Cherrypaw's Hunting Patrol [Closed]

Lionspark wasn't very excited about this. She had managed to drag herself to the entrance of the camp, but was now hunched as she waited for Cherrypaw to arrive. She still wasn't certain of what Blizzardstar had been thinking but she didn't want to question it. Besides...Maybe...Maybe she could do better. She frowned at that, finding it hard to even believe those words but she couldn't go against Blizzardstar's orders. The leader's word was law after all...So...Maybe the fresh air would do her good? Really, she wasn't sure and she wasn't very eager of maybe looking like a fool in front of her apprentice as she had been rather terrible at hunting since she had lost vision in her left eye.

Cherrypaw came padding over to Lionspark with an obvious skip in her step, a smile broad across her face. She was extremely excited to go out and train with Lionspark, even though her mentor didn't seem to have near as much enthusiasm. 'Well, maybe she's nervous. I'll be excited for both of us!' Nodding her head to herself Cherrypaw skipped the rest of the way over to her new mentor. "Hi Lionspark!"

Lionspark bit back a long sigh as Cherrypaw came bounding up, forcing the slightest hints of a smile on her face. "Hello Cherrypaw," she greeted in return, although her voice didn't even come close to having the same energy as Cherrypaw's greeting, as she pushed herself up to her feet. Her eyes remained focus on Cherrypaw for a few heartbeats as she studied the chipper she-cat. The smile on her face and the light in her eyes...Well, she reminded Lionspark of a younger version of herself. Before...Well, before Bramblefrost revealed his claws. She shook her head at the dreadful memories, turning to lead Cherrypaw into the forest. "Come along...I'll be doing my best to teach you some hunting," she explained, already feeling nervous about this. What kind of training would she be able to give Cherrypaw when it was so hard for her to catch prey herself?

Cherrypaw stayed just a step behind Lionspark as the pair left camp and started on their way to whatever hunting spot Lionspark had chosen. Though she was extremely excited Cherrypaw's nerves started to get the better of her as they got farther from camp. She had obviously never been hunting before, unless you counted the leaves she and Forestpaw used to 'hunt'... Sighing, Cherrypaw picked up her pace and caught up to Lionspark, having slowed as her thoughts had weighted on her.

As they entered a small clearing, Lionspark came to a stop. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath of the fresh forest air. It had been a while since she had managed to drag herself out of the camp, having spent most of her time since she had returned to ThunderClan being in her nest or just outside of the warrior's den to watch whatever ceremony was transpiring...It was nice, she had to admit that. The many different scents washed over her, picking out a few different types of prey as her ears twitched at the slightest sounds. Since she had gone blind in her one eye, she felt like her other senses had gotten a bit stronger but it was hard to tell...It certainly didn't help make up for her lack of depth perception now.

Shaking her head, she turned to look at Cherrypaw with a curious look. She could tell that the apprentice was getting a bit nervous, and Lionspark found herself frowning softly. Now that she was out of the camp, she was feeling a bit more...Herself. Easier to forget everything that had happened in the last few moons when it was just her and Cherrypaw. It didn't completely erase the pain and weight that settled uneasily in her chest but...Well, she was feeling better about having Cherrypaw as her apprentice now.

"Hunting is the...lifeblood of the Clans," she explained carefully, picking and choosing what words to say. "We could survive without fighting, but we could never survive if we didn't hunt. As warriors, it is our job to care and feed our Clan..." she drifted off slightly, pain flashing across her face as a darker part of her mind whispered that she had taken pleasure in doing nothing for her Clan while she was in the RiverClan camp but she shook it away as she continued to speak. "For hunting, it takes quiet steps, quick paws and good aim to catch a prey. But it all starts with a hunting crouch." As she spoke, she dropped into the crouch, pausing to shift on her paws in order to give Cherrypaw an idea of how to spread out her weight.

"When you are crouching, you want to make sure that you are low to the ground so you aren't easily seen but not enough that your stomach or pelt may rustle any loose leaves. You also need to carefully spread out your weight for quiet paw steps as some prey might be able to feel the vibrations of the ground and then be alerted to your presence," she explained as she took a few stalking steps forward as an example before she pulled herself to her full height. "Once you feel you are close enough to your prey, you can judge your distance and make a leap...That's..." she blinked, a sheepish look crossing her face as she lowered her tone. "Ever since I have lost the vision in my left eye, I haven't been able to aim as well as I once could. Its much harder for me to hunt and catch prey but...I'm sure that you will have no such trouble, Cherrypaw," she added with the slightly hint of a smile at the end of it. "Now how about you show me your best crouch."

As Lionspark spoke, Cherrypaw's attention immediatly snapped to her mentor. As her mentor explained thing Cherrypaw nodded anytime Lionspark looked over at her to show she was listening. With the demonstraton given to her, Cherrypaw felt confident when her mentor told her to give her first attempt. Spreading her pws further apart to balance herself Cherrypaw crouched. Unbeknownst to her, the fact that her paws were further apart than was neccisary and that her butt was too high in the air were just the most noticable of flaws in her hunter's crouch. "H-how's this?" As she used muscles that she had barely ever used before she strained to stay in the position she was in.