A Change of Plans [PRIVATE: AC & The Whistlerify]

[AustralianChaos]

as Tanga, Sarabi and Nala also stood up, Kali smiled. "Now, for today, I think I'll just keep it basic, but mark my words, you'll soon be learning things the hard way."

She then picked up a fallen branch, the size of a small log, and placed it between her and the gathered group. "One of the simplest things you can do, in the first stages of fighting, is to learn how to use your claws to maximum effect. But to do this, you must also take care of your claws."

Kali then proceeded to demonstrate her words by using the log to sharpen her claws, scratching and pulling at the wood. "This is something you would do naturally every few days, but for a warrior it is vital that you do this every day. Blunt claws will not cause anywhere near as much damage as razor-sharp ones."

"Before we can begin any basic exercises, I need you all to sharpen your claws. I will inspect them after you're done to make sure you have done it properly. Not only can blunt claws ruin your ability to fight...blunt claws also have a higher chance of becoming damaged...a friend of mine learnt that the hard way...she snapped three claws off one of her paws one time, so badly that they never grew back."

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Tanga had to admit he was a little underwhelmed by today's session so far, but did as was asked, approaching the log and scratching away at it, filing his claws to the point where he felt he could slice the log he was working his claws on in two if he tried hard.

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Nala also got to work, giving Simba a look that clearly said this was not what she had expected.

[TheWhistlerify]

Simba also began doing as Kali did, noticing the look Nala threw at him. He could also say that this wasn't what he was expecting, but Kali said that they would soon start learning the hard way, so he didn't complain.

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Uhuru also began doing as her mother instructed, looking at what the rest are doing to make sure she was doing this right

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Marini began doing as her friends were doing. Again remembering th leopard and the razor claws he had, which had her really scared while he had her pinned before. Tanga probably knew how deadly such claws were, and she hated to say that he learned it the hard way

[AustralianChaos]

In the end, Sarabi was the first to finish, having spent many years perfecting her own technique for sharpening her claws as quickly and effectively as possible. Kali gave her paws a quick inspesction, then nodded, letting her know she was done, as she sat back and waited the others to similarly finish. "I understand this probably is not what you expected...but when it comes to being a warrior, it is often the smallest details that make the biggest difference in the end."

[TheWhistlerify]

Simba looked at his mother's claws as Kali inspected the, and was intending on trying to make them as simillar to hers as possible, since Kali said that they were okay. Once he felt like he was done he went over to Kali so she could tell him whether he was ready or not.

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Marini and Uhuru walked over to Kali while she inspected Simba's claws, both of them wandering whether their claws were sharpened enough or not

[AustralianChaos]

Kali inspected Simba's claws...he seemed to have done a clumsier job than Sarabi, but they were sharp, and so she smiled and nodded, giving him the all clear as she turned to her own daughter next. Like the others, her lack of constant experience meant she had not done the most fashionable job...but they were sharp enough to serve their purpose. Marini's claws also came up good...as did Tanga's when he finally came up. If anything, Kali mused, Tanga had almost overdone the job.

"Alright, now that we all know what it takes to keep our claws in shape, I do expect you to keep you claws sharp every day. I will be randomly inspecting you during our training from now on, so don't even think of skipping out on it."

"Now, not only is the sharpness of the claws a factor...it's how you swing as well," she said, looking amongst all of them, before deciding to put someone in the spotlight. "Allow me to show you...Marini, would you mind demonstrating a typical swing? come up here, beside me, for a moment."

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini sloly walked over to Kali. She wasn't going to demonstrate her swinging on her, was she? But Kali only wanted her to make a simple swing. She hoped she was doing what Kali expected her to when she simply swung her claw from one side to the other, keeping it at a height which should have hit someone across the hed in case she was facing anyone

[AustralianChaos]

Kali smiled as Marini made her demonstration in exactly the way she had predicted the adolescent. "Thank you, Marini. Now, everyone watch my swing, and compare it."

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As much as Tanga hated to admit it, but when Kali made her swipe at the air, the different was noticable almost instantly. Her paw moved at the same speed Marini's did, but looked like it had enough power in it to cut through rock. There was definitely something distinctive about the way Kali had moved, but Tanga couldn't quite put his paw on it.

Whatever she had done, Tanga realised, Kali certainly knew what she was doing, and realised that this must be only the start of some of the complexities of fighting they were about to learn.

[TheWhistlerify]

Marini didn't understand the difference to what she did, becaue it was the same movement speed, but the lioness seemed as if she knew what she was doing, so Marini remained silent and did like Kali did, as so did SImba and Uhuru

[AustralianChaos]

Kali smiled, before sitting abck down, gesturing to Marini that she was free to re-join her friends. "Okay, then, this is what I will start to teach you for now, since your claws will more than likely be one of your most common weapons in a fight. Now, observe..."

With that, Kali went on to shash at the log they had sharpened their claws on, leaving shallow gashes in it, although her swiping style practically matched Marini's from before. "As you can see, any old slash will do damage...but sometimes you need a bit more force, especially if you're someone like Tanga who does not have a lot of weight to throw around."

"The secret is to use your body's ability to twist and turn to its fullest. Now watch again..." Once more, Kali slashed at the log, but this time, she used her technique, and the result was once more startlingly clear. The paw strike had not moved that much faster, but the slashes in the log were longer, deeper and cleaner. "Now...a wound like that on another lion could possibly be fatal, now watch as as I do it again, only this time, I'm not going to hit the log, and I'm going to slow myself right down so you can observe exactly what I'm doing."

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Tanga watched as Kali moved with deliberate slowness, and was quite frankly amazed. As Kali raised her paw, she never moved from her sitting position, but the entire front half of her body twisted with the raised paw, turning away from them slightly. As she brough her paw down, Tanga could see that, were she moving at a normal speed, the fact that she had twisted her body like that gave her swing a lot more speed and force, as it twisted back with the paw. But as Tanga continued to watch, he saw that that was not all. As she swung, both her elbow and wrist on the swinging forepaw flexed as she swiped, which lent even more speed and strength. Even in this slow form, Tanga could tell that that swing, at normal speed, would have been very, very deadly.

"Wow!" he breathed, sharing a look at Marini, his eyes wide with what he had just witnessed.

[TheWhistlerify]

Simba was also observing, trying to pick on the sligtest differences Kali had put into her swing.The twitch in her body and her flexing of her elbow and paw wrist seemed to make a very big difference in the swing's strength and speed, and most likely added alot more than he had anticipated.

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Marini's thought were simillar to Tanga's. She was also amazed that those small differences could make a big difference when it came to making demage on an opponent, and the way Kali had done it normally before didn't make it seem like it required effort than a regular swing. A few minutes ago the training did not seem like what she expected at all, but now she saw everything in a total different way. She kept looking, deciing to make sure she remembered everything Kali demonstrated before trying for herself