A Prickly Apprentice (and Attitude)

Snowdrop struggled to force her tail from twitching irritably as she waited for her new apprentice to join her by Snakerocks. She wanted to give Pricklepaw a chance to practice tracking her scent to the dangerous, prey-filled area in ThunderClan territory so she could begin his training. She had to admit, she was purposefully putting off his official training for as long as she could just because she didn't want to. Pricklepaw was anything but pure ThunderClan! What would Lichenmask and the others think if they learned she showed any sign of eagerness, however fake it may be, to train a cat with tainted blood?

"What in StarClan's name is taking that tom so long?" the she-cat grumbled to herself. A sudden pang of alarm shot through her at the thought that perhaps he had gotten hurt or, even worse, killed. While that would've been absolutely horrible for the Clan, and she would definitely get into major trouble, at least then she'd have one less blood-tainted cat to worry about training. Still, she was about to begin heading out to search for the tom when she picked up his scent. He must be near. She sat back down from where she had stood to begin her search, and she set herself to be irritated.

He hadn't even gotten a tour of the territory yet. How was he supposed to know where his mentor was? Pricklepaw was following the barest trace of Snowdrop's scent, hopelessly lost in his own territory, humiliated at his lack of knowledge and angry at his mentor's methods. Bearpaw had already been on three patrols by now! Three! Fairly stomping through the undergrowth, the apprentice finally caught the she-cat's scent again and followed it deliberately to its source. Keeping himself from looking relieved at finally finding the white warrior, he instead looked faintly irritated as he padded up to the rocks. "I'm here," he pointed out, pelt sticking out in all directions as he sat down. "Will you actually teach me now? I can't let that mousebrain Bearpaw get too far ahead of me." He hadn't meant to say the last part out loud, but what harm could it do? Maybe if Snowdrop realized he had motivation, she'd actually let him hunt and patrol. What did she have against him, anyway?

Snowdrop narrowed her eyes and flicked her tail. "Training is not a race or a competition, Pricklepaw. I was hoping that letting you do chores around camp would help you build a sense of responsibility and maturity. It seems to me you have a long way yet to go before you can truly begin your training. But..." she added with a huff, "we are here now, so I guess I'd might as well teach you the basics in hunting and fighting. We'll start hunting first."

The she-cat lowered her muzzle to the ground, beginning to sniff around for her prey. Picking up a whiff of something sweet, she licked her lips and began following the scent. To her pleasure -- and most likely Pricklepaw's surprise -- she stopped in front of a blackberry bush. "Mmm, perfect." She began to nip into one of the thorny branches until she was able to tug a big clump of the sweet berries away from the shrub, and she placed it gently down on a patch of soft grass. She glanced behind her at her apprentice, then gestured for him to help. "Well, what are you waiting for, an invitation? The thorns won't prick you if you're careful."

Pricklepaw let out a sigh of disgust at his mentor before following her further into the forest. No one else's mentor did stuff like this. However, he was a little relieved and excited that he would finally begin his training. Hunting, fighting, patrolling- what being a warrior was all about. What would he catch first? A vole, a bluebird, a fat and juicy mouse? He daydreamed of bringing back a giant eagle for the whole Clan to eat as he padded behind the white she-cat. But he halted as Snowdrop stopped in front of him... by a bush? He stared in disbelief at the warrior, a strained noise coming out of his throat, as she began pulling out clumps of berries. Berries were for kits! However, suspecting that it might be a test, the spiky-furred apprentice began copying his mentor's moves, pulling out the juicy berries and laying them in a pile. Soon, his pile was bigger than Snowdrop's.

The snow-white warrior stopped once she was satisfied with the amount of berries the two of them had collected, and she curtly nodded. "You see, I don't exactly have the same diet as every other cat. I do plan on sharing these with our kits, however. I'm sure they would appreciate it." Now came the part she was dreading about being a mentor. "However... I know that you still need to learn how to hunt properly. So... I suppose I should get on that, huh?"

She scented the air, trying to pick up any creature that would fit a regular cat's carnivorous diet well, and she managed to pick up the scent of mouse rather quickly. She gestured with her muzzle to the direction of the little rodent, and she could see its tiny fat brown body twitching between the leaves of a fern clump as it nibbled on fallen seeds. "Make sure the wind is blowing towards you, not behind, otherwise it will pick up on your scent. Place your paws down slowly and carefully; a mouse will feel you before it scents or sees you. When you're close enough, pounce." Snowdrop gave a shudder. She knew she would have to demonstrate now.

Dropping down to a traditional hunter's crouch, she very slowly and silently stalked towards the unsuspecting mouse, keeping her tail straight out and still for balance. When she was close enough, she waggled her haunches to build up jumping power in her hind legs, and then leaped clear over the fern clump to land squarely on the mouse on the other side, killing it instantly as its spine snapped from the impact. She grimaced at the feel and sound of the bones snapping underpaw, and she struggled not to think too much at all about the limp, dead creature in her mouth as she carried it back to Pricklepaw's side, depositing it and brushing dirt over it. "We lightly bury it to mask its scent so predators won't be attracted to it or us. Now, would you like to give it a try?"

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

Pricklepaw let out an inaudible sigh of relief once his mentor proclaimed that they were actually going to hunt. Oh, praise StarClan! He watched, grass-green eyes eager as the she-cat got into a hunting position, drinking in every word of advice, ignoring the obvious look of distaste on her face. Inevitably, she caught the piece of prey she'd been after, and it was his turn. Shaking out his ruffled tan pelt, the tom sniffed the air tentatively, trying to sift through all the scents in the air to pick out an edible one. There it was- a squirrel. Not very impressive, to be sure, but good for a start. He pinpointed its location quickly, then moved downwind of it to be sure. No prey was getting away from him. The spiky apprentice dropped into the hunting crouch that Snowdrop had modeled, powerful haunches poised and ready as he stalked quietly forwards through the undergrowth. Then, when he was within distance, heart pounding with excitement, adrenaline flowing, claws unsheathed- he pounced!

He caught it, of course, without any trouble. He ended its life with his sharp claws- regular size, not like that abomination's- and buried it triumphantly next to Snowdrop's mouse, offering a quick prayer of thanks to StarClan.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Snowdrop glanced down at the squirrel that was now buried beside her mouse, then looked up at Pricklepaw. She had a feeling he was awaiting some sort of praise for catching someone on his first attempt. She wasn't going to. She had noticed a flaw in his technique -- typical impurities -- so he would have to work harder if he wanted to squeeze a compliment out of her. "Your tail was restless while you stalked. You can call it a miracle that that squirrel didn't hear you approaching, or that you didn't brush up any leaves behind you. You must keep your tail straight and motionless at all times, or else you won't be so lucky next time. Now, I want you to find a rabbit this time and try again. If you miss it, keep trying until you do catch it, regardless of how long it takes." She knew how difficult it was to catch rabbit in ThunderClan territory, which was why she chose this task. She needed to whip this sloppy apprentice into shape somehow.

His confident expression faded somewhat as the only words out of his mentor's mouth were criticisms. What? That was my first time hunting, and not even one word of congratulations?! Tail positions.. a minor flaw in an almost-perfect performance. Honestly, who had put a burr in her nest? Pricklepaw's ears pinned back in annoyance, but he kept his expression calm. Just his luck that he'd gotten the cranky, talent-blind she-cat and that abomination Bearpaw had been given the deputy. What was wrong with Marshstorm, anyway? Probably just wanted to keep an eye on the tom so he didn't hurt anyone. That must have been it. He tuned back into reality as Snowdrop asked him to catch a rabbit- WindClan prey. On ThunderClan territory? Those were so hard to catch, and he was brand new at this! But... honestly, she couldn't have anything bad to say about him if he succeeded at this, right?The fluffy tan tom nodded sullenly, shaking out his pelt. He'd show her.

Conscious of every step, the apprentice padded out farther into the territory, carefully scenting each tiny breath of wind that blew in his general direction. Finally he caught a hint of rabbit, and immediately swiveled in that direction. Slowly, cautiously, he lowered into a hunting crouch, green eyes narrowed as they found the small, lithe gray form with the distinctive long ears that identified it. He took special care this time to flatten out his tail, keeping it straight as he stalked forwards. He avoided stepping on any sticks, and finally- when he was close enough- gathered all his strength into his hind legs and pounced.

That rabbit never knew what hit it. He landed square on its back, then sank his fangs into its neck. It let out a tiny squeak and went limp. As he looked down at its lifeless form, a growing sense of pride that no nitpicking could quell rose in him. He'd caught a rabbit, on his second hunt ever! Soon, he'd be the greatest hunter in the forest! They'd have to name him something extra-special to commemorate this moment- Pricklepounce maybe? Prickleleap, Prickleclaw? His eyes shone as he picked up the rabbit in his jaws, and buried it next to his squirrel. Thank you, StarClan! Take that, Snowdrop. A small smile on his face, he almost dared his mentor to find something wrong with what he'd done. And even if she did, it wouldn't matter to him.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

(OOC: Since battle training is optional for users who already know the basics, we’ll just do the hunting training, if that’s fine with you. :3)

Snowdrop couldn’t help but look thoroughly disappointed when she saw her apprentice catch the rabbit with ease. She gave her tail a quick lash as Pricklepaw returned to her. ”That was just a lucky catch, nothing more,” she huffed, turning her nose up. ”Luck alone won’t help you become a good warrior. You still have a long ways to go. I suppose we should return back to camp, though. When we do, you are to clean out the elders’ den and nursery. Then you can eat.” She bent down and picked up Pricklepaw’s rabbit, leaving the young tom with the two smaller pieces of fresh-kill to carry back.

Pricklepaw ignored his mentor's gruff reply, noticing that she seemed almost disgusted with his success. Just his luck that he'd get a mentor who wanted him to fail! Oh well, at least he was way better at this than she'd bargained for. Bristling a little as she picked up the rabbit he'd rightfully caught, he put the other two pieces of fresh-kill in his mouth and followed her into camp. Just wait until Blizzardshine knew that he'd caught a rabbit!