LOOKIN' LIKE ONE MILLION DOLLARS – [o, sparring]

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    ooc, lets pretend this is somewhat in the future where everyone's wounds are somewhat healed from the war :^)


    the empress slithered within the empty clearing, long tail flicking harshly behind a massive vessel consumed by a plethora of scratches and scars, her gnarled wounds nearly healed now as new flesh covered broken tissue. crimson blood far cleaned from her lean body, she'd never been so blood-free in the past few moons, i mean my goodness, even the wicked woman's claws were a great owl ivory that shimmered ever so softly within the late afternoon and start of evening light where the sun's complexion was dim, though the air was colder. "thunderclan, sparring session!" came cougar's words gnarled and ripping they were as ivory incisors glittered under her lips.


    she sat down in silence, jaws clenched at first before she lifted them, features raised to the dimming blue sky above where she inhaled softly before reaching down once more to survey the camp's clearing. battle moves were to be kept fresh, it one wasted away like a kittypet they'd be just as useless as one. couldn't have that, could they? besides, peachmoon's omen was ominous, it could have meant anything but she knew one thing was clear. blood and battle. the very idea sent a sly smile to cross her lips before it vanished. stupid cougar, she couldn't think that way anymore, the best she could do was prepare them for the worst.



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    The Tabby-Siamese mix trotted forward, hesitantly at first, as she heard the unfamiliar she-cat's call. Sparring? Would Thunderclan even let her try out such an activity, with little to no training or experience under her claws? Well, only one way to find out. At least she could probably watch the other Clanners do their thing. It was also intimidating approaching the one who the invitation originated from.. Cougar, was it? By the looks of the she-cat, Lily figured she would want to watch and learn from this one - if she couldn't join the sparring session herself.


    Lilypaw dipped her head as she trotted closer, blue-gray eyes shifting upwards to connect with Cougar's. She spoke with more awe hinted in her voice than fear or any kind of distrust, blissfully unaware of the past surrounding the older she-cat. "Hii.. can I join or watch the session?" Her stripped tail flicked upwards behind her in a hopeful way as she radiated a soft purr.

    a pair of hellish spectacles slithered across an unknown voice, this apprentice was someone she hadn't seen before but found a new chance to make a friend. she could use a few, after all. swallowing, she offered the flutter of a smile and a curt nod in response in silence. unlike the others, this apprentice wasn't exactly fearful, more in aw and perhaps cougar liked that. thank starclan someone wasn't scared of her, and an apprentice out of everyone here? delightful.


    "lovely," the woman mused, "you're welcome to join- just need a few more members and we'll begin the session," she stated with a flick of her tail as she tore her gaze away from the female and upon the clearing. "i'm cougar- you?" she questioned gruffly, pulling her features upon the she-cat once more in interest.





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    Lilypaw purred in response to the she-cat welcoming her to join, following it with a knowing nod. "Thanks. Ahuh, shouldn't take too long for others to show up." She tossed her gaze towards the clearing as well, as her hind legs folded down so she could sit and wait alongside Cougar. She liked the rather elegant tone of speech that came from the older molly. It sounded pleasing, at least to the former kittypet, which was a fact that most didn't even know about Lilypaw - yet. She was a tree flower, shying away from the center of attention, most of the time. But there were times like this, when she knew if she didn't push herself forward she would never improve or get comfortable to this new home.


    She rolled her striped tail over the tops of her paws and settled down, attention sweeping over to Cougar when the woman's voice reached towards her again. Cougar. So it was the she-cat who's name had stuck to Lily's memory sometime and place from the past. Her ears perked forward as she responded, a warm hue in her blue eyes. "I'm Zin- Ah, Lilypaw, I mean." She smoothly recovered from almost introducing herself with her old name. "It's nice to meet you, Cougar."

    It's nice to meet you, Cougar. Padding towards the two, Willowrain appeared just in time to catch the apprentice's last words and for a spike of fear to drive itself into her heart. Didn't the girl know who she was talking to? Maybe not, and because the kindly apprentice had been raised a kittypet she hadn't heard the rumors, nor knew about bloody past surrounding the chausie that Willowrain suspected was all too real.


    "Lilypaw," the she-cat greeted the apprentice, her posture stiff and tense as she pointedly kept her gaze averted from the muscular chausie sitting only a few mouse lengths away. Willowrain had watched Lilypaw's apprentice ceremony and she seemed like a nice girl. And oh if Cougar thought they would let her anywhere near the apprentice she was terribly, terribly mistaken.


    "I'm sorry to interrupt this bonding session, but what in StarClan's name?" Fur bristled along her spine as she swung her head around to address the larger, much stronger she-cat. All the nursery stories, all the fear driven into her when she was just a tiny kit, leapt to her tongue all at once as she glared at the figure of the woman she'd been taught to hate her entire life. "I'm pretty sure Foreststar specified that you would not be allowed to host training sessions, and don't you think this would be a convenient opportunity to, you know, rip us to shreds?"


    (i hate that she's being so mean to cougar bc i just love what you've done with cougar and changed her from being this really stoic/violent character and made it so she genuinely wants to make friends and be accepted by the clan. it really just adds so much sympathy and emotion to her character!)

    omg don't worry about it, its great character development for cougs and it's expected so *shrugs* besides, i love playing salty cougar. and omg?? you're so lovely, that means so much to me thank you. :,^) i'm so sorry for her being so mean lmao, she doesn't sugar coat her insults i feel bad


    cougar had decided she liked lilypaw, she wasn't quite sure who she was just yet but she liked that the apprentice wasn't scared or didn't hurl insults at her but sat beside her. she'd grown tired of insults, infact, they were simply amusing now because they were true, some of them at least. though, it didn't mean that they didn't hurt any less and she respected foreststar enough to not snap back. in bloodclan anyone who even dared look at her in the slightest of wrong ways would have been flayed, sliced, and their fragile bones splintered before they looked at the goddess again. and cougar would have enjoyed it, still would even but she needed to move past her old ways, her dark self.


    ah, speaking of insults by a cat who didn't even know her...


    "she did say that didn't she?" she echoed with a twitch of a cunning smile, "i already called it- too late," she spoke again. willowrain didn't offer her any such greeting towards the chausie as she did for lilypaw causing cougar to find an immediate disinterest in this asshole. "my, my, such barbed words. is that how you treat guests?" she questioned, sly gaze cornering to her eyes before they slipped away to scan the clearing as if this warrior was nothing more than a nuisance and that was exactly what she was, like a fly. they weren't as sharp and lightpingpaw's words but they still hurt, besides, this female was obviously threatened as her hair was bristled. "so what would you like me to do? sit in camp and complain about assholes like you all day? i'd like to do something at the very least. don't be naive, the war's not over yet, darling, take advantage of what i have to offer in battle so you don't get your shitty attitude handed to you when you're face to face with a bloodclanner who wants nothing more than to kill you," she roasted with a flick of her tail as she rolled her shoulders back. "so you can spar with me and learn or you can watch and gain nothing," cougar concluded as silence fell. her teeth ground against each other as she pinched her tongue, she couldn't help herself but throw a few insults back; it was in her nature to do so but her words were harshened from a place of newfound love and a desire to be loved, genuinely; not out of power this time. "by the way, what gives you the audacity to think you know me? if i wanted kill everyone here i would have done it long ago; i'm trying my best, that's why i'm here and it's very hard to do that when people like you try to prevent me from doing so. i'm trying and i'm sorry."


    i'm sorry? for what, perhaps for everything she had just said to this girl. her words were softer, not as harsh as before but they could still cut, she meant it, every single word and she couldn't help but have the words spill from her tongue. she'd had enough with this nonsense, yes, her new clanmates hated her and perhaps she was starting to hate them and that was just the problem. she couldn't hate them, she had to learn to love them but it was so hard, she knew she had to expect this but it was hard despite her stoic features and sharp-tongue, she could only prove that she had a heart and true desires.


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    Just like she had hoped, another person did appear. Although Lilypaw didn't recognize this she-cat by name, she gave her eyes welcoming contact as the molly approached. The apprentice's credulous heart having her believe, of course, that this meant the warrior wanted to accept Cougar's invitation and join the upcoming sparring practice. All seemed fine and well, at first.


    "Hello!" The apprentice responded simply to Willow's greeting, both inwardly impressed that she knew her name, and guilty that she didn't know the warrior's in return. Well, that'd be no big problem, right? There'd be plenty of time to chat and get to know her while they waited for more cats to show up. Just then, when Lily opened her maw to speak again, nothing came out. Because Willow had already spoken, swinging her attention onto Cougar with a slightly hostile comment that managed to throw the apprentice off in clear confusion.


    "Uh.." What had just happened? Cougar wasn't allowed to make these calls? Perhaps that had been what Foreststar had been talking about at the last meeting, just when Lily had started to mentally drift off. Oh, catnip. Lily shifted her ears to the back of her head, inwardly frowning at the prospect of what seemed to be trouble she had found herself in. Willow wasn't directly upset at her, but she couldn't feel completely un-responsible either. This might have been something she could have prevented. But what in... 'StarClan's name'... did Willow mean about ripping them to shreds? Baffled and concerned, the paw's blue eyes could only Ping-Pong between the two as they exchanged sharp word for word.


    It was a shock to her ears, hearing 'If I wanted to kill everyone here, I would have done it long ago' from Cougar. Lily didn't know that anyone had even been suspicious of the she-cat. Looking at Cougar now, it was plain obvious that she could do damage though. But what would she want to for? Oh... Wait, Cougar was a guest. What or where had she come from before this, Lily had no idea, but others did. Pushing the pieces of the puzzle together was a slow process, but she began to understand that Willow probably felt the way she did because of something she knew about Cougar that hadn't met Lily's ears before.

    haypaw .



    Haypaw yawns and trotted over to the training session besides Lilypaw. Not seconds later is Willowrain thrusting politics and 'Forest-says-so' under their noses and effectively brushing off Cougars attempts to train them. Haypaw blinks slowly a headache feeling like its building up. "Dude ... I just came here for the training session, so if y'all gonna fight can you at least fight physically so me and Lily here can pick up some tricks?" He curls a lip up at Willowrain, a little unimpressed by the warriors behaviour. As a forgetful apprentice he had no idea of who Cougar was before or who she might become but he's willing to take her at face value and if she says she wants to do training, then hey. Training it is. "What you wanna keep her walled up forever or somethin'? She's been in a lot more fight than any of the apprentices so could really teach us a thing or too." He adds on with a mutter.





    tags

    "ah, lovely," she mused, almost expecting another few insults to be thrown at her, but to cougar's surprise she found herself nodding in agreement with the apprentice. he was right, more physical fighting less yapping- and cougar had done more of the talking herself. she twitched her tail dismissively to her former words and flicked an ear. cougar's gaze finding lilypaw as she noted how uncomfortable she had become. "haypaw's right- i was raised to fight and have been all my life, from what i saw in the battle, thunderclan's already well trained. but there's always room for improvement and i want to help. lets get down to it, hm? we can spar just outside of camp, the fallen leaves will make for nice cushion. once willow and i go then you two can spar off. i'll be offering criticism and tips, the rest of you are welcome to give your own too. we learn together."


    the ex-leader and former deputy's words were sharpened like knives though encouraging as she spoke with a calculated gaze before beginning towards the camp entrance with nothing more than a flick of her tail for them to follow behind as she picked her way to a nice clearing. "willowrain?" she addressed, glancing over her shoulder for the huntress, "shall we begin? that is if you would like to participate, love. i won't force you," cougar questioned at first, though, it wasn't quite a question as the gladiator stepped within the invisible circle, lowering herself to the ground. the goddess's muscles were tense and rigid though flexible with yearning power. her massive paws light as they began their dance of movement to encircle the empress before her. she'd encourage the other warrior to join in on their activities, perhaps she could get willowrain to trust her- that's all she wanted. she wanted the others to trust her just as she would them.



    *:･ﾟ✦ HOLLOWMOON, THUNDERCLAN

    —— bio | tags *:･ﾟ✦

    Fighting wasn't the greatest hobby of Hollowmoon but hey, a sharp body kept a sharp mind and he would do anything to help fire those neurons more. Cougar herself, abstractly, was a formiddable force of power and mass that could easily over power most opponents and he wonders what sort of opponent would be a challenge for her. How would she chill her skill in order to train?


    "Would finding out first-hand about your strength be considered one of my 'bad' ideas?" Hollowmoon asks aloud, black bengal pelt rippling with eagerness. Perhaps if Willowrain didn't feel up to it, he could take her place. Though he would love to see Cougar in action before taking her on herself.



    the she-cat's angled eyes tore from the female and fell like knives upon the masculine who spoke, she'd never interacted with him before but his words brought a cunning smile to form upon her maw, cutting across lacerations. "perhaps," she spoke simply, a smirk captivating cougar's angled features before she flicked her tail. "why don't we find out?" she questioned, offering him to take willowrain's place instead as he seemed up for it, offering the feline a sly glance. muscles rigid and flexible as the empress of war narrowed herself to the ground once more, prepared for hollowmoon to act.




    ✧----~ Lightningpaw hovered nearby, hesitant at first to join in. I know right - one of the most battle hungry apprentices in thunderclan hesitatingto battle! What a shocker! But it was also rather understandable for two reasons. One ; she didn't like Cougarstar. That was pretty clear from the way she glared daggers at the chausie hostess. She hated the molly for hurting her family, that was also very obvious by now, but now she disliked her for blatantly ignoring Foreststar's rule, as Willowrain expressed. Was this bitch trying to coup Foreststar!? Did she think that just because she was Riverclan's former leader, she could weasel her way into being Thunderclan's? What a JOKE! She couldn't even lead Riverclan right, seeing as they ended up booting her to the curve!

    But, arguably, if anyone should host a sparring match, Cougar was on the top of that list. She was strong, intelligent, and extremely experienced. She had plenty of lessons that could benefit Thunderclan, especially it's youth. A walking how-to-kung-fu right there. Plus, she had the bonus of secret Bloodclan and Riverclan techniques that could help put a good perspective to things. Truly, a worthy leader for this activity.


    So, if Lightningpaw was...relatively alright with Cougarstar being the hostess - why still the hesitance?

    That brings us to reason numero dos ; she was still hurt.


    Hurt in the leg, the tummy, the spine, but most importantly - the eye. She lost an eye. Blind in one eye. Cup half full - how about two eyes HALF MISSING. Try being positive with that, hippies. But no, Lightningpaw was still working on practicing with her new sense, or lack thereof, depth perception, as well as overall perception. It was hard, and from what she learned via recent events, embarrassing to constantly stumble and fall because of it. She didn't want to be laughed at, or mocked, especially when she couldn't play the "WELL MY SCARS MAKE ME COOL" card like she had always planned. There was nothing cool about being half blind. It was wack. Totally un-tubular. Lame in every sense.


    But Lightningpaw couldn't bring herself to just stay away. She liked fighting, she liked watching it as much as starting them. So, the molly hesitated a moment more, before slithering forward. Grateful that Haypaw had already chosen Lilypaw - a.k.a no one open to drag her into it - the molly sat down nearby. Her cobalt eyes were narrowed with teen moodiness, but her fiery ears perked in interest. She was beyond ready to soak up some new skills she could use the next time she went toe-to-toe with that rotten Nightstar.



    TAGS

    *:･ﾟ✦ HOLLOWMOON, THUNDERCLAN

    —— bio | tags *:･ﾟ✦

    Green eyes slide to his with a hazard sign shouting BAD IDEA BAD IDEA. It was probably good that Hollowmoon was one to jump head first into danger then, maybe even a test dummy if you will. "Excuse me for jumping the queue." He chuckles as an apology to Willowrain, pacing into the 'invisible circle'. Cougars' large mass turns towards his - now, bengals aren't exactly small but they simply have no brute muscle strength against a cat like Cougar. Instead he would have to use his wits and probably a lot of running muscles.


    Alert amber eyes trained on Cougar, the tom smirks back, excited to see what her first move would be.


    /feel free to thrash him lol



    fleeting eyes speculated the presence of another as she watched lightningpaw take a place within their gathering group. to her surprise, she didn't oppose though her eyes could spit fire just as her tongue could. they bored into cougar with a wrath she'd never seen before, an anger that boiled and burned one's insides. such hate was vile for the body and yet, cougar hadn't a clue as to why lightning hated her so. perhaps it was because she stole a life from foreststar, the woman had never laid a paw upon the apprentice, shouldn't her her icy friend be mad at cougar instead?


    spectacles of brute savagery from birth fell upon her opponent and a hide of brutality filled with a collection of fine scars and still healing wounds which would remain unopened shifted. tiger-like striping along her forelegs could be seen as they manipulated her fur, ripping muscles propelling her upon fleeting paws as the dance of battle had begun.


    a cunning smirk curled upon captivating features as the goddess encircled him, preparing for the right time to strike until her legs hurled the brute forward like a wolf after its prey. burning eyes enlightened like a hellhound as the venomous woman calculated his every movement, launching towards right his side, paws and reinforced talons gripping the dirt before she suddenly thrusted her weight to his opposing left side to confused him, all the while her paw would attempt to drag across his neck with this exchange, even aiming to hook around his jaws if she was successful and thrust him forward in the blink of an eye both paws had been anchored within the soil as cougar then hurled her back legs around her torso, back paws aiming to slam within his shoulders to knock him to the ground with her sidekick. usually, if this were real, she'd aim for the rib cage as she always managed to break the bones. as she spun back to landing on four paws her forepaw would strike out to hook around his backleg (if she wasn't successful with her former attacks) and brutally drag it out from under him.

    *:･ﾟ✦ HOLLOWMOON, THUNDERCLAN

    —— bio | tags *:･ﾟ✦


    So that thing about thinking fast? Totally underestimated just how quick Cougar would be. In the blink of an eye she had feightened her first attack - he'd expected nothing less so has managed to move slightly, making the impact of her second attack less impactful as her paws aimed to drag him down to the floor. The weight of her body forces him closer to the ground, making him grunt as the gears in his head spin to try and come up with a way to escape, before The Sidekick comes from nowhere, he hadn't seen her back legs move.


    He didn't fall to the ground but did stumble pretty hard but his head was in order enough to see when she was lunging for his hind leg. Quickly he aims to slam his full body weight down on the paw that had reached out for him by leaping into the air and coming down fairly hard on Cougars paw, all the while using his paws to batter her face. How intriguing this fight was!





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    To tell the truth, Lilypaw was starting to look more disappointed than anything else when WillowRain mentioned the trouble with Cougar having a sparring session. It seemed harmless enough -despite the real fight that almost broke out- the apprentice couldn't quite understand why there was apparently a rule against this. The molly's ears stood straight up on top of her head when a new meow sounded, surprisingly close to the former kittypet's side. Lily jolted a little. Catnip, she had been so wound up by the older warrior's banter that she didn't even notice another apprentice wander over to sit beside her. That right there showed just how much Lily needed some training. Badly.


    The young tom's nonchalant words caught the 'paw' so off guard, she couldn't help but snort in amusement. She felt her muscles loosen up as a result. It wasn't what he was saying to Willowrain, obviously the warrior deserved respect, but the apprentice's surprisingly calm demeanor. It was refreshing, when put next to Lily's formerly nervous spirit. It was just nice having a family for once, she reflected, one with similar aged peers, who could sway the way she felt during matters, mostly for the better. She never had that before.


    Breaking out of her sentimental thoughts, Lily straightened up her shoulders and cocked her head. Oh kibbles, the session was going to continue! Her tail started to wag over zealously behind her as she focused her gaze on Cougar and another warrior, who were already going at it. During which, a feline who seemed to be another apprentice, creeped forward to join the 'queue.' Lily gave the apprentice an unabashed purr of greeting, before she joined Lightning and Hay in focusing on the fight. Eyes scanning and sucking in every detail like a dry sponge in water.

    Apple was drawn over to the sparring session by vibrations more than anything else. The tom had been playing with some kits in the nursery when the ground ever so slightly shook, causing him to look up from the moss-ball he was creating. That's odd, was someone hosting a practice that he didn't know about? Sure enough he soon spotted a couple of his clan-mates in a nearby clearing, and by the looks of it, Cougar and Hollowmoon were currently going at it. Although fighting wasn't his specialty, the tom would quickly excuse himself from the kits and wandering over to where everyone else was gathered, flashing a smile at Lilypaw before sitting down next to her. "Who do you think is going to win?" He would question, his voice as loud as ever.