Training in the cold

Frostpaw got up from his nest and stretched, his legs, stiff from the cold nights of leaf-bare. As he slipped out of the den he felt refreshed by the crisp air though. He sauntered over to the fresh-kill pile and took a scrawny mouse for himself, maybe he and his mentor would go hunting today and he would have a better meal later. Finished with his meal Frostpaw looked around for Mudfoot's dark red fur. Frostpaw had spent the whole previous day taking are of the elders, so he was raring to go do some warrior training. He located Mudfoot and ran over, practically bouncing around him. "Good morning Mudfoot! What kind of training are we doing today? are we going to see the other side of the territory?"

Giving a nod to the apprentice, Mudfoot stood up, ready to get started. "The clan needs prey and tonight we're going to get some hunting done," he mewed with a smile. "And yes, I suppose we can visit the other side of the territory," he added with a smile and started heading towards the entrance. The night was still young, but he knew that they needed to start hunting before it got too cold.

Frostpaw once again followed Mudfoot out of camp, this time turning the other way. He wondered if he would see the Carrionplace. Every kit had heard endless stories of it from the elders and apprentices. But finding prey was the important part now, Frostpaw opened his mouth and took in the scents around him. He was looking for the familiar scent of a frog or toad, but it seemed all he could smell was peat. He looked at Mudfoot, curious to see how the warrior went about hunting.

"We'll get some hunting done and if we catch a decent amount of prey, I was thinking of showing you the CarrionPlace," the warrior mewed to Frostpaw, hoping it was a good enough play for the night ahead of them. Although part of him didn't want to go to the wretched smelling place from bad past experiences, he couldn't deny his apprentice the little adventure and remembered how much he'd wanted to visit the place when he was an apprentice.

Padding into the territory, Mudfoot stopped near the center of the thickly wooded forest. "Let's get some hunting done, shall we?" he said with a smile, ready to stretch his legs.

OOC: Just a note, we do NOT need to use the official hunting system since this is just a regular hunting patrol and not a hunting assessment.

"Yes, Mudfoot" Frostpaw meowed. He padded lightly through the forest sniffing around for prey. Suddenly, he heard the croak of a toad. He crept silently towards the noise, and saw the Toad poised on the edge of a large puddle across a stretch of open ground. Frostpaw burst across the ground and slammed his paws down on... nothing. The toad had leapt across the puddle and was taunting him with a head peeking out from the water.

"Make sure to leep your rump down, tail off the floor, and walk slowly," he meowed, watching the apprentice lost the frog. "When stalking prey or even an enemy cat, you never want them to hear your pawsteps and even your breathing might lead them to detect you," he meowed, a soft smile on his muzzle.

Frostpaw listened intently, and meowed "OK, Mudfoot, I'll try again."

He stalked off through the swampy forest once again with his mouth open, tasting the air for prey. He scented a lizard. It was on top of a large rock some distance away. Frostpaw felt self-conscious about how high to hold his tail as he crept forward. Once he was only a fox-length or two away Frostpaw pounced, and hooked the lizard in his claws. He bit down, then walked back to Mudfoot, his eyes sparkling. "My first piece of prey" he declared proudly.

Watching as the apprentice started hunting again, Mudfoot was glad to see the quick improvement in the young cat. "Good job!" the warrior exclaimed, bounding through the marshy ground and over to Frostpaw. "With hunting like that, you'll make a warrior in no time," he purred with a smile. "Now that you have the basics down, how about you try to hunt a little more and then we'll head back?" he asked, satisfied with how the night had turned out.

Frostpaw basked in the compliment of his mentor, then once again started to quietly move through his territory. His blue and grey pelt melted into the shadows, and as he neared the swamp, he heard the scrabbling of a water vole. Frostpaw stalked up to the edge of the reeds, then shot through them, and leaped on the vole. His satisfaction was slightly soured by the fact that his paws were all muddy now, but he shrugged and headed back to Mudfoot. "Now I know why you are called Mudfoot if you like to hunt around here!" He laughed.

Following Frostpaw, the warrior watched his apprentice hunt and in no time, a water vole was dropped at his paws. "Yeah, I guess that's why I got this name," he chuckled in agreement. "How about we head back to camp then? I'd call tonight a successful hunt," the warrior meowed with a smile and turned towards the direction of camp.

Frostpaw picked up his catches and followed Mudfoot back. As the neared camp he realized how tired he was, and had to stifle a yawn so he didn't drop his prey. Placing the fresh-kill in the pile, Frostpaw padded off to the apprentices den, meowing "Good night, Mudfoot" as he went. He was practically asleep on is paws.

Giving a nod to his apprentice who soon disappeared into the apprentice den, Mudfoot was satisfied with the day's turnout and was glad that Frostpaw was headed on the right path in becoming a warrior.

OOC: Topic over.