Chapter 60: Battle Training

The time of spring was upon us. Snow began to melt leaving small shoots of green poking forth from the loamy earth. Fireheart, Brackenpaw, Ashpaw, Cloudpaw, Ravenfeather, and I were out at the training clearing. Fireheart and I were having a demonstration sparring match. I started out strong, hoping to catch Fireheart early in one of my combos. Fireheart skillfully dodged my barrage, but I still had the initiative. I tried to push him harder. If I could even clip him with one, he'd likely be pushed into taking a full one of my combos.

The problem with combos is that, once you've seen them, you predict them. I had him on his backfoot for little while, but he got wise to me. He slipped in and got me with a stunner. After that, I was toast. He dove in with his own barrage. I didn't have enough time to try and counter. I didn't have the time or space to start another combo. I did the only thing I could think of. I pushed through him, trampling him over. I turned to try and catch him off guard, but he was already back up on his paws. He was already wise to my tricks, so there was no more point in continuing.

"I concede." I huffed.

"What?! But you got the last hit in. Why would you give up?" Ashpaw protested.

I instead turned my head to Brackenpaw. "Brackenpaw, can you give us a rundown on the fight and why I might have yielded?"

The apprentice, who at this point looked to be fully grown, fidgeted in place before responding. "Smudgefoot had the edge to start. He had weight on Fireheart and set the pace. Unfortunately for him, Fireheart somehow got wise to what Smudgefoot would do next. He predicted the attack and got in a stunning blow. Once Smudgefoot lost control, he was open to receiving hits from Fireheart. Smudgefoot managed to break away by running over Fireheart, but he ultimately gave up. The reason for this, I believe that Fireheart already had Smudgefoot figured out. Smudgefoot knew this, so he conceded. He would not win if they reengaged."

I nodded in response. "That is correct. Fireheart already figured out all my moves and had a counter. It was not worth it to fight him again. I had to retreat."

"And what was the point in watching that?" Cloudpaw mewed.

I let Fireheart respond to this. "For one, it was to show how franticly full warriors fight. On a moment's notice, a warrior must make choices. I also believe Smudgefoot made the right choice in conceding. In a larger battle, Smudgefoot may have broken off to fight someone else, someone not yet used to his way of fighting. Now, this is another important thing to take away from this. Each cat has a somewhat unique fighting style tempered by their clan, but Thunderclan is the most varied in fighting styles. This is largely due to how varied our body types are here. When you meet a Riverclan cat, you know they'll be slow but slugging hard. Windclan is light and agile, but they're also quick to flee. Then there's Shadowclan. They're generally somewhere in the middle and prone to ambush instead of fight. They are prone to injury from staying in fights too long. We have the advantage since they don't know how we'll come at them until we're already fighting. It is what makes Thunderclan strong, but don't get overconfident. Once they figure you out, they'll have the edge. They are typically the best in their chosen fighting style. Only our adaptability lets us continue to overcome them. That's why we'll be having spars." Fireheart lectured.

"Ashpaw and Cloudpaw will pair up. Neither of you have a lot of fighting experience but take advantage of what we just taught. Try to figure out your opponent before they figure you out. Fireheart will be with Brackenpaw. I'll be on the sidelines in case anyone goes too far." I mewed.

Ashpaw's eyes turned cold and analyzing as he sized up Cloudpaw. In response, Cloudpaw began his attack. At first, it looked like Ashpaw was toying with Cloudpaw. He anticipated his strikes and snuck in some of his own. Unfortunately for Ashpaw, Cloudpaw turned out to be a bit trickier than he thought. Cloudpaw pulled off a feint which baited a counter from Ashpaw. Cloudpaw anticipated the counter and snuck in his own counter. Ashpaw looked stunned, unbelieving that he'd gotten hit.

"Don't underestimate your opponent. You've got to switch it up or he's got you beat." I mewed encouragingly.

Ashpaw's eyes hardened as he changed the tempo, pressing his own attack. Cloudpaw hadn't expected it and took a couple moments to adapt. It was interesting watching these two play off of each other. Ashpaw was clearly a genius and had a good instinct on how to pressure his opponent. Cloudpaw, on the other hand, was an instinctive prodigy. He was quick to adapt and kept Ashpaw from using only one trick to beat him. The edge in the fight bounced back and forth before Ashpaw slipped. His back paw shifted slightly too far out. The grass was still slick with melted snow. He fell, giving Cloudpaw the neded moment to get the pin.

"And Cloudpaw wins. You two were pretty even back there. In times like that, luck can be just as much a contributing factor. Ashpaw, you played to your strengths well. You constantly analyzed your opponent and tried to counter. Unfortunately, that kind of thinking won't always work. You were fooled by a feint very early on letting Cloudpaw counter you. Sometimes it is better to use an unexpected answer over the perfect answer. Cloudpaw, you were quick to adapt. You changed up your fighting style as you went which kept Ashpaw from totally dominating you, but I noticed that you lacked commitment. You may have kept Ashpaw guessing, but you were wasting a lot of energy trying to change fighting styles. If Ashpaw hadn't slipped, he'd have won the fight on endurance. Let's watch Fireheart and Brackenpaw finish up before moving on." I lectured.

The two seemed to have broken away from each other but another fight was clearly about to occur. Brackenpaw charged in. Fireheart made to sidestep the apprentice, but Brackenpaw anticipated it. He shoulder checked Fireheart, forcing him into a roll. Brackenpaw was quick to capitalize on it. He leapt onto Fireheart. I watched as he shifted his weight to the right to resist Fireheart's attempt to pull Brackenpaw into the roll. Fireheart managed to bat Brackenpaw across the face pretty hard, but brackenpaw resisted the stun, diving in to get the pin. Brackenpaw's teeth grazed Fireheart's shoulder, signaling the end of the fight.

Fireheart rose. "You did good Brackenpaw. From the few cats I've fought, many can't keep up with me. You anticipated me well and dragged out the fight into an endurance match where you'd have the advantage. If we spar again, you won't be so lucky. Either way, congratulations. I think I'll let Bluestar know your progress." He mewed.

Brackenpaw preened at the comment. "Do you think I can be a warrior soon?"

"Well, we'll be holding an assessment soon. I don't think it'll be too long now. Maybe by this time next moon." He mewed encouragingly.

I decided to pipe in now. "Your clearly ready battle wise, but how about thought training?"

"Thought training?" Ashpaw and Cloudpaw mewed.

"No… I don't want to go on another snipe hunt, and I don't want you twisting my words and tricking me again." Brackenpaw exasperatedly mewed.