An Apprentice Already (For DaySteam)

Sootpaw watched diligently, imagining that she was Nectarleap. Come on, you can do it! she cheered in her head, her ears pricked and her eyes wide as she continued to obvserve.

OOC: Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, just please reread my post, because he was talking to her and she didn't respond.

OOC: Sorry I completely blanked out there no clue why I posted that.

Sootpaw watched Nectarleap in amazement as he easily killed and caught the hare. Every movement he made was precise and quick, and the entire time she knew the hare had no chance. She drummed her paws against the soft mud as she watched him confidently drop it at her own feet. "I have a question," she mewed breathlessly," will I ever be that good? That was amazing!"

Nectarleap chuckled slightly at Sootpaw's question. She reminded him so much of what he was like as an apprentice, he had been awkward and insecure then too. Though she had an excitement for learning that the young warrior remembered clearly having as well.
"Thanks. And don't worry, you'll be that good someday. I started out as an apprentice too you know," he reminded her, amber eyes shining with encouragement. "How about if you don't have any other questions about hunting, you try to hunt something again? I have faith that you can do it if you try hard enough." Nectarleap smiled at his apprentice reassuringly. He hoped she would catch it on her next try, but decided he didn't worry if she lost another one. It was her first time trying after all, and if she caught it perfectly the next time, she would be an incredibly fast learner.

"Okay!" chirped Sootpaw enthusiastically, before realizing what she'd just agreed to doing. I can do it this time, she thought, a new fire ignited within her. She scented the air, feelings of despair needling at her when she realized she couldn't scent any fresh rabbits nearby. She closed her eyes, scenting the air again. Come on, she wished, StarClan, please let me find another rabbit. I'll catch it this time! I promise!

As soon as she wished it, the fresh scent of a rabbit a few fox-lengths away hit her. At her joy, she was able to catch sight of the creature. It was athletic and spry, poking its head out of its burrow for a few moments before stepping out into the open. Sootpaw soon realized that she'd be scented soon if she wasn't careful. She crouched low to the ground, strafing the rabbit from afar as she made sure to stay upwind of the creature. This one looks fast, she thought, If I'm not careful, I won't catch it. At the thought of killing the rabbit, the apprentice almost forgot to unsheathe her claws. She did so, marveling at her own absentmindedness.

When she drew close to the rabbit, she leaped in the air as far as she could, making sure to jump far, and not high. The rabbit jerked its head to Sootpaw, barely missing her claws as it sped toward its burrow. No! thought Sootpaw with dismay. She took stride after the rabbit, taking a last second dive as she struck the base of its neck with her claw. The rabbit fell limp, rolling next to its burrow, only whisker-lengths from safety. It was dead. Exhilarated from her first catch, Sootpaw quickly uttered a StarClan blessing to the fresh-kill, remembering what her mother Gustpuddle had always taught her. She then happily carried the rabbit back to Nectarleap and his own rabbit, dropping it by her. "I did it!" she exclaimed, a smile on her face.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

Nectarleap watched closely as again Sootaw tried to catch rabbit. She was already doing much better than the last time, and even though the rabbit seemed agile, it looked like the apprentice was going to be able to catch it. The warrior subconsciously inhaled nervously at her jump. She was slightly too far away, though the leap itself was near perfect. He watched as she sprinted a few tail-lengths after it, and felt a little nervous when he saw how close it was to its burrow. As she caught it, a feeling of overwhelming pride filled the tricolored warrior. He now understood why other cats seemed to enjoy being a mentor so much, it was as if they were re-experiencing the pride at their first catches all over again.
"Great job Sootpaw! It takes skill to be able to catch a rabbit on only your second try ever," Nectarleap congratulated, pride flooding his words. "Really, that was a pretty good catch. Just remember, that hit isn't always going to kill it, so even if you did amazingly catch it, still lunge for a killing bite in case it didn't die. But you did end up catching that one, and I'm proud of you for it."

Sootpaw felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders when Necterleap showed he was proud of her. She smiled, her posture picking up. "Should we keep going, Nectarleap?" she asked, not sure if they were going to continue hunting or not.

"Well that depends. Would you rather go hunting some more, or do you want to battle train or have me show you the borders now?" Nectarleap asked Sootpaw. He was curious to what her answer would be. He knew that at her age he would have picked to do something new, having a been-there-done-that attitude, but he wondered how this cat would respond. The pride of her catch was still very much influencing his thoughts, and it might have been doing that to her as well.

"Well, I want to end hunting on a good note," replied Sootpaw thoughtfully. She took a few moments to think about what she wanted to do next. It probably would be important that I find out where the borders are and how they work, she thought, I guess I'll do that next. "Could you show me around the WindClan borders so I know where the important areas are?"

"Well in that case, let's hide our catches and then you can follow me," Nectarleap replied. He was pleased with Sootpaw's decision to see the borders. Knowing where you were in relation to the other clans was a very important part of being a clan cat. The tom looked around and spotted a thick gorse bush a few tail-lengths away. Padding over to it, he realized it would be a nice place to store their prey.
"Let's hide our prey here. There is not rocky soil, plus gorse bushes to add extra protection and hide the scent," Nectarleap explained. He quickly dug a hollow space under the gorse bush and placed his rabbit in there. He then covered it with a bit of soil and gorse. He sat back and waited for his apprentice to follow.

Sootpaw quickly hid her rabbit in the hole. So, she thought, now I get to learn what WindClan is actually like. "Where shall we go next?" she asked, smoothing her fur and curling her tail around her paws.

"Well, you'll see where we're going. To see how fast you are, I want you to sprint after me as fast as you can," Nectarleap instructed, then started sprinting at break-neck speed towards the RiverClan border. This would be a good way to show her the borders as well as seeing how fast she was. He didn't expect her to keep up with him, he was pretty fast if he said so himself, but he would make sure that he would stay within seeing distance of Sootpaw. As he ran, he threw a quick look behind him to see how well she was keeping up with him.

Sootpaw, being faster than average, found herself sprinting as fast she could through bushes and moorlands. While she may have been fast for an apprentice, she couldn't keep up with Nectarleap's powerful bounds. Maybe when I'm bigger, she thought. Stamina-wise, Streampaw was also doing well. She was always well conditioned, being used to running around in the nursery for hours. This was no different, just through different, uncharted, territory.

Nectarleap was rather surprised at how fast Sootpaw was running, and found himself having to run at full speed to keep a good distance ahead of her. Now he knew that he wouldn't have to give a lesson on how to run through their territory. She was definitely better at it than he had been at that age. When the scent of RiverClan border markers filled his nose, he came to an immediate stop. He was still a good distance away from the border, making sure that his apprentice wouldn't accidentally sprint into the gorge and fall to her death. Well, it wouldn't necessarily be death, Pidgeonpaw had fallen over and survived, but it would be horrible if she fell over.
"Good job with running! I certainly wouldn't have been able to do that well when I was your age," the young warrior complimented, panting slightly. "Now we are at the RiverClan border. You can tell by the stench of their border markers. Follow me, but watch your step." With those words, the tricolored tom began padding towards the gorge, not walking to fast.