It's Been A While

Goldengale padded around the camp with a stretch, making her way over to where Ploverpaw rested. Poking him with a paw, she quietly woke him as the dew settled on the surrounding gorse, the sum just starting to rise. "Rise and shine Ploverpaw, we're going hunting today! I'll show you the entrances to some of the nearby, sturdy tunnels as well, and we can go through some of the safety measures regarding them together. Do you know anything about tunneling?" She asked as he rose, and prepared to lead the way out of camp. It was still a bit odd to consider the fact that he was several moons older than her, but it had been out of his control. She was glad he had been able to find his way home once again.

The gray fluffy tom shifted as he was poked into the waking world. Blinking his eyes a couple times to adjust to the light the tom sat up to look at his mentor. His yellow eyes trained on her as she spoke. Hunting.. and then tunnels? Tunneling? Ploverpaw tilted his head a bit in confusion. "Tunneling?" He asked. He didn't know anything about it. That wasn't a thing when he was around in his younger moons.

Confusion flashed on the older tom's face, confirming her thoughts. So he had no knowledge of the tunnels then, they would be starting fresh. Motioning for him to follow here as they started to pad out and away from the camp, leaving their clan mates slumbering, she explained. "There is an extensive series of underground tunnels that go all over the moor. Most of these were formed by rabbits, but there are a pawful of cat-made ones. I'll show you the one I'm working on another day, it's quite a ways away. WindClan cats of times past would reinforce these tunnels, and use them to travel unseen underground. They're also useful in the winter, when prey is scarce, because the rabbits will hunker underground. The tunnels had once been closed, but after several cave-ins due to the wet ground after the flood and the lack of upkeep in the tunnels have taken several lives... Including my brother and Finchstar's mate, Brookclover. So we decided to relearn the lessons of old, and some cats went to speak with our ancestors about how it goes, Barleytuft, Elmskip, Aspenheart, and Grousefrost among them. Since then we've been working on maintaining and relearning, but there's still a lot unknown. I'll teach you some of the basics, and then you and I will learn the rest together, okay?"

The wind shifted, blowing the scent of rabbits towards the two cats. Goldengale stopped in her tracks, scenting the air and dropping low to the ground. "But first... It smells like there's three or four. Tell me, Ploverpaw, what do you remember? Do you want to give it a shot on your own, and I can help correct you?" She was terribly unsure how herself, she didn't want to treat the tom like a new apprentice, since it was all too clear that he was far older than she was, but she wanted to make sure he was able to slip back into the ways of WindClan with ease. So she settled for that question, waiting patiently for his answer with an encouraging nod.

Ploverpaw followed after his younger mentor. His yellow eyes trained forward but he listened intently to Goldengale's explanation. He remembered some of the cave-ins that happened in his lifetime it wasn't pretty but there was only one or two that happened. It must have been bad for the cats to go re-learn tunneling. "Yes. I would like to learn more about these tunnels." He answered the warrior. He wanted to see these tunnels. Maybe the closed in space would give him a familiarity of being in the trees. Maybe not. It was something new, and he was very curious.

As soon as Goldengale stopped, Ploverpaw froze in his spot as well. The scent of rabbit crossing his nose almost made his mouth water. It had been way too long since he caught a rabbit himself. He still remembered but on his journey home rabbits weren't common at all. He spoke up, his voice low as he followed the scent without moving. "I remember what to do. I will give it a shot.." Ploverpaw said to his mentor, basically agreeing to her helping him after his attempt. Once he spotted a rabbit, he crept closer and until the distance was close enough that he was confident that he could catch it. After a split second he broke into a sprint chasing the fast animal down. As soon as he got close enough he captured the rabbit, killing it swiftly. He stood up straight with the rabbit in his mouth. His yellow eyes turned to Goldengale, pride shining in them.

Ploverpaw attempted to catch a rabbit: Successful

Ploverpaw:
77/80 Sp

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 7

Goldengale purred to herself as Ploverpaw seemed accepting of the tunnels, there were many cats who had not taken so well to the idea, and it was nice to not have to sway his opinion. He would be able to form it for himself. "Of course, I'll teach you all I can."

Her apprentice froze when she did, and she watched him pinpoint the scent's origin. That was a great sign, and he stated that he would give it a shot. She watched him intently as he crouched, his balance was good, his pawsteps light and stable as he crept closer. He moved slowly until he was within running distance and darted forward, and Goldengale found herself on the toes of her paws in anticipation. The race was short, and as Ploverpaw stood and turned with the rabbit between his jaws Goldengale smiled. She quickly raced over to him. "That was a brilliant catch! Your crouch was perfect. The only thing I think we could work on more is lengthening the distance you can run, that way you don't have to get as close. Otherwise, you did great! Well done." She prided the tom before focusing back on their hunt. If she could catch something, then maybe they could check out the tunnels, and hunt again on the way back to camp.

On the top of a nearby hill, near the entrance to one of the tunnels, a rabbit sat unaware of the danger it was in. Goldengale crouched down and crept forward, just as Ploverpaw had done just heartbeats before. The rabbit lifted it's head, staring at her, and she froze, would the rabbit be able to differentiate her golden pelt from the stalks of gorse nearby? After that heart-stopping few moments, the rabbit turned away, and Goldengale lurched forward into a run. The prey made a desperate effort to reach the tunnel, but the young warrior cut it off and quickly killed it, then motioned for Ploverpaw to join her near the entrance of the tunnel. Beneath the fresh scent of the fresh-kill, there was a stale scent of... something. Goldengale's face scrunched slightly as she noticed it for the first time, and stepping closer to the tunnel entrance she got another whiff of it. Fox. It was stale, but unmistakably fox. Turning to her apprentice, she pointed to the tunnel. "This is the entrance to one of the many series of tunnels under the moor. Do you smell anything around it?" She asked. Maybe she was imagining things.

Goldengale attempted to catch rabbit. Catch was succesful. -3 SP.
45/45 HP
157/160 SP

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 6

Ploverpaw stood a distance away from his mentor as he watched her hunt. His yellow eyes watching her form taking note of how she hunted for his own form. He knew he wasn't perfect at hunting, his form was something he developed over his journey home to keep him feed. As soon as she caught her rabbit, the tom padded over following the warrior closer to the tunnels.

As he stepped closer, he dropped his rabbit with hers. His nose picking up on another scent but he couldn't pick out what just yet. He was interested in the tunnel but due to the unknown scent he was careful about approaching. Slowly the tom moved forward towards the entrance. Ploverpaw's mouth open, his nose near the entrance. There was no mistaking it now. The scent was certainly fox. It was stale though. No wonder he was on edge about the scent. "A fox has been here." He was confident that there was a fox. He knew their scent too well. He encountered the scent many times on his journey home. One time he even fought off a fox granted it was still young. "I am guessing it is a few days old.. It is not a good sign." His yellow eyes locked onto his mentor, waiting on her response on what to do. Should they return to camp and alert Finchstar or should they investigate the scent further?

"A fox has been here." The words confirmed her own thoughts, and she whispered under her breath. "Foxdung. That definitely isn't a good sign. I'm afraid we'll have to cut this lesson a little short, Ploverpaw, but since we're here and the scent is stale I'll share some of the basics." She took a couple steps away from the tunnel, ears angled towards her back as she kept an eye on the entrance. The last thing she wanted to do was be unprepared if the fox decided to return. "Rule number one of the tunnels, never enter one alone. If the tunnel caves in, it will potentially be the difference between life or death. Rule number two, if you are uncertain, or feel as though something is wrong, listen to it. Trust your instincts, down there it's one of the limited senses you have. If you feel something isn't right, get out as quickly and safely as possible, and report it so it can be investigated. Rule number three, use your head. If you're tail lengths underground and feel a sudden breeze, there might be something wrong. Knowing the difference between a potential way out or a flaw in the tunnel will come with time, again, if something feels wrong, get out."

So far, there was no sign of anything in the tunnel... Or around them. Maybe, just maybe, the moor was clear. "There are scent marks in the tunnels. The stronger they are, the closer to the surface you are. The fainter, the further underground. Grousefrost knows most of these tunnels like the back of his paw, but this tunnel is an offshoot. We'll start your training in what the main group of tunnelers has started to call the Gorse Circle, it's a wide loop near the camp that is very stable." She paused, taking her eyes off of the tunnel entrance as she met her apprentice's gaze. "That's a basic overview, do you have any-" A low, guttural growl interrupted her, and she turned her attention back to the entrance of the tunnel. A long, pointed snout protruded out, followed by the red and white face of a fox, no doubt the one they had scented earlier. Dropping into a defensive stance, Goldengale looked over to Ploverpaw. "I suppose now is as good time as any to brush up on your battle skills. If you need to, run. You haven't been back long, and I don't want you to get too injured. If you do run, please send help. Otherwise, let's do this, together."

---

The creature had found the entrance to this tunnel in the heat of the midday sun several days ago. It was starving, tired, and ill. Crawling into it, the fox rested peacefully, leaving to hunt through another route somewhere. However, the racket of something had drawn it's attention, and it emerged from the tunnel entrance to find itself face to face with two cats. What luck, a perfect meal.

A Fox has appeared from within the Tunnel!

Fox:
90/90 HP
280/280 SP

Goldengale:
45/45 HP
157/160 SP

Ploverpaw:
20/20 HP
77/80 SP

A low growl startled Ploverpaw as he turned to the entrance he watched as the red creature emerge from the tunnel. Realizing the freshly killed prey covered it's approaching scent and probably drew it too them. A low rumble of a growl left the large apprentice. He wasn't going to leave Goldengale alone. He had fought off one of these creatures before, and he wasn't afraid to do it again. "I have your back." He told his mentor.

The gray tom already looked large, but with his fluffy coat responding to the slight fear and agitation towards the fox, he looked two times bigger. Ploverpaw's paw flashed out at the fox his claws tearing at the face of the creature, quickly followed by another paw slashing at a different spot. He wouldn't let this fox do anything to hurt anyone. Not his home, not his friends.

Ploverpaw used Front Paw Strike and Swift Strike dealing 8 damage, -20 Sp

Ploverpaw:
20/20 HP
57/80 Sp

Goldengale:
45/45 HP
160 SP

Fox:
82/90 HP
280/280 SP

Nodding in appreciation at the courage of the older tom, Goldengale followed after him. The apprentice had bushed out his fur, and watching his quick strikes reinforced her confidence. "Nice one!" She exclaimed as she followed suit, striking out with a paw at the fox's flank before rising on her hand legs and brings both unsheathed paws down onto the back of the fox with a furious hiss. The fox would think twice about sticking around in WindClan, that was for sure.

---

The two cats struck first, the smaller one approaching and striking at one side. The fox turned towards it, large teeth gleaming with saliva when pain at his flank made him realize he had forgotten about the other cat. Before it could turn, claws sliced through the fur on it's back and it yelped in pain. Whirling to the cat that had injured it further, he lunged forward and clamped his jaws on her front leg, pulling a yowl from the she-cat.

---

Goldengale used Swift Strike and Rear-up to Slash dealing 15 damage, -25 SP.
Fox used Iron Bite on Goldengale, dealing 30 damage. -20 SP.

Ploverpaw:
20/20 HP
57/80 Sp

Goldengale:
15/45 HP (-30)
132/160 SP (-25)

Fox:
67/90 HP (-15)
260/280 SP (-20)

Ploverpaw helped but flinch as the fox bit into his mentor. He knew how badly that would hurt. Fox's had a really strong bite. He need to act fast. If they weren't careful then they would both be at the mercy of the fox. Taking advantage of it's distraction with his mentor, the gray tom jumped on top of the fox. The force of the jump sending it to the ground. Ploverpaw's claws dug into the fox's fur and skin, another low growl leaving the tom. He couldn't let it deal anymore damage than it already had, and he wasn't going to lose a clanmate today.

Ploverpaw used Leap-and-Hold dealing 6 damage, -10 Sp. The Fox is Stunned for two turns.

Ploverpaw:
20/20 HP
47/80 Sp

Goldengale:
15/45 HP
132/160 SP

Fox:
61/90 HP
260/280 SP

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

---

'Effect Dice' : 6

The jaws of the fox closed around her front leg, and a yowl was pulled from the depths of her belly. Great StarClan that hurt! Her vision flashed with red as the fox released her, and as her vision swam she recognized the pelt of her apprentice clinging to it's back. Stumbling as she regained her composure, she attempted to put weight on her forepaw and let out a pained hiss. Guess she would be fighting on three paws. Sliding herself under the fox, she struck up with her three good paws at the soft belly of the predator.

---

The fox barked in panic as it felt the sharp claws of the other cat on top of it. A series of yelps and yips escaped it as it narrowly missed the throat of the golden cat with it's jaws, squirming as it tried to free itself.

---

Goldengale used Half-Turn Belly Rake, dealing 11 damage. -20 SP.
Fox is stunned for one more turn.

Ploverpaw:
20/20 HP
47/80 SP

Goldengale:
15/45 HP
112/160 SP (-20)

Fox: Stunned (1)
50/90 HP (-11)
260/280 SP

Ploverpaw could feel the fox struggling under his paws. The creature moving beneath him was trying its best to throw off the cat above it. The gray tom could feel balance shifting. It wouldn't be too much longer before it broke free, so he doubled down on his efforts to keep the Fox in place. His claws dug into the creature more, dealing as much damage as he could. His yellow eyes remained locked on the fox beneath him.

Ploverpaw continued to use Leap-and-Hold, dealing 6 damage.

Ploverpaw:
20/20 HP
47/80 SP

Goldengale:
15/45 HP
112/160 SP

Fox:
44/90 HP
260/280 SP