Witheringrose lept lightly across the stepping stones, landing upon the soft ground beneath her paws. She blinked several times, tasting the air of the island before walking to the center. She sat down on her haunches, tail resting against her paws. She swept her gaze around the area, waiting for her apprentice.
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Shardpaw chased after her mentor, nearly stumbling off one of the stepping stones. With a yowl of fear, she leaped onto the island. "Phew," she panted. "Close one." After shaking herself off, she padded over to Witheringrose. "Hi there! I'm ready!"
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Witheringrose gave a slight purr of amusement, dull, olive hued orbs watching her apprentice. "You alright?"
She got to her feet, stretching out her back slightly. "Did you want to start with battle?"
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Shardpaw nodded vigorously and tensed her muscles, bristling her fur. "Yeah," she snarled. "A fight, a fight!"
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Witheringrose let out an amused purr, unsheathing her claws to dig into the sand. She enjoyed the feel of the tidbits of sand among her pads. After drawing her claws back in, she peered at her apprentice. It's now or never.. She told herself.
Bunching up her leg muscles, she then launched herself at her apprentice. It was a sneak attack, yes, but how else would she prepare Shardpaw for a real battle?
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Shardpaw leaped forward bravely, going to meet her mentor's attack head on. She let out a yowl of pride, even though she was likely to be sent crashing to the cround. He outstretched her forearms, and fought to keep her claws sheathed.
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Witheringrose shifted her body, to slightly alter the course in which her body traveled. This allowed her to get more to the side of Shardpaw. Though still heading straight for the apprentice. She raised her paw, bringing it down towards Shardpaw's muzzle to knock her off course and to the ground.
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Shardpaw tensed herself, waiting to meet the blow, but Witheringrose was stronger than she expected. Her mentor's paw batted her to the ground, and she landed awkwardly. However, she managed to maintain her balance, and she whirled around, ready to leap at her mentor again.
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Witheringrose landed nimbly on the ground, spinning to keep her dull, olive green gaze upon the young apprentice. Her ears were pricked, muscles tensed, body poised for attack. Yet..she just stood there, trying to lure the apprentice in.
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Shardpaw rushed forward, to leap at Witheringrose but just before jumping at her mentor, she skidded to a halt and lashed out with her forepaws. Her hind legs were tense, and her balance was stable.
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Witheringrose gave a purr of approval, before dancing upon her paws to leap to the side. Shardpaw's attack managed to nick against Witheringrose's shoulder, knocking her balance off a bit. She quickly regained it, charging the apprentice from behind.
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Shardpaw grew confused and tried to escape from Witheringrose, but her mentor crashed into her, knocking her to the ground. She scrambled to her paws and darted a few fox-lengths away. Panting, she whirled around, calculating her next plan.
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Witheringrose placed her paw heavily into the ground, a purr rumbling in her chest and pride shining in her eyes. Her apprentice was already so bright..but she could tell she was tired. "Do you wish to stop?"
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Shardpaw shook her head, though she was growing fairly tired. "Just a little while more," she panted. She began to circle her mentor, looking for a proper opening.
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"As you wish." Witheringrose purred, circling along with her apprentice. Her tail swished slightly, paw steps careful and eyes trained upon the she-cat. Without warning, Witheringrose darted at the apprentice, feinting an attack to the front. As her paws landed in front of the apprentice, she used the momentum to push her own frame sideways. From there, she lunged towards Shardpaw.
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Shardpaw was surprised by Witheringrose's sudden movement, and she tumbled to the ground as she slammed into her. "Ugh," she panted, scrambling to her paws. "Okay, enough." She looked her mentor in the eyes. "Can you teach me how to do that?"
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"But of course." Witheringrose mewed softly with a purr. She leaned down to drag a rough, pink tongue against the head of her apprentice. Taking a second to shake tidbits of dust and dirt from her pelt, Witheringrose scanned the area. Before long, she turned her dull, olive gaze back to Shardpaw.
"What I did was called feinting. It's faking an attack in one direction. When you make such a lunge, your body weight goes with it. See?" Witheringrose mewed, before pouncing forward. She landed heavily on her paws, sand slipping between her paws.
"You can use this to your advantage though, by swinging the weight to a different direction. A spin, of sorts. From there, you attack." Witheringrose softly lept forward again, landing on her pawtips briefly before, once again, using such momentum to swing her frame to the side. "See? Now you try."
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Shardpaw nodded and leaped forward abruptly, skidding across the ground for a moment before swinging her small body in a different direction. When she landed, she leaped at her mentor once more, though nearly toppling over in the process.
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Witheringrose jumped to the side to help her apprentice keep upright. "That was good." She purred encouragingly. At the side of Shardpaw, Witheringrose pushed the apprentice's paws in different directions. "This will help your balance, land like this."
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Shardpaw nodded, taking in all the information. She leaped forward once more, much more smoothly this time, and she threw herself to the left and leaped again, straight at her mentor. She was really enjoying training now!