A Trip to the Lake (Heath)

[maplefrost]

Cold streams of wind brushed across the moors, shaking the few bushes and plants that dotted the landscape. The air traveled until it blew over a large lake. In the center of the lake, the surface of the water was still, but gentle waves indicated that it hadn’t frozen yet. However, closer to the shore, the waves ceased, giving way to expanses of opaque ice. The logs of the broken half-bridge were surrouned by the glass-like substance. On the shore, several puddles dotted the sand due to melted piles of snow. Most cats would stay away from the frigid lake at this time of year. Then again, Rowanwhisker didn’t always fit under the category of ‘most cats’.

The tom was crouched by one of the puddles. He would have been invisible, if it hadn’t been for the bright orange patches on his pelt. The wind buffeted his fur, and his yellow eyes watered, but he continued to stare intently at the puddle. A few rocks were placed around the water, with a couple of twigs floating in it. After observing the twigs a moment, the warrior straightened himself and extended a claw.

“Alright. Dapplepaw will stalk back away from the shore, and then return to dart down the shore, distracting Palestar’s warriors. Now…what to do with me…” He watched as one of the twigs, pushed by the wind, drifted closer to the shore. “Aha! I will wait until the RiverClan warrior is close enough, and then…” Rowanwhisker took one of the pebbles in his jaws, and then dropped it on the twig. “Ha! Goodbye, RiverClan intruder! Now, what to do with Redfang…”

[Heathclaw]

"What indeed?" asked the WindClan deputy, creeping up on his warrior from behind. "And, more importantly, what to do with you?" Some time had passed since Redfang's tussle with Pinestorm, and the stern WindClanner was quite nearly back to his usual self. He had granted himself permission to leave camp for the first time in a while, stretch out his paws... get back into the rhythm of things. The snow on the ground proved that Leaf-bare was fully upon them- there was no time to waste. And yet, what should he find upon arriving at the Lakeside than one of his warriors, crouched over something that looked nothing like prey.

"So then, Rowanwhisker... What do we have here?" asked Redfang, gesturing with his tail at the assembled set-up of twigs, stones, and water. "Is there a reason that you're shuffling rocks around when you could be feeding our clan?" Oh yes. Redfang was quite nearly his usual self again.

[maplefrost]

Rowanwhisker lowered his head in annoyance, scowling the second he heard the deputy’s voice. Redfang, he thought, was much too full of himself. It wasn’t that he thought Redfang thought only of himself. No, Rowanwhisker knew that the WindClan deputy knew how to care for his Clan. Rowanwhisker just thought that Redfang liked his power too much. He used it to sound like he was better. But, of course, that was Rowanwhisker’s opinion.

“Hello, Redfang,” Rowanwhisker mewed, as politely as he could. He sat up, watching the wind blow all of the twigs to the edge of the puddle. “I wasn’t just shuffling rocks,” he muttered. He wasn’t looking the other cat in the eye. In fact, he wasn’t looking at the other cat at all.

After a long pause, Rowanwhisker stood, his tail drooping. He turned around, and after a few more moments, looked up at the deputy. “I was strategizing,” he meowed. “I figured it wasn’t worth hunting if our Clan is all slaughtered in battle due to poor battle strategy. The ‘jump in and slash’ technique is a little too…” He stopped to think of the word. “Imprecise. Don’t you think so?”

[Heathclaw]

Rowanwhisker... what was Redfang to do with this cat? His usual methods wouldn't work here- Rowanwhisker was markedly different from the rest of WindClan. For one, he was markedly odd. Eccentric in the best light, and just plain whacked in the worst. His view of the traditions of the warrior code were somewhat tweaked. And yet, on the other hand, he had a very clever brain on him, and often came up with novel ideas.

"Poor battle strategy, is it?" Redfang asked, tilting his ears upwards with interest. He would not take the comment as an insult- provided that there was merit in what his clanmate was saying. "Well then... why don't you show me what you've come up with, then? If it's helpful, we can show the rest of the clan. And afterwards, you and I will go hunting. After all... It's not worth learning how to fight if we don't feed ourselves properly first, don't you think?"

With that, Redfang hopped back a step and crouched down low, tail raised up high, assuming his typical fighting stance. "Okay, Rowanwhisker, show me what you've got!"

[maplefrost]

Rowanwhisker looked a little startled; he wasn’t expecting Redfang to react so…positively. If that’s what he was doing. Nonetheless, Rowanwhisker dropped down into a crouch, smiling over at Redfang. He wasn’t really sure how this was going to play out. He shifted his weight from his left to right, back and forth. “Confusion is always good,” Rowanwhisker meowed.

He shifted his weight to his haunches, and sprung to the left. When he had barely touched the ground, he leapt to the right, soaring above Redfang’s head and landing with his back legs facing the deputy. “Then,” Rowanwhisker explained. “The warrior is open to do different moves; the quickest one being a kick to the side with your back claws.” Instead of executing a move, Rowanwhisker spun around and sat, facing Redfang’s side. The tom lifted a paw and licked it. “Most of my moves are evasion techniques, I’m afraid.”

[Heathclaw]

There was a time in Redfang's wilder days where he wouldn't have even bothered with such a silly concept as maintaining defense. But now, with several moons of experience behind him and the scars to show for it, the tom had begun adding a more conservative flavor to his fighting style, and he'd begun favoring a stance that let him lash out or shift direction at a moment's notice. The most crucial thing was to maintain eye contact.

Rowanwhisker was muttering something about confusion tactics, and Redfang was vaguely aware of how the tom swayed back and forth... but such a distraction was pointless- the eyes would always give away the final motion.

There it was! Redfang crouched down, ready to tackle Rowanwhisker off his feet as he landed from his leap... and yet- the instant the tom's paws hit the ground, he made another leap! Fast... thought Redfang, as he turned to re-orient himself with his opponent. Redfang had made a critical mistake, a faulty assumption, and he'd have to pay for it now- Rowanwhisker had the advantage...

And he completely wasted it. "Tch! I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed, Rowanwhisker. You may move as fast as the wind that names our clan, but a wind that lacks bite to it, that lacks fierceness, is as insubstantial as the dust, placid as a greenleaf breeze. I'm impressed by your speed... but I'm still not convinced that this is the right way to go. Why don't we put your theories into real practice, hmm? Let's spar for real. Claws sheathed, but that's it."

[maplefrost]

Rowanwhisker’s tail curled tight around his forepaws, a method of restraint. He was aware that he didn’t take the opportunity he had. However, he also knew that Redfang had been injured, staying in camp for several sunrises. ‘Excuse me,’ he thought to himself. ‘I didn’t want to be charged with sending the deputy back to the medicine cat’s den.’

If he was even capable of doing so. Rowanwhisker, as well as the entire Clan, knew he was not a very good fighter. He knew the techniques well enough, he just didn’t have enough strength to fight confidently. If they were WindClan, the fastest Clan of all, how come not being able to fight well was such a bad thing?

After a few moments, Rowanwhisker stood up. ‘If he wants to fight, let him,’ Rowanwhisker thought. ‘I don’t want to hear anything from him if he hurts himself, however.’

“Alright,” Rowanwhisker meowed. “If you think you’re up to it.” Realizing he had been quite rude during their entire meeting, he cleared his throat. “I have to warn you, I won’t take it easy on you. Not because I think you’re too hurt to fight, but because me fighting to the best of my ability ought to be the same as a regular cat taking it easy.” He lowered himself to the ground, eyeing the deputy, while a single thought crossed his mind.

‘Make your move.’

[Heathclaw]

Redfang had been told many times that his behavior was what what most cats would call "abrasive". He made no apology for that. This was how he'd learned to act, and it was too late for him to start changing his ways now. But he was okay with that. He didn't need to be on friendly terms with every cat, so long as they kept in line and kept to their duties. It was simpler that way. And so, he didn't take any offense when Rowanwhisker started showing signs of irritation. Maybe that's what it takes...

"I'd be offended if you pulled your shots for me," replied Redfang. "I'm not over the hill yet, just because of a few scratches. I won't go easy on you either- I expect a good fight." His tail bobbed a few times while he spoke, and then started to twitch as he switched over to combat mode. Hit him hard. Hit him fast. Keep him on his paws. That's the way. And with that he bounded forward, swiping at Rowanwhisker's paws with a forepaw as he landed. He would press his initiative while he had it- until he succeeded in tripping up his opponent, or he was forced onto defense.

To be honest, he'd been trying to get at Rowanwhisker for a while now. Regardless of what the tom said to belittle himself, Redfang was certain that he had the makings of a true WindClan warrior, just like all the others. It was just a matter of pushing it out of him. Perhaps it would happen today.

[maplefrost]

Rowanwhisker listened as Redfang spoke to him. ‘He doesn’t get it…’ Rowanwhisker thought to himself. It wasn’t that Rowanwhisker was clumsy, or weak. He just wasn’t good at fighting. Gorsetooth had tried to teach him how to fight with force. Finally, he gave up, and focused on his defense and tracking skills. He wasn’t a bad fighter, he just wasn’t exactly sure how.

He watched Redfang’s tail, and then focused on predicting his move. Before he’d had much chance to think, Redfang shot forward. Rapid fire, his mind whipped out a plan. As he fell, he crossed a paw over his right leg, cutting his fall short. He pushed off of that paw, landing with all four paws on the ground. Success.

Rowanwhisker crouched, stalking around Redfang. He worked on his next move, hoping Redfang wouldn’t pounce until he’d had a chance to think. Then, suddenly, he decided something. If Redfang wanted a fight, Rowanwhisker would certainly try to give him one. He jumped to the side, then sprang forward, landing on Redfang’s right side. He put all the force he could muster into his next move - a shove to Redfang’s side, hoping to knock him over.

[Heathclaw]

Rowanwhisker was fast- but he wasn't fast enough to avoid Redfang. He succeeded in making his opponent trip- but before he could pounce on the advantage, Rowanwhisker had already rolled back onto his paws. Impressive. Fast thinker, thought Redfang, as he started stalking around the younger warrior. Okay. Now it's your turn. He planned to give Rowanwhisker five breaths worth of time to take the offensive. Rowanwhisker took only three.

Redfang avoided being distracted by the first leap- knowing Rowanwhisker it was probably a feint- and braced himself for the second attack. He crouched low to the ground, digging his paws in to stabilize himself as the tom jumped forward, using his entire body weight in an attempt to knock him over.

"Ngh!" grunted Redfang- he'd managed to keep his footing, but he wound up being pushed back by a few feet. He wasted no time in leaping back to counter attack, with paws aimed at Rowanwhisker's head and left shoulder.

[maplefrost]

Rowanwhisker, still trying to regain his footing after shoving Redfang, barely looked up by the time the deputy’s paws were in his face. He stumbled back, struggling to keep from falling over. ‘Mousebrain,’ he scolded himself. ‘You weren’t fast enough. How do you expect to win this fight if you’re slower than a slug?’

He reared back on his hind legs to keep from falling. ‘What now?’ He watched Redfang a moment, before deciding on a plan of attack. He pushed back on his hind legs and leapt to the left, his eyes on Redfang’s haunches.

‘Let this work,’ he silently prayed to StarClan. He crouched for just a moment, and then pounced. He tried to keep his eyes on Redfang’s haunches the whole time. However, his strike was aimed at Redfang’s shoulders. If he moved, Rowanwhisker would land on dirt.

[Heathclaw]

"Heh, impressive!" growled Redfang. He had managed to read the attack only at the last second- not enough time to jump out of the way, but enough to not be caught off guard. He let the blow connect, bending his knees to cushion the impact, and then straightened his legs in the next instant, springing upwards in an attempt to push Rowanwhisker off by sheer force.

"Now that's more like it! We'll make a true warrior of you yet!" smirked Redfang, picking an outright charge as his next form of attack. How will you stop this one, Rowanwhisker? He couldn't resist grinning from ear to ear- it was so great getting being back in circulation again! On the other hand, he had to make sure that he didn't push it too much, either. He'd seen enough of the inside of the medicine den this moon.