here we are again (closed)

"Okay, this makes sense so far, but- question," Morningpaw asked, pushing herself up as she looked around. "The Thunderpath is what separates us from ShadowClan- it's what stops them from sending their cats into our territory all the time, and vice versa, and it means we know 'this is my land and this is your land'."

The apprentice paused for a moment, then continued, "But what about the other clans? How do we know where they are and where we are and if we're going too far?"

Olivestone nodded along and flicked her tail.
"How we tell what territory belongs to who is by scent marking. Patrols go out daily to refresh the markers so the other Clans know that the moors belong to us, or that the marsh belongs to ShadowClan, and so on. Where borders are have been disputed a lot, but WindClan is lucky that we're the only Clan that truly wants to live out on the moors, which means that we hardly get any other Clan encroaching on our borders. That isn't to say that it never happens, but it happens a lot less than I'd imagine it'd happening than, say, between ThunderClan and SkyClan!"

She started along the border that led away from Fourtrees and towards RiverClan.
"Now, RiverClan is the only Clan that proudly swims. They are also the only Clan that makes fish the main part of their diet, much like how we make rabbits and hares ours. Personally, I'll never be able to understand their taste for fish and swimming, but I guess they'll never understand the joys of the wind in your face as you run."

Another nod, another useful nugget of information to add to her growing pile- Morningpaw loved learning about this kind of thing. It was so much simpler than StarClan politics, and it was actual warrior stuff. She loved actual warrior stuff! So with a firm nod to show she understood, she followed along, saying after a few moments;

"They're missing out. Having to run through the trees like ThunderClan and SkyClan? Nooo thank-you, too cramped- and I know I'd rather roll in nettles than have to only ever eat fish. But I don't know if--"

A low growl cut off the apprentice's words, and she gave a quick scan of the grass around her almost instinctively (good awareness-) before looking back at her stomach. (-And bad common sense.) "Now might be a good time to find one of those hares though..."

Olivestone let out a purr as she realized that her own stomach was yelling at her about hunger.
"Let's hunt, then, and lets hope we have better luck than we did last time, yeah? Though, I have one more place to show you."

She led the way away to the gorge, its roar growing louder as the pair approached.
"This is the gorge, and as you can see, it's a long drop down. It's survivable - if you're lucky. A couple of our Clanmates have fallen in and lived to tell the tale, but it's better to just steer clear of it if you can."

The gorge. Even the name of the area gave Morningpaw the chills; something felt... wrong, here. She couldn't quite put her claw on it, but this wasn't a place that brought her any kind of joy- reluctantly, she stepped a little closer as Olivestone described the area, staring down into the endless abyss and raging currents and jagged rocks and- she could just see herself falling down there with a single misstep, the wind consoling her as she whirled through the air, landing with enough force to break every bone in her body two times over, being dragged away by the currents and sent up to StarClan in an instant-

-okay, maybe she just wasn't good with heights. Cats were meant to stay on the ground, after all, not soar through the skies like birds (or SkyClan, for that matter). But with a forced smile, she took a few careful steps back to safety, mewing hurriedly, "Okay, great, wonderful, we've seen the gorge- nothing left to see here, let's go somewhere else?"

Olivestone had wondered more than once what it'd be like to actually fly the narrow canal instead of falling in it, but knew that the closest she'd get to flight was to run as fast as she could, or maybe to jump really far. Nonetheless, she took a step back and met with Morningpaw, and she couldn't help but smile at the apprentice's words.
"Yeah, let's go. It's dangerous here."

She led the way away from the deadly drop and back into the heart of WindClan territory, coming to a stop on a low hill. Hares were grazing near their warrens on the next hill, and she crouched down, tasting the air.
"Remember what I showed you? It's okay if you don't, I can teach you again."

"I remember!", Morningpaw replied proudly, thinking back to her many, many late night-drills based on the tips Olivestone gave her almost a whole moon ago. Maybe she should've been resting and playing and having fun, but- well, when she was a kit, pretending to be a warrior was fun. And now, it was time to demonstrate her skills.

"Stay downwind, keep low- but not brushing against the ground-, and move when the wind does to mask your sound. Get up real close, jump- measured, not fast- and go for the neck." The apprentice's hunting theory was perfect- her implementation, however, merely adequate. Morningpaw's tail swished back and forth in anticipation as she lowered herself into a hunting crouch, creating just enough noise that a particularly observant prey might notice.

((okay here we go--

Morningpaw attempted to catch a hare, costing 5 3 (Newleaf!) SP. 20/20 HP, 77/80 SP remaining.))

As the apprentice approached the hare, its nose lifted to wiggle in the air- and Morningpaw froze for just a moment, the situation oh-too-familiar. Her eyes glanced perpendicular to the hare, scanning for the telltale horrible beak and horrible wings and horrible teeth- and it wasn't much, but the delay was just enough for the hare to spot her tail swishing in the grass and make a bolt away from her--
--but all that running had paid off as Morningpaw dove after it, her claws unsheathed. She was faster than she had any right to be, her determination to prove herself to Olivestone giving her just a little extra push- and the hare almost escaped, a hare's whisker (literally) from slipping free and surviving for another day- but 'almost' meant nothing here.

The apprentice tackled the hare, using the same leaping-and-holding strategy she'd seen Olivestone attempt on the goose- and with a quick bite to the back of the neck and a claw to the front, the prey's struggling ceased. After a moment of conflicted hesitation, she looked up at the sky and murmured, "Thank you, StarClan," and turned back to Olivestone.

"I'm sorry- it almost got away."

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Olivestone watched as Morningpaw crept towards the hare, kept her tail down, but not brushing the ground, downwind so the scent wouldn't give her away, following everything she'd been taught by yours truly, and yet, she almost missed it. If Morningpaw had missed the hare, she wouldn't have been surprised, but to be honest, she was just glad that she didn't have to fight off another goose.

She waved her tail in happiness as Morningpaw straightened up after her kill, and flicked her tail at the apprentice's apology.
"Nonsense. Sure, it almost got away, but you caught it, and that's what matters. Your technique will improve with practice and time, and for your first hunt as an apprentice, you did really well."

She turned back towards the hill, the hares having come back to graze after the first hunt.
"Now, I'm gonna try my luck."

She crept towards the hares, who were now more alert, since one of their ranks was now missing. She let the grass brush against her pelt like how the wind whistled through it, and kept her steps light. Once she was close enough, she burst from the grass, pelting towards the hares with practiced speed control. However, the hares were just too observant, and they bolt down their tunnel before she could get there.

With a shrug, she trotted back over to where Morningpaw was watching.
"Even experienced warriors miss catches sometimes. It's no big deal, just look forward to the next hunt."

Olivestone has attempted to hunt a hare. She was not successful.

Olivestone:
45/45 HP
157/160 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

With an understanding nod, Morningpaw nudged her own still-warm hare towards Olivestone as the rest of the prey fled. "It's okay, you can have some of mine," she mewed, prodding the hare with a claw. "I think they were only on guard because I kinda messed mine up anyway."

After a moment, she gave a quiet laugh; "I just realised. You had perfect technique and yours still got away... and I was sloppy and somehow I still caught mine. That's the opposite of how it should be! Do you wanna keep looking and see if we can find some other prey too?"

Olivestone smiled warmly at Morningpaw's kindness, settling by her side and watching as the apprentice pushed the hare towards her with a paw.
"Thank you, I'll have some."

She took a bite out of the still warm flesh of the hare, savoring the flavor and texture of the prey. After a few bites, she sat back and continued talking.
"Like I said, sometimes experienced warriors miss catches, even if you do everything right, sometimes the wind changes right as you prepare to pounce, and sometimes the prey is just a bit too observant. We can look for more prey once we finish eating, though. I would like to bring something back for the Clan."

The she-cat gave an enthusiastic nod, waiting for Olivestone to have her fill before hungrily digging into the hare herself with far too much voraciousness. "Mmf mmf m-"

Right, right, swallow first. "I mean- hopefully something a little smaller than a goose this time. Maybe a fox?", she replied jokingly, though with just a hint of 'haha... unless?'. "Or, you know, sparrows and stuff. I wanna learn how to hunt birds, they need to be taken down a few pegs."

A brief pause as she took another bite, and then; "That reminds me- how do we bring all the food back to the Clan? Do we just have to bring it back one at a time, there-back-there-back?"

Olivestone took a few more bites of the hare before answering.
"Let's avoid predators unless it's absolutely necessary to fight. I don't want to bring home more injuries than necessary. However, we can hunt some birds, absolutely! The moor always has a few pecking around here and there."

She paused to start cleaning the hare's blood off of her face.
"Depends on how much you can carry at once. If you catch a lot, and it's too much to carry, you can do several trips, or if you're hunting with others, and they have room to carry more prey, they'll help."

She sat back to let Morningpaw finish off the hare, and continued cleaning herself while she waited.