Stroll at Dawn (c)

Juniperlight trotted through the forest at a comfortable pace. The sun was just beginning to stream between the trees, leaving strips of bright orange light against the rocky ground. It hadn’t even been up yet when the warrior collected Spottedpaw; her grandfather was a night owl but he was an early bird, Juniperlight explained in response to sleepy groans. The morning air was warm and he inhaled the deep, fresh pine scent of SkyClan land and purred in delight. The sounds of the creek were getting louder with each step.

”Alright, Spottedpaw, we’re coming up to the place,” he meowed quietly, slowing down quite a bit. “This is the Moonlit Creek. We find prey all over our territory, but why do you think it’s easier to catch it here?” Juniperlight quizzed, stopping at the edge of the tree line. He could vividly remember his adventures with Wolfstar here over many seasons. He glanced at Spottedpaw with a smile. What memories would this young she-cat make over her lifetime? He hoped her siblings would have a strong bond amongst each other. Even though their relationship was distant, Juniperlight wanted to be able to be a friend to her as well.

Sleep still tugged at the fresh apprentice's limbs as she followed Juniperlight out of camp, her eyes half-lidded, her heavy paws clumsy against the rocky ground. She stumbled twice on the uneven terrain, the second time wrenching a claw so painfully it washed her vision red. Delicate kitten paws weren't made for this... but Spottedpaw didn't want to be a delicate kitten. She wanted to be a warrior. And so she didn't cry out, just bit her tongue and tried not to favor the paw as they continued.

It was a relief when the creek finally came into view - it was hot, and her long fur did her no favors here. So when Juniperlight posed his question, it took Spottedpaw only a moment of consideration to answer. "Because... prey has to drink, too?" she mewed gently, shifting impatiently on her paws.

He nodded, pleased with her answer. ”Yes! The creek is a gift to SkyClan. Though it may dry up, the rains always return… and with it, prey and life for us to bring home for our queens and elders. Today I will train you to hunt. When it grows warmer as the sun rises, we can refresh ourselves with the water and have extra time to eat and rest by the hottest part of the day.” He meowed, taking a few steps out of the tree line so there was adequate space to move. He fell into a sturdy crouch with his weight spread out evenly on all his paws, glancing Spottedpaw out of the side of his one eye. He flicked his tail towards her - a wordless invitation to try it for herself.

When she didn't get the go ahead to drink now, Spottedpaw groaned internally, convinced that she would certainly shrivel up and die before they got around to it later. She didn't say anything aloud, but she did visibly deflate, her ears flattening against her skull and then perking again a moment later as Juniperlight moved away from her and began taking a posture she was all too familiar with. Spottedpaw was no stranger to hunting - she hunted her siblings all the time, the occasional bug or leaf, too, but the way that her mentor crouched now, perfectly balanced, was not what she looked like when she did it.

Curious now, and thirst momentarily forgotten, Spottedpaw sank down, too, trying to mimic the older tom's posture. She managed it, for the most part, but any skilled eye would notice she was far too stiff.

His ear flicked as he watched, interested in her stance. He stood up to move closer for a better look. She seemed to be keeping weight off of one front paw, and no doubt if she attempted to move forward she would be as silent as a blind badger. ”Spottedpaw, why aren’t you balancing your weight? You’ll want to be able to shift easily between all your paws so you can walk silently. Here, copy me as I move.” He dropped back into his crouch next to her and took one step forward at a time. A few fox lengths ahead of them, a careless bird fluttered down to the side of the creek. Freezing in place, Juniperlight peered at the bird, then back at Spottedpaw, and then bus turned towards it with his muzzle. A small, encouraging smile told her, go on, you can do it!

The apprentice shrunk down at the criticism, her ears flattening in shame. "Sorry," she mumbled, straightening up and letting her gaze sweep over Juniperlight's lanky form. She attempted to mimic him again, re-crouching and creeping forward a little more until the bird was pointed out to her. She frowned, uncertain that she could catch anything with wings - how could she? She couldn't fly.

She exhaled. I've got this, she told herself, moving slowly, steadily, perhaps more slowly than actually was necessary, until she was barely a fox-length from the bird, and then charged forward. She leaped, paws closing around on the bird... or, rather, where it had been ten seconds before. Spottedpaw straightened, frowning, and stared up into the sky to see it land in a nearby tree, and then turned to Juniperlight, ears hot with shame.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

He observed quietly. When she turned back to him, clearly unhappy with her result, Juniperlight trotted to close the gap. He gave her a quick, affectionate lick on the top of her head. ”Don’t let it keep you down, Spottedpaw. Few apprentices actually make their first catch. I learn best by experience, and if you’re like me, then it’ll take you a few tries to learn when to go for the kill. And that’s ok, because even when you miss, you learn what not to do next time.” The warrior’s meow was warm. He was remembering many of his own mess-ups and silly mistakes. A sly smile appeared on his muzzle as he took a seat and wrapped his tail around his paws. ”You know, Wolfstar was mentored by the elder Foxfire when he was just an apprentice. And Foxfire is not very good at climbing trees… as it turns out, Wolfstar wasn’t trained to hunt in trees, and can be a little clumsy in branches at times. So don’t worry about being good at everything; even our honorable leader makes mistakes!” He let out an amused chuckle, thinking fondly of his brother and their time together when they were younger. ”Now, is there anything particular you’d like pointers on? Form and instinct will come with time and muscle memory, but I’d be happy to answer any questions.”

Spottedpaw stared up after the bird again, disappointment written all across her features. She'd missed her first catch... and that was incredibly disappointing. Juniperlight's approach distracted her and she let out a sweet mew at his touch, arching her back to rub against the underside of his chin in return. Then she took a few steps forward, turning around to look up at him - he didn't seem disappointed in her, and that hardened her resolve.

"I'll get it, next time," she said defiantly. "No stupid bird can outsmart me."

And then the story about SkyClan's leader not knowing how to hunt in the trees? That was just silly. Surely, that was an over exaggeration. But Spottedpaw had no interest in accusing her mentor of fibbing, so she just took it with a knowing nod.

"Well..." she mewed. "Can... can you tell me about fighting?" she tilted her head. For moons now, even she had been able to tell that something was brewing, some battle, some conflict... something to do with SkyClan. She didn't know what, but Spottedpaw was determined to be ready for it, whatever it was. "If I have to fight in a war, how will I know what to do?" Her voice was small, and one ear slid to the side uncertainly.

Juniperlight sat back, thinking on her question. He wanted to tell her that she was too young to worry about fighting in wars, but life as a warrior was never safe. She might not be picked for a raiding party anytime soon, but she might encounter a fox in the forest or have to protect her own camp regardless of her age. He settled on the decision that the best thing he could do for Spottedpaw was to prepare her as best as he could in the time he had with her. “Alright then. I’ll teach you some basic things and then we’ll practice every day, okay?” He meowed, hoping she’d be satisfied with beginning moves and stances for now.

He got to his paws and took a few steps back to give them the appropriate space to tussle. “First of all, battling is loud and not like playing with your littermates. Your goal isn’t to kill anyone—that’s against the code unless it’s necessary to save your life or someone else’s, understand? What an honorable warrior aims for is making your opponents flee, usually by scaring or hurting them so much that they no longer want to fight. You can’t guarantee your enemy is honorable… so let’s learn some defense, shall we?” He arched his back and fluffed his fur, making his appearance larger. His lips drew back into a snarl and his one-eyed gaze became sharp and dangerous. The mild-mannered, soft-spoken warrior became a big, angry threat in a single breath, and a loud hiss rang through the trees around them.

Within a moment he was relaxed again, fur flat and teeth concealed once more. “Go on, Spottedpaw. Give me your scariest stance.”