chasing our tails (c)

Flutterpaw felt his ears tingling with nervousness, but also with excitement. Smallbean, as the deputy of WindClan, had plenty of duties. And with how small their Clan was, not every patrol could have a warrior on it. And so it was that he-- Flutterpaw-- was going with the deputy's own apprentice to do a hunting patrol on their own! Apparently he'd been an apprentice long enough to be trusted out with a slightly younger apprentice. Warmth made his chest puff up slightly. He would do his best! However, he hadn't really ever talked with Hazelpaw before. She'd only been apprenticed recently. She seemed nice enough, though. Maybe they could be friends!

Light green eyes sparkled as they looked over at the other apprentice, meeting the hazel eyes that echoed her name. Flutterpaw's voice was soft and friendly. "So, are you ready to go? We don't have to go far if you want, just out into the territory where the rabbits run. Have you ever hunted before?"

The sun beamed through a lightly clouded sky, a gentle reminder of the normally pleasant weather the clans faced during this time of year, versus the onslaught of rain they had been receiving lately. The calico shook out her short fur, a slight grumble about the dried mud on the fur in between her pawpads buried somewhere deep in her chest. As she lifted a forepaw to begin to sort herself out, a black tom all but appeared, a contagious excitement radiating from him. Hazelpaw shot up with enthusiasm herself, especially as she remembered who he was, and what today was. Unfortunately, having the deputy for a mentor meant she was occasionally missing out on training- although, she had explored the territory her first day out, which was something- but there were others to fill the blanks.

And today, Flutterpaw happened to be that someone. "Trust me," She grinned, tail-tip swaying side-to-side behind her. "I'm more than ready!" As Hazelpaw begun to move forward, he asked a question that made her stop dead in her tracks. "Um... No. Smallbean hasn't had a chance to help..." The little molly appeared dispirited now, her ears and tail drooping a little, head slightly bowed. "Does this mean we can't go out anymore?" She tilted her head up to meet his green eyes, a slight shimmer of sadness marring her own hazel ones.

Flutterpaw's smile vanished quickly when he realized that he had said the wrong thing. The last thing he wanted to do was make anyone sad. He nudged her drooping shoulder gently with one paw. "Of course not! I only asked so that I would know how much to teach you," he reassured her as their gazes met. "Nothing could stop us from going out, if you want to!" A soft smile returned to his face. The sunlight from above moved past a small cloud, gleaming off of his fluffy black fur. He almost glowed in the light. "Now, c'mon, Hazelpaw. Let's go catch some rabbits!" With that said, he turned to walk out through the gorse-bush entrance, with a glance behind to make sure that she was following. He had to teach another cat how to hunt, all on his own... The nervousness he had felt earlier returned, and his stomach churned a little. But he could do it! How hard could it be?

His reassurance lifted her up like the sun rising over the moorland each morning, her peppy attitude returning instantly as he explained they would still be going out. It was like nothing had ever happened, as Hazelpaw shot up instantly, as bright as the lights of a monster travelling on the Thunderpath. She grinned, nodding her head enthusiastically, a purr growing loudly in her chest. "I'm so excited! I'm going to be the best hunter ever, especially because you're teaching me!" Instantly Flutterpaw had ascended to one of her favourite members of the clan, purely just because he had been assigned to take her out while everyone else was busy elsewhere.

She followed dutifully, her tail thrashing in excitement, head tilting in every direction to take in every view available to the short calico. "Where are we going to go? I don't wanna go to the tunnels. I've heard about them, and they sound scary." Hazelpaw's voice was so matter of fact, proud of herself for knowing about such a thing.

As Hazelpaw perked up again, Flutterpaw smiled. It was a good thing he'd clarified. Now they could go out and hunt together! Hopefully he would be an okay teacher. He felt a bit bashful at her immediate praise... what if he failed? It was a possibility. Yet, he kept his soft smile as they walked out onto the territory, the long grasses rising up above them. The excitement radiating from the calico reminded him of himself on his first patrol. They had a lot in common-- surely they could be good friends!

"I agree; I don't like the tunnels either," Flutterpaw said, shaking out his fluffy black fur as they walked along. "There are a lot of pretty places on the territory... I especially like standing on top of the Lone Stump, because you can see forever. I also like the flower field. It's where I spend my free time. We aren't going to either of these places today, though! But I can go there with you sometime else, if you'd like." He looked over to Hazelpaw, his light green eyes shining. "So today, we'll just be out here on the moors. It is the best place to find rabbits, after all. Let's just go to the top of this hill right here, and then I'll teach you how to look for rabbits!"

As they walked, her short legs grew tired embarrassingly fast, a slight pant evident as she struggled to keep up with his longer strides. To compensate, she was taking at least two steps where her denmate took none, making her legs look like they were moving very fast, and they had begun to ache very lightly from exertion. As thin, dark strips of cloud raced overhead, Hazelpaw listened to Flutterpaw with interest, head lost in the locations he described. But I can go there with you, His voice repeated on a loop, and she appreciated his immediate willingness to explore with her and introduce the molly to all these new things.

Speaking of, Hazelpaw found that they had crested the hill, and stopped to observe the territory out before her; taking in the scent of wet grass and rain on the wind. She purred lightly, looking to her new friend with excitement. "I'm ready! Teach me everything you know, right now Flutterpaw!"

Once they reached the top of the small grassy hill, Flutterpaw glanced back to find that Hazelpaw had been lagging behind a little bit. Right-- her legs were slightly shorter than his, so she likely wouldn't be as fast. Hopefully Smallbean would teach her how to run! That was one of the best parts of being in WindClan. Soft grass pulled at his fur, and he scented far-off rain on the breeze. Likely a greenleaf thunderstorm, which were not uncommon on the endless moors. Hazelpaw's excited words reached his ears once more, and the tom smiled. "Okay! I'm not a warrior yet, but I'll do my best!"

Flutterpaw flicked an ear as he thought for a moment. How should he begin?... There was so much to say. "Well, the way that WindClan hunts prey is different from the rest of the forest," he began. "Usually they have to sneak up on it and pounce, because they're so big and slow. But WindClan cats are fast! And there aren't many places to hide on the moor. So we just have to get as close as we can, and then outrun and chase our prey. Usually, we catch rabbits." He gestured to Hazelpaw with his tail, motioning towards the rolling fields in front of them. "A good way to spot rabbits is to get on a hill, like this. Then, you look for any parts of the grass that are moving differently from the others-- rustling or shaking from something other than the wind. Then you can always smell the breeze, and see if it smells like a rabbit might be nearby. Do you see anything, Hazelpaw?"

She nodded, taking in every word he said with the utmost enthusiasm and dedication, concentrating hard as he explained how to seek out prey on the rather monochromatic moor, narrowing her hazel eyes as she took in the moor. A rustle caught her attention, shrubbery just at the base of the hill moving in a way it shouldn't, and her whiskers began to twitch with far too much excitement, tail swishing along the ground. Wordlessly she took off down the hill, streaking diagonally across the grass as to not lose her balance.

A rabbit, almost the size of the small molly, had somehow remained blissfully unaware; burying its face into a particularly crunchy leaf, unaware of the calico terror coming its way. Hazelpaw's eyes were bright, adrenaline replacing any of the ache in her stubby legs and chest, hoping silently she would be able to get away without having to give chase. A brown head peaked up just a moment too late as the apprentice threw herself onto the prey, dealing a quick, but slightly messy killing bite. A wild purr ran through her body as she picked up the rabbit, neck aching with the effort, looking at the tom with pride and satisfaction, hoping he would see her and know he did a good job teaching. Hazelpaw placed it back down gently, spitting out the little bit of fluff in her mouth, facing Flutterpaw's direction again.

"I saw something!"

Hazelpaw caught a Rabbit!

Hazelpaw:
20/20 HP
57/60 SP (-3)

The member 'oryx' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Flutterpaw blinked in slight surprise as Hazelpaw suddenly dashed off, her WindClan instincts undoubtedly taking over as she dashed through the moor. Guess she saw something? Or maybe I was too boring. He kept an eye out for the rustling of the grass as he looked where his friend had gone-- though it was hard to see her in the distance. Where had she gone? He waited for what seemed like forever, his heart in his throat. Then, a beaming smile broke out on his face when he saw a calico head pop up above the long grasses, the unmistakable form of a rabbit hanging from her jaws. Hey, I did it! Guess I'm not a bad teacher, after all! Flutterpaw crossed a few steps closer to her, green eyes shining, and bumped against her shoulder in a display of friendly affection. "Hey, good job, Hazelpaw!" he purred, joy radiating outward from him as if he were the sun. "Your first ever catch!"