Training for Thistlepaw [closed]

Smokepelt padded to the apprentice sleeping area and found Thistlepaw sleeping soundly in the group of apprentices. "Thistlepaw, wake up," the tom meowed softly, nudging the smaller cat with his paw. Today they'd get some training done and hopefully have time to hunt and work on some battling skills.

Thistlepaw was woken from a nonexistant dream, bleary blue eyes finding their way to smokepelt. Realization floated through the new apprentice, he was an apprentice! I'm outside of camp! The young tom jumped to his paws, and eagerly scooted past his snoozing den mates to meet Smokepelt.

The deputy made his way to the freshkill pile and pointed towards it with his tail. "I'd advise you to grab a snack, today is going to be a long day," he meowed.

Thrilled with the words 'long day' he wasted no time to meet his mentor by the fresh kill, being out for the entire day meant he would get any ounce of training he could possibly desire. Sure, he would probably be tired, but who cared! He was about to do what every young kit longed to do.

Thistlepaw stopped at the pile and loomed over it for a moment, soon he would be the one dropping prey here. The young apprentice picked up a small, but plump rabbit and began to dig in. He glanced up at Smokepelt, wondering if he was going to eat anything as well. "You want a bite?" He offered.

Smokepelt gave a polite nod. "Thanks for offering, but I've already had my fill for the day," he meowed to the apprentice and took a few steps towards the camp entrance. "Let's get going then."

Fracturedpaw gulped down the rest of the remaining prey and quickly caught up to Smokepelt again. His pelt was twitching with eagerness to learn, and begin his journey of becoming a warrior.

Smokepelt padded out of camp and onto the open WindClan moor. The tom somewhat liked that Thistlepaw wasn't a bit talker, for he wasn't exactly the best at conversation either. Letting out a yawn, the two walked in silence before they reached a small hill that sat like a beacon in the middle of the moor. From here, the deputy would be able to watch his apprentice hunt easier. "Let's start with hunting first," he meowed, sitting down.

Thistlepaw stayed close behind, a light smile resting on his muzzle. The young apprentice glanced up at his mentor, envying his place in the clan, maybe I could be deputy one day, he dreamed the thought but easily knew that wasn't very likely. His ears perked at the words hunting, we're starting with hunting! He thought excitedly, eager to begin with the thing he wanted to do most, well, apart from battle training.

"Great! I already know how to do the hunting crouch thing, decently, my mother taught me!" He chimed, eager to show his mentor he knew at least one thing. He remembered his mother telling how to be quiet, but a lot of everything else was blurry and muffled. He shook out his pelt and sat down as well.

Sitting on the top of the small hill with his apprentice standing next to him, Smokepelt gave a nod. "Well, since you seem to already know how to crouch, why don't you show me what you've got?" he meowed, grabbing a small rock and pushing it in front of him so Thistlepaw could practice before trying to hunt live prey.

Thistlepaw just nodded, and quickly focused his eyes on the small rock that was placed before him. It felt like the distance was a little close, he glanced back up at his mentor before nudging the stone a little further away, which gave him a larger distance to leap. He settled back again, and finally crouched down, his tail low and level, that part he remembered. The young apprentice kept his cool blue gaze on the stone, taking in every blemish and crack on it's surface.

He lunged, his hind legs giving him power in his leap. He pretty much nose dived right onto the rock, which hit his muzzle rather hard. He pulled back with a hiss of frustration and pain. Shaking himself to his senses he looked at Smokepelt. Sure, this apprentice knew how to crouch, but he definitely didn't know how to actually pounce prey. Perphaps his cockyness got in the way of his learning.

Smokepelt watched the apprentice and sure enough, his intuition was right. Thistlepaw may have known how to crouch, but crouching was only a basic part of hunting. The grey tom met his son's gaze and couldn't help but smile. No matter what, he'd always have a soft spot for the younger generation. "Well, it's a good start," he meowed in his usual soft tone and stood up. A few steps from the small rock, Smokepelt crouched down as if it were a real piece of prey.

"Always have your hackles down, especially your tail, but make sure it doesn't touch the ground or the prey is as good as gone," he meowed, looking to Thistlepaw and then back at the rock, adjusting his crouch. Without hesitation, he leaped at the rock with a sort of graceful essence to it, landing perfectly on it. Standing up and giving his fur a quick shake, he made his way back over to the apprentice and sat down, facing Thistlepaw. "The most important thing to remember is to relax, never tense up. Let your muscles relax and don't overthink it. Hunting is something that comes from our instincts, you can't force it."

Looking back to the rock with his gaze still at Thistlepaw and a smile on his muzzle, Smokepelt motioned with his head for the apprentice to try again.

Thistlepaw flicked an ear, "okay..." He said before trailing off, now focusing on the stone again. He had watched Smokepelt well, noting how he landed and what he looked like when he was crouching. The young apprentice then crouched down, trying to mimic what his mentor had done in the best way possible.

Then, he lunged, this time slightly more graceful. He landed, feeling the stone cupped around his paws. Thistlepaw perked his ears, I got it! He turned to face his mentor, a wide smile covering his muzzle. "I did it!" He cheered, even though it wasn't as good as what Smokepelt had demonstrated.

Smokepelt watched his apprentice and gave a nod of approval, glad to see the young tom improving. "Good job," he meowed and stopped when the scent of prey hit his nose. "But now, let's test your skills on real prey," Smokepelt added and looked to the moor and then back to Thistlepaw.

Thistlepaw flicked an ear, real prey? He released his grip on the stone and turned to his mentor. "There's prey nearby?" He asked in a hushed tone, quickly scenting the air. He had no idea what prey out on the open moor smelled like, only the dead prey in camp. There was still a familiar whiff to the air though, which he guessed was the prey Smokepelt had scented.

Smokepelt gave a nod and motioned with his tail in the direction that they prey was in. The Deputy said nothing more, knowing that in order for his son to learn, he'd need to take charge of the situation by himself instead of having Smokepelt hold his paw the whole time.