Being on the constant lookout didn't help Fallownose. The sting of rapid blows to his side caused him to whirl around, but Twilightstar was already moving backward. With a grin, he darted after her, determined not to let her get too much space as he dove for her paws, hoping to knock her over, or at least unbalance her.
Large, muscular, dappled gray tom with light cream-gray fluff covering the front of his neck and chest and amber eyes.
Wolffang was almost to his paws and beginning to think that StarClan was on his side when Batglare knocked him flat on his back. He hissed in frustration as his throbbing flank was shoved to the frost-encrusted, grassy earth. A heavy weight planted itself on his shoulder, a massive paw even bigger than his own seeming to engulf it. It was warm compared to the chill in the air. Badger dung! he thought, struggling, but he was pinned, which meant he was out. Batglare even had the audacity to aim a few blows at Wolffang's face. The dappled gray tom was able to dodge them by twisting his head this way and that; the blows were sloppy and poorly aimed. Batglare is better than this. Did I hurt him? Wolffang wondered with a flicker of concern.
But he wasn't feeling the most sympathetic at the moment.
"Okay, I get it," he growled, resisting the urge to grab Batglare's paw in his jaws. "You've pinned me. I'm out." His amber gaze flew to Batglare's shoulder, and he frowned, his previous concern returning. "Is your shoulder alright? Did I do something to it?"
(WARNING!!! The following post contains references to abuse and mentions of ableism.)
~ TWISTEDPAW OF WINDCLAN ~
Small, skinny black she-cat with a light gray belly and tail-tip. She has a crooked jaw, a mangled tail, and one blind eye.
So much determination and so many doubts. Twistedpaw's head kept spinning as she desperately urged herself to focus. She couldn't be confused! Not here! But Twilightstar had given her so many instructions, and this was super important, and there were so many cats around to watch her fail...
Twilightstar's encouraging smile made Twistedpaw feel a little better. Warmth surged in her heart. Twilightstar had always been kind, but having someone as influential and significant as the leader like her... That in itself was shocking. Especially because my own mother hated me... Once more, she felt a pang. Willowsky wouldn't care if Twilightstar liked her. But surely she'd care if Twistedpaw became a great warrior?
Either way, Twilightstar's support was greatly appreciated.
Twistedpaw opened her jaws, wishing to thank her, but Twilightstar was already gone, rushing toward Fallownose. Her panic surged. It was happening! Stay calm... focus... But what if she messed something up? What if she made the entire event fail? Her chest constricted; her paws began to tremble.
She shook herself. I can't panic! I have to focus! If she didn't focus, everything would fail, everyone would hate her, and she'd never get a chance to make Willowsky happy. Squaring her shoulders, she looked at Fallownose and Twilightstar, trying to ignore the fluttering in her stomach and the chill in the air that made her crooked jaw and mangled tail ache.
She immediately froze.
Twistedpaw had expected Twilightstar to distract Fallownose so she could jump on him from behind. But the two were engaged in direct combat, moving in a whirl of lilac gray, dark gray, and white. Her head started spinning all over again, and bile coated the back of her throat. What was she supposed to do? When did she jump? What if Twilightstar went to spring on Fallownose, and Twistedpaw got in the way?
But Batglare always told her to trust herself and try. Even if she messed it up. Twistedpaw was terrified of failure, but she couldn't stand around and do nothing. Twilightstar had backed away from Fallownose, and he was going for her, leaving his back exposed...
StarClan, help me!
She made a beeline for Fallownose, praying he was too focused on trying to unbalance Twilightstar to see her approach. Wind rushed through her messy black fur, and her jaw, which she'd loosened due to the chill's numbing ache, flopped freely.
Memories flashed through her mind.
"You're a wretched monster," Willowsky spat, her beautiful blue eyes blazing with fury.
"You're an attention-seeker. Nothing," Flutteringkit hissed.
Fallownose's claws dug into Willowsky's sides as he pinned her down.
Fear rose in her stomach. But Twistedpaw had committed. Somehow, somewhere, she knew Fallownose wouldn't hurt her. Not if he'd saved her from Willowsky.
Even if the attack had been completely justified.
It wasn't his fault, either...
No time for doubt.
Twistedpaw sprang for his back, hoping to grab onto it.
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Some of my characters think or act in ways I disagree with. Please understand that I do not support or condone these thoughts or actions.
Newtberry grinned in satisfaction as his blow landed, and he pinned the tom again. Suddenly he remembered the rules. "When the fight begins, if you get pinned you are considered injured and must stay down where you are.""I think you gotta stay down like this until your med cat heals you," he explained, just in case Silentleap didn't remember the rules. Then he remembered that if he did this, he got a point! Beaming with pride, he left the vicinity, searching for another cat to fight.
Batglare
The older tom hadn't been expecting Wolffang to just give up after falling so was relatively pleased and irked at the same time when Wolffang growled at him. The senior had half a mind to smack the younger cat upside the head a few times but refrained. Instead, he immediately got off Wolffang and took a seat on the ground, quiet hisses of pain dragged from his maw as he made sure to keep his one forepaw above the ground.
Batglare quickly got to work on trying to soothe the flaring pain with some slow licks, one of his ears swerved in Wolffang's direction as he asked about his shoulder. Pride burned in his chest as he snarled, old habits him wanting to tell Wolffang to mind his own business. Batglare didn't like the attention of any sort, that included concern. There was a reason he preferred lurking in WindClan's shadow. His snarl tapered off into silence as he bit back that urge to be rude. Obviously, he was spending too much time with Twistedpaw if he was actually worrying about hurting feelings.
"Old wound just flares up here and there during the cold. Nothing you did." Batglare grunted, pausing in his licks. Even though it was completely Wolffang's fault, there was no need to guilt the furball. He could go see the medicine cats for poppy seeds but didn't really see the point. Much like a muscle cramp, the pain would settle itself after a rest. But it was clear he was done with this sparring game, he did his due diligence. Not wanting to actually move at the moment, Batglare remained seated near the down warrior.
@Tac Nyan
Twilightstar
Ah! It was so much harder fighting cats that could actually keep pace with you. The WindClan leader had not been expecting Fallownose to come lunging at her like that, so she did unfortunately end up tripping over his paws. Twilightstar felt heavily on her side, the leader quickly tried recovering for the deputy to take advantage of the situation and pounce on her. She caught sight of Twistedpaw's dart pelt out of the corner of her eye and relaxed a bit, assuming Fallownose would be distracted by the apprentice.
@Lillith
Large, muscular, dappled gray tom with light cream-gray fluff covering the front of his neck and chest and amber eyes.
Despite winning the spar, Batglare didn't seem too happy. Wolffang watched the older warrior as he climbed off, mingled relief at the removal of weight and frustration at the loss being replaced by a tidal wave of concern as he heard Batglare's pained hisses and saw how he kept his paw carefully lifted above the ground, even when he sat. Wolffang went over the fight in his head. I grabbed his shoulder, but not hard enough to wrench it. Still, he was a powerful cat, large and muscular for one of WindClan. Maybe he'd done something on accident...
Wolffang knew Batglare was famous for being grumpy, but he wasn't expecting the massive senior warrior to flatten his ears and draw his lips back in a snarl. It made his fur bristle in return. Does he have ants in his pelt? Of course he did. He was Batglare. But he'd gotten much more mature...
Also, in a completely unrelated line of thought, thinking of ants reminded Wolffang of his first meeting with Leopardsong.
He didn't have time to dwell on any of this as Batglare's sour expression faded. Huh. That had been odd. And Batglare's response was casual. Which was weirder: The snarl or the lack of one? Wolffang didn't think it was important to decide, only nodding in response. "Good to know," he meowed. Whatever the case, Batglare was a strong, loyal warrior of WindClan, someone he and his Clanmates could always rely on. He's also mentoring Twistedpaw. A thought came to him then, still lying on the ground and unsure of whether he should get up. Batglare wasn't the nicest cat. He was tough. Harsh. Could he have something to do with Twistedpaw's anxiety?
Wolffang looked around. He had no clue where Lightningstorm was, and Batglare remained seated. Maybe he could quickly inquire about how Twistedpaw's training was going.
"So, Batglare," he meowed, lifting his head. Puffs of cloud rose from his muzzle; sometimes, he had to squint to see through them. "How's training with Twistedpaw? What do you think of her?" Wolffang wanted the question to be casual, but he couldn't stop a hint of curiosity from entering his voice. There was another undertone, too, one he couldn't describe as anything other than a warning that if Batglare had done anything to Twistedpaw, Wolffang would find a new mentor for the deformed black she-cat himself.
@Moonraven (I know you said you wanted to drop the event, but I felt like Wolffang should ask this at some point, and now felt like the right time.)
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Some of my characters think or act in ways I disagree with. Please understand that I do not support or condone these thoughts or actions.
Re: Growing Strong
