Shimmering Waters [Closed]

Early in the morning, Shimmerpaw was up. She wanted to head out and try out her hunting skills, but she wasn’t hoping for any clanmates to stick to her, asking to come along. So, her best solution was to go early in the morning. Hopefully not many other cats were awake.

Stepping as quietly as possible, Shimmerpaw leapt out of the Apprentice den and headed for the exit of the camp.

Of course, her foot caught on a branch at just the best of times. A loud creak echoed through the camp, and Shimmerpaw froze in horror. Mouse-brain! She scolded herself. Now the whole camp’s probably awake...

Ordinarily, Snowflight was a heavy sleeper, helped by the fact that he could block out most surrounding noise simply by pressing his right ear into his nest. Applefang’s vigil had changed things. Now he slept in shorter bursts, at stranger hours. In stranger places, too. During the night, he’d left the warriors’ den to curl up under the star-speckled sky. It hadn’t helped him get back to sleep—but it did mean that, when a snap sounded from near the camp’s entrance, he heard it. He squinted toward the source of the noise. An apprentice. Sneaking out of camp, by the look of it. None of his business.

Still, the rule was simple: newer apprentices weren’t supposed to leave camp by themselves. More importantly… Would he rather be out on the territory, or here in the quiet? That thought settled it. Unfurling his long, fluffy tail, Snowflight pushed himself to his paws and padded toward the apprentice (Shimmerpaw, he recalled, noting the odd dark patches on her pale pelt). ”What’re you doing, sneaking around so early?” He paused to wrangle a stray bit of shoulder fur into place, then added, "I'm not gonna tell on you."

When Snowflight talked, Shimmerpaw started. Of course she had managed to get herself spotted. Her ears twitched anxiously.

"I'm going on a hunt. I was going to try doing it alone but..." Shimmerpaw glanced at Snowflight and winced mentally. She didn't have much hope of doing it alone now.

Still...Snowflight did mention he wouldn't tell on her. And she did want to practise her hunting skills after all.

"...If you want to, you can come along?" Shimmerpaw suggested, slightly reluctantly. She vaguely recalled there being a rule that new apprentices couldn't go out on their own, now that she thought about it. So maybe Snowflight would be fine with it if he came along?

Unsurprisingly, Shimmerpaw hadn’t expected to be spotted. Even Snowflight’s assurance that he wouldn’t tattle didn’t seem to relax her much. She explained she’d been planning to go hunting, then paused, apparently mulling something over. When she spoke again, she offered to let him come along, as he’d half-hoped. There was no reason for an apprentice and a warrior out on patrol to get in trouble. Besides, the fresh-kill pile had gotten dangerously low to match the nearly-dried-up river; no one would complain about them helping to fill it, even if all they brought back was land prey.

With another wave of his tail, Snowflight shrugged. ”Sounds good to me.” He took a step past Shimmerpaw, then paused to look over his shoulder at her. ”You want to lead the way?” After all, it had been her patrol to start with, and…well, she probably had a smaller chance of scaring off any prey than he did. There was a reason he preferred fishing.

Shimmerpaw tilted her head as Snowflight suggested she lead, and nodded. At least, she was getting to decide where to go...

We can't go to the river since it's dried up. The Beech Copse is the next best option. Shimmerpaw decided as she led the way out of the camp. Her paws turned, heading for the destination. "We're going to the Beech Copse." She informed Snowflight as she went.

Soon, she saw their destination in the distance. The Apprentice slowed down, sniffing the air for scents of prey.

To his relief (both because he hoped it’d set her more at ease and because he didn’t feel up to leading a patrol at the moment), Shimmerpaw accepted the offer…and promptly decided they’d be hunting at the Beech Copse. With a longing glance toward where the river lay, Snowflight followed. The walk was just long enough that he’d managed to shake off the last of his not-quite-sleep by the time Shimmerpaw slowed down. As she lifted her nose to the air, he slipped between the tree trunks to begin his own search. Anything, even the dark, tangled bark, would do more to hide him than standing out in the open.

He caught sight of something round and furry picking at a tangle of roots. Holding his breath, he crept closer. It was a little brown-and-white mouse, completely engrossed in whatever it had found beneath the trees. Snowflight crouched, tail twitching a whisker’s length from the ground, quiet—but not quiet enough. That tiny motion was enough to catch the mouse’s eye. He lunged at it, but it scampered out of reach and, soon after, out of sight entirely. Snowflight straightened up with a soft huff. One mouse slipping through his paws wasn’t necessarily an indicator of what the rest of the hunt would be like, but but it wasn't exactly a good omen, either.

Snowflight attempted to catch Rodent, using 3 stamina. The attempt was a failure…

Snowflight
40/40 HP
127/130 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

Shimmerpaw felt a momentary pang of pity for Snowflight as he failed to catch a mouse. She could only imagine how embarrassing it would be for a Warrior to fail to catch a prey animal as simple as a mouse. She herself would be awfully embarrassed, and she wasn't a full-fledged Warrior.

"Good luck on the next one." She remarked to Snowflight.

To be fair, Snowflight was probably much more used to catching fish than land prey like mice. Too bad the river was dried up, or Shimmerpaw would have went there instead. Fish were so much simpler to catch...

The soft rustle made Shimmerpaw's head rise. Dropping, she crept towards where the noise came from and identified the source as a small bird. Eyes narrowing, the Apprentice dipped into a hunting crouch and sprang.

Using 3SP to try to catch a bird!
77/80

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Just as she sprang, Shimmerpaw's paw caught on a branch, causing a "creak" sound. The bird instantly flew away, leaving Shimmerpaw with nothing but leaves. It seemed like she wasn't having very good luck either...

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Having had the sense to keep Shimmerpaw on his right side, Snowflight heard her consolation…though it didn’t do much to soothe his wounded pride. He licked his paw and swept it over his ears, waiting for the heat to recede from his face. Suddenly, Shimmerpaw’s head shot up. She must’ve heard something. Snowflight flattened himself against the ground as she approached her prey—only for her own pounce to fall short. At least he was in good company. Failure was a little easier to bear when he wasn’t alone in it. As he straightened up, he tapped his tail against Shimmerpaw’s shoulder. ”Well,” he said, and paused. ”Just think of how much easier this’ll be once the river’s back.”

Another scent drifted past his nose. He followed it to a frog hunched at the base of a tree trunk, its gray-brown skin not quite blending into the bark. A strange sight so far from the river—maybe it was as lost without the water as he was. Snowflight’s eyes went dark as he crouched. Frogs weren’t necessarily easy to catch, but they weren’t as jumpy as mice. Maybe he’d have better luck. He tensed, then sprang forward, trapping the frog between his paws. A heartbeat later, it was dangling from his mouth. Holding it tightly, he dug a shallow hole nearby, dropped the frog in, and brushed some dirt over it. He doubted any wandering predators would want a frog—even he didn’t, and he’d caught it—but he really wasn’t in the mood to risk tangling with a raccoon or worse.

Snowflight attempted to catch Frog, using 3 stamina. The attempt was successful!

Snowflight
40/40 HP
124/130 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

"Oh yeah, it'll be so much better." Shimmerpaw agreed with Snowflight's words. Catching fish would have be so much easier if only the river was there...

Seeing Snowflight's next catch succeed, Shimmerpaw was instantly encouraged. Maybe she would be able to make a catch as well. Well, if Snowflight could, she could as well!

Looking around, she spotted a small mouse. The creature's whiskers flicked as it nibbled at something in the grass. Dropping into a crouch, Shimmerpaw sneaked forwards and pounced.

Using 3SP to try to catch a Rodent!
74/80

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Shimmerpaw's paws slammed onto the mouse, and she snapped its neck with a swift bite. First catch for her. Good job, me!

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

As he scooped the last of the dirt over his catch, Snowflight spotted Shimmerpaw sneaking toward her next target. He waited until she straightened up, apparently successful judging by the pride in her posture, then moved away from the tangle of trees toward the open land. His one small victory had bolstered his confidence. That, and he had to come back with something better than a frog. That alone was worth testing his luck on the plains. A motion in the dry grass caught his eye. He closed in to see a small, plump bird, its tail stuck up at a strange angle, hopping along in its search for bugs. Not a fish, and not easy to catch, but if this worked—

The bird’s spotted head turned in his direction. He tried flattening himself against the ground, but his pelt had already given him away. Small though it was, the bird soared out of reach in a matter of heartbeats, letting out a shrill alarm cry to its fellows, wherever they were hiding. Snowflight’s ears twitched back. He’d expected it, sure, but that didn’t make it less frustrating.

Snowflight attempted to catch Bird, using 3 stamina. The attempt was a failure…

Snowflight
40/40 HP
121/130 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4