Amber Morning (closed)

Spottedstar nudged Amberpaw awake from the entrance to the apprentice's den. He mumbled instructions to meet him out by the camp entrance and then retreated, doing his best not to disturb the other slumbering apprentices. There was certainly much going on in SkyClan these days, but he had to remember his duties to Amberpaw. He would train her well, if he could manage it.

Amberpaw stirred awake, her amber eyes blinking slowly. She noticed a cat looming over her and when the blurriness of sleep cleared. She had barely heard the instructions but she followed them. She slowly padded towards Spottedstar and shook her head. "I'm ready, Spottedstar." She mewed.

"Good, it's best to not keep the prey waiting." He meowed, a hint of a smile on his face. Spottedstar was tired too. He never really adjusted to morning training in his apprenticeship and it obviously carried over to warriorhood and leadership as well; maybe he'd start collecting Amberpaw for training in the afternoon. He made the rules, after all. "Let's get started, yeah? I'll teach you how to hunt today."

He led the way out of camp, walking at a brisk pace. Leaf-fall was making its presence known. SkyClan's pine trees remained green through all seasons, but the chilly winds still prickled their coats like all other clan cats. Spottedstar came to a halt in familair clearing where he trained most apprentices under his care. "Okay, Amberpaw, let's start with the very basics." He said, turning to her. Hopefully she'd catch on quickly; it's be inaccurate to call Spottedstar a patient cat. He mimed his actions as he instructed her. "So it all starts with a good stalking tchnique. You gotta get close to prey to catch it, but you can't catch anything if you're not stealthy. You track what you're looking for by smelling it or seeing it or hearing it, and then you need to find the best way to get close without alerting it. Let's say it's a bird; it's on a branch... uhhh... like that one over there." He flicked his tail at a random branch in a nearby tree. He stalked towards it, low to the ground, and with his long tail gently swaying behind him to keep balance. "SkyClan cats are great because we can jump and clmib trees better than anyone else. We use this to catch birds right out of trees instead of waiting for them to come to us. So, if you've found yourself under a bird, you can jump up and snatch it!" He leapt straight up, kicking up from the ground with a little spray of pine needles and landing effortlessly on the branch.

"Alright, I've shown you what to do. How about you go and see if you can catch something?"

Amberpaw as flicking her ears around before realising the leader was showing her something. The tall kitten copied her mentors movement, her long legs ready to jump. She remembered what her mentor was saying and had her ears on alert, she heard skwarking nearby and turned her head, she scented it and lastly she saw it, it was on a high branch, she was a little nervous, stalking towards the tall tree she looked up, the bird was still high on the tree. She turned her head to Spottedstar, wondering if this bird was a good choice. She looked up and leaped onto the nearest branch. Her back paws skidded a bit and her soft fur was now covered in dust, she was still focused on the bird though, her obviously didn't notice her. ~It's so close, I can't give up now!~ She thought, however Amberpaw was just as worried as ever. She leaped again, making a loud noise as her back claws skidded on the tree bark. She gulped, looking up at the bird who was now plucking at it's feathers. ~One more jump.~ She looked at the branch, then the trunk, she started climbing the trunk to a height where she could leap. She unhooked her claws, twisting in the air, feeling something soft beneath her claws when she landed, she was right on the bird's tail. She looked down and purred with delight. She wasn't paying attention as she bent to bite the bird. Something brown flew past her paws and before she knew what was happening she was hanging on by only one paw on the tree, she saw the angry mother bird charging towards her again, but there was still time. "Spottedstar!" She screeched, managing to lift her other paw up. Her claws were hooked into the nest and the little bird was terrified as her claws got closer, but the only thing she was worried about was falling.

The leader watched from his branch, pleased to see Amberpaw calculating her moves instead of charging straight in. It had taken him moons to fgure out that he needed to plan where he would land instead of allowing himself to fall wherever his leaps landed him. Spottedstar appraised her target, considering a young bird to be a good first-time apprentice's attempt, and held his breath in silent anticipation. When Amberpaw pinned the chick's tail, Spottedstar let out a silent breath and smiled, although the unexpected attack of the mother bird sent her sprawling off the branch. Alarmed, the spotted tom searched for a path between his branch and hers, hurriedly traveling from tree to tree until he reached the branch she clung to. A swift slap of a front paw sent the angry mother bird spiraling towards the ground, and Spottedstar leaned over to grasp Amberpaw by the scruff. "Help me pull you up!" He meowed around her fur, lifting her from her dangling position and steadying her on the branch. When they had both settled and caught their balance, he sighed in relief and looked at Amberpaw with a grin. "That was close, huh? Your technique was good. It was the follow-through that got you by surprise, but that's okay. You can always keep trying and getting better."

OOC: Just to let you know, you need to roll the dice for hunting to count for your requirements~

OOC: I know, I wasn't gonna let her catch the bird anyway, the next catch I'll use the dice)

IC: Amberpaw looked down at her paws, still stunned by the sudden attack. "I guess you're right.." She mewed. She looked at the bird kit that was struggling to fly to it's mother without falling. "But the bird got away.." She mewed, shaking her head. "Thank you Spottedstar..." She mewed as she jumped down, branch to branch carefully. Amberpaw shook her fur, licking off all the dirt. Searching for her next target. She saw a squirrel, chirping happily as it ran up and down a branch. She wanted to be more careful this time, taking a look around the tree once she got close to it. Once she saw there was no danger, she took her time to climb up the tree. She decided it must be quieter to climb than to jump. She looked over at the branch, the squirrel spun around and quickly ran away from her. She sat on the branch and frowned.


- 3 SP
Amberpaw:
77/80 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Spottedstar nodded, relaxing fully now that the danger was over. Perhaps he would catch something as well. He hopped into a nearby tree with close branches, figuring prey might have heard Amberpaw's cry. It would be best if he stayed hidden in the pines for a bit. The leader stepped from branch to branch, passing into another tree, and halted when he spotted a raven perched on a branch not too far away. Judging the distance as close enough, he crouched, and then launched himself at the raven. He snagged it in his jaws as it attempted to take flight and landed neatly on the branch.

297/300 SP

OOC: unfortunately, a 9 is a miss for SkyClan in leaf-fall. You might have accidentally read the chart for catching leaves. Also, don't forget to subtract 3 SP!

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

OOC: Oops, yeah I guess I did, I'll edit my post

Amberpaw was still sitting on the branch as she watched Spottedstar easily catch a raven. She shook her head sadly and finally decided to come down. She didn't want to hunt another bird, but decided to try anyway. She used her claws to climb up the tree, a bit faster this time. She was going after a robin, determined to make her first catch. She jumped onto the branch, pinning the tail of the bird under her claws. She snapped its neck and looked over at Spottedstar, happily. "Wi dfid fit!" (I did it!) She chirped keeping her claws dug deep into the wood. She leapt off the tree and onto the ground, her legs wobbling as she landed. she spat the bird out. "I finally caught my first prey!"

-3 SP
Amberpaw:
74/80 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

The leader jumped to the ground and dug a shallow hole for his catch. When Amberpaw presented her catch, he gestured to the hole with a flick of his tail. "Good! You can store it here. Let's both try for one more, the queens at camp have been getting a little grouchy lately." Spottedstar meowed with an approving nod. He was glad she'd picked it up relatively fast and hadn't broken a leg like Foxfire had when he was an apprentice. Granted, there was an owl involved, but Amberpaw's luck seemed a bit better. He trotted off in a new direction, tracking the earthy scent of a mole on the breeze. Catching site of the small creature just outside its burrow at the base of a tree, Spottedstar scaled a tree and used crossing branches to look down on it from above. He dropped, catching the mole completely by surprise and killing it swiftly with his sudden weight. He carried it back to the burrow, prepared to bring the rest of the prey home when Amberpaw was ready.

Spottedstar:
294/300 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

Amberpaw nodded, smiling as she dropped the small bird in the hole. She went to look for some more pieces of prey before finding a squirrel on the ground, easy prey, it was a plump one too. She padded around the smaller thing, while staying hidden. As she leaped she saw the squirrel's ears twitch, it started to run but Amberpaw was too quick for the little thing. She pushed it off the tree with her sharp claws and it fell to the ground, it was dazed, but Amberpaw was already biting it's neck when it snapped out of it. She felt a bit tired already and was ready to go home when she added the prey to the hole. "Okay, that's our last catch! Did I do well?" She purred.

-3 SP


Amberpaw:
71/80 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8