Hunting is My Business... and Business is Good! (closed for Kj)

Ravenclaw was up early. She hadn't slept well the last couple of days. Her mind was constantly thinking about the mess she had gotten herself into. She was lying to her entire clan, pretending these kits were hers, when in reality they were the kits of her codebreaking sister. Honestly, she was mad at Beechface. It wasn't exactly because of the codebreaking: it was because she had taken Wrenspring's heart. She had wanted him so bad, and yet the whole clan thought she had exactly what she wanted. To sell the lie, Wrenspring was pretending to be her mate. Clinging onto that deceit was all she had to hold onto. Only in this fake world the three of them had created was Wrenspring her mate. She wanted to be happy, since no one could really think otherwise, but she just couldn't muster it. All she could think about was that it was a big lie.

Speaking of lies... She poked her head into the apprentice den, searching for Birdpaw. Her 'kit' and apprentice was sleeping near the middle, so she stepped inside, carefully avoiding the other apprentices before prodding at her side with a paw. At least she was a mentor. If she could get past the deceit and the heartbreak, she was at least trusted enough to take care of SkyClan's future. She wanted to make sure no one could deny what she would do for this clan.

Birdpaw grumbled a bit at the paw prodding her side before opening her eyes, mind still foggy from sleep as she blinked. Who would wake her up so early? Not Shadepaw, surely. She had half a mind to go back to sleep, a yawn splitting her maw as she stretched.

And then she recognized the paw that had prodded her. It was like she'd been shocked awake, the slender apprentice jerked upright, a glimmer of excitement in her pale green eyes. Mom was going to take her training, that had to be why she was waking her so early!

Giving her pelt a quick shake, Birdpaw stood, carefully making her way around the other apprentices, offering her mother an apologetic look for slowness in getting out of her nest.

"Hey mom!" She mewed, not quite able to keep the excitement from her voice, "what are we doing today? Are you teaching me to hunt?" Could she finally be allowed outside camp, to see the territory? It seemed like any trace of sleepiness was gone from the apprentice as she shifted her paws, ready to get the day started.

The change in Birdpaw was startling enough that it made Ravenclaw purr with laughter. She kept the noise down so as not to wake their sleeping clanmates, though. "Yes, we're going out to hunt. Are you ready to see the territory?" She looked over her shoulder as she started to lead her apprentice out of the camp. Every time she looked at one of her 'kits', she could see Wrenspring, and it took all her strength to not react obviously. She was stronger than that. She wished that she was stronger than that.

Out in the forest, the trees stretched out as far as the eye could see. They were in their element, and it was her duty to teach Birdpaw how to use their element to her full advantage. "Alright Birdpaw, I'm going to teach you how to climb a tree. Watch closely." She led her to a tree that had a branch reasonably close to the ground. Leaping up the bark, she grabbed on with her claws and scrambled up the trunk, reaching the branch and holding on with her claws. "Make sure to keep a strong hold with your claws," she called down. "Otherwise you're going down, and I'd rather not let your father know that his daughter got grounded."

"Yes!" The apprentice grinned enthusiastically. She was happy to follow Ravenclaw out into the territory, soft green eyes wide with a still kit-like wonder as her gaze swept over the unfamiliar surroundings beyond the camp's entrance. She hoped that one day the territory wouldn't be unfamiliar at all, and with Ravenclaw as her mentor, Birdpaw had no doubt that the day would come sooner rather than later.

"Right... Definitely don't want that." She offered her mother a wry grin before her gaze turned towards the tree. The apprentice watched in awe as her mother leapt up gracefully, climbing into the branch with what seemed like no effort at all.

With some hesitancy, the apprentice approached the tree, green eyes attempting to judge the distance. The branch was lower than most, and after a moment, she bunched her muscles and leapt for it.

Claws sank into the bark, and Birdpaw gracelessly managed to scramble upward, finally managing to sink her claws into the branch itself. She managed to pull herself up, and finally sat panting next to her mother, head turned to watch whatever her mentor did next. Hopefully her ascent to the branch hadn't been too terrible, or so Birdpaw hoped.

Ravenclaw suppressed a laugh at Birdpaw's graceless ascent, wondering if it was bad form to laugh at one's apprentice. Not that she could hold much above Birdpaw: she hadn't exactly been the most graceful apprentice, lest she forget nearly falling off a branch to her death, or at least serious injury. "That was good, Birdpaw," she mewed, laying her tailtip on Birdpaw's back. "You're going to need to learn to leap from branch to branch now. Watch me." She bunched up her leg muscles, staring at the nearest branch with narrowed, focused eyes. "Keep your hind legs bunched, and when you jump, make sure your claws are still out to grab onto the branch." She then jumped, looking almost like a bird - perhaps like her namesake - as she soared from one branch from the next. She gripped the branch tightly with her claws, looking back at Birdpaw. "Alright Birdpaw, your turn."

"I'll get better at it." Birdpaw vowed, though she affectionately leaned into her mother's touch for a moment. She was hardly offended by Ravenclaw's laughter, if anything the apprentice was only more determined to prove herself.

Birdpaw watched intently as Ravenclaw explained that she'd be jumping from treebranch to treebranch next, ears pricked as she took in everything her mentor said. Birdpaw nodded in understanding, but as Ravenclaw turned to jump to another branch effortlessly, the apprentice was left to stare in awe for several moments before remembering that she was supposed to do the same.

Don't look down, she thought. In truth the Skyclanners weren't that high up, but Birdpaw couldn't help the sudden case of nerves as she swallowed uneasily. Ravenclaw had made it seem so easy.

Her muscles bunched, but the gray tabby hesitated, soft green eyes unused to judging distance like this. Her hesitant gaze shifted to Ravenclaw, then the branch beside her. If she thought of it like how she used to spring for her mother's tail when she'd been sitting outside the nursery, it didn't seem too bad... But then, there had been solid ground beneath her and not a few foxlengths of empty air.

Birdpaw took a breath, then leaped, paws outstretched. Claws dug into bark, and the apprentice let out a startled "oof!" as she scrambled to find her balance and her footing. It took an awkward moment of scrambling before she stood triumphantly on the branch, wide-eyed gaze shifting to Ravenclaw. The fear had mixed with both excitement and adrenaline, Birdpaw's heart beating fast as she looked up at her mother.

"How was that?" She managed, though had a feeling that her leap hadn't been any more graceful than her initial climb to the first branch. She'd work on both, and would improve with practice, she was sure.

"Well, you made it, and that's what's important," Ravenclaw mewed, her tail returning to rest on Birdpaw's spine. "We'll work on your form. That will come with time. Now, keep your eyes peeled for prey. Birds and squirrels will be around here, and they will regret doing so." It was time to teach Birdpaw to hunt, and what better way than by example? She eventually settled on a bird resting on a branch two trees away. Their silent presence hadn't warned it of their presence, or the danger they presented. "Watch me," she mewed quietly, bunching up her muscles again. When she jumped, she was as fast as the river in Newleaf, yet as silent as the night. She bounced from branch to branch, claws outstretched to take the bird down. The bird noticed her as she was soaring through the air towards it. Though it let out a cry of alarm, she was still able to land on the branch, her claws pinning it down. A swift bite took care of the rest.

"I hope you were watching," she called out to Birdpaw, lifting the bird in the air triumphantly with her mouth. "Now, what do you see?" 'Hopefully that stupid bird didn't scare the others off,' she thought to herself.

The member 'King Falcon I' has done the following action : Dices roll

---

'Hunting Dice' : 7

Birdpaw nodded at her mother, determined to improve her form. It made sense that none of them would start out perfect at it, but she wanted to get better, wanted to be as graceful as Ravenclaw was in the trees.

She watched as the darker warrior leapt from branch to branch, taking in her movements as she did so. The bird had let out a cry of alarm, but had still fallen to her mother's claws. Her own gaze moved over the forest, searching for prey in the lower branches of the trees at her mentor's questioning.

"There's a squirrel over there." She mewed, keeping her voice quiet. She assumed her mother wanted her to hunt it, since she'd given a (nearly) flawless demonstration of how, and so Birdpaw carefully set off towards her target. Just a few branches off to the right of, and slightly above where she had just been standing as she'd watched Ravenclaw.

She managed to keep her balance as she leapt from branch to branch, and soon the squirrel was above her. Birdpaw hesitated for just a moment before making a final leap for it.

Her paws landed on the branch, and Birdpaw managed to - somewhat clumsily - pin the squirrel in place with her forepaws while quickly sinking her teeth into its' neck, cutting of an alarmed squeal as she did so. Triumphantly, Birdpaw shifted and turned her head towards where Ravenclaw was, green eyes bright with excitement.

Birdpaw attempted to catch a squirrel for -5sp. Catch was ?
75 / 80 sp

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 6

Ravenclaw watched as Birdpaw did her best to copy her actions, leaping across branches to nab a squirrel. The success was clearly exciting to Birdpaw, and she could feel it from the branch she was standing on. "Way to go, Birdpaw!" she mewed, happy to see that her apprentice was picking up the proper techniques quickly. "Now, why don't you catch one more piece of prey? Make sure to remember the techniques I taught you."

The apprentice had lit up at her mentor's praise. She hadn't been the most confident that she'd pick up hunting in the trees, but the praise from Ravenclaw was helping boost her confidence more than she thought it would. It felt... Nice. She quickly turned to look for something else to hunt as instructed. She spotted a sparrow among the branches, and carefully made her way towards the bird. Once she was close enough, she made a leap for it.

Her claws caught the bird as it attempted to take flight from the branch it had been perched on, and Birdpaw quickly ended it, bright green eyes turning to look for her mother once more. She hadn't been nearly as hesitant in making her way through the branches this time, she thought, but of course there was always room for improvement.

Birdpaw attempted to catch a bird for -5sp. Catch was successful!
70 / 80 sp

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 2

Again, Birdpaw did exactly as asked. She followed Ravenclaw's instructions and caught herself another piece of prey. Ravenclaw smiled, proud of her apprentice for how quickly she had picked up her instructions. "Good job, Birdpaw," she mewed. "You did amazing! Way to pick up those moves so quickly. Ready to grab your prey and head back?"

"Already?" There was a slight whine to Birdpaw's voice, but then she glanced up at the sky. She hadn't even noticed how quickly time had seemed to pass while she was learning and so focused on her mentor and what she was doing.

"Okay." She mewed, carefully making her way back to the prey she'd caught. They'd go out hunting again tomorrow, she was sure of it. She'd be able to do more then. Birdpaw landed on the ground, tail high with confidence at how well the day had gone.