The Fruit of Our Labours (closed)

The sound of dripping pattered against the foliage all around, drops of it sliding from leaves to join the wet already plastered to Minkstar's sleek coat. I'm probably one of the only cats in ThunderClan who likes the feeling of water in my fur. The amusing thought flicked through his mind before fading into the background, one ear roving slightly back to keep tabs on the younger cat beside him, the rest of his senses alert for anything out of the ordinary as they traipsed away from the Ravine and deeper into ThunderClan's territory.

Well, alert as in hyperactively focused on making sure no predator was about to leap out of the bushes or around a tree trunk at them.

"The first thing you need to learn about moving through our territory for anything - hunting or fighting - is how to move quietly," He murmured, diverting a little of his attention away from their surroundings to focus more on Applepaw. "And with all the leaves and twigs around, that's not easy to do. With time, you'll find yourself automatically stepping in the right places, but while we're moving right now try to focus on putting your paws on the soft ground between everything else. Like how I'm doing, see?" He moved his feet more exaggeratedly, taking care to deftly moved them to moss and ground where the sodden leaves squished silently beneath his large white paws rather than making any alerting crackles, however small. "Rain is better for this, it makes everything softer and gives you more room to make noise."

Applepaw padded alongside the ThunderClan leader-- her mentor! She felt like a real member of the Clan. An apprentice, going out to train with her mentor, outside of camp, and in the rain no less. Pricklepaw would be soooo jealous. However, even as her internal dialogue continued, she kept her ears pricked up and alert to the words being said. Every one of them would be important, and she needed to pay attention so that she could impress her mentor and be the best apprentice ever. She soaked in the words as the rain soaked her soft pelt.

Moving quietly, huh? She could see how that would be an important skill. She'd never be able to catch prey if they heard her coming. "Okay. I'll try it." Listening intently to her mentor, she began paying more attention to where she placed her feet. Her paws were small and delicate, like the rest of her, so it wasn't too difficult to find quieter places to put them. Avoiding a twig here, an acorn there, stepping on the wet, mossy sod instead of the dry pine needles under protectively arched trees. She disliked getting her fur muddy, but the cool rain on her fur helped to keep her calm and focused, so she felt like she was probably doing okay. Her thin tail waved back and forth as she concentrated. "What's the next step, Minkstar?"

He smiled at her concentration and determined look. "Now you keep an eye on your tail," He murmured, gently tapping the waving appendage with his own as it threatened to rustle against arching fronds of bracken. "It's not just your paws you have to look out for - everything could cause a noise if you brush against the wrong thing or let your tail twitch at just the wrong moment. You're a natural, like all ThunderClanners, but that natural talent can always get a little extra skill and experience."

His alert ears caught a subtle sound beneath the dripping of rain through the forest, something that didn't quite fit in with the pattern, and he let the wet air touch his tongue, a vague smell reaching his scent glands, heavy with rain. "And it looks like you'll have a chance to channel all that talent," He said quietly, the corner of his maw curling up. "Can you sense that?"

At his gentle words of correction, Applepaw felt a temporary twinge of frustration before she temped it down. It may have worked as an apprentice to get in an angry outburst at the most minor inconvenience, but she reminded herself instantly that this was not only her mentor, but the leader of ThunderClan, offering her personal tips on how to improve her training. With no time at all, in fact, she would be the best in the forest. She nodded, and carefully began to mind that her tail didn't show her obvious excitement at being out in the territory. His words of praise, casual as they were, made her soft gray eyes glow.

However, her small ears perked up as she noticed Minkstar's do the same. What had he noticed that her not-yet-fine-tuned senses had missed? Sure enough, he mentioned that he had noticed something... but what? Her nose pointed in the direction that her mentor had suggested, and she sniffed the unfamiliar jumble of scents that had been surrounding her the whole patrol. In the hodge podge of wet pine needles, moss, lichen, and other such smells, she couldn't seem to-- wait. What was that? She sniffed again, opening her jaws almost instinctively. A faint undertone that reminded her of when she had jumped on top of the fresh-kill pile as a kit, and then her brother had shoved her off, burying her under a large... "Is that a vole?" Applepaw asked almost tentatively, trying to place the scent.

He smiled. "Sure is." Giving her a sideways glance, he added, "Well done."

With a light wave of his tail, he gestured towards it. "Want to show off your sneaking skills for me? No pressure - I'd rather you caught it by moving like a snail than rush in and scare it away."

The two words of praise from Minkstar made her absolutely glow. Her gray eyes sparkled, and she felt her pelt beginning to puff up with pride. However, she managed to keep herself under control, and instead nodded at his suggestion. ]i]Don't worry, I'll be the best apprentice you've ever seen.[/i] She sniffed at the air again, far more sure of herself. Definitely the scent of vole... probably a big one, too. She couldn't help but imagine the jealousy on Pricklepaw's face when she trotted back in from her first ever hunting trip with a vole the same size as her! Grinning smugly, she turned in the direction where the scent was appearing the strongest. The wind was blowing towards her, so it carried across on the breeze. Hopefully that would make her harder to sense as well.

Show off... that I can do. Applepaw had a few moons of practice, sneaking up on her kit brothers and sisters, and she was usually small and soft-pawed enough that they couldn't hear her on the moss-carpeted nursery floor. However, this was different. A vole was smarter than, say, Tumblekit. It would be more inclined to notice the slightest sound... so she had to be virtually silent. Carefully, barely even breathing, she lowered herself down to the ground and began stalking forward. At first she watched every pawstep, so that she didn't step on a single crackly pine needle, but as she grew more sure of herself, her eyes narrowed and scanned the foliage for her prey. And there it was. A vole, fat and brown, nibbling on some bit of food under a scrubby bush. Turned away from her. Perfect. Minkstar... watch this! A few steps closer, tail low and straight as her mentor had suggested.. and, she pounced!

Surprising even her, her paws landed squarely on the vole, and she bit its neck quickly and instinctively before it had a chance to fight back. She did it. She did it! Gaze sparkling, Applepaw turned back to Minkstar, her successful catch hanging from her jaws. It was heavy, since the vole was about half as big as she was, but she felt like at that moment she could have carried a whole mountain of prey. She couldn't say anything, since her mouth was full, but her eyes said it all. I'm the best!

Applepaw:
20/20 HP
57/60 SP

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 1

He watched as she took his advice to heart, not rushing in and scaring the little critter off. A smile tugged at his maw as she took advantage of the wind's direction, using it to cover her own scent and help guide her to the vole. Paying careful attention, he couldn't find anything wrong with her approach, or the pounce itself, her killing bite quick and neat, leaving no room for even a squeak out of the rodent.

When she turned to him, he rose and stepped forward, a smile on his maw. "Well done, Applepaw! Great first catch - you're a quick learner, all right."

He gave the wet, limp little creature a sniff - it was well and truly dead - and turned, a twinkle in his eye as he gestured with his tail. "Let's bury it here and head off for some more. We'll try going after something else, just to get you used to some different kinds of prey." Glancing up at the sky and blinking away some of the grey drizzle, he amended, "If anything else is out in this weather, anyway."

Not even the dampness of her pelt could dampen Applepaw's spirits. She'd done perfectly, and Minkstar's compliments and acknowledgement of her talent warmed her up more than the midday sun in greenleaf. Eagerly she followed his advice, burying her first ever piece of prey carefully. She couldn't wait to eat it when she got back to ThunderClan camp! Of course, she'd flaunt it in front of her siblings first. Or maybe she'd catch something even bigger!

The small apprentice shook the water out of her fur and looked up at her mentor again. "Okay," she piped up happily, "where to next, Minkstar?"