Teach a cat to fish [c]

The twolegs had gone... the dogs had gone... Bearspirit had never felt more elated in his life. The fish had returned, as he'd seen on the freshkill pile earlier that day. He'd ran to the apprentice den in excitement to retrieve Ebonypaw. "Come!" He said excitedly... and quickly apologized to an apprentice he'd accidentally bowled over with a giant paw. Whoops. "The fish are back! I'll teach you how to really be a Riverclan cat now!" And the apprentice's fur would finally become sleek like the rest of the clan's. He hadn't wanted to say anything to the lad at first, but without their waterproof coat they got from consuming fish, swimming would have been an absolute nightmare for the tom. Now everything had changed! The instant Ebonypaw was ready, Bearspirit was practically bouncing on his toes as he strode down to the river. One sharp inhale and he could tell the water actually smelled different. Water absent of fish had hardly a scent at all, but with the return of the scaly prey, there was something fresher about it. Something wild.

He leaned himself over the river very slowly, despite his excitement. How embarrassing would it be if he scared off all of the fish? His eyes scanned the length of the river... and now he was about to explain to Ebonypaw what he was observing.

"Alright... I will teach you about fish and then I will show you how to catch them." His voice was low so as not to have too much of his voice travel beneath the gurgling of the river. His tail would twitch every now and then as he barely contained his excitement. Never in a million moons did he think he'd be so excited to be by the water, or fishing for that matter. "Fish are most active early in the morning and at dusk. During the day, especially on bright sunny days, they hide. Fishing in a river is easier than in still water like ponds. The fish always face one direction, and that is upstream." He paused a moment to let this information sink in, hoping he wasn't talking too fast.

"What this means is that if you try to fish downstream from you because it's easier, forget it. The fish have already spotted you and have taken cover. Fish upstream only. Another important thing: Fish don't just hang out in random spots in the current, you have to find them! Fish are generally very lazy creatures. They will wait at the ends of rapids usually near rocks or wood and wait for food to float to them. They dart out quickly, eat it, then go back into their resting spot."

Bearspirit then nodded at the few rocks in the river as well as wood that had fallen at the edges.

"You'll find them in front of rocks just as often as behind them, and bigger fish might be on the sides of the rock. The reason for this is because the current hits the rock, bounces off and then goes around. The water is weak there and the fish expend almost no energy in those areas. The same can be said for wood. If you're ever not sure where the best spot is to go because there are few visible rocks and wood... look at the surface of the water itself. You can see where the water looks bumpy, for lack of a better term, and where it looks flatter in some areas. This is called a "seam" and it is where the current changes speed, often slows down. You'll likely find fish there too. If all else fails, look for foam on top of the water. The foam is where food will naturally float to, like insects that have fallen in, and the fish will wait below the surface for it. Any of these clues combined with shade is likely to yield better results than any of these in direct sunlight.

So remember these four things: "Rocks, rock!", "Wood is good!", "Foam is home!", And last but not least, "Made in the shade!""

He hushed his mouth and once again reined in his excitement. This was probably a lot for the apprentice, but Bearspirit was determined to make his first apprentice a great Riverclan cat! He plopped down on the bank to finish up his speech.

"Now that you know where to find them, I'll tell you how to catch them. You need to come in as stealthily as possible from behind. A lot like ground hunting, you need to be low and take very slow, careful, quiet steps in the water. Fish are sensitive to movement in the water, but as long as you are downstream, similar to being downwind on land, you should remain fairly undetectable." Bearspirit then got to his feet and entered the water. The river immediately swept around his legs and he focused his attention upstream. He spotted a rock further up and began to move with slow, deliberate steps toward it. The closer he got, the more he sunk his belly into the water and the slower he moved.

A dark shape against the brighter colored rocks caught his eye and he moved forward one more careful step. With a sudden explosion of speed, Bearspirit leaped toward it and shoved his face underwater to grab the little wiggly creature.

Bearspirit attempted to catch a fish! He was Unsuccessful -3SP

Unfortunately, he must have misjudged it's exact location. Bearspirit brought his head up out of the water with empty jaws. He gave Ebonypaw a shrug and a good-natured grin.

"I'm a little rusty from not fishing for so long, but do you get the idea? You should give it a try, if you feel up for it."

OOC: All information above brought to you by... someone who actually does fish in rivers and catches a lot of fish! I hope you've enjoyed this free snippet of knowledge!

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Ebonypaw nearly jumped out of his skin as Bearspirit burst into the den, his long fur already a mess from sleep now fluffed up with shock. However, his confusion was quickly replaced with elation as he realized he would finally be able to fish, and more importantly, eat fish. All he had ever had were a few measly minnows in his kithood, more treats than an actual meal. Just enough to get the taste but barely any more than that. Today would change that though, today was when he was to become a Riverclan cat in practice rather than spirit.

He was quick to join his mentor after making himself presentable, feeding off the other's infectious enthusiasm like a starving bear. His leg was healed and soon the scar would be hidden behind fur, allowing him to bound and skip along with his mentor all the way down to the riverside. He had only seen it from a distance when they would hunt land prey, but he was quick to gather why Riverclan had based their lives around the water. It was surprisingly calming, even with the two toms teeming with excitement. The soft bubbling sound, seeing the flickers of life beneath the water, he didn't know whether to leap into it or take a nap beside it.

He crouched beside his mentor, mimicking his caution as they peered into the cool liquid. Ebonypaw excitedly nodded along with all the new information dumped on him, trying to observe it while it was explained. It was a lot to take in at once, but Bearspirit's little rhymes made him chuckle and were memorable. He could handle this, he just had to focus and keep the rhymes in mind. It was his first time fishing too, he was allowed time to fail and learn, even if it sucked to lose a fish.

Bearspirit entered the water and Ebonypaw watched from the sidelines, eyes intent on picking up every detail of the hunt while his tail flicked with interest. Slow steps towards the prey, then a quick-as-lightning strike, similar enough to hunting on land. While his mentor came up empty-jawed, he nodded at his question. "Yeah, I think I got it. Let me try." He lowered a paw into the water, only to blink in shock and pull back. "Oh! Cold." An embarrassed chuckle rose from his throat before he entered the water completely. It soaked through his fur as quickly as it was submerged, allowing the chill to reach his skin, but his long, thin legs seemed made for the water already.

He slowly made his way upstream, his eyes on a fallen log halfway submerged within the water and shaded by long cattails on the bank. Ignoring the cold was difficult, but necessary as he lowered himself, his thick fur becoming saturated with river water as he neared his target. A flash of silver scales caught his attention, his eyes narrowing before quickly dunking his head beneath the water's surface.

His teeth caught scales and he hastily snapped them shut, the fish wriggling madly in his mouth as he pulled it out of the water. The fish nearly slipped from his teeth as he fought the urge to dance in the middle of the river. He caught it! He practically pranced back to the shore, passing elated glances back to his mentor. The moment he could drop a safe distance on the bank, he twisted to face his mentor. "I did it! First try! This is so much better than land hunting!" The weasel was a one-time thing so far, but it had certainly tainted his experience. However, the water was new and no predator could rise from the water to grab him like the weasel had manifested from the forest. As far as he was aware anyway.

Ebonypaw attempted to catch a fish! It was a success! -3SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

Bearspirit finally shut his yap and let the lad try to catch a fish. He stayed very still so as not to scare off any potential fish and prayed that Ebonypaw would do well. His prayers were answered as the dark tom pulled a fish out of the water. Bearspirit chuckled at the sight of it and was especially tickled at how proud Ebonypaw looked. He'd earned it.

"You're a natural! I knew you would be!" Bearspirit meowed. Now... to redeem himself after missing that first fish. He needed to remember how to fish, apparently. Another thought hit him and he looked back at his apprentice.

"Ebonypaw... go ahead and eat that if you want. I know what the rules are but the fish are finally back and that's your first one. No one should have that one but you." It was okay to do once in awhile, he was sure. If another warrior took issue with it then Bearspirit would handle it himself.

The marbled tom crept forward to the next rock and spotted another fish. He closed the distance slowly, but when he finally felt confident, his head was under the water in a flash. His teeth closed around the wiggling creature and he pulled his head out of the water. Success! It felt so good to catch fish again! He brought it up to the bank and held it down with a paw until it stopped flopping around.

One more for the freshkill pile!

"How is it?"

A loud purr burst forth from his chest at the praise only to fumble at Bearspirit's suggestion. Eat the fish here? Before bringing it to the elders? He looked down at his prey, the thought more enticing than he would have liked. He was hungry like everyone else in the clan, but now that the river was flowing with fish again, there would be enough to go around. Starclan wouldn't be upset if he ate one fish, right? He gave one cautious glance towards the sky as if the dawn could give answers to what Starclan wanted before giving in to his own desires. It was just one fish. He wouldn't make a habit of it. "Alright, if you say it's ok."

He laid down, tucking his wet paws underneath himself before taking his first bite of a real fish. It was so savory and rich and the meat was much softer than land prey. The little minnow treats he had before barely compared! He happily ate some more, filling his empty stomach as he watched Bearspirit catch a replacement. It was more tangible proof the river could support the clan now, allowing his guilt of breaking the code to recede. He was thankful the dogs left so early in his apprenticeship.

"It's really good! So much better than mice and birds." Though, he might still try and catch birds regardless. He had kept up the habit of collecting feathers since he left the nursery and didn't intend to stop now that the fish were back. "Do you want some? You showed me how to catch it after all. I don't mind sharing." There was still about half left if Bearspirit chose to partake.

Bearspirit buried his fish quickly and had his paws back in the river before long. Ebonypaw called out to him and he stopped with his forelegs half way submerged. He smiled and shook his head. "No, that's alright! Just make sure you catch a few more to take back to the elders when you're done." Bearspirit would eat later. He enjoyed catching fish just as much as he enjoyed eating them. He caught another in no time and brought it back to where he buried the first fish. He was glad that he hadn't completely lost his technique.

"Would you want to swim with me when we finish our patrol? That's just as important to learn as a Riverclan warrior. Maybe I'll teach you the Underwater Clinch as well." Was he getting ahead of himself? He knew apprentices had a lot of energy usually, but he also was not lacking in stamina. Not to mention he out-muscled most Riverclan cats to begin with.

Ebonypaw nodded at Bearspirit's refusal, happy to tuck back into the fish all by himself. The river was full of fish once more, so it wasn't like this was the last chance for his mentor to taste it again. He scarfed it down in no time, forgetting to savor the flavors in his excitement and being left but nothing but scales and bones. Time to go back to hunting. He joined Bearspirit back in the water, not as spooked by the cold as he had been the first time. He could only imagine how satisfying it would be to swim in the summer, where his thick black coat would absorb all the heat.

His green eyes scanned the water for more fish only to look back at Bearspirit in awe at his offer. "Sure!" he chirped, not saying more in fear that he would start to ramble his excitement. He couldn't remember the last time he had the opportunity to swim. The broken pools were off-limits for kits due to the dogs and only recently did the river open up to him. All his practice came from the river that surrounded camp, provided it was calm enough not to carry him off. He wasn't sure if his swimming skills were good enough yet to be able to learn such a move, but Ebonypaw was determined to try anyway.

His attention was brought back to the water at the flicker of sunlight reflecting off scales, a fish having just found a new hiding space near the rocks. He purred to himself, slowly creeping forward before swiftly snatching the fish out of the water. He purred to himself, happy he was picking this up so quickly as he went to go bury his catch.