A Short Spar

"A Short Spar" occurs directly after "The Witch's Village" on Day 15 of Season 2 (November 15, 2014).
== Summary ==
== Full Text ==
Treepelt Halfpaw: Treepelt had been avoiding everyone.
She didn’t bother lying to herself. She had withdrawn from human contact as much as possible; finding Tezz was an exception. It was almost subconscious, really. Knowing the danger of the Warden had distanced her from people for the past few months in order to protect them. Now she was free…but it didn’t feel like it. Not in the slightest. 
The hardest part was not being able to sleep at night. She got two or three hours at best, none at all on her worse nights. Intense nightmares of splattering blood and dark pools haunted her until she gasped herself awake, on the verge of tears every single time this happened. Tree needed an outlet, but she was afraid to turn to anyone for fear of hurting them. She even limited her time with Vox. Especially Vox.
So it followed that Tree attempted to distract herself when she suffered from these bouts of insomnia. That morning, she left her room and sat outside to watch the sun rise, shivering lightly under her thick blanket and suppressing anything she could remember about the Warden.
It’s like she never left.
Tezzeret Verdile: "Treepelt?" Tezz was surprised to see anybody outside, he had just walked through the doors to practice his water manipulation. “I wasn’t expecting anybody outside, why are you alone?” Tezz wasn’t too familiar with her people, but he could see she didn’t look good. It was extremely concerning to see his rescuer like this.                                                                                                            
Treepelt Halfpaw: She sniffed and rubbed tiredly at her eyes, which had faint dark circles beneath them. “Couldn’t sleep,” she mumbled, hugging herself tighter. “Kept having…flashbacks…”                                                                                                       
Tezzeret Verdile: "Oh…" Understanding dawned on Tezzeret. "Well, I know where you’d be coming from… Do you need a distraction? I wasn’t planning on it, but, I could use a sparring partner. Unless your a little too tired." Tezz gave a half-smile. "If that’s the case, I guess an audience wouldn’t bug me… this time…"                                                                                                            
Treepelt Halfpaw: Turning around completely, Treepelt smirked and let the blanket fall around her shoulders. “I’ll wake up eventually,” she yawned, with a rush of relief that someone was talking to her normally, as a person and not as a monster. She stood and began stretching. “Thanks for the invite. Let’s see what you’ve got.”                                                                                                       
Tezzeret Verdile: Tezz walked to an open patch on the ground in front of the fortress and stood in a ready pose.”Alright, here goes.” Tezz brought his fists up, melting some nearby snow and hovering two water orbs in front of him. He started walking counter-clockwise keeping a defensive stance behind the orbs.                                                                                                            
Treepelt Halfpaw: The frosted ground crackled under her boots as Treepelt stepped forward, dropping into a half-crouch and baring her claws. She mirrored his prowl, the two circling each other as they waited for an attack to begin. Her tail thrashed in anticipation.                                                                                                       
Tezzeret Verdile: Tezz dropped his left hand, letting the orb splash on the ground. Using the falling the ball as a distraction he waved his left hand melting and refreezing the frost under Tree’s feet into an ice plate. He stepped forward pushing the orb controlled by his right hand at Treepelt.                                                                                                            
Treepelt Halfpaw: Startled, Treepelt threw her right shoulder back and arched her spine, missing the water by a hair. Her feet slid a bit on the new icy surface coating the ground and she quickly kicked her boots off, leaving only her hybrid cat feet to grip the ice with. “Nice.” She dropped to all fours and charged him, intending to get a good hit on a pressure point or some such.                                                                                                       
Tezzeret Verdile: "Oof." Tezz hit the ground, taking the blow from Tree to the front. He threw himself backward and carried her momentum through to fly over and land behind him. Tezz rolled over getting back to his feet and put himself back in a defensive position, hovering two orbs in front of his fists again.                                                                                                            
Treepelt Halfpaw: She turned in midair so she landed on her feet once more, and she skidded backwards, dragging her claws through the ground. The sight of the water made her wrinkle her nose. I wonder how well he holds it together? Treepelt made another dash, this time aiming to slash through and scatter the water.                                                                                                       
Tezzeret Verdile: You’re doing well at holding yourself back now.                                                                                                            
We are one now. And she is savior.
Ah, so you respect her?
Yes.
Tezz was nearly taken off guard from how quickly she recovered. When she charged at him he let reflex take over and brought his arms crossing over his chest. Bringing the orbs together onto Tree as she crossed them and freezing it on her. But it wasn’t enough to stop her charge, or even slow it. He had to take this blow to the front again, it was already starting to wear on him. 
Treepelt Halfpaw: "Oh!" The burst of ice across her skin shocked her even more awake than her pounding heart from exercise had. It snapped and cracked as she moved backwards, rolling her shoulders in an attempt to displace the ice. He’s good. She brushed off more ice casually for a moment, and then leaped forward, swinging a leg towards his knees in an attempt to drop him to the ground.                                                                                                       
Tezzeret Verdile: Tree brought her leg around towards Tezz, he lowered himself and his center of gravity. With his off-hand he turned the snow into a sheet of ice beneath his feet. His right hand, meanwhile caught Tree’s leg and let her momentum push him backwards on the sheet of ice. He slid to the end of the ice. He put himself into a crouching position, both hands on the ground. His breathing was becoming labored.                                                                                                            
Treepelt Halfpaw: Sensing an opening, Treepelt moved forward once more, skidding on the slick ice, but managing to keep all of the force behind her attack when she pushed him. Not hard enough to cause any damage, but enough to try and get him to submit.                                                                                                       
Tezzeret Verdile: Got you.                                                                                                            
While Tree was charging Tezz froze ice around his right hand and brought it up into her stomach when she connected with him. Throwing her around him. But the force of her attack was still enough to knock him off balance. It was more than enough for a sparing match, any further and he’d have to start becoming rude. “You win.” Tezz panted as he lay in the snow.
Treepelt Halfpaw: Treepelt grinned in exhilaration and stood, helping him to his feet. “Nice job with the water. I’ll bet that comes in handy, huh?”                                                                                                       
Tezzeret Verdile: "It’s actually, kind of… new.." Tezz looked sheepishly at Tree. "Something happened with him and I. We’re working together now, and I’m trying to practice fighting with rather than against… I know it’s different from your experience with… your problem.” He had a sad sort of look in his eyes as he said this. “That was fun, by the way, but I think I may leave you to your… meditation.”                                                                                                            
Treepelt Halfpaw: "Mmm…" Treepelt cocked her head, running her fingers over her mouth. "Actually…" She grew quiet. "Doesn’t seem that different, really. There shouldn’t be anyone inside your head except your own…and if that’s the case, well…what I’m saying is, If you ever need…help…" She trailed off but hoped he understood what she meant.                                                                                                       
== Related Texts ==
The Witch's Village
Category:Season 2
Category:Events
Category:Tezzeret Verdile
Category:Treepelt Halfpaw
Category:BOTGD