sunshine and roses [closed]

Batbite finished off the squirrel she'd taken from the fresh-kill pile, bathing in the light of the still-rising sun as she waited for her newest apprentice to come and find her. The work of a warrior was difficult, but moments like this - with the warmth of greenleaf washing over her dark fur - made her believe it was worthwhile. Admittedly, she was up late and enjoyed sleeping in, and that was part of why she'd told Rosepaw to find her whenever she awoke. She valued the art of rest and relaxation.

But it was also a simple test of dedication. To see whether her latest apprentice would follow her relatively simple instructions.

As soon as the sunlight filtered through the apprentice’s den, Rosepaw shot out of her moss den and scrambled outside. Her paws slid across the ground and her eyes searched for the dark pelt of her mentor. There, near the fresh kill pile. “Batbite!” Rosepaw called out, catching her breath. “I’m here. I’m here. Sorry if I was a bit late or something.” The green leaf sunlight hit her back and Rosepaw wanted to scratched her fur. She was very uncomfortable, since her thick fur already provided enough warmth. Nevertheless, the excitement of training made her forget all about her uncomfortableness.

"There's no such thing as late today," Batbite shrugged lightly. "I told you to find my when you woke up, and you did. Congratulations on passing your first test," she teased, rising to her paws. "I'm guessing you're ready to go, so let's get to it - we'll explore the territory while hunting, does that sound alright?"

Rosepaw’s mouth went into an “o” of surprise. That was a...test?! ”Right. Exploring. Territories. Of course. Let’s go this...this...nope, this way. Yes, aha!” Way to make a good first impression, Rosepaw. Congratulations on finding the very obvious camp entrance. She thought to herself dryly, before following Batbite around. Her honey-brown eyes took in every single detail, catching the slightest movements in the trees and undergrowth.

"In addition to what we're doing today," Batbite said lightly, "I'd like to propose a challenge. It's something Oakstar did with me and one of my brothers once upon a time, when we'd returned home from a particularly dangerous endeavor. For every piece of prey you catch, you can ask me one question - whatever you like - and I'll answer honestly. About me, about the other clans, whatever you like. You don't have to - I just thought it might make things more interesting, instead of me leading you around and ranting about our history. Of course, you'll still have to sit through that."

She led the way past the camp's entrance, holding back a laugh at Rosepaw's eagerness - it wouldn't do to scare off the prey so early in the day.

Rosepaw blinked again. ”Oh...okay. That’s...a smart idea. Um...could you show me the techniques in hunting and all that? I need to make sure that I’ve learned it to catch prey better.” I do have a rather...large amount of questions that need to be answered, so I guess that is a rather smart idea. ”I uh...I’m not sure if Ill really...do well.” The small rose-brown and white tabby’s pelt flushed in embarrassment and she looked down.

"Watch and learn," Batbite purred in amusement, tail twitching as she fell into a hunting crouch. Scenting the air, she spotted her target - a mouse, plain and simple. Slowly, she made her way towards it, and once she reached the perfect distance she pounced. A swift bite and she returned to Rosepaw with a satisfied smile, quickly burying it for later retrieval. "Just like that."

Batbite caught a Mouse, costing 3 stamina.

Batbite
45/45 HP
157/160 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

Rosepaw forced herself not to be surprised again. Not that she wasn’t, she was very, very impressed. The apprentice copied Batbite’s movements carefully, keeping her fluffy tail from brushing the ground. Spotting another mouse, she slowly padded over towards it, like her mentor did. When she reached a good distance, Rosepaw took a deep breath, and launched towards her catch. As she was about to kill the mouse with her unsheathed claws, Rosepaw slipped on a leaf. Stumbling clumsily, she barely managed to dig her claws into the mouse’s neck. Making sure that it was dead, Rosepaw made her own hole for her catches, and dropped the mouse inside. She turned towards Batbite. ”That dog attack. From last moon’s Gathering. I was still a kit, but, how did it happen? I need to know just in case another one comes.”

Rosepaw used 3Sp to hunt a mouse. Catch was successful

77/80

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

"Excellent catch," she complimented. "And an excellent question. What led them to our camp, I don't know - I was at the Gathering that night. But we won't let something like that happen again, I'm sure." At the very least, Batbite intended to do everything in her power to keep something like that from happening again - her kits were endangered and she hadn't been there to help, though they were still alive and safe. "I'm sorry if that's not the satisfying answer you'd hoped for - but I'm sure you have more questions, Rosepaw."

She watched patiently - she had done her demonstration, it was Rosepaw that was here to learn, rather than herself.

Rosepaw nodded thoughtfully. ”Yeah...I guess so...” She turned her concentration back onto hunting once more, repeating the exact same steps. Chest low, tail up, silent footfalls. Hopefully she wouldn’t slip on a leaf this time. Her ears perked up when she saw a squirrel nibbling on some nuts. Eyes shining hopefully, Rosepaw focused all her attention on the squirrel, moving quietly and quickly. It took one look at her and dropped its food, before dashing up a tree and clawing at the bark. Wincing as Rosepaw contemplated about what to do, she launched herself at the tree. Hooking her claws into the bark, the small apprentice slowly scaled up the tree until she was on the same branch as the squirrel. Letting out a sigh, Rosepaw pounced onto it, before killing it with a clean bite. The branch wasn’t so high away from the ground so she quickly leaped off. Smiling proudly, Rosepaw buried yet another catch. ”I heard about a warrior dying on something called the Thunderpath recently. Is that something I need to worry about?”

Rosepaw used 3SP to try and catch a squirrel. Catch was successful!

74/80

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

"So long as you stay clear of it, no, it's not," Batbite assured her. "And trust me, you should stay clear - the stench of it is unmatched, you'll know when you've gotten too close. Though it's not the path that's dangerous, really, it's the monsters that rumble along it and crush anything in their way. That's another good catch, by the way - you've got natural talent."