We Must be Swift as the Coursing River [CLOSED]

New apprentice, new training. Once again, he had a young one following around and it was somehow... refreshing. Together, the mentor led the she-cat through the streams, reeds and beech trees, showing her the lands of their home. A long time ago, he tried so much to fit in this place, believing he was some sort of stranger to the clans due to his rogue origins... but it was not until recently that he found that he was much closer to Riverclan than he could have ever imagined and it made him... relieved and happy, in a strange way. The golden tom still mourned the death of his father, but he did not regret knowing him and who he was. He felt in peace with his past, with his origins and with that peace, he could look up to the future of his life and his clan.

When they reached the river, Berrycloud fixed his eyes on the young she-cat and offered her a sincere smile, one he was getting used to use after so many moons of sadness and depression. "Well, we're here. Here's the river of our clan's namesake. Life in Riverclan is all about this river. The river provides us safety, advantage and most importantly: our main source of food. As a Riverclan cat, you must learn to hunt fish more than anything prey. Of course, I'll still teach how to hunt land prey but fishing must go first. Any questions you may have before we go on?"

If RiverClan’s camp was interesting compared to the nursery, their territory was nothing short of enthralling. Though she’d opened her eyes at sunup with every intent of treating this day like any other (she’d be walking this territory nearly every day for the rest of her life, right? It was hardly remarkable), Mudpaw wound up listening eagerly to Berrycloud’s explanation of each landmark they passed, her ears constantly pointing toward the golden tom no matter which way she turned her head. She didn’t know her mentor well, but Ivybrook had said he would make her loyal and strong. The mark in his ear was proof of his experience. How bad could he be?

Finally, they reached the true heart of RiverClan: the waters for which they’d been named. She’d spent so many moons gazing at the river that ran right by the nursery, and now she was about to put her paws into it for the first time. The calico grimaced at the mention of land prey. How the other Clans ate that every day, she didn’t know. It was all so…furry. ”No.” Of course, she had plenty of questions—when will I learn how to fight, when will I start going on patrols, when can we eat—but her first hunt was almost within reach, and she wasn’t postponing that for anything. A grin broke through despite her best efforts. Mudpaw lowered her head and kneaded her paws against the riverbank’s soft earth. ”I just want to fish.”

The older tom showed a wide smile at that answer. "That's the spirit! Now, follow my lead." The golden tabby entered the riverbank, her eyes scanning the area to make sure it wasn't too deep or the water too strong to swept away the young she-cat. Once he found a perfect spot, he lifted his tail and beckoned the young one to follow.

"Unlike other hunting, fishing is a skill of patience and grace. We must keep our senses sharp for the right moment to strike or we will just end with wet, empty paws. First of all, we must stay quiet and still. Fish may not come closer until they feel it is safe and when they do... we just wait for a close shadow to appear. At that moment, for now, you will hit the water with your paw and as soon as you feel that slippery body, you must toss it to the shallow part of the river. But enough talking. You need to see it by yourself." With those last words, the tom fell silent and waited, his paws still yet eager to hit one of those animals. In not so much time, the first shadows started appearing. A few shifts in the water were a signal of fishes getting closer. Yet, he remained still until one silver flash crossed two paws away from him. With no warning, the warrior stretched his front paws and trapped the small animal among his claws just for it to be thrown to the shore. Before it could return to the water, the warrior leapt back and grabbed it with his jaws, ending its life. He dropped the fresh-kill by the shore, buried it and returned back to Mudkit. "That is the basic technique for fishing. By the end of your training, you will learn better and more effective ones, like catching the fish straight with your jaws. But for now, try the one I just showed you."

Judging by the grin on Berrycloud’s face, he was as excited to get to fishing as she was; she took it as a cue to stop hiding her own. At his signal, Mudpaw moved forward with all the dignity an over-eager apprentice could manage and, stopping a bit behind her mentor, peered into the water. She stood still, as if a misplaced breath might disturb the fish. Before long, the shadows began to appear. They moved so strangely, idling in place and darting around seemingly at random; Mudpaw watched with wonder, briefly forgetting she was meant to catch them. Then Berrycloud’s paws struck out. It was over in an instant; Mudpaw blinked to find her mentor already halfway through burying the fish.

Then it was her turn. She had nothing to prove (there would be many, many fish to come; many chances to prove herself), but her heart beat faster all the same. Nervous energy prickled in her stomach. Giving Berrycloud a sharp nod, the calico strode to the edge of the riverbank and waited. A small shadow started to drift toward the shore. Mudpaw waited until it was close enough, then darted forward, scattering water. Something smooth slid against her pawpads—a fish! Before it could get away, she hooked her paw around it and tossed it out of the river.

It flopped on the shore once, twice. Its scales caught the light and threw it back exactly like the other fish back home in the fresh-kill pile did. Then Mudpaw remembered. She leapt on top of the little fish and drove her fangs into it until it was still. Her heart hadn't stopped racing. Raising her head to look at Berrycloud, she meowed, ”I did it,” more proud than disbelieving. Her first hunt…and her first catch.

Mudpaw attempted to catch Fish, using 3 stamina. The attempt was successful!

Mudpaw
20/20 HP
77/80 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

The tom who watched everything walked slowly back to the calico she-cat and he smirked proudly at her. "That was a really nice first catch! You truly have the Riverclan's inheritance on your blood, huh? Well, I can tell from here that you won't have much trouble fishing but let's try something a little more... defiant." He winked and then pointed with his paw the place where he buried his fresh-kill. "But before that, you should bury your catch so we can come back for it later."

Berrycloud waited for her to finish doing the final job and once she was ready, he ordered the young she-cat to follow him into a near, small clearing of beech trees, puddles and reeds. The perfect place for land prey. "Land prey is more scarce and harder to catch. That's why we try to fish more than anything but during leaf-bare, no matter how many fish we gather for the season, we must have another source of food. Saying that it is my responsibility to at least teach the basics of hunting land prey. Follow my lead and repeat after me." The experienced warrior sniffed the air and the ground for a few seconds until he caught the scent of a frog. It wasn't particularly of his taste but it would enough of an example. Following the smell, the tom slowly crouched down and stopped when his eyes saw his objective, chilling next to a puddle next to a bunch of reeds. The tom prepared his hind legs, keeping himself hidden behind the reeds and after analyzing the situation, he jumped, always keeping his eyes on the prey. With his massive paws, Berrycloud sunk his claws in the flesh and though he wasn't sure he hit on the neck (did they even have a neck?) he was certain that it was no longer alive.

The golden tabby returned with the frog and then looked at Mudpaw. "Not really yummy but it is something. Now, you try to fetch from rodent, lizard, frog or whatever you can find here. I'll tell you after that what you can improve."

Mudpaw only had a few moments to preen (”a really nice first catch,” that was what Berrycloud had said), but she made the most of them, grinning back at Berrycloud without a hint of shame. Her smile faltered slightly at what he said next. They were already moving on? She guessed it made sense—she couldn’t spend the whole day fishing, and she was excited to see what else the territory had to offer—but the sight of more shadows in the water made her paws itch. ”Right.” With another quick nod, the calico was off like a bolt of lightning toward where Berrycloud had buried his fish. After digging a shallow hole, dropping her fish inside, and covering it, she was at her mentor’s side once more.

Their next destination was a small clearing. Though puddles dotted the landscape, this didn’t look like a place where fish gathered. Before Mudpaw could ask, Berrycloud announced what they were moving on to: Land prey. Having never lived through leaf-bare, Mudpaw was skeptical (where would the fish go? They only had the river, and the river wasn’t going anywhere), but she paid as much attention now as she had during the previous lesson. Crouching and sneaking and jumping—this was so much more complicated than fishing! But Mudpaw had never backed down from a challenge.

One look at the small, slimy thing Berrycloud had brought back helped her make her decision. She would catch something else. Preemptively crouching, she started forward. It wasn’t a scent that caught her attention, but a shape, small, brown, and furry. A water vole. Not something she’d usually pick out of the fresh-kill pile, but she wasn’t hunting for herself; she was hunting to feed RiverClan. Some of her Clanmates probably liked things like this.

Unbeknownst to her, the wind shifted. She saw the water vole raise its head and lock its beady eyes on her. Mudpaw pounced. Her paws came down with a splash, but there was nothing trapped under them; her would-be prey had vanished. Narrowing her eyes against a wave of disappointment, she backed out of the puddle she’d landed in, shook the water out of her fur, and returned to Berrycloud’s side. ”Why did it see me?” she meowed, her enthusiasm significantly tempered. ”I thought I was quiet…"

Mudpaw attempted to catch Rodent, using 3 stamina. The attempt was a failure…

Mudpaw
20/20 HP
74/80 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5