Luck and Persistence [Rainpaw]

"Rainpaw, let's go." Mistyfalcon called softly into the apprentice den before ducking back out. Snow had fallen more frequently as of late, and the moon hadn't yet managed to clear the treetops for the night. The sky was mostly blanketed by heavy cloud cover that promised more snow. As the last of the sunlight had faded, the forest lay dark and quiet.

Not the ideal time to start training, but Rainpaw would have to learn either way. In truth, Mistyfalcon found himself a bit unsure of where to begin. Vinetail and him hadn't been particularly close, and the older warrior had always been preoccupied with other things. Those other things had turned out to be a Riverclanner joining the clan, and Mistyfalcon was resolved to focusing more of his attention on his apprentice than his mentor ever had.

Mistyfalcon sat as he waited for his apprentice, tattered ears flicking in dismay at the sigh of an Asylum cat creeping closer, no doubt wanting to accompany them on their first training session together. Rainpaw needed to be shown the territory, and then they would hunt. The pine grove would be the best place for it, ever rational part of the tom said, but Mistyfalcon found himself unsure. Memories lay in that direction, ones he wasn't sure he wanted to disturb just yet.

The brown tabby apprentice stepping out of the den thankfully broke his thoughts, and Mistyfalcon stood, giving the young tom a small nod.

"Alright, I'll be showing you the territory tonight, and I'd like to get in some hunting practice, as well." He said, turning towards the camp entrance and beckoning Rainpaw to follow him. The unwelcome Asylum cats slid from the edges of camp to follow them, and Mistyfalcon grit his teeth, determined to pay them no mind as he led the apprentice through the camp entrance. The snow on the ground made his dark pelt easy to spot, even in the darkness of night.

Eventually the pine grove was in sight, and Mistyfalcon turned to face the apprentice. There was a slight tension written across Mistyfalcon's features as they'd neared the grove, one that he hoped the apprentice simply chalked up to the presence of the asylum rogues.

"Alright, before we start hunting, you need to learn to crouch and stalk properly." He said. "Keep your tail, spine and shoulders in a straight line, and bend your elbows and knees like this. It hurts a bit at first but you'll get used to it. You'll want to pay attention to your surroundings to avoid stepping on anything that might throw off your balance or startle your prey, and be aware of your tail." With the words, Mistyfalcon settled into his own crouch, giving the apprentice a visual demonstration as well as the verbal explanation.

OOC: Hunting System & Battle System. To roll the hunting dice, click the preview button before submitting your post. There's a bar entitled "Dices Roll" with a little button off to the right to expand that section. Click on that and then select the hunting dice from the drop down, leaving the number of rolls at 1.

Rainpaw had finished laying out his nest in the apprentice den when Mistyfalcon had called his name. The apprentice was a little shocked that they would be training in the dark, Rainpaw figured that they would start fresh in the morning. Rainpaw was worried, it was his first time going outside of camp and he was afraid of he dark.

His anxiety grew, he did not know it got this dark so quickly. He did not realize how harsh Leafbare could be. Rainpaw glanced around the camp looking for Mistyfalcon, once spotted he swiftly headed over. Seeing his mentor made his nerves feel at ease, Rainpaw dipped his head and swiftly followed after.

Rainpaw did not sense the asylum cats but he did sense Mistyfalcons tension. He decided it would be best to keep calm, he did not want to cause more stress. As they approached the grove, Rainpaws ears perked to the forest sounds, it did not sound like they were alone. Perhaps this was the asylum rouges that Mistyfalcon and Flintstar spoke about? Rainpaws thoughts vanished when he heard Mistyfalcon spoke.

He did his best to get in the position that he instructed, but he felt that he couldnt hold it for long, his eyes shifted towards mistyfalcon. "L-Like this..?" He mewed, he fell onto the ground. The position was difficult to hold and would need a lot more practice for him to do it like Mistyfalcon

The apprentice seemed a bit nervous on his first trip out of camp. Mistyfalcon had become so used to hunting at night that thought of the apprentice possibly being unnerved by the dark didn't even cross his mind, and as such Rainpaw's nervousness was merely attributed to the presence of the Asylum cats.

"I'm not fond of their presence," He said quietly, "but the rogues will not bother us." The last part was said with a hint of sourness to Mistyfalcon's tone. They wouldn't bother the pair, but neither would they actually help should they need it.

"Watch your balance. Make sure to spread your weight evenly." He said, dark eyes watching at the apprentice tried the hunter's crouch. "Your form will improve with practice, try again." He'd wait until Rainpaw attempted the form again before stepping towards the young apprentice, giving a light nudge with one forepaw to correct his balance and posture where needed.

A slight shift in the clouds overhead had a soft beam of the moon's light falling across Mistyfalcon's scarred face, as well as in some small dappled patches across the snowy forest floor. Leaf-bare's grasp was in full effect, but Mistyfalcon could pick up the form of a mouse not far away.

"Now, breath in. Can you smell anything?" He asked the apprentice quietly. Rainpaw would be more familiar with the slightly staler scent of prey on the fresh-kill pile, but the scent of live prey was not too different to be picked up on despite the other scents of the forest.

OOC: You're welcome to have Rainpaw try and go after the mouse without Mistyfalcon prompting him to. ^^ If you roll a 10 you control the predator that is spawned, or I can to make things easier to manage, we can keep it to one of the easier options such as an owl.

Rainpaw was confused, he did not sense the presence of the aslyum cats, but seeing how Mistyfalcon reacted it was confirmed. The apprentice tried to pay attention to training, he didn't really care if they were watching him as long as they didn't do anything it should be fine. "Alright!" He responded enthusiastically, and attempted the position again. It was a bit easier to hold this time due to the helpful tips, but his body still wavered.

The sudden light distracted Rainpaw, it enabled him to get a glimpse around the forest and he was stunned. It was a beautiful scene, the frosty trees and the purple like sky made him pause in awe. Leafbare was cruel, but at the same time it was amazing. Rainpaw glanced back at Mistyfalcon when he spoke, 'smell? was there prey around..?' he thought to himself, he lifted his nose to take a sniff around but couldn't smell anything.

However he didn't give up, he focused his concentration and gave it another sniff then he smelt it. A familiar scent! "A mouse maybe?" Rainpaw tilted his head trying to determine where the smell was coming from.

"Better." The warrior's voice was quiet, but the approval was clear in his voice as Rainpaw managed to hold the crouch this time.

"Mouse." Mistyfalcon nodded encouragingly at the apprentice. His tail flicked, pointing in the direction where the brown creature could be seen. "You'll get better at recognizing fresh prey-scent from older scents in time. Do you want to try catching it?" His voice remained quiet so as not to spook the mouse in question.

"Be careful of where you step, and of where your shadow falls. Try to get close to it before you leap." He continued. Perhaps he should have caught something first, to show the apprentice how it was done but... He was doing fine so far, it seemed. So why not let Rainpaw try and catch his first piece of prey? It seemed logical, at least, though the first-time mentor couldn't help but be somewhat nervous still. Hopefully he wasn't making a fool of himself to the apprentice he was attempting to teach.

Rainpaw's eyes gleamed with happiness when Mistyfalcon praised him. He looked over to the location he pointed out and did see a small sized mouse, it was using its small claws to dig through the snow. 'Perhaps the mouse was looking for food' With that thought it made Rainpaw feel slightly guilty, he always knew that it was the way of life but the thought of killing or fighting still made him uncomfortable.

"I'll try!" Rainpaw realized that he may have spoken to loudly, and glanced over to the spot where he saw the mouse. Thankfully the mouse stayed unaware to the two cats that were looming over it. With Mistyfalcons instruction, Rainpaw ever so slowly began to creep towards the mouse. He normally was a very loud and rambunctious cat, so being quiet was pretty difficult. As Rainpaw neared closer, he went into his hunters crouch, and once again crept towards the mouse trying to remain very quiet.

When the mouse was just a leap away, Rainpaw went for it without hesitation, it was like his natural instincts just took over. He did manage to leap onto the mouse, however due to his lack of experience the mouse managed to wiggle away from under Rainpaw's claws, it then vanished into the nearby brushes. In a way Rainpaw was slightly relieved, maybe he needed more time to prepare himself with the thought of killing something. He glanced back towards Mistyfalcon to see how he would respond, Rainpaw hoped he wouldn't be too upset, he tried his best after all.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Mistyfalcon watched the apprentice crouch and begin stalking towards the mouse. Rainpaw's form had already improved considerably, which was good. He was quiet, and Mistyfalcon couldn't help but be pleased at the effort Rainpaw was making. He'd been a rambunctious kit, as many kits were.

"You need to be quicker to end your prey's suffering. The mouse doesn't want to be caught any more than we would." He sighed. "Your crouch has already improved quite a bit, though." He added, stepping towards the young tom. Dark eyes swept over their surroundings in search of another piece of prey for him to try and catch. Rainpaw had the form down, and seemed determined. Mistyfalcon hoped could make his first catch tonight.

"There's another mouse, think you can try again?" He asked, once more pointing with his tail in the direction of the small creature, which was several fox-lengths away.

Rainpaw
75 / 80 sp

Mistyfalcon was right, prey shouldn't suffer, it would be better for Rainpaw to quickly finish them off. The apprentice was pleased when his mentor praised his crouch, it was still sloppy and needed a lot of work but he was determined to put in the effort. Rainpaw was hoping for another chance to catch something but he found it unlikely due to it being leafbare, prey was scare more then before. He perked up when Mistyfalcon said that he spotted another mouse, he did not think he would get another chance so soon.

Rainpaw nodded eagerly, his eyes scanned the surroundings looking for the mouse. He spotted it at even a further distance then the first one. It would take a lot more patience for him to try and catch it, but he was determined to do so. Silently he crept towards it, keeping his body low to the ground.

When it was in reach Rainpaw swiftly leaped, this time bearing claws towards the mouse. However before he could reach it a large shadow loomed over them, it startled the prey and scared it off. Leaving Rainpaw with a large owl to face off with. The apprentice was very startled, he never saw an owl not to mention a large one. The way it spread its wings made the owl look twice as bigger than Rainpaw. Before the thought of running away occurred to Rainpaw, the owl quickly charged at him. Sending the apprentice flying nearby Mistyclaw.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

"Rainpaw, get back!" Mistyfalcon called out in alarm as he saw the shadow of the bird before it dove. Mistyfalcon was fast, but the owl, for the moment, was faster. Still, the warrior was already moving by the time the owl had dove for Rainpaw, fur bristling and claws unsheathing.

He leapt, jaws snapping closed around the owl's wing. Mistyfalcon quickly dragged the troublesome bird towards him and away from the apprentice, claws shredding feathers as he slashed at the owl with an unrepentant fury. He was careful to grip the bird from behind so that it couldn't use sharp talons or beak against him, as well.

"You might-" He managed, voice somewhat muffled by feathers, "-slash at the bird's exposed belly, or go for the other wing. Now would be the time to unsheathe your claws." So much for working on battle training by sparring... Though perhaps Mistyfalcon should have known better with his own experiences. How many hunts had he been on that were interrupted by predators? He'd been careless. Dangerously careless.

He resolved not to make that mistake again.

OOC: Kiki has opted not to use the battle system, so no battle reqs will be fulfilled and this fight will simply be rped out as it would on other sites, with no stats involved.

Rainpaw felt a little dizzy from the birds impact so he was unable to catch what Mistyfalcon said before. But once he saw Mistyfalcon fighting the bird, Rainpaw knew what to do. He quickly leapt towards the owl trying to support Mistyfalcon. Rainpaw quickly sunk his small fangs into the birds huge wing, hoping it would somewhat help.

The owl was grounded with two cats biting at its' wings, and Mistyfalcon risked a glance at Rainpaw, worried for the apprentice. He should've taken him sparring instead of hunting first, but what's done was done and he couldn't change his mistake. They had to work with this, and Mistyfalcon fully intended on preventing the owl from causing any more harm that it already had.

He kept his grip on the owl's wing, continuing to slash at it with his front paws. It was growing weaker, and soon enough the damage caused to its' wings would render the bird unable to fly at all.

Rainpaw continued to sink his small fangs into the other wing of the owl, he began to pity it. The thought of letting it go came to mind, he doubted that it wanted to fight any longer. He loosened his grip on the wing, letting the owl to manage and break free. Somehow the creature still had the will to fly, it wasn't very smooth but sure enough it flew past the trees, vanishing from view. Rainpaw glanced over towards Mistyfalcon, hoping he wasn't angry.

Rainpaw wasn't badly injured, and from the looks of it neither was his mentor. And that's what was important, right? The apprentice gave his wounds a quick lick. They didn't hurt to much, if anything hurt it was his head. Rainpaw glanced back towards Mistyfalcon "Let's continue our hunt!" He meowed cheerfully hoping that he would agree.

Mistyfalcon sighed as the apprentice rather abruptly let go of the owl's wing, just as he was starting to lose his own grip on the bird. He aimed one final slash at it, but rather than retaliate, the bird flew off in defeat. The flight definitely didn't look so smooth with injured wings, and the warrior wondered how long it would last when so injured. If it recovered and found its' way back to Shadowclan territory, it would either be a nuisance or it would know better than to mess with cats. Neither was preferable to it being dead, Mistyfalcon found himself thinking.

What had he gotten himself into with an apprentice?

"Are you alright?" He questioned, gaze pointedly lingering on the few injuries the apprentice had sustained in his brush with the owl. They didn't look particularly deep or seem to be bleeding much, but Rainpaw was young. Should he let the apprentice try and hunt some more, or should he cut the night short? Rainpaw wanted to continue, but Mistyfalcon himself unsure.