A Prodigy in the Making (closed)

Spottedleap strolled across camp with a squirrel hanging by its tail. He dropped it by the entrance to the apprentices' den and poked his head in, prodding Foxpaw roughly until his apprentice awoke. "Wake up, kid! Training starts today!" He withdrew from the den and sat patiently outside, going over his plan for the day in his mind.

Foxpaw was in the middle of a rather nice dream and a rather big snore when he was startled awake by his mentor's not-so gentle prodding. He lifted his head, barely registering Spottedleap's words before his mentor was out of the den. It took an extra few seconds to realize what the words had meant. Training! He leaped to his paws, stumbling his way into motion and out of the den. "What are we doing today?" he asked, his nub of a tail twitching in excitement as he stared up at the older warrior.

His muzzle curled into a smirk at the sight of the young tom. Good, he had energy. The last thing Spottedleap needed was an apprentice as lazy as himself. "Good morning to you too!" He meowed, quite a bit more lively than usual. Truthfully, things had been pretty wild lately, and a day out hunting with the scrap of fur that was Foxpaw would be a great way to get his mind off things. "I'll teach you to hunt today. I'll make you a great hunter and a good warrior, too." Spottedleap picked up the squirrel by the den entrance and flicked his tail for Foxpaw to follow as he strutted out of camp.

Sufficiently far from prying eyes, the warrior stopped and dropped the squirrel at Foxpaw's paws. "First, there are rules we follow. Go ahead and break 'em, but don't come running to me if you get caught. Sometimes you gotta do secret things to stay at the top of your game. So go ahead and eat that squirrel. Then I'll show you how to catch a hundred just like it!" He meowed, settling into a comfortable seat while he waited for his apprentice to sufficiently fill himself.

Hunting! Foxpaw grinned, excited that he was going to learn how to proper hunt! Beanpaw's lessons when he was still a kit hadn't been bad but it was nothing compared to learning how to actually do it! As Spottedleap picked up the squirrel and led him out of camp, his thoughts drifted to the idea of showing Beanpaw what he had learned from Spottedleap once this was over - maybe it would turn out Foxpaw was far more of a natural hunter than Beanpaw!

He stumbled to a stop when his mentor turned to face him, dropping the squirrel at his paws. He looked down, confused as he found himself wondering why his mentor had it in the first place...Only for that to be quickly answered. Oh. Right, there was something in the Warrior Code about letting the kits and elders eat first, wasn't there? He glanced up, wondering if it was a test but...Surely it wasn't. Besides...It was going to be hard to hunt on an empty stomach, he noted as his belly growled at him.

He shrugged, crouching down and started to devour the squirrel. It was good, really good and he couldn't help but grow in excitement that he was going to learn how to catch prey just like it. It wasn't so bad, was it? He had faith in Spottedleap and nobody was going to miss this squirrel if he and Spottedleaf brought back triplet the amount! Finally, he finished and sat up, wiping his mouth with his paw as he turned his gaze onto his mentor. "So, where do we start?" he asked, his yellow eyes gleaming.

He groomed lazily while they lingered, pleased to feel the warm sun on his back. The mountains had made him genuinely thankful for even the driest of days back in their pine forest. Spotteldeap sat back up when Foxpaw finished his meal and stood to his paws. "With a crouch." He meowed, easily dropping into a hunting crouch and prowling circles around his apprentice.

"What makes us strong is that we're SkyClan, and what makes SkyClan strong is our legs and paw pads. No other clans can jump like we do, so we use our advantage to nab squirrels and birds right out of the trees!" Spottedleap said and lifted his nose to the sky. There were squirrels nearby. They'd be the perfect target. He scanned the trees above and caught a flash of ginger from a dangling squirrel tail. he grinned, gave Foxpaw a wink, and carefully stalked his target until he was just under the branch. Apparently feeling that the time was right, the warrior shot up a great distance and snatched the squirrel's tail with his claws, hooking it down to the ground and pouncing on it as it scrambled away. He broke its neck swiftly and turned to his apprentice. "Easy. Just watch your step and don't forget to aim."

Spotted: 197/200 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

A crouch, huh? There was an amused purr that arose from him, recalling that being the same lesson that Beanpaw had given him those many sunrises ago. He watched in wonder as Spottedleap wandered a bit into the treeline...Before making a leap and pulling a squirrel that Foxpaw hadn't even noticed in the canopy. "Wow!" he cooed, his eyes widening as the squirrel was finished off. He nodded his head as he padded forward, glancing up at the branches high above.

Just...Like that, huh? He took in a deep breath as he scanned the branches, trying to catch a glimpse of something. It didn't take long for him to notice another squirrel and with a slight gulp, he carefully approached until he was more or less directly beneath it. Craning his neck to look up, he was intimidation by how high it was. He knew that SkyClan were made for jumping, he knew he could jump perfectly well but...He shook his head, shaking the doubt from his mind. No, no he could do this. And with a soft intake, he crouched and leaped.

There was a moment of surprise as he realized how much air he could truly get with a good jump...And nearly forgot to swipe at the squirrel. His eyes widen as he quickly recalled what he was doing, lashing out before he could fall. His claws met the bushy tail of the squirrel, a squeal escaping from the newly caught prey as he dragged it down from the branch, its tiny claws doing nothing to stop the momentum from stealing it from its perch. He spun, landed on his paws as the squirrel hit the ground next to him and he dove forward, pinning it before it could scramble away and quickly ended its life. Then, he paused...Before he spun to face his mentor with a bright expression. "I did it! I caught a squirrel!"

Foxpaw: 77/80 SP

The member 'Honey Badger' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

"That was great! And look, now we've got double the prey we started with." Spottedleap praised, gesturing with his tail towards their two pieces of fresh-kill. "You did great, kid. SkyClan's already better for having ya. Let's flood them with food, yeah?" He dug a shallow grave for the two squirrels and covered them with dust; he didn't want any more encounters with owls or other scavengers. He tasted the air with a wave of adrenaline spreading from his chest to his tail tip. He'd always enjoyed hunting, but today he was especially proud of Foxpaw for learning so fast. He briefly wondered it Condorshade ever approved of him and then wiped the thought away as he focused on the floating scent of a nearby cardinal.

The warrior tracked the bird to a low-hanging branch still in sight of Foxpaw. Spottedleap halted, readied for another leap, and sprang onto the branch with practiced precision. The cardinal was in his grasp, its blood shedding between his toes when an unexpected screech rang in his ears. The source, an angry owl that Spottedleap had disturbed in the trunk of the tree, spreading its wings and striking at the pale tom with its talons. He snarled as the sharp talons ripped open flesh on his shoulder, then leaned into the attack and scored his own claws deep into the owl's belly with all the rage of a cat who'd just lost a meal.

The owl used Talon Strike on Spottedleap, dealing 10 damage and using 10 stamina.

Spottedleap used Belly Rake on the owl, dealing 12 damage and using 10 stamina.

Spottedleap:
50/60 HP
184/200 SP

Owl:
38/50
120/120

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

Foxpaw was nearly quivering with excitement and energy as he crouched, ready to sit back and watch his mentor make another masterful catch. And while things looked good for a while, a sudden screech caused his heart to jump. He didn't recognize the noise, nor the shape that suddenly threw itself at Spottedleap as he hung in the branches. "S-Spottedleap!" he cried in worry, his eyes flickering between the big angry brown bird that was tangled with his mentor...Before he turned, throwing himself at the trunk of the closest tree and started to crawl his way up.

He had practiced climbing some of the trees that surrounded the camp a few times, but had never ended up going all the way to the branches...But this time, determination kept him going as he reached a branch, pushing off as he clung to it and pulled himself up. The branch quivered ever so slightly from his weight, but he shook his head as he race down the thick branch toward where his mentor and the strange bird were fighting. "Leave him alone!" he snarled, slashing out with his claws at the back, pulling away with feathers and fresh blood on his claws.

Foxpaw used Front Paw Strike on the owl, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Foxpaw:
20/20 HP
57/80 SP

Spottedleap:
50/60 HP
184/200 SP

Owl:
32/50
120/120

Spottedleap's long tail whipped from side to side as he struggled to remain balanced on the branch while trying to fend off the furious owl. Well, this wouldn't look too impressive to his apprentice, but he had bigger problems than his popularity - namely ducking out of the way of the owl's beak and talons without finding himself flat on the ground below. He was at once alarmed and grateful when Foxpaw joined in the fray, but he hadn't even taught the kid how to fight yet and here he was, trying to fight off the bird. Spottedleap would have been proud if he wasn't worried. "Careful, Foxpaw!" He called out, but he was distracted just long enough for a painful strike to the muzzle to rock his world. He crouched low to the branch, clinging on to avoid losing his balance from the dizziness now plaguing him, and struck wildly in front of him with claws scoring the occasional wing.

The owl used Talon Strike on Spottedleap, dealing 10 damage and using 10 stamina.

Spottedleap used Front Paws Strike, dealing 12 damage and using 25 stamina.

Foxpaw:
20/20 HP
57/80 SP

Spottedleap:
40/60 HP
159/200 SP

Owl:
20/50
100/120

It was true that Foxpaw hadn't been taught to fight and it wasn't until he was in the thick of it that he had realized it himself. Half of him was terrified - he didn't know any of the proper moves or what to do in certain situations. He was over his head...But the other half of him was enjoying the rush of adrenaline, the thrill of the fight. He didn't know what this giant bird was, but he could already see that they were wearing it down. He had no doubt that they were going to win this fight! He lashed out with his claws, only for fear to spike in his heart for a second when he wavered, his gaze flickering toward the ground that seemed...Very far beneath them, his defense dropping for a second.

Foxpaw used Front Paw Strike on the owl, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Foxpaw:
20/20 HP
47/80 SP

Spottedleap:
40/60 HP
159/200 SP

Owl:
14/50
100/120

Having had enough of its tail feathers being pulled out, the owl whipped around with a mighty screech that echoed through the trees around them, head first and then body following. It beat its wing and screamed like a demon before lashing out at Foxpaw with one swift and powerful movement while he was busy looking down.

Spottedleap had barely regained his clarity when he saw the bird land the blow, and he watched in muted horror as Foxpaw was knocked off the branch. Frozen, he could only stare where his apprentice had met the ground. It wasn't until the owl spun back around to finish what it started that he realized he'd be joining Foxpaw if he didn't get a move on. Anger filling his chest like a river, Spottedleap reared up on his hind legs and brought his paws down heavily on the owl's head, and they both tumbled out of the tree.

The warrior managed to land gracefully on his feet after twisting mid-fall. The owl did not, and was dead on impact with the ground. He was hurting fiercely, but his focus was completely on Foxpaw. "Great StarClan! Tell me you're okay!" He meowed fearfully, prodding the young tom with his blood-smothered nose.

The owl used Talon Strike on Foxpaw, dealing 10 damage and using 10 stamina.

Spottedleap used Upright Lock on the owl, dealing 14 damage and using 25 stamina.

Foxpaw:
10/20 HP
47/80 SP

Spottedleap:
40/60 HP
134/200 SP

Owl:
0/50
100/120

There was a sudden pain that drew Foxpaw's gaze from the ground, his yellow eyes briefing meeting the terrifying eyes of the bird as he realized his mistake. Blood pooled from his shoulder from the fine scratch marks as his weight was shifted backwards. Panic spread through his body as he struggled to grip onto the branch, his tail nub twitching as it tried do to the job of a normal tail and correct his balance...But the weight of what had just happened was to much and he was sent free falling.  As he fell, he could only do everything in his power not to look down at the rapidly approaching ground as he tried to twist his body to land on his paws despite the screaming in the shoulder.

There was a hard thump, barely masking the sickening crack that followed as all of Foxpaw's weight landed on one of his back paws before it suddenly gave out. Despite the sudden, immense pain, he didn't find the energy to screech as he simply collapsed into a pile. He laid there, faintly aware of the sounds of the forest and fighting above him, struggling to try to keep himself calm through the pain that was crashing through his body - all centered from his leg. His leg didn't feel right - he couldn't move his leg. Why couldn't he...

A familiar voice drew him from the panic-stricken fog, his eyes focusing at the somewhat bloodied but still standing form of his mentor. "S-Spottedleap," he croaked, pawing at the ground as he tried to tell his muscles to stand but the pain blocked the responses as he closed his eyes, choking back a sob. "I-I can't get up, my leg..My leg..." He kicked out with his still working back leg, but it only made the other one hurt even more. Was this it? Would he never become a warrior? Tears started to form in the corner of his eyes, staring up at Spottedleaf with a silent plea for help.