Dusty Icy Speckles

[Yoko]

Specklestar moved like a leopard through the the twilight. It could have been the dead of night for all the light shining through to the forest floor. The only hint that there had ever been a sun was the fiery blood glow of sunset above the trees.

The ShadowClan leader had not spoken to her apprentice the entire time. Her green eyes were trained ahead, sparking in determination. Dustpaw was going to be the greatest apprentice in this Clan if it killed her. And it might.

For the first time since they had left camp she mewed rather stiffly, "How are you feeling, Dustpaw?"

She had made sure to say Dustpaw. No doubt Icy was listening too.

[Mousy]

[OoC: *Likes title of thread.*]

"Fine, thank you, Specklestar," Dustpaw mewed in reply. She could sense Ice's prescence, but he wasn't really doing much. He didn't enjoy training so much, preferring to let Dustpaw take all the strain.

It wasn't like Ice didn't have a reason for being so lazy. He could take control of Dustpaw more easily if she was weakened from training and he was stronger. Also, he was a generally inbiased view, who wouldn't get het-up whichever way a Battle lead. He could watch while Dustpaw attacked. Things were so much easier for both that way.

Not that he'd ever help Dustpaw out if she was in deep trouble, of course.

Dustpaw's thought was currently how deplorable the situation was, and deplorable was a word she didn't think of often. First, she had Ice to contend with, and Eclipsepaw obviously didn't like her.

And then there was Brightpaw... Brightpaw who hadn't mentioned her brother by name.

They'd never got on well in the past in the first place, but not mentioning her brother's name had really tipped her over the edge. She couldn't quite understand why, because Ice HATED her brother. He hated all cats who tried to get close to her.

Weird.

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[Yoko]

WHen they came to a decent spot where the ground was mostly solid and there were no stray branches in the way, Specklestar paused. Beneath the rather large dark shadow of the Chestnut tree, she whipped around to face her apprentice. Who was looking at her now through those eyes? She wondered.

When she spoke, her mew was stern, "Dustpaw, I do not want you to look at your condition as a hindrance. It is something that you must and will overcome, and as this other mind has promised, it will aid you in survival out here. The war is coming, and I cannot afford to have my apprentice fall behind."

Her gaze was hard, and she mewed commandingly, "Today we will review the basics. Fonrtal blows, fronatl strikes and dodging them,"

She dropped to a defensive crouch and lashed her tail, "Come at me. And for StarClan's sake, you had better have those claws sheathed!"

This last bit was more directed at Ice than Dustpaw, but all the same she wanted it done.

Pssst Mousy: Use this

www.warriorswish.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=512:2011-super-edition&catid=69:typography

[Mousy]

Dustpaw nodded, taking all of what Specklestar had just said in. She could hear Ice muttering the instructions to himself:

Fonrtal blows, frontal strikes and dodging them... Claws in...

He could be pretty diligent when he wanted to, but no time for thought, other than about the task at hand. That was all the mattered.

Dustpaw ran forwards, trying to keep her front towards Specklestar while raising a paw and striking down- or trying to- over her mentor's speckled head.

Ice regarded this all with dark boredom, laughing quietly at Dustpaw. Why be so dedicated when you could just sit back and do nothing. Still. He would probably have to fight. But they couldn't fight together. Their styles were too mismatched. Ice was more of a defneder, anyway. He couldn't attack to save his life, so he would leave that more to Dustpaw.

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[OoC:// Baaaahhh. Fail post.]

[Yoko]

ooc: That wasn't so bad technique wise. xD

Specklestar was lying in a battle ready position when Dustpaw came at her. The moves were fairly simple, so she was not expecting much from the young apprentice. She frowned a bit as the apprentice charged straight forward.

"The way of ShadowClan is to be more tricky than that Dustpaw," she mewed loudly.

As Dustpaw's forepaw came down at her head, she shifted her head easily to the side and countered by raising her forepaw up at her apprentice's chin, a sort of reversal of a front paw blow.

"Nice form, just be quicker about it next time. Try again," she hissed quickly. After all, enemies were not going to give tips.

[Mousy]

Dustpaw smiled, knowing that, while she wasn't doing perfectly (which would just be creepy) she was doing well, in her mentor's eyes. And that mattered. She nodded, padded back to where she had been standing, and tried again. Just as she felt herself start to slip, however, Ice (oh, the irony of it) caught her and ran forward, once again trying to get it right.

You really are useless, Dustpaw, Ice hissed darkly. HOW is it possible to not get something like that wrong? he hissed to his other half before switching back. Dustpaw growled at him for a second, glowering at the ground before looking back up at her mentor.

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[Yoko]

This went on for a while. Dustpaw was fair at attacking and dodging, but she hardly landed any blows on the Speckled Leader. In the fading light of the area, Specklestar's emerald eyes shone in true annoyance. The noise that filled her ears, keeping pace with the steady stream of attacks, were of frogs, crickets, lizards. All of which, she suspected, could do a better job than her apprentice at the moment, and finally Specklestar lashed out a fierce strike, angled down on Dustpaw's head.

Breathing hard, Specklestar hissed, "You aren't trying hard enough. Neither of you are. Speed it up, If I were really an enemy, I would have finished you a moon ago."

Her tail lashed a bit.

"Come at me, the both of you. Don't tell me its not possible for you to both strike at once. If its not, what good are you, Ice?"

[Mousy]

Ice frowned. Just because he was young didn't mean that he was going to take insults, even though he knew full well that they were just to propell him and Dustpaw forwards. He conversed quietly with Dustpaw for a minute.

If you'll listen, I have an idea, he said. Dustpaw grunted in reply. She was just as driven as him, but in a different way. What we do is, we go on a diagoinal to her. I run forward, but switch out half. You chop the side of her head, and I bring a paw down on top of her head. She'll probably not expect it. But run, he ordered. While Dustpaw didn't react, he could sense her agreement as she switched out.

Ice frowned, hoping that he could pull this off. He didn't really have complete control over the Body, but he'd sure as the Dark Forest try.

He ran so that he was standing at a diagonal to Specklestar, and then ran towards her, half-switching as he did so. They both ran in perfect unison, and jumped up, Dustpaw bring her right forepaw down over the top of her Mentor's head, and Ice bringing his forepaw down over the side of her head. He then switched out fully, leaving Dustpaw to be in charge.

[Yoko]

A diagonal charge? Specklestar thought boredly. She turned accordingly, to block her opponents strike. As one paw shifted down towards her head, she shifted her head to the side, only to be knocked hard by the paw side-swiping her. Her emerald eyes went wide as her head flung unwilling to the other side.

It was as if those paws had two separate minds... She smirked, Now we're getting somewhere!

Still recovering from the blow, she lashed out hard with her right forepaw, striking up and intending to knock the apprentice's chin. Then she pulled back.

"That was not so bad, Dustpaw," she mewed more lightly. Then she added coldly, "Ice, as we had discussed in our little conversation, sitting back and watching her struggle won't get you anywhere."

She then turned pointedly on her hackles. "I would gladly give you more night training, Dustpaw, unfortunately, I have other business to handle." She smiled lightly, "Being the leader's apprentice is not always so great. Let's go."