Bubbling Over with Excitement

Warm, bright sunlight filtered through the moss covering of the apprentices' den, striking Bubblepaw right in the face. She winced at the beam of light infiltrating her sleep, and she groggily opened them, only to shut them closed at the intensity of the sun's rays. She wasn't used to waking up to such harsh light; the nursery had been dark enough to allow any kit to remain asleep, even after the sun had risen.

Then it hit her: she wasn't a kit anymore. She was an apprentice, and today was her first day of training. Bubblepaw leaped up onto her paws, hastily shaking away the bedding that had clung to her long fur. She gave herself a quick wash to make herself appear more presentable to her mother, who had also become her mentor during yesterday's ceremony. Excited and eager to show the Clan what she can do, Bubblepaw slipped through the mouth of the den and stepped into the camp. She looked up and saw orange rays of sunlight filtering through the reeds that surrounded the camp. It was just a little after dawn, which meant that her training would officially begin as soon as she found Flashlight.

Bubblepaw trotted to the warriors' den with her fluffy tail held high and her green eyes shining bright. She wondered if she had woken up before her mother. Reaching the mouth of the den, Bubblepaw poked her head inside and looked around at the sleeping bundles of fur, trying to make out Flashlight's calico pelt. "Flashlight, it's time for my first day of training," she hissed, just barely able to keep her voice low enough to prevent waking the others.

Something Flashlight hadn't considered, when gifted with the chance to handle her daughter's training, was that Bubblepaw viewed her as a parent. In particular, a parent who could be woken and prodded at any moment. She'd come to appreciate uninterrupted rest after her time shut away in the mockery Asylum had made of Fourtrees, and was often one of the last to retire for the night.

In particular, she hadn't really considered the loss of sleep associated with telling her daughter that training began at dawn. She'd thought nothing of the traditional phrase - if kits liked to sleep, apprentices loved it.

But it was certainly dawn, and she was certainly awake.

(A sign, perhaps. Maybe it was time to continue rising with the sun.)

"Yes, I know," she murmured, trying to let only a sliver of the annoyance she felt slip through. A deep sigh escaped her as she rose to her paws, and then an affectionate nudge as she exited the warrior's den and headed for the camp's entrance. "I suppose I overslept. Regardless, there's work to be done. I take it you're ready to begin."

The moment Flashlight began to rise from her nest, Bubblepaw bounced back into the clearing, trotting in rapid circles in front of the warriors' den until she emerged from the darkness. She sat down before her at her inquiry, but was finding it hard to keep still, her paws kneading the sandy ground and her whiskers twitching with excitement. "Yes, Flashlight! I'm ready to begin my first day of training! I'm so excited! What are we gonna do first? Hunting? Patrolling? Gathering bedding for the elders? I wanna do it all!" Of course, the eager apprentice had left out the prospect of battle training. As eager as she was to become the best warrior she could be, she had made a silent vow to herself never to lift a single claw in battle against another Clan cat if she could help it. After all, any new cat she met was a potential new friend!

Bubblepaw's enthusiasm was clear, though the absence of battle training from her list of things she was excited for didn't go over Flashlight's head. That conversation could wait, at least for a little while. "We'll get through everything eventually, I'm sure, but take things one step at a time. You want to learn it all, but you need to learn to do things correctly. Let's start with hunting - allow me to demonstrate," she purred with a swish of her tail.

She was most accustomed to fishing, and so it was one of the small streams that ran through the territory she settled in front of. Fishing was, after all, the most important RiverClan skill besides swimming. The hunting of land-prey was far from her strong suit, and it was important to set a good example.

A flash of scales under the light of the sun, a swift swipe of her paw, and a well-practiced bite left her with a single decently-sized fish at her side.

"Now it's your turn. Show me what you can do."

Flashlight tried to catch a fish, costing 3 stamina! The catch was successful.

Flashlight
45/45 HP
157/160 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

The glistening of the fish's scales and the droplets of water as Flashlight hooked the prey into the air was mesmerizing. Bubblepaw stared in awe with large emerald eyes as her mother expertly caught the fish. She wanted nothing more than to do the same and impress her. At the invitation, Bubblepaw leaped up to her paws and trotted over to the edge of the stream, nestling down just as she had seen Flashlight do and staring down at the stream. Her eyes darted back and forth across the shimmering surface, looking for any movement of underwater life.

Then, a creature colored brown caught her eye. It was smaller than the fish Flashlight had caught, but it still looked like it could feed a band of kits. Bubblepaw unsheathed her claws, holding her paw up, waiting for the perfect time to strike. There was no other fish in sight, and it was a little tricky to pinpoint the creature's exact location with its dark body hidden in her shadow that loomed over the river, but she struck out anyway.

She managed to scoop the creature out of the water, but she hadn't been able to catch it quick enough. In fact, it was it that had caught her paw, wrapping its large front legs around one of her toes. Bubblepaw squealed in panic, frenzily trying to shake the creature off. Then she felt it: a sharp, unbearable pain flashing through her toe as the creature dug its tiny, sharp fangs into her toe bean. She managed to fling it back into the water, and she stared in terror as the giant water bug hissed at her before swimming off. Bubblepaw backed away from the water to her mother's side with a limp, whimpering as the pain radiated through her toe. She gingerly licked her pad, noting a small rivulet of blood trickling where the skin broke. "Flashlight, you didn't tell me fish bite!" she cried.

Bubblepaw fails to catch a Bug, costing 3 stamina.

Bubblepaw
20/20 HP
77/80 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Several quips were on the tip of her tongue, but none of them seemed all that tactful when her daughter was already so upset. "That was not a fish," was what she settled on, trying her best to channel the patience she'd managed to keep for six moons already and keep the exasperated sigh out of her voice. "It was a bug. Most actual fish won't bite you, but you need to pay close attention to know what you're aiming for. The scales shimmer in the light, in a different way than a bug's shell - you'll learn to tell them apart eventually. Though some fish will bite, and they won't warn you about it, either. If you wish to try again, go ahead, but... I don't think I would fault you for skipping to something else, just this once." A light, teasing tone to her voice, she added, "After all, you certainly couldn't have expected to be attacked by your prey."

As Flashlight spoke, Bubblepaw listened as she continued rasping her tongue over her bleeding pad. Only when it finally stopped bleeding did she look up at her mother. A part of her did want to try something less harmful. However, if Bubblepaw was to become a warrior someday, she would have to learn to fight through the pain to provide for her Clan. She shook her head and stood back up, forcing her injured paw down on the ground as she traipsed back to the edge of the stream. She crouched down again, wincing at the pain in her paw, but forced herself to concentrate. There weren't any bugs this time, but she could see a couple shimmering shapes in the water. Bubblepaw looked back over her shoulder at the fish Flashlight had caught and took note on the way its scales shimmered in the sunlight. Looking back into the water, she matched the shimmer of Flashlight's fish to the ones in the water. These were the prey she was looking for.

Raising up a paw again and unsheathing her claws, she aimed for a fish that began to swim close to the bank. It quickly darted away the moment it swam under her shadow, before she could even hope to make a move. It took a little while for Bubblepaw to register that her own shadow over the river was blocking out the sun for the fish. She thought about her own self, how she would feel if a large shadow suddenly loomed over her. It would mean there could be a predator behind her, ready to strike when she least expected it. The fish must have felt the same way.

Standing up, Bubblepaw leaped over onto the other side of the stream and settled down, peering over the water, pleased to find only her own reflection this time. Her shadow was behind her, not in front of her like how it was on the other bank, so the fish wouldn't notice her. She raised a paw again, determined to get it right this time. At long last, as a smaller fish swam up to the bank within reach, Bubblepaw struck out with her paw. She felt her claws scrape against the scales of the fish, hooking underneath them. Now that she had a good grip on it, she tossed her paw upward, flinging the fish out of the water and onto the shore. She watched with awe as the fish floundered on the bank, desperately trying to squirm back to the safety of the water. Only now did it register for her that she actually had to kill it. Just before the fish reached the water, Bubblepaw pounced on it and pinned it down between her forepaws, digging her claws into its scales to prevent the prey from slipping through her paws. She landed a sharp bite to the back of its neck, and it fell limp.

Bubblepaw relished the succulent, oily taste of the freshly-caught fish, licking her lips to lap up the water that had splashed on her muzzle from the fish's struggling. She looked over on the other side of the stream at Flashlight, her eyes glowing with excitement. "Flashlight!" she called. "I caught it, Flashlight! I caught my very first fish all on my own! Did you see it? I saw my shadow scared off a fish, so I went to the other side, and I caught it!"

Bubblepaw succeeded in catching a Fish, costing 3 stamina.

Bubblepaw
20/20 HP
74/80 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

"You did," she purred with pride. "I think we can call you a successful hunter now, if only an amateur. Remember, Bubblepaw: skill comes with practice, and the more you do something the better you'll be. So don't let yourself get complacent. You have to practice every day." And now it was time for something she expected to be far more difficult. She tried to keep her voice gentle, even as she started a new lecture. "Not just hunting or swimming, either. We're warriors, Bubblepaw, and you know what that means. We must fight to defend our Clan and ourselves, against predators or more organized opponents. Fighting is a skill, it's more than just brute strength; you need to learn your strengths and your weak points. You need to find ways to use the skills you have to your advantage. It's as much a matter of survival as it is honor; and I will not see my own daughter caught defenseless against a turtle, fox, or badger, do you understand? I would protect you with my life, but I only have the one to give, and I can't always be there to shield you from danger."