Follow My Lead (CLOSED)

"Okay, Treepaw," Addershade said, feeling a pang of deja vu as he lead his new apprentice through the territory.

He came to a stop and glanced around, surveying the spot near the river, and decided it would do for their first training session. Turning around, he continue to address his apprentice. "We're going to practice some hunting. We'll start with fishing, since that's the main form of hunting we use, though if you'd like we can try other prey as well," he continued, silently hoping the young tom would want to stick with fish, considering how much Addershade tended to dislike hunting land prey. "So tell me, are there any bits of hunting technique or advice you've picked up just listening to warriors around camp?"

Treepaw listened as he watched fish swim by. "All I've heard is to not let your shadow fall on the water." He mewed, glancing up at the black-and-brown warrior. The flat-eared tom looked back at his paws. "Am I meant to know a certain technique? Or do some cats just have their own way of fishing?"

"Yes, that's right, you don't want your shadow to fall across the water. It's good that you already know that, since it's an important first step," Addershade mewed, giving his apprentice an encouraging smile. "As for technique, there are basic guidelines everyone follows, but it is also true that there can be variations based on the individual,"

Addershade moved to be a little closer to the river.

He paused. He was nervous about messing up in front of his apprentice and making himself look bad, and if he messed up his first catch in front of the young tom he was worried he'd make a bad impression and the apprentice wouldn't be very willing to listen to him. Maybe his last attempts at mentorship had gone badly because he was an embarrassment? So he decided that first he'd simply demonstrate the form of the catch, instead of actually going for a fish.

"For now, I'll just show you the basic posture and form, and the you can take a shot at catching an actual fish. I'll be showing you how I do it, but if somewhere down the line you want to find small variations in the technique that make it easier for you, feel free to."

Addershade plopped a stone into the water to act as a demo fish, then maneuvered to keep his shadow off the water as if the prey were real. With a smooth motion, he swiped the stone out of the water and tossed it onto the bank, demonstrating the basic form of hunting. When he was done, he turned to the apprentice.

"That's the basic posture of it all," he said, then nodded at the river. "Go ahead and try it out on a real piece of prey. Don't worry about whether or not it will succeed, the important thing is that you get used to the form," he finished, painfully aware of the irony that he was giving someone advice about not caring whether you succeeded or failed.

Treepaw nodded, though he half wondered why Addershade didn't try to catch a real fish, he was experienced... right? Shaking his tail he approached the water. He looked at his reflection for awhile before shuffling so his shadow didn't hit the water. He watched as a fish started swimming towards him. He tried to copy the position but he was a bit slow and the fish saw him coming, it turned around and sped away. He looked at his mentor. "I didn't do it right." He stated "what happened?" He hoped to fix what he did so he was better next time.

-3 SP
Treepaw:
77/80 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

"Your form was actually pretty good," Addershade commented, smiling. "You just need to move a little faster. Fish are very slippery and quick, and you have to be quick too to catch them,"

Of course, if you'd shown him by trying to catch a real fish instead of being such a coward, he might've picked that up himself the thought jumped into Addershade's mind, and he immediately felt guilty, like he was already failing another apprentice.

He couldn't just use stone fish forever out of fear that he'd fail. Besides, if he did mess up the catch, he could use it as a teaching moment, right?

"Here, I'll demonstrate for you again, with a real fish this time," Addershade said, getting ready to aim for some prey. He shifted into the proper position and as he saw a fish drifting through the current, struck his paw out as fast as he could, and successfully getting hold of the fish. He let out a little sigh of relief at the successful catch.

"Now you try again," he said, turning back to Treepaw. "But don't worry if you can't get it quick enough just yet. It takes a lot of practice, and what's really important is just that you keep at it,"

Addershade used 3 SP to try and catch a fish. Catch was a success!

Addershade:
SP: 197/200

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Treepaw watched as close as he could turning back to the stream he noticed a small fish swimming down the stream. "I'll try to be faster..." As the small thing approached, he quickly grabbed the fish and pushed it hard against a stone. Blood spilled out of the fish and he looked at it. A few scales had fallen off but it was still clean enough to eat... but Treepaw was unsure about that.

-3 SP


Treepaw:
74/80 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

Addershade smiled at his apprentice. "Excellent!" he said, nodding at the new piece of prey on the bank. The catch had perhaps not been the absolute cleanest, but it was great for being the very first day the young cat was doing this. The apprentice was already showing progress, and Addershade wanted to make sure he was clearly encouraging of that. "You're off to a great start, Treepaw. Keep practicing that and it will get even faster and much easier as well,"

"Uh, I guess you're right!" He smiled. Maybe there was room in life for adventure after all. "Thank you... Addershade." He meowed. "What should we do next?"