Hunt the Prey! [Training Topic - CLOSED for Broken]

Sunpelt awoke in the warriors' den. He got up and stretched. Suddenly, he thought of his apprentice. I haven't taken Eaglepaw out for a few days. I should take him hunting this morning. Sunpelt hurriedly padded out of the makeshift warriors' den and padded over to the apprentices' den. He saw his apprentice's sleeping body in its nest. "Eaglepaw!" Sunpelt called. "I'm taking you out hunting today. And if you happened to be wondering, battle training will be in two days," he added jokingly, though he let a stern note enter his sentence.

He waited outside the apprentices' den for Eaglepaw to appear. Hopefully it won't take long, Sunpelt thought bitterly to himself. As much as he loved training an apprentice, he hated being stubbornly held up by a sleepy Eaglepaw.

Sunpelt laughed. "Hello, Eaglepaw," he greeted his apprentice warmly. "Today I'm going to teach you to hunt, and we'll bring back as much prey as we can. If you're up to it, tomorrow we'll go on a hunting patrol with the Clan. Sound good?" he checked, turning towards the entrance to the Sunningrocks camp, ready to leave. He hadn't hunted since that patrol with Cloverpaw, Fawnpaw, and Flamestripe, and it would be good to sink his teeth into prey.

Sunpelt nodded, and took the lead. He led his apprentice towards the unburnt part of the forest and stopped beside a moss-covered oak tree root. He cleared he throat, and mewed, "The first thing you need to know about hunting is knowing the techniques for hunting each separate piece of prey. A mouse can hear you well, so you need to keep your belly fur from brushing the ground. Pretend you're stalking a mouse. As you're doing it, I'll help out with your form. But remember to keep your belly fur from brushing the ground, and let your paws fall to the ground soundlessly. Keep your weight in your haunches." As Sunpelt was explaining these details of hunting, his mind was somewhat drifting to what Hawkstrike had taught him when he was an apprentice. He tried to keep every detail that she had told him in what he taught Eaglepaw.

Sunpelt purred in amusement. "No!" he corrected his apprentice between laughs. Wow, this is fun! he thought, joking to himself. Still chuckling, he padded closer to Eaglepaw. "I mean like this!" He demonstrated the hunter's crouch yet again, waggling his hindquarters for effect. "You keep your weight in your hindquarters, to simple it," Sunpelt explained. "So that you have no weight but your bones and flesh in your forequarters. Try it again, and this time be serious," he added, suppressing another laugh. Once you got to know Eaglepaw, he could be quite enjoyable!

Sunpelt purred. "Yes, perfect. Very good job. Now we're going to practice scenting prey from far away. It's a skill that will probably come naturally to you. Obviously, you know what mice smell like," he continued. "but not from far away. Scents of prey differ from how far away they are, and I'm going to teach you what they smell like from farther away." Sunpelt opened his mouth and breathed in deeply. He smelled the musky smell of mouse, with also a little softer scent that indicated it was far away. "I know you know how to scent, but I'm just going to give you a suggestion: when you scent, just think of what the prey smells like normally. And then block out all other scents to smell for the particular piece of prey you're scenting. Try it. Then you can use your crouch to catch a mouse. And you don't have to stay right here, you can go off on your own. I'll be watching, but trying not to distract you or the prey." He flicked his tail, indicating that Eaglepaw could go hunt a mouse.