ain't nothin' come easy [closed]

Lichenblaze stretched with a grunt as he left his nest, making a beeline towards the apprentices' den. It felt like just yesterday that he was sleeping there too, but now...he was something more special. Shaking out his fur, he paused to glance at the sun peaking through the trees. It was a good idea to go hunting before it got too hot, the prey would be running better. Plus, the fresh-kill pile could use a bit of restocking.

The stocky warrior marched right into the apprentices' den, not bothering to check for any tails or paws in his path. Newtpaw reminded him of himself. Too much, in fact. And that was a problem...He'd have to fix that.

He located his little half-brother and tapped him on the head with a paw to wake him up. "Up and at 'em, 'kit. We got scat to do." Making sure he was awake, Lichenblaze padded back out of the den to wait for him.

Newtpaw had been well enjoying his sleep, sprawled halfway between his own nest and Spottedpaw's. It was comfortable in the den, cool and warm, so when Lichenblaze came stomping in to wake him he was less than pleased. As much as he'd been looking forward to his training, he did not want to do it in this weather. Couldn't they wait until it got cooler?

With a grumble, he heaved himself to his paws, following his mentor into the open. "I'm not a kit anymore," was the only thing he offered in way of good mornings, ears flicking with irritation. "Anyway, what are we doing today?" The tabby yawned, stretching himself out. His tone was lax, clearly seeing this as something frivolous.

At least Lichenblaze had picked a good time to do this. Otherwise, he might be begging to hang out with Beechface and sort her stupid herbs if he'd waited until later in the day.

"Hunting," came his short reply. He cast a glance at the apprentice as he led them out of camp, a flicker of amusement passing over his face. "You're a kit to me, at least." Lichenblaze wasn't one to blindly follow authority, who cared if he called an apprentice the wrong thing? Besides, he didn't mean it seriously.

Winding and hopping around and over tree roots, Lichenblaze took Newtpaw towards the Halfstone, eyeing the canopy above as he went. The SkyClan forest was slowly recovering from the fire that took it many moons ago. The branches were fairly safe for smaller cats like him and Newtpaw, so it should be safe for them to hunt up there...But, he had a better idea.

Once they reached the stone, Lichenblaze hopped up onto it, fixing Newtpaw with a drilling stare. "You should know how to climb already, I taught you that. So...let's practice hunting on the ground instead. Watch for snakes, I don't wanna have to drag you back to Beechface. Try and locate some prey, then show me your best hunting crouch."

Hunting. Finally, they were doing something interesting! The wave of excitement that came over being able to hunt washed away Newtpaw's bad mood and, with new energy, he followed along Lichenblaze eagerly.

The territory still felt new underpaw, and he was grateful that his mentor seemed to be paying him no mind– he didn't need to be caught getting his paws tangled in a root he didn't notice and scrambling to catch his balance. Maybe if he paid attention to where he was walking instead of turning his head every which way to stare through the trees, he wouldn't be tripping, but that was a solution far too simple. Soon enough though, they had come to a halt, and Newtpaw didn't have to worry about falling face first onto the rocks– only about the way Lichenblaze was looking at him. He looked up at where the other tom stood above him, narrowing his eyes to return a glare.

Hunting crouch, huh? Ha! I'll show him that, and the fattest piece of prey he's ever seen. Newtpaw thought as he spun around. Parting his jaws, he breathed in deep, catching on quick to the scent of a mouse. Dropping low, he was all too aware of how awkward he felt in this positron, body at weird angles, but there was no time for his mentor to correct his posture– he was already committed. Half-crawling, half-stumbling forward, he spotted the creature in question: a fat little thing, just like he'd hoped, gnawing on a seed. Grinning, Newtpaw focused in on it before rushing forward.

What was supposed to be a great explosion of movement as he darted for the mouse ended up turning into a power struggle between his paws and his heart, as keeping himself balanced was a bigger problem than he'd thought it would be when he'd made the decision to make this his first catch. But in the end, it didn't matter. Maybe the thing was lame somehow, but Newtpaw's act of not tripping had ended up with a mouse between his teeth. It went limp in his jaws, and with a little gasp, it dawned on him that he'd actually done it! Stretching back to full height, he turned back to Lichenblaze, grinning as wide as he could. "Look! Hey, look, I got it!" His voice was muffled by the prey, but the excitement and pride in it was clear.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

Lichenblaze had to bite his tongue to keep from making a snort of laughter, watching as his half-brother dropped into the most crooked hunting crouch he'd ever seen. He opened his mouth to snap a correction, but a whiff of prey caught his nose and he stopped as to not scare the mouse away.

Tailtip flicking, bright teal eyes observed from his high place on the rock. Newtpaw wasn't stalking as much as he was crawling, nearly scraping his stomach on the ground as he went. An explosion of movement, and, by the grace of StarClan, he actually caught it. The young warrior couldn't help but stare, mouth agape, as Newtpaw marched back with his prize.

"...Good catch," Lichenblaze grumbled, hopping off of his rock. "Here, watch." On the ground in front of Newtpaw, he scraped at the dirt with his claws to make a small hole. "Bury the mouse in here, we'll come back for it later. It's just for safe-keeping."

Once Newtpaw had done that, Lichenblaze motioned for him to watch with a wave of his tail. He whispered as he moved, as to not scare away any potential prey. Parting his mouth to taste the air, he scented a songbird a few foxlengths away that hadn't spotted them yet; thankfully, their mottled coats helped them blend in with the forest floor.

"Sniff carefully for any sign of prey. Make sure to note the direction of the wind on your whiskers; always be downwind of the prey. Now, your hunting crouch." Lichen slid easily into his, legs bent but poised, tail low to the ground. He wasn't the most agile cat, instead rippling with muscle, and his posture showed.

"The crouch for birds is slightly different. When hunting birds, leap above them, as they'll fly into your claws. Now, be quiet."

Eyes trained on his prey, Lichenblaze stalked forward, the leaves underpaw hardly making any noise at all. When he got close enough to the bird, he bunched up his powerful SkyClan legs and leapt, claws outstretched. Just as he had said, the bird attempted to fly away, right into his grasp. Hooking the small thing, once he landed he sunk his teeth into its neck, ending its life. It felt good to score an easy catch in front of his apprentice, and the warrior trotted back with a puff of pride in his chest.

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(remember to take off -3 SP for every hunting roll!)

Lichenblaze attempted to catch a bird. He was successful, costing -3 SP.

Lichenblaze
40/40 HP
117/120 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

The praise from his mentor was all it took. In an instant, any grouchiness from being woken up, from being saddled with a half-brother who wanted nothing to do with him... It was all forgotten. Two simple words and Newtpaw was beaming, eyes bright and suddenly focused. Dropping his mouse in the hole that'd been made, he turned towards Lichenblaze with a crooked grin, eager to run back out there and bring something else back that would earn him that same look, that same assurance of his skills.

Watching closely as Lichenblaze showed him the proper form, Newtpaw dropped low to the ground, trying to focus on getting his entire body under him. For a brief moment, it crossed his mind to curse at Briarthorn so being so stupidly being and have such a stupid amount of fur and passing it onto him. He just felt awkward in this position, too large for any prey to not see him.

But he'd already caught something once, and he was determined to do it again.

With slightly better balance, the young tom crept forward to hover at his mentor's side, whiskers twitching as he spoke. Birds up. Right, got it. He trained his attention on the prey Lichenblaze had sighted, watching as he crawled forward and pounced. He made it look so easy, pulling the bird out of the sky.

"Good one! Hah, I'm sure I could catch a bigger bird, though," Newtpaw teased with a tentative warmth. Watching the trees closely, he saw some of the lower branches rustle and a pretty blue bird flapped its wings, leaving its safety in the trees to peck at something on the ground. It wasn't really any bigger, but maybe he could pluck a few feathers to give to his sisters.

Sights set, he tried to mimick the way Lichenblaze moved, his steps slow and measured. He still felt off, far too awkward in this position, and a few times he had to pause to rebalance himself. At least he wasn't dragging himself across the forest floor, though. Once he was close enough to make the leap, he paused, pulling in a deep breath as he watched his target.

Bunching up his hind legs, Newtpaw sprang into the air, claws outstretched. Just like Lichenblaze had showed him, the poor thing tried to flutter up and away, inadvertently securing its own faith. Bringing it back to the ground with him, the mottled tabby gave its neck a swift bite, then lifted to show to Lichenblaze, tail waving eagerly.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

The mottled warrior stood back and watched as Newtpaw copied him, catching another songbird. The younger tom teotted over with the bird in his mouth, tail flagged and a sparkle in his eye, and Lichenblaze nodded approvingly. He moved to scrape at the ground where they had buried the first piece of prey, making a deeper hole. "Not bad, 'kit. You know the drill, put it in here."

Letting Newtpaw take care of that himself, the mentor slunk off for another demonstration. This outing was a hunting patrol as much as it was a training session. He had scented a squirrel a little ways off and stalked over to find it, thanking the stars that his and Newtpaw's pelts blended easily with the foliage. The squirrel sat with a nut in its paws, chewing noisily. Lichenblaze smirked to himself; an easy catch.

He was no more than a foxlength away when a pinecone dropped from a nearby tree, startling the squirrel into running. He hissed a curse under his breath and gave chase, leaping long strides to close the distance. Finally, sides heaving, he caught up to the rodent and pounced, sinking his claws deep into its flesh. It squealed for only a moment before the tom snapped its neck with his teeth, panting.

Not as easy as I thought...Stupid rat. he growled in his head, walking slowly back to Newtpaw to conserve energy.

He placed the squirrel in the hole and meowed, "Sometimes you gotta chase prey. It sucks, but you needta be prepared for it. Prey animals get spooked easily, after all. I wasn't really built for running...Dad isn't either." Lichenblaze looked Newtpaw over, tilting his head. "...We look a lot alike. Anyway, one more try for you and then we'll move on and check out the borders."

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Lichenblaze attempted to catch a squirrel. He was successful, using -3 SP.

Lichenblaze
40/40 HP
114/120 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7