Wildpaw And Kestrelspeckle's Training Session | Private |

Kestrelspeckle sat tall and stern in front of his tabby apprentice, Wildpaw, his dimmed swampy eyes focused on hers as he cleared his throat. "Okay. Would you like to learn about battle techniques or battle tactics? I'll make an exception and you can choose." he meowed in a low tone of voice. Almost everycat knew how to hunt, and there was enough snowshoe hares in the fresh kill pile to last, so it would be a waste of energy and time to teach that this time. Plus, he had special tactics no clan hardly ever used, and he was in the mood to spar and shape Wildpaw up. She was a bit hefty.

Kestrelspeckle nodded, already having ideas in mind. "With cats with short fur, claw attacks work fine, but fang attacks prove to work better; you know, biting. You can easily tear through their fur and leave a large toll of damage on the cat." Kestrelspeckle instructed, licking his canines. He had thick fur, so claw attacks hardly phased him. "The move called the 'Lock-On' is a very effective but forgotten move. You bite onto a cat's tail or paw and you don't. Let. Go. Your front paws are also free to try and claw the enemy." he bit the air and shook his head, to demonstrate what it would look like.

The cold air hit his saliva warmed teeth and it immediately brought stinging pain to his bared teeth. He quickly shut his mouth and growled, cursing the mountain's cold temperature. He showed pain, in front of his apprentice, as he was putting on the tough impression! His ears burned with embarrassment, but he pushed it aside.

Kestrelspeckle's right ear twitched with annoyance. "No. But you understand what to do, correct? Chomp on to a limb and don't let go until the enemy begs for either mercy or retreat. Alright?" he asked her in a snappy tone, growing slightly impatient. With a pause of thought, he shrugged. "You could also throw in a growl, if you want. Scare them." he grunted. "Anyways, the good thing is that you can use it on any kind of cat, except if they don't have any limbs or tails. But that won't happen because that's impossible. If you have to use claw attacks, make sure the cat has short fur. If the enemy has long fur, claw at the face and ears." Kestrelspeckle instructed, getting up to all fours and stretching.

He backed away a few tail lengths from Wildpaw. "Now," he grinned slightly, flexing his claws against the icy ground, "lets spar, hm? See how well you've listened to me. Demonstrate that move."

"You have to learn from experience, Wildpaw. Don't worry, I'm certain you won't harm me Wildpaw." Kestrelspeckle softened up a little, sheathing his claws and offering her a little smile. He understood how frightening the first move learnt can be. "It won't be dangerous, either. It's fine. After this move, I'll teach you some more easy stuff, alright? The Lock-On is just a basic but strong, important move. Do you understand?" he asked her with a curious tone in his voice, standing straight and looking at her expectantly, his long earthy tail swaying to and fro, stirring up snow from the ground.

Kestrelspeckle gave a pleased nod and stared at Wildpaw for a moment, trying to find out what she was feeling. Fear or excitement? That was another key to winning a fight. "Begin." he meowed in a low tone, giving his tail a lash as a signal to run and grab for a limb. He'd hope she'd be more of a fighter then a hunter. Most cats hunted. 'Maybe she'll be an exception.' he thought to himself wistfully as he prepared himself.

Kestrelspeckle tensed up and let out a small "sssss" as he tried not to cry out, biting his tongue as he thrashed about, trying to kick Wildpaw off of him. But due to her sturdiness and thickness for an apprentice, he couldn't throw her off. The more he tried, the more skin her teeth would peel off. "That's the use of this move; the more your opponent thrashes, the more you clamp on; he'll be hurting himself!" Kestrelspeckle meowed through clenched teeth. Wildpaw seemed hesitant to bite hard, harder that is, and Kestrelspeckle could twist out of her teeth if he wanted to. He yanked back his leg and kicked Wildpaw in the head with slight force, blood from his leg dripping onto the snow. "Remember, this is just practice. In real battle, the enemy's safety isn't really your concern. Your safety is. And if you don't clamp on hard enough, that cat can do some real damage if he takes his leg back and kicks you real hard." Kestrelspeckle huffed slightly, catching his breath as he whipped around, facing her. "And don't forget to claw, too."

"It's okay. A mentor's job is to train their future warrior to be a supporter of the clan. Even if I would be in pieces by the time I'm done training you it'd be worth it. Job well done, Wildpaw." Kestrelspeckle meowed quietly, his chest swelling a little with pride he didn't want to admit he had. Being a mentor was going to be rewarding. He coughed, trying to bring up the tough act again. "Ahem. Seeing as you're stronger then you are fast, I'm going to focus on your strength. The next move to learn is a simple one: the pin down. Use the strength in your legs to stand up, then put all your weight against your opponent as you fall on them and pin them down. It'll knock the wind out of them and leave them pretty tired as they try to squirm out." he instructed, walking over to a rotted log. He stood up on his hinds and wobbly balanced as he demonstrated.

"Pretend this log is an enemy." he gestured to the log as he slammed against it with his weight. The soft, rotting wood broke slightly under his weight. "See?"

"There, that works. And we're at higher ground, so if are enemies are coming up the mountain, we can run down, pick up speed, and ram into them! It'll most likely knock them out or send them tumbling down. It's called the tackle." Kestrelspeckle explained. There was two concepts of that move. Using it regularly, with even ground, and then the tackle. "It's risky, though; you might go tumbling down the hill as well, or knock the wind out of you. But it's effective on a smaller enemy." he sheepishly added, with a shrug.

He thought for a moment. "You know what. Lets learn about battle tactics and I'll throw in some moves along the way. Does that sound okay? Do you understand?" Kestrelspeckle suddenly felt bad for saying 'do you understand' far too many times. Did he take Wildpaw as clueless as a kit? 'Of course not!' he answered himself mentally, waiting for Wildpaw's response.

"Okay. Tactics are ways to win the battle and make your attacks stronger. Tactics give you an upper advantage." Kestrelspeckle explained, walking over to a looming pine tree. "Take this tree, for example. There's many ways you can use Snowclan's nature to your advantage. You can ambush the cat from above, jumping off the branch and onto the cat. Or it can camouflage you due to the thick bristles and the dark bark. And if any cat dares to climb the tree, the bristles can poke them and hurt them." he laughed, patting the bark of the tree with his feathering tail.

Kestrelspeckle looked at Wildpaw, slightly confused. "You know you're allowed to ask questions. Don't be intimidated; don't worry, you won't have to do anything yet." he laughed, tapping Wildpaw's shoulder with his tail, an amused look on his face. "Another tactic is that Snowclan is uphill; we can you that advantage. We can run faster because we'll be traveling downwards, picking up speed from the hill and the wind. Sort of like, you know. 'Chaaaarge!'" Kestrelspeckle cried out, demonstrating what it would be like. "We can charge at them."