A soft hearted lesson

Flurrypaw lowered her gaze down to the clear flowing water, and underneath the calm ripples she could see what her mentor was keeping her from stepping on. She wrinkled her face in disgust. "Some yucky green-looking stuff... and... oh, wow! What's that?" Something very colorful suddenly caught her eye. Laying in the midst of all the bland whitish-gray pebbles on the river floor, she saw a shell that was pinkish pale in color. She wanted to take a closer look -- scratch that, she wanted to keep it! -- but she was just getting used to being in the water, let alone diving into it. She looked up at Dewshine pleadingly. "Dewshine, would you mind reaching that thing for me?"

Curious, Dewshine looked down into the water beneath her treading paws. She looked up at Flurrypaw, then nodded. There was no harm in letting the young apprentice keep a shell.
"That is a shell." She explained with a purr. "There are many of them scattered in the river." Her pelt brushed against Flurrypaw's as she took a deep breath. "Watch what I do." She ordered before her head sank below the water. Smooth, graceful movements carried the she-cat beneath the water as she dipped down the small distance to retrieve the shell. The gentle flow of the river combing through her pelt as she surfaced with only ripples to show that she had even been under. The shell carefully carried in her jaws as she paddled towards the shore to place it down on a rock scattered with grass.

"When you go underwater, it's important to hold your breath. You need to move with the water and let it guide you. Constantly fighting it will lead to panic." She explained as she turned around calmly. That half her body was still submerged barely seemed to bother her at all. "Try dipping your head under the water. "

"Y-You want me to what?" But Flurrypaw was just getting used to the feel of water and swimming! This was advanced stuff that only the most talented and experienced of warriors could do! Oh, but she really wanted that shell... She heaved a nervous sigh, then inhaled deeply, and finally lowered her head underwater.

Even though the rest of her body had gotten used to the water's chilliness, she still wasn't quite prepared for the chill to engulf her head, and it almost took her breath away. She slowly opened her eyes to look for the shell, and she closed them again when the water stung them, not used to such exposure. She pulled her head out again to breathe and sputter, fluttering her eyes open again. "I... I-I don't think I can do it, Dewshine. At least not yet. I'm sorry."

(OOC: Dew already removed the shell from the stream and placed it on the shore~ XD )

Dewshine smiled at her apprentice with gentle encouragement.
"You'll be fine Flurrypaw." She mewed softly, wading closer to the young apprentice as her head dissappeared into the river. The silver she-cat stood steady against her, making sure the apprentice's body didn't move away from where she was. When her white head came up above the water, Dewshine gave her a few gentle licks above her eyes to stop the water from flooding them further from the she-cat's long coat. "That was very good Flurrypaw!" She praised. Showing no displeasure in the young she-cat's words. Flurrypaw would learn, she would get the hang of it, she simply needed practice.

Carefully, she manouvered her body in front of Flurrypaw and pressed gently against her to push her back towards the shore.
"Try it closer towards the shore, and take your time Flurrypaw, there is no rush." She murmured gently, waiting until Flurrypaw was firmly on her four paws in shallower water before she walked back to the shore and picked up the shell the young she-cat had been after. She laid it gently at the base of Flurrypaw's paws, but this time the water barely reached her stomach. She had confidence that in such shallow water, the apprentice would have no trouble. "I will get it for you if you can't." She reassured her calmly.

(OOC: Oops, guess I missed that part, sorry. XD)

Flurrypaw let Dewshine direct her back closer to the shore, and she was once again tempted to climb out of the water back onto dry land, but she stayed put and watched as the older she-cat dropped her pretty shell back into the shallows. Her heart jumped at the thought that it would drift back into the depths of the river to be lost forever, but she knew in her heart that Dewshine wouldn't let that happen. She trusted her -- she certainly trusted her enough to attempt to become more used to water, knowing that she would never let anything bad happen to her.

With another nervous gulp, she nodded at the instructions and lowered her head back into the water, holding her breath and slowly blinking her eyes open again to become accustomed to the persistent, yet mild sting. She instantly spotted her shell, and she lowered her muzzle down to it to gently pick it up with her teeth. Water instantly flooded into her mouth when she opened it, but she forced herself not to yelp in alarm or gulp it down too rapidly or else she would risk choking. Finally, she lifted her head back out, and she turned to sputter the shell and mouthful of water back onto the shore.

Her eyes widened and she gasped in realization at what she had just done. She had just retrieved something from underwater. She actually did it! She turned back to Dewshine, her bright green eyes sparkling with excitement. "I did it, Dewshine! Did you see that? I got the shell all on my own!" She knew she would still need to practice much more before she could become completely comfortable with water, but after today she was definitely much closer than she was before. And it was all thanks to the best mentor in the world. She leaped to Dewshine's side and pressed her wet pelt against hers, purring loudly.

(OOC: Flurrypaw still needs her hunting training, so I suppose now that she's gotten more used to water we can begin fishing.)

(OOC: Don't be afraid to ever nudge me if I don't respond sooner! I missed the email update for this, sorry >< )


Dewshine watched with baited breath as her apprentice ducked her head under the water. Barely restraining herself from shifting her paws on the rocks until her head came back up with the shell. A bright smile appeared on Dewshine's muzzle as she purred and nodded, happy as well for her fastidious apprentice learning something so vital.
"You did it Excellently Flurrypaw!" Dewshine congratulated as she gave her apprentice a gentle couple licks above her eyes to keep water from trickling down into her eyes.

A flash of silver caught her gaze. She turned in time to see a small group of fish, one of them flashed up the river, but another two were lazy. Dwelling down and looking around the rocks for food. Easy prey, perfect for a first fishing lesson. The silver she-cat turned to Flurrypaw, then gestured a couple tail lengths away to where a large rock jutted out from the river. It formed almost a platform, small enough for a cat to sit on and get a good look of the water around them, but most importantly, it was shallow.

Nowhere for the fish to hide.
"Tuck your shell somewhere safe, then come with me... I think you're ready for the next step. Fishing." She told Flurrypaw gently. For the first time, she left Flurrypaw's side in the river to pad ahead to the rock, but kept a careful eye on her. Flurrypaw, despite her distaste, seemed to do quite well in the water. She waited until her young apprentice had caught up, then gestured to the rock.
"When you're on the rock, I want you to look down. You'll see some fish swim by... while they're doing that, sometimes they will come to the surface briefly. As soon as their scales touch the air, reach down with your claws. Hook onto them like you would a mossball or leaf." She explained, before she waded into the deeper water. Her body alone would drive the fish towards the sides, where they would mistakenly think they were safe.

"Are you ready Flurrypaw?" She asked softly, not wanting to overload her apprentice.

Flurrypaw placed her shell on an open patch of dirt where she would be able to easily find it again when they headed back to camp, and she followed after her mentor back to the river. She listened as Dewshine explained how to fish, though truth be told she was having trouble not drifting her mind off to the beauty that was the river floor and her own reflection.

”Okay, I think I understand. I’m ready.” The white apprentice concentrated as hard as she could on the fish, lifting up one of her forepaws with claws already unsheathed, waiting for the prey to reach the surface to feast on the pesky bugs that buzzed near the surface. Finally, one of them rippled to the surface, and she lashed out her paw at it. She hooked her claws underneath its belly and pulled up, watching as it flew overhead like a glossy silver stone, shimmering in the daylight, and landed behind her in the grass. She pounced forward and bit it hard in the throat, killing it instantly.

She whipped back around to Dewshine, her green eyes sparkling with euphoria. ”I did it! I caught a fish on my very first try! Did you see that, Dewshine?”

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9