Smoke Whispers [open]

Smokepaw's ears twitched as she quietly moved through the trees. The rain had stopped and the sun was out now, but the forest was still wet. How Riverclanners would willingly go into the water to hunt and seemed to enjoy the water itself, Smokepaw was at a loss as to a reason why. She didn't even like getting her paws wet in the creek that ran through the territory, and she certainly didn't enjoy the water that was still dripping off of leaves above her as she made her way through the forest in search of prey.

Whiskers twitching, Smokepaw paused to scent the air, then let her gray-green gaze roam over the surrounding landscape thoughtfully. It seemed like not even the birds wanted to be in this part of the forest-- Wait,

There. A sparrow perched on a low-hanging branch, and Smokepaw paused, then gingerly edged her way closer. She didn't want to startle the creature and have it fly off by accidentally stepping on a twig.

Ivypaw hesitated at the front of the camp entrance. Should I really go into the forest on my own? Her mentor had taught her the basics already, but this would be the first time she explored clan territory alone. I'll be fine, she reassured herself and padded through the entrance. Without letting herself think, she broke into a sprint and dashed through the territory, weaving through trees and underbrush. She felt like she was flying, the wind whistling in her ears and ruffling her fur. Her paws thudded on the ground and she nearly jumped when a twig cracked under her paw. Suddenly, a bird screeched and Ivypaw skidded to a stop, finding herself in a small clearing. She glanced around and found another apprentice there. Smokepaw, her mind supplied. "Hi, Smokepaw," she mewed, not realizing she had scared off the other apprentice's prey.

Bloodpaw was on elder duty. Elder duty! He had to take some kind of weird herb and berry stuff for nausea, otherwise, he would never be able to hold down his breakfast being around those nasty old rotting bags of living flesh. It had only been a few days since he and Mistpaw got into a fight with that owl, but thanks to Sagelight, Bloodpaw's wounds were healing quite nicely. He had just finished applying mouse bile to the ticks found on some of the elders, and with the immediate duties being done, Bloodpaw slipped away from that area for a break. He didn't think anyone else was around, so he wasn't trying to be very quiet.

"This is so disgusting! Elder duty is below me!" He growled to himself. He passed by a bush that had wet leaves on it. Bloodpaw flexed out his claws and smacked it. Water drops and leaf bits went flying. He continued to stomp off, his hackles raised and his tail bristled as he allowed himself to vent a little anger now that he was alone. By then he had neared the clearing, but he was so caught up in his own little inferno of emotions that he didn't bother to check for other cats nearby.

"It wasn't my fault she followed me," He hissed to himself. A beetle caught his eye on the forest floor and he brought his claws down upon it with such a fury that it exploded beneath his paw. "I was fine... then she follows me and then that stupid owl hears us talking! She distracted me!" He shook his paw off from the beetle juice and wiped his pads on the grass.

"Elder duty. Ha! If those old rotten bags would have just died a warrior's death they wouldn't need anyone to take care of them. I swear to Starclan I will not live to become old. I will die in battle or off myself first!" He was growling louder. A single dandelion was spotted in the clearing and Bloodpaw charged it. The little weed didn't stand a chance as he shredded it beneath both sets of claws. Then... a scent hit him. Another cat had passed by here... very recently. Bloodpaw simply looked to the left...

Oh foxdung!

He stared at Ivypaw and Smokepaw with wide eyes, frozen in place for several heartbeats with dandelion slices all over his toes. He awkwardly removed his claws from the plant and tried to wipe them in the wet grass.

"I'm sorry were you guys hunting?" He said quickly and nervously, certain that they had overheard his ranting. Oh boy...

"I didn't mean any of it... I'm so frustrated! So uh... sorry...?" He mentally scolded himself for not being observant. He let his temper run away with him one time.... now this. Fan-freaking-tastic.

((OOC: Smoke isn't related to Mistpaw lol))

"Fox-dung!" Smokepaw hissed as she heard the twig snap. She made a leap for the bird, her outstretched claws missing as it took off into the air. She landed on the ground, tail lashing in frustration. Her fur ruffled as she glared at ...two of her clanmates. Fantastic. Bloodpaw, and... Ivypaw? Well, Smokepaw supposed, it could've been worse. Still, she'd rather run into her fellow apprentices than her mentor, at this point.

"Well, I was trying to hunt..." Smokepaw muttered wryly, "but I suppose the noise will have scared off all the other prey in this area of the forest." With some effort, she managed to force her fur to lie flat, though the frustration was still evident in the twitching of her tail. Well, at least she wasn't the only one who appeared to be frustrated.

"What are you two doing out here, aside from being melodramatic?" This last was aimed squarely at Bloodpaw, a slightly teasing note entering the fluffy she-cat's voice.

OOC: Ahhh I'm so sorry! I'll go fix that...

Iypaw tilted her head, staring at the other apprentices. "You shouldn't criticize the elders like that, though. The elders are old and need care, but they know lots of stories about the past," she mewed after overhearing part of Bloodpaw's complaint. "And if you want more apprentice duties, I recommend you screech what you just said louder so everyone can hear," she added wryly. Frowning, she grumbled, "Please forget I said all that."

Turning to the other she-cat, she apologized quickly, "Sorry for scaring off your prey. I came out here to try hunting."

Bloodpaw cringed a bit when Smokepaw was clearly upset about losing her bird... but maybe Ivypaw was the one who scared it off? He gave her an apologetic look, cursing himself for being so noisy and careless. He was just going to have to learn to keep his emotions under wraps. They always seemed to backfire on him. Ivypaw began speaking and gave him a lecture on the elders that kind of... made him want to start yelling again. Easy to say for someone who doesn't have to deal with their nasty, weird dirt, the literal smell of death that clings to their decaying bodies and the the mouse bile dripping into their mouths while they get ticks off of them. It took a lot of effort to not lash out verbally, but he swallowed his words, took in a deep breath and just let it go. He reminded himself that Ivypaw probably meant well...

"You're right." He answered simply, and then exhaled to just... let it go. He gave Smokepaw a blank, unamused look at being called melodramatic. I mean, maybe she wasn't wrong... but it irked him a bit.

"I'm sure there is still plenty to hunt out here." He knew an excellent place to get squirrels. He glanced around a few times upon the realization that something was not quite right with this scene. "Where are your mentors? Shouldn't they be teaching you guys how to do this?" Maybe these girls were like him. Maybe they were independent enough to not wait on mentors to teach them everything. This was something he could certainly respect.

"I'm not too bad at hunting. I can help... if you want."

"It's fine." Smokepaw managed, though the way her tail twitched might've given away that she wasn't quite thrilled about her hunt having been interrupted yet. I almost had that sparrow! At Bloodpaw's unamused expression, she gave the older tom a briefly apologetic glance. Maybe her snark had been uncalled for.

"Sunflower, well..." Smokepaw shifted slightly on her paws, "I think he was more scared to take me out of camp for the first time than I was curious to see the forest." Maybe she was being unfair, maybe her evident impatience had some merit.

"Might as well." She shrugged in response to the question. In truth, Smokepaw wouldn't mind the company of others while she hunted. She assumed that Ivypaw could definitely use the practice at any rate, but she managed to refrain from saying that aloud. Really, she was out here to try hunting? With that noise? Admittedly, out of her many denmates (and really, Skyclan did have a lot of apprentices), these were the two she knew the least about. They were all in the same clan, Smokepaw figured, it wouldn't be a bad thing to get to know them better.

Mistpaw did not like elder duties. Patrols were... fine. On her own, that was. She didn’t want to get into trouble again. Mistpaw didn’t want to follow Bloodpaw... it was only a coincidence. Finishing up by cleaning her paws, Mistpaw padded out of camp to see her best friend, Ivypaw, another apprentice, Smokepaw, and her own brother. Excited, she padded closer to greet them, but her heart shattered when she heard Bloodpaw’s mumbles. Her jaw dropped as Bloodpaw threw accusations at her. Breathing deeply, Mistpaw slowly backed away, then turned tail and ran, as fast as she could, far away from the three apprentice’s...

Ivypaw shrugged. "Wrenspring's taught me the basics, but I just wanted to explore a little bit on my own," she mewed cheerily. "Get to know the territory a little more before I start hunting." Getting to know the other apprentices would lead to her having more friends, and having more friends was always better than none. So she gladly agreed to hunt with the others. "Hunting would be awesome! I probably need more practice, though," she admitted.

Suddenly, she flinched when she heard some noise behind her, her head swiveling to find the source of the noise.  Twisting around, she saw a flash of cream. What was that? Deciding it was nothing to worry about, she turned back to the others.

Bloodpaw listened to each of the girls in turn and nodded. He snorted at Smokepaw though.

"Your mentor is... afraid of the forest?" He shook his head. Sunflower... he'd remember that name. "That's unfortunate." He muttered. He noticed Ivypaw turn sharply at a noise and Bloodpaw's eyes darted to where it came from. A flash of cream and gray fur... Mistpaw? Bloodpaw sighed. He might have called out to her, but she was already running. Maybe she heard what he said earlier when he was grumbling. Well... he'd have to talk with her later. He was frustrated. Not so much with her, but at the situation they were now both in. She probably had her feelings hurt. If she was already running away well... she wouldn't be in a listening mood probably. He shook his head and returned his attention to the task at hand, trying to push the thoughts of his sister away for now.

"Okay first, you need to lower yourself to the ground like this to stay quiet. It hurts a little at first, but your muscles will get used to it." He then lowered himself into a crouch with his head, neck, shoulders, back and tail all in a straight line. "Keep your tail up, but not straight up. This way you don't rustle any leaves of twigs and alert your prey. But if you raise it too high, obviously your prey will see it." He glanced over at Smokepaw. "Especially yours," He teased.

He then began to creep forward, slowly. He moved with deliberate and calculated slowness, displaying to them the proper way to move. "Moving slow is better than moving incorrectly." He explained a mix of what Redfall had taught him as a kit, and what Wolfcall had taught him on their first outing. "Make sure you balance your weight evenly across the paws that are touching the ground. Too much weight on one side or the other and you could end up crushing a leaf or a twig that gives away your position." He moved forward and then nodded for the other two to follow him. He spared one last glance behind him, part of him wishing Mistpaw would just come back and join them. She probably wouldn't though.

"Do either of you have questions before we go looking for prey?" This was kind of exciting... Is this how mentors felt with their apprentices? Bloodpaw felt he'd be the best mentor ever... he was only an apprentice himself and yet he had two apprentices of his own... temporarily. With three apprentices, or four if Mistpaw could get ahold of herself long enough to venture back their way, he was confident they could kill whatever threat may appear without having to relay any kind of information to the authorities. He was in enough trouble already and had no interest in any more.

A flash of fur caught her eye. "Mist-" Smokepaw opened her mouth to call out to Mistpaw, but she was gone just as quickly as she'd appeared. Smokepaw gave her head a slight shake, she'd have to catch up with her friend later, then. She hoped that her fellow apprentice would circle back to join them, though.

"You have no idea..." Smokepaw muttered. Sunflower was nice, but as a mentor the skittish male wasn't what she'd expected. At all. Had Wolfcall paired them together because of their very different personalities? The notion was a curious one, Smokepaw had to admit. The mentor and apprentice pair were practically opposites in more than a few ways.

At Bloodpaw's teasing, she rolled her eyes, not quite able to suppress an amused huff. He was right, though. Focusing, she kept her tail still at last as she followed along with Bloodpaw's example. She kept her tail just a bit higher than her shorter-furred "mentor" did, aware of how her longer fur tended to get caught in everything it could.

At his asking if they had questions, Smokepaw shook her head.

OOC: Please go ahead and just skip me!

Ivypaw nodded, watching Bloodpaw intently despite knowing exactly how to hunt. "I'll just head somewhere else to try my hunting. You don't want me scaring off all the prey now, do you?" she joked, then bounded off to explore a different part of the territory.

Bloodpaw shrugged as Ivypaw left. He nodded for Smokepaw to follow him. He scented a squirrel that passed by recently and followed the trail. He spotted the tree rat just as it came down the tree for an acorn. He wasn't hunting it himself. He'd let Smokepaw do it.

He made sure to creep quietly out of sight and hide behind a bush. Good luck Smokepaw.

Ivypaw left, and Smokepaw too, shrugged. Figuring it was just the two of them now, Smokepaw followed Bloodpaw in determined, focused silence. Spotting the squirrel, Smokepaw twitched an ear as Bloodpaw slipped away from her. She slid into a crouch, carefully making her way toward the squirrel, being careful. She'd be within pouncing distance soon.

--

Smokepaw landed, nipping sharply at the furry creature's neck to end the creature's suffering quickly. A triumphant glint in her eyes as she raised her head.

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 1