Working, Playing (CLOSED for Sal-Tea)

Crowspirit finally reached the place he'd been looking for, a tall patch of moor, new sprouts starting to shoot up under the shade of the dry, crackly stems. looking back towards Larkpaw, he shot the young molly a grin. "Ready to go hunting?" His last apprentice, his oldest daughter, had died. He wouldn't fail this one. But, as usual, his more solemn thoughts were hidden under an exuberant exterior.

Larkpaw strutted up to him. The moor was beautiful. It was her first time out of camp, and it exceeded her expectations. "I think so." The young tabby stretched out her legs, hoping Crowspirit wouldn't be mad if she failed. "How would I go about doing that? Oh-wait, that's what you're teaching me." Way to impress your mentor, asking stupid questions.

"Alright." Crowspirit stretched his legs, scanning the grass for any sign of prey. "WindClan is the fastest Clan in the forest. It's what we pride ourselves on. But sometimes, a rabbit can be faster. And birds can fly. It's important to learn how to creep up, too. All you have to remember is to crouch low, don't touch anything but solid earth, and move forward until you're close enough to jump or give chase." He demonstrated, flattening his body and keeping his tail down as he stalked towards Larkpaw. The dark tom stood back up, mismatched eyes falling on a rabbit. "Once you land on your prey, it's important to know what to do with it. For rabbits, you hold down their hind legs and snap their neck. For birds, you pin the wings before doing the same. Go try and catch that rabbit over there." He motioned to the fuzzy brown creature, nibbling warily on tender spring shoots.

Larkpaw hesitated, trying to memorize everything he said. "A-alright, then..." That went quickly. Already, I'm hunting? I thought it'd be slower. But that said, I'm fine with this.

Larkpaw fell into the crouch almost instinctively. It was a good crouch for only having seen Crowspirit do it, but her weight was well balanced and she moved forwards quickly. She eyed the rabbit and pulled herself forwards, bit by bit, until she was close enough to give chase. She sprang up and pushed towards the rabbit.

Her jaws snapped at its tail, and it sprang away, but she caught up to it and killed it with a quick bite. Eyes glowing with pride, she set the rabbit next to Crowspirit. "I... I actually did it!"

Larkpaw attempts to catch Rabbit. Attempt successful.

20 HP
77 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

Crowspirit purred in approval, eyes gleaming. “Great job for your first catch! If you don’t mind, I’m going to see if I can track something down, too. After that, we can spar, if you like.” He gave an encouraging nod to Larkpaw, before turning his senses to the moor, picking out a distant bird. A crow was pecking at the grass, and he edged closer, trying to get as near as possible before he leaped.

He thought he was near enough, but when he pounced, the bird took off, and his chin slammed into the ground. Embarrassing, really. He was an experienced hunter, but bad luck had caught him just as he was trying to show off to his apprentice. “So, about sparring?” He put forth a sheepish grin, trying to recover the moment with a joke.

Crowspirit attempted to hunt a Crow, costing 3 SP.

The catch was failed!

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Larkpaw giggled. Nice to know I'm not the only one who messes up sometimes. She nodded and fluffed out her pelt a bit. "I'm not really interested in fighting, but... with everything that's happened lately, I have a feeling I'll need to know how to, soon."

The young tabby shivered, thinking about Finchstar. But eventually her gaze snapped up to Crowspirit and she nodded. "Okay. Sparring, you said."

Larkpaw giggled as he missed a crow. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who messes up. She took a hesitant step forwards. “I mean... I don’t want to fight, but...” She trailed off, then nodded to herself. ”Yeah-I mean, I probably should, in the light of everything that’s happened.”

The tabby apprentice fluffed her fur out. “Some apprentices said you fluff your fur out so you seem bigger. Is that right?” Larkpaw still seemed as small as a kit, even with her fur fluffed out.

Crowspirit nodded. “It’s a good tactic for predators, but you want enemy cats to underestimate you instead of overestimating. Gives you an edge if you can catch them off guard. I’ll let you have the first move. Go on, attack me.”

"I mean... okay." Without really thinking about her move, Larkpaw bounded forwards and swiped a paw at Crowspirit. That sucked! But he didn't give me any instructions, so it's not my fault!