Ask to Join Berries on the Breeze~

Without passion you don’t have energy, without energy you have nothing.

･ﾟ✧⭑🍓⭑✧･ﾟ

"You get up too early!" Berrypaw retorted back, though there wasn't any bite or venom to it, it just seemed like the way he sassed his littermate and birthing parent, how he had slowly begun to do with everyone until they said otherwise. But it was never coming from a cruel heart. The young tom's ears perked when he heard the topic of battle training and he stretched as quickly as he could to limber up before skidding to a halt in front of his mentor.

However, as much as it didn't seem like it, Berrypaw did listen when his mentor talked, when it was important anyway. Sometimes that old cat's ramblings were just that, rambling. But battle moves is what excited Berrypaw, the movement, the thrill, navigating the other cat's own techniques, it was thrilling! Berrypaw spread his legs to distribute what weight the small tom had and held his tail low to balance his body, an improvement from the first time he tried as his small, slowly toning muscles rippled his pale pelt.

His pale blue eyes narrowed at Breezewing, ambition burning in them like an icy blaze as he flexed his claws before folding them back into their sheaths, it'd be a mouse-brained act to forget soft-paws. "How's this? I've been practicing with Cedarpaw, and Beewhisker says its the best stance they've seen on an apprentice!" he gloated but his shoulders stayed still and strong, concentrating on Breezewing and sizing him up. 

Most cats were bigger than him, but it didn't bother the young tom, in fact, he knew he could use it to his advantage, whatever made him small, gave him a gift. Some cats just don't realize it yet.

Those who follow blindly will never learn to see the truth. ~Breezewing
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Breezewing’s ear flicked at the mention of Beewhisker, his whiskers twitching with the faintest hint of dry amusement.

“A dame always highly praises their offspring,” he remarked, voice level but not unkind, as if it were simply a fact of life rather than a criticism. His gaze lingered on Berrypaw a heartbeat longer, measuring, weighing.

Then his expression shifted, just slightly.

A short nod followed.

“But,” he added, tone turning more grounded, more genuine, “she’s not wrong this time.”

He circled once, slow and deliberate, paws whispering over the dust as he looked at Berrypaw from each angle. His tail lifted and tapped lightly against Berrypaw’s shoulder to adjust it a fraction lower.

“Your weight’s set well. Back legs ready to drive, front light enough to move. You’re not overcommitting.” Another small nod. “That’s a stance you can actually fight from.”

He stepped back into place, lowering his own body into a mirrored crouch, eyes sharpening again with purpose.

“Now let’s see if you can keep it when I start pushing you.”

Without passion you don’t have energy, without energy you have nothing.

･ﾟ✧⭑🍓⭑✧･ﾟ

While Berrypaw hadn't expected Breezewing to mirror his dame's comment, he didn't seem surprised. He knew he was strong, capable, there was nothing else to it. But perhaps Beewhisker's compliments went to his head a little, and that praise didn't help with his pride.

As Breezewing circled, Berrypaw smirked, his tail lashing once as his attention followed his mentor, though his ears were swiveled to check for any sign of an ambush, which he doubted, but it was something he heard was wise to do, even in situations you seem safe in, the cats of the clans faced death every day, even more so with this rogue on the loose. He could never be too careful.

Berrypaw's smirk was accompanied by a confident narrowing of his pale blue eyes. "Let's see you try to knock me down!" He proclaimed with a confident yowl, however his eyes remained on his mentor, and when Breezewing travelled out of sight, using his ears and common sense to figure out where he was.

His muscled coiled, reading a pounce of a leap out of the way, but also preparing a counter for whatever Breezewing could have in mind. Whatever it was, Berrypaw was ready, and confident.

Those who follow blindly will never learn to see the truth. ~Breezewing
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Breezewing’s whiskers twitched at the challenge, something approving glinting behind the usual stern set of his eyes.

“Good,” he said simply. “Confidence keeps your paws under you. Pride gets them knocked out from under you. Learn the difference.”

He didn’t rush in right away.

Instead, he began to circle again—slower this time, quieter. Testing. Watching. The wind shifted across the camp, stirring the grass along the edge of the clearing near the Talking Cliff, and Breezewing used it, drifting just out of Berrypaw’s direct line of sight for a heartbeat before stepping in again.

Then, sudden.

A feint from the front, quick and sharp, like he meant to bowl straight into him, only to shift his weight at the last instant, sweeping low with one forepaw toward Berrypaw’s legs, aiming to test his balance rather than truly topple him.

“Don’t watch my face,” he snapped, even as he moved. “Watch my shoulders. They’ll tell you where I’m going before I do.”

He pulled the strike just short of full force, enough to challenge, not enough to hurt, and planted his paws again a fox-length away, ready to follow up the moment Berrypaw reacted.

“Show me that stance holds.”

Without passion you don’t have energy, without energy you have nothing.

･ﾟ✧⭑🍓⭑✧･ﾟ

Berrypaw unsheathed his claws into the dirt, determination fueling the solid stance he seemed to hold, however, due to his underdeveloped muscles, the strain of his legs made him shutter, only slightly. At Breezewing's snap, the apprentice's tail lashed, he knew that Breezewing was his mentor, but criticising him was basically all he did and it rose a growl in Berrypaw's throat, quiet, but present.

"I'll show you how the stance holds alright." He huffed, lashing his tail as he felt the dirt beneath his paws, massaging it with his paws until the the stance was lighter. If Breezewing was just going to stand around batting at him, he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a fall... or even a stumble. Berrypaw was just as good as any clan warrior and he planned to prove it.

As Breezewing's paws worked the ground, Berrypaw's eyes shifted to his muscular, striped shoulders, how the muscles shifted with every change in movement, the way they coiled when he feigned his strike. While Berrypaw didn't want to admit it, maybe looked at the shoudlers were a good thing.

However, Berrypaw also focused on how Breezewing followed through, releasing the tension just free of full strength. Did Breezewing think he couldn't handle it? He'd be training for three moons now! He wasn't some weak kit anymore. And StarClan be damned if he was Breezewing was going easy on him. 

Berrypaw rose a brow, ambition sparking in his pale eyes "You hold the tension of how hard you're going to strike in your shoulders too, full force at the wrong angle'll topple you right?"