Chapter 21, fighting training
"They want to separate you from your power?" Shadowflight yowled, choking on some deer.
"Yes…" Robin leaned toward Shadowflight, "But I don't know if I believe Raven. He's always been a little weird."
Robin shrugged. "But I mean…he may really be telling the truth, Raven. The other animals agreed with him."
"They have to have serious magical power," Shadowflight said, chewing the inside of her mouth thoughtfully.
"Well they do, don't they?" Robin asked, suddenly trembling with rage, "They shoot spells at us. Completely unguarded we are. They're so mean, picking on ones smaller and weaker then them…"
Shadowflight rustled her wings, as if she was glad she was a strong fighter as well as being good at flying.
She stood up. "Well, incase we have to attack somebody soon, I'm going to brush up your fighting. I know we haven't been doing training, but then you have been fighting a lot lately, so you know how to bite and all that. But still you are slow and unbalanced. Let's do some normal fighting, then practice fighting in the air."
He leaped to his feet. Shadowflight padded swiftly through the forest. He followed her.
They walked for hours. Then, just as Robin was about to flop down, Shadowflight veered out of the forest and onto some beach.
"We are well away from those animals that are trapping young animals," She said wisely. The beach stretched for a long time before it hit the ocean.
She whirled around to face him, sitting calmly. "Attack me," she ordered.
He sighed. Then he crouched down and sidled slowly towards her.
Shadowflight watched him come, never blinking and never taking her eyes off his.
He raised a paw to strike.
Shadowflight slammed her paws into his chest, claws out, and threw him into the sand several feet away. He went rolling down the beach, thrashing to pick himself back up. He gave a shout as he fell in the water, and, swimming strongly, paddled back to shore. He strode up to her.
She was smiling calmly. "Now, in a real battle, I would have not let yuou come out of the water, and left you to drown. But this is just practice. So…let's try again."
Robin sat down in front of her, and yawned.
"And this is how good you did on that on first try," she said in a smooth voice.
Suddenly she leaped at him, pinning him over so he lay curled beneath her paws.
"TERRIBLE!" she shouted, baring her teeth, then leaping off him.
He grunted then stood back up.
Robin crouched down and growled, deciding to leap at her instead of creep up. She was also crouched, her muscles tensed and ready. He could fly onto her back, then turn her over by gripping the muscle and thicker fur on her haunches….then he could pin her down…It would take strength, but he could do it.
He leaped and sailed through the air, but found himself crashing to her upturned belly. Well, this was going to be better then he thought! He prepared to scratch her.
Then he was kicked hard in the belly, and then he flew into the air. He screwed up his paws, ready to smash onto the ground, when he felt a strong paw smash into his chest. He was whirled through the air in the other direction.
Another paw smashed into Robin's chest. He was sailing through the air in the other direction now. This had to stop!
As he was juggled back and forth, Robin tried flying. But he just didn't have enough space to get started.
Thrashing and yowling, Robin was juggled. He yowled at Shadowflight to stop, but she didn't listen. What was this? A real ambush?
He let out a shrill cry of submission. He was smacked again, and was flying through the air, but Shadowflight didn't catch him again. He smashed into the sand, and she leaped on him and held his battered body down.
"Surprise is the warrior's greatest weapon," Shadowflight crowed, "That was the legendary warrior Lionheart's favorite phrase. I never met him. He would have been like my great-grandfather." (AN: this generation would be Brambleclaw's and Squirrelflight's kits)
"Anyway, back to training. That would have been a very good strategy, except that your eyes betrayed your whole plan, and I punished you for that." She sneered.
He scrambled to his feet. Bruises covered his chest were Shadowflight had whacked him.
"Try again," she told him calmly.
He sighed. He looked at her shoulders, but aimed for her paws. He knew she couldn't get him. She was guarding her shoulders.
But suddenly he found himself heading into open paws. He was smashed in the head and thrown into the sand.
Snarling with rage, Robin stood up again.
"Why did you aim for my paws?" she asked in a commanding tone, "What kind of attacking place is that? That is the place that holds the claws!" she laughed, then circled slowly. "Try again."
Ready to scream, Robin stood up for the umpteenth time. He saw Shadowflight flicking her tail casually, and he quickly came up with a plan.
He traced the plan he had tried on his second attempt with his eyes, but when he leaped he went for her shoulders. He felt teeth lightly at the edge of his neck. He knew in a real battle the teeth would sink in and kill him. He shuddered and prepared to pull back.
But he was instantly kicked in the stomach. He let out a grunt of pain and flew away.
He glared at the water, seething with anger. Shadowflight was a good fighter! He had trouble imagining Street Guys doing that. But why couldn't he just get the better of her?!
He sighed and stood up again.
Shadowflight was waiting, sitting patiently, for him.
"I knew that your eyes were only telling a story. Also, the shoulders are a way to common place to attack."
Robin snarled and spun around. He faced the black cat.
She was crouched, ready to spring out of the way if he jumped at her. He twitched, as if about to jump, and she made a small movement as if to jump to the left. But Robin knew she was only faking. She was going to really jump to the right.
He jumped quickly, and sailed to the right. He saw her come crashing to the ground and he landed on her. Quickly he gave her a hard blow to the ears.
"Great!" she meowed as he leaped off her. "You know how to do the opposite of what your opponent is thinking. You will be a good backward fighter. Now let me attack you."