Unfamiliar Hunting (closed)

Padding over to the area where the apprentices slept huddled against each other, Daisyflame found Mosspaw's pelt and gently prodded the tom's side with a big white paw. "Mosspaw, wake up," he mewed softly. Once the apprentice started to stir, the warrior made his way back over to Echo of Shattered Ice, who was assigned to accompany them on their hunting patrol this morning. "Thank you for going with us," he mewed respectfully to the tribe cat. Without her, they would've most likely been in danger, hunting on such unfamiliar land, so he'd asked Stoneteller the night before if one of her cats would mind joining them.

Echo of Shattered Ice waited patiently by the entrance to the cave, the rays of sunlight that filtered through the waterfall along with the breeze that tickled her ear fur promised a warmer, dryer day. This should be a good day for hunting. She thought to herself absentmindedly as she turned her head towards the approaching cat. Remembering the tom's name from the night before, she greeted him warmly with a nod. "Daisyflame. It is my pleasure, the air promises a good day for hunting. Perhaps we will get lucky and find a hawk's nest." Her tail shifted along the stone of the cave floor at the thought.

She sat in silent for a few more moments, waiting for the small to-be to come over. The announcement had been odd, different from what she was used to, so she had listened from the shadows of the cave in mild curiosity. From what she could gather, he was a new to-be, just beginning their training. Thinking back fondly to when her kits had started their training, she vowed to keep a close eye on the young one. The last thing she wanted was for him to walk off a cliff.

Mosspaw slowly got up and gathered himself and bounded our after Daisyflame. With a huge yawn he smiled at them. She shivered a little and huffed. ”Are we just going to wait here? I want to explore!” He called out and turned around, setting off for the entrance. Soon he was picking up speed, he was more excited than he thought and he burst out of the entrance onto the colder stones.

"That's good. And I hope so too," he mewed in reply, giving the she-cat a dip of his head. He had no clue how they were supposed to catch a hawk, but it was a good thing the Tribe cat was coming with them, or else they would've probably brought back nothing but empty jaws. Turning his gaze to Mosspaw who'd already ran off, the white an ginger tom picked up the pace after his apprentice. "Hey! Wait up Mosspaw!" he mewed, somewhat annoyed that the younger cat ran off so suddenly.

Echo began to return the young to-be's smile when he suddenly ran off. Only a brief moment passed before she suddenly sprinted after him, through the opening of the cave. Bunching the muscles of her powerful legs, she leaped cleanly and gracefully over the to-be, landing in front of him. As she fixed him with her piercing brown eyes, she rose to her full height, staring down at the apprentice. She spoke quietly yet forcefully, the weight of her words reflected in her tone and posture. "Young one. The mountains are a dangerous place even for the most experienced cave-guard or prey-hunter. If you run off like that, you will be killed. Not might, not potentially, you will be killed. There are creatures hidden in behind the stones that will attack a full grown cat with no hesitation, let alone a to-be like yourself." Lowering herself so she was back flat on her paws, her gaze softened towards the young tom.

"The mountains are indeed a large and interesting place, with many areas to explore. However, it hides a lot of danger. You must listen to myself and Daisyflame, or you will not be allowed out of the cave, for your safety and the safety of everyone else." She looked to Daisyflame coolly, and nodded to him respectfully, hoping she hadn't tread on his tail. "The last thing I want is for you to walk of the edge of a cliff or be snatched by an eagle."

”B-but I was just ganna wait at the entrance for you guys!” He crouched pow to ground as he was scolded. ”I’m not used to the stone so I couldn’t stop in time so I bounded out!” He whined then tucked his tail and flattened his ears.

"Well we didn't know that, so just don't do it again," Daisyflame mewed, catching up to the two. Thankful that Echo seemed to have taken control of the situation, he was yet again greatful for her accompanying them.
"So, where do we start?" he asked the she-cat as he scanned his gaze around the rocks that towered above them. How cats could possibly hunt in terrain like this was beyond him.

"The stone offers little in ways for paws to get a grip, especially with the amount of rainfall we have been getting. You must think before you move, or you might find yourself with nothing under your paws but air." She turned her gaze back to the ShadowClan warrior and thought for a moment, before turning and leading them down a path towards a small creek. "Time of Freed Water has not been kind to us this year, but perhaps now that the rain has moved on we will have better luck. Your pelts will stand out among the rocks, though, so if you're okay with it, we will streak your pelts with mud to help you blend in some. I will do it as well. She rolled in the mud and it began to streak along her legs and sides. This was something she was still not fond of, but it was something that must be done. They needed all the caught-prey they could get.

Once she was finished, she pondered on where they would go to hunt, settling on a place where she had decent luck in previous seasons. "We'll go to a place I know well. On one side there is a steep cliff leading straight up, and some rocks that provide shade and shelter. There is one large enough to fit a group of our size. Hopefully a hawk will catch sight of a mouse there and we can collect both to take home." She purred at the thought, she had been eating minimally to ensure that everyone else had their share, and the thought of bringing something like a hawk back was welcome. "There is nowhere to fall off the mountain there, and it's fairly open, so we will have to be careful as we travel so we don't get spotted ourselves. If we see prey, wait for my signal, often we can get two pieces of caught-prey with the effort of one." She fixed the young apprentice with her gaze as she spoke, watching him intently to ensure he understood her.

Mosspaw ducked his head and stayed quiet. He flatted his ears as he found himself being scolded by the tribe cat. ”My paws are still soft and cut up..” He said defensively, as he was scared of the old cat Stoneteller. He lifted up his paw to show it to the tribe cat and listened to their directions.

Listening carefully to the she-cat, Daisyflame looked to the ground where a thick, puddle of mud was. He'd heard of ShadowClan cats covering their pelts in mud for the sake of hiding their scent and covering their pelts, but he had yet to do it himself. Of course, he didn't want to ruin his silky white and ginger fur that he'd just groomed this morning, but he didn't want to look like a soft-paw. Swallowing his pride, he laid down in the somewhat sticky substance. Rolling around a couple of times, Daisyflame stood up. So much for all the time he took earlier that day to look presentable.

Turning to Echo, the warrior's muzzle held a somewhat weak smile, but it was a smile none the less. "Sounds good," he mewed with a nod, waiting for the she-cat to continue.

Echo smiled in sympathy as the ShadowClan tom rolled in the mud, remembering how awful it had felt when she had to do it for the first time. Looking at the two clan cats, she motioned with her tail for them to follow as she led the way through the peaks to the space she had spoken of.

Once they had arrived, Echo took a moment to look around the area for anything that seemed out of place. As her trained eyes scanned the area, she relaxed as nothing out of the ordinary stood out against the cold gray of the mountains, and motioned for Daisyflame to take the lead as far as training his to-be. Padding a short distance away, she kept an eye out for any predators, or prey that she could catch without disrupting the lesson.

Mosspaw stared miserably at the mud and dipped a paw into it before streaking it in a small spot before looking up at the tribe cat for approval of his small streak. He then stood up, it was clear that he would only have mud on him on his side in a small spot.

After walking a little ways, Daisyflame turned to Mosspaw. "I know you haven't hunted much to begin with, but what do you know about hunting small prey?" the mentor asked, wondering if the apprentice had any previous knowledge on the subject before starting to explain things.

OOC: Echo will be around, but I won't post with her unless one of you asks her a question specifically or needs her. Should a roll indicate a predator, I'll jump back in with her to help, but otherwise she'll just be standing off to the side to let you guys go through the training session like usual.

Echo stepped away from the to-be and the clan warrior, her pelt melding into the background of stone as if she seemingly vanished. Only the trained eye could occasionally catch a glimpse of the shine of her eyes against the rocks that surrounded her as she kept a look out for any predators that would interrupt the training going on.