I was born a lion and a lion I will stay (Closed)

((We'll start in camp and RP out to the territory))

Dawnpaw crawled out of the apprentice den, feeling hot with so many other bodies in there. He didn't know how the others slept in there with all of this heat, even at night. There was more than just the heat keeping Dawnpaw awake though. He knew that his sister was likely to blab about their fight at some point, as she wasn't exactly one to keep promises, at least not with him. Dawnpaw had expected someone to get onto him sooner rather than later. At first, he didn't care what others would say to him. He assumed either his mom or his dad would start scolding him out of the blue one day. So when that didn't happen, and it had been a few days since their fight, Dawnpaw actually started to feel worried. If his sister was waiting, he didn't know why, but it could only mean that she would go to someone with more authority than either of his parents. He padded absently over to the fresh-kill pile.... or... the lack thereof when he saw that it was empty. He sat down next to where they usually put all of their prey and wondered if Beechpaw was waiting because there were far more pressing matters at hand right now... like no food, no water and the arrival of twolegs and their dogs.

Beechpaw would still bring this up, even under these circumstances because Starclan forbid I don't get in trouble for even so much as farting the wrong way when she's around. His claws kneaded the ground below him in frustration. The only thing he could do was beat her to the punch he supposed. He would be more likely to believed if he spoke up first, right? His fiery blue eyes wandered over in the direction of Spottedstar's den. The kneading stopped and he swallowed hard.

I've never said anything to Spottedstar... I've barely even seen him. How should I start this? He wondered. He ran through several scenarios in his head, with at least half of them getting him demoted or banished. Banishment was unlikely, he knew, but maybe it was even preferable to going to back to the kit den. Still... he supposed going back to being Dawnkit would give him time to think about stuff like his words and how to put them together nicely. Poetry was what that word was called. He had learned it recently. He could work on that and wait to be apprenticed again?

I need to figure out a way to get him on my side... He thought. For just an instant he had the nerve to get to his paws as if he was going to go into Sottedstar's den and speak to him. But just as suddenly as his courage found him... it was gone. He didn't know what to expect... and he hated and feared not knowing...

As though summoned by the mere thought of his name, Spottedstar emerged from the gnarled roots of the Tallbranch that formed his den. It was earlier than he usually appeared in camp. He'd been dreaming of water, which drew attention to his thirst and disturbed his sleep. It was odd; dreams of water used to be torrential rains and the massive flood that had almost wiped out all of the Clans, but now the sun was mightier than even the river and posed a threat that was just as serious. Now that he really thought about it, had Spottestar ever had a moment of real rest since his appointment as leader? Would SkyClan's plagues stop when he admited his poor fit as a 'star and stepped down?

Another cat in the clearing caught his attention. An apprentice, one who had clearly been glancing in his direction before Spottedstar made his appearance. For a moment the leader searched for the young tom's name in his memory, then approached with a neutral expression. "Dawnpaw. You look like you need something. Were you looking for Wolfcall?" Most cats brought their problems to the deputy. He didn't blame them, as he knew himself to be a cat that was difficult to find. Of course he'd promised himself to be better atthat, to make himself more available to the Clan, but frankly he was quite bad at keeping promises. Not to mention, the only one he made promises to was himself, and he knew he wouldn't keep himself accountable.

Dawnpaw had not been expecting Spottedstar to just... appear. He tensed and his stomach tightened. He waited for a moment, even considered just walking away back to his den. Instead, he took a deep breath and tried to relax himself. His leader spoke and asked if he was looking for Wolfcall.... uh yeah no definitely not. He needed the one person with more authority than a deputy, and that was none other than the big Spot himself.

"No I just... couldn't sleep and I thought..." He glanced at the non-existent fresh-kill pile. "Since I can't sleep maybe I should do something useful? But... I have to have someone come with me and my mentor is sleeping right now.... Can we go hunting maybe?" It was a start at least. He needed to formulate exactly how he was going to go about this conversation. It could end in something trivial and whatever as elder duty, or it could end with a demoition and Beechpaw never shutting up about it.

The request was fair enough. It was good to see young cats determined to do something rather than lay about in the shade as even Spottedstar was tempted to do, so he nodded in agreement. "Alright, we can go hunting. The Clan needs prey anyway, and maybe we'll have better luck since the morning is the coolest part of the day." He could only hope that was true. Starving in Greenleaf was a horrible thing to experience, and the leader hoped he could spare SkyClan from suffering. He nodded towards the camp entrance, inviting Dawnpaw to lead them out. "I've seen everything our land has to offer. If there's somewhere you'd like to explore or a border you want to look at, you can take us there." Spottedstar meowed, giving a little shrug. It was true that he'd been everywhere on his own land. He escaped camp often and sometimes wandered aimlessly, recalling specific rocks and ridges from patrols before. Perhaps this young apprentice could help him seethings differently, or at least help him corner some prey to feed the queens and elders.

Dawnpaw stared for a second and then nodded. He turned and started walking with Spottedstar only a few paces behind him. His brain buzzed through the conversations he'd run through his head, trying to recall the best ones and prepare them for later.

I'm a good hunter. I know I am and so does Blossomstep. I just need to show Spottedstar. The way things are right now, Skyclan needs good hunters. He can't demote me if I just show him... At least, that's what he hoped.

Dawnpaw forced his worry away and inhaled deeply through his nose to pick up on any prey nearby.

"Blossomstep took me to Half-Stone. I caught a bird, a squirrel, a rabbit... spilled a raccoon's guts all over me...." He visibly shuddered. It had taken forever to wash the blood out of his pelt. "I'll try to catch a rabbit again if I find one." his voice was quieter as the scent of prey grew stronger. It wasn't as much as he was used to, but it was better than nothing.

"I mean if you have anywhere cool you want to take me, I'm open to exploring." And after that, his talking stopped. His ears picked up the sound of some leaves moving softly on the ground. He dropped smoothly into a crouch, spared a glance at Spottedstar, then stalked in a wide curve around the source of the noise to trap it between him and Spottedstar.

His eyes eventually spotted two long ears between cracks in a bush. A rabbit... this was it. Maybe he could at least chase it towards Spottedstar if he missed.... hopefully he wouldn't miss...

He bolted forward once he got close enough.... and just like the first time... Dawnpaw's jaws enclosed around the rabbit's neck. It kicked and kicked, landing a solid blow into Dawnpaw's ribcage, but Dawn wasn't going to let go if it killed him. Finally, the rabbit stopped kicking.

Dawnpaw had to drag the rabbit over, as it weighed just a bit more than him. But he had done it! He caught a rabbit in front of Spottedstar!

"Stars they kick hard..." he whispered with a slightly pained smile after dropping the rabbit at his leader's feet.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

Spottedstar followed along, content to let the pale tom lead, and listened as he listed the things he saw and caught. He laughed quietly as Dawnpaw recalled his encounter with raccoon innards and remembered his own youth and some ugly scraps with the banded fiends. The apprentice's claim of catching a rabbit was interesting, and doubly so as he said he'd try again, and the leader watched with interest as his kin (Grandson? Great-grandson? Stars, it was hard to remember) picked up a scent and assumed a stealthy crouch. Spottedstar couldn't help but appraise his stance, pleased with what he saw, and remained perfectly silent as Dawnpaw moved forward with the hunt. In the meantime, he considered where somewhere 'cool' to go would be. There was a small field of stones south of camp that young Spottedpaw had enjoyed bouncing from, testing how far he could jump before missing. Perhaps Dawnpaw would like that? Didn't apprentices enjoy testing their abilities?

Testing their abilities, indeed, it seemed. The brightly colored tom returned with the rabbit secured tightly in his fangs, fresh blood dripping from his chin. It was big and it was a blessing to have found something that would feed more than one cat. "Impressive!" Spottedstar meowed, genuinely surprised that Dawnpaw had actually snagged one. "You've done this before? Did your mentor teach you how to catch them?" He asked, curious if one of his warriors had learned some WindClan secret that would be valuable beyond explanation.

Dawnpaw managed to keep a humble smile and a casual stance.... but he was barely containing a strutting walk and a smug grin. This was what he needed to do. It was his best chance next to helping Spottedstar fight something. The fact that his leader was asking him questions just fluffed his ego that much more, which wasn't something Dawnpaw needed in the slightest.

"Actually, I watched other warriors hunt when I was a kit and just learned that way. I stayed in camp don't worry, but I could see them on the very edges of camp snatch a few birds. Blossomstep is great, she really is, but... I'm not sure how much in the way of hunting she could teach me. She told me to just go for it and I caught everything I tried to catch. That probably sounds arrogant but... I mean I have my proof." He nudged the rabbit with a paw.

He would get around to talking about what he actually wanted to talk about soon. He wanted Spottedstar to at least think about what he should do with Dawnpaw as far as punishment went. He was a good hunter. There wasn't much food. The clan was starving. Maybe putting him back at camp as a kit wasn't smart. Like... it wasn't... but would Spottedstar care?

Ah, Blossomstep was his mentor. He probably should have known that, but he'd been busy. That was Spottedstar's excuse, anyway. The silver tabby had been his own apprentice, and he was glad that she was doing well teaching her apprentice, but it was rather surprising to hear that Dawnpaw didn't think too highly of her as a mentor. "Blossomstep had been a gifted apprentice as well. It doesn't surprise me that her teaching methods would be focused on encouragement rather than technique, especially if it's something that comes easy to you." The leader reasoned, figuring that details were second to willpower if one had luck or innate ability on their side. He nodded at the rabbit in agreement. "It seems you do. Pride is warranted when you can back it up." Was it good for the leader to say things like that? He really believed it, though, especially as a proud cat himself. If Dawnpaw was acting unsual, Spottedstar didn't notice. "Go on, get something else. Show me it wasn't luck."

Dawnpaw felt some of his anxiety melt away. At least the leader was impressed now. Good... it would help him later hopefully. Okay, I need to bring this up while he's still pleased... Dawnpaw thought for a moment how he should approach this, but just before he could speak, Spottedstar wanted him to hunt again. Again? His mind buzzed, wondering what exactly he could catch that was more impressive than a rabbit. A bigger rabbit maybe? Dawnpaw wasn't sure. Besides, rabbits themselves generally made themselves scarce. It wasn't just their speed and agility that made them a challenge to catch.

"The leader of my clan, asking me to prove myself a second time? No pressure." He meowed jokingly, though there was an edge of nervousness in his tone. Dawnpaw pivoted on his heel and put his nose back to work. There were several things to hunt that he was very confident that he could catch...

Squirrels and birds stood out for sure. A squirrel would feed more than one cat... unless that one cat was Bloodstrike. Dawnpaw inhaled deep through his nose and followed various scent trails. Spottedstar asking him to prove that he was actually skilled and not just lucky was both exciting and nerve-wracking. Hopefully he didn't mess this up.

He picked up the stronger scent of a squirrel. It hadn't been too long since it passed by... Dawnpaw's eyes followed where the scent trail lead and spotted it hopping through the underbrush. Dawnpaw's eyes then traveled to where the bit of moonlight was, as the day was still young and the moon had not quite disappeared yet. It was a long shot, but maybe if Dawnpaw aligned himself with the moonlight like he did the sunlight, his brighter pelt wouldn't matter much.

He crept silently around to position himself in such a way. His brighter fur would be struck by moonlight, but still not stand out too much in a black and white world of early morning. After careful planning and patient waiting, Dawnpaw began to stalk forward, silently, like a pale ghost gliding across the forest floor...

Dawnpaw picked up speed and began to really resemble a ghost, now flying over leaves and twigs and other things without disturbing them and hardly a sound. The squirrel had no idea what was coming until teeth sunk into the back of it's neck and swiftly ended its life. Not as impressive as the rabbit, but it would still fill hungry bellies. He carried it back to Spottedstar and dropped it next to the rabbit.

"Not a rabbit, but better than nothing I suppose." He said with a shrug. "I'd like to talk with my sister Beechpaw and about what she catches with her mentor, but... we tend to do more bickering than anything. Have you had that problem with Sagelight, or am I just special?" Time to start moving in for a different kind of kill now...

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6