I hope you're ready...[Closed Patrol]

Sootwhisper walked towards the improvised apprentice’s den with his usual silent way of walking. It wasn’t exactly early, but for a new apprentice like his own it surely would be, he needed to get him used to get up early after all, he wasn’t a kit that could sleep for as long as he wanted anymore.

He sat calmly right outside the temporary den and looked at the sky, waiting to see if Ripplepaw would come out by himself, as he warned him during his ceremony about this patrol, if not he was going to get in and drag him out by the scruff if he needed to. He wasn’t a cat of much words, so it usually caused him to take action rather quickly, and secretly he was already evaluating his new apprentice to know how enthusiastic h really was for the training, and consequently how hard it would be for him to teach him, he was his first apprentice and didn’t want to disappoint Fishstar.

He already had planned to take him out hunting, as the other mentors were already making large patrols to show their own apprentices around the territory…or as much territory they could reach after the flood, and being a cat that didn’t like big crowds he obviously wouldn’t feel comfortable around all those patrols

Ripplepaw beamed with a warm smile towards his new mentor with glee and excitement for what was to come. He bounded out of the apprentice's den with enough vigor to outrun a hare, and easily stopped in front of his mentor. Once regaining his composure on his four paws, he leaned back on his haunches to sit up straight and tall.

"Bright and early, just like you said Sootwhisper!" He meowed cheerfully. "Hopefully I didn't look too kit-like just then, I'm just really excited for whatever you have in mind for today! So sorry if I'm a little ... well .. over excited!" Ripplepaw politely explained, not wanting to retain his former kit ways as he is an apprentice now. And this training is to be serious, at least in the young tom's mind that's how its supposed to be.

Sootwhisper looked at the new apprentice as he got out of the apprentice’s den with even more energy and excitement than he could expect him to show. He would lie if he said he wasn’t pleased with the situation though, having an apprentice as eager to learn as Ripplepaw could make training quite enjoyable after all “Don’t worry about it, this is your first day of training, so being excited is to be expected” The odd eyed tom’s voice had become a lot deeper since he became an apprentice himself, making him sound older than he really was. However, the usual low tone that he used to speak and was the inspiration for his warrior name didn’t make it as obvious as it would be otherwise.

His emotionless voice and neutral expression made it hard to tell, but deep inside him he was nervous, just like any clan cat during their first day as a mentor “Follow me” He stood up and started to walk on the contrary direction to the one the rest of mentors of apprentices were taking, not saying a single word most of the time they walked even if his ears and nose were working constantly.


“Tell me, as a kit, did you ever tried to catch a bug or fish for something on the small pools with your littermates or mother?” His calm steps came to a stop once he decided he was far enough from camp and that the place was ideal for some hunting, having the river close for fishing and a good enough plain terrain for land hunting.

"Alright!" Ripplepaw gleefully laughed. Practically bouncing on his feet with joy with it being his first day, yearning to learn from his mentor. Once his mentor spoke the one word and started walking off in a random direction, Ripplepaw was sure to tail behind him, bounding to his side.

The silence between him and his mentor didn't mind him, Ripplepaw learned not every cat was a big talker. Sootwhisper must've been one of those cats, so he didn't really let the silence get to him. But the young tom did hum casually as they continue their trek to Sootwhisper's designated location.

"Oh ... well, I tried to pounce on a leaf that was flying in the wind once, but that was a while ago." He explained. Ripplepaw didn't play with his siblings much, so he often times played with nature when given the chance. His head dropped as he eyed the river and fish dancing within the waters.

"I take it I'm going to learn how to hunt for fish?" The tom asked quizzically. More likely than not he was going to learn, but he'd rather clarify just to make sure he knew what to do.

"I mean, I know the river is staring at me right in the face, but .. I just wanted to ask and make sure." Ripplepaw certified his question, this tom wanted to ensure the best impression possible on his mentor and did not want to let him down within the slightest! He wasn't nervous per say, but he just felt the urge to do his very best he could regardless what assignment his mentor gave.

Sootwhisper nodded calmly at Ripplepaw’s question “Asking is always good, even if the question itself may sound stupid, don’t lose that habit” He sniffed the air carefully, taking in all the scents that the wind carried to his experienced nose, identifying them rather quickly before looking back at his apprentice.

“When I was an apprentice I got a blind mentor, you may think that was a disadvantage, but it actually was a surprising advantage. She had the best ears and nose in the whole clan, she could hear a water vole eating in its den several fox-lengths away, and smell intruders from camp. She passed down those abilities to me and now I’ll try to pass them down to you. It must also serve you as a valuable lesson, sometimes cats we consider crippled have techniques or advantages that no other cats ever had, so don’t underestimate them” Sootwhisper tried to be as clear as possible to let the apprentice understand why the next lessons were going to be the way he had them planned, even if he had to talk a lot more than he usually was comfortable with. He also was aware that he may be exaggerating things, but in all honesty during his own time as an apprentice he could swear on his life that Halfmoon could do those things. Her abilities never ceased to impress him, and even then he couldn’t help but believe that his own abilities were only a shadow of what hers were even after several moons of constant training.

“Close your eyes…tell me what you can smell and hear” Sootwhisper sat at a couple of tail-lengths from the apprentice to not interfere, waiting for his answer.

His ears perked carefully as listening to his Mentor's words, his story being shared to the apprentice. Ripplepaw watched his expression, solid and steadfast. Listening in amazement of such a wonderful mentor Sootwhisper had, Ripplepaw wondered what this mentor was like ... or maybe some day he could meet her? Who knows!

But his ears perked once more, being told to close his eyes? Not really wanting to question just yet, Ripplepaw nodded, closing his eyes and his body relaxing to let the smells and sounds of nature surround him.

The rushing water caressing the river bed, the cries of gentle breezes rustling the leaves and the fish smacking into the water with a firm splash. Furrowing his brow a little to help him focus, the tom listened closer and heard .. faint hops of what sounded to be a rabbit's footing against the dirt. It was very faint, and even harder to make out and to tell for sure.

"I hear ... fish jumping out of the water. I smell .. moisture from the river's water. And .. I think I hear a rabbit a few lengths away ... it's faint, but it's there." He murmured to his mentor, not intentionally trying to strain his hearing to figure out what those paw steps were.

"A little further down the river, the wind is rustling the leaves ... and the wind is ... moving closer to us?" He questioned, opening one eye to hopefully look at his mentor and get confirmation if what he was hearing was accurate.

Sootwhisper stood silent as he watched Ripplepaw’s efforts to listen and smell everything that surrounded him, making several mental notes about his technique as he did so. He, however, was careful to not make a single noise that could distract the apprentice.

He listened to his words, his own ears moving to catch as many sounds as possible, his nose working just as hard. His trained senses were able to catch and identify more sounds and scents than the apprentice’s, something he hoped Ripplepaw could achieve or maybe even beat at some point.

“Good, good. Knowing where the fish is jumping or swimming lets you know good fishing spots, so that’s something you need to look for each time you decide to go on hunting patrols, also the smell of moisture is something you should get used to as a RiverClan cat, but not ignore it, as it can let you know if a storm is coming” After moving his ears a bit he located the source of the sound, pointing at it with his tail “A rabbit hopping means that the small animal is either being chased or is in a hurry, as they only tend to do so when they need to move quickly for any reason. Depending if you smell or hear a potential danger or another cat near to the rabbit, you can decide if you should try to hunt it or not” He tried his best to explain the sounds to the apprentice without confusing him with details that he still wasn’t ready to fully grasp.

Sootwhisper looked at the dancing leaves with a smile, nodding calmly with the apprentice’s last words “When hunting, having the wind on your favor is crucial, otherwise prey can spot you way before you get close enough to it” After he stood up, the odd eyed cat walked closer to the border of the river, exactly where the bigger concentration of fish could be judging by his senses “Also, a piece of advice, don’t hesitate to move your ears or head to catch more sounds or listen better, or open your mouth to let your tongue help your nose” After that he stopped at the edge of the river, waiting for the apprentice to join him.

Ripplepaw sat patiently to let his mentor finish speaking. Taking in every word he spoke to heart, jotting them down in his mind like notes for the future, hopefully, to use this educated knowledge when needed.

"Right, I'll keep that in mind." He nodded firmly, noticing his mentor was making way further down the river Ripplepaw made haste to trail after him without wasting any time, much was to be learned from Sootwhisper! And certainly, this tom had no intention of letting him down.

Sootwhisper pointed at the water, the fishes swimming under the surface visible for the two cats “Now, once you find a good fishing spot you need to catch the fish…watch closely” Sootwhisper got closer to the surface and looked at the fish carefully, waiting. As soon as one got close enough to the surface he slowly raised a paw, placing it above the fish. Only a second or two he splashed the water with claws unsheathed, predicting the fish’s escape route successfully and kitting it with his paw, throwing it out of water where he quickly killed it “Your turn, remember that the fish will try to escape as soon as your paw makes contact with the water, so you’ll need to predict to where your target will swim”.

Ripplepaw watched in awe, nodding firmly hoping to do something similar as his mentor.

"Okay, I'll give it a shot!" He gleamed. Turning towards the river, he eyed the river's flowing water to target an approaching silhouette of a passing by fish. Waiting and waiting, he swayed his tail as his eyes were marked solidly on what was in front of him.

Flicking an ear, he heard a splash farther off in the distance, the splashing noise was coming towards him. Yes! This could be his chance! Preparing by lifting his paw in the air, he saw a quick blur and acted upon impulse. A loud splash was all he heard, a bit wet from the water but he saw the fish flopping around on the other side of the river. It was rather small and pathetic looking, but it was at least something!

"W-Woah ... I ... I caught a fish!" He cheered, jumping around on all four paws at his catch.

Sootwhisper smiled and nodded, clearly pleased with his apprentice’s catch regardless of the size “Good, just remember to predict the fish’s movements before hitting the water and not getting too close. Once you dominate those tactic, you’ll find yourself catching bigger fish” He looked at the water, then back at the apprentice “Our main prey is fish, but sometimes we need to hunt land prey as well, are you ready to learn how to catch those?” As he talked, his ears and nose were already getting to work to catch as man clues of possible locations of prey surrounding them.

(Whoops! I thought I posted a reply! Sorry!)

"Right!" The young tom gleamed, still very proud of the fish he had caught from the river. Oblivious to the fact that it was small, a catch is still a catch.

The brown colored tom had noticed his mentor's ears twitching. Was he listening for something? Maybe the land prey he mentioned? Should I listen too ... ? He thought for a moment or so, debating if he should listen in as well before the tom actually did it.

Angling his ears in different directions and positions, he heard faint thumping noise. A rabbit maybe?

"What .. sort of prey should we be looking for?" He asked, focusing on his teacher while still keeping some attention to his surroundings.

OOC: Ok, thanks to the new hunting system it’s time to train you a bit on it. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask, please. Now, first click “Preview” instead of send when you’re done with your reply, you’ll see a Roll List with different animals. Now, click on the “Dices Roll” section under the post area and pick “Hunting dice”. Once you’re done you can click on “Send”. As you can see, I got a 5, what means Sootwhisper just found a rodent.


Sootwhisper looked at his apprentice as his ears and nose worked “In this specific area, we can find frogs, rodents and waterfowls…now, there may be foxes roaming around this place as well, so we need to be careful. If you find one and can’t run away, don’t fight it alone. Foxes can be really deadly and would easily turn you into their meal if you give them the chance” After those words, the black and white warrior got up and started to walk around while smelling and tasting the air, trying to find any nearby prey. Sooner than later, he picked up the scent of a rodent and immediately dropped into a hunter's crouch, getting closer to it while trying to not get noticed.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5