Unorthodox (c)

Turtlefur fidgeted a little as he sat down on a dry patch of grass. The open clearing where the Broken Pools lie was surrounded by reeds and tall cattails, but the water that usually sat serenely still in the pools was drained away. In their places were scattered muddy ditches. Well… this would have to do for now. ”These are the Broken Pools. I’d normally start by teaching you how to fish, but…” he trailed off after addressing the black apprentice who’d followed him. All the cats of RiverClan knew the river was too dangerous to approach, and many of the streams that branched off to snake through the territory we’re filled with twoleg rubbish. ”…but right now it’s very important to learn how to hunt land prey. I promise I’ll teach you how to fish in the future.” The warrior meowed, blinking apologetically to Flypaw.

Though Flypaw trotted after Turtlefur as obediently as ever, dismay settled onto his face as he stared out over the Broken Pools. This wasn’t the river. The pools didn’t even have water in them, unless the weird goopy mixture counted. His first instinct was to bristle at Turtlefur’s words—how am I gonna be a real RiverClanner if you won’t teach me how to fish?—but logic triumphed before he could. Ivystar and Loonwhisper said the river was dangerous; they wouldn’t cut RiverClan off from its lifeblood without good reason. Besides, Turtlefur promised. Flypaw’s eyes brightened a little at that. “Okay. But you have to show me right away when you can.” Picking his way across the muddy plains, the small apprentice slid into a seated position beside his mentor. His tail began to twitch. It might not have been the best prey, but some part of him was excited to learn about hunting no matter which form it took. “So, um. Is this where the land prey lives?”

”Sometimes,” he responded, feeling dismayed to have let Flypaw down. ”The Pools are filled with mud now, and since it’s warm out, land prey like frogs, toads, and lizards are drawn to it because they need it to stay cool. Birds fly down, too, because bugs crawl around in the ditches. And some voles and moles like to burrow in the drier patches of dirt. Basically, this area is good for prey because of what attracts them here, but there are other areas of our territory where prey like to go. The Beech Copse is a great hunting place, too, but I’ll take you there another day. It’s… too hot out to stay out for long.” Turtlefur might have felt differently if they could have soaked in the river, but then they wouldn’t be out this way in the first place.

After letting Flypaw soak in his explanation, Turtlefur sank into his land-prey crouch. “You must stay low. You must balance as evenly as you can, and you must watch your steps the whole time.” he breathed quietly. There, at the bank of a muddy dip, was a big, lumpy toad. Not ideal prey. At least it was something to eat… Turtlefur rocked his haunches, then pounced with just a slight exhale. His heavy paws missed and slid in the wet mud; he didn’t even have the luck to jump after the toad a second time, as it was already hopping away through the reeds at lightning speed. “Ah…” Turtlefur sighed and shook mud from his front paws, frustrated and embarrassed in equal measure. “And always accept that failure is a possibility.”

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

As it turned out, the answer was yes. Turtlefur launched into an explanation of everything that lived near the Broken Pools and why; Flypaw watched with rapt attention, the last of his disappointment slowly draining away. From here, the pools looked like they were full of mud and nothing else, but Turtlefur made them sound exciting, alive. Maybe this would be okay. A couple heartbeats of silence passed as the dark-furred apprentice considered this new outlook. Then he blinked and found his mentor hunched low to the ground, speaking in a near whisper. Flypaw leaped up to copy him. Though he’d done plenty of crouching as a kit trying to drag Heronpaw into playing Sunningrocks with him, this felt strangely…wobbly.

While Turtlefur crept toward a rock, Flypaw focused half on observing and half on staying crouched—up until the rock moved, making him shoot upright in surprise. A toad! He’d never seen a living one before. He hurried over as Turtlefur shook out his paws, a question tumbling out of his mouth. “So how are you s’posed to find—” At that moment, a shape near a different pool caught his eye. Hurling himself to the ground, he crawled forward, holding his breath…but before he could get anywhere near pouncing range, the frog hopped away, warned by the gentle breeze that brushed past his ears. “Oh.” Flypaw maintained his crouch a moment longer, as if the frog might forget about him if he stood perfectly still; then he straightened with a cry of protest. “But I was watching my steps and everything!” Just because failure was okay didn’t mean he wanted it to happen.

Flypaw attempted to catch Frog, using 3 stamina. Failure…

Flypaw
20/20 HP
57/60 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Turtlefur returned to his apprentice’s side and flicked his flank with his short tail. ”I know, I was watching. Your crouch was very good; it was the change in the wind that gave you away. It wasn’t something you could control, and that’s okay. I promise fishing will seem easy compared to this. For now, the best thing we can both do is try our hardest and remember that there are always second chances.” Turtlefur’s sweet sentiment was genuine. He remembered his relief when Ivystar let him come home to RiverClan after being captured and kept as a barn cat. Everyone could always be better than they’d been in the past in his mind, and Flypaw would only get faster, stealthier, and sharper from here.

He gave his apprentice a soft nod, then padded a short distance away to get back into hunting. A bold was rooting around in drier dirt, as he had predicted earlier. Fortunately it had only just emerged from the ground, or else it would have been scared away by Flypaw’s upset protest. He crouched low, blending into a swath of cattails, and took one careful step after another. The wind rustled several of the fronds, disguising his heavy paws in the mud, and he found that he had the vole perilously close to his claws. Turtlefur pounced, snatching the vole up in his claws and into the air, then slapped it down with a heavy paw and bit its neck for good measure. Finally, a catch to take home!

-3 SP. 114 SP remaining.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3