The Prey Is Running Well [Mothpaw]

“The prey is running well,” Smokepaw mewed as she sat down, stretching. “Do you want to come hunting?” Strange, she’d always felt more comfortable around those younger or older than she, and Mothpaw was no exception- she still remembered their conversation outside the nursery moons ago. They hadn’t really interacted since, although Smokepaw had watched the other she-cat’s apprentice ceremony from a distance. Then again, she watched everything from a distance.

“Always good to get some hunting in,” she mewed. “I tripped over a frog, I swear.”

Mothpaw examined the other she-cat as she spoke. She remembered a few moons ago, how she hadn't thought much of the smoke colored cat. It was slightly different now, when they were both apprentices... Though to be fair Mothpaw had only just been made an apprentice.

"I would like to hunt..." Mothpaw began, wondering how much she should admit regarding her level of training. Then again though Smokepaw had watched her apprentice ceremony, she knew Mothpaw was a new apprentice. "But just to warn you I haven't had any formal training yet! Mistyfalcon hasn't had a chance to show me much yet, so if I mess up that's why."

Mothpaw's orange tabby tail twitched in embarrassment. She hated not knowing how to do things.

“Practice makes purrrfect,” Smokepaw purred, leading the way out of camp. She gave the other she-cat a sideways glance, wondering how Mothpaw would hunt. Surely her white patches would give her away.

Suddenly, she held up her tail for the other she-cat to stop. “Vole,” she hissed, in case Mothpaw hadn’t glimpsed the furry creature, snuffling around for food. Dropping to a hunting crouch, she maneuvered downwind of the rodent. With a leap, she landed on it, ending its life with an efficient bite to the neck, and burying it for later.

“Your turn.” She would like to see how the lightly colored she-cat would hunt- for that matter, how did any lightly colored cats hunt? Surely the prey would spot them coming a day’s journey off.

Smokepaw attempted to catch a vole, costing 3 SP. Successful!

Smokepaw
20/77 (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

Watching Smokepaw catch the vole Mothpaw's amber eyes grew wide. Smokepaw wasn't the same kit she had been in the nursery, she could hunt!

Letting her senses out around her Mothpaw hoped to find something she could catch. She didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of her denmate.

Just there, to heir left, Mothpaw heard the scurrying of a lizard. Maybe that would be easier to catch than something furry?

Mothpaw dropped into a hunting crouch, which she knew wasn't perfect, stalking her prey.

She lurched forward, her claws outreached, but was a second too slow as the lizard ran off, it's tail mocking Mothpaw before it was finally out of view.

"Fox dung!" she spat, her tail lashing, as she looked over worriedly to Smokepaw to see what the older apprentice's reaction was.

Mothpaw is attempting to catch a lizard: Failed
77/80 sp

The member 'Meggie123' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Smokepaw fell silent, watching Mothpaw hunt a lizard. She almost caught it, but at the last moment the scaly thing skittered away. She nearly snickered at what the younger apprentice said- who taught her that?

“Practice makes perfect,” she repeated. “You almost had it- besides, voles are mouse-brained. I wouldn’t be able to hunt at all, if I were you. Your pelt is bright in the moonlight, but somehow you nearly caught it.”

Smokepaw suddenly sighted a white flutter above them, in a wizened tree. Normally no ShadowClan cat climbed for prey, but the dove looked sleepy and slow. If she didn’t catch it, it would show Mothpaw no one was perfect. If she caught it, well… she wasn’t adverse from looking awesome. She bunched her muscles together, ready to spring. With a grunt she sprang forwards, and missed the dove by a mile, hitting the ground with a thud. Luckily she hadn’t been very high. The dove peered over the branch, looking concerned.

“Fox-dung, you. Shoo! I’m a cat! We eat you!” Smokepaw hissed, shaking mud and water from her pelt. The dove obediently flew off with a last hoo.

“That’s why I prefer voles,” she muttered. “Doves have feathers for brains.”

Smokepaw attempted to catch a dove! Catch was unsuccessful!
Smokepaw
20HP/ 74 (-3) SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Mothpaw felt a little better after seeing the other apprentice miss the dove. Also Smokepaw did have a point about her mostly white pelt.
"Let's both try some more, that way we have prey to take back to the clan." she said softly, realizing that it didn't matter if they made mistakes. They were both apprentices and both had more to learn. This was just practice! Mothpaw scented the air again, picking up another vole.

She flicked her tail to let Smokepaw know where she was headed, and then angled her ears that way. She could hear little scuff noises coming from it.

Once again pressing herself down into the earth, and moving ever so slightly as to reduce the risk of the creature spotting her white pelt, Mothpaw crept forward.

She shot forward as fast as she could, snagging the vole by just a few claws. She lunged forward killing it with a messy bite to the neck. Not the cleanest kill, but she had caught something!

Mothpaw is attempting to catch a vole: Success!
74/80 sp

The member 'Meggie123' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

“Smart idea.” Smokepaw watched as the other apprentice managed to catch a vole. “Good catch.”

She rose to her paws, shook the last bit of water out of her fur, and scanned her surroundings. There was another bird in a nearby tree, but she wasn’t setting paw in a tree again tonight. Her keen ears suddenly caught a skittering sound. There, a lizard, a decently sized one. It hadn’t noticed her yet, thank StarClan. She dropped into her crouch and slunk around it until the moon was behind it. The lizard showed up clearly in the moonlight, and Smokepaw felt confident she could catch it as she leapt forwards. Her paws landed squarely on it, and she dispatched it with a quick nip.

She trotted back to where she had buried her earlier vole, and hid the lizard in the same place. Hopefully nothing else would scent it. She didn’t want to have to deal with an owl tonight.

“I wonder if prey has a sort of StarClan. Maybe they go to StarClan and get eaten again?” She spoke more to the stars than to Mothpaw at first, but then turned to the younger apprentice. “What do you think? ”

Smokepaw attempted to catch a lizard. Catch was successful!
Smokepaw
20HP/ 71 (-3) SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

Mothpaw thought this question over for a few long moments. "I'd like to think that wherever they go after they get eaten, wherever their ancestors are, that they're safe, and not being eaten. What if we get to StarClan and it turns out we have to fight to protect our clanmates all the time?" she asked. "I mean, I would die a second time if StarClan needed me to in order to protect them, but isn't it the time to rest when we go to StarClan? That's what it seems like we tell the elders when its their time to go..."

Mothpaw fidgeted her paws against the ground, needling at the pine needles underfoot. She didn't like this topic, she didn't understand death enough.

Smokepaw was surprised by how seriously Mothpaw took her simple question, and turned around to face her. “It doesn’t matter,” she pointed out. “Prey isn’t… what’s the word… sentient? It doesn’t think, not like cats- that’s why we call it ‘it’. Besides, this isn’t worth losing hunting time over. Of course we rest when we go to StarClan, unless the Dark Forest rises up or something. ”

Slightly impatiently, she slunk a little ways off, eyes locking onto a bird on the ground. Surely it couldn’t be…

It was the same dove from earlier, and Smokepaw was going to catch it or die trying.

She leapt, claws outstretched. Mid-air, something hit her hard. Mentally, not physically. She stumbled to a stop, the dove fluttering to a nearby tree. What did happen to them when they died a second time? She’d heard of the Righteous Few being slain. What happened to them? Did she want to live forever? On the other paw, did she want to dissipate? She shivered, chills running up and down her spine.

“You made a good point,” she mumbled. “That’s weird.”

Smokepaw attempted to catch a dove! Catch is unsuccessful.
Smokepaw
20 HP/ 68 (-3) SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5