I'll Do My Best [Closed]

"Alright, Willowpaw," Addershade, turning his attention to his daughter.

They had stopped in the same spot by the river that he'd trained with Applepaw in. It had seemed like a fairly safe spot last time, and he figured it was safer to use it again than take a chance on some place entirely new. Of course, he knew it having been safe and predator-free before did not guarantee it would be so this time around, so he was still very much on his guard. He didn't want to chance any of his kits getting hurt. The main thing on his mind these days was doing his best to make sure that never happened.

"We're going to practice some hunting here. Here, come up to the bank with me,"

He waited for the she-cat to join him.

"Today, I'll be showing you the basics of fishing,"

He looked over at his apprentice. He supposed it was possible that one of his older kits had already mentioned to Willowpaw some of the hunting basics, and it was worth finding out if she already had any knowledge of what he was going to be teaching her today, or whether they'd be starting from scratch. "Have any of your siblings already talked to you about how catching fish works?"

"No," Willowpaw answered, shaking her head, "I thought that when you see the fish, you grab it with your claws," she guessed. "I'm not sure though, but I'm excited to learn!"  She didn't know if it would be easy or hard, but she was willing to try.  She wanted to be the best RiverClan cat that she could be!

"Yes, that is correct, the aim to hook the fish with your claws and scoop it out of the water and onto the bank," Addershade said, smiling at his daughter's enthusiasm. He had been nervous even about learning to hunt when he was her age, and he was glad to see she didn't share that trait. He wanted his children to be cautious, yes, but not like he had been-- and still was.

"The actual catching part is fairly self-explanatory," he said, moving a little closer to the water, "You just wait for a fish to come by, and then swipe at it, quick. The thing that's really tricky, and takes the most practice, is making sure you're in a position that lets you get to the fish quick enough without alerting them to your presence,"

He briefly modeled a potential hunting pose, and then gave Willowpaw a nod.

"Why don't you give it a try, and then we'll go from there?"

Willowpaw waited silently, her paw stretched towards the water, her claws sticking out.  She didn't want any fish to slip away.  When she saw a shadow in the water, she struck out, hoping she had aimed correctly.  She was relieved when she felt her claws sink in.  Willowpaw had just pulled the fish out onto the bank when it slid out of her claws.  It flopped and slipped back into the water.  She felt disappointed, but knew that she could learn from her mistake. 


"Was I close?" she asked her mentor,  "What can I do differently next time to fix my mistake?"  


She wanted to go back to the camp with prey.  She knew that some apprentices had gotten prey on their first day, and she wanted to too.

"Yes, very!" Addershade said, giving his daughter an encouraging smile. "Even being able to hook the fish on your first try is wonderful,"

He began to position himself on the bank in a way that would let him demonstrate what he was about to say. "Your actual catching technique was very good-- like with many things, you just have to make sure you don't count it as a win too soon. Don't lose your focus on the fish or loosen your hold before you're absolutelysure it's safely on the bank and won't be able to jump right back into the water. Speed may be important for making the catch, but caution is important for keeping it,"

With that, he directed his gaze to the river and, when the dark outline of a fish came into view, struck a paw out to catch it. He successfully grabbed the fish, and made a point to drag it away from the bank carefully so that it wouldn't flop away, before delivering a killing bite.  

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

Addershade:
SP- 197/200

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

Willowpaw watched her mentor pull a fish out of the water and give it the killing blow.

"I want to try that!" she exclaimed.  She stared into the water, waiting for a shadow. When she saw one, she darted out her paw and hooked up the fish.  She made sure to bring it far enough from the water so that it wouldn't fall back in.  She delivered the killing bite and looked up at her mentor, excitement showing in her eyes.

Willowpaw used 3 SP to try to catch a fish.  The catch was successful.


Willowpaw
77/80 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

"Fantastic job, Willowpaw!" Addershade said, beaming with pride. His daughter was clearly a quick learner. "You listened to my advice and adjusted exactly what you needed to. Being able to adapt and learn quickly is an important skill," he said, smiling.

He looked back at the water. "Why don't we both try to catch another, to get more practice in with the technique? Practice does, after all, make perfect,"

Willowpaw hooked her paw out toward the water, waiting. When she saw a fish she darted her paw toward it.  When she pulled op the fish she killed it, excited to have caught two fish, that she could bring back to camp.

Willowpaw used 3 SP to try to catch the fish.  The catch was successful.


Willowpaw
74/80

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

"Another great catch, Willowpaw!" Addershade said as Willowpaw made her second catch. "You're a natural,"

Addershade looked at the river once more. Bbringing three fish back to camp would be great, but bringing four back would be even better. And even if Willowpaw had picked up on the example he'd already set with ease, another demonstration of proper technique couldn't hurt. Unless he missed, of course. But mistakes were lessons, too, not just things to be embarrassed about. It had taken him a long time to learn that, but he'd finally started to get the hang of it. He eyed the water and waited for another fish to appear, then, as one did, made his move, catching and securing his prey with ease.  

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

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

Willowpaw was excited when her mentor caught another fish. They had four fish to bring back to camp!  She liked catching prey to feed the Clan.