Following Along (Closed)

Nettlefire guided her newest apprentice through the forest, stopping when she reached one of her personal favorite spots to hunt. She sat down, and with a nod signaled that her apprentice could do the same.

“Alright, Thrushpaw,” she began, directing her emerald gaze towards the she-cat. “We will be doing some hunting today. Now, I can go ahead and demonstrate, so you can see what the process looks like in action. Or, if you want, you can go ahead and try to catch something yourself first, and then I can give you feedback,”

Nettlefire knew there were plenty of new apprentices who had heard numerous stories and explanations of hunting from older apprentices and warriors before they ever even set foot out of camp. She figured that whether it was easier to try and extrapolate information from those stories and give it a try on their own or see what the techniques actually looked like in practice first depended a lot on the personality and preferences of the apprentice, and that it would be good to present both as options.

The world beyond ThunderClan’s camp was as overwhelming as Thrushpaw had imagined. To her surprise, however, she’d discovered it wasn’t the type of overwhelming that scared her. Every new thing she noticed drew her in. The scents of prey were fresher and sharper than they’d ever been in the fresh-kill pile. The tangle of leaves and branches high above called to her, bark in a massive array of colors and textures and shapes, all of it urging her to sink her claws in and fly. Common sense kept her walking behind Nettlefire—she didn’t want to endanger or embarrass herself in front of her mentor, not yet, not ever—but nothing could stop her eyes from wandering.

After some time, they reached their destination. Trees, dirt, open patches—to Thrushpaw, it looked like any other patch of forest. At Nettlefire’s nod, she arranged herself into a sitting position, pushing her front legs together and raising her head. It wasn’t comfortable, but she imagined it looked warriorlike. Her ears twitched as Nettlefire began. Hunting. One of the most important things she could know. Thrushpaw tilted her head, thinking. The bragging apprentices she’d spent her kithood eavesdropping on had known how to hunt, but apprenticeship was already so complicated, and she’d hardly scratched the surface of what she had to learn. What were the chances hunting, too, had more to it? Besides, the crouching thing had never worked out well for her before. Actually seeing it done could help it make more sense. Pressing her paws into the soft ground, she said, ”I want to watch you, first.”

"Alright," Nettlefire said, nodding at her apprentices response. As she got up and begin scenting for possible prey, she continued, saying "It would probably be best for me to show you rather than tell you what to do first, and then you can either go ahead and try, or ask me any questions you have about what I did,"

As she began moving in pursuit of a squirrel, the deputy's green gaze slid back over towards her apprentice for a moment. "Watch me carefully. Whether or not I successfully catch the prey I am about to go after, there will be something to learn from my actions," the she-cat noted. After all, sometimes learning what not to do was just as helpful (and perhaps even more important) as learning what to do.

Nettlefire began tracking the prey in earnest, slowly and carefully approaching the nearby squirrel. She made sure to make her pose and her movements as clean as she could, so that Thrushpaw could follow along easily. She kept herself low to the ground, moving steadily, until she got within range of the squirrel. Then, shifting all her energy into her pounce, she leapt at the squirrel, catching it and killing it with fluid, well-practiced movement.

Nettlefire used 3 SP to try and catch as squirrel. Catch was a success!

Nettlefire
SP: 277/280

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

Thrushpaw didn’t know if there was a right answer, but hers seemed to be good enough. She stayed where she’d sat, ears twitching, caught between listening to Nettlefire’s explanation and the sounds of the forest around her. ”Okay.” Soon, Nettlefire seemed to focus on something. At her next words, plain surprise flitted across Thrushpaw’s face. She’d never thought that Nettlefire would miss. Hearing ThunderClan’s own deputy acknowledge that she might make a mistake, and that there would be value in it either way, was more confusing than reassuring. Keeping her mouth tightly shut against the questions (how do you learn from it if you do it wrong?), she nodded.

As Nettlefire advanced on the squirrel, Thrushpaw attempted to mimic her posture as quietly as she could. She couldn’t practice the pounce, so instead, she focused on trying to recall what it had looked like. Maybe it would be easy. It was just jumping, wasn’t it…? She squinted through the trees—and spotted a fluffy tail. As she crouched, her fur brushing against the dirt, her already-quiet voice dropped to a whisper. ”I think I’ll try it.”

Slowly, she advanced, checking the ground for stray leaves and branches with every step; slowly, the distance between her and the squirrel shrank. The urge to ask Nettlefire not to watch seized her. She glanced over her shoulder at her mentor, swallowed, and looked forward again. The squirrel hadn’t moved. It was almost within reach now… Another step, and Thrushpaw threw herself toward it, trapping it under both of her front paws. She looked back at Nettlefire again, eyes wide and panicked, heart pounding in time to the squirrel’s frantic chirping. Thankfully, instinct took over. She clamped down on the squirrel’s neck. After a small eternity, it went still.

Wearing an expression of utter amazement, Thrushpaw raised her head. ”I did it.” Squirrel fur muffled her words, though not the volume. ”I did it!” She trotted back to Nettlefire with a skip in her step and dropped the squirrel, desperately fighting the smile trying to creep onto her muzzle. This was a lesson, not a celebration. She had to be serious. Despite her efforts, her mouth twitched. "So, um…was that right?"

Thrushpaw attempted to catch Squirrel, using 3 stamina. The attempt was successful!

Thrushpaw
20/20 HP
77/80 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

Nettlefire settled down next to the squirrel she had caught. Now it was her turn to watch and wait.

She watched carefully as her apprentice approached another squirrel. She nodded in approval as her apprentice moved, making note of Thrushpaw's posture and the fact that she was careful to avoid making noise by stepping on leaves and twigs, pleased that her apprentice had so quickly picked up on both things.

"You did it," Nettlefire echoed her apprentice's words, finding the she-cat's barely concealed excitement at her first successful hunt to be rather endearing. "That was exactly right, Thrushpaw. I am impressed by how quickly you picked up some of the pieces of the technique. Your posture was good, and you did an admirable job looking out for things on the forest floor that might make noise. It is easy to miss a stray twig when you are focused in on the prey itself, but you didn't miss them-- you did very well," the deputy continued, her praise entirely sincere. Nettlefire objected to baseless compliments and faint praise, so if she had something nice to say, she always truly meant it.

The gray she-cat got up again, stretching slightly as she spoke. "Since you did so well catching that squirrel, why don't we try going after some birds? They make for slightly more difficult prey than a squirrel does, especially considering they are-- well, flightier. The basics of the technique are the same as they are for anything else, but I will demonstrate again nonetheless. And as before, feel free to ask any questions you may have,"

The she-cat finished both speaking and stretching, and immediately dropped back into position, still trying to pay extra attention to keeping her movements clean and clear so that Thrushpaw could easily follow along. She caught sight of a robin, and began pursuing it, slow and careful as before, but with a bit of increased tension in her body. She was ready to try to spring after the bird if it took to the air before she'd caught it. Ready to make her move, she leapt out at it. As before, she caught the bird easily, finishing it with swift, practiced movements. She turned to Thrushpaw, indicating with a nod that her apprentice could go ahead and try it, too, if she was ready.

Nettlefire used 3 SP to try and catch a robin. Catch was successful!

Nettlefire:
SP: 274/280 (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2