Catch (closed)

The sun was higher, the cold, damp chill of the earlier morning burning away under the newleaf sun, scents of growth and warmth starting to unfurl. Swansong took a deep breath of the pine-scented air, standing at the entrance to the camp as she gazed down at the apprentice, her apprentice, preparing to take him out for the first time. I don't feel like a mentor. But I promised to do my best, so... I will.

"Alright, Redpaw," She mewed, giving the tom a smile, "the first thing we'll be doing today is going outside the camp. I'll take you around the territory, and we can practice some hunting." Tilting her head slightly, she added, "It won't be anything too strenuous, since it's your first day."

Was that the right thing to do? Silentwhisper had done the same, and other mentors she'd seen had done it that way, but was she being too easy? She wouldn't do any battle training the first day, of course, but.... Shaking the thought off, she turned her attention to Redpaw, firmly telling herself to stop it. If it isn't, I'll learn for next time.

Redpaw gave himself a quick grooming. Well, no battle training, but I expected it. Still, every day, I'm a step closer to becoming a warrior. He lifted his head up and shook his pelt out. She seems very nervous. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.

The red tom got to his paws and nodded. "Ready when you are."


ooc: you'll have to teach me as well haha, I'm new to this site. I think I've got an idea how to use the hunting dice though!

Swansong led the way out into the forest, her misgivings easing with the feelings of the earth under her paws, and the scents of prey wafting gently in the patches of golden sunlight shifting under the pines. "It's important to keep your steps quiet when on a hunting patrol," She murmured, keeping her ears and eyes alert to catch any of the movement her nose told her had to be about. "And to keep attentive."

A flicker caught the corner of her eye, and she stilled, coming to a smooth halt as she turned her eyes towards it. A mouse, nudging at the ground with its snout, was shuffling around the rocky base of a pine just a few fox-lengths away. Casting a glance at Redpaw, she murmured, keeping her voice soft, "Would you like me to demonstrate? Or would you rather try catching it yourself?"

(ooc: That's good! The hunting dice is actually pretty simple when you get down to it. All you do is write your cat approaching, hit preview, and select the hunting dice. Then you post it to let the dice give you your number. There's a chart for the numbers that you match it up with so you know if you've caught it or not. When you've checked it, you go back and edit your reply with the ending - whether it was a successful hunt or non-successful - and add in the SP (stamina points) reduction from that. SP points are expended whether your cat catches the prey or not.
I can always show you with Swan how it works, if that was a little rambling and all over the place!)

OOC: makes sense, since I knew a bit about them before, tysm!

Redpaw hesitated, then said, “I’ll try. Step lightly, you said.” He dropped into an untidy hunter’s crouch, mirroring what he’d seen other apprentices do, and crept up on the mouse, praying he’d get it.

His jaws snapped out and he lifted the little creature, planting it to the ground with a paw. He hooked it on his claw, and bit it, hoping that was the way to kill it. He succeeded. Pleased, he looked up at Swansong. “Yes! I did it! ”

SP = 77

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

(ooc: Yw! You've got it down! Compared to this, battle moves are a lot easier to learn, so I don't think either you or Redpaw should have any problem with them ^^)

Swansong nodded as her apprentice replied, giving him an encouraging smile. Watching as he moved forwards toward the mouse, she carefully took note of his technique - a decent attempt at a hunting crouch. Certainly, he showed potential, and as he pounced, he showed it by catching the little rodent, his teeth snapping down in a method not exactly neat, but it did the job. That's what I'm here for, to teach him.

"Well done," She mewed, a smile on her maw as she glanced at his catch. "That was a good first catch." She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she would hurt his feelings by mentioning the things she'd noted. If I don't, he won't learn that he's doing it wrong until someone else tells him. There's a time for being gentle, and then there's a time to teach, no matter whether they like it or not. I think. There was nothing for it but to be blunt, if still gentle in the way she said it. "Your method does need some work, though," She said gently. "Your hunter's crouch wasn't bad, and with some work to make it tighter, you'll be stalking like a warrior in no time. But the thing I noticed most was how you went to kill it."

Tilting her ears towards the mouse, she held his eyes as she went on, her voice still soft, "When you want to deliver the killing bite, most often you'll want to deliver a clean bite to the neck - though throwing them can be helpful to stun them, first," She added. "But you risk the mouse getting away if you didn't throw it hard enough." Tilting her head, she searched his eyes. "Does that make sense?"

Redpaw shrugged. “Yeah. I mean, I wasn’t really trying for any technique, since I didn’t know any technique. But that’s useful. Can you show me how to do a good hunting crouch?” I wonder if the hunting crouch is the same as the battle crouch.

OOC: could we get a predator encounter in this as well? :0

(ooc: if you want to we can, though it might be better to do it in the other one with more cats to fight it, since, you know, predator. But I'll put it up next post with Swan, if you're still down for that!)

Swan nodded at his question."Of course! There are different kinds for different kinds of prey, but I'll teach you those as your training progresses. I suppose a good one to begin with is for the mouse."

The demonstration would be better if there were something to demonstrate it on, and she lifted her nose, scenting the air. If there was one, there could be another.... Sure enough, the warm, oddly musky scent of a mouse cut through the sharp smell of pine, and a movement from a small rocky pile covered in pine needles caught her eye. She cast a quick glance at Redpaw, mewing quietly, "The most important thing to remember when stalking mice is to keep your paws light, like you're gliding across a pond."

So saying, she dropped into a crouch, moons of practice and experience keeping her movements smooth, like rain dripping down a rocky outcrop. Her pelt stood out more against the territory around them than Redpaw's did, and so she kept as much in shadow as she could, her eyes locked onto the busy form of the mouse. Unfortunately, it froze a moment before she settled fully into a crouch, its head rising in alarm. Snapping forward, she attempted to snatch it off its feet with a paw, but the little form darted into a hole barely a whisker-length away, the tail the last thing to disappear.

Her whiskers twitched in disappointment, and she turned back to Redpaw, a slight abashed smile on her face. "Sometimes, though - even if you're careful - they can still get away." She shook her head with a smile. "I suppose that's why they're still around!"

Swansong attempted to catch Mouse and failed, expending 3 SP.

Swansong:
40/40
117/120

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

OOC: Sure ^^ It can be one of the easier predators

Redpaw nodded, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He crouched down, copying Swansong’s form, and glided on the balls of his feet across the forest ground. It was slow, but well balanced, and he was sure he’d get the hang of it eventually.

Redpaw scented the air, pricking his ears, and soon heard the light scuffle of feet. What was it with all the mice in this area? He shrugged to himself before dropping into the crouch, and creeping up on the little creature, one pawstep at a time.

His tail brushed over a front of bracken, and he scowled as the creature darted away. He chased after it, but in vain, as it scurried far away from him. “Hm. I guess you’re right. I need to keep track of my tail, too.” A small smile lifted his lips. “Funny how when I didn’t have technique, I got the mouse, and when I did, the mouse escaped.”

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Swansong watched as he approached yet another mouse - It must be a day for all the mice - and observed his technique. Already, it was much better, but unfortunately his tail caught on a branch, rustling it only slightly, but just enough for the mouse to dart away.

She replied to his statement with a smile. "It is strange how that can happen, but it just seems to be a law of the forest. Your technique was very good that time, even if you didn't catch it, though. I have a feeling you'll..."

Crack.

A sound caught her attention, and her ear twitched as she turned her head, suddenly alert. What was that? A slight rustle followed, and she caught a glimpse of a dark pelt in the bushes near Redpaw. The fur along her spine rose as she tensed. "Redpaw, don't-"

With a sudden furious, squealing chatter, the bushes erupted, the rest of her words lost as a flash of dark fur darted for the apprentice.

Redpaw! Her paws moved almost of their own accord, leaping across the ground and bringing her own body crashing into that of the raccoon, sending both of them flying.

Swansong used Run-and-Tackle, dealing 11 damage and using 5 stamina.

Swansong:
HP: 40/40
SP: 112/120 (-5)

Raccoon:
HP: 19/30 (-11)
SP: 300/300

(ooc: For the battle system, you'll need this topic for reference to the battle moves and how much damage they do. Pretty much everything you need is contained in there, and if you need a little extra help, there's a helpful Battle System tutorial you can use for reference! Other than that, all you really need to do is pick a move and have Redpaw execute it, remembering that he's already expended 6 SP points in this hunting topic. Just ask me if you have any questions, and ignore this if you already know how to use it! ^^)

Redpaw started in shock at the raccoon that had just appeared out of the bushes. “Wha-“ He stopped and blinked a few times, backing up as Swansong charged into the fox. Desperately he tried to think of some battle moves. Come on, idiot, you loved to play battle in the nursery!

The apprentice, determined to help his mentor no matter the cost, rushed towards the raccoon. He flicked his claws down the length of the raccoon’s exposed belly. Crimson blood welled up in the scratches, and Redpaw felt pleased.

Redpaw used Belly Rake, dealing 7 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Swansong
HP: 40/40
SP: 107/120

Raccoon
HP: 12/30 (-7)
SP: 300/300

Redpaw
HP: 20/20
SP: 70/80 (-10)

The raccoon screeched as sharp claws tore into it, and flashed back to its paws, lashing out at the first one as she came back to her paws, sharp claws raking across her shoulder before she could leap back.

A spark of pride mixed with surprise lit Swansong's eyes as her apprentice leaped forwards, his sharp claws tearing into the raccoon's momentarily exposed belly, and she scrambled to her paws to rejoin the fight. But the masked face of the raccoon hissed back at her as she readied herself for another attack, and before she could scramble back, its sharp claws lashed out for her side. She winced, burning pain lancing across her flesh. Already she could feel warm, wet trickles slipping through her thick fur, but there was no time to take stock, and the pain was dulled under coursing adrenaline in her veins. She had to keep it occupied, away from Redpaw. His fighting style was very good for a new apprentice, but he wouldn't be able to stand against it if it turned on him.

Rearing up onto her hind legs, she threw blows down on its head, raking her claws against the black mask of its face as it backed away, chittering in fear.

Raccoon used Quick Swipe, dealing 20 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Swansong used Rear-up to slash, dealing 9 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Swansong
HP: 20/40 (-20)
SP: 102/120 (-10)

Raccoon
HP: 3/30 (-9)
SP: 290/300

Redpaw
HP: 20/20
SP: 64/80