Training Time (closed)

Peeking her head into the apprentice's den, Tulipfang spotted Murkypaw's pelt among the other bundles of sleeping cats and carefully making her way over to her apprentice, she prodded the molly's side. "Murkypaw, wake up," she whispered softly before exiting the den. A chilly Leafbare breeze ruffled the she-cat's white and ginger pelt and this was the season that she was especially thankful to have a longer pelt.

Murkypaw woke to a soft voice accompanied by a paw prodding her side. Blinking her eyes open, she spotted her mentor, Tulipfang, leaving the den. Standing and stretching, her claws stretched into her new nest before she straightened and shook her pelt out and stepped out of the den after her mentor. Taking a moment to groom her face quickly, she mewed. "Good morning, Tulipfang." She lowered her head respectfully before straightening and looking to her mentor for instruction.

Turning around when her apprentice caught up with her, Tulipfang gave a nod of greeting. "Good morning! Ready to get going?" the warrior mewed, giving his front legs a good stretch and then her hind legs. With the weather getting colder and colder with each passing day, the she-cat's legs had begun to grow stiff from sleeping so snug in her nest, and she hoped that a good hunt would help her get rid of the nagging aches and pains that seemed to curse her in this cold season.

"I am! What are we doing today?" Murkypaw mewed, looking around the camp before shaking her pelt out. This would be her first time out of camp, and Murkypaw was determined to learn everything she could. Would they go towards the marshes? She didn't particularly want to get her paws wet, but if that's where they went she would manage. Would she see Carrionplace? Her mother and the elders had spoken of that place, and while she was sure it was supposed to scare her, she found herself intrigued by the place instead. Focusing her attention back on her mentor, she awaited her response.

"Today we'll be doing some hunting!" she mewed with a smile, flicking her tail towards the camp entrance before exiting the camp, knowing that Murkypaw would catch up to her. "So, do you know anything about hunting already?" She asked with a tilt of her head, wondering if her apprentice had any prior knowledge at all.

Murkypaw nodded, growing excited at the thought of hunting. She had practiced with leaves and bugs as a kit when she was bored in camp, but the idea of hunting actual prey was something foreign and new. As she followed Tulipfang out of camp, she perked her ears to take in the area around her, letting the scents of ShadowClan's territory roll over her tongue. "Not much. My father taught me some things that I practiced, but some of it was difficult. I did practice a lot catching leaves and the occasional beetle though." She mewed, trying to remember what her father had taught her. "He told me that rabbits are really fast, and aware of their surroundings. I've wanted to catch one ever since. He also told me about shiny and smelly fish, but that they aren't around here. Lizards are fast, but it's easy to sneak up on them if you're slow and quiet. Frogs are slow, but they jump, so you need to be quick." She mewed, listing off what she recalled before going quiet again, ears pricked for noises. She lowered her voice, eyes fixating intently on a spot among the roots of a nearby pine tree. Slowly she stalked forward, trying to keep her tail off the ground while also maintaining her balance, and it was difficult. Very difficult, in fact, as she lost her balance and stepped on a twig in her attempt to regain it, revealing her location to the mouse that now sat up, staring at her. With a frustrated hiss, she darted forward, claws outstretched.

At the last moment, her claws met the thin fur of the mouse's hind end, and she flicked her paw forward clumsily in an attempt to get it away from the hole it tried to dart into. It landed, temporarily dazed, and she pounced forward to end it's suffering before taking a step back. She looked to her mentor for a heartbeat before realization crossed her face and she lowered her head, whispering a thanks to StarClan for the catch, no matter how clumsy it was. It was still something for the clan, she thought, but she needed to do better. If it had been a bird, or even if she had needed to chase it farther, it could have alerted the rest of the prey in the area.... That is, if her stepping on the twig hadn't already. Disappointed and ashamed, she picked up the mouse and brought it back to Tulipfang, setting it down gently before meeting her mentor's gaze, preparing herself for the scolding she was sure would come.

Murkypaw attempted to catch a mouse, catch successful. -3 SP.
77/80 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Nodding along in agreement as the apprentice spoke, she watched as Murkypaw went a little ways away once she spotted prey. She was proud of the apprentice being so eager to hunt, but even so, there were always things to work on, and taking note of Murkypaw's hunt, padded up to the apprentice once she made the kill.

"Good job!" she purred as she approached the young she-cat. "Of course, I bet you noticed the twig you stepped on. It happens to the best of us, so just make sure you're keeping mind of where your paws are," she pointed out. Crouching down, she adjusted her tail height before looking back at Murkypaw. "Also, make sure to keep your tail low, like this," the white and ginger warrior mewed, tilting her head back towards her fluffy tail that just barely hovered above the ground. "Too high and the prey will see you coming, too low and it'll drag behind you and alert any nearby prey," Tulipfang added before opening her maw to scent for prey.

Catching a scent, she padded onward a bit before stopping to glance around. Sure enough, just was couple foxlengths away was a vole rummaging through some dead grass, most likely stocking up for the upcoming Leaf-bare. Keeping her body and tail low just like she'd explained, Tulipfang stalked forward, her hackles shifting back and forth as she waited for just the right moment. Pouncing, she just barely missed and the rodent scurried away in a frenzie. It wasn't exactly how she'd wanted her demonstration to go, but it was still a good learning opportunity.

"So, what did I do wrong?" she mewed, giving her pelt a shake as she turned back to the direction that Murkypaw was in.

Tulipfang attempted to catch a vole and was unsucessful. -3 SP

Tulipfang
HP: 80/80
SP: 237/240

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Murkypaw's tail flicked with happiness as her mentor praised her catch, and nodded as she offered the criticism she knew would be coming. "I'll do better from now on." She stated, watching Tulipfang's stance intently before mimicking it, crouching in a similar manner and correcting as she noticed differences. As Tulipfang took a couple steps forward, Murkypaw followed, trying to find what the warrior had sensed. She was careful to avoid any sticks or crunchy leaves that littered the ground, and she stopped in her tracks as Tulipfang crouched. There it was, a vole rummaging through some grass. She held her breath as her mentor pounced, but tilted her head as the vole scurried away, Tulipfang turning back towards her. She thought for a few heartbeats before answering, not entirely certain of what had gone wrong, Tulipfang had kept her tail low, but above the ground, and she hadn't stepped on any sticks... "Did you wait too long, maybe? Perhaps the vole sensed our presence and was able to move just in time?"

Listening as Murkypaw answered her question, Tulipfang nodded along in agreement. "That's correct!" she purred with a smile, proud of her apprentice for understanding her own mistakes. "Now, why don't you try and see if you can correct the mistakes I made?" she pondered, pointing to a space in front of them with her tail.

Murkypaw relaxed as Tulipfang approved of her answer, and nodded. Stepping into the space that her mentor had gestured to, Murkypaw took a deep breath and let the tastes around them roll over her tongue, finally opening her eyes as she turned towards a lizard nearby. She prepared herself for a moment, calculating her leap before she lunged, landing on top of the lizard and dispatching it with a swift swat of her paw to it's head. Picking it up, she turned towards Tulipfang, the lizard dangling from her jaws. "How was that?" She asked, walking back to her mentor.

Murkypaw attempted to catch a lizard, catch was successful! -3 SP. 74/80 SP.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

"Good job!" Tulipfang mewed with a smile after watching the apprentice.
"How about we head back to camp so you share what you caught? We can do more training tomorrow," she purred, turning in the direction of camp. While she hadn't caught anything, she'd at least taught her apprentice enough to be able to catch her own prey which was what really mattered.