Exciting Yields

Blossomstep led the way through SkyClan's territory, her apprentice at her side. It was a beautiful day, and so she had decided to take the tom hunting, and assess his progress. As they neared the spot where he would begin his route, the warrior explained. "Today you'll be hunting, and I'll be watching you from afar. You may not see me, but I'll see you, and depending on how you do today we'll be moving into some more advanced techniques. So do your best, alright?" She flashed a reassuring smile before pointing to the base of a nearby tree. "Here's where you'll start. I want you to work your way to Halfstone, then around it, and finally make your way back to this spot. Bury any prey you catch along the way, and we'll collect it after the assessment is complete. Whenever you're ready, you can head off!"

Dawnpaw padded beside his mentor, though his legs were shorter than her's for now and he had to nearly trot to keep pace. He refused to ask her to slow down, nor did he really need her to. Dawnpaw had been hard at work to keep himself fit, fast and flexible. Once his mentor slowed to a stop, so did he, shoulders back and ears high. Her words actually surprised him. She trusted him to just go off on his own? She didn't feel the need to demonstrate proper stalking technique? Dawnpaw's look of surprise gave way to one of excitement and he felt... actual gratitude.

"I appreciate your confidence in me that I will do a good job." For once, his voice was level and had no tones of snark or condescending undertones. Wolfcall's judgement on which mentor would be good for which apprentice was flawless. "I mean it." He said firmly. He eventually took his gaze off of Blossomstep and settled on half stone. Catch everything... I wonder if she'll mind helping me carry the bodies. He thought to himself, almost smugly.

Dawnpaw moved quickly but lightly toward half-stone, but as he neared it, he slowed himself into a casual walk... then a slow one... then sunk ever so slowly into a crouch and kept his ears pricked forward and alert. Now that he finally had someone's confidence, his heart began to pound and his blood roared in his ears. He never thought someone really would trust him... and now that someone had... it was scary. He had to do well now, after all of the times he ran his mouth about being good at this, great that, better than that warrior there and the best of his siblings blah blah blah.... Dawnpaw was going to have to back it up.

It's no big deal... I can do this. I can catch... He sniffed the air for information on what was around here recently. ...birds... and squirrels. ... Snakes? Is that what that really light smell is? Whatever it was, it didn't smell at all mammalian...

A robin fluttered from the rocks to the floor and flitted around for a moment. Dawnpaw froze, now very suddenly absolutely hating his silvery-white and golden shimmering pelt. Still... the robin seemed very distracted by the explosion of worms on the ground. Dawnpaw stalked forward, quickly at first, then he forced himself to slow down and calm his excitement and anxiety.

You die... you die today bird! Dawnpaw took in a silent breath... and exploded into action, galloping full tilt at the robin while it pecked the ground. Dawnpaw leaped at it, suddenly afraid that it would swiftly fly away and avoid his claws. Alas, the robin looked up from the worms too late. Dawn paw's excited claws hooked it's body, and although Dawnpaw scrambled clumsiliy at first with the flapping creature, he managed to catch it's head in his jaws and crush the skull. The robin flopped dead.

I did it! My first try I did it! He wanted to yowl out his success, and nearly did, but he stopped himself just in time. Dawnpaw slinked away quietly so as not to disturb anything else nearby and buried the robin behind an almost perfect triangle of three rocks. Time for the next one...

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

The look of excitement in Dawnpaw's eyes brought one to Blossomstep's as well. She had hoped that she was doing the right thing, as he was her first apprentice, but the gratitude in his voice reassured her that she was on the right track. Nodding with a gentle smile as he turned to head off, and she slipped into the undergrowth and waited for a few heartbeats before following behind him. Fresh scents of birds and squirrels crossed over her nose, but she ignored them. Today was Dawnpaw's chance to hunt, and she would be a mere observer this time. It wasn't long before she spotted his pelt through the trees, and she was momentarily grateful for his bright pelt before she realized how difficult it may make hunting. As she thought of ways to help with that, her apprentice dropped into a crouch, and began to move forward. Tensing as she noticed how fast he was moving, she noted to advise him, but almost as if he had heard her thoughts he slowed down.

Holding her breath as he burst forward, she had to contain her own yowl of joy and approval as the bird fell to his claws and teeth, and though the kill wasn't the cleanest, the bird flapping wildly for its life in its final moments, it was done. Dawnpaw quietly buried the bird and continued on, and Blossomstep followed carefully behind at a distance, eager to see how the rest of the hunt would go.

Dawnpaw wondered if it would be a good idea or a bad one to try to hide in the sun rather than the shade. His pelt was bright, so there wasn't a good chance of him hiding as well as other cats anyway. He couldn't hunt like Bloodstrike or Smokefeather. He had to hunt like Dawnpaw. Experimenting, he glanced carefully over his shoulder to note where the sun was and then moved so that the prey he was hunting would have to look into the sun to see where he was.

Moving ahead with that plan, Dawnpaw's eyes landed on a squirrel and he approached it carefully. He took his time, making a mental note to move with efficiency, even if that meant not as fast as he would have otherwise liked. Keeping very low to the ground and approaching the squirrel, his belly nearly dragged the ground as he approached. Every time the squirrel would drop its head for an acorn, Dawnpaw would move forward. Once he was comfortable with how close he had gotten, he waited one final time for it to lower it's head.

Dawnpaw bolted forward, keeping his tail high enough above the ground so as not to catch his long fur on any sticks or leaves and make a noise. The squirrel never raised it's head again before Dawnpaw enclosed his teeth around it's head and pierced it's skull. The body of the squirrel quivered a bit before finally going limp.

This isn't so hard. He thought to himself confidently. He padded back over to his triangle of rocks and dropped his squirrel with his bird. Okay... now for more...

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

OOC: I am posting again, assuming you still want me to post until I trigger a predator. Stop me if this is no longer the case.

Dawnpaw, now a bit bored with the lack of challenge he was getting with birds and squirrels, decided he needed to try something else. He sniffed along the ground, looking for something a bit different. Eventually his nose picked up the scent of a rabbit. He knew this smell only because his father had brought back two and he had shown them off. Apparently these were impressive catches. Dawnpaw crawled across the ground in silence, eventually spotting the rabbit nibbling on a bush just ahead of him.

Dawnpaw did the same thing he had done with the squirrel; hide in the sunlight to blind it if it tried to look his direction and only approach while it's head was down...

It turned out that that was how Dawnpaw was going to be catching prey for the rest of his life. He bolted forward once he was close enough, and just like the squirrel, his jaws crushed closed upon his prey. The rabbit however, weighing a bit more than Dawnpaw himself, gave him one heck of a wallop. Powerful hind legs buffeted the apprentice's ribcage and his shoulder until he angled himself away to keep control of the rabbit. It took a few moments, but eventually the rabbit too went limp. Dawnpaw dragged this kill over to the triangle of rocks, unable to keep the smug grin off of his face once he dropped it there.

What's so hard about catching rabbits? I thought they were supposed to be a challenge. Ha! Maybe I'm just the best hunter in Skyclan. They're lucky to have me. He pivoted on his heel, hoping his mentor had seen what he had just done and really wished he could actually see her face. Alright.... more... until his mentor decided that he had caught enough to just go back home with.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

It wasn't long before Dawnpaw had found his next catch, and she watched as he looked to the sky. Curious, she noted how he positioned himself in line with the sunlight, and her tail swished behind her as she realized what he was doing. He was using the sun as cover for his advance on his prey! Proud of his sharp mind, she nodded to herself as he caught his squirrel and continued on. He was doing very well, and she had high hopes for him. A faint whiff of something surprised her, and she tried to zero in on it for a moment. Her brow furrowed, she didn't immediately recognize the scent....

The sound of a brief chase turned her attention back towards her apprentice, and her gaze landed on him just in time to see him collide into a rabbit. There was a brief scuffle, and she winced as she saw the rabbit batter Dawnpaw's ribs, but he quickly angled himself away. A bird, squirrel, and rabbit that was slightly larger than Dawnpaw was an amazing haul, and she started to pad forward to congratulate him. Movement from a different direction caught her eye, and she noticed the small, dark banded creature making its way towards the tom. Darting forward, she leapt onto a low-hanging branch and used her weight to crash down on the creature and rolled off, springing up between the raccoon and her apprentice. She looked up just in time to be hit with the small claws of the raccoon that had come to attempt to take some easy prey. Hissing in pain and blinded by blood running from just above her eye, she yowled to Dawnpaw. "Bellies and eyes are soft spots. Aim for them, and then run in and out of its reach. Also, if you can get a hold of it's tail, go for it. You can pull it off balance, and confuse it."

Blossomstep used Sky Drop, dealing 10 damage and costing 15 SP. The Raccoon did not appreciate that and retaliated with Quick Swipe, dealing 20 damage and costing 10 SP.

Blossomstep:
25/45 HP (-20)
145/160 SP (-15)

Raccoon:
20/30 HP (-10)
290/300 SP (-10)

Dawnpaw had been so pleased with himself that he never noticed the raccoon coming. However, the instant he realized something was amiss, be it a sixth sense or whatever, his mentor had already leaped from the sky and onto the raccoon. Dawnpaw whirled, his eyes wide and his tail floofed out to three times it's size. There was a brief skirmish and exchanging of blows, and Blossomstep pulled out of the fray with blood on her head. A growl rumbled in Dawnpaw's throat at the sight, and he focused his fiery blue gaze on the predator. His claws unsheathed and the medium fur length hackles lining his spine rose sharply up, giving him an appearance similar to that of a hyena.

"It came here thinking it was going to take my kills I guess?" He hissed, though the question was rhetorical. Dawnpaw nodded at his mentor's instructions. They made sense and he would give them a try when opportunities arose. For now, he simply sought to render the raccoon vulnerable so that the older, more experienced warrior could take advantage of it.

Let us dance then... you ring-tailed crow-food nibbler! He bolted forward with a yowl as fierce as he could muster. He darted to the left, then to the right to try to fool the raccoon into exposing some sort of vulnerability that Dawnpaw could take advantage of. Just as he closed the gap and nearly should have collided head-on into the predator, Dawnpaw leaped upward, kicking hard off of the ground with powerful, Skylcan-trained hind legs.

With that, he twisted his body mid-air in a way only cats and their flexible spines ever could and rotating his body 360 degrees to line up with the raccon's same position, before landing back down onto the raccoon's back. Once he had a firm footing with his hind legs, Dawnpaw was immediately scratching and biting at ears and eyes.


Dawnpaw used Leap and Hold, dealing 6 damage and -10SP

Dawnpaw
20HP / 70SP (-10SP)

Raccoon
Stunned for 1 turn
14 HP / 290SP (-6 HP)

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

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'Effect Dice' : 2

The young tom's anger was understandable, but for a heartbeat Blossomstep feared that his fury may blind him. As he made his approach, she tried to shake the blood from her eye, watching to make sure he was alright as she readied herself for another attack. The young apprentice bunched his legs before leaping onto the raccoon's back, and as the creature's head whipped around towards him she darted forward, sliding under it to rake up at the soft belly while Dawnpaw struck blows from above. As she twisted back out from under it, it collapsed to the ground under Dawnpaw's weight and she looked to him, feeling a bit woozy from the blood loss. "Back of the neck, Dawnpaw, just above the spine. Just like you would a squirrel." She gasped, staggering slightly as she shook her head again, sprinkling droplets of dark red blood across the forest floor.

Blossomstep used Belly Rake, dealing 10 damage and costing 10 SP. The Raccoon is stunned and can not move.

Blossomstep:
25/45 HP
135/160 SP (-10)

Raccoon:
4/30 HP (-10)
290/300 SP

Dawnpaw:
20/20 HP
70/80 SP

Dawnpaw held on, not realizing at first that Blossomstep had slid under it and gave it a good slash at the belly. He heard her instructions and noticed that the raccoon got pretty weak all of the sudden. His eyes focused on the back of the neck and his jaws struck forward to try to bury his fangs in as deep as they could go... right as the raccoon must have regained it's footing. Dawnpaw slipped, sliding off to the side of the raccoon and eventually all of the way under it. Without much time to do more than just react, Dawnpaw buried all four of his toes as deep as they could go into the raccoon's belly and began to claw savagely, especially with his strong hindlegs.

Maybe it was adrenaline... maybe it was Blossomstep's previous attacks that made this possible... but it didn't take many strikes before Dawnpaw fell to the ground beneath the raccoon....

And it's innards came with it. The raccoon dropped once more, this time on top of Dawnpaw. He let out a rush of air from his lungs from the unexpected weight, only somewhat noticing the hot, sticky warmth that enveloped his body.

Dawnpaw used belly rake, dealing 7 damage and -10SP

Dawnpaw
20 HP / 60SP (-10SP)

Raccoon
D E A D
-3 HP / 290 SP (-7HP)

It took a moment for Dawnpaw to stop kicking and realized what had happened. The raccoon shuddered it's final death throes, then went completely still. The apprentice wiggled and twisted his way out from underneath the raccoon and emerged from the fight... almost entirely covered in bright crimson. Dawnpaw stared at the raccoon for a few seconds as the adrenaline wore off... then his eyes went to his sodden, red pelt.

"OH COME ON!" He meowed angrily. "Great! How am I supposed to get all of this off? It'll take forever by licking! I'm going to get all matted and gross and I'm going to stink and.... " His eyes flicked back up to the raccoon, widening.

"Stars! I killed a raccoon!" A huge smile spread across his face and he looked at his mentor gratefully. He went to flick his tail... only to have a trail of red go flying through the air and slap wetly to the ground. His happiness disappeared again with another look at his fur. "Ugh... Are you okay Blossomstep?" He did his best to ignore how much heavier he felt carrying around an extra amount of blood on his pelt.

The blood from her wound kept blinding her, and a hiss of frustration accompanied another bout of head shaking. When she stopped and looked back up, she froze in shock. Dawnpaw lay under the raccoon, covered in crimson blood and the insides of the raccoon, that shuddered to a stop as it exhaled it's final breath. Her apprentice wiggled himself free of the unmoving body, and for a heartbeat Blossomstep couldn't help but fear he had been injured as well, but as his angry yowl split the air she leapt, fur sticky with blood as well on end. As she followed his gaze back to the raccoon, she was still unable to find her tongue, but relieved that washing away the blood seemed to be the biggest of his worries. Finally the tom turned towards her, and as their eyes met hers softened, the shock wearing off and relief coursing through her now aching limbs. She winced in sympathy as the blood coursed from his tail to the ground, smiling slightly at him. "I've been better, but nothing Honey- err, Sagelight can't fix. You did well, that was smart thinking to get it pinned like that." Her eyes found the body again and she shuddered slightly at the gruesome scene.

"We should get it buried somewhere, out of the way. We don't want to leave it out and have a fox move in. Once we're done, we can collect the prey and go wash off in the stream, at least get the worst of the blood off, and we can take your catches back to camp." It felt like a moon ago that she had watched him catch the rabbit, but it hadn't even grown cold yet. Stepping forward to nuzzle the top of his head gently, she purred. "You did a wonderful job with your hunt, I'm sorry it got interrupted. You're doing very well though, I'll be happy to report back to Wolfcall about your progress."