Smoke Rising

Smokepaw had always been an early riser, and it seemed that things would be no different during her apprenticeship as she carefully stretched and sat up in her nest. The forms of sleeping apprentices were curled up on nests around her, and despite her impatience to get the day started, Smokepaw was reluctant to wake them as she carefully picked her way to the entrance of the den and slipped outside.

Her pale fur stood out in the shadows as Smokepaw paused, allowing her eyes to adjust to the new brightness. Sitting, she licked a paw and swiped it over her face, determined to banish the last vestiges of sleep from her mind. She was awake, there were things to do, and she'd gotten enough sleep. Why waste time sitting idle?

The she-cat swept her gaze over the clearing. Where was Sunflower? Mentors started the day early, didn't they?

Or maybe Smokepaw was just impatient and a young, excitable apprentice.

...No, definitely not that. Not that at all.

Letting out a yawn as he emerged from the warrior's den, the abnormally tall and lengthy tom peered around, his eyes still adjusting to the sunlight that shined high above the clouds. Looking around for his apprentice, he soon spotted her across camp and taking a deep breath, he made his way over to her. Sunflower wasn't one who enjoyed talking to cats or partaking in any social interaction, seeing as though he'd most likely just make a fool of himself, but seeing as though this was his apprentice, he had no choice.

"H-hello," the pale pelted tom mewed softly as he avoided eye contact and kept his gaze at his paws.

"'Morning, Sunflower." The she-cat called cheerfully, the sound of her mentor's voice being enough to shake off the last vestiges of sleep. Smokepaw sprang lightly to her feet as her mentor approached. He still seemed rather timid, quite the contrast from Smokepaw's enthusiasm. The apprentice was curious, but didn't think it was her place to ask, anyways.

"'What are we doing today?" Smokepaw's paws were already itching at the idea of finally getting out of camp and exploring Skyclan's territory, or hunting. Or both.

Giving his apprentice a simple nod as Smokepaw stood up, the meek tom turned and began to make his way out of the camp entrance. Pondering her question, he hadn't actually thought much on what they were going to do, but starting off with a patrol and then doing some hunting sounded reasonable, as long as they weren't out for too long.

"P-patrol and th-then hunting," he mewed softly as the two began to make their way through the forest.

Smokepaw moved to follow her mentor. Patrolling? That meant she would see a fair amount of Skyclan's territory, along with some of the borders with other clans, right?

Smokepaw had always been an adventurous kit. Finally being allowed out of the camp, her ears pricked almost immediately, and her gray-green eyes were wide- no fear, but rather excitement, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings, silently cataloging the tall trees and gullies that the pair passed. Deciding she could hold her tongue for now, Smokepaw kept quiet, though if her mentor looked back at her he would probably be able to tell that the fluffy apprentice was bursting with energy.

Heading in the direction, of the Thunderpath, the pair finally reached their first destination and just in time. Within not even seconds after they arrived at the horrible smelling area, a monster ran by, loud and obnoxious as always, and carrying it's wretched stench with it.

"V-very dangerous, don't g-go on it," the lengthy warrior stuttered, a shiver shooting down his back at the thought of being hit by one of the many monsters that took the dark path.

Smokepaw curled her lip on reflex as they approached the noisy- and smelly- area. "Oh, it reeks," She grumbled. "Is that the thunderpath?" The apprentice asked, eyeing the reeking strip of blackness with a look of mingled disgust and fear. The things that were travelling across it were almost painfully loud and did an excellent job at blocking out the sounds of the forest she was more accustomed to. Smokepaw decided that she didn't like it one bit. She stuck close to her mentor's side, not particularly interested in going any closer than they already were. She was definitely interested in getting away from the stars-forsaken thing, however.

"Y-yes," Sunflower nodded. After a few moments, the lengthy tom decided that she'd had plenty of time to observe the obscure area, and turning around, headed into the territory. The two padded onward for a good ways before he slowed to a stop, holding his maw open as he sniffed the air. There was certainly plenty of prey around and this would be a good spot to hunt. "We'll h-hunt now," he mewed softly.

Leaving his apprentices side, he was hot on the trail of something and stalking forward, Sunflower waited a few moments, his haunches wiggling back and forth in calibration as he locked his eyes on a small bird nibbling on its meal near the base of a tree. Pouncing, the tom's big paws landed just before the prey. Having scared it by his sudden appearance, the bird fluttered off in a flurry of feathers, too quick for Sunflower to regain his bearings and attempt to catch it once more. So much for leaving a good impression on his apprentice...

Sunflower attempted to catch a bird and was unsuccessful. -3 SP

Sunflower
HP: 80/80
SP: 237/240

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 9

Smokepaw was relieved when Sunflower finally decided to move away from the area. The smell alone was awful.

She watched as her mentor crouched, mentally taking note of his movements as he did so. She followed his gaze to see the bird he was going for, and had to keep her whiskers from twitching as his paws missed the feathered creature. He's supposed to teach me how to hunt? Smokepaw couldn't help the flash of dismay that prickled at her, but kept her thoughts to herself. She would try and copy him, and see if she could piece together where he'd made a mistake. He'd fallen just short of the bird, after all.

Spotting a starling on the ground not far off, Smokepaw shot a questioning look at her mentor as she attempted to imitate his crouch and stepped forward carefully, gaze turning back to the bird. As Smokepaw carefully studied it, she carefully judged the distance between herself and the bird.

Smokepaw attempted to catch a bird.

Smokepaw
77 / 80sp

-Rolled a 10, thanks Mistpelt.

A Wild Eagle appears! Eagle uses swoop on Sunflower, dealing 30 damage for -20sp

Eagle:
60 / 60hp
180 / 200sp (-20sp)

Sunflower:
70 / 100hp (-30hp)
277 / 280sp

Smokepaw instinctively threw herself to the side as the large bird swept past her, heart pounding in her chest. The eagle dove at her mentor and the new apprentice froze. She'd been sure she could have caught that starling, but it seemed rather irrelevant now that an eagle of all things was current attacking them. What in starclan was she supposed to do? She didn't know how to fight!

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 10

Within moments, an eagle came out of nowhere, and swooping down, snapped its beak at Sunflower's pelt. Letting out a hiss of pain and surprise, he snapped his gaze to Smokepaw who looked frozen. They hadn't gone over fighting skills and Sunflower was already a horrible fighter, so there was only one thing to do.

"R-run!" the lean warrior mewed as he hightailed it away from the raptor. He wasn't about to risk his or his apprentice's life just for a few extra scraps of food. They'd have to do hunting another day.