Dance of Gold [Closed]

"Goldenpaw, its time to go out," Flintshard meowed, prodding his new apprentice awake. The moon was just rising, a dusk hunting patrol would be needed and he had decided that he was going to take care of it himself while also teaching Goldenpaw how to hunt. Once he was certain that she was stirring from her slumber, he turned and left the den without another word - certain that she wasn't going to make the mistake of slipping back into sleep. If she did, he would just have to stir her awake with an even rougher prod. It wasn't a huge bother to him. He limped his way to the entrance of the camp, settling down as he curled his tail around his scarred leg as he waited for her to join him...Ears perked as he listened to the faint sounds of the forest and night in the meanwhile.

Goldenkit- no, Goldenpaw, as she kept reminding herself- woke up earlier than she had ever before. It was mostly due to nerves and an inability to sleep, though her mentor's rough wake up call certainly contributed. She jumped to her feet, swaying a little from whiplash. Her head peeked out of the apprentices' den and she spotted a large grey tom just outside camp. She hadn't been graced with the warmest mentor, but he wasn't deputy for nothing. Goldenpaw hoped to learn a lot from Flintshard these coming moons. Thick fur ruffling in the icy breeze, the new apprentice made her way towards her mentor.

Flintshard straightened up as Goldenpaw approached, clambering to his paws as he dipped his head in acknowledgement before he turned and silently led the apprentice from the camp. It was a bit strange to have to care for the training of another cat - it had been a long while since he had trained with Lightpaw, her training having come to an abrupt end when he had been gravely injured. Others had taken up the mantle, teaching Lightpaw what was needed and even thought he was well on recovery, he had yet to actually take Lightpaw out to see her training himself. But...He was deputy and that mean, he supposed, he ought to work on...Communication. He didn't like talking to others but there would no doubt be moments where he and Thornstar would be forced to discuss things with each other and even other leaders. Working on communication with a new apprentice was perhaps a good start, even if he wasn't looking forward to it. "We'll be doing hunting today," he explained after a while, coming to a slight halt as he turned to look at Goldenpaw. "Practicing moving silently, keeping an eye on your surroundings. Nothing...Fancy, but still important. You ready to start?"

Goldenpaw hastened her pace to match Flintshard's as they made their way out of camp. Finally, she thought. This was it, her first step out into the vast world outside the nursery. She wasn't nervous, not with a mentor to protect her. Instead, she was excited. Looking forward to not only the training, but to show off to kits and other apprentices when she came back. She was training with the deputy, after all! If that wasn't worthy of showing off about, she didn't know what was. "Yeah, I'm ready! I don't care what we learn, it'll be fun either way!" Grinning from ear to ear, Goldenpaw slowed down to face Flintshard.

Flintshard huffed, sparing Goldenpaw a long look. They weren't out here to have fun, they were out here to learn how to hunt to feed their Clanmates. There was little room for fun in the harshness of the world outside of the camp walls... But he chose to hold his tongue on that regard - dampening her spirits wouldn't do any good and at least she clearly had the energy to learn and take his lesson to heart. "Alright. First, you want to focus on your crouch," he explained as he dropped into a hunting crouch, ignoring the faintest flash of pain from his injured leg as he forced his weight on it - it was important that Goldenpaw got an idea of what a proper hunting crouch looked like, not one that was off because he had to mind his leg injury.

"You want to spread your weight across all of your paws - do not favor one paw over another. That will create unneeded noise and will alert your prey before you can draw close," he said as he drew himself forward, carefully and silently stalking across the small clearing in a show of what to do. Finally, he paused and stood to his full height, shifting the weight from his scarred leg as he glanced at his apprentice. "Moving in silence is our best ability - we can sneak up on anything as long as we have the darkness of night to concealed our movements. Now, I want to see you give it a go. See if you can locate some prey," he said with a twitch of his whiskers, keeping a close eye on his apprentice as he waited to see how well she could do o her own.

OOC: Alright, time to explain the hunting system! When you are using the hunting system, the first thing you have to do is decide what kind of prey you want using the Hunting System page. Its important to keep in mind the season (currently Leaf-bare as noted as being bolded on the Hunting System) and your chances. If you hit preview at the bottom of your post, it will let you see what your post will look like...And also give you access to the Dice Rolls (located below where you can edit your reply). You will want to click on the Dice Rolls square and select hunting dice.

With one dice roll (as you are hunting a single prey, you would only change the number if you had more than one cat hunting at once in a post really), you simply hit send and it will post the reply along with a second one by Mistpelt - which will give you your dice roll. With your dice roll, you will check out the Hunting System page to see if you caught your prey, being mindful of what season it is along with what Clan you are from. For example, as a ShadowClan cat hunting in Leaf-bare a mouse will be a 6 and below catch for you. 7-9 will miss...and a 10 will summon a predator for us to fight (and thus are not favored). It also should be noted that trying to hunt uses 5 stamina (As an apprentice, you have 20 health and 80 stamina to start). This is normally 3 but its bumped up during Leaf-Bare.

If you roll a predator, its up to you to pick one to fight and edit your post to reflect them appearing. However, if either of us roll a ten in this topic, I will most likely take it upon myself to bring it in simply so you get an idea of how that actually works - but all the stats and whatnot for the predators are located here. You can also force predator encounters if you need a battle requirement. Also, as a note, for your hunting requirement - you must roll a 9 or below for it to count. Rolling a 10 sadly will not give you your requirement but as long as you roll a 1-9 once, your requirement is in the bag. Hunting is also not always required - just if you need the requirement but you do need a battle requirement to rank up to warrior so I will be rolling just to double our chances.

Goldenpaw faltered a little under Flintshard's gaze. He was clearly unimpressed, so she looked away for a bit and focused on his guidance instead. It wouldn't do to lose spirit, that probably wouldn't help her catch any prey at any rate. Once her mentor finished his demonstration and looked at her expectingly, she dropped into a crouch reminiscent of his. It was far from perfect, even she could feel that she was off balance and her tail was too high up, but it was a start. She began to move slowly, cringing as she broke a twig beneath her paws. This really wasn't helping her in the slightest. Taking a deep breath, she repositioned herself. Tried to make herself just a bit lighter on her paws. Nervous but determined, she took the next step.

It was a lot quieter than the last, though still not silent. Encouraged by her victory, she sped up a little and pricked up her ears. There was prey somewhere here, and she was going to find it. Silence filled the clearing, Flintshard's judging gaze boring holes in her pelt. She ignored it, instead focusing on the now moving patch of dried leaves in front of her. Gotcha. It smelled like... Mouse, most likely. She smiled a bit, tail reflexively swaying in anticipation. This was it, her first catch. Hopefully.

Her pale golden fur ruffled as she quickly stretched out her body and legs to pounce. Her back legs stiffened, propelling her off of the ground and onto the mouse. Not particularly graceful, but definitely effective if the mouse beneath her paws was any indication. It gave out a piercing squeak and a loud crack rang through the clearing before it went limp, clearly dead. Proudly, the apprentice picked it up and trotted over to Flintshard. "I did it! I caught the mouse!" she exclaimed, dropping her quarry triumphantly at the deputy's paws.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

Flintshard sat, his gaze carefully resting on Goldenpaw as he watched her test out the hunting crouch herself. Her form was good - her pawsteps quiet as she drew herself forward. But a good hunting form didn't mean that she would always catch something, waiting to see how well an actually hunting attempt would go. His ear twitched as she made a leap toward something unseen, watching as she shifted some dried leaves before turning to pad back...A mouse hanging from her jaws. "Very good," he praised lightly as the mouse was dropped at his paws - not that his tone really gave off the idea that it was a praise. "You did well. Find someplace to bury it and continue hunting - the Clan needs all the prey it can get," he noted before he turned and padded off...Before pausing a few steps away to glance back over his shoulder. "Do make sure not to stray far - the territory can be dangerous as we are not the only things that lurk in the darkness. Keep on your guard, be cautious and don't be afraid to call out for help if you do run into anything. The world can be dangerous, there is no shame in needing aid to protect against it." With that and a flicker of his tail, he turned and limped his way into the territory.

Keeping with his own advice, he made sure not to stray far. His hearing was rather good and he knew he wouldn't have any trouble picking up Goldenpaw's voice if she did run into trouble but it was better to remain close so he could quickly reach her. After all, his speed wasn't what it normally was with his leg still being on the mend. Stalking through the undergrowth, he wasn't as careful with his crouch as he had been in showing off to Goldenpaw. He wasn't as skilled at hunting, and the colder season made it harder than ever to remain quiet...And so it wasn't worth pulling in all the effort to remain quiet. If he missed, he missed. It was the long and short of it. He tasted the air, turning his attention onto a nearby mouse. No doubt they were trying to forage for food to face the harsh leafbare that was practically upon them. He slowly approached, careful to try to make his pawsteps as quiet as he could as he kept his body low to the ground with narrowed eyes. There was a sharp cracking sound that caused him to freeze, watching as the mouse skittered away underneath the safety of a root. He glanced down to see that he had stepped on a practically frozen leave that had shattered from his weight, having been masked with dried mud to bled in to the forest floor. He huffed, shaking his head as he turned to pad away and seek out another prey somewhere else.

Flintshard missed a mouse, costing 5 stamina.

Flintshard:
95/95 HP
245/250 SP (-5)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Goldenpaw smiled weakly. This was going to be tough, judging by how scrutinising Flintshard was being, but she had learnt a lot in just these past few minutes. She'd kind of been praised, and that had to be good enough for now. She just hoped that her mentor would warm up to her at least a little, eventually.

She padded towards a dry spot unter a large fir tree, burying her catch. She felt a little spark of pride again. Her first try had been a success! Time to see how well she'd do the next time. She sniffed around a bit, the cold weather hindering her sense of smell somewhat. After what seemed like hours, it was her ears, not her nose, that picked up on something. She heard some crackling noises behind a large clump of snow, presumably a mouse eating a nut or something. She dropped to a hunting crouch, drawing her body closer to her legs as she slowly crept forward.

She pounced again, the snow muffling any noise she made. To her delight, her paws once again hit their mark. Her claws dug into the small creature as she flung it into the air and caught it in her jaws, delivering a final bite. The mouse stopped breathing and Goldenpaw silently rejoiced. Two in a row, on her first day! She really was good at this, wasn't she.

Proud of herself, she buried the mouse with the first one and looked around for something else to catch.
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Goldenpaw:
HP-20/20
SP-70/80

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Flintshard carefully moved through the marsh, doing his best to keep his limp in check as he scoured the landscape for something to hunt. He didn't want to go back empty pawed - anything would do, to be honest. He huffed, before his ears perked at the faint sound of scuffing. His gaze turned to see a vole. He dropped into a crouch, slowly stalking forward before he made his leap. But as he made his leap, the vole's ears twitched and it scampered away leaving him empty pawed. He watched it disappear into the shadows, before he sighed heavily and turned to continue on his way. Sooner or later, he would get something.

Flintshard missed a vole, costing 5 stamina.

Flintshard:
95/95 HP
240/250 SP (-5)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

Goldenpaw, elated by her luck, padded away from where she buried the mice and looked around. This time, it wasn't long before she noticed prey. A rabbit to be exact. Her curled ears pricked up, pinpointing the location of the smaller animal. Rabbits were scarce during this time of year, so this would be quite the catch if she caught it. Within leaping distance, she crouched and prepared to pounce.

Just as she was beginning to unfold her legs from beneath her, she noticed a large, silent creature swoop by her peripheral vision. Alarmed, she scrambled to stand up straight. The rabbit was long gone, scared away by either the very same thing she had been scared by or her reaction to it. It didn't matter which. What did matter was that there was a large owl staring her dead in the eyes who had presumably been hunting for the very same rabbit. Oh StarClan. She opened her mouth in a panic, backing away from the beast. "F-flintshard! Help! Owl!" This set of words was all she could muster, mind reeling far too fast to conjure up a coherent sentence.
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Goldenpaw missed a rabbit and encountered an owl, costing her 5 stamina.
Goldenpaw
HP-20/20
SP-65/80

Owl
HP-50/50
SP-120/120

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10