How to Train Your Bloodtiger [Closed]

Bloodstrike had another apprentice. This would be his second one. He thought he'd done a good enough job with Sweetpaw, but unfortunately the fire had claimed many lives. She hadn't died right away, but Bloodstrike noticed that she had gone missing shortly after making it to Riverclan territory. It bothered him. She had been both talented and mild mannered. Trying not to dwell on it too much, Bloodstrike approached the apprentice den and picked out his own apprentice among the sleeping piles. He carefully stepped over the smaller bundles and nudged Tigerpaw gently.

"Your first day of training begins now. I will be outside when you're ready." He stepped away from the apprentice and again, found barely enough space for his large paws to not step on a sleeping apprentice when he exited. He stayed a few feet from the den and patiently waited, though he would keep track of how long it would take Tigerpaw to be on his feet and outside. There was a lot going on with Skyclan at the moment... so much that Bloodstrike wanted to ponder over, but he couldn't afford it right now. He had managed to make himself clean and presentable for his first day out with his apprentice, but who knew how long it would be before Bloodstrike let his appearance go again. At least now he just looked like another forest cat and not some feral, deranged bobcat with a freakishly long tail.

Bloodstrike had noticed as well that Skyclan almost wasn't Skyclan anymore. They were merging their behaviors and tastes with that of Riverclan. Well, not Tigerpaw. Bloodstrike would be taking his apprentice to the Beech Copse to learn to climb trees and to eat things that weren't fish.

Tigerpaw's move to the apprentices' den hadn't exactly been a welcome one, but he'd managed to take it in stride. It was more crowded, less comfortable, and far more active than the nursery had been, and there was so much going on that it was hard to get a good night's rest without something or another waking him up. That tradition continued with Bloodstrike waking him right in the middle of a very nice dream, and when Tigerpaw lifted his head to stare blearily at his mentor it took him a few moments to understand what was going on.

Oh. Right. Training.

The idea of it was interesting enough that he didn't bother complaining. So far, the life of a clan cat had proved to be, if nothing else, full of unique experiences that he had a feeling he'd never have had if they had stayed with his mother and grandmother and the Upwalkers. Tiny needle teeth flashing in the dim light of the den, Tigerpaw padded out to stand beside Bloodstrike, saying nothing.

Bloodstrike patiently waited for Tigerpaw to come out of the apprentice den. He didn't have to wait long. He eyed his apprentice, a half-skyclan tom... Well... it was time to see if Redfall's blood was still strong enough in him to turn him into a proper Skyclan cat. Bloodstrike found that he couldn't actually bring himself to dislike the half outsider tom, but he had a certain amount of hope for him instead. Redfall's blunder may be a gateway to better things in the future for Skyclan, if Tigerpaw and his siblings could prove themselves and become Skyclan warriors.

"Skyclan's original home, as you know, burned down not too long ago. Though there are few places in the forest that could recreate true Skyclan territory, I think I may have scouted a spot the other day. We're getting away from all of this water and fish. Skyclan cats don't indulge themselves in slimy booger prey like fish and frogs. We're better than that." Bloodstrike didn't even look around to see who else might be watching. He didn't care. He was assigned to train Tigerpaw to be a Skyclan warrior and a Skyclan warrior he would be.

Bloodstrike got to his feet and gestured with his head for Tigerpaw to follow. He lead the youth to the Beech Copse. Once his eyes settled on it, he allowed a smile to cross his face but only for a moment. This would do. He caught glimpses of squirrels here too, though not as many as there had been in Skyclan territory. There still plenty of birds, perfect things for an apprentice to start out on.

"I am going to teach you something that your dad actually taught me when I was a kit, then I will teach you what my father taught me when he was my mentor. I have found that combining these two techniques works wonders for catching prey." Bloodstrike dropped into a crouch to demonstrate, carefully spreading his paws evenly apart for balance in an almost perfect rectangle shape. He held his tail straight out behind him and lined his spine, shoulders, neck and skull with it in a straight line.

"This is a proper stalking pose. Feel free to walk around me and look at different angles if you want. You want to make sure you balance your weight across your paws as evenly as possible. It decreases the chances of you crushing twigs or leaves under your paws if you distribute the weight well enough." He paused for a moment, hoping he wasn't going too fast for the young tom. "An additional advice that Redfall gave me was to keep your tail out behind you so that you don't drag leaves or twigs along the ground, creating additional noise." Bloodstrike began to stalk forward slowly, his muscles rippling and flexing with every movement beneath his pelt with practiced ease. "Shift your weight carefully as you stalk forward. Your legs will ache a bit until you get used to stalking properly. Just keep at it and the pain will go away. If it doesn't hurt a little, you're not doing it right." He demonstrated the stalk for a few more steps and then straightened himself back up.

"Do you have any questions before we begin hunting?"

The young apprentice was quiet as Bloodstrike began speaking, but it was clear by his body language, and expression, that he was hanging on to every word. As his mentor demonstrated, Tigerpaw mimicked, sinking into a crouch, making sure his weight was evenly spread across all four paws. This did feel different, somehow more... precise... than it felt when he'd practiced stalking on his siblings in the past. Tigerpaw nodded approvingly, stalking forward for about a fox-length before straightening and glancing over his shoulder at Bloodstrike.

"I think I've got it..." he said quietly. Just then, movement captured his attention, and he looked over to see a bird on the other side of what used to be a bush, but was now only a bundle of sticks. It was pecking along the roots. Tigerpaw resumed his crouch, eyes narrowed on the bird, and crept forward. When he was close enough, he sprang! The apprentice's paws closed on the bird as it tried to take flight, and, somewhat messily, Tigerpaw dropped his weight on top of it, struggling for a moment to find the right spot to bite. But once he did, the bird went limp in his jaws, and he sat back, panting with the adrenaline that was coursing through him. He'd done it! His first kill!

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

Bloodstrike observed the young tom, actually impressed with how quickly he caught on. He nodded his approval. A bird came within a reasonable distance of the two cats and Bloodstrike stayed back. A bird was good practice for Skyclan apprentices. He waited, eagerly awaiting the results and hoping that his apprentice would actually get one on his first try. Tigerpaw caught the bird, albeit not as gracefully as a skilled hunter, but Bloodstrike certainly wasn't about to knock him for the first try.

Once Tigerpaw had secured the bird Bloodstrike gave him an approving smile.

"Excellent work!" He approached his apprentice and eyed the bird. No... it was truly dead and not just in shock. "Try a few more to make sure you have the technique down... and then I am going to teach you how to fight next."

OOC: You can either actually hunt until you activate a predator, we can just trigger one or we can time skip and spar. I don't care either way. c:

Tigerpaw's eyes were shining with excitement as Bloodstrike praised him, and he ducked his head in thanks. "Okay, let me hide this!" he said, and made his way to a fallen log. Tigerpaw scooped some earth and leaves away from  the underside of the log, intending to stash the bird there for safekeeping until they caught more prey.

He didn't see the snake until it was too late, and Tigerpaw let out a yelp as the creature's many tiny fangs ripped at the shorter fur around his nose, embedded there by their backwards-slanting orientation. He reared back, wildly shaking his head, and reached up with a paw to scrape it away.

Snake used Serpent Strike on Tigerpaw, dealing 10 damage and costing 20 stamina. Tigerpaw used Front Paw Strike on Snake, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Snake:
4/10 HP
50/80 SP

Tigerpaw:
10/20 HP
70/80 SP

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

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'Effect Dice' : 6

Bloodstrike honestly hadn't even thought about snakes. It was leafbare. He had turned his attention to search for other signs of trouble and hadn't looked to where Tigerpaw was going. Still, the wild, flailing from his apprentice had Bloodstrike snap his eyes over in his direction. He saw the snake as he gave it a good smack, but Bloodstrike had seen that the snake had landed a hit as well. His heart dropped into his stomach. He wasted no time, galloping like a maniacal bobcat toward the snake. He wasn't sure if this kind was venomous or not. He'd only seen a few snakes and had avoided them entirely.

To protect his apprentice, Bloodstrike was going to try to end this as fast as he possibly could and hopefully not get bit as well. If Tigerpaw's life was in danger, he'd have to grab the tom up by the scruff and run him back to the Riverclan's medicine den. Until then, the snake would be put to death.

Bloodstrike used Front Paw Strike, dealing 12 damage and -10SP

Bloodstrike
80HP /230SP (-10SP)

Snek
Ded
-8HP / 50SP (-12HP)

Tigerpaw
10HP / 70SP


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With a well-aimed smack of his claws, Bloodstrike severed the head from the snake's body. He spun on Tigerpaw.

"Does your nose burn? Are you alright?" His voice was higher pitched than usual from the stress, but he otherwise appeared fairly calm.

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

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'Effect Dice' : 4

"N-no... no," Tigerpaw assured him, though his eyes watered involuntarily. He stopped backing away, staring down at the snake's long, black body that lay limply between himself and Bloodstrike. "It doesn't... burn, I feel alright." His ears were pressed tightly against his head, and the tip of his tail brushed the ground where it lay, but Tigerpaw was more surprised than anything. "Why did it attack me? I didn't even know it was there."