First Time for Everything [c]

Lilacsong padded through the moors, the sun high in the sky, although it brought little warmth. The grass was brittle under paw, tipped with frost, and a cold breeze chilled her to the bone. With leaf bare on it's way, hunting was sure to be hard. Which is why she had come here. A multitude of flowers stretched out in a beautiful array in front of her. They sparkled, tipped with ice, but they had not quite died, and once they did, it seemed, the leaf-bare flowers were ready to take their place, simply waiting for the right time to bloom. It truly was beautiful.

But she had not come here for sight-seeing. Turning around, and fluffing out her fur as another chilly breeze blew by, she faced her apprentice. I still cannot get used to the fact that I have one of those. She almost chuckled at her own thoughts, which would have made her seem a little weird, so she instead smiled. At least that could be interpreted as friendliness.

"Welcome to the flower fields, Rainpaw! With leafbare so close, the prey is going to be sticking close to home, so we are going to go to them. This place isn't just beautiful, it also houses a rabbit warren. So today, you are going to learn how to hunt them! Does that sound good to you?" She cocked her head to the side expectantly. It had been a genuine question, as she honestly wanted Rainpaw's thoughts on her plans. After all, he was partaking in them too, so it was only fair he got a say in it.

“I get to hunt rabbit today? That sounds great!”

The air was biting cold, and he had never been more thankful for his long dark grey fur. His nose wrinkled from the wind, gusting past them both. The flowers themselves seemed frozen in time and space, far more than what the breeze could do.

“So, how does it work? Do I chase them? Or what?

Rainpaw was imagining almost a prey-tag situation, though he was sure his mentor would have an idea of what she wanted.

Lilacsong chuckled at her apprentice’s eagerness. He already had in mind what he was going to do, by the sound of it, but chasing was only part of it. Any cat could chase, but it takes training to learn how to catch. That was where she came in. To give Rainpaw that training.

"You will be chasing the rabbits, yes. But remember, rabbits are fast. And here, they will be close to their warrens, where they can run and be out of reach. You will need to get close before you begin the chase. Rabbits are also agile, and can turn quickly. You will need to be able to turn just as quick if you want to keep up. Maybe it would be better if I demonstrate?"

Spotting a rabbit that had separated from the others, she dropped into a crouch, keeping her paws light as she quickly moved forward, and, eyeing Rainpaw to make sure he was watching, began her chase. The rabbit began to do zig zags as it ran, in which Lilacsong mimicked. However, the ice on the ground made her at a disadvantage, as the rabbit was able to gain more traction, and it was able to duck into it's hole just before Lilacsong had even reached it.

She padded back over to her apprentice, huffing. "This is not the best hunting weather." She admitted with a sigh. "But you can still see what I was talking about. Why don't you give it a try, and I can assess how you do, and we can go from there?"

Lilacsong attempted to catch a rabbit, costing 3 SP
Lilacsong
40/40 HP
117/120 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Rainpaw wiggled excitedly, bounding so that he could watch his mentor. She couldn't keep up with the rabbit, and it ran off.

"It's okay, it is really slippery," he remarked, feeling his own toes sink into the frost.

He sniffed the air. Lilacsong was right- there was a whole bunch of rabbits here, and their smell mixed with their own. His ears twitched as the breeze cut between them, and his silvery eyes narrowed on a rabbit, about two foxlengths away from him.

Rainpaw smooshed himself into the ground, mimicking the movements of the rabbit, and when he came within a foxlength, he sprang towards it, running for his life.

Great StarClan, this thing's fast!

He bounded to its left, weaving himself through the flowers, and pounced at the rabbit, claws unsheathed. Rainpaw latched onto the rabbit and chomped his teeth around its neck, killing it.

"Hey! Lilacsong! I did it!"

He swelled his chest in pride and carried the rabbit back to his mentor.

Rainpaw successfully caught a rabbit, and expended 5 SP!

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

Lilacsong purred as she padded up to join her apprentice in time to watch him make his first kill. ”Great job, Rainpaw! You got the hang of that really quickly! Just remember to not go too low to the ground, or your fur will brush the grass and hear you. And stay clear of those back legs. Rabbits have a strong kick, and I doubt Softbreeze will appreciate too many visits to the medicine den.”

She chuckled as she looked around. There were still plenty of rabbits, and she noticed with a tinge of irritation that the Asylum cat (that I may have forgotten to include before) that was supposed to be their guide had not even attempted to hunt. Some help they were!

”Hey, Rainpaw, since there are so many rabbits here, why don’t we see how many we can catch? I’m sure the Clan will appreciate the extra fresh-kill!” And with that final note, she bounded after a rabbit that had dashed past her.

This time her chase was more successful as she dug her claws in to gain traction. It also helped that the rabbit had already been so close to her when the chase started, so she was on top of it pretty quickly, nipping it's neck to break it's spine. With the limp prey in her mouth, she padded back over to Rainpaw, thankful that the tom could see she was able to hunt successfully.

Lilacsong attempted to catch a rabbit, costing 3 SP
Lilacsong
40/40 HP
114/120 SP

OOC:Byrin, I know there was an announcement on the stats being changed for leaf-bare, but when this thread was made, it was still leaf-fall. So your cat would have only lost 3 SP from your catch, not 5. Your catch still would have been successful, though, so don't worry about that! Just letting you know!

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

Rainpaw nodded to his mentor, noting that Softbreeze had not been herself with Asylum all around them. It was disheartening to say the least- he remembered poking his head into the medicine den sometimes just because, and seeing her crushed was difficult for the tom. He smiled with his mentor's praise, his chest swelling with pride. "Thank you, Lilacsong!"

He wrinkled his nose and caught the scent of rabbits along with their lone Asylum guard. Lilacsong's voice jerked him back to the task at hand.

"Let's do it!"

He sped off in the opposite direction, bounding after another rabbit.

Rainpaw realized after starting the chase that the rabbit was massive. He zigzagged around it, keeping light on his feet as to not disturb the other rabbits. The apprentice eventually leaped next to it, and he managed to take it down with a bite on the neck.

"Great StarClan! This one's as big as me!"

He grinned from ear to ear, looking to Lilacsong. "You're the best mentor ever!"

Rainpaw successfully caught a rabbit, expending 3 SP!

Rainpaw: 20/74 (-3 SP)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1