Loud but Careful Steps [Closed]

Flintstar sat at the entrance of the camp, eyes narrowed as he stared off past the camp walls and out into the marsh. He hadn't quite realized how...Nervous it was having an apprentice at this time - suddenly all to aware that there was the chance that their training could be interrupted by the star-blasted rogues, not to mention the other dangers that lurked in the swamp. ...A heavy sigh escaped him, tail swishing as he waited for Loudpaw to join him, perhaps wanting to put off the training a little longer. Of course, he would do everything to keep his apprentice life - he still had numerous lives left and Murkystrike had entrusted the safety and training of one of her kits to the leader. His ear twitched as he heard pawsteps, turning to see who was approaching.

The nighttime air filled Loudpaw's lungs, fueling his energy, despite how late it was. He leaned into the breeze, letting it run against his face. Opening his eyes, he spotted Flintstar near the camp exit. Oh he must be waiting for me, he realized. Loudpaw quickly walked over to his mentor, steps unsteady but focused. He didn't know much about the leader, but he was determined that one day he would. The excited apprentice gave Flintstar an eager smile, "How are you Flintstar? Good? Good. I am doing well myself, if you could not tell. I can not wait to see what I can learn from you, it is an honor, by the way, to be your apprentice. It is amazing, right? I promise I will not let you down, well, I will try my best. I promise I will try my best. I am ready, I think, pretty sure at least. I have not been chasing leaves like Frostpaw used to do, oh! But I did catch bugs, so maybe that will help."

Ah, good. Flintstar gave his apprentice a nod as the tom approached, before he was forced to only blink as Loudpaw started to ramble on. Ah...So his name was very fitting. The leader shifted, ears twitching as he tried to form some sort of response. He wasn't great at the whole talking thing - or at least the 'small talk' side of it. "I'm...Fine. Catching bugs is a good start - small but quick, that will be useful in learning how to hunt actual prey," he meowed, turning to take a step out of the camp before he paused. "...To...Let you know, I am not good in conversation. I may not always have words to respond to you with. If I am silent, it is not meant to be an insult to you," he explained, glancing back at his apprentice. "But I am a good listener, if that will suit you well. Now, come, we will be covering hunting today. I want to you remain close. Our marsh has been more dangerous than ever recently, so you must remain near so I can protect you if anything shows up." With that, the tom turned and padded out into the territory, starting to think about where would be a good spot to start the hunting lessons.

Dangerous ay? Loudpaw thought about this for a minute, padding close to Flintstar. He was both excited by this news yet slightly frightened. The silence made his skin crawl, so he started thinking aloud, "Well I am sure you can keep me safe right? I mean you are the leader after all. What kind of danger? Like, dogs?" His fur rustled a bit, keeping eye contact with his mentor as he talked, "There are lots of things that can pose a danger to us, like rouges, two-legs, foxes, badgers..." he paused to take a breath. "It is alright if you do not talk much, most of what I say is just speculation. I have been told I can talk enough for the both of us," giving Flintstar a reassuring smile, "Also I had a question, if it is appropriate to ask, but what was your name before you were Flintstar? What was your warrior name?"

Flintstar glanced over as Loudpaw started to ramble on about the different dangers that could be in the territory, before cheerfully announcing that he was willing to talk enough for the both of them before asking about his warrior name. ...Huh. The leader blinked at that, a little taken aback. Nobody had actually asked him that before, not many cats cared, he suppose. "Flintshard," he meowed, twitching an ear as he listened out for any dangers. "My warrior name was Flintshard. Dangers include badgers, foxes, spiky-rats, the deep areas of the marshes," he explained, before his eyes narrowed a little. "As for the more recent dangers...A band of rogues has been threatening our Clan. But...Yes, I will protect you no matter what shows up - with one of my lives if need be," he meowed, holding his head up proudly. Before he finally came to a stop, glancing around before he gave a content nod of his head. "This will be a good spot to start our training - we will be going over hunting today. How about you show me how you hunt bugs? We can work from there."

Loudpaw listened attentively, waiting till his mentor finished. "Spiky-rats? Those sound interesting! I want to see one, I want to see all the animals actually," he replied, "Flintshard is a gorgeous name, I hope I get such a pretty name as you when I'm a warrior." As Flintstar stopped so did Loudpaw, for once he took in his surroundings. His mentor requested he show his how he hunted bugs.

"Oh ok," he explained while laying down in the mud, "I mean I usually just wait for them to come near and swipe them when they're in range." Scanning the area around him for beetles or slugs, he continued, "Yet sometimes I need to chase them because I didn't swipe fast enough."

Flintstar twitched an ear as Loudpaw explained his desire to see all the animal, although the leader could only wish that it would never be so because it would only be in combat with the beasts. He also had nothing to say about Loudpaw's option on his warrior name - he hardly thought of it as 'gorgeous'...It was simply his warrior name, nothing more, nothing less. He glanced over at his apprentice as Loudpaw laid down, explaining how he went about hunting bugs. Hm...The leader circled him, studying the apprentice as he mused over it. So for all of Loudpaw's energy - he was a prowler. Lying in wait... It wasn't a bad way to hunt, mostly if he had a friend to spook some prey towards him. Most cats didn't have the patience for it - preferring to actively work on hunting prey themselves than patiently wait for it to come to them. Interesting...

"I see," he finally meowed as he tasted the air, glancing around as he picked up a scent. "Then how about this? We'll focus on your comfort zone for now before we get into stalking prey actively. I smell a frog nearby. You lie in wait here and I'll scare it to you, alright?" he meowed, although he didn't really wait for an answer before he was stalking off to properly locate the frog. Luckily, it wasn't that far from the two as the leader dropped into a crouch and started to circle around it - keeping an eye trained on where Loudpaw was crouched before he made a leap at the frog. His paws slammed down a few whisker-lengths away, growling at the frog as he spun and started to hop away in an effort to make distant between it and the leader - heading straight for Loudpaw's paws.

OCC: Okay, time for a hunting roll! I'm not sure if you know how to do it so I'll go over it just to be safe. Its pretty easy to do - when you are making your post, after you hit preview and go beneath where you can edit your post, you will see a green bar that says Dice Rolls (it will not be visible however on the first post of a topic) Clicking on the plus on the right corner will open it and in the Dice Rolls #1 box, just click on it and select hunting dice. The dice rolls box is good at where it is at - that is just if you need to roll 2 or more for whatever reason. Once that is selected, when you post your post, Mistpelt will also automatically make a post with the number you rolled. You can use the hunting system to see what you need to catch whatever prey you are going for. As I have selected a frog for us, you need a 7 or below to catch it. 8-9 will be a miss...And a 10 will be a predator or rogue for us to fight.

Loudpaw looked away from the watery ground and up at his mentor, waiting patiently on the mud as Flintstar circled him. Loudpaw pricked his ears as the leader eventually proposed a plan. "Okay Flintstar," he replied eagerly as the older cat walked away in search of a frog. The tabby shifted slightly in the sludge, resisting the urge to roll all over in it, wondering what the rest of the clan was up to. He imagined his sister learning new remedies, and the rest of his family enjoying freshkill. Loudpaw stared in the direction Flintstar disappeared, ears swiveling around to the sound of birds and crickets. His tail couldn't help but trash around a bit, he was excited to have his first catch. He picked up the sound of a growl and bushes rustling. Loudpaw tensed, staying as still as possible while the frog leapt straight toward him.

Loudpaw stretched both arms in the air, causing the sludge to fly. He brought his mud-covered paws down upon the frog, digging his thin claws into it. He gave the prey a couple more scratches before rising, just to be certain it was dead. Loudpaw lifted the prey off of the ground, shaking his head rapidly to get the mud off of it. He smiled triumphantly, padding over to where the frog came from in search of Flintstar. He approached him with his tail raised in greeting, mud dripping from his belly. He did not care to clean himself yet, not finding his messy coat annoying.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

Flintstar waited until Loudpaw had risen from his spot to pad over, a huff of approval escaping him at seeing that he had indeed managed to catch it. "Good," he meowed with a nod as he reached his apprentice, sitting down. "While most cats will prefer to hunt on their own, working together to focus on one's strength is never a bad idea." He paused as he finished. While he had told Loudpaw that they would focus on hunting, there was a desire to switch to fighting. With the marsh as dangerous as it was, it would be a disservice to Loudpaw if he were to wait on it. "Find a place to store the frog for now, I think its best if we move onto fighting if that is alright with you," he meowed, tilting his head as he looked down at his apprentice. While he was determined to teach Loudpaw the basics, he didn't want to swift move from one topic to another if Loudpaw was still determined to focus on hunting for the time being.

With the frog still in his jaws Loudpaw could only nod in response. Obediently padding a bit away, he searched for a place to hoard his catch. Spotting a tree trunk he stuffed the frog in the roots, hurrying back to Fintstar. He made sure to keep a mental note on where he stored the prey. The apprentice then focused on Flintstar, excited for sparring. He sat down and directed his ears toward Flintstar. "I am ready, you have my attention," he meowed, eager to know all he could about how to better protect his clanmates.

Flintstar gave a nod as Loudpaw tucked away the frog and sat obediently. "Most cats would claim that to win a fight, all it takes is strength," he started as he began to pace back and forth. "But that is far from true - its about knowing yourself, your own strengths and weaknesses and how to use them in a battle. WindClan might not have the brute strength of ThunderClan, but they are harder to hit and quicker to strike. We use our surroundings as our strength - the darkness of night to catch our opponents off guard and even the mud of the marsh to gain an advantage if need be. With the right thinking and smart actions, even a fresh warrior has a chance to win against an older cat. It takes being pro-active and knowing what is needed for every situation that will grant you an edge in combat," he added with a nod of his head as he came to a stop and glanced at Loudpaw.

"But sometimes, you are not given the time to think back on your training - against a predator, there is no time to think things through when your life is on the line. So, we will start with the basics - attack me, Loudpaw. Let us see what your natural instincts are in a spar so we can hone those for when you are given no time to think in the thick of battle."

OOC: Much like for hunting, we have our own battle system here on WCC and it can certainly seem like a lot before you get used to it. There are two important 'rules sets' to keep in mind when battling using the system the Rank system, which elects how much health/stamina your character has depending on their rank, and then the Battle System of course.

Every character has a rank. While kit, apprentice, and leader have a single rank under their 'title'...Warriors and medicine cats have their own tiers - which you have to fill out requirements to go up on. You can use the Ranking System to figure out how much health/stamina you are suppose to have and also see what you have to do to climb the next rank.

Then we have the Battle System. Each rank has a list of moves that are open to them - as you climb up the ranks, the more moves are unlocked to be used by your character, with the damage of each move climbing as well as your skill in battle increases. There are three different types of moves - normal, Special Effect and Clan Moves. Normal are your standard moves and can be used as much as you want in battle. Special Effect moves, those with a special use in battle can only be used once in battle and cannot be done in succession (You must break them up with a normal attack.) And then there are the Clan Moves, a list of two special moves/abilities that each Clan have, one being a passive buff (such as for ShadowClan, we get a +1 to damage when its night which is when we are active in general anyways) and a special move that tends to stun/pin for one turn.

There is a dice roll that is used for the battle system - the Effect dice. Certain moves require it to be rolled to decide your luck on how long your opponent is pinned/stunned for or if you managed to get an attack off if you dodge. Using the battle system is not that hard - you simply have to be mindful of your health and stamina. When using the battle system, you want to clearly state what move you are using and keep track of the stamina lost of those 'engaged' with you - allies and enemies....Well, tracking your allies isn't required but it deemed polite as a clear reminder that you are battle alongside them.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. If you want an example of the battle system in action, you can look at the spar topic I have going on with KjSage involving our WindClan cats.

Loudpaw carefully listened to his mentor, repeating the words in his head so he would remember them. He flicked his tail as Flintstar asked him to attack. "Oh, uh, yes okay," he said with a small nod, standing up. After a second of thinking of where to go he leapt to the side of the leader, landing near his tail. Loudpaw lowered his head and bit down through its fluff, then giving it a good pull. Not as hard as he could though, he didn't want to hurt Flintstar too much. The tabby quickly let go and backed up a few pawsteps. "How was that, was that okay? Good?" he asked, slightly nervous on the edges of his voice.

Loudpaw used Tail Yank of Flintstar, dealing 3 damage and costing 15 stamina.
Flintstar is stunned for one turn.

Loudpaw
20HP/20HP
45/60SP (-15)

Flintstar
97/100HP (-3)
160/160SP