the early cat gets the bird [Shrewpaw hunting]

The dawn was just beginning to break, meaning prey would be waking up in search of their morning meals. The best time for a hunt! Firefly did understand that Shrewpaw wasn't too keen on waking up early, but such was life; clan life meant you had to do things you don't want to at times.
Poking her russet and black head through the entrance to the apprentice den, "Up and at 'em, Shrewpaw! Today we do some hunting."

She would wait at the camps entrance for her apprentice, and escort the quirky she-cat from there.

Thrashing could be heard from inside the den as Shrewpaw struggled to free herself from her nest. The young apprentice joined Firefly outside of the den, scraps of moss still hanging from her golden fur. It was clear that the molly hadn't taken the time to clean it out of her fur, but there would be time for that on their way to the hunting grounds. "Ready! Lead the way!" Though her tail lashed in excitement Shrewpaw was nervous. She couldn't even begin to count all the hunting patrols she had bee a part of since becoming an apprentice, each one ending with her coming back to camp with an empty maw. This time would be different, she was sure of that! The night prior Shrewpaw had kept most of the apprentices up so they could help critique her stalking, and before that she had practiced with some kits from the nursery. She would catch something amazing!

It was slight and lasted mere heartbeats, but a smile had formed on the older mollys maw. Rosepaw - her sister the eternal apprentice - had a similar chaotic energy that always amused Firefly. It also exhausted her with constant worries of what trouble she'd have to keep her sister out of. Shrewpaw... Well, her apprentice was hopefully far more responsible. Time would only tell.

Flicking a speck of moss from the young goldens shoulder with the tip of her russet-and-black tail, she led the way out of camp and into the forest.

There were plenty of areas within ThunderClan that would make for perfect hunting grounds but, on the way there, the forest had already begun to wake up. With the rising sun's rays trickling through the canopies, a bird flittered through, alerting Firefly of its presence. She paused, instinctively lowering her body, tail flicking Shrewpaw again to silently tell her to stop...

Lean muscles rippled as the rust-orange warrior sprang forward, nabbing the bird mid-flight through the warm sunlight. As quickly as it had began, it was over. She wouldn't tell Shrewpaw that this was the luckiest she had ever been in hunting. A silent sigh of relief that she hadn't fumbled it during their first hunt together.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

The golden molly followed close behind as she was lead out into Thunderclan's territory, picking the rest of the moss from her pelt along the way. She hadn't taken the time to enjoy it the first time Firefly had woken her, but as day began to shine through the cracks in the canopy Shrewpaw couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of it all. Even the symphony of chirping that had begun was beautiful. It had distracted Shrewpaw from their task until Firefly signaled her to a stop. The apprentice crouched alongside her mentor. She had apparently spotted something that Shrewpaw couldn't see. A leap, and when Firefly came down a mixture of horror and awe played on the she-cat's face.

On one paw it had been a spectacular catch, on the other there was now one less bird in the forest for Birdclan to swoon over. Shrewpaw forced the horror to leave her face, leaving only awe and a silent prayer for the fallen feathery friend. "T-That was amazing! I can't believe you snatched it out of the air like that!" No, she really couldn't. Still, Shrewpaw had to admit that it was an incredible feat. If it had been any other piece of prey she probably would have woken the entire forest with her praises.

"My turn right?" Shrewpaw turned from the molly and her catch, glad that she had a reason to not stare at it any longer. White paws carried the apprentice through the trees at a slow pace. She hadn't noticed until now but the forest had ceased its song, which had only amplified the sound of tiny paws scraping the roots of a tree. Shrewpaw rounded every tree cautiously as she tried to find the source of the sound, and finally she came face to face with a tiny brown creature. The mouse gave a tiny surprised squeal, as did Shrewpaw, but as the tiny creature shot off Shrewpaw followed. The molly pounced, trapping the mouse under her but only for a second. It slipped from Shrewpaw's grip and the molly scrambled to reclaim it, eventually ending the struggle with a quick slice of her claws. It wasn't a clean kill, but it was still something to be proud of.

"Fi-FIREFLY! I DID IT!" After moons of failure she had finally succeeded in catching something! Shrewpaw scooped her prey up and bounded back toward the warrior. She couldn't help but beam at her mentor as her body shook with excitement. "I caught something- a mouse! It tried to get away from me but I got it this time!"

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

A prideful purr rumbled in Firefly's chest at the praise. It should be the other way around, but it just felt good to know that she was being a decent role model for once in her life. Out of everything she's messed up, it would not be this - a much needed new friendship she hoped to they could share in a way that she and Comfreyheart did. The balance between mentorship and friendship was a delicate one that she hoped to preserve. If Shrewpaw wanted that. Firefly would never force another to carry the burden of an unwanted friendship. "Then let's see what you can do."

Once the cheerful molly had caught wind of something, Firefly backed away, veering off a different path to let Shrewpaw do this on her own. The surprised squeak of both apprentice and mouse is when the chase started. While it was frantic and sloppy to most, in Firefly's eyes, the kill was perfect.

Then again, Firefly was a very poor hunter: anything that managed to get caught and killed was a very good day for her. The cherry on top was the excited squeals that came from a very proud Shrewpaw. Even if it sent a flock of birds scattering, the forest now in high alert. It seemed their hunt was over. "I saw every heartbeat of the hunt - fantastic work!" Russet tail flicked, a smile on her scarred face. She was almost as chaotic as Rosepaw. "Maybe celebrate a liiiitle quieter next time, hm? I don't think we'll have much luck if we keep going now." She was a bit sad to have to end it here... Maybe they could do one more thing? "We can always do something else for a bit, if you'd like. Anything at all."