good to be free [closed]

For all her protests about having to wait one more day to start training, Jaypaw had promptly collapsed into her nest a half-minute after dropping it next to Jasminepaw’s. The moon was still halfway between its peak and the horizon when she woke. In what she considered a remarkable show of self-discipline, she managed to be quiet from then all the way until the first ray of pale color split the sky…but no longer. She bounded into the camp’s near-silence, only slowing to a walk when she remembered Asylum’s glittering eyes. She had to impress them, same as she would any warrior.

Speaking of warriors—Jaypaw poked her head into the nearest den. Yes, that was definitely the right one. Its occupants were all too big to be kits and too strong-looking to be elders. Holding her tail upright so as not to brush against any sleeping cats, she navigated the maze of faces, limbs, and tails as if picking her way across a thin branch until she finally found a pretty golden pelt. Jaypaw plopped down to stare at her new mentor’s tightly-shut eyes. “Are you ever gonna wake up? It’s dawn.” Sure, the sky was still more black than blue, but she could see a bit of sun.

Honeycomb loved sleep. She loved to be curled in her moss nest warm and safe and...awake? A voice was terrifyingly loud beside her ear and Honeycomb opened her yellow-green eyes...to see Jaypaw's giant face. Muffling a shriek of surprise, the ginger warrior scrambled back quickly, before dragging Jaypaw by the scruff and plopping her outside the warrior's den. "What in the stars are you doing here Jaypaw? Everyone is sleeping. You can barely see the sun out!" The she-cat hissed, shaking her head before turning back towards Jaypaw. Sighing in frustration, Honeycomb stared at Jaypaw. "Well I guess now that we're both awake I suppose we can go to training. Go get some fresh-kill in the pile. Trust me, you'll need it." Why oh why did Dawnhawk give me this apprentice. I swear on StarClan, one day, Jaypaw is somehow going to get me killed.

One moment, Jaypaw was staring into Honeycomb’s eyes as they shot open; the next, she was being hoisted off the ground as if she were a kitten again. Honeycomb dropped her just outside the den’s exit. As soon as her feet hit solid (though still very snowy) earth, Jaypaw scrambled upright, her expression a mixture of offense and utter shock. Her tone, to her relief, leaned more toward the offended side. “Barely sun is still sun.” To the young apprentice, that seemed a perfectly reasonable statement; judging by Honeycomb’s next words, a command to get some food before they set off, she seemed to agree. Jaypaw snagged a mouse off the top of the fresh-kill pile (no feathers to remove, no scales to get past) and returned to her mentor, the unfortunate creature hanging from her mouth by its tail. She took two large bites, then spat the mouse into the snow. ”I’m ready to go now. What are we doing first? Can we fight something?”

Honeycomb huffed as Jaypaw noted that "barely sun is still sun". That was true, but it was way earlier than the time she mostly woke up. Wincing slightly as her apprentice finished off her mouse in two quick bites, Honeycomb shook her head. "Okay. Let's go." An Asylum cat followed behind them as the pale ginger she-cat lead Jaypaw towards the exit of camp. Honeycomb understood Jaypaw's excitement, but the young apprentice had to understand that being an apprentice wasn't just exploring the territory and waiting for prey to fall into your paws. Sooner or later, Jaypaw would be involved in a border skirmish, or even a predator fight. Maybe Honeycomb would even teach Jaypaw to spar.

As they approached the camp’s exit, a stranger appeared from the shadows to trail after them. Jaypaw glanced back. That had to be an Asylum cat. They smelled different, acted different, and no one could leave camp without bringing one of them along. Her mother had drilled that rule into her head just like the others. She still wasn’t sure what she thought of it. Though she doubted today's lessons would be truly difficult, she didn’t want anyone other than Honeycomb to watch her test the waters. Of course, she’d only have to worry if she messed up…which meant she had no reason to worry at all. With a careless shrug meant for nobody, Jaypaw sped up to match Honeycomb’s pace, squeezing out into the territory just ahead of her mentor. The second Honeycomb emerged, her prodding resumed. “So? What are we starting with? You didn’t tell me.” She stared up at the older she-cat, eyes wide, feathery tail swishing back and forth. Never mind that Honeycomb was probably still half-asleep—she wanted answers!

Honeycomb watched, wide-eyed as Jaypaw literally vanished into the territory. Picking up her pace, the golden-ginger she-cat grumbled to herself in disappointment and emerged next to her very enthusiastic apprentice. "First of all, Jaypaw, don't run off like that. You never know what's going on in the forest. Don't blame me if you get carried off by a fox. Second of all, Jaypaw, don't assume that if you're quicker, the lessons are going to be easy. Nothing is easy. Lastly, Jaypaw, we're going to hunt prey. And I am going to teach you. Now pay attention." The she-cat all but growled her words, her normally calm yellow-green eyes alight with something close to fury. Shaking her head, Honeycomb dropped down into a hunting crouch, her tail lifting up slightly so that it didn't brush against the ground, alerting any prey. "This is called the hunting crouch. When you hunt prey, you use this crouch to slowly reach your prey, then pounce." The ginger-gold she-cat leapt forward, her paws landing on imaginary prey. Turning back towards her apprentice, Honeycomb nodded at Jaypaw once again. "Use your nose to scent for the prey first, then catch."

Though she didn’t look away, Jaypaw’s eyes widened further, startled at the bared claws in her mentor’s tone. When she focused on the words themselves rather than the voice, her posture loosened up again. I could take a fox. Her mouth twitched. This time, she knew better than to open it. At least, until Honeycomb backed off to demonstrate a hunting crouch. “Mm-hm.” Crouch, sneak, pounce. Simple as a nursery game. Jaypaw ran through the motions once, slowly, trying to get a feel for the angle of her tail, the close set of her forepaws. As a clumsy kitten still adjusting to the sights and sounds SkyClan’s camp had to offer, she’d marveled at the warriors bringing back mouthfuls of birds and squirrels… Had it been this easy for them? With a glance back at Honeycomb, Jaypaw lowered her nose to the ground. Everything smelled cold and damp and muddled—

Wait. That was warm. Her tufted ears stood straight up as she picked one scent out from the rest. Lowering herself into the crouch Honeycomb had showed her, Jaypaw crept forward, following the thread until she saw a little gray-brown squirrel hunched near the base of a tree. For a moment, she could only stare. Prey looked different when it was alive. But it wouldn’t be alive for long. The tiny apprentice sank down even lower, then flung herself forward with a hiss, paws outstretched, pressing the squirrel into the snow before it could get any more than a glimpse of her. Jaypaw nipped at its neck—it felt like the right thing to do—and it went still. As she looked over her shoulder at her mentor, she kept one paw over the squirrel just in case. ”I caught something! …What do I do now?”

Jaypaw attempted to catch Squirrel, using 5 stamina. The attempt was successful!

Jaypaw
20/20 HP
75/80 SP (-5)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

OOC: AM VERY SORRY I FORGOT TO POST


Honeycomb watched Jaypaw carefully, noting that the apprentice had been paying attention. Satisfied with herself, she nodded approvingly towards Jaypaw. "So you have been paying attention. Glad to know that." Flicking her tail to point towards the territory, Honeycomb nudged the squirrel that Jaypaw caught. "You bury it in the ground. Now attempt it at least once more. One squirrel isn't going to be enough to feed the whole Clan." The ginger she-cat went over the lesson in her head before gazing up at the trees. "Maybe afterwards I'll teach you how to climb trees."

Bury it? Jaypaw flicked a questioning ear. Obviously she wasn’t going to leave food out in the open for someone else to take, but…but Honeycomb was already moving on. Nothing else she could do, then. Grimacing at the frigid earth, she covered the squirrel in soil and snow until it was just about hidden from view. One more. Catching the squirrel hadn’t been too hard (though her heart hadn’t stopped thumping as if she’d run across the territory and back); she could do it again. Her mentor’s voice stopped her in her tracks. A kit stuck in camp could only climb rocks and other cats—but the trees, and the ability to flit through them like her namesake, were SkyClan’s birthright.

With that thought fresh in her mind, Jaypaw scurried off toward the sound of chirping. At its source, she found a round sparrow, its feathers fluffed up against the cold. She crouched, not daring to blink. Were the rules different for hunting things that could fly? …Well, as long as she stopped it from getting off the ground, she wouldn’t have to think about it. Jaypaw pounced. The sparrow’s startled call cut off abruptly as she snapped its neck. Sprinting back to her mentor, powdery snow flying in her wake, she hastily unearthed the squirrel and dropped her newest catch right beside it. “So,” she said, breathless, ”can we try climbing now? You said we could try climbing." She paused. "You're not actually gonna make me feed the whole Clan first, right?”

Jaypaw attempted to catch Bird, using 5 stamina. The attempt was successful!

Jaypaw
20/20 HP
70/80 SP (-5)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6