green hills through dreamy valleys (c)

Perchstar now technically had three apprentices. It was the most she had ever heard of a cat having at one time. If one did not count Hickorypaw, who still languished in the medicine den, then her apprentice count was two: Rookpaw, and the recently-bestowed Owlpaw. Of course, there were far more young cats in their Clan than eligible mentors to pair them with, so it stood to reason that some cats would need to take multiple. And if any should, then obviously it should be the leader. Still... Perchstar would not deny that she was unsure of how exactly to give both apprentices equal attention. It was hard enough to find adequate time to teach one as well as she should like to, but to teach two at once? It was difficult, to say the least. But if Poppyshine and Rowansong would need to do it as well, then so would she. And she would do her best.

Today she was taking both of them out on a hunting patrol. She'd taught them both individually to hunt fish, but they both had yet to learn more specific techniques for hunting prey on land. She reasoned that it would be more efficient to teach them together, and that potentially they could help each other in learning. Rookpaw was older than Owlpaw, mostly by virtue of their long stay in the nursery, but they had also been her apprentice for slightly longer than he had. Perhaps that seniority would lead to a helpful relationship rather than a fraught, unbalanced one. All she could do was hope that they would get along and do her best to teach them both.

They finally arrived in the Beech Copse, causing Perchstar to close her eyes for a brief moment, fighting back the memories that always attempted to return when the familiar smell of damp bark arrived in the back of her throat. But the moment was, indeed, brief. She was getting far better at banishing the recollections to the darkest, loneliest corner of her heart. It was time to focus. Sharp blue eyes turned to both of her apprentices, looking at them both in turn. "Today you will be learning about how to hunt land prey," she informed them. "Though as RiverClanners, our main source of food is fish from the river, it is advantageous to know both hunting strategies so that you may catch whatever crosses your path. This place is where most of our squirrels and birds come from. They gather here because of the trees. Do any of you have ideas of how this type of hunting would be different than fishing?" She'd learned through her moons of mentorship that it was always better to ask occasional questions, rather than do nothing but constantly lecture. Apprentices wanted to feel like they were learning, but not being patronized. It was difficult to strike a balance... but both of her apprentices were smart and capable. Surely they would learn in no time.

Owlpaw followed after Perchstar, blue eyes focused and forward. His gait even, coat pristine. He knew it would get dirty during training but he still has to keep up appearances. He was one of the leader's apprentices after all. He always thought if he looked bad then it would reflect poorly on her. Something he didn't want, it was a matter of pride after all. Another thing that was important to him was performing well in training. He had to make sure he did his best, he didn't want anyone to think for one second his abilities were underwhelming.

Once Perchstar stopped, Owlpaw did as well. He sat down curling his tail neatly around his paws, ears perked as he took in what his mentor was telling them. "Land hunting requires a hunters crouch doesn't it? And land prey doesn't come to us as the fish do." He was certain of the last thing. The first thing not so much.. but she asked a question and by stars was he going to answer.

Rookpaw's stifled unhappiness did not go unnoticed by Perchstar's sharp eyes. She flicked an ear, looking at him for a moment, before considering both of their answers. Having two apprentices was not a responsibility she was familiar with; it was important not to show either of them favoritism. Hopefully they could learn to work together, whether they liked each other or not. That was one of the most important lessons to learn in life. "You're both correct," she informed them. "Part of the reason that we catch fish is like Rookpaw mentioned; land prey takes more effort. And yes, Owlpaw, the fish come to us far easier without the use of a hunter's crouch. However, it would be foolish not to know how to hunt land prey for when it is necessary. A whole section of our territory would go unused if we ignored it just because it was easier." She glanced once more at Rookpaw. "The wider parts of the river rarely freeze over completely, but you are correct that hunting is much more difficult in leaf-bare. Thankfully, it is new-leaf, and so both types of prey should be easier to catch. You have both already been learning how to fish. Today, I will teach you how to catch prey on land."

The Beech Copse was dappled with early morning sunlight, carpeted with old mulch-turned leaves from leaf-fall moons ago. Perchstar's feet made barely any sound as she padded further into the clearing, beckoning with her tail for Rookpaw and Owlpaw to follow her. The trills of birds were quiet, but clear, filling the air in the absence of any noise from the leader walking. Her voice was similarly hushed as she began speaking again. "Different Clans have different hunting techniques. WindClan prefers to chase their prey, whereas ThunderClan favors stealth, for example. Though our main approach to hunting is to fish, land prey does not work exactly the same. Our land hunting style is somewhat of a mix between the two." She fell silent for another moment, blue eyes scanning the roots of trees and bushes around her for any hint of movement. It was new-leaf, so most prey would be out and about rather than hiding now. And if she was still... Sure enough, she spotted a small sparrow hopping around the base of one of the aspen trees nearby. She only took her eyes off it for a moment, to glance back at her apprentices and make sure they were watching. Then she returned her focus to it. Without making a sound, she stalked closer, carefully placing each paw so that not a single leaf was pushed out of place. The bird had not seen her yet. When she deemed herself close enough, she lowered onto her haunches. Her limbs grew taut. Behind her, she flattened her tail, silently calibrating exactly how much power she would need to put into her leap. Then she jumped. She flew forwards through the air, gracefully covering at least a fox-length of distance, paws outstretched to land directly on the sparrow. However, before she could finish the movement, the bird chose that exact moment to begin flying away. Her claws landed exactly where it had been just seconds before, and she was forced to watch as it vanished into the high branches of the aspen.

One moment of frustration was all Perchstar allowed herself before shaking her head. It would do no good to get upset over lost prey. There was more to be caught, and being angry at a missed catch would set an awful example for her apprentices. She turned back to them without a change in facial expression, completely neutral as she spoke. "Not every catch will be successful. No matter how good of a hunter you are, there's nothing one can do about bad luck. The important thing to remember is to keep trying." The leader walked closer, returning to where Rookpaw and Owlpaw watched and sitting before them. "Now, what can you tell me about my technique? Would either of you like to try and mimic it?"

Perchstar tried to catch a bird. She was unsuccessful. -3 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Owlpaw listened intently as Perchstar spoke, ears perked, blue eyes focused on her. He was hanging on to every word making sure he took them to memory. It made sense for them to hunt land prey, even if they had a preference for fish. Blue eyes glanced towards the other apprentice, they had been around longer so it seemed they had some knowledge as well.  Any knowledge was good knowledge, and the more knowledge he had the better he could be. After all it was his goal to be the best warrior.

As Perchstar began to move, Owlpaw did so as well, making an effort to not disturb the leaves below his feet. He didn't know how Perchstar made it seem so effortless. Maybe it was something that would be gained in time, with experience. After all Perchstar had moons of hunting under her pelt. His eyes never left his leader as she continued to explain how they hunt land based prey, even attempting to catch one herself. While it wasn't successful, she seemed to preform pretty well. There wasn't anything Owlpaw could pick out that she did wrong but he didn't have the same experience. For once he didn't know what to say.

Blue eyes glanced at the other apprentice before turning back to his mentor. Was he ready to try? He could at least mimic her stance.. Maybe not catch something yet. Maybe he would leave that for Rookpaw to attempt first seeing how they had more experience. Still the apprentice adjusted his posture, trying his best to mimic the crouch that Perchstar had used, trying to keep his tail still. It was clear he was new to this. Still he was trying, though it didn't seem good enough for him. He knew his stance didn't look like hers, no matter how much he wanted it to.