push it to the limit (closed)

Harefoot stirred Cherrypaw from her rest in the apprentices' den. It was dawn, the sun barely lighting the sky above, which was blessedly clear. The thin-pelted warrior might have gone mad if another snowfall left him shivering all day. Fortunately, it seemed as though his day would be rather busy, and all the constant movement would keep him warm. "Come now, Cherrypaw. It's time to begin training for the day." He meowed softly to avoid waking the other apprentices and then withdrew from the den to wait by the gorse tunnel. Cherrypaw was Dacedream and Houndheart's daughter, which made her Beartooth's granddaughter. Harefoot wasn't entirely sure whether that made them techincally related or not. She had many telltale signs of his mate's blood, however, which endeared her to Harefoot more than she could possibly know. Perhaps a familiar mentor-apprentice bond was already in the making without them even knowing it. He sat neatly in his place as he waited, large ears flicking as he considered what would come of their training this morning.

Cherrypaw lifted her head at her mentor's call, and blinked a few times as she adjusted to being awake. She pushed herself to her paws, and carefully stepped around her sleeping Clanmates, using the trick Dacedream taught her to keep her extra claws from snagging on their nests accidentally. Once out of the den, she stretched, enjoying the weak leafbare sun warming her pelt, and trotted over to Harefoot, ready to start the day.
"'Morning, Harefoot!"

The warrior smiled kindly to his apprentice, beckoning for her to follow with his wiry tail. "And good morning to you!" Harefoot purred cheerily as he led the way through the gorse tunnel and up the rocky ravine with sure steps. He wasn't terribly fond of chilly leafbare mornings, but he was pleased at the chance to get out of camp with a new apprentice for the first time. His usual companions had not been able to spare him their time - Ferretnose had been stuck in camp for a long time with their children, and Beartooth... and though he considered Mossbloom a friend, he struggled to approach her for he did not know her very intimately. "Today I'll teach you how to hunt. One of a warrior's duties is to feed her clanmates, and she can't feed them without knowing how to track, stalk, and capture prey. Honestly, it's the only thing I'm good at. But I'm glad I get to see the grateful faces of queens and elders when I bring them their meals." He meowed as he trotted at a comfortable pace through the bare trees. Harefoot's mind was wandering, as evidenced by his directionless chatter. The warrior's voice was gentle and silky, muffled by the still-melting snow around them. 

Harefoot deemed their progress far enough. They'd strayed from the usual patrol paths, into a quiet thicket with decent brush coverage for stalking. If they were lucky, no hungry predators were lying in wait for them. If not, Harefoot had his unusually large ears perked as a precaution. His shoulders bore scars of unlucky predators from the past, although he never boasted or shared the stories of his wounds unless he was repeatedly prompted. "Alright, Cherrypaw, here'll do just fine." His tone was soft and his green eyes were warm compared to the bitter breeze. "The very basics of hunting, of course, is the crouch. It's a bit awkward at first - especially for unusual cats like me." Harefoot didn't want to make Cherrypaw feel uncomfortable by adding and you to the end of that sentence. He himself was lanky and his long limbs looked awkward bunched beneath his body as he demonstrated his perfect hunter's crouch. The warrior had practiced many a moon and tamed his unusual dimensions, however, stalking forward with an unmatched grace. "It's alright if it doesn't come naturally or even at all the first few times. The most important part is giving it your best shot." The brown tom meowed, sitting up and nodding to Cherrypaw encouragingly.

Cherrypaw followed Harefoot out of camp and into the forest, listening to him all the while. When they slowed to a stop in the heart of ThunderClan territory, she nodded along as he instructed her to try the hunter's crouch, and she watched as he demonstrated it for her. She tried to copy it to the best of her ability, looking to him for any comment about her attempt.

"Good! I can already tell that you'll be a natural. Don't forget to keep an eye on your steps as you stalk, or you might step on something crunchy." Harefoot lifted his nose to the sky, opening his mouth to see if any prey was nearby. A gentle breeze brought the wafting scent of something close, and a bush to their right crinkled as something scavenged inside. The warrior nodded encouragingly to Cherrypaw, wordlessly instructing her to try to catch it.

With a nod, she honed in on the prey that was rattling the bush to their right. Stalking lightly, making sure to keep her steps light, and to make sure to not step on anything crunchy, she approached, catching the scent of her prey. The scent of squirrel filled her nose, and when she was close enough, she pounced.

She landed square on the squirrel and quickly dispatched it with a quick killing bite.

Cherrypaw
20/20 HP
75/80 SP (-5)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

"Good form, Cherrypaw! And a clean kill, too. I'm sure your mother would love it if you brought that back for her. How about we hunt around a little more and see what else we can take home, hmm?" He bumped her shoulder lightly with his nose, then headed off several steps to scent the air for prey. He caught the earthy smell of a mouse and heard the faintest shift of leaves in a nearby bush. Slipping into a comfortable crouch, Harefoot approached his target and leapt when he was close enough to reach. The mouse tried to flee, but he pinned down its tail and nipped it in the throat, feeling satisfied at an easy catch and a meal for an elder.

Harefoot: 235/240 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

Cherrypaw let out a trill of delight at Harefoot's praise, and she buried the squirrel in the snow to pick up later. Looking around for more prey, she heard Harefoot make a successful kill of his own, and the scent of vole hit her nose. Falling into the hunter's crouch, she stalked the scent until another stench overpowered the scent of prey. A chittering sound filled her ears, and she looked around to see a masked... beast? It approached her, baring its teeth, and she turned tail, running back to Harefoot.
Paws striking the forest floor told her that it had followed her, and she struck out at the beast, quickly taking cover behind her mentor.

The raccoon followed the little cat as it had fled to its companion, who so happened to be a bigger cat. It let out a screech as claws connected with its face, and no longer able to get at Cherrypaw, it struck out at Harefoot.

Cherrypaw used Front Paw Strike, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 SP.

Raccoon used Quick Swipe on Harefoot, dealing 20 damage and costing 10 SP.

Cherrypaw
20/20 HP
65/80 SP (-10)

Harefoot
80/100 HP (-20)
235/240 SP

Raccoon
24/30 HP (-6)
290/300 SP (-10)

((ooc: does everything look good? this is my first time playing a predator lmao))

"Huh? Everything alright--oh, great StarClan!" He turned just in time to catch the raccoon's claws with his face, his cheek staining red. Apparently his large ears hadn't been enough to hear it coming, although Harefoot was sure it was because his attention was on his next piece of prey. "It's okay, Cherrypaw, we'll be okay! It's just an ugly raccoon!" Truthfully, he was a bit panicked. Or rather, he was still quite startled and it converted easily into adrenaline-fueled panic. He hit the ground with his shoulder, ducking swiftly beneath the creature, and raked his claws against its stomach. Hopefully the pain would keep its attention away from the she-cat.

Harefoot used Half-Turn Belly Rake on the raccoon, dealing 15 damage and using 20 stamina.

Cherrypaw
20/20 HP
65/80 SP

Harefoot
80/100 HP
215/240 SP

Raccoon
9/30 HP
290/300 SP

OOC: yep! Everything looks right :)

Cherrypaw spat at the raccoon as it attacked her mentor, and darted out from behind Harefoot to slash it's nose.

The raccoon had expected the big cat to fight back, but it wasn't prepared for the slash that had come from the little one. With a squeal, it backed off and turned to flee, rubbing its sore nose and face.

Cherrypaw used Front Paw Strike, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 stamina.

The raccoon has fled!

Cherrypaw
20/20 HP
55/80 SP (-10)

Harefoot
80/100 HP
215/240 SP

Raccoon
3/30 HP (-6)
290/300 SP

The warrior sighed in relief when the creature turned tail and ran, slumping slightly as his calm demeanor returned. He would have liked to put it down if only to keep future patrols safe, but at the rate it was scampering, it would probably cross a border and be someone else's problem. Harefoot turned to Cherrypaw and inspected her briefly for wounds, then licked a paw and rubbed it over his own cut. "I'm glad you're safe. That was a nice slap! That raccoon will think twice before coming back here. I guess you haven't seen one of those before, huh? They're pretty common around here. They eat anything they can get their paws on. Fortunately, they startle easily and are some of the less dangerous predators that run around. Still, you should stick close to me, alright?" Harefoot meowed, glancing around to make sure there was nothing else out to get them. He stood and walked to the mouse he had buried earlier and dig it up. "Let's get back to camp. I think you've learned enough for today. Don't forget your squirrel!"