Here mousy mousy mousy (Lechyclaw)

[night]

Smudgeclaw felt smug satisfaction, as he saw her stumble, but he remained cautious. She was definitely skilled, and he was unsure of the validity of her stumble.

So, with this in mind, he backed off a few steps, then rushed towards her with a mock snarl (as he would in a real fight). However, he had never been one for traditional fighting; best do what the enemy least expected, or at least, that was his philosophy.

As he rushed at the downed Lizardheart, he picked up speed, at the last second dropping his shoulder to ram into her, should she try to attack again. It would protect his head and neck from any blows, and, if she did attack, it would set him up for his next move. If she didn't attack, he could always use brute strength to pin her down, and end the skirmish.

Not for nothing was he named Smudgeclaw.

[mystic]

Instead she rolled to the side, only a few seconds before he was on here. There was a small stump there, right behind her. With the speed he was going at, according to what she thought, he was liable to ram into it at high speed. This would mean a major headache or at least a very sore shoulder for him. However she wasn't about to give up. This fight wasn't over until it was over. She crouched low and leapt, aiming for his back. If she could land there she had won the battle, so long as he didn't manage to throw her. It was a risky move, but it had a good chance of working.

[night]

Oh great StarClan! Smudgeclaw pulled up, nearly sitting on his haunches in his attempt to avoid crashing into the stump. He hadn't seen that one coming. Thankfully, he managed to slide to a stop before he crashed, but his legs felt like they were on fire, in his mad scrabble to avoid a headache.

Suddenly, a weight landed on his back, and Smudgeclaw yowled in surprise. Without a second thought, he did what he would do normally: he immediately dropped, and rolled, to crush his smaller opponent. Mousedung, that probably wasn't good. what if he crushed her? But it was too late. By now, his weight was fully on top of the smaller Lizardheart. Without pausing to see if his maneuver worked, he sprang up, and whirled around, one paw raised to deflect any blows.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked, allowing a concerned tone to appear in his voice.

[mystic]

Lizardheart let out a spluttering sound as she was squashed, she hissed and dug her claws into his rump. She gasped for breath as he leapt off of her. "Mousebrain!" She spat. "What do you think you were doing." She paused. "Of course it was a very good move, to use on an enemy." She flicked her tail. "Good job, you won. Had that been a real battle, I would be running for the hills." She smiled. "There is no honour in loosing to a superiour opponent." She dipped her head and smiled at him. "Good job."

[night]

Smudgeclaw kept alert, wary of a trap - he wouldn't put it past her to pretend defeat - but he did approach her once more. "I really am sorry," he said. "I didn't think. I just acted. If you had been an enemy warrior, I would have done it harder...I guess it's just instinct." He gave her an amused look. "Surely you, of all cats, understand that, considering how much time you devote to training."

He flicked his tail at her, seemingly affectionate. "I do hope I didn't hurt you too badly. I forget myself in these things sometimes." A crafty look came into his eyes. "I think we're pretty evenly matched. Next time, you probably will win. It won't be easy though. I don't give up too quickly...I hate losing, to a superior cat or not. Losing to you, however....I might be able to handle that."

He grinned at her, nudging her with his shoulder as he did so. "So? Did I prove my worth to you?" If pure strength and skill was what she wanted...then she would get it. Just like he would get her eventually.

[mystic]

"A single sparring match will not win me over." She said, walking around him. "But it has given you a head start." she padded over to her mice and picked them up by their tails. "I'm heading back to camp." She told him. "I think this will do for now. I'll likely go out hunting later. We need as much food as we can get to make sure that we survive this leaf bare." She nodded to him and trotted off, tail up in the air. It was a good day all in all, of course with their little scuffle the mice would take quite a while to come back out again, so going back to camp was the best idea.