely on such things and on one quiet afternoon she decided to finally ask. Finding time to walk with her back from a standard hunting patrol, the two of them had lingered towards the back of the group and as they reached the mouth of SkyClan’s camp entrance she finally spoke. “Emberpaw, would you mind if I spoke with you about your sparring?” her tone is polite, no matter if she agreed with her or not on this matter the tabby didn’t view it as a personal slight against the apprentice and as such it wouldn’t paint her perception. “Why do you find it necessary to use the sand when sparring? Surely there are other ways to win if that’s the goal.”
Ember typically wasn't the one to start small talk as her head constantly revolved back to being the best she could. She almost walks off to check if anyone needs anything until the voice of Owlheart catches her attention, and she stops in her tracks. A flaming orange gaze flicks to Owlheart as she blinks for a moment but speaks up, ”Sure.” She states as she turns to fully face the older she-cat and then she's questioned on her tactics while she spars. It wasn't only the sand that she used: she used the reflection of the sun, the shadows, anything and everything. ”The real world isn't fair and I can win without them if I wanted.” Emberpaw simply states without a second thought.
Her tufted tail swishes for a moment as she glances into the distance before turning back. ”It's life or death on the battlefield. None will play fair and you shouldn't either. It's a question of, do you accept death because you play by the book?” Her words seemed harsh, but her face shared no emotion, only as if speaking from experience when she was a child. Fighting and sparring were never equal in any manner: none was the same. If you fight a larger opponent and you're smaller, you automatically have an advantage over them with your speed and size. Larger opponents typically are harder to face because one mistake can mean death. It was a roll of the dice.
”Nothing about fighting is equal. We all automatically break the rules: a smaller cat is more agile than a large one, a larger cat has heavier hits━ you automatically stop following the book the second you face someone different from you.” Emberpaw would admit as she rasps her chest fur down, her perked ears twitching slightly. Would she understand that note, or would she have to explain more? A vibrant gaze stares at the daughter of Orangestar, wondering if she would have to give more examples to help her understand there was no honor on the battlefield and the most honor would be dying, fighting, or defending your clan.
There’s a pause, really a lack of response apart from the slow blink from the usual wide eyed, staring she-cat. Emberpaw was rather blunt about this, at least at the start. She could appreciate that, not that Owlheart really understood why she would want to not be so blunt and simple about a topic like this. “I’m sure you could” is all she offers in response before the apprentice continues, it’s as simple as the response she was given. Honest all the same, she had seen her spar after all and it was rather impressive, only adding to why she didn’t really get the need to rely on dirty tactics no matter how clever they may seem.
Her reasoning sounds simple and was bluntly true. Nothing about fighting ever is equal, ears twitch as she considered them. Forgetting at the time that the she-cat had grown up beyond Skyclans borders for a period of time. Clan life was hard but so was life outside of that protection from a community like this, how much of her life would be different if she had never known those hardships? To only know the life of that of a skyclanner? Not that she wasn’t one now- this was getting confusing and her head was hurting from walking around in these theoretical circles. “Well, you’re right but having honour in fighting can stop you from doing anything you’d regret later on” her mind drifts back to that ThunderClan apprentice by the border, how unfair it was for it to stand against two warriors. Was she now relying on dirty tactics to get by in fighting now? Guilt still followed her from that, if anything it made her cling to a self imposed honour bound code even more.
“Unless you don’t regret anything while fighting? How do you do that if so?” The question is genuine and she thinks she can predict what the apprentice may say in response. Something along the lines of whenever in a life or death situation there isn’t much room for regret, there isn’t anything wrong with that but it’s just nothing beyond her own attempts at justification. Maybe it would be different hearing it from someone else, or maybe she’d be surprised by hearing something different entirely.
The cinnamon smoke watches the red tabby ponder her words and ultimately speaks once more, Well, you’re right, but having honour in fighting can stop you from doing anything you’d regret later on. Her fiery gaze drifts off to their surroundings as she contemplates the question given by the older she-cat. The thought never had crossed her and she would gladly kill or die if it meant keeping Skyclan and her clan safe. Her eyebrows furrow in contemplation as she eventually shrugs as she mrrows, ”I see.”
Her tail flicks as Owlheart questions her once more, How do you do that if so?”I don't believe I would regret anything. If I could save a life of anyone in Skyclan, I don't care if I'm the villain in someone's story.” Emberpaw would admit as she idly uses an unsheathed claw to doodle in the dirt. The warrior struggled with an internal affair (or so it seemed from her perspective). There was obviously a reason Owlheart inquired question on her tactics, honour, and regret. ”Think of it hypothetically,” the apprentice suggests after her statement as she taps a claw on the ground and thinks of a scenario.
”If your sibling was going to die, would you regret attacking or killing their attacker to save them?” That was example one of her hypothetical scenario for Owlheart as she shrugs her shoulders, believing to be too basic. ”More so: if you were going to die but had a chance to survive using underhanded tactics, would you? You live and get away, you see your family and loved ones again. I wouldn't regret that. I'd regret not doing anything to survive and watch from the stars as everyone I cared about wept over my corpse.”
A fiery, sharp gaze shifts to meet the golden gaze belonging to the warrior. Would this help solve the conflict that she carried? Emberpaw wasn't good at giving advice and could only give advice based on scenarios that could easily happen in this day of age. Skyclan had already lost multiple clanmates from rogues. Three rogues attacked a kittypet known by Thistleback, and two of them targeted Thistleback, who was aged but a former lead warrior. There were endless examples that there was no honor in fighting inside or outside of clans.
She wondered what it was like, to not have a care about things like this. Owlheart would assume that it was that youthful ignorance that came with being an apprentice but the tabby had been a nervous wreck when she was an apprentice. So maybe this was just an Emberpaw thing, she could admire that if so. There was appreciation that she was being walked through how she viewed this. Where the fiery apprentices' stances lie, it was an interesting hypothetical scenario. The warrior had to give her that, listening in rapt attention.
Her gut lurches as her anxious over imagination runs wild at her prompting, what would she do? She thinks back to Tawnyclaw, who seemingly perceived his sister's life to be in danger. He wasted no time to rely on what she guessed she would assume to be underhand tactics if she looked at it with a third party perspective. Strangely enough, even upon reflection she hadn’t considered it that way until talking with the apprentice. Only for it to be heightened as she considers what she would do in that situation, cementing that she could set aside those differences of values. “I guess you’re right, when you word it like that it only makes sense.” The warrior couldn’t help but feel a little ridiculous now, the answer being an obvious one.
Wrinkling her muzzle in thought she looks back to the apprentice from the ground that she had been drawing in. “Next time you spar, I’d like to sit in and watch” she decides with a nod, that seemed like a decent idea to her at least. It would be good to watch Emberpaw again in a manner that wasn’t clouded by judgement over what was honourable. “If you would have me of course, thank you for answering my questions” she couldn’t help but wonder what her opinion of her was now, she wouldn’t go out of her way to hunt for it. Preferring to think that there would still be good standing between them despite the initial conflict of interest.
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