A Pebble to a Boulder

The tip of her tail flicked back and forth with anxiety and excitement as Acornpelt watched the sun's rays start to spill out onto the moor. Today was her first day of mentoring, and Boulderpaw's training. Giving Boulderpaw a few more minutes to sleep and a few more minutes for Acornpelt to think, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Getting up, she headed towards the apprentices' den.
The brown tabby carefully stepped past the rising and falling bodies of medium-sized cats, stopping once she got to a familiar grey pelt. Leaning down and nudging Boulderpaw with her nose, she spoke. "Time for training, Boulderpaw." Stepping out of the den, the she-cat waited patiently at the entrance.

Time for the best day of his life, you mean. His first day as an apprentice! And while he snored and drooled into his moss, and only grunted a greeting back to his new mentor, he was quick to snap up out of bed once he realized what was going on. "Oh! Acornpelt!" He yelped, perhaps too loudly, and near crashed to the outside. New-leaf sent a bitter chill their way, but he couldn't feel it at all. "Where are we going?!"

Post-OOC: I am SUPER SORRY this is unnecessarily long. Nearly all the first paragraphs just focus on Acornpelt showing him around. If you get bored or just don't want to read all of it, skip to the end.

Greeting Boulderpaw with a smile and a nod of acknowledgment, Acornpelt watched and listened to the young apprentice chatter before replying. "We're going to explore the general territory first- the Lone Stump, the Gorge, Fourtrees... places like that. Afterward, we'll return to the Lone Stump again and I'll give you a quick lesson on hunting. Hopefully, that isn't too tiring for you, but you seem to have a lot of energy. I think you can handle a little walking and stalking." Padding ahead, Acornpelt motioned to Boulderpaw with her tail. "Let's go!"
It wasn't long before the two cats reached the Lone Stump. It took a little slower than Acornpelt would've liked, but she couldn't tire out the apprentice too quickly. Stopping at the remains of the old oak tree, Acornpelt started to speak. "This is the Lone Stump. It is what is left of an old oak tree that once shielded cats from the strong moor winds. Prey is often plentiful here, even in the winter- and that's why I'm going to give you my first lesson here. This is also my favorite spot to relax and calm down every once in a while. Like you, the Lone Stump was the first place my mentor showed me when I was an apprentice. I hope you enjoy it, too."
Padding onward in a different direction, Acornpelt led Boulderpaw to the Gorge. "The canyon you see here is the Gorge. It is extremely steep and only jagged rocks and a howling river will you meet if you fall in. Skirmishes with RiverClan often occur here, too, so be careful. You can look over the edge, but don't get too close to unsteady ground," the brown warrior meowed, concern lacing her voice.
Directing Boulderpaw towards a much less rocky area, marshes and shrubs started to brush past her paws and legs more and more often as they got closer to Fourtrees. "You've probably been told many stories about interesting Gatherings that occurred here- Fourtrees. Every moon, the five Clans come here to have a moment of peace. I won't get too deep into this place, as you likely know enough about it."
The young warrior started to pace towards the Thunderpath. While she didn't want to show Boulderpaw this place, she figured that she would show him every piece of the territory to get him familiarized. The foul-smelling scent that reeked above the black, rough path started to grow stronger and stronger. Stopping a fair distance away, she halted Boulderpaw with her tail. "That there," she said, nodding towards the rumbling path, "is the Thunderpath. Huge Monsters use this as a means of transportation and is incredibly dangerous. Too many cats have lost their lives to this... thing. Boulderpaw, you don't have to say anything, but I want you to promise me that you will always be careful around the Thunderpath. The sight of such a limp and bloodied body of a valuable cat on this always makes me turn away. Don't die to this monstrous thing." Turning back, she averted the topic. "There is one last place I want to show you."
Acornpelt trotted towards a place she wasn't all too familiar with. She wasn't sure what to say about it, but the warrior wanted Boulderpaw to be very... knowing of the place. The information could be useful in a tricky situation. Stopping at a narrow hole in the ground, she turned to Boulderpaw. "Cats rarely ever visit this place, but I want to show it to you regardless. These are the tunnels. These holes were dug by many things other than cats- too many to name. Though I have never gone inside it myself, these tunnels allow cats to go almost anywhere they wish to go to. It is not the best means of travel, and if you are too reckless inside these, you might get caved in." 
Taking a deep breath, Acornpelt looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to drop beneath the mountains. It was only now she realized how much she had spent just showing Boulderpaw around. Drifting her head back towards the ground, she looked at the grey tom. He looked tired, but still had a good amount of energy. "I promised you I would teach you a quick thing or two about hunting. Let's go to the Lone Stump. I would let you lead to see if you were really listening, but we have little time. Come." Acornpelt beckoned to him and started off. 
Slightly sweating underneath her fur, Acornpelt was somewhat exhausted when she got to their destination. "I will start by showing you the correct stance to stalk a rabbit. Pay close attention, as hunting is very tricky if you are inexperienced." Lowering herself to the ground and raising her tail, she narrated her movements. "Lower yourself to the ground as much as possible, but not to where your fur might brush against something and alert your prey. Raise your tail and keep it up high." Steadying herself, easy and light, she stalked forward. "Watch your prey's behavior and how it acts. You'll be able to tell if your prey starts sensing a presence if it suddenly stands up or makes a quick change in movement. If it does, try and get a little closer. If that isn't possible, or you feel it would run, leap after your prey. Make sure it doesn't sense you. My number one tip for hunting rabbits is that their hearing is their greatest feature. Do not make a sound. The last thing I want to tell you is to pay attention to where the wind is blowing. If you ignore the direction that the wind is blowing, and is blowing the wrong way, it will carry your scent to your prey and you will lose your catch." Jumping up from her stance, she looked at the tom. "Now you try."

"No problem!" He'd said. Boulderpaw had been waiting all his life to go on his first patrol. There was no way he'd let himself lag behind... That's what he told himself anyways. As it turned out, when you had a big body, and that big body was full of thick, long, luxurious fur - it got a bit in the way of running. The wind threatened to puff him up and send him flying all over the moores, like a tumbleweed. It was difficult, and he struggled to catch his breath often, but the apprentice managed to keep up - not letting himself complain to Acornpelt. That showed weakness.

To say the last, as much as he loved the tour of the forest, he was relieved when they slowed down to a crawl; just to begin his first hunt. "Tail high, body low, got it." He muttered before rushing off. Once he spotted another rabbit, he paused, making sure the breeze pushed the scent away from the prey and snuck up as close as he could... He had this in the bag...!

The member 'Ebony the Holy Janitor' has done the following action : Dices roll

---

'Hunting Dice' : 8

It was a bit messy, but he managed to chase down the rabbit to a stop, leaping atop it's body and ending it's life with a sharp bite to the back of the neck. Triumphantly, he carried his catch back to Acornpelt. "Easy!"

"Great job, Boulderpaw!" Acornpelt purred loudly, eyes brightening. She had worried she wouldn't be a good mentor, but this apprentice seemed to do just fine and remembered everything she said. "You'll turn out to be a fine hunter." As Boulderpaw triumphantly kept his head held high, she silently, but playfully, rolled her eyes. "Now, now, though you might have made your easy first catch, you still have a lot to learn. Hares aren't all you're going to be catching- we get birds quite often, too. Birds have very different features than a rabbit, so using the same tactic on those won't work as well as it would with a rabbit." 
Crouching down once more, Acornpelt spoke. "Use the same hunter's crouch I taught you. Keep your tail raised and your body low, check the wind, you know the drill. The only things that are different about hunting a bird are that they don't have the same hearing and build as a rabbit. A bird's most valuable feature is their sensing. You must be easy and light on the ground, otherwise they will feel you before you get to it. Once the bird is aware that you are hunting it, jump as high as you can and bat it as you go down. Most birds are quite smaller than your own paw, so you must have good aim." Standing up, she looked around. "I doubt we'll spot a bird at this time of day. Just practice the stance for now, and we'll do the actual hunting in another lesson. If you do a spot a bird, though, feel free to try and catch it. Wait- one last thing I forgot to mention. If your catch makes any sound, at all, before you kill it, it will scare off the other prey in the area. You must be careful about your timing. Alright? Now, let's see your stance."

Birds? Squirrels? Rabbits? What was the difference? They were all stupid prey anyways! Even still, Boulderpaw crept down low on his haunches, creeping forward - his heavy weight shifting around awkwardly through the crisp pale grass. He thought he spotted something upwind from him. Was there a bird here after all? Amber eyes gazed back at his mentor curiously before he decided, well, forget it, and went in for the pounce. What was the worst that could happen?

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 6

And it was... nothing. Just a mouthful of old dirt and stray fur and leaves. Boulderpaw shot back up, spitting the "catch" awkwardly out best he could. "PFFEHH! PUUUH! GROSS!"

Softly chuckling as Boulderpaw spit out dirt and other foreign objects, Acornpelt looked at him with amusement glinting in her eye. "It was a good try. You'll have more time to stick your muzzle in the ground later," she commented jokingly. Noticing the sky had gotten much dimmer, Acornpelt could see Silverpelt faintly starting to appear, one by one. "That will be all for today. When we get to camp, you can either pick out the biggest prey in the pile or you can eat your own. Eat your first catch, give it to an elder, or toss it on the prey pile, whichever one you want to do. I expect you to get a good night's rest because we're going to do more training tomorrow." Acornpelt turned and started towards the WindClan camp. "Let's go- I won't slow my pace. The more tired you are, the better sleep you get. Come along."