SkyClan Family Business [CLOSED for Tara]

Mountainheart tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as she sat at the edge of camp. Her eyes were focused on a very large cat on the opposite end, one who she was sure hadn't noticed her by virtue of her sneaking skills. Unlike Ashstorm, Beechface and Smokefeather, this particular family member was one she'd never talked to before. But she'd fix that, today. Stupid grin on her face like always, she stealthily crept(read: walked normally) towards Bloodstrike. He didn't seem like the kind of cat she could run up to, a fact that occurred to even Mountainheart, so she stifled her excitement as she padded up to her father. "Hello! My name is- wait no, you know my name. I've never talked to you before, so I forgot you know me! Would you like to go hunting? Or for a walk? I'd like to get to know all my family if I live here now!" She beamed at him, both because he was her father and because she was proud of herself for not yelling.

Bloodstrike absolutely noticed Mountainheart. How could he not? She was as large as he was and didn't have twenty pounds of hair on top of it to hide the way she was built. As she approached him, his brain scrambled for something to say. He'd seen her at gatherings, heard her speak... he wasn't sure what was appropriate to say and what wasn't. Despite being a warrior and his daughter, there was still something very kit-like about her. Likely it was Riverclan's faulty upbringing coupled with her kithood trauma from her brother. Still, he couldn't deny that she had turned to fight for Skyclan and bled for them when it mattered. She would be treated with respect, albeit molded to be a true Skyclan cat now that she was away from the Riverclan mess.

At least she made it easy for him when she finally opened her mouth to speak. It was trippy, to say the least, talking to an older daughter that he had no recollection of as a kit. He'd been imprisoned during her birth and a good portion of her kithood before she was taken by a hawk to Riverclan. It really was a wonder she was even still alive. Maybe there was more to her than he first thought, having survived as much as she had. He decided right then that she should be given a fair chance, a fair one as any, to prove that she had what it took to be a Skyclan cat.

"Bloodstrike... though I guess you know me already as well." Great stars... she even had a bobbed tail. There was a brief moment where Bloodstrike wondered if Starclan was mocking him, making her born without a full tail... but he pushed that thought aside for now.

"Let's hunt. It's good stress relief, at least for me, and it keeps the clan fed. I suppose you should get to know your homeland as well." He turned on his heel, trusting that Mountainheart would follow. Stars this is weird... He padded through the territory in silence, though it was an uncomfortable one. Silence didn't normally bother him, but today he had mixed feelings of guilt coupled with the strong desire to impress.

"I suppose Riverclan has taught you to catch fish. Well unfortunately, our creek is pretty small. You won't find very big fish in it, so you'll have to learn to catch other things. How good is your tree climbing... or your jumping?" It was like having an adult apprentice. Bloodstrike's eyes scanned the area for basic Skyclan prey... like squirrels and birds. He noted a few smaller birds, nothing to get too excited about. Upon spotting a squirrel however, he locked onto it and kept it within his sight. He would allow Mountainheart to hunt it, if she wished. He wanted to watch for now.

Mountainheart nodded, grinning. "Of course I know you! Well, not really, but I know who you are!" Her smile widened still once he replied. Yes! She'd get to go hunting with... Oh, it felt weird to think of him as her father. She barely knew him. But he was family! And family was all she had left, now. The thought whizzed through her head and was soon gone, replaced by a fascination by SkyClan's territory as they padded through it. It looked so different! Even though it was so close to RiverClan, the trees were all different and the ground was harder. What made all the Clans look so different? Was it StarClan? She wanted to ask, but a grossly underused voice in her head whispered that maybe that wasn't the kind of impression she wanted to make. Something about Bloodstrike... She didn't want to disappoint him, though the exact reason why didnt reveal itself to her.

"Oh, yes! I'm very good at catching fish. I've caught at least... Uh, I've caught a lot of them! I've also fought a turtle. Are there turtles in SkyClan, Bloodstrike?" She looked at him for a moment, waiting for an answer, before registering the fact that he asked her a question. "Sneezingpaw was always the better jumper. We never did much climbing... I think I'm too heavy. I've never tried though! Can you be too heavy to climb?" As she spoke, Bloodstrike looked away and focused on something. Following his gaze, her ears perked up when she spotted the squirrel. There weren't many squirrels in RiverClan, or at least she'd never caught one. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to catch it. She'd never caught anything but rabbits and fish before! What if she had a talent for it, and she could be a real SkyClanner? If she couldn't catch fish here...

She looked back at her father, but he didn't look like he was going to catch the squirrel. That or his hunting stance was entirely upright. Did SkyClanners just hunt weird? She hoped not, because she herself was dropping into a hunting crouch with her eyes excitedly trained on the little rodent. Somehow managing not to break any branches beneath her massive paws, she crept forwards and leapt towards the squirrel like she would a rabbit. Hitting her mark, she bared her teeth, prepared to kill it before it ran away... But there was no need; it was crushed on impact. Oops. She felt a bit bad for it, but it was still perfectly edible! Discreetly wiping some of the more obvious blood off of its shattered ribs, she picked the squirrel up and placed it back where she'd leapt from. "Hey, that was my first squirrel! This is way easier than rabbit!" She beamed, smiling so brightly it was a wonder nobody went blind.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

Bloodstrike listened to his daughter talk, and while he quirked an eyebrow at her about turtles, it was more out of amusement than meant to be condescending. "We don't have many turtles here. I suspect it's a little too cold for them." Too heavy to climb? He supposed it was possible but he'd never had any trouble climbing. He had no clue who Sneezingpaw was, but he figured if he ever ran into them they would talk as well.

"I'm not too heavy to climb... and I doubt you're heavier than me. You just have to be more careful of which branches you try to stand on. You have to jump off of branches sooner too, as the closer you get towards the end the flimsier the branch gets. Start with lower branches first until you get a feel for which size branches can hold you up and how far you are able to go on them before they snap. Just be ready to land on your feet." It was the best advice he could give her.

She indeed spotted the squirrel and he waited patiently while she went after it. Her form was good... at least Riverclan had managed to teach her that. She crept up on the squirrel and Bloodstrike patiently waited, as quiet as can be. Once she... flattened it... he chuckled, giving her the friendliest smile that he could despite the big tear in his lip.

"Good catch! See? You're a Skyclan cat." He said encouragingly. He supposed it was his turn now. "Bury that and we'll continue. You're doing well, Mountainheart." His eyes managed to spot a dove in a lower hanging tree branch. Perfect. It was time to show her how to hunt like a Skyclan cat... and hopefully he wouldn't miss.

Bloodstrike silently pulled himself up a tree trunk of a neighboring tree. Even the shards of bark that fell from his claws fell almost soundlessly to the ground. He worked his way to be higher than the dove, which seemed to be content to preen itself in the sun. He walked slowly and silently along a branch that would eventually lead him to the tree that the dove was in.

Carefully judging the distance and the thickness of a nearby branch, Bloodstrike sprang across it, hardly even rattling the leaves as he landed with skilled practice. He positioned himself above the dove, whom was still blissfully unaware of the danger it was in. Judging the thickness of the branch just in front of the dove, Bloodstike made sure that when he dropped on it, he would land with three paws on the branch and one outstretched to claw the bird on the head. He dropped, a massive form falling like a branch.

He landed on the limb, allowing his claws to come down and smack the bird viciously in the head. It fell to the ground. Bloodstrike pushed off of the tree after it. He landed on the stunned animal, pinned it, and finished it off with his teeth. He carried the bird back to Mountainheart and set it down.

"And that's how to hunt like a Skyclan cat." He proclaimed to her proudly, then wondered if she'd give hunting in the trees a try. Perhaps he'd test her fighting skills afterward...

Bloodstrike attempted to catch a bird. He was Successful! -3SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Mountainheart wasn't a natural listener, but she hung onto Bloodstrike's every word as he explained hunting in branches. It sounded a lot harder than fishing and swimming, but it was definitely important that she listened to him anyway. She couldn't fish here, so she would have to learn to climb. And she had the deputy teaching her! He must be very good at it. She was related to him, too, so maybe it was gene- uh, natural!

She glowed at the praise, almost forgetting to do as she was told and bury the squirrel. It was only after staring at Bloodstrike for juuust a bit too long when she remembered to do so. "OH! Right, sorry!" She hastily buried the disc-shaped squirrel and watched intently as her father hunted. He was so... Quiet! She didn't think a cat that big could hunt so silently. She always made a racket even walking, scaring away all but the stupidest prey. But Bloodstrike didn't seem to have any such problems, and he padded up to her with a dove in tow.

"Woah!! That's so- You just- Wow! I wanna try!" Forgetting entirely about her fear that it would be difficult, Mountainheart got to work looking for birds to catch. She sniffed the air excitedly. What did birds even smell like? It occurred to her that she had no idea. Well, if it came from a tree and wasn't squirrel, it was probably bird scent. With that brilliant deduction, she went off after an unfamiliar scent coupled with a very pretty song. Birds made lovely sounds, and she fought back the urge to mimic it. She'd learn to sing like a bird later, when she wasn't trying to impress her father.

After some searching, she found the source of the scent: a fat little robin, perched happily on a low branch. Somehow, it hadn't noticed her right below it. She looked at the tree. Could she really climb that? Hopefully she wasn't too heavy after all. She stood up on her hind legs and rested her paws on the trunk experimentally, unsheathing her claws. With uncharacteristic slowness for the hyperactive she-cat, she pulled herself up so that all four paws were on the tree. Somehow, her claws were holding her in place. Cool! Now, uh, how was she supposed to get up?

The solution ended up being a very unelegant strategy of hoisting herself up by her front legs, letting go entirely and then hugging the tree again before she fell. She grinned. This climbing thing was so fun! She could do this allll day!! She heard another chirp and remembered why she was climbing. Turning her head to face the bird, she suddenly leapt from the trink and barreled into the frail thing at full speed. Managing to grab it in her mouth, she came crashing down through the branches and landed in an odd heap on the ground. Shaken, she staggered to her feet and caught her breath for a moment before yelling through a mouthful of dead robin. "THA WAF FO FUN!!!" She spat out the bird. "Can I go again? I think I've got the hang of it!"

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

Bloodstrike blinked at her enthusiasm, but followed it quickly with a smile. Watching her climb made him do... weird faces that he wiped away quickly so as not to discourage her. She would get the hang of it. All Skyclan cats did... with the exception of Wolfstar. Then he wondered if every now and then, a cat in his bloodline turned out to be a horrible climber. Suddenly concerned, he carefully watched Mountainheart go after the bird... and stared with wide eyes when she caught it. She didn't seem hurt, which was a relief.

"Sure! Though you should concentrate on pushing yourself up with your hind legs and steer your body with your front ones. I think that would be a lot easier." He sat down calmly, being sure to not scare away anymore prey that she might want to go after. It might be awhile, but he trusted her to figure climbing out.