A World Within a Shade [Hopepaw]

Hopepaw had asked to go hunting, and while Mistyfalcon wasn't her mentor, he'd been happy enough to oblige. He and Murkystrike had found her while on patrol, and she'd turned out to be Ichtaca's daughter who had been looking for the clan. Well, she'd certainly found them. Mistyfalcon had done his fair share of grumbling about the audacity of letting a kit wander the marshes alone, but she'd been in one piece when they'd found her at least. Hopepaw had been made an apprentice recently, with Batglow as her mentor. A solid choice.

Leading Hopepaw out of camp, his steps wandered toward the pine grove as they often did. "How has training been?" He asked, though the question clearly encompassed more than just training. There had been many cats to join Shadowclan recently, and they all adjusted to clan life differently. Hopepaw had seemed like she'd inherited Ichtaca's curiosity about it all.

Hopepaw beamed as she walked out of camp with Mistyfalcon. He was one of the cats whom she knew a hundred percent was trustworthy. Well, okay, she didn't have anyone whom she didn't trust as of now, but Murkystrike, Mistyfalcon, and Sunshade were the only ones she knew to immediately trust and respect the moment she came here.

As Mistyfalcon asked, Hopepaw grinned. "It's been pretty great! Batglow's a great Mentor. He's a nice guy, and he's pretty good at teaching me stuff! I'm, heh, not as good at learning it." Hopepaw smiled in embarrassment, knowing she was perhaps not the best of Apprentices in that she finds it a bit harder to hunt. She has the tendency to think to herself about how the prey and its family must be feeling, which always ends up at least distracting her, if not completely deterring her from the kill.

"Apart from that, it's pretty good! How're you doing?" Hopepaw added to Mistyfalcon.

Mistyfalcon's whiskers twitched in amusement at her answer. She didn't seem at all discouraged, and that she had taken to Batglow was unsurprising. "You'll get the hang of things soon enough." He responded. "Batglow's a good mentor, he'll teach you everything you need to know." Batglow was someone he'd always been able to trust, and besides that had been a good friend to Mistyfalcon. Murkystrike had a keen eye for assigning fresh apprentices to capable warriors.

"I've been fine." He shrugged, then froze as his dark blue eyes caught movement in the grasses ahead. Mistyfalcon slid into a crouch, stalked towards the source of the movement, then lunged forward. His teeth sank into the vole's neck, and he turned to bury it quickly. He'd retrieve it on their way back to camp.

His response had been laconic, but then Mistyfalcon had never been particularly good at holding up a conversation. Especially not when it came to questions of how he was doing.

Hopepaw beamed. Batglpw was indeed an amazing Mentor. "He sure is! I've learnt a lot." Or at least, she would have if she had allowed herself to. She really wished she didn't end up thinking about the prey or the enemy's feelings so much when fighting them.

Mistyfalcon's response didn't surprise her. It wasn't hard to see that he didn't have the easiest time talking about himself. "I'm glad!" Hopepaw started, before quietening down as Mistyfalcon spotted something. He pounced on it, grabbing a vole. Hopepaw found herself shivering a little and quickly stipping it. It was supposed to be natural.

A sudden scent drifted through the air. Hopepaw turned her head to the sky, sniffing, then glanced at Mistyfalcon, using her eyes to ask a Did you hear that?

"That's good." Mistyfalcon mewed in response. It was Batglow, he hadn't expected anything else, of course. Of course, if Hopepaw ever did need help, he and Murkystrike were around, too.

Mistyfalcon noticed Hopepaw's head lift, and then she glanced at him. He offered the apprentice an encouraging nod, scenting the prey that she had likely picked up on as well. "Go for it." He said quietly, tail pointing in the direction the scent was coming from.

Hopepaw dropped into the crouch as she was taught. Just don't think. Don't think about ending a life, don't think about the children this guy was leaving behind- Hopepaw winced and forced the thoughts away, creeping towards the scent. As it got closer, she could tell that this was a lizard.

Another step, and then Hopepaw pounced. She landed squarely on the lizard, her unsheathed claws piercing through it. She stood over the fresh-kill, taking in deep breaths as she stared down, eyes wide in both horror and amazement.

Hopepaw attempted to catch a lizard!
57/60

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

"Good catch." Mistyfalcon nodded in approval as Hopepaw caught the lizard, though he did notice the way she stared at it. He hoped she wasn't having doubts about hunting and fighting, his first apprentice Rainpaw had been too emotionally attached to prey and predator alike. He'd allowed an injured owl to escape rather than killing it cleanly and ending the owl's suffering quickly, before eventually disappearing. Mistyfalcon had little hope that he'd survived, wherever Rainpaw had gone, and he didn't want the black and white molly in front of him to share the same fate. "The clan needs to be fed somehow, bury that and let's continue." He said briskly, waving his tail at a spot between the roots of a pine tree before scenting for his own prey. A mouse was quickly located, and Mistyfalcon sprang forward, dispatching it cleanly and burying it for later.

Hopepaw nodded. The clan needs it. We need it. The feelings of empathy for the prey have to become secondary to you. She told herself, only to have her mind bite back that If Murkystrike had thought of your mom as just a Pelt Ward, where would she be today? And as much as she wanted to argue, she couldn't.

Compromise, ignore the thoughts. She decided, as Mistyfalcon took down a mouse. She turned her head back to the ground to sniff, and suddenly there was a crashing sound.

A black-and-white creature came shooting out of nowhere, swiping at Hopepaw's leg. With a yowl, she backed up, wincing at the new scratched running down her leg. She lashed out blindly in return, unsure of what she was attacking. It just hurt. So much.

A wild Raccoon has appeared!
Raccoon used Quick Swipe on Hopepaw, dealing 8 HP of damage and using 10 SP!
Hopepaw used Front Paw Strike on Raccoon, dealing 6 HP of damage and using 7 SP!

Hopepaw:
HP: 12/20
SP: 50/60

Raccoon:
HP: 14/20
SP: 110/120

Mistyfalcon had turned to find more prey when the sound of crashing and Hopepaw's yowl split the night air. He whipped around, spotting the raccoon, and lunged forward. Claws dug into the raccoon's short fur and Mistyfalcon raked them across its' back, determined to keep the thing pinned and unable to cause any more damage.

Mistyfalcon used Leap and Hold for -15 sp, dealing -10 damage. Raccoon is pinned for two turns.
Night Finesse active, +1 damage.

Hopepaw
12 / 20 hp
50 / 60 sp

Raccoon pinned for 2 turns
3 / 20 hp (14 - 10 - 1)
110 / 120 sp

Mistyfalcon
70 / 70 hp
145 / 160 sp (160 - 15)

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

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'Effect Dice' : 4