Second Day!

Since the sudden owl a couple sunrises ago threw off her initial plans to teach her apprentice how to hunt, Heatherpetal decided on another day to teach Sunpaw. He was already beginning to shape into an excellent fighter in spite of his pacifism, and she was very excited to see how well he would do in hunting -- even though hunting herself wasn't her strong suit.

She had let Sunpaw know the evening before that he was to wake up bright and early for hunting training today. After all, the early cat catches the mouse.

The brown apprentice snuck up behind his mentor, who was waiting outside the apprentice den for him. He had woken up hours ago- he was so excited to hunt that he had trouble sleeping- and he was waiting for Heatherpetal to come collect him. He pounced with a growl. "I don't need to go hunting! I already caught a huge piece of prey! Oooh, and she looks so tasty!" Sunpaw purred, lightly munching on Heatherpetal's hind leg.

Gasping with a massive leap in the air, Heatherpetal had to recollect her thoughts to keep from instinctively thwacking Sunpaw. Instead, she narrowed her eyes playfully and gently cuffed him over the ear. "Great StarClan, Sunpaw, you're a merciless sneak. Come on, you silly thing." She swished her tail tip across his nose as she passed, heading towards the camp entrance.

Sunpaw sneezed at the fur in his nose, then followed after his mentor with a playful grin. "So... what happens if we find an owl again? Or a badger?" Sunpaw paused in consideration, then frowned. "Knowing my luck, it'll be a badger... and I had trouble with the owl, too..." Sunpaw realized he had been left behind and hurried to catch up. "Anyway, what was the first prey you've ever caught?"

"Well, if that happens again, we'll just have to buy ourselves some time to escape, and then we'll have to try again another day. Hopefully it won't come to that, though. As for my first prey..." Heatherpetal blinked as she tried to remember. When it finally came to her, she brightened. "That's right. My first prey, not counting the owl, was a squirrel. They're very common it ThunderClan and SkyClan territories, so that probably made sense. Plus it was during leaf-fall, where prey wasn't as scarce as it is now."

Leading Sunpaw up the ravine and into the snowy forest, she caught scent of a sparrow, and soon enough she caught sight of the bird fluttering around in the snow. "Watch and learn, and once I've caught it I'll give you some pointers so you can catch something of your own." She lowered herself to the ground, her tail keeping level with the rest of her body and her belly fur raised to keep from brushing along the snow. She then began to creep up on the oblivious sparrow. Once she was close enough, she silently leaped through the air and landed neatly on the sparrow's back, pinning its wings to the ground with either forepaw and bending down to quickly end its life with a sharp nip to the back of the neck. Pride rushed through her; not only did she seem to be getting better at hunting, but she was able to demonstrate a flawless catch to her apprentice.

She carried the sparrow over to Sunpaw and placed it next to him, then kicked some snow over it to keep it hidden from hungry predators. "The trick is to balance equal amount of weight on all four paws. If you lumber around like a lopsided badger, squirrels and birds will hear you approaching while mice and shrews will feel you. Keep downwind of your prey so they can't scent you, and you must resist the temptation to move your tail. Keep your back straight when you leap and your belly fur off the ground so it doesn't make any noises brushing along the snow."

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 3

"That sounds... complicated." Sunpaw said, looking down at the bird his mentor just caught. "But I'll give it a try!" The cat stood still, keeping his ears and eyes open. Soon enough, he heard a rustling in the leaves blanketing the ground, and as he crept forward he discovered a shrew. He followed Heatherpetal's instructions, keeping his stance even and his tail still, until he was close enough to pounce. His paws broke the shrew's spine on impact, and he bowed his head to give thanks to Starclan for its life. When he had finished, he opened his eyes, which were glittering in excitement. "Did you see that, Heatherpetal? I did it!"

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 6

"You've caught your very first prey, and on your first try, too! You're going to be just what ThunderClan needs in a warrior, especially at a time like this. I'm so proud of you." Heatherpetal nuzzled behind his ear with a purr. "So, we have two pieces thus far, so let's see if we can't catch three more for the Clan. Then we can head back to camp."

"Okay!" Sunpaw mewed, eager to start. He lowered himself into a crouch yet again, and before long he found a bird pecking around in the underbrush. He crept forward slowly, and when he was within reach, pounced. He was a whiskers-width away from catching it when it took off with an alarmed call. He padded back to Heatherpetal, slightly disappointed.

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 9

"Don't worry, not even the greatest hunter to have ever lived in all five Clans could catch every prey they came across," Heatherpetal reassured her disheartened apprentice. "I just know you'll catch the next one."

A rather rare scent drifted in the air next to a clump of brown ferns, and she spotted a white rabbit digging around in the snow. Her stomach growled and her mouth watered; rabbit was her favorite prey, and they weren't nearly as common as they were in WindClan territory. She dropped into a hunter's crouch and stalked up towards it, but it was already beginning to move on. She broke into a desperate run after it, and it quickly heard and dashed away faster than she could keep up with. She skidded to a halt and grinned sheepishly at Sunpaw. "Heh... See what I mean?"

(OOC: At least you didn't roll a 10. XD)

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 8

"Oh..." Sunpaw mewed, staring off in the direction the rabbit had gone. "I guess that does make me feel a little better. It's my turn now, though!" And with that, Sunpaw went silent. He heard a rustle a few tail lengths away, and when he crept closer he saw another rabbit. Probably didn't notice its friend running off, he thought. Sunpaw stalked forward, but he made a wrong step and a sick cracked under his weight. He chased after the startled rabbit, but it was too late. He returned to Heatherpetal empty-pawed yet again. "Guess neither of us are having much luck with rabbits, huh?" He purred.

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 6