His Mind is Up to No Good [Closed]

Dawnhawk had waited patiently for the congratulating to be over before taking his apprentice into the woods. His guards followed after him as usual, though they kept their distance at about two fox lengths behind him. The sun was still fairly low to the ground, as the day was still early. Dawnhawk looked his apprentice over, an orange and white cat with long fur. Dawnhawk had experience with both issues of long fur as well as bright fur. Both of which were a curse. Granted... Dawnhawk was a medium-furred cat; Mildly fluffy around his body with an elegant plume for a tail. Sparkpaw was like his sister Beechface, a bright-furred floof disaster. Against a landscape with only a few new bushes in the ground scattered haphazardly across the monochrome background, they would both have issues blending in. This was not a new obstacle for Dawnhawk, and he didn't mind sharing his knowledge of how to overcome this problem.

"So." Dawnhawk began after a long silence. "Brightly colored fur and long fur... you'll have unique complications when hunting that others don't. Lucky for you, I have learned to overcome both." Satisfied with how far they were from camp, Dawnhawk stopped in his tracks. "I am going to teach you how to stalk properly first. We'll hunt when you feel you have that down. I try to blood my apprentices as early as possible." Dawnhawk dropped low to the ground, spread his paws evenly apart and raised his tail until his skull, neck, shoulders, back, hips and tail were all in one straight line. "Keep your tail from dragging the ground, but not so high that you wave it around like a leaf in the wind for prey to spot. Still, you want it high enough that your fur doesn't grab leaves and drag them, creating noise." He paused a moment and let his apprentice drink this information in before moving on. "You also need to spread your weight across all four of your paws as evenly as you can. Obviously this changes as you move. You need to learn to rebalance yourself as you have less paws on the ground. Too much weight on one paw and..." He leaned onto one paw to crunch the leaves beneath him. "Noise. My fa- ... Bloodstrike told me that if it doesn't hurt a bit, you aren't doing it right. Once your muscles get used to the proper stalking technique, the pain will stop. Go ahead, you try."

Dawnhawk straightened himself up and watched his apprentice carefully. His guards were leaning in, curious, and Dawnhawk waved them forward with his tail so they could observe closer if they really wanted to.

Sparkpaw padded after Dawnhawk, pale green eyes wide with wonder as he gazed up at the towering trees around him. Everything seemed so much smaller from the safety of the camp...it was almost daunting to feel so insignificant. He was already somewhat missing the constant presence of his littermates, wishing they could've gone together to experience this as a group. Of course, with Flashpaw always looking out for him when they were kits, he supposed he needed to learn to be independent. The white and ginger apprentice side-eyed Dawnhawk, suspiciously wondering what the older tom was thinking about. This made him uneasy. Being with the cat his kin despised and being flanked on both sides by two guards. He glanced at the two guards, nightstrikers no doubt, and quickly looked away upon meeting their gaze. He switched his attention to his mentor as he began to speak.

He cocked his head to the side, mildly confused. Bright fur? He peered down at himself and couldn't help but agree. It wasn't something he'd considered before but now that the thought had crossed his mind, he was distinctly aware of how much he stood out. He stopped a short distance from Dawnhawk, paws shuffling as he listened to the tom. As his mentor explained and demonstrated a hunting crouch, Sparkpaw tried to copy the position. He got low to the ground, paws spread apart a bit, and tail ever so slightly brushing the ground. He lifted it a bit and wondered if he was doing it right. His muscles didn't feel particularly strained so he must be doing something wrong.

Desperately trying to ignore the guards as they approached, Sparkpaw looked up at Dawnhawk, curious about something the tom had said. "What do you mean by 'blood your apprentices'?" It certainly didn't sound pleasant...at least, when Dawnhawk said it it didn't. Not that there was anything inherently frightening about the blue-eyed tom but with everything he'd heard, it was hard not to judge his mentor. And even more difficult to pretend he didn't dislike the tom.

Dawnhawk watched his apprentice carefully, noting the way he held his rump just a bit too high. Dawnhawk put a paw on the younger tom's spine just above his hips and pressed down slightly to correct Sparkpaw's form. "There. Your head, neck, shoulders, back, hips and tail should be one straight line with your knees and elbows bent." Other than that, his form seemed fine. He was about to demonstrate how to catch prey when Sparkpaw asked him a question. It gave Dawnhawk a chuckle, but there was no malice behind it this time.

"I just mean that I intend for you to draw blood on your first day as an apprentice... or bleed. Sometimes both." A squirrel foolishly came down to the base of a tree not too far off from where the two of them were. Dawnhawk watched it for a moment before turning his attention back to Sparkpaw. "You'll catch something and then you will fight something. Hunting is important to get a taste of first so you can feel what it is like to balance your body correctly. Moving quietly enough to catch that squirrel should be easy as long as you are balanced properly. Now... one thing you'll struggle with, as I do, is your white fur. You are least dark on top, whereas I'm brightly colored all over. The trick I learned is to not hide in the shadows, as most cats do, but to hide in the sun." Dawnhawk crouched low and moved himself purposely to the east, directly into the sunlight where the squirrel could not look up and see him without being blinded.

He would catch this squirrel first as a demonstration and then expect Sparkpaw to do the same. The squirrel heard nothing, but still cautiously popped it's head up from the hole it was digging to observe around it. So far... it had not seen Dawnhawk, despite him being behind virtually no cover. The pale tom crept closer, only about three fox-lengths away before he finally sprinted forward. His paws made nearly no noise even at a full run. Dawnhawk's teeth enclosed around the squirrel's head and ended it's life in an instant. The warrior turned back to his apprentice and brought the squirrel to him, dropping it at his feet.

"You see? Now you try." And with that, Dawnhawk sat. Sparkpaw could locate his own prey and give it a go. For now, his mentor was just an observer.

Dawnhawk used 3SP to catch a squirrel. Result: Success!
Dawnhawk
75HP/197SP (-3SP from hunting)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Sparkpaw adapted his position to Dawnhawk's gentle criticism, rear lowering slightly to become in line with the rest of his body. With his hind legs bent to this angle, he could feel his muscles burning as the older tom had described. Whicchhhh meant he was doing it right! Mostly at least. He held the position as Dawnhawk answered his question, mostly to get used to the unfamiliar strain on his muscles. He nodded along with his mentor's words, tension releasing from his frame. "Oh, that makes sense. Heh, though I can't say I'm particularly excited to get hurt." He glanced at Dawnhawk from the corner of his eye, an awkward, somewhat tight smile on his face. He didn't add anything else, not quite sure what to add to the conversation. Which was more like an informative lecture than anything else. He should keep talking to a minimum and just try to listen.

The mention of hiding under the cover of the sun was a somewhat confusing concept to grasp. How might one hide in the light anyhow? Once Dawnhawk moved to stand in the rays of sunlight however, Sparkpaw found himself quickly understanding the appeal. He had to squint to see the brightly colored tom, despite not directly facing the sun himself. He noticed Dawnhawk's attention fixed on a squirrel and fell silent, his movements and even breathing becoming quiet as a mouse so he wouldn't scare the prey away. Sparkpaw examined his mentor's posture and subconsciously mimicked it as he waited. As Dawnhawk broke into a short sprint, Sparkpaw felt the fur along his back lift with anticipation for his own turn to come.

He gaped slightly when the blue-eyed tome returned with the squirrel and took deep breaths to ground himself. That was pretty cool, he had to admit. "Yeah...that was really fast. I'll try my best." Sparkpaw turned his head to look around, ear perked and nose twitching as he worked to locate prey. Luck was on his side it seemed because not too far away, he spotted a brown, red-breasted bird and immediately dropped into the crouch Dawnhawk showed him. He crept into the path of the sunlight and edged closer and closer to the bird. It smelled tantalizing from here and was currently preoccupied with something under the leaves.

Upon getting within a few tail-lengths of the bird, Sparkpaw rushed forward. His steps were a little loud, and toward the end, his posture slacked but he was close enough so that the bird didn't have a chance to react much other than look up before he was upon it. He instinctively grasped the bird's neck in his jaws and bit down. After a moment to compose himself, Sparkpaw lifted his head, eyes just about sparkling. He gently set the prey down, tail lashing with unbridled exhilaration. "I caught it Dawnhawk! It barely even saw me!" Sparkpaw cleared his throat, realizing he'd been a bit too caught up in the moment.

Sparkpaw used 3SP to catch a bird. Result: Success!
Sparkpaw
20HP/77SP (-3SP from hunting)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

Dawnhawk gave Sparkpaw a half smile at his reaction to catching the squirrel so fast. He listened to all of the noises around them, but the closest and most obvious was a bird nearby. The ivory and gold colored tom waited behind while his apprentice used the same tricks that Dawnhawk himself had just used. The kid's form was good and his pace was steady. Dawnhawk wasn't surprised at all when he caught the bird, despite his little slip up towards the end. If this were Ashpaw, now known as Ashstorm, Dawnhawk may have been pickier about the execution. But that was a different time and he had different goals. Now however, when Sparkpaw dropped his prey, an indication that he was done killing it, Dawnhawk approached with nothing but pride on his face and honey in his voice.

"You did very well for your first time!" Dawnhawk offered praise, honest praise even, right away. "Skyclan cats are known for their ability in the trees as well. This is what sets us apart from Thunderclan, whom are mostly bush hunters. Hunting on the ground is fine when you're still learning, so don't worry about it. Do you want to catch something else from the branches this time, or would you like me to find you something to fight?" Dawnhawk nodded at one of the nightstrikers to bury the squirrel he'd just caught somewhere, but he wouldn't allow them near Sparkpaw's bird. That was his. He could choose where to hide it if he wanted.

Sparkpaw leaned back slightly as Dawnhawk approached him. He regarded the tom apprehensively, unsure of his intentions until he spotted the warm look on his face. He offered a rather reluctant smile as his mentor praised him and straightened up shortly after, his confidence boosted at the larger tom's words. "Really? I'm glad you think so..." He peeked up at the trees while listening to Dawnhawk, nodding. He'd heard that a few times before from his parents and some elders but the thought of climbing up into a tree was a little daunting. But then again, so was the prospect of fighting some animal. He was only an apprentice, on his first day of learning no less! But...if Dawnhawk believed he could do it...enough to offer anyway, he didn't want to decline.

"I guess we could try to find something to fight. I don't want to fall out of a tree so maybe we could try that next time?" Sparkpaw glanced out at the surrounding forest, searching for any animals. He didn't see anything immediately and busied himself with digging a shallow hole to hide his catch in like the guards were doing. It was pretty smart actually, to bury prey under a few layers of dirt. "What kind of animal would I fight? Nothing big and mean like a fox or badger...right?" Sparkpaw had heard plenty of stories about how fighting those kinds of animals went. He flicked his ears back, hoping for this to go well. He mainly wanted paws on experience with fighting just in case tensions flared up...just not against Dawnhawk or one of his guards. Who knows what might happen in that kind of fight? He preferred his chances against some animal over them.

Dawnhawk could read the kid like an open book. Sparkpaw was smarter than Flashpaw by far, just as he expected him to be, but his practice in deceit needed work. It wasn't his fault, he was just an apprentice. Dawnhawk had had many many moons to perfect the art of lying and covering up how he really felt about things. He was good enough to be involved with the Asylum for nearly six moons and no one knew... until the takeover had happened. Even his parents hadn't known... though that wasn't saying much. His parents had never paid much attention to him, his mother less than his father. Dawnhawk had even gotten away with attacking a clanmate, even when he told the leader that he had done it. No punishment had come from it he had told the story so smoothly... and a story it had been. He had taught his sister Ashstorm how to perform when in pain or under less than desirable circumstances... he planned to do the same with Sparkpaw. Such lessons would be wasted on cats like Wrenspring, Flowerthorn and Flashpaw. They were too honest and wore their emotions more outwardly than their own skins. Dawnhawk had a word for cats like those: Stupid.

"Foxes and badgers?" Dawnhawk laughed and shook his head. "No... I don't pick fights with those. At least, not while my only help is an apprentice, which is not to say I am talking down to you. I'm not. Those are not predators for beginners or lone cats." Dawnhawk lifted his nose to the air and parted his jaws, drinking in the scents of the forest all around him. His ears swiveled carefully and slowly, picking up even the tiniest noises. He had many moons practicing this as well... hunting for hunters. A scent hit his nose that he could pick apart from the many other scents of cats and prey. That would do fine.

"Alright follow me." Dawnhawk's voice was slightly hushed and he took a stance similar to the hunting crouch for quietness. He trusted Sparkpaw would be smart enough to see that he needed to mimic his mentor to the best of his ability. Dawnhawk moved at a trotting pace and yet his feet made almost no sound at all as he moved through the forest. He kept scenting the wind to make sure that he was going the right direction.

After several moments of hurriedly but quietly making their way through the woods, Dawnhawk scaled a tree, flicking his tail a bit for Sparkpaw to follow. He didn't expect the apprentice to climb as fast, but he should be able to get up to the lowest branch where Dawnhawk had perched himself. Just a few fox-lengths away was a weasel dragging a snake behind it in it's mouth. The few scattered bushes in the way of the weasel and the cats had prevented it from noticing them so far. Once Sparkpaw made his way to the branch next to Dawnhawk, the pale tom whispered quietly to his apprentice.

"That's a weasel," He explained. "See how short it's legs are? If you can pin it's neck or grab the back of it's head, it won't be able to attack you with those or bite. They bite hard, so you need to avoid that at all cost or I'll be dragging you to my sister to get patched up." Dawnhawk crouched low on the branch and waited, muscles tense.

"When it gets close... it needs to be pinned. Do you want me to pin it or do you want to? Answer fast. It's coming this way."

Dawnhawk
No attack made
75HP / 197SP

Weasel
Unaware of cats
60HP / 200SP

Sparkpaw
20HP / 77SP

Sparkpaw, completely oblivious of Dawnhawk's thoughts, began to wonder about said cat's side of the story. His mentor didn't seem like an evil cat...maybe he just thought what he was doing was for the best. And in some way, sure, maybe it was. But most if not all of Skyclan didn't really appreciate the Asylum. Sparkpaw wasn't fond of them either to be fair, but he didn't hate them. They'd done nothing to him thus far and with Dawnhawk as his mentor, it might stay that way. Hopefully. For now, though, Sparkpaw would remain cautious of Dawnhawk and his Asylum allies. He would do what he could to help his clan and if it came to it, he would be all for chasing those mangy rogues from their territory for good. Not yet though. Sparkpaw peeked at the light-pelted cat from the corner of his eye. He was sure Dawnhawk knew better than to trust him...but he didn't was to appear either overly friendly or too despiteful of him. There was a perfect medium...that's where he would operate.

"Ah, that's a relief." He flicked his ears at the other tom's laugh, almost surprised. "And I agree...I'm not ready for that." He could imagine Flashpaw might be itching to get his claws into a dangerous animal like that. This was why he promised himself that he would look out for his brother. Not just because he thought so highly of himself sometimes, but for other reasons too. Sparkpaw nodded when Dawnhawk caught onto a scent and crept forward in the hunting crouch he'd just learned. He shifted his stance a few times as they traveled to better imitate his mentor's position. He went a little slower than Dawnhawk, but for the sake of being quiet so as not to disturb whatever they were tracking.

He looked around in anticipation before refocusing his attention on the ground to make sure he didn't step on any crunchy leaves or brittle twigs. What animal could they be gearing up to fight? He'd admittedly not heard much of other predators or otherwise dangerous animals. A few stories about dogs as a kit, but given that they weren't going to fight a fox, he could cross that one off the list.

Once they reached Dawnhawk's destination, Sparkpaw watched as the blue-eyed tom ascended into a tree. He carefully watched where he placed his paws and followed the same path up into the branches. his claws only scraped the bark off a few times until he reached the branch Dawnhawk was settled on. Sparkpaw perked his ears, eyes dilating as his gaze landed on a thin, wiry looking creature. It was small. Smaller than him by a decent amount, but with needle-like claws and wicked-looking teeth. The white and ginger apprentice flexed his claws into the branch, eager, but somehow a little excited.

"Okay...sounds like that would be a fun time." He lowered himself, drawing his darker tail around himself to help blend into the shadowy branch in case the weasel looked up. It was a bit of a shock to be offered to pin the weasel, but one Sparkpaw didn't terribly mind. His fur fluffed up in excitement as he quickly weighed the pros and cons. With an affirmative nod, the apprentice tightened the muscles in his legs. "I'll give it a go. Don't let me die to that little thing."

He wiggled a little and as the weasel ambled close enough to their hiding spot, Sparkpaw slipped. It was stupid, but his front paw quite literally flew out from under him, setting the young cat careening off the edge. He corrected himself just in time to land right on the weasel's back and dug his claws into it's back. He ran his hind claws over the weasel's spine, holding on tight as it writhed under him. It was a mistake to have fallen off of the branch, but he'd managed to pull himself together just in time to not break his neck. what an accomplishment.

Dawnhawk
No attack made
75HP / 197SP

Weasel
Unaware of cats
54HP / 200SP (-6HP)

Sparkpaw uses 10 SP to perform Leap-and-Hold: Active for two turns
20HP / 67SP (-10 SP)

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

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'Effect Dice' : 6

Dawnhawk smirked and suppressed a chuckle at Sparkpaw's comment about this being a fun time. His next comment had Dawnhawk give him a seriously? look. But that look was quickly gone when Sparkpaw lost his footing. Dawnhawk even shot out a paw to try to catch him, even if it was with claws extended on the end. Better to be hooked a little by Dawnhawk than bitten to ribbons by a weasel. He wasn't fast enough, but Sparkpaw managed to land on the weasel and ride it anyway. Dawnhawk wasted no time.

He kicked hard off of the branch that he was on, true skyclan cat style and landed viciously upon the Weasel's exposed head. Sparkpaw was doing well so far. Hopefully it would last.

Dawnhawk used Sky Drop, dealing 14 damage and -15SP

Dawnhawk
75HP / 182sp (-15SP)

Weasel
Pinned for 2 Turns! Turn: 1/2
40HP / 200SP (-14 HP)

Sparkpaw
Leap and Hold Active; Turn 1/2
20HP / 67SP

Sparkpaw kept his claws in the weasel's flank and managed to cling on even as Dawnhawk landed atop the head of the wiry creature. He was lucky Dawnhawk had dropped down when he had because the weasel had just begun to gain its bearings. He raked his hind claws down the weasel's backside a few times but mainly focused his attention on keeping the smelly animal pinned. At this rate, they'd have the weasel down in no time! Sparkpaw felt a bubble of confidence in his chest and as much as he hated to admit it, Dawnhawk was proving to be somewhat reliable thus far. He'd taught him how to hunt and had jumped into the fight after he fell. Perhaps he was just being foolish in thinking such. It had to be a ploy of some kind.

the white and ginger tabby flinched as the weasel gave a particularly hard shake and he felt his grip loosen. His muscles were getting a little too tired and as useful as this pin was, Sparkpaw was only on his first day as an apprentice. He'd either let go because of the struggling weasel or have to drop away to avoid draining too much energy.

Sparkpaw maintains leap-and-hold, dealing 6 damage

Dawnhawk
75HP / 182SP

Weasel
Pinned for 2 Turns! Turn: 2/2
34HP / 200SP (-6 HP)

Sparkpaw
Leap and Hold Active; Turn 2/2
20HP / 67SP

Dawnhawk knew that Sparkpaw's grip would soon slip, but for now it held. Once he did lose his grip, Dawnhawk would be ready to kill the weasel. He needed to weaken it quicker. He began to swipe furiously at it with his claws, bloodying it's face and slicing it's gums when it tried to bite back. His concern was more for Sparkpaw than himself. He didn't know who the weasel would attack, but if it went for the apprentice then he would likely be carrying Sparkpaw back to the medicine den. No doubt there would be accusations thrown his way, that he let this happen on purpose or whatever. If it came down to that, then he would deal with it, regardless of how illogical the idea was.

Dawnhawk used Rending Front Paws, dealing 15 damage and -25SP

Dawnhawk
75HP / 157SP (-25SP)

Weasel
Pinned until next turn!
19HP / 200SP (-15HP)

Sparkpaw
Last Turn of Leap and Hold
20HP / 67SP

Sparkpaw's grip loosened on the weasel as it reared up in favor of attacking Dawnhawk. It didn't manage to land a blow on the older tom, but it did succeed in finally dislodging Sparkpaw. He dislodged from the back of the animal and landed a safe distance away, legs shaking slightly. It was probably nerves finally getting to him. The apprentice panted, letting Dawnhawk keep the weasel's attention as he caught his breath. This was a lot uglier than he'd expected for a battle to go. The weasel hadn't been doing anything to hurt Skyclan...at least...he didn't think so. He'd have to ask Dawnhawk just what weasels were and if they were a threat to the clan's safety. For all he knew, they could be kit snatchers! The thought comforted the white and orange cat, but it didn't make the sour blood on his paws feel any less thick.

Sparkpaw steeled himself, feeling ready to jump back into the fight. The slightly smaller creature was fierce in its defense but was apparently no match for two cats. He waited until the weasel lifted onto its back legs to attack Dawnhawk and ran forward. He didn't know of many battle moves, so he stuck to a fairly simple one he'd seen apprentices mock fight with while in the camp. With his claws unsheathed, Sparkpaw raised one of his paws and brought it down on the weasel's shoulder.

Sparkpaw used Front Paw Strike, dealing 6 damage at the cost of 10 SP

Dawnhawk
75HP / 157SP

Weasel
13HP / 200SP (-6HP)

Sparkpaw
20HP / 67SP (-10SP)