Today's the Day (Closed)

Swoopnose padded over to the prey pile, waiting for Flintpaw to emerge from the apprentice's den. As always, he didn't belive in waking apprentice's up on their first day, so he waited patiently, munching on a mouse while he waited.

Flintpaw blinked open his eyes sleepily, rolling over on his back to gaze through the ferns and into the sky. The sun's up already... The tabby tom thought, closing his eyes again.

"The sun's up already!!" Flintpaw squeaked in realization, jumping out of his moss nest, fallen leaves clinging to his gray tabby pelt. The tom's eyes widened with dread, remembering how his new mentor, Swoopnose had told him that training was to start at dawn tomorrow. And, glancing at the sky again, Flintpaw realized that it was quite some time past dawn. "Mousedung!" The apprentice spat, grooming himself as fast as a cat could. After Flintpaw had removed the last leaf from his pelt, the tom shot outside the Apprentice's Den, head swinging wildly, in search of his mentor. His mentor. Flintpaw's eyes narrowed. The tabby wasn't in a hurry because of his mentor. In fact, Flintpaw thought that, as an apprentice, he was perfectly capable of exploring the territory himself, without a warrior bossing him around. Flintpaw was in a hurry because he didn't want to be told no. The tom thought that if he didn't leave with his mentor when told to, he'd be denied the right to see the territory entirely. They wouldn't do that... Flintpaw thought, green eyes scanning the premises.

"Phew..." The gray tabby sighed, a weight being lifted off his chest as he spotted Swoopnose next to the fresh-kill pile, munching on a mouse. "Swoopnose?" Flintpaw panted, padding up to the warrior. "I'm ready to go now...sorry"

"Good morning, Flintpaw," Swoopnose greeted, lip curling in amusement at Flintpaw's flustered appearance. Most mentors would be mad if their apprentice slept in, but it was the first day and he wasn't that strict. As an apprentice, nightmares of facing Specklefang's wrath for sleeping in had kept him up at night, and he didn't want any apprentice of his to have to go through a similar experience. "No need to be sorry, it's just you first day. You can grab a mouse to eat and then we will be on our way." Waiting for the younger tom to eat, he wondered if he should tell him what they would be doing that day. He might appreciate it, and there was no use in not doing so. About to open his mouth, he realized that unlike usual, he didn't have a detailed plan for the first day of training. Basically just hunting. So that's what he said. "Today I'm going to teach you how to hunt."

Flintpaw's pelt smoothed over as he heard his mentors words. So he's not mad... Flintpaw thought, relived. This means we'll still be able to see the territory!
The gray tabby slinked over the fresh-kill pile, dragging a plump mouse from the top. The apprentice sank his teeth into the soft flesh, twitching his whiskers and swallowing. "We're going hunting?" Flintpaw mewed excitedly, licking his lips. "This'll be good!" The tom glanced at the mouse at his paws, thinking about how soon, he would be catching prey like this himself. "I'll finally be able to catch something like this!"
A subtle purr stirred inside Flintpaw as he sat down to finish his meal.

Dried leaves fell around him, the trees stirring in the wind. He closed his eyes at the sound of birds overhead, flying somewhere warmer for leafbare.
Flintpaw stood up, fluffing out his pelt, and licking the remaining mouse from his lips. "Finished!" The tabby purred. "I'm ready to go!"

"Great. Let's get going," Swoopnose replied, smiling warmly. Oh how good it felt to have a sense of purpose again. Training Flintpaw just might be what allowed him to keep living happily. Standing up, he dispensed of the mice bones and started towards the camp's exit. He could never quite remember how he felt the first time he left the confines of camp. Probably a mix of fear and excitement, after all he had been apprenticed to Specklefang, who had a reputation of being a great warrior but also not on the kind side. Hopefully his apprentice was only feeling the excitement right now and not the fear. Stepping from the ravine and into the forest, the dirt squished satisfyingly beneath his paws, releasing a nice earthy scent. There was a crispness in the air that reminded everyone of the fact that it was indeed Leaffall, along with the vibrant colors that had begun to feel the trees. Leading the way into the forest, he made his way towards his favorite hunting spot. Prey was more plentiful there and would be an ideal hunting place for a beginner, even though that wasn't necessary. All the prey was scurrying about with an aura of urgency, preparing for their long hide-away in Leafbare. "We're heading towards the Great Sycamore, where I'll give you a small hunting lesson. Do you have any questions before we get there?"

Flintpaw shook out his pelt as the two cats breached the gorse tunnel, shivering in the cold leaf-fall wind."Isn't the Great Sycamore the biggest tree in Thunderclan?" The apprentice asked, tracing the silhouette of tree trunks with his eyes. Is it bigger than all these trees? He thought, excitement sparking within his mind. "What will we catch there? What will we do with the prey once we catch it?" Flintpaw kneaded the ground with his paws, tearing up old leaves and dirt. The gray tabby wore an inquisitive look on his face as he gazed up at his mentor expectingly. "Why can't we eat the things we catch?" He cocked his head, starting on the trail again, following Swoopnose. "I mean we'll definitely catch more for the queens and kits right?" The tom shook his head, pondering. "Nevermind!" He shrugged, watching the sky, content. He bounded after Swoopnose in silence, following his mentor's tail as it traversed through the undergrowth. Flintpaw closed his eyes and purred. He loved the way the chilly wind tugged at his fur, and the way the flame-colored leaves fell around him. I can't wait to catch something! Flintpaw thought, exhaling into the wind.

"The Great Sycamore is probably one of the biggest trees in the forest, and prey is attracted to its roots. We will mainly be catching mice and squirrels today, I'll save rabbits and birds for some other time.  We can't eat things we catch fight away because there are other cats that need it more than us. Yes, there are queens and kits, but there are also elders, sick cats, injured cats, and medicine cats who can't hunt for themselves but still need to eat,"  Swoopnose explained cheerfully, glad he could clear up some things for Flintpaw. He was proving to be his most energetic apprentice so far, which wasn't a bad thing. For once, his apprentice seemed more enthusiastic than scared about learning to hunt. Continuing to walk at a reasonable pace, they soon arrived at their destination. Large knotted roots seemed to tumble through the soil around their paws and a thick trunk covered by rough bark extended upwards until branching out into an abundance of branches. Leaffall was just beginning to set the foliage ablaze with bight reds and soft yellows, though a bit of green still remained. Perfect hunting conditions. "This is the Great Sycamore, where I'll be teaching you how to hunt. First, you'll need to know how to scent the air properly. Open your mouth and breath in deeply through your mouth and nose. Once you pick up a prey scent, you walk in the direction it's coming from until you see it. Now let's say you found a mouse. When you are about four tail-lengths away from it, crouch down like this." Pausing, he demonstrated the proper hunting crouch. "Your weight has to be distributed evenly throughout your paws, and you have to make sure your tail and chest don't bad touch the ground. Silently, you would move towards the mouse until it is close enough to pounce on. When you're close enough and the mouse isn't looking at you, you pounce on it as quickly as you can. You would immobilize it with your paws before killing it with a bite to the back of its neck. Then all you have to do is thank StarClan and you're done." Smiling at the apprentice, he allowed a bit of time for his words to start sinking in. "Any questions before I demonstrate?"


OOC: The hunting system is found here. It's actually pretty simple. You choose a piece of prey from the list and write your character's attempt at catching it, not yet writing if they are successful or not. Then you click "preview" instead of send. It will take you to a page where you see a preview for your post, and scroll down to below the editing box. There is an option for dice rolls. Choose "Hunting Dice" and choose 1  as the number of rolls. Then you press the send button. Below your post, there is a post that says what number you rolled. You go to the link I included and look at the piece of prey you selected and your clan to see if you were successful or not. If Flintpaw was hunting a mouse, any number 1-6 would be successful, and any number 7-9 would be unsuccessful. That is because he is in ThunderClan trying to catch a rodent. If you roll a 10, that means you are attacked by a predator. If that happens, I'll go into more detail on what to do. I'll use the hunting system in my next post, and feel free to ask any questions you have.

Flintpaw narrowed his eyes, watching his mentor. "I don't have any questions..." The tom breathed. His gaze shifted from Swoopnose to the large tree they now stood under. The Great Sycamore! The gray tabby thought excitedly, heart leaping. It's huge!! The apprentice felt quite small as he took in the vast expanse of forest around him. The trees towered over his head, red, orange, and yellow leaves creating a canopy that blanketed the sky. Ferns and bracken circled the two cats, and leaf mulch and dirt rested under their paws. Flintpaw peered into the undergrowth, realizing that much of the prey could be hiding there. If cats found the forest to be a suitable home, it was no doubt that mice and birds felt that way too. He watched his mentor with anticipation, and the forest grew quiet. The apprentice slowed his breathing and cocked his head, focusing hard. It dawned on Flintpaw that he had never seen prey being caught before. I need to pay attention. The tabby thought, I gotta be able to do this on my own..."I'm ready to watch..." The tom whispered, his heart beat quickening.

"Awesome," Swoopnose said, a smile forming across his maw despite his attempts to stop it. As nervous as Flintpaw was, he was confident that the young tom would be able to catch prey easily in no time. Exaggerating each movement to show his point, he opened his mouth and scented the air, soon catching the whiff of a mouse. Following the scent to about a quarter of the way around the tree, he spotted it, concealed in the roots and nearly invisible. Though it did seem to be trying to keep hidden, it was facing the opposite direction as he was, and seemed to have no idea that he was there. Crouching low to the ground, he padded towards it in near silence, paws steps light and inaudible as a shadow. Now the mouse was about two tail-lengths away. A little closer than he would usually recommend, but the roots posed a challenge that forced him to come a little closer than he normally would. Shifting his weight ever so slightly onto his hind legs, he prepared for a pounce, eyes locking on the small rodent. Without warning, he pounced. In a heartbeat, one paw came down in front of the mouse, blocking its only escape. His other paw came down on its back, momentarily stunning it. However, hardly any of those details could be seen before his teeth had found its neck, jaws clamping shut quickly to make for a clean killing bite. Whispering his thanks to StarClan, he gingerly picked up the limp body of the mouse and brought it back over to his apprentice. Lacking any explanation, he dug a small indent in some loose dirt and dropped the mouse inside, kicking the soil back over to bury it. On the day he gave a lesson on predators he would explain this, but for now they would just focus on the hunting part of what he had just demonstrated. Turning back to face the young tom, he couldn't help but to feel some excitement to see this new apprentice make his first catch, It was an important part of any clan cat's life, and he was glad that he was there to witness this event. "Are you ready to catch your own?"

The member 'The Squirrelnosed Zombie' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

Flintpaw's eyes widened as Swoopnose lept at something unseen.
The apprentice gasped when his mentor lifted his head, a limp mouse in his jaws.
"You got it!" The gray tabby mewed with excitement, tilting his head in effort to see the freshly caught prey once more before Swoopnose buried it under the dirt. A smile grew on the tom's face, and he turned toward the undergrowth, pelt prickling with anticipation. Flintpaw sucked in a breath of air, the crispness of it doing nothing to cool his nerves. I guess it's my turn now... The apprentice gulped, unsure of whether to feel nervous or ecstatic. He was impressed by how quickly Swoopnose had made the catch, and wanted badly to do the same.
Flintpaw shifted his gaze to The Great Sycamore, lifting his nose and parting his lips slightly, attempting to catch a whiff of prey. The tabby sighed when his nose wielded no results. Frustrated, the tom padded into the undergrowth that circled the massive tree, being extra careful to keep his paws away from sticks, or anything that woud make noise and give him away.

The apprentice's head whipped around in a flash, spotting movement out of the corner of his eye. Flintpaw fell into a crouch, attempting to copy Swoopnose's movements. He felt a little awkward, with his hind legs so far out from under him. Like a frog... Flintpaw snorted, hiding a smile. It took all the tom's effort to still his tail. With a deep breath, Flintpaw peered from under a fern, spotting his prey. A mouse! The tabby thought, Green eyes narrowing to slits. Slowly, he stalked forward, ears trembiling with the effort. As the mouse caught Flintpaw's eye, the apprentice lept, heaving with the force.

Landing square on his paws, Flintpaw turned his head to nip the soft flesh of his catch, ending its life with a killing bite. Adrenaline shot through the cat as he lifted his head, his first prey held firmly in his jaws. "I did it!!" Flintpaw shouted through the mouse, sounding a little muffled. The tabby put his catch down and exhaled with excitement. "Did you see that?" The apprentice gasped, his tail flicking wildly. A grin grew on his face. And, closing his eyes, Flintpaw felt he could fight all of Tigerclan if he wanted. "Woooooohooooo!" Flintpaw shouted at the trees, laughing. "Bring it on, forest! You're no match for Flintpaw!"

The member 'lemongrass' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

OOC: Really? A 10? Well, you can find the battle system here. Because Flintpaw hasn't had battle training yet, he would probably only know front paw blow, front paw strike, and belly rake as of now. You can see how much damage it does and how much stamina it costs on that page, and I'll show how to write that out. Apprentices have 20 health and 80 stamina, by the way. 


"That was amazing!" Swoopnose praised, just barely stopping himself from doubling over in laughter. As it was, a few amused purrs escaped his mouth and a grin spread across his face. Flintpaw's excitement was amusing, but it also brought a feeling of warm and weightlessness to him. Picking up the mouse his apprentice had caught, he buried it along with his, not making a sound as he watched the show of excitement. While he had quite a bit of criticism that he could have given the young tom, he held back. In the near future they could work on making cleaner catches, but for a a little while he would let his apprentice have his moment. However, there was a small something he wanted to address before moving on. Though the cleanness of a catch could wait, the warrior code could not. "Just one thing, Flintpaw. Remember to thank StarClan after you catch something. It's okay that you forgot, but it is part of the warrior code and you should get into the habit of doing so." Hopefully that wouldn't break the tom's excitement-fueled confidence, and would also help him to remember that their ancestors deserved to be thanked. Quickly deciding what they should do next, he settled on hunting squirrels. Though the technique was pretty much the same, there were a few key differences that needed to be taught.
 "You did a great job at hunting mice, so now we are going to be hunting some squirrels. While they are caught in a similar way, there are a few differences. While mice head for cover in the ground, squirrels head for cover in the trees. That actually makes it easier, in my opinion. And remember how I told you to be light on your paws? That's because mice had feel the vibrations you make in the ground with loud steps. Squirrels, on the other paw, are more likely to see or smell you. The only thing those things change are that you want to be between the squirrel and the tree, and you want to make slower movements. Otherwise, it's very similar. Watch," Swoopnose educated. Even to him that sounded a bit confusing, but hopefully Flintpaw could understand it. Besides, a demonstration would always help. Scenting the air, he quickly caught the scent of a squirrel. They seemed to be everywhere in Leaffall. Plus they were a bit bigger than mice, so they had become his favorite prey early on. Following his nose, he found the fluffy gray creature, nibbling on what seemed to be an acorn. Crouching down, he predicted what would be the fastest getaway for the rodent, and shifted himself to be between the squirrel and that tree. Low to the ground, he slowly stalked towards it, until he was close enough to pounce. But before he could leap for it, something else beat him to it. A large eagle swooped down and grabbed the squirrel in its talons, killing it instantly. The moment it spotted the two cats, it dropped the dead squirrel, having a much bigger meal in mind. Swooping down once more, it attempted to lift the warrior right off of the ground, but he wriggled out of its grip, talon marks cutting into his flesh. Falling to the ground, he reared up onto his hind legs, sending his claws flying at the bird, the weight of his paws beginning to knock it off balance. "Flintpaw! Attack it with unsheathed claws! Aim for its stomach!"


Eagle used Swoop on Swoopnose, dealing 20 damage and costing 20 stamina. <--- Eagle's attack
Swoopnose used Upright Front Paws on Eagle, dealing 15 damage and costing 20 stamina. <---Swoopnose's attack


Swoopnose:
60/80 <--- Swoop's health
220/240 <--- Swoop's stamina


Eagle:
45/60 <--- Eagle's health
180/200 <--- Eagle's Stamina

The member 'The Squirrelnosed Zombie' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

OOC: This hunting patrol went from 0 to 100 real quick, best day ever LOL

Flintpaw held his head high at the sound of Swoopnose's praise. His heart felt warm, and he realized he quite liked his mentor. He watched as the tabby buried his catch in the dirt. I'll thank Starclan next time... Flintpaw thought, wincing. He hoped his ancestors wouldn't punish him for forgetting.
The apprentice sat back on his haunches, listening to Swoopnose contently, although Flintpaw's gaze would drift off from time to time. The gray tabby was fascinated by the sound the trees made as their branches rustled together with the wind.
Flintpaw shook his head and focused back on Swoopnose, realizing his mentor had been speaking to him; "...and you want to make slower movements. Otherwise, it's very similar. Watch."
Watch? Watch what? Flintpaw turned his head as Swoopnose stood up and scented the air. What is he smelling for? Then the apprentice caught the scent too. Squirrel! Flintpaw slowed his breathing as his mentor stalked toward the gray creature. It was gnawing on a seed of some kind, nestled in the roots of a tree. Flintpaw cocked his head and focused, hoping to learn something from watching rather than listening. The tabby noticed Swoopnose's muscles tense as he prepared to pounce, but suddenly his mentor was overtaken by a shadow.
Looking up in awe, Flintpaw gazed upon the biggest bird he had ever seen. The tabby had only heard stories about birds this big from the elders, strong enough to carry off an apprentice, and quick enough to kill with a clasp of a talon. "An eagle!" He yowled, eyes growing wide in terror. The bird swooped in and grasped the squirrel from the ground, snapping its neck with huge claws. Gazing on in horror, Flintpaw saw the bird diving for his mentor. "Swoopnose!!" He called, trying to warn the tabby tom. The eagle attempted to lift his mentor from the ground, but Swoopnose wriggled free. Flintpaw winced as he saw the talon marks left on Swoopnose's pelt, feeling a pang of worry for his mentor.
Flintpaw flattened to the ground as the bird came for him next, squeezing his eyes shut in fear. Starclan help me! With a searing pain, he felt huge talons rip across his shoulders, blood staining his gray tabby pelt. Hissing, Flintpaw rolled out from under the bird, terrified of being lifted into the sky by the bird's huge claws. His ears were ringing and his vision was fuzzy. In a state on defiance, Flintpaw shot a paw into the air, yowling with vigor as he felt his claws make contact with the eagle's underbelly. As the eagle swooped upward, Flintpaw staggered backward, feeling weak. "Swoopnose what do we do!?" He called to his mentor shakily, adrenaline shooting through his body.


Eagle used Talon Strike on Flintpaw, dealing 10 damage and costing 10 stamina.
Flintpaw used Front Paw Strike on Eagle, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 stamina.


Flintpaw:
10/20 HP
70/80 SP


Eagle:
39/60 HP
170/200 SP