Enforcer Challenge Owl v Rook [spectators welcome]

[Daragca]

Event [#event]

​​​​
Owlthroat
he/him | Shadowclan Enforcer | 46 moons
Killer Aptitude T3 - Just A Scratch - Silver Tongue T2
The Dancing Bird

TW: Blood

Owlthroat truly revelled in his success, his claws finding contact with Rookfire’s side. But the tom wasn’t daft, Owlthroat’s blinding may have given him an advantage and secured a hit. But he soon felt the writhe of hind legs connecting with his underbelly pushing him back. Rookfire’s sharp teeth piercing his foreleg drawing another few droplets, Rookfire could’ve bit down harder and snapped the limb. In a foreign sense it was comforting to know he still had the rules in his mind, particularly with the barbarism the two had quickly made their descent. A permanent injury would be less than ideal for his job. A job he intended to hold onto with gasping breaths and fire like spirit.

The two had almost switched positions, Owlthroat now exposed and vulnerable to what could come next. And dear Starclan did it come. Rookfire wasted none of his momentum and lashed forward, a similar sporting injury to the one he’d delivered moments ago to Rookfire. A matching pair resembling albeit two sides of the same coin. It burned through his thick pelt casting more of the all to familiar ooze, in the back of his mind he was cursing yet another visit to Sleepysunrise after this was all over. He’d seen enough of her face for his whole life if he was being honest with himself. His teeth gritted through the mark and he steeled himself once more.

Rookfire rose up, aiming to bring down his fury onto Owlthroat’s chest, in a split second the Enforcer rolled further onto his back. A risky gamble but a successful one, Rookfire’s paws landing on either side of the dirt surrounding his lungs. He’d saved his breath for now.

The white and red lumbering giant dug his claws into the earth in a flash, pulling himself free. Not completely from reach, but with enough space to pull something off. This gamble came with even more risk than the last. A move so precise, it was almost an impossibility to land in the heat of claws. One he’d only ever seen and practised as a mere amusement.

Owlthroat was a gambling man.

Honed Skill Activated - Staff Approved PP

The large cat wheeled his body around, both hind legs lifting with the force of a mule. He needed no claws for this. Both paws flew backwards, connecting squarely with Rookfire’s tiny hitbox of a jaw. Rookfire spun upwards, riveting then plummeting, directly onto his back.

Owlthroat turned himself back around, his tail lashed furiously with a nervous energy. Disbelievement lashed into every inch of his face that he’d managed to pull off a stunt of such magnitude. As the two birds had danced. His eyes were slitted, fixed upon Rookfire.

Watching.
Waiting.
What next?

[ @alec @SuspiciousMindz ]

[versailles]

SQUIRRELRISE
she/her | 20 moons | small, scarred russet and brown molly with white markings and yellow eyes
[ chill of death, hulk SMASH ]

ears swiveling at a voice, squirrelrise turns her head. it was..doeflame. they'd interacted a couple of times before. though, she still isn't able to say she knows much about the molly other than her name.

"..hi," she greets back, fluffy tail wrapping around her paws. she shoots a glance at the two toms still fighting, and..if she's honest, it looks like owlthroat is winning. "er..no, I don't..think s-so. other than..owlthroat s-sspitting blood at..rookfire." she meows, turning her attention back to the fight just long enough to see the enforcer throw the former medic. this was all ..uncomfortable. more so than the last enforcer challenge.

then again, it was shrewstep and foggymask..they didn't seem intent on mauling eachother, she thinks, brows knitted. "I don't..know. I think..both are..g-good..choices. for enforcer." rookfire had been enforcer before, too, and he hadn't done poorly. owlthroat was also good at his job from what she knows.

[ @kittycatburmise ]
______

LAMBTHISTLE
she/he | 13 moons | curly furred cream, grey, and black cat, protruding fangs, and brown eyes with green sectoral heterochromia
[ no purrks ]

lambthistle blinks at smokefern's response, nodding. well, it was as good as a response as any. she doesn't have a preference either. "makes sense!" she chirps, stretching her forelegs before tapping her paws against the ground. "I guess, if you think about it, it'd be easier if they could both be enforcers.. seeing as they both have their pros and all." that's how she saw it anyway. if they both had different skills that were equally good, couldn't they both just technically be enforcer?

"what happens if they tie?" he wonders, throwing smokefern a curious glance. so far, though, ehh.. it kinda seemed like owlthroat was winning. dude looks like a beast!

[ @Nahbois ]

[Nahbois]

 

Originally Posted by versailles

______
[/INDENT][/INDENT]

LAMBTHISTLE
she/he | 13 moons | curly furred cream, grey, and black cat, protruding fangs, and brown eyes with green sectoral heterochromia
[ no purrks ]

lambthistle blinks at smokefern's response, nodding. well, it was as good as a response as any. she doesn't have a preference either. "makes sense!" she chirps, stretching her forelegs before tapping her paws against the ground. "I guess, if you think about it, it'd be easier if they could both be enforcers.. seeing as they both have their pros and all." that's how she saw it anyway. if they both had different skills that were equally good, couldn't they both just technically be enforcer?

"what happens if they tie?" he wonders, throwing smokefern a curious glance. so far, though, ehh.. it kinda seemed like owlthroat was winning. dude looks like a beast!

[ @Nahbois ]

[/SIZE][/COLOR]

Smokefern
|| She/her || 34 Moons ||

Smokefern's head dipped in a shallow nod of agreement. It would make things easier if Enforcers were chosen, but Shadowclan never liked to do things the easy way. And in some ways, she could see Dawnstar's reasoning. Anyone could want to be a warrior, but a test proved dedication. Not to mention it made sure she never got promoted unexpectedly. If there was one good thing out of the process, in Smokefern's mind it was that.

"In the end, Dawnstar would decide. Who impressed her the most would get it. Or both, if the amount of blood pleases her I suppose." The one ear warrior dryly joked.

[Undertaker]

The hulking feline left the sanctuary of her den unnoticed and sat on her ledge. She coils her tail around her large paws and fixes her eyes on the pair battling. It started dull in her opinion, more so on Owlthroat's part than Rookfire's. Whereas Owlthroat left Rookfire with an ear wound, the bloody mess that was Owlthroat's shoulder left a better impression on the clan leader.

Yet it picked up quite quickly after that. Her huge black claws bite into the stone below her as the stink of blood tickles her nostrils. Her pupils shrink to small pinpricks as she stuffs down that primal urge. No point in getting worked up when she'd be having none of the fun. Her tail coils more tightly around her paws while her eyes follow Owlthroat and Rookfire's fight.

Both were getting into the battle, it was so much fun, right?! It was far too easy to ignore the eyes, judgment, and speculation, and throw yourself into the heat. They both looked like proper ShadowClan cats now, even the former minnow. Dawnstar was impressed with Owlthroat's latest tactic, spitting blood in Rookfire's eyes was brilliant. For a while, Dawnstar had thought Owlthroat was nothing more than an egotistical brusier, actually, she still thought that cause he was. But he's proven to have some brains in his head when he tried hard enough.

Despite her judgment regarding Owlthroat's lack of brain cells, she knew he was brighter than he came off as. Unfortunately, his ego made him come off dumber than a rock at times. He made mistakes that cost him respect, at least in her eyes. Dawnstar disliked egotistical, arrogant hairballs, the only reason Owlthroat got away was because he knew how to be one without being obnoxious about it. He was liked well enough, he had a family, a mate, and a rank among the elites. But he was not without his faults, otherwise, Hawkbite wouldn't have recommended him in Tuftedtusk's place.

As for Rookfire. He was always a fascinating one. Brought in by a traitor, and rising in rank faster than a striking hawk. His medical knowledge, willingness, and commitment brought him to even greater heights, only to have it all crash down on him not long after earning everything he couldn't have in his former clan. Bad luck, or perhaps the stars were against him, whatever the reason, Dawnstar had grown wary of him. Yet even her wariness of him wore off into nothingness when Rookfire hadn't done anything to keep it.

She wouldn't say she trusts or distrusts him more than the rest of her clanmates now. After his fall from grace, it had seemed like he disappeared, or slid under her radar for a time, at least until she started hearing about the work he put into training apprentices. Suprpassing even Hawkbite in time. These days, it seemed Rookfire had a paw in every apprentice's training, putting in the work to reclaim his loss. The little guy, the prey, the loser, ShadowClan's underdog, his tale was quite riveting for those who put the effort into understanding it, inspiring even. It was rare for cats to put in the effort to be great again once they fall.

Rookfire didn't have much of anything attaching himself to ShadowClan, unlike Owlthroat. One who had everything to lose vs one who had nothing to lose. She had no idea why Rookfire wanted a place among the Enforcers back. To have an identity beyond being a warrior, recognition, ambition? His motivation was tougher to read than Owlthroat. Regardless of the motive, he earned some points for falling and getting up again.

Even as she watched the two get tangled into a mess of blood and fur, she could hear the blatant favor for one's victory over the other. Yet it wasn't like Rookfire had no one on his side. Dawnstar? She didn't truly care who won as they were both decently competent cats. Owlthroat had the potential, but Rookfire had medical knowledge and training, which made him beneficial. ShadowClan wouldn't suffer regardless of the winner or loser.

The fight wouldn't decide the winner; Dawnstar would have to weigh their past, accomplishments, among other variables. Huh, this was the first Enforcer Challenge she'd have to think long and hard about. How tedious.

[sturgeonwind]

PINEKIT | CINDERGROWTH
male - he/him | ??? - it/they
shadowclan kit | noclan creature
real | hallucination
purrks:
silver tongue t1 [t2 purrchased, post count too low for it to work] - active
3 moons (+1 every 21st)

″ internal functions off, chaos has begun ″
★ - ★ - ★
- @SuspiciousMindz - @Dolomedes - @Rani - @burntToast - @Estelle - @/I'm missing someone oh well - same as Dolomedes here, uhhh yeh sorry if i missed you / added you if unnecessary - :sweats: woke up to like 6 mentions and when i saw toast's post my legs were shaky- - one last note WELL ACTUALLY TWO BUT OK- reminder pine is evil and he likes nobody but i love all of ur cats ok and also silver tongue active because y not -

Now Pinekit was outnumbered, how unfair. An apprentice who should still be a kit (they didn't deserve apprentice rank because they decided that being friends with mushroomkit was an idea), another apprentice (bloodpaw or something like that), stupid kit, even the ENFORCER COMMANDER (the deputy didn't scare him so the enforcer commander shouldn't either) for stars sake. 4 v 1... 5 if Nightsomesuffixheguessed decided to mess with him as well. He wasn't stupid enough to try to combat all of them, so just took one more look at the battle because it was prooobbably the last he was going to get when he made his comment. He looked first disgusted at the reply about family. Treating it better. Whatever Hawkbite meant they were really really silly because, "Family?! Pffft. I could never be family with THAT stupid mouse. You can like the sound of mice all you want but I'm going to ignore all of your stupid squeaking. Mouse is a dumb name like calling your kit Brokenkit, Mushroomkit or Ratkit because all of those names are stupid ones. The second one wouldn't be as bad if you didn't have to share a name with..." he looked pointedly at Mushroomkit, "that one."

He then just like realised there were a lot of cats here and um um they were all going to complain at him so he had to apologise, smiley face, it would all be fineeeeeeeeee..... yeah no.

"Sorry for telling the truth that she's crazy!" Pinekit said cheerily, smiling, "If she wasn't, we wouldn't he here now would we? She's such a liar. Keeps blaming me for her hurting my paw and then when I pushed her into some thorns she said I scratched her. But I'd never do that!"

Pinekit could swear he was actually going to be obliterated by someone within the next few seconds.

Night someone someone said he could go sit with her! What a nice way to get out of the situation and manage your anger, Pinekit! (If only this happened a lot in real real life where there were more problems for sturgeon to deal with and needed some escape like this) Apparently there was another kit called Snakekit you could tell them how stupid Mushroomkit was!! And be less annoyed! ...No?
Pinekit said no?
Pinekit does not want this opportunity...
Great job, problem causer. Let's lose you your apprentice ceremony.

(powerplay perms for anyone to hit him backwards/barrel him out of the way for some reason, and yes I know warriors can pick up kits w/o perms so do that if you want)

[zoamher]

Swiftcreek decides to watch. (open)

[kailie]

Sootstorm approached the fight, her green eyes fixed on the two warriors within the makeshift battlering. The gray-and-white warrior's ears flicked, her tail tip twitching. She settled down beside Swiftcreek, emerald hues narrowing down to slits. ''Rookfire's determined if he thinks he can outsmart Owlthroat,'' Sootstorm meowed softly to the other warrior. ''Owlthroat's a great fighter, and he's done well in his position.''

[ @zoamher | Swiftcreek ]

[namen_roodles]

Mosstangle

Shadowclan warrior - 19 moons - Large dark brown-and-white tabby she-cat with green eyes.
(Purrks: N/A)
~~~

Mosstangle had been curled up in her nest near the entrance of the warriors den, watching what she could of the fight. It had been quite interesting and a chance to learn a few new tricks. Finally, the crowd grew too large for her to remain inside.

The large tabby slipped out of the den, watching the pair as they fought. She had few interactions with either of them, so didn't have much of an opinion on who she would root for. Spitting blood into his opponent's eyes was definitely a unique method that gave Owlthroat a few points with her. She had also noticed quite a few cats rooting for him, as opposed to Rookfire who, if she had her facts right, used to be a riverclan cat.

She wondered if that made bias within the cheering cats, or if it was something about Rookfire himself. Regardless, she sat beside a pair not too far from her. Swiftcreek and Sootstorm, she thought their names were. Her ears perked at Sootstorm's comment. "Didn't Rookfire serve as an enforcer before? What happened to that, anyway?" She asked, wrapping her tail around her paws.

@zoamher [Swiftcreek]
@kailie [Sootstorm]

[zoamher]

Originally Posted by kailie

Sootstorm approached the fight, her green eyes fixed on the two warriors within the makeshift battlering. The gray-and-white warrior's ears flicked, her tail tip twitching. She settled down beside Swiftcreek, emerald hues narrowing down to slits. ''Rookfire's determined if he thinks he can outsmart Owlthroat,'' Sootstorm meowed softly to the other warrior. ''Owlthroat's a great fighter, and he's done well in his position.''

[ @zoamher | Swiftcreek ]

Swift gave a slight nod, her mouth a small line as she watched.

[kailie]

''Rookfire was promoted to medicine cat apprentice, then demoted due to an omen that Mossfreckle had before he died,'' Sootstorm explained, looking at Mosstangle. ''Him being promoted---then demoted---took away his Enforcer rank, so I guess he wants it back and is trying to impress Hawkbite and Dawnstar, which led to him challenging Owlthroat.''

[ @zoamher | Swiftcreek ]
[ @namen_roodles | Mosstangle ]