It's A Hard Time Right Now But Were Still Training [CLOSED TRAINING]

Cloverpaw woke slowly to the nudges of his new mentor Toadclaw. He had quickly adjusted to the bustle of the apprentice den so it took him a second to recognize that this disturbance was on purpose. He stood up and shook the moss out of his long gray hair the best he could, ignoring the bed head that covered his entire body. He stood up and stretched quickly, padding out of the den once his muscles felt more awake. "What are we going to do today?" he asked, clearing his throat mid-sentence to rid of his sleepy voice. His eyes winced at the brightness of the sun but he blinked them a few times and was ready to go. He turned to Toadclaw and waited, his fluffy tail sweeping behind him in anticipation.

Cloverpaw was not much for making decisions so he was glad Toadclaw offered one. "That's fine" he mewed, pawing at the ground eagerly and subconsciously. He loved to chase bugs when he was a kit and hunting was similar, so he was excited to finally catch some prey.

Cloverpaw wasn't much for conversation but knew he had to talk with his mentor to learn anything and hopefully become some kind of friend of his. "I hunted bugs a lot" he mewed sheepishly, knowing that was a childish answer, but it was the only experience he had. "I was good at being quiet and sneaking up on them" he said, making his pawsteps as light as possible while he padded alongside Toadclaw.

Fishing sounded pretty hard but he knew as a RiverClan cat it was essential. "I need to learn to catch the easy stuff first" he laughed nervously, moving his eyes from the ground up to Toadclaw. He watched him for a moment before his deep green eyes pointed forward at the ground again, waiting for instruction. He opened his mouth a little to try and catch the scent of prey as they walked.

Cloverpaw closed his eyes and tried to remember the scents of the fresh-kill pile. He remembered his first solid meal, a mouse, and tasted the same scent now. He sniffed the air and opened his eyes, turning his head to Toadclaw. "A mouse" he said quietly, unsure of the location of the potential prey and not wanting to scare it off. He focused on what he was hearing and heard a few clicks and squeaks and assumed it was said mouse.

It was hard for Cloverpaw to really figure out what he was doing since he had never hunted before. At first he tried to sit still and listen for the mouse but all of the noises of RiverClan territory started to blur together and he couldn't distinguish one noise from another. He shook his head slightly as if to rid his head of the sounds and tried a new approach. He looked for the mouse, which made him think that was dumb of me because obviously the mouse would be hiding and would be kind of difficult to just point out. He finally went back to the scent method and caught a whiff of it again, catching it in a small breeze. He was downwind, so the mouse had to be to his right which was upwind. He moved slowly and quietly until the scent got stronger and he noticed some small plants rustling around. He looked back at Toadclaw and grinned, happy with himself that he actually found the little thing.

Cloverpaw took the nod as a signal to catch the mouse, so he turned back to the prey and focused on it again. It was digging with its little paws and shuffled dirt around quickly, and it seemed preoccupied. Cloverpaw squatted down slowly and moved forward such a small amount that it didn't look like he was moving at all. Each of his senses was honed in on the mouse and he tensed his muscles, ready to pounce. He waited until he was ready and then made his move, lunging forward and hitting it with a powerful blow of his paw. The mouse was smacked sideways and he grabbed it in his jaws, killing it. "Thank you StarClan" he murmured quietly, carrying the mouse over to Toadclaw and dropping it at his paws proudly.