Brief Tranquility [Closed]

Foxfire was sat curled up outside of the warrior's den, lazily watching everybody stroll passed as he was left to muse over his new responsibilities. Training, making sure all the apprentices were getting their training done... He sighed, closing his eyes as if that would let him forget the burden that was now on his shoulders. He was managing...Somehow, but it made it hard to relax when it suddenly felt like there was so much to do. So when he heard pawsteps and happened to flicker open his eyes to see Basilpaw on the other side of the camp, an idea formed in his head. Something she had always wanted to do with him - to go hunting together. It had felt strange to take her out before but now he was deputy, with responsibilities and more power. Maybe...Maybe it wouldn't be so weird now. He pushed himself to his paws, heading toward her with a slight smile. "Basilpaw! You up for some hunting?"

She had been distracted, lost in her own thoughts for a moment, before the call caused her to glance up. Immediately a smile lit up Basilpaw's maw. It was as if the greatest words ever had just been bestowed on the young she-cat. This was it; it was finally time to hunt with Foxfire. Bounding the rest of the distance, she lightly butted her head into his shoulder. Being deputy did change anything in Basilpaw's eyes. It didn't further separate them as clanmates or anything, simply marked the honor that he deserved for being the greatest warrior ever. With bright green eyes, she met his gaze, "Of course! I've only been ready my entire life. Daylily and I haven't done much yet. But I'm sure you could show me everything in just one training. This will be perfect, Fox!"

A soft laugh escaped Foxfire as he smiled at the apprentice. "Hehe, sorry for taking so long to ask, Bug...Come on," he jerked his head in a motion to follow, leading her from the camp as he mused on her words. Daylily and her hadn't done much yet, huh? That was a small problem - and he guess as deputy, it was technically his problem now. Oh birdfeathers... Teaching her the basics wouldn't be a problem, but his heart still leap with fear as he knew he was going to perhaps finally confess his fear of heights to her - it was going to be hard to hide it while hunting together... "So, you and Daylily haven't really gone training, huh? Suppose that means I'll have to teach you the basics at least..."

"Not yet. She's very busy, almost as busy as you. But that's okay. I've been taking care of the NPC elders and reinforcing the camp walls for leafbare. It keeps my paws busy. I'm so ready to see the whole forest." Basilpaw trotted after the deputy, slipping through the entrance at his heels. Outside, she could see all the many of hundreds of trees that dotted the sparse ground. It was more than she could have ever imagined. Everything was truly incredible. After gawking for a moment, she turned her gaze to Foxfire, "I'm going to climb them all. I swear by Starclan I will climb every tree on this territory." Enthusiasm was alight in her eyes. Just like many Skyclan cats before her, she was determined to conquer the tree tops and catch every bird that dared perch there. Such a lofty goal for such a small cat, but when she set her mind to something, nothing could change that.

"Where do we start? What should I do, Foxfire?" A clear admiration shone in her eyes. He was the best teacher, and now deputy. In her first attempt at hunting, she was honored to be at his side. When she got back to camp, she couldn't wait to tell her mother all about how wonderful it had been.

Foxfire  listened softly to Basilpaw's words, relieved that she didn't seem bothered by her lack of training but he was nearly surprised by the fact that it seemed she had never actually left the camp. Had she really been that restrained? And to think she would do so much to try to get out as a kit - it seemed she never had the thought to simply leave camp on her own like so many apprentices would. Huh.

His heart did hurt a little at the mention of her wanting to climb tree, having still not gotten over the lingering fear of her hurting herself by falling. He knew it was less likely - she had a tail and better balance but...He couldn't shake it, no matter how hard he tried. But he fought it down. Training. He hadn't been expecting to train her but...It wouldn't take long - and he could start them on the ground as a base-point.

The deputy halted, turning to face her as he cleared his throat. "Well, we are going to start with the hunting crouch - necessary if you want to hunt on the ground. While...I'm sure you will want to stick to the trees, its always smart to have the basics covered just in case," he added, hoping that she wouldn't mind him holding off her tree adventures for a little bit. He took a step to the side, before dropping into a crouch to show her the full frame of how he was holding his body. "When hunting, you want to hold yourself low to the ground but not low enough that you are stirring up any loose leaves with your chest fur - or your tail in your case," he added. "You want to try to spread out your weight, don't favor a single paw so that you can have your pawsteps be quiet and careful - prey often can sense the ground shaking from pawsteps even if you think you are being as quiet as a falling leave."

He took in a deep breath, taking in the scents of the forest that surrounded the pair. Foxfire's eyes flickered around until he spotted a squirrel digging through the fallen leaves - perhaps looking for something to eat. He jerked his head in the direction of it to pull Basilpaw's attention. "How about you give it a try with that squirrel there?" he whispered carefully, before taking a couple steps back to give her plenty of room to approach the unaware prey.

With her tail waving cheerily and eagerly behind her, the young apprentice had been prepared to whip around and attempt to carelessly launch herself up the nearest tree. Skyclanners were known for their inherant ability to climb trees. It was woven into their nature and the thrill of such a thought coursed through her veins. In kithood, Basilpaw had been allowed to climb the rocks that enclosed camp but she longed for the satisfaction of sinking her claws into bark. She was interrupted by Foxfire's voice growing just slightly louder as he turned his face towards her. Ears twitching, the she-cat turned her attention back to the voice of her friend. Their was a flash of disappointment when he mentioned hunting instead of tree climbing. But her expression quickly brightened again with a smile as she realized that in order to become as great a warrior as Foxfire, Basilpaw needed to heed all of the sage advice that he had to offer.

Every motion that the tom made was eagerly taken in by wide, green eyes. They traced ever slight movement, every twitch of a muscle. And, before a heartbeat could pass, Basilpaw had sunk into her own attempt at the hunting crouch. It was not as smooth as one might have hope, due to the buzzing and dancing of her paws. Although, the realization quickly dawned upon the young cat and she shook away the kitlike enthusiasm to be replaced with concentration. Now, the hunter's gaze was trained upon the prey. Foxfire had given her a target, one she was determined to reach. The squirrel had to be half her size. Several of the apprentices would have been stuffed for moons off of the prey. As the russet deputy left her side, Basilpaw crept forward for the first time on her own. This was her first hunt; the moment would not be easily forgotten. Her eyes threatened to dart back to Fox but she used every ounce of restraint to carry on ahead.

And as soon as she was close enough, it was time to spring.

To her surprise, Basilpaw landed squarely on the squirrel. It thrashed about for a moment, threatening to dispel her, but instincts kicked in and teeth sunk into its throat. The squirrel's desperate attempt to cling to life ended nearly as quickly as it had begun. When she stepped away, the apprentice blinked. Her first day out and the hunt was successful! Lunging forward, she took it gingerly between her teeth. While initially, the hope had been to lift it away, dragging it through the dirt and towards the deputy was a more accurate description of the attempt. Unwilling to relinquish her grasp, the she-cat looked up at Foxfire and chirped through the fur with a muffled joy, "Ifs dids it, Fsoxfsire! Myf first catch!"

ooc; do you ever pray over the hunting dice because i sure do, edit: success! no predator has ruined us yet!

The member 'Ripped the Ripper' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

Foxfire watched Basilpaw with careful eyes as she slowly moved toward the squirrel, both to judge her hunting crouch...And also to simply make sure nothing was sneaking up on her - having learned how easily a predator could appear. But there was no such danger as the young apprentice made her leap, catching and killing the squirrel as if it was second nature to her, before dragging it toward the proud deputy. "I knew you could do it, Bug," he purred, leading down his head to gently bump his forehead against hers. "Now, lets find someplace to hide it and see if we can catch some more, huh?" he meowed, pulling away so that he could scan the forest around him.

It didn't take long for the deputy to find a small area tucked beneath a root, dipping his head toward it to bring it to Basilpaw's attention. "Here, this will do," he meowed, waiting for her to safely store it. As she did, he let his gaze scan the trees, wanting to be on high-alert...He couldn't bare any trouble brewing and hurting Basilpaw. No, not while he was on watch. "I want you to stay close, within ear-shot. If you see any trouble, do not engage. Either find me or...Call out if you don't have a choice, alright?" he meowed, giving her a soft look. "I'll be by your side in a heartbeat if you do." With that, he turned and tasted the air in search of a squirrel of his own.

It didn't take long to find one, hanging low on a branch. He froze as he spotted it, feeling the fear claw its way up his throat and causing his heart to beat faster as he slowly came to decide on what he was going to do. Ever since he had broken his leg...It hadn't just been a fear of climbing trees that had settled in his heart, but even finding it hard to desire of leaping high like that. To be so high off the ground in general, even for a matter of heartbeats seemed...Tough. But he had done it to name his apprentices. And would have to do it again. Besides...He could only jump so high that he wouldn't have any trouble landing...Right?

He swallowed past the fear as he dropped into a crouch, praying that the squirrel wouldn't see him as he threw all of his weight onto his back paws and sprung straight upwards. Fear glimmered in his eyes for a second but his claws lashed out at the squirrel, claws sinking into the fluffy tail as he yanked it down toward the ground with him. There was almost a sigh of relief that flooded through him as his back legs hit the ground again, followed by his front paws - with a squirrel still held in his grasp. It squealed, claws digging in an effort to yank its tail free but a quick bite ended that attempt as he picked it up and headed back to where he and Basilpaw were storing their caught prey, light in his eyes at even the slightest way of facing his fears.

Foxfire caught a squirrel, costing 3 stamina.

Foxfire:
100/100 HP
277/280 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6