Training for Sandpaw (closed)

Sitting near the camp entrance, Tinystar waited for his apprentice to join him. A warm breeze ruffled his short pelt and the little tom let out a sigh. The last thing he wanted right now was an apprentice, but he assumed Mistyrain had assigned Sandpaw to him to help get his mind off of things, which was understandable. So, here he was, waiting for the younger tom to arrive so that they could get started with their training.

Sandpaw woke up that morning a little later than he would've liked. The shuffling of the last apprentice out of the den stirred him, and he tore out of his nest like his tail had caught fire. His fur had become more silky and well groomed since leaving the nursery. Though he didn't like to admit it, he was high maintenance, and the his multiple cowlicks he wasn't able to groom out irritated him. Nonetheless, he wasn't as late as he thought he was. He hoped that Tinystar's face was as it usually and not an expression of displeasure, but he had not lived in the clan long enough to know.

He couldn't believe he was being apprenticed by the clan leader, either. What was Mistyrain thinking? Why him and not somebody else? There was no time for questions, though. His mind shifted to hunting. "Good morning, Tinystar!" he said, out of breath from the wild sprint he had made out of the den. "I'm ready to start. I could barely sleep."

Giving his apprentice a simply nod in reply, Tinystar stood up and gave his white pelt a shake. 'Could barely sleep... you almost slept for an entire moon!' the stubby legged tom thought to himself grimly, though he didn't dare say anything aloud. "Let's get started," he mewed stoically and with that, made his way out of camp, knowing that the younger tom would easily be able to catch up.

"Today we'll work on hunting," he mewed, not bothering to look up at Sandpaw and instead keeping his gaze forward as they made their way through the decimated terrain and to nowhere in particular.

Sandpaw looked around as they walked, leaping and hopping from rock to rock. He was scared to talk too much. Tinystar was a little frightening, to say the least, and though he was small, he had a few extra lives to spare. The apprentice silently wondered if birds were scared of noise. What was more frightening was the state of the land. Uprooted saplings were strewn across the territory they walked through, and some rocks were turned over and piled up.

"All the queens told us that there was a flood," he whispered as quietly as he could manage, "Is that why all these trees fell down? Do all the clans look like this? Oh! Do we ever see the other clans anymore, or was it just because we were hiding that we were together?"

"Yes, that is why we were at the mountains," Tinystar mewed blandly in reply, trotting onward. Making there way to somewhere near the center of the territory, the little leader stopped and turned around. "What do you know about hunting," he asked Sandpaw, looking up to his apprentice.

Sandpaw's round eyes were caught up in the territory. He had only been allowed to walk through it once, on the way home. He enjoyed the rocks very much. He found very soon that they were fun to jump across. He stopped abruptly, lurching a little in surprise, when his mentor turned around to address him.

"Well," pondered Sandpaw, lingering on the thought for a moment. "I don't know, you climb a tree and you grab a bird, I guess. It didn't seem that complicated before..." As he trailed off, he stared into the treetops, set ablaze by the morning sunshine. There was a warm feeling from the sun's gentle rays, and he wanted to chase it all the way up. "... Tinystar, are we going to climb today?"

Listening to Sandpaw, he didn't blame him for not knowing to much, nor knowing how difficult it could be at times. "Yes, we are," he mewed with a nod and began looking around. Might as well not waste time and get straight to it.

Spotting a thick enough trunk ahead, the white and grey tom leaped as high into the air as he could and landed squarely on the hunk of brittle wood. Shimmying up the trunk of the tree as fast as he could with his sharp claws digging into the bark, Tinystar made it to a branch just big enough to support a regular sized cat's weight. Breathing heavily, he looked down to Sandpaw.

"Sometimes it's easier to get some momentum before you climb," he huffed. "And make sure you pick a branch that can support your weight," the little leader mewed, trying his best not to remember the time in which a branch broke under his brother's weight, causing the older tom to fall to his death. Hopefully, StarClan would protect his young apprentice from such an untimely demise.

Sandpaw nodded quietly and bunched up his haunches to make his initial jump. He rocked back and forth on his back legs, preparing himself, before unceremoniously launching himself onto the trunk of the tree. He slid down the uneven bark slightly before his claws gained traction, and he pulled himself up until his belly was grazing the rough, flaky wood. Slowly and gingerly, he put one paw in front of the other, climbing until he could scramble onto a nearby branch that was thick enough to hold him.

Panting a little from the effort, he grinned at his mentor. "I did it!" he said in a bit of a hushed voice. He didn't want to scare the birds away. "Now what?"

Glad that his apprentice seemed to catch on fairly quickly, Tinystar looked onward. "Hunting in the trees is just like hunting on the ground but you just have to make sure you don't fall," he mewed, remembering the countless times he and other cats had fallen, some to their untimely demises...

"I want you to try and scent something and do your best to stalk it. If you don't catch anything your first time, that's fine. You're just learning," he mewed to his apprentice.

Sandpaw wiggled on the branch a little, trying to gauge how well the branch was holding him up. He crouched low and spotted his target: a sparrow. His trouble came when he tried to switch branches. He cringed as the leaves rustled around him. As gingerly as he could, he transferred one paw at a time across the branch. When he felt he was close enough, he launched off his branch and towards the little bird.

Sandpaw attempted to catch a bird, costing 3 SP.

Sandpaw:
20/20 HP
77/80 SP (-3)

---

Now, this owl was content with a sparrow. Nothing prepared her for the sandy-colored cat who took its place. It was a small thing, but Greenleaf was not treating her very well, and she didn't prefer hunting in the daytime. She had no choice, or she would have nothing for her owlets.

With a wild screech, she slashed through the branches, landing a hit squarely on the cat's side. It wasn't enough to knock it off the branch, as she had hoped, but the cat cried out in alarm and scrambled to get its footing back. She landed nearby and prepared to attack again.

Owl used Talon Strike, dealing 10 damage and costing 10 SP.

Owl:
50/50 HP
110/120 SP (-10)

Sandpaw:
10/20 HP (-10)
77/80 SP

---

Sandpaw's blue eyes went wide when the unexpected attacker slashed through his flank. He screamed in panic and pain as he tumbled, hanging on the tree by his front paws. He desperately scratched for purchase on the branch.

"Tinystar, little help?! Please!" he gasped, feeling the blood trickle down his cream pelt. Fear filled him from head to tail, and he shut his eyes tight, as if he could will the owl to leave with his mind. "Go away go away go away," he murmured to himself as he scrambled. The tabby couldn't hold on to the branch, but what would catch him if he fell?

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 10

One moment, the pair of toms was on a simple hunting patrol and the next, they were in the midst of an owl.

Snapping his gaze downward at the sudden explosion of screeching, Tinystar watched as Sandpaw dangled from the tree with the owl nearly a foxlength away. Great StarClan, where had it come from? Fighting in the trees was a dangerous task, especially for an apprentice who'd just learned moments ago how to climb. Things could get ugly, so he had to act fast.

Leaping down to the branches bellow, he slashed a pawful of unsheathed claws at the bird, which sent it screeching up to Silverpelt. Shuffling backwards and praying that he didn't lose his footing, the little leader grabbed onto Sandpaw's scruff and pulled back with all his might. 'Please StarClan, we don't need another death,' he prayed to himself.

"Quick! Get to the ground!" he yowled once Sandpaw was able to regain his bearings. If they could just get the the ground, they would easily be able to defeat the owl.

Tinystar used Front Paw Strike, causing 18 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Tinystar
HP: 115/115
SP: 260/270

Owl
HP: 32/50
SP: 110/120

"W-wait!" Sandpaw hollered as he was cast aside. As the owl flew skyward, he followed Tinystar down onto the rocky terrain. Gasping, he took a look at his mentor. The bird was coming back, and Sandpaw had a feeling its eyes were set on the smaller piece of prey. "Tinystar, it's coming right for you!"

The apprentice charged forward and shut his eyes as he plunged his claws wildly into what he assumed were the bird's chest feathers. It was a lucky hit, and Sandpaw suddenly heard the whoosh of air around his ears as the bird reached Immediately realizing the stupidity of the move he had just pulled, he ducked underneath the bird's talons, letting Tinystar take the brunt of the blow. "Foxdung foxdung foxdung! I'm sorry!"

Sandpaw used Front Paw Strike, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 SP.

Sandpaw:
10/20 HP
67/80 SP (-10)

Owl:
26/50 HP (-6)
110/120 SP

---

The owl screeched furiously as the other cat appeared out of nowhere. She flew upward to catch her breath and realized exactly how tiny the new mongrel was. She shot down like a rocket through the branches to the ground below, but before she could take the short-legged creature along with her, the cream-colored one dug its claws into her soft belly feathers. She pressed on and plunged her sharp talons into the little one, a last ditch effort to wear it out enough to grip it tight and feed it to her owlets. Her patience was stretched thin.

Owl used Swoop, dealing 30 damage and costing 20 SP.

Owl:
26/50 HP
90/120 SP (-20)

Tinystar:
85/115 HP (-30)
260/270 SP

Being slashed with sharp talons, Tinystar screeched in pain. Great StarClan, they needed to finish this battle, and fast.

With his sides on fire, Tinystar was able to wriggly around so that his belly was facing upwards. Stretching as far upward as his stumpy legs could reach, the little leader batted his tiny paws at the bird's underbelly. At first, his efforts were in vain, but after a few moments, the owl grew impatient, which would be its' downfall.

Having bent down, most likely to gauge his eyes out with her razor sharp beak, Tinystar was able to get the leverage that he'd needed. Pushing upwards with all of his might, he raked his hind claws against the belly of the beast, which sent it reeling backwards in pain. "Now! Finish it!" he yowled to his apprentice as he stumbled up.

Tinystar used Belly Rake, causing 20 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Tinystar
HP: 85/115
SP: 250/270

Owl
HP: 06/50
SP: 90/120

Sandpaw whipped around and saw the huge beast flap its wings weakly into the sky. Tinystar cried out to his apprentice, but he was frozen in shock. Coming back to reality, the tabby realized exactly what his mentor was saying to him. "Oh!" he hollered in glee, "You mean kill it!"

Hopping up and down to get a good start, Sandpaw sprinted forward, feeling every muscle in his body powering his steps. He felt strong, exhilarated, unbeatable... he felt alive. As he leaped, as he had leaped into the branches just moments before, he brought the owl crashing to the ground. He rushed to find the great bird's throat and bite down into her plumage. She shrieked in his hold as he gripped her more tightly with his claws. After a few moments, the crying and flapping ceased, and Sandpaw felt the warmth of fresh-kill scent flood his jaws.

Sandpaw lifted his head, eyes wide as moons. He slowly stepped off the owl's unmoving body and began to cackle. His flank burned with the harsh talon marks, and his heart had not stopped pounding, but he was overjoyed. "Are you kidding me?" he hooted, "My first catch was an owl?! Oh, StarClan. Oh StarClan, this is so awesome. Tinystar, that was so cool! You sent it into the freaking sky with your legs! Do you have any idea how crazy this is going to look when we take this thing to camp? I can't believe this!" In his whirlwind, the apprentice had forgotten that they were supposed to be quiet. He had certainly scared off half the birds from there to ShadowClan, but he didn't quite care. They had enough fresh-kill in one bird to feed the entire apprentice den.

"D'you think Amberdawn and Mintwhisker can fix this?" he asked with shortness of breath, gesturing to his flank, "It's a little early to be ruining my pelt with scars."

Sandpaw used Run-And-Tackle, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 SP. The owl has been killed.

Sandpaw:
10/20 HP
67/80 SP (-10)

Owl:
0/50 HP
90/120 SP