A Little Sand Between the Reeds

Batfang left the den a few moments early before dawn. With serious eyes, the tom sta down in the entrance and waited impatiently for his new apprentice. His tail flicked from one side to another, searching for the she-cat. He told her that he wanted to see her in the entrance before dawn so they could start their training so she should be there soon. The warrior wanted to teach her a few things about hunting land prey, catching fish and climbing, the most important skills that a warrior should have and improve.

Sandpaw hurried out of the apprentice's den to meet up with Batfang at the camp entrance. She was excited to start training. "Hello Batfang! I'm here!" she said with a smile.

Batfang’s ear flicked as he frowned annoyed by the loud of the she-cat and her childish excitement. However, he wasn’t angry. At least she arrived just in time. Standing up, the charcoal tom beckoned with his long tail to the Riverclan territory showing that she must follow him. ”We have no time to lose, then. Follow me, we are going to the Beech Copse in a hunting patrol. I will teach you how to hunt land prey so be prepared to show me what you got.” He said coldly.

The warrior left the camp with the apprentice behind him. He really didn’t want to talk to her so much so he didn’t say a word until his gaze reached the tall reeds and trees of the Beech Copse. ”We are here. This is the Beech Copse, an usual spot for climbing training. After we hunt some prey I will teach how to climb properly. Any questions?”

Sandpaw quickly followed with a frown. She had a feeling that Batfang really didn't like her. What did she do wrong? Maybe she was too enthusiastic or maybe he was just like that. Either way she quietly followed her mentor to the Beech Copse.

After they made it, she listened to what Batfang was explaining. "No, I have no questions." she said politely.

The tom smirked, glad to see that she wasn’t the type of cat that was dumb enough to don’t understand what other said to her the first time. ”Good. Now stay quiet and look every move that I do.” Walking to a bunch of reeds following the smell of some birds, the Riverclan tom his between the tall plants when his eyes gazed a pair of doves. Crouching his body quietly and keeping his tail up so it wasn’t touching the floor, the tom folded his knees and jumped using all the strength of her hind legs. His jaws caught the scruff of the bird and with a second bite Batfang killed it cleanly. The warrior returned to his apprentice, leaving the prey on the ground. ”Land prey has better ears than fish so you must be quiet all the time and hide like a mouse every time you can so they won’t see you until you attack. Now is your turn. Show me what you got.”

OOC: use the hunting system.

Sandpaw watched quietly as her mentor sneaked up on some doves. She let out the breath she was holding once it was caught. She didn't want to mess up his catch if she made some noise. Her eyes widened when Batfang told her it was her turn. She took a deep breath before going to find some prey she could attempt to catch.

The she-cat eventually spotted the brown pelt of a mouse. She sighed before carefully getting closer. She made sure to hide in some vegetation and keep her tail off the ground. She took a few silent pawsteps before pouncing on the small creature.

The apprentice had caught it in her jaws. She quickly killed it and brought it back to Batfang. She placed it down before looking at him with sparkling eyes. "I-I caught it! I learned by watching you!" she said with a smile.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

The tom watched his apprentice quietly until he noticed she was coming back with a rodent on her jaws. Uh? She isn’t bad after all. She is a fast learner, good. Less troubles for me. He thought standing up to congratulate his apprentice with a nod and a serious smirk. ”That was a good first attempt. Not bad at all for an apprentice that never received any training. Catch another piece of prey and then we’ll start your climbing training.”

Sandpaw nodded and went to look for the second prey. She spotted a small brown bird pecking away at the ground. Good it was too busy to notice her. She knew she had to be careful because they were quick creatures. She crouched low enough to be hidden. She kept her tail off the ground. Soon she began to slowly crawl towards it. She held her breath before pouncing. She had knocked it away. It had stunned it so she quickly killed it. The apprentice then brought the bird back to her mentor.

The she-cat placed the piece of prey in front of Batfang. "I caught a bird!" she said excitedly. "Can you teach me how to climb now?" the sand colored apprentice asked.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

Batfang nodded and showed a glimpse of pride for the apprentice even though he didn’t smile. ”Quite impressive, indeed. You’re a natural hunter so with just a few more training lesson you’ll be ready on that skill.” He said seriously before he turned his sight to the closest tree he saw. ”And yes. We’re now going to do some climbing. Come and follow me.”
The charcoal warrior reached the log and unsheathed his claws ready. He did a little jump and then embraced the tree with his four paws, making sure that his claws were deep enough inside the tree. ”Climbing is about strength and speed. You must always keep your paws on the log and every time you put one paw after another you should do it quickly or you might fall. Also, your claws always out. Look at me now.” He climbed fastly like he was running from the ground to the top and finally reached the first branch that was big enough for his body. His green eyes looked down at the apprentice. ”What are you waiting? Give it a try.”

Sandpaw nodded and quickly walked up to the base of the tree. She performed the same quick jump to get on the tree. The apprentice felt herself slipping so she rooted her claws deeper into the bark. She made sure that she could place one paw after another. The sand-colored cat began her ascend upwards to a brance that could support her. She made sure she held on tightly and that she speedily went up. After a few moments, she found a good and sturdy branch. She went to it and held on. She was a few branches lower than Batfang. "I-I made it! I made sure I got up quickly a-and held on tightly."

”Yes... I’m not blind, I can see you.” He said grumpily but then he smiled, with a warmer and gentler expression. ”You did it well, Sandpaw. You have natural skills uncommon for an apprentice like you. But don’t think that because of that I’m going to let you be. No, we’re going train harder and harder each day so you can show the best of you. Now, come down with me.” The black bengal tom climbed down, being careful about each step and his claws. It was harder and slower than climbing up but this was the only way to be sure that he wouldn’t fall.
He reached the groun with a small leap and then looked up at the she-cat. ”This time it will be harder. Dig your claws deeper and don’t ever panic, okay?! Fear is not allowed!”