Training [Nightpaw]

Birdsong rose with the sun, stretching lazily before making her way out of her nest. She'd told Nightpaw that they would begin training 'tomorrow morning,' and 'tomorrow morning' had arrived with a muggy sort of heat that made Birdsong want to get out earlier so they could spend the hotter portion of the day relaxing. She padded towards the apprentice den, ducking her head inside the entrance, and it took her a moment to find Nightpaw's dark form in the crowded den.

"Nightpaw, time to get up." Birdsong called her apprentice softly, waiting until he glanced in her direction before stepping back from the den entrance.

"We'll start off learning to hunt and climb trees today." She mewed once Nightpaw made his way out of the den, "It'll get hot enough outside soon, so we'll try and get things done early. Let's go." She continued, turning to lead the apprentice out of camp. Skyclan's territory was rocky, tall trees offering shade that Birdsong was happy to stick to even at this early hour as she led the dark-furred apprentice toward the creek.

"First thing's first, I'm going to show you the hunter's crouch. We'll work on catching prey on the ground first, and then I'll show you how to climb trees." Birdsong said, coming to a stop not far from the bubbling waters of the creek that wound through Skyclan's territory. She dropped into the hunter's crouch with practiced ease, holding her tail, hips, shoulders and head in a straight line with her legs bent slightly and feet set firmly on the ground.

"The most important thing is keeping your balance, and staying aware of your surroundings. Prey can hear and scent you coming, just as you can hear and scent them. Accidentally stepping on a twig or letting your tail wave about will spook them before you can get close enough to try to catch them." She explained, holding the form as she spoke so that Nightpaw could see. "Hips, shoulders and tail straight, legs slightly bent. Give it a try. It'll hurt a bit at first but you'll get used to it."

The black form that blended into the shadows of the den looked up as he heard his name called from the outside. He had already been awakening from a dreamless sleep, and his green eyes pierced the darkness when he looked toward the entrance. Getting up without poking another apprentice was a struggle with his long limbs, and he stopped for a moment before padding outside. He had been excited the day before, but that had been after building himself up to being one his whole kit life, but now that he was actually one, he was a bit terrified of seeing what the territory had to offer. Still, he padded outside anyway, that was the only thing he could do and approached Birdsong.

His too-large ears swiveled toward Birdsong as she began to explain what he'd be learning. He was glad he wouldn't have to be fighting today, that was what scared him the most. It wasn't that he was afraid to fight, he just didn't want to, why couldn't they just talk! He guessed he had to learn it to go against predators and protect his clan eventually though. But still! Fighting was just usually so stupid sounding.

As Nightpaw followed his mentor, he observed everything around him. He even occasionally tripped over his own paws when he wasn't paying enough attention. Bumping into Birdsong as she stopped with a grunt, he looked at her apologetically as he listened to her again. "Oh sorry! Uh, I'll watch!" His ears flattened to his head in embarrassment as he looked at the way she held herself. With some awkward placement of his limbs, he did his best to imitate it, his lanky nature not working with him as well as he hoped. "Uhm, is this good? Is it ok?" He asked this gently, hoping that he was doing good enough in his mentor's eyes.

Birdsong's whiskers twitched in amusement as Nightpaw bumped into her, clearly more focused on taking in the new surroundings. "Don't worry, we'll explore the territory soon enough." She chuckled softly.

"You're lanky, but you'll grow into it." She mewed, rising from her position to gently nudge the tom with a forepaw, gently correcting his stance as needed. "Now, can you scent anything? If you can, think you can try to catch it? I know prey can be harder to distinguish at first, and the scent of live prey will be a bit different than that of the fresh-kill pile. You'll learn it all in time." She mewed. Her ears twitched, catching the scuffling of a squirrel picking at something on the ground. It would be an ideal way to practice for a fresh apprentice just starting to learn how to hunt. She'd remain quiet for now, hoping that Nightpaw would pick up on the scent on his own.

Nightpaw looked at Birdsong with hope twinkling in his eyes, maybe he would end up being less lanky than his dad? Nothing wrong with being lanky, but it just felt like he was always bumping into things or tripping over himself. "I'll try!" He exclaimed, perhaps a little too loudly, as he attempted to scent something to hunt. With a little luck, the wind pushed the scent of something to his nose. Something like a squirrel? The scent was a little different, just like Birdsong said, but he began to follow as carefully as he could. Soon, his ears picked up the sounds of something moving in the grass in front, and he suddenly spotted the squirrel he had been tracking. It was focused on whatever it was chewing on, and didn't see the shadow of a cat that began moving ever closer.

Nervously, he flexed his claws into the dirt before he thought he was close enough. Nightpaw crouched even lower, preparing his spring. With a small wiggle, he sprang, arms outstretched. His claws made contact with the squirrel, and he flexed his claws inward. With a small struggle, he brought his teeth down onto the neck of the prey, ending its life as quickly as he could. With a whispered, "Sorry...", Nightpaw took the squirrel in his jaws, delivering it back to his mentor. "How was that?" He asked, muffled through the fur of his prey.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

Birdsong gave Nightpaw a nod of encouragement as he began to follow the squirrel, keeping quiet and hanging back so as not to intrude on his attempt. She'd never want to risk a clanmate's hunting by staying to close to them.

"Good catch! You'll get the hang of it with practice." She mewed, a small smile crossing her face as Nightpaw padded up to her with the squirrel. "You can put that between the roots of that tree and scrape some leaves over it, that'll keep it hidden from other animals so we can pick it up on our way back to camp."

"Now... Tree climbing is different than being on the ground, and requires balance and concentration, and an awareness of your surroundings. Watch me first, and then we'll start on your climbing skills." She padded to the base of a tree close to the one she'd indicated he bury his prey in, and reached up, sinking her claws into the bark. She climbed up to the lowest hanging branch. She'd chosen it as a fall from this height wouldn't hurt much, and with tree climbing it was better to start small. Skyclan were known for their abilities in the trees, but those abilities still required practice.

Birdsong spotted a small sparrow in an adjacent branch, and while she had been intending to merely show her apprentice how to climb today, it wouldn't hurt for him to see Skyclan's skillset in action. She lightly padded along the branch, leaping skillfully into the next branch over, then the branch that the bird sat on. She quickly dispatched it, making her way back to the ground to bury her catch before leaping back onto the branch she'd originally chosen.

"Alright, think you can make your way up here? Use your claws, they'll help you keep your grip."

Taking only a few strides to move to the tree, Nightpaw gently rested the prey between the roots, making sure not to kick it as he hid it from potential predators. With a final glance, he made his way to stand next to his mentor, looking up at the tree that he would be climbing. His gaze followed Birdsong's path, watching as she killed more prey for their clan. It was unfortunate but necessary. "I'll try." He said this nervously. He wasn't afraid of heights, just falling from them. With care, he placed his claws onto the tree, unsheathing them as he leaped onto it. They caught, and he carefully, one paw after another, made his way to the branch where his mentor had sat. Nightpaw dug his claws into the branch as he called down, "Ok I'm up! Do you, uh, want me to come down?" He could come down, but he wasn't sure if she wanted him to try hunting up here too. Also, Nightpaw wasn't quite ready, he kinda liked it up here now that he was up. He could see a lot more than he could down on the ground.

"Steady... Good. As you become more familiar with climbing, you'll be able to make it into the trees faster. You can see a lot from in the branches, but always watch your paws and be mindful of what branches can and cannot hold your weight." With that, she leapt to a branch adjacent to Nightpaw, landing lightly and turning to face him once more.

"Squirrels and birds are more common up here, and birds can be difficult to catch as they can go where we can't. Be mindful of brushing against leaves as you stalk them, and you should be able to catch one easily." She hoped he'd paid attention during her demonstration. Nightpaw seemed eager to learn, and the best way to do that was through practice. She thought he'd be okay to hunt up here, and his darker pelt blended a bit better than her own gray tabby fur against the green leaves.

Nightpaw's fur prickled in surprise as he watched his mentor leap up next to him. "Wow! I hope I can be, uh, that good someday too! You're very good at that." The young tom liked his mentor, she seemed very knowledgeable and at least she was kind! He was lucky to not get some tough mentor! He tuned back into her as she spoke once more. With a nervous smile, which quickly turned to a thin line of concentration, Nightpaw moved across the branch, scenting the air for something to catch.

Within a few moments, he could scent some kind of bird on the breeze. Carefully, he placed one paw in front of the other, making sure not to touch the leaves as Birdsong said. This caused some awkward movement on Nightpaw's part, but he successfully navigated the branches that he slowly crossed. Soon enough, his green eyes were set upon the bird. With gentle movements, he got within striking distance, and pounced. Well, less of a pounce, and more of an awkward half-jump because he was afraid of falling. However, Nightpaw was able to quickly wrap his jaws around the bird and end its life. With a small dip of his head in thanks to the bird, he brought it carefully back to Birdsong. "Was that good?" He placed the bird at his paws so he wouldn't have to continue speaking around it, and he didn't want to bite into it too hard and damage the prey too much. Nightpaw had to rebalance himself for a moment before looking back up at Birdsong.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

"Relax," Birdsong mewed softly, having noted the awkwardness of Nightpaw's jump. "It's often when we're most nervous that we make mistakes. Trust your judgement. Good catch, by the way." He'd only improve, and in time the awkwardness would fade, she hoped.

"Okay, let's-" She began, then froze as a blur of movement caught her eyes. Hawk, and it was-

Birdsong hissed as pain laced through her shoulder. "Stay back, Nightpaw!" She called over her shoulder to the apprentice. She twisted, sinking her teeth into the hawk's wing, and slashed at it with unsheathed front claws. This was only his first day out of camp, and she didn't want him getting hurt. She could handle one hawk by herself, she was sure.

Hawk used Swoop on Birdsong for -20 sp, dealing -20 damage.
Birdsong used Teeth Grip for -20 sp, dealing -10 damage. Teeth Grip in effect for TWO turns.

Birdsong
40 / 60 hp (60 - 20)
180 / 200 sp (200 - 20)

Hawk -Teeth Gripped 1/2-
50 / 60 hp (60 - 10)
180 / 200 sp (200 - 20)

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

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'Effect Dice' : 4

Nightpaw made a visible attempt to relax, heeding his mentor's words. For a moment, he looked down at the ground. He had to admit, everything was very pretty from up high! It was then he heard the hiss of his mentor, and her warning. Turning abruptly, Nightpaw could see a hawk struggling in Birdsong's jaws. He froze, staring wide-eyed. Could he fight this thing? It had hurt Birdsong, he had to, that hawk made its choice! Making sure his mentor wasn't in his path, he surged forward and leaped onto the hawk, clawing at its body. His lank was to his advantage, as he was able to cover most of the hawk, and hopefully keep the hawk still!

Nightpaw used Run-and-Tackle, dealing 6 (+3 for not being engaged) damage and using 10 stamina!

Nightpaw
20/20 HP
70/80 SP (-10)

Birdsong
40/60 HP
180/200 SP

Hawk [TEETH GRIPPED]
41/60 HP (-9)
180/200 SP

Birdsong shot Nightpaw a grateful look despite his decision to disobey orders. The hawk was firmly in her grasp for the moment, though it was struggling enough that it wouldn't stay in her grasp for much longer. She continued to slash at it with her front paws, determined to keep it away from her apprentice now that he'd decided to join the fight.

Birdsong continued Teeth Grip 2/2, hawk cannot attack.

You forgot the +3 bonus on run and tackle, as the hawk wasn't engaged with Nightpaw. I've added that damage into the hp values below.

Birdsong
40 / 60 hp
180 / 200 sp

Hawk -Teeth Gripped 2/2-
31 / 60 hp (41 - 10)
180 / 200 sp

Nightpaw caught his mentor's grateful look, giving a nervous one back at her. Moving himself lower, he managed to get his paws under the hawk, tearing into its belly as hard as he could. He didn't want this hawk hurting his mentor, and if he was there he wasn't about to let it hurt her more! Besides, he had to learn to fight at some point, doing it now at least was a learning opportunity.

Nightpaw used Belly Rake, dealing 7 damage and using 10 stamina!

Nightpaw
20/20 HP
60/80 SP (-10)

Hawk
24/60 HP (-7)
180/200 SP

[OOC: Thanks! I'll edit that on my original post!]