Show Off is My Middle Name [Fablie]

[Twineheart]

Fablie

It was a cool, crisp leaffall day in Leafclan. The sun made its lazy appearance every once and a while but for the most part hid itself amongst some grey clouds that suggested rain in Leafclan's near future. This factor however hadn't stopped Tawnypaw from dragging Creekpaw from his nest early in the morning to practice battle moves. Much to Creekpaw's annoyance, but the tom was far too nice to refuse. Which is mostly why Tawnypaw had chosen him. That and the fact Creekpaw wasn't a great fighter which made him look better.

So now the young toms, stood facing one another just outside the clearing. " Come at me!" Tawnypaw challenges, his tail lashing and eyes gleaming. Creekpaw sighs and nods a little. Darting forward he attempts to bounce off a nearby tree and tackle Tawnypaw. Tawnypaw however is too quick for the tom and Creekpaw goes tumbling over the leaf strewn ground. "You'll have to be faster than that!" Tawnypaw says yawning. Creekpaw lets out a small growl and rises to his paws shaking leaves from his pelt. Quick as he could he darts in and lands a good smack over Tawnypaw's nose. " Don't be so cocky!" He says pulling away from the tom and smiling ever so slightly. Tawnypaw lets out a hiss of pain, his nose feeling slightly num from the whack it had received. Meanwhile he looks around hoping no one had seen Creekpaw get the best of him.

[Fablie]

[[So sorry about that! I got the tag, but kind of got busy and forgot about it.. .___. //is totally behind in threads//]]

Sootpaw perked up at the sounds of fighting nearby. Her ears twitched, and she stayed frozen in place for but a heartbeat before bounding off in the direction of noises. What could be going on? Whatever it was, it sounded much more fun than practicing alone, as she had been doing on this dreary leaf-fall day. She arrived at a clearing in the midst of all the birch trees, near the edge of which two apprentices were facing off playfully. Sootpaw felt her tail-tip twitch in annoyance, for she had hoped there would be a real fight here. All the same, she crouched down low and scooted behind the white trunks, trying to sneak up on the tortoiseshell tom nearest to her while avoiding his gaze; he seemed to be searching for something, or perhaps worried about the possible presence of other cats. As she got closer, she recognized the two as Tawnypaw and Creekpaw. She'd never really interacted with either, but if they were out practicing their battle skills in this weather, they must be fun to play with!

She was directly behind Tawnypaw, but his glancing around was grating as the gray tabby tried to sneak up on him and hoped Creekpaw wouldn't see and point her out. Thinking about this distracted Sootpaw for a moment, and through sheer serendipity there happened to be a fallen leaf right in her path; despite her light footfalls, the crunch it made when she stepped on it seemed as loud as the noises that had drawn her here. Frustrated, Sootpaw hurtled forward in a sprint so as not to lose her advantage. "Got you!" she cried, and leapt up at the thick tortoiseshell with her paws outstretched, aiming to bowl him over and hopefully land a swat or two before he recovered.

[[Crappy post is crappy, I know. Oops. ^.^]]

[Twineheart]

Fablie It's alright^^ Mine is crappy too lol


Tawnypaw who'd been glancing about for any cat that might be around didn't see Sootpaw. He did however hear the crackling of a leaf and when he turned he found a cat leaping straight for him. He ducks down until the she-cat is nearly upon him and then he shoves his head upwards in the hope that he would hit her belly and knock her off balance. Now this was a fight! He thought his lightning yellow gaze gleaming, as he gnashed his teeth together.

Creekpaw who'd noticed Sootpaw from the start merely sat and watched. Tawnypaw in his opinion needed some humbling so letting Sootpaw get the better of him was perfectly fine with him. His green gaze watches the pair intently, as Sootpaw leaps and Tawnypaw reacted. He winces a little as Tawnypaw's head, goes straight towards Sootpaw's exposed underbelly. If it hit, it would probably knock the air right out of her.

[Fablie]

[[Twineheart, I'm trying to get around to replying to all these threads I have waiting, sorry. ;_; If you're not interested in this thread anymore, that's fine! I can imagine Tawnypaw changing with regards to relations and such while I was MIA, and that would totally be my fault, haha. I hope this post is okay.]]

Sootpaw gasped as the tortoiseshell collided with her underside, sending her tumbling off and leaving her stricken for a moment as she tried to right herself. Sootpaw -- who prided herself for her talent at fighting -- responded with an indignant hiss before crouching down to circle her adversary. He is so going to get it for that! thought the apprentice with conviction, yellow-green eyes gleaming and ears pinned behind her skull in a show of only half-mocking aggression. With a movement as sudden as she could manage, the lithe tabby darted in and aimed a swipe at his face from the side, claws just barely unsheathed.

In all the excitement, she had completely lost track of Creekpaw; her gaze was focused intently on the tall apprentice in front of her, and her mind was put to work remembering everything she knew about battle and trying to foresee Tawnypaw's actions. It wasn't going well for her so far, and this aggravated the she-cat to no end.

[Twineheart]

( Fablie No worries! I haven't been around much either :3)


Tawnypaw felt his head slam against Sootpaw's belly with a satisfying thump. Triumph blazing in his eyes he watches her go tumbling away. " Who's got who now!" He teases, his lightning yellow eyes glimmering as he goes back into a ready stance, his eyes watching her every move. As she started to circle him, he moved as well keeping himself facing her at all times his tail lashing, his body low to the ground. Then suddenly Sootpaw was darting forward her paw coming up to swat him in the face. He attempted to swing his maw away, but she caught it and her slightly unsheathed claws cut into his flesh a bit. With a yowl, he jumps back, his gaze blazing with anger. " Hey! This is battle practice!" He hisses, rubbing at his face with a paw where tiny beads of blood were pooling from his muzzle. " No claws!" He adds, fur fluffed with anger.

Meanwhile, Creekpaw who'd been watching curiously had leaped to his paws. Pushing past Sootpaw he examines Tawnypaw's face. " Your fine." he says feeling the tom kind of deserved it. but he also knew that it was against the rules. Turning he flickers his tail. " You should be careful to keep your claws sheathed." He adds his eyes kind. " Wouldn't want anyone getting hurt." He adds, glancing back to Tawnypaw. " It's only a scrape you'll be fine." He says shrugging his shoulders and retreating back to where he'd been sitting.

[Fablie]

Sootpaw felt her claws graze flesh; at the same moment, Tawnypaw leapt back with a screech of surprise. Blood welled up on the cut, but Sootpaw wasn't finished seething over his first victory yet. She blinked at the tom's words, as if surprised he could speak; she'd almost forgotten that he was also an apprentice of LeafClan -- and probably wasn't out to get her. Probably.

"Exactly! practice," she flashed back at him haughtily, "is supposed to prepare you for the real thing!"

As she spoke, the cat who had been facing her earlier placed himself between them. Creekpaw was a lilac-and-white tom, with thick fur just like Tawnypaw's, but that was about the only similarity that Sootpaw could discern. He had an agreeable tone, but it surprised her how willing he was to stand aside for the confrontation. Why is he even out here? she wondered, followed by a twinge of resent as he sided with Tawnypaw.

She scoffed at the both of them in an attempt at masking her own lack of restraint and foresight, but kept her claws tucked in this time, bracing herself for her sparring partner to recover. If that was how it was, she wouldn't be accused of foul play. Besides, underneath all the anger, she was starting to enjoy this; it would be a shame if Tawnypaw refused to "practice" with her because she was roughhousing too much. That had been the case in the past -- her mother had always been a thorn in her pelt because of the way she used to beat up on her runty little brother -- and it wasn't a pleasant ordeal. 

[Twineheart]

Fablie

Tawnypaw blinks at her words, " Yeah well I prefer not to shed blood during practice." he grumbles back at her, his tail lashing some. " Keep your claws sheathed if you want to practice! It's only fair..." He finishes lightning yellow eyes flashing. With a final swipe of his paw he cleans away the blood, only for it to pool back on his face within seconds. Shaking his head, he sends tiny droplets of blood flying through the air in all directions.

" Hey! Watch it!" Creekpaw exclaims jumping back as to avoid the blood splatter. He glances around now, unable to ignore the fact that Tawnypaw's wound hadn't stopped bleeding. Spotting some spider webs he takes a paw full and pads over to the tortoiseshell tom on three limbs. " Here stay still." he says. Tawnypaw looks down at Creekpaw's paw full of spider webs. " What are you doing?" He asks holding still for the tom begrudgingly. " Fixing your face." Creekpaw says in reply, pushing his paw to the tom's maw. The spider webs stick there and stop the bleeding almost instantly. Tawnypaw blinks at Creekpaw. " T-thanks...." he says, then he turns back to Sootpaw. " Where were we." he growls, crouching again. Determined more than ever to prove himself the best. Meanwhile Creekpaw backs out of the way rapidly, before finding himself a seat once more.

[Fablie]

((Change of mood time for Miss Moodswings.))

Sootpaw sighed in a half-teasing, half-annoyed manner, her pluming tail waving a dismissal. Just as she was hunkering down to assault the larger apprentice again -- minding her claws this time around -- Creekpaw opted to interrupt, coming to Tawnypaw's aid with a cobweb-plastered paw at the ready.

Sootpaw straightened, ears flicking in annoyance. "It looks to me like someone can't handle a little scratch!" she challenged playfully as Tawnypaw allowed his friend to help him. Her remark was not borne from any particular menace; in fact, Sootpaw hadn't spent a moment of thought considering the impact of her statement. Still, a twinge of jealousy sparked at the apparent friendship between the two.

The moment Creekpaw backed off, Tawnypaw was ready. Sootpaw, too, was prepared, her small body tensed and itching to move again. As the lilac tom hurried out of the way, the gray tabby leapt to the side, the blackened tip of her tail billowing behind her like a trail of smoke. She was concentrating, trying to make her motions unpredictable to the tortoiseshell apprentice.

If I can just get him to attack the wrong spot, she thought hopefully, I'll have the advantage back! The tabby did her best to twist around in midair, but succeeded only in landing with her forepaws turned at an odd angle from the rest of her body. She pressed onwards, spinning around and readying herself to strike if Tawnypaw had taken the bait, but simultaneously leaving herself open to attack from any angle -- a fact she was well aware of, but which she let slide for the time being in favor of showing off. No one was allowed to think Sootpaw was a less-than-talented fighter. No one.

[Twineheart]

[ Fablie ^^]

Creekpaw rolls his eyes at Sootpaw's comment. Now that he was starting to be around her, he was realizing just how alike her and Tawnypaw were. " If I hadn't of fixed his face you'd be covered in blood." He points out to the she-cat matter-o-factly. " but next time I'll just leave it for you to get covered in." he adds, in a slightly snarky tone. He wasn't often snarky but the pair was putting him in a mood.

Tawnypaw who had been pacing back and forth before Sootpaw, blinks at her words. Opening his jaws to speak he is cut off my Creekpaw's words. He looks kind of surprised since Creekpaw was normally so friendly and quiet. but he shrugs, " There you have it." He says chest fur fluffed slightly. He wasn't afraid of no cut, but he didn't need to voice that. He could just show her by kicking her butt in battle. So when Creekpaw was safely out of the way, Tawnypaw bunched his muscles in preparation, excitement glistening in his eyes. but before he could so much as think about his plan of attack Sootpaw had leaped into the air. but she wasn't coming at him, no instead she spun around and landed awkwardly on her paws. Puzzled he hesitates briefly, unsure what to do. but shaking his head, he notices an opening and takes it. Lunging forward he attempts to swipe at her unsteady paws, with his own sheathed paw. Hoping that he might trip her over, and then... then she would be all his.

[Fablie]

Sootpaw blinked at the empty space where she'd been -- where Tawnypaw was supposed to be, having attacked her with a drastically miss-aimed blow. Before she could react, the tabby felt her paws being swept out from under her; she hit the ground with a thump that seemed far louder than it should be for such a small cat. Foxdung! she swore silently. If this were a real fight, her best bet would be to roll onto her back and rake his underbelly when he tried to pin her down; it wasn't, so Sootpaw gritted her teeth and braced herself, knowing he would already be upon her by the time she could scramble to her feet or do anything to dodge. She didn't want their mock battle to end, but she found herself at a loss for what to do. If only I'd waited, she thought to herself angrily, I wouldn't be in this mess! Next time she tried that move, she would be sure to linger a bit before dodging out of the way.

Unwilling to go down without putting up some sort of defense, Sootpaw narrowed her eyes to glare at the tortoiseshell and planned a last-ditch attempt at prolonging the battle. At the very least, she didn't want to be defeated this easily -- by another apprentice, no less!

[Twineheart]

To Tawnypaw's delight, his paw swipe made contact with Sootpaw's unstable limbs. Sweeping off her paws and sending her to the ground with a rather loud thump. Know now was his chance Tawnypaw goes to leap on Sootpaw but hesitates. If he pounced now, he would surely win. Yes he wasn't a huge tom, only slightly above average but he was heavy. His thick muscular body would surely pin a she-cat of Soorpaw's size and current vulnerability down and keep her there. but then their fight would be over, and what would there be to brag about? His taking advantage of her unfortunate misstep? No, that wouldn't work, that wouldn't work at all. So instead of leaping, Tawnypaw pauses glancing down at her glowering eyes. " Well are you just going to lie there like a turtle on its back?" He asks her, lashing his tail. His lightning yellow eyes still narrowed and his body prepared for an assault.

Meanwhile off to the side, watching with mild curiosity Creekpaw had frozen in surprise. What in starclan was Tawnypaw doing? He had an opening! Snorting he shakes his head and remains silent. Whatever Tawnypaw was up to Creekpaw was sure it was no good. but he continued watching none the less. Interested to see what Sootpaw would do , now that she had another chance.

[Fablie]

Sootpaw felt her mouth begin to slip open, as if to gape in surprise at the tortoiseshell tom's gesture -- and promptly clasped it shut before he could see. That wouldn't do at all; if she let him know what she was thinking, he'd be more likely to predict her actions. Besides, she justified quickly, I'm not about to let Tawnypaw have any extra satisfaction!

"Hey! What was that for?!" she snarled instead. Her voice wasn't as fierce as she'd willed it to be, which bothered her; if there was anything she didn't want to reveal at the moment, it was the brief sense of relief his words had brought. She hoped he wasn't perceptive enough to pick up on that. As she spoke, the tabby struggled to her feet, tail lashing back and forth while she backed away. It was no good to attack him the moment he let her go like that -- and it's not like he wouldn't be prepared, anyway. The moment she was out of his immediate range, she piped up one more time with an empty brag, mewing loudly, "Also, turtles don't have claws! You're mousebrained if you thought I was going to give up just then."

As she spoke, the slender gray tabby slipped back into a battle stance, careful not to let her glare falter -- although the enthusiasm for continuing the fight and the indignant gleam of one who was on the losing side of a conflict both shone through, making the look seem not nearly as threatening as it might've been in a different setting.

Only when she finished speaking and propelled herself forward a third time did the she-cat drop her gaze. Realizing that -- without the use of her claws and teeth to defeat a larger, more muscular opponent -- there was little she could do but try to use her wit and agility to bring him down on himself, or at least sweep him off his feet the way he'd done to her a moment ago; if she managed to the latter, of course, Sootpaw did not plan to be so merciful. Tawnypaw's reasons for not seizing the opportunity to win still mystified her, but she suspected they had something to do with his confidence that she couldn't defeat him, and that was just one more reason Sootpaw wanted so badly to win their little duel. She knew she was taking it too seriously, but at the same time, a large part of her didn't care about that; what mattered to Sootpaw at the moment was winning this fight, and proving that her skills weren't inferior to Tawnypaw's.

[Twineheart]

[ Fablie sorry this is late ]

Tawnypaw watches with some degree of amusement as Sootpaw puzzles over his actions. His lighting yellow eyes gleam with the smallest amount of amusement as she slips back onto her paws and snarls at him. She's a feisty one , he thought his thick tail flickering as he watches her every movement. His thick ears flickering up at her words. He snorts back and rolls his eyes. " What's what for?" He asks her innocently. " You said you wouldn't of given up anyways... so why not give you a chance to fight back on your paws? And..." he says snorting and shaking his skull. " It was only a figure of speech!" He adds his eyes now blazing with teasing mischief. He was starting to enjoy himself, if he was to be honest.

Falling back into silence, Tawnypaw sets his maw in a grim line and eyes Sootpaw. Knowing she would soon take her chance to take him down. He was ready however, and just when he was starting to get impatient the she-cat launched herself forward in his direction. Without a second thought Tawnyaw also leaps forward hoping to collide with the she-cat mid air. His larger size, and muscle mass would make the impact devastating for the smaller she-cat.

[Fablie]

Sootpaw's gaze flicked downwards as she pushed off the ground, channeling all the strength she could into her hind legs. The tortoiseshell's paws moved to signal that he was coming at her, too.

Good. She couldn't exactly use his own force against him if he didn't expend it in the first place.

There was no longer time to think; at this point, she could only focus on executing her plan and allow her reflexes to do the rest of the work. She stretched her forelegs upwards, angling them towards the shoulders of the cat in front of her. There was no time to search for a foothold; it was hit or miss. If she hit, she would attempt to use the other cat to catapult her own body up and out of the way of the collision. If she missed, she would be sent tumbling backwards, with her forelegs already out of the way and her stomach exposed.

If Sootpaw had spared any energy to plan ahead further, it might have saved her some of the risk that came with this tactic; as it were, the heat of battle and her own bone-deep impatience kept such picture-perfect plans from even gracing the apprentice's mind. Even the time she had taken was stretching it, anyway, and she might've counted herself lucky that Tawnypaw had chosen to wait for her move.

Around her, the rest of the world was barely even a green-and-white muddle. The clouds which had forewarned of rain earlier might be gathering while the two fought, but Sootpaw certainly wouldn't have noticed. Creekpaw was forgotten altogether.

[[Twineheart I'M SO SORRY oh my god I'm so behind.

Sorry if this is way too unrealistic; I've been assuming that's okay since Warriors itself had some fighting maneuvers that I believer were rather fantastical, but please inform me if you'd rather I tone it down with the exaggerated strategies. I think it's time we draw this battle to a close, but I would feel like a horrible writer if Sootpaw didn't make any attempt at doing what she thought-said she was going to do like a post ago. If there isn't an easy/fitting way to end their fight and you've been thinking the same, it could always just start raining and cut them off. xP

Whatever you want; I don't really mind. If you think their mock-fight should keep going, that works too! :3 (I'm happy to have Sootpaw lose at any time, by the way. I was thinking of them as pretty much evenly matched in terms of fighting and her as kind of a ridiculously persistent li'l bugger, so I was trying not to make it seem quick and pathetic on her part, but I think she's done enough by now, haha. Also, feel free to override that view of them.)

Eek, long comment is long.]]

[Twineheart]

[ Fablie I'm sorry for taking forever to get back to you! and I don't mind at all^^ Lets keep going with their fight it'll end soon probably anyways :3]


As Tawnypaw leapt to meet Sootpaw midair he braced himself for impact. but as his tortoiseshell form came barreling through the air towards the smaller feline before him something odd happened. Instead of the bone rattling collision he'd been expecting he felt paws slam into his broad shoulders, bringing him face to face with Sootpaw for several unbelievable seconds. The world a green and brown blur around him, Tawnypaw attempted to bring his hind paws up against his belly in the hopes he could kick Sootpaw away, time seeming to slow as the action unfolded.

Below Creekpaw stared up at the pair, wondering who might get themselves injured next.