slow and steady [closed]

(passive bonus: all thunderclan cats’ attacks deal an extra +2 damage)

Despite the lingering tug of exhaustion from her vigil nights before, Thrushnose woke before the sun. Nervousness thrummed low in her gut. Both Minkstream and Nettlestar had entrusted her with this responsibility—as her father and her former mentor, as deputy and leader. She’d never let them down before; she wouldn’t let that change so easily. But this was new. Until she could gather the advice she needed, she had to approach it carefully, falling back on what she already knew. With this in mind, she chose to start Darkpaw’s training the same way Nettlestar had started hers: with something simple.

But Darkpaw couldn’t learn anything if she was asleep. Thrushnose waited for the first rays of light to creep out through the gaps between the trees, then got to her feet and stretched. Now the first test began. Rather than poke her nose into the apprentices’ den, the bulky she-cat settled down outside it, tail twining around her forepaws as she turned her head toward the palest part of the sky. Though she hadn’t been named for her patience, she had it in abundance.

Darkpaw felt as if her eyelids weighted a million pounds as she pried them open a tiny crack. The exhilaration she felt moving into the apprentices' den had been overshadowed by a hollowed feeling in her chest as she spent her first night outside Nettlestar's den. For the last moon or so she had grown used to sleeping by her mother's side, falling asleep to the steady sound of her breathing. Now, she was surrounded by many bodies, many of them snoring as they slept, rattling Darkpaw's ears and keeping her awake late into the night. A small ray of light peeked through the entrance of the den and the petite she-cat scrambled to her paws with a quiet curse under her breath. She hastily gave her pelt a rough grooming, smoothing down her chest and shoulder fur and giving her face a few quick swipes of her paw to get the sleep out of her eyes before she rushed out of the den.

To her dismay, she saw Thrushnose already sitting outside the apprentices' den and she felt her tail and shoulders droop a little. She had been hoping to be awake before her mentor to show that she was bright, alert, and ready to take whatever the older she-cat decided to throw at her. She sighed as she padded over to her mentor and looked up at her with tired ember colored eyes. "I won't be late again," She mewed gruffly as she stifled a yawn. "I'll shove moss in the nose of whoever was snoring louder than thunder next time." She gave an amused huff at herself as she shook her small frame roughly, trying to shake off the rest of the sleep. "So where to first?" Her eyes were now bright, the tiredness fading as she began to wake up more and the excitement for her first day of real training began to make her body buzz as she bounced on her toes trying to contain her emotions and play it cool.

After several minutes (just long enough for Thrushnose’s attention to shift toward an ant trailing across the ground a fox-length away), a shuffle of paws sounded from within the den. At last, a ginger-dappled figure crept out into the open, looking more like a sleepwalker than an apprentice ready for her first day of training. Darkpaw peered upward. Despite the lingering fog in her eyes, she was clearly focused. Thrushnose huffed out a quiet laugh. “Don’t worry. You weren’t too late.” As an afterthought, she added, “I hope that wasn’t one of my siblings.” She’d spent all but the last moon of her life sharing a den with them; until now, it’d never occurred to her that they might be the loud ones.

Darkpaw gave herself a firm shake. Then came a question—the first of many, Thrushnose imagined. “The Owl Tree,” she said with a nod as if confirming it with herself, though she'd had it in mind since the night before. ThunderClan had better spots for hunting, but the massive oak was one of the few trees that hadn’t started shedding its leaves. Darkpaw had her whole apprenticeship to learn about watching her step while stalking. Best to start slow, in Thrushnose’s opinion. Besides, depending on how quickly Darkpaw took to hunting, the Owl Tree could make for good climbing practice. Thrushnose unwound her tail from around her paws and stood, stretching low enough to nearly brush the dirt before facing her apprentice again. All at once, her mouth had gone dry. It was one thing to sit alone in her nest, planning a lesson; carrying out those plans was something else entirely. But, she reminded herself, she had a plan. That already put her one step ahead. She took a deep breath, tasting the bracingly cold air. “We’ll leave when you’re ready.”

Darkpaw's eyes widened, she had heard of the Owl Tree from other apprentices and was excited to see it for herself. She gave herself probably the world's quickest bath, and looked just about as rumpled and ruffled as she had before, but the fog of sleep seemed to have cleared from her eyes. "I'm convinced it was either Hickorypaw or Dovepaw." She mewed as she gave her body one good final stretch, arching her back and stretching each leg individually. "It's definitely a lot different sleeping in the apprentices' den than it was when I was allowed to sleep with my mother. Especially because Nettlestar doesn't snore." She gave a small sigh as she cast a glance towards her mother's den, her features seeming a little crestfallen before she shook it off and turned her attention to her mentor. The young she-cat had not picked up on her mentor's nervousness and she flicked her ears. "I am ready whenever you are, Thrushnose." She said with a small smile, her eyes alight with determination.

Darkpaw’s face fell as she glanced toward the Highrock, where Nettlestar’s den lay tucked behind a curtain of lichen. Thrushnose followed her gaze, blinking. “It took me a moon to get used to it,” she said softly. Granted, she’d spent a good chunk of that moon in the medicine den, but that wasn’t worth mentioning. In any case, the moment didn’t last. By the time she looked back at Thrushnose, Darkpaw’s enthusiasm had returned. Her eyes shone clear and bright. A fraction of the tension slipped out of Thrushnose’s shoulders; she honestly wouldn’t have known what to do with a reluctant apprentice. ”Then we’ll go now. Stay close,” she warned, and, with a gentle flick of her tail, ducked out of camp.

As she led Darkpaw through the thick tangle of trees and bushes, Thrushnose was near-silent, focused on keeping her paws moving. Though she’d walked to and from the Owl Tree countless times using countless different paths, she’d never been more nervous about getting lost than she was right now. But her memory proved to be as reliable as ever. Before long, the sea of trunks parted to reveal a towering oak tree, its broad, rounded leaves tinged with hints of leaf-fall’s colors. Thrushnose marched right up to the tree and turned to face Darkpaw, exhaling slowly. This, she understood—maybe not how to teach, but what to teach. “We’ll start with hunting,” she said. “Would you rather try it yourself, or have me show you first?” Nettlestar had given her that choice; it only seemed right to ask Darkpaw the same.

Darkpaw felt as if her heart was going to leap out of her chest as she looked at the entrance to camp, watching as Thrushnose ducked into the shadows and disappeared through the other side. Her breath caught in her throat as her paws tingled, her first time passing thought to the rest of the territory. Would it be everything she had hoped beyond the ravine? Everything she dreamed of? Sudden fear bubbled in her belly, but she clenched her jaw and fought it back as she powered after her mentor, unsure if the tunnel was really this dark or if she had really closed her eyes as she blinked rapidly on the other side. Thrushnose was wasting no time, pushing onward and Darkpaw scrambled to keep up. Her amber eyes looked around at the trees that towered over her and she felt her jaw drop. They were so much taller than she ever imagined they would be, branches larger and thicker than her whole body. The underbrush was thick in some places, and if she listened hard enough she could hear the sound of little creatures scurrying through the leaves. She took in the cacophony of new scents that assaulted her nose in stride, her head turning every which way to catch each little whiff that was carried on the breeze.

When they finally reached the Owl Tree her head was dizzy from all she had scented and seen, and the Owl Tree was just as interesting as the rest. she tilted her head back to look up the trunk at all the branches and leaves that stretched up towards they sky. Her attention quickly snapped back to her mentor who began speaking, her voice dragging her out of her own thoughts. Darkpaw thought for a moment, she had watched plenty of the other apprentice practice their hunting but how confident did she really feel? She wanted to be the best warrior she could be, so she figured trying to start off her training acting cocky probably wouldn't do her any good. "Will you show me first?" She asked, looking around to see if she could even spot any prey near by.

“Okay.” Thrushnose gave an approving nod, quick and sharp. At the start of her own training, she’d answered her mentor’s question the same way. When Pebblepaw had asked for help with hunting, she’d given him a rather bare-bones explanation. With an apprentice officially entrusted to her, however—especially considering who that apprentice was—she needed to be thorough. Turning sideways, she began: “First, I’ll show you how to move. It’s a little different depending on which prey you’re hunting—but no matter what you’re going after, you need to be quick, quiet, and light on your paws. Some prey is better at feeling than seeing or hearing.” She bent down, glancing over her shoulder to make sure her tail was standing low and straight behind her. “This is what a hunting crouch looks like. Once you find your prey, you crouch like this, sneak toward it, slowly—and when you’re close enough, you pounce.”

She could go on about technique until she ran out of breath, but all those words meant nothing without a proper demonstration. That was what Darkpaw had asked for, after all. “Let’s say you’re hunting a…” Thrushnose’s words trailed away as she raised her muzzle to the air. It took a few moments of searching, but at last, a fresh scent drifted to her on the wind, accompanied by the faint rustle of leaves. “A squirrel,” she said, voice hardly above a whisper. There wasn’t much room for talking now; she hoped her previous explanation would be enough.

Another patient heartbeat later, the squirrel emerged from the bushes, picking at the ground. It didn’t so much as glance toward the Owl Tree. Sinking into the same crouch she’d demonstrated minutes before, Thrushnose advanced, step by careful step, much slower than she normally would have moved. The squirrel sat up—and looked in the opposite direction. She went still as stone, then rocketed forward, front paws outstretched, pinning it down just as it turned to see her. With a single bite, it was dead. Thrushnose returned to the tree and laid the small gray-brown form at its base. As the adrenaline faded, she realized her heart was hammering against her ribs almost as frantically as the squirrel’s must have been. For the first time in moons, she’d been nervous. ”Now,” she said, slightly winded, ”are you ready to give it a try?”

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

Thrushnose
40/40 HP
117/120 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7