Hunting Like A Dream:

As he'd promised the new apprentice, the young tom's first lesson would be about hunting. After awakening the younger cat somewhat early in the morning so they could get a decent head tart, Silverlight began to lead them to his favorite hunting spot. He'd gotten more fortunate than not with his catches there and it soon became one of his most visited places. He'd hoped to one day share it with an apprentice and now that Dreampaw was under his mentorship, his hopes could now become a reality.

"Aaand we're here." announced the large tom as he stopped their movement. He'd also taken the trip as a teaching opportunity. Aside from a small territory tour, the warrior had explained the basics of how hunting worked in WindClan territory as well as the prey and predators that could be found within. He'd also taken the liberty of explaining the hunting crouch and what the apprentice would be practicing before they would even begin their hunt.

"Alright. I've already explained what you'll be trying out first on our way here. The hunting crouch is used among all the clans, however, it's not the only way of hunting prey. For example, us WindClanners are the fastest compared to the other clans and if the conditions are right, we can basically skip the crouch and speed our way to a successful catch. It won't always work but it's useful if you're in a hurry. For now, though, let's have you try out the hunting crouch. It's always good to start with the basics before going onto more complicated things."

The warrior dropped down into a crouch, paws spaced evenly and tail just barely above the ground. He then began to move around to show his apprentice how it looked in motion. "When you're trying this, always check how much weight you're putting on your paws. Try to evenly distribute your weight so you can keep your steps light. When I first practiced this, I made for quite the silly sight. I felt so lopsided. I was young and much less graceful back then so i guess I can give myself some slack... Anyway, be aware of your tail and make sure it doesn't drag on the ground. That'll most likely ruin your hunt. Keep a steady pace when approaching your prey and try to keep a good focus, however, always leave your senses open so you can detect any dangers that could be trying to sneak up on you. I've... learned that the heard way. I can't even begin to count how many times I've gotten too absorbed in my hunting that I've left my back open to attacks. I ain't proud of that but I'm telling ya this so you keep in mind that all mistakes can be learned from. Nobody is perfect but I guess we can try to be the best versions of ourselves we can be." Silverlight stopped his demonstration and rose back up. He grinned at Dreampaw and nodded for him to begin, "It's your turn now, my loyal apprentice. Try your best and if I spot any mistakes, I'll let you know but if you feel them first, please say so. I want you to try and correct what you're able to by yourself first. Keeps ya well aware."

Ever since he had been outside, Dreampaw seemed fascinated with every destination he have briefly gotten a look at. He knew that enjoying the scenery wasn't the main goal here, though his eyes couldn't help but to scan through at it all. It all seemed so— so new, and wonderful! It was unlike anything he ever saw in camp before. Coincidentally, his imagination of the moors before while he was still a kit— seemed to match the scenery he had gazed through with his mentor. Though as soon as Silverlight stopped, so did he.  

Listening, and watching closely to what Silverlight has instructed— Dreampaw nodded, and carefully memorizing the warrior's hunting crouch. The tom dropped himself down, mimicking his mentor's crouch as best as a new apprentice could. His weight evenly spreaded between himself, and the young tom tried to keep his weight in his haunches, paws kept light on the ground. He crept forward, imagining himself stalking a prey right in front of his very own eyes. His crouch was nearly perfect— has it not have been for his tail. His tail weighted himself lower than necessary, unintentionally brushing against the ground. He clearly felt like something was wrong.. No, he knew something was wrong. The apprentice frowned, tail swaying with uneasiness. With a gentle raise of the tail, he lifted it slightly, now barely just touching the ground. Readied, he carefully crept forward— then stopped.

Feeling more confident on his pose, Dreampaw looked back at his mentor, waiting for him to comment on his crouch as he purposely froze in place. That way, Silverlight would be able to directly show him what went wrong. He wouldn't need to crouch down again for Silverlight to help him on.

He was keeping an eagle eye on the younger's progress. As he'd hoped, Dreampaw was a promising apprentice. Silver would forever be thankful for getting this particular Down-kit. Dreampaw wasn't perfect of course— the warrior could certainly see room for improvement. However, if the younger was this dedicated to getting things right and getting them right quick, nobody would see Silverlight complaining.

"Great first attempt! I can see that you've got a good handle of your weight distribution. A much better try than what I'd first done when it had been my first day of apprenticeship. However, I'm sure that you felt like something was off while you were trying to move. You corrected it rather quickly and I'm impressed. Keeping your tail off the ground while you're focused on the prey your stalking can be a bit challenging so I suggest holding it just a bit higher in the meantime. Trust me when I say that it won't ruin any of your hunts. This is just for now while you get used to holding it barely above the ground. Here, let me show you where to hold it at." The gray-furred warrior padded up to his apprentice and gently moved up the other's tail with a paw until it was an appropriate height. It was much more lax yet concealed enough. A good starting point for Dream to practice his tail control.

"There. Now move again and feel the difference." he instructed as he stepped back to allow the other to do so. After a few moments of watching, the warrior nodded to himself. It appeared that Dreampaw was having to focus less on his tail and was moving more confidently and comfortably. "See how less straining that position is now that you aren't having to keep an eye on your tail? Remember that this should be temporary. You'll have to practice this crouch everyday while lowering your tail closer and closer to the ground each time. Soon enough, you'll be crouching with ease!" Pride was evident on the mentor's face as he grinned at the younger tom. Now, it was time to really begin.

He allowed his apprentice to ease back up and soon began to speak again, "Alright, now I want you to use what you've learned so far and try to catch something for real, but, let me explain some things first. You'll need to learn these before trying anything." The silver warrior cleared his throat before beginning, "As I've already explained on our walk, our primary prey here are rabbits and hares with the occasional bird. We get very little of the other types, if none. It's why we always have to be quick on our pays. Those little furballs are as fast on their paws as we are on ours, maybe even faster. Before you even think of going after one, always keep these things in mind: Make sure that there aren't any holes or dens in the near area that something can come out of or go into easily. The amount of sneak attacks caused by weasels and foxes that were hiding in dens is quite a worrying number. On another note, just stay away from geese if your alone. Those birds are absolute monsters and are quite literally fearless and won't ever hesitate in attacking you. This is something I also learned the hard way... Anyway, these holes and dens can also be used by prey as a way to escape your clutches. Once something's in a den, you won't be getting it out. There are many of these all around our territory— I'll be pointing some out to you before you begin. This means that you either have to go after a prey that isn't near a den, use your hunting crouch effectively as you deal it a silent attack, or just plain outrun it and catch it before it can hide away... Something else you should know is to keep yourself downwind from rabbits and hares. They'll instantly hide if they smell your scent. The wind can carry our scents either to or away from anything and what we want is the latter. That'll increase our chances of a successful hunt." Silverlight took in a breath after having exhausted most of it in his long explanation. He looked to see if Dreampaw was getting what he was saying. Once he was reassured, he decided to continue on.

"Alright, now that you've got all that down, let me start first and try to catch something before you try. Watch me and how I move and what I do even before I begin stalking." With that, Silver walked out of their little section and carefully began to scent the air, green eyes as sharp as ever as he searched. He kept his ears primarily open for anything that may be sneaking up on him but also utilized his hearing for his search. It took some time before he spotted a hare not far from where they'd been. Alright. It's show time!

The large warrior dropped down into the hunting crouch with relative ease— moons of experience evident in his swift and graceful movements. He was fortunately already downwind from it and as far as he could see, there weren't any dens nearby. He was free to start. He carefully moved up to it at a level pace. He paused himself just a few lengths away and awaited any suspicious movements from the hare. As soon as he was in the clear, he bunched up his haunches and then promptly leaped at it.

With no surprise, it was a quick and easy catch. The tom turned back and signaled to his apprentice to come over. Once the other had arrived, he smiled at him reassuringly. "I used the hunting crouch method since it's the only thing you've practiced so far. I also used everything else that I taught you, like searching for dens and keeping downwind. Now, I want you to try. This area here is free from any close dens so try to search for something close to here. I'll be keeping back as you did with me but instead of just watching, I'll be keeping my eyes out for any danger. I didn't ask you to do this because I'm quite able to handle things but since it's your first day, I'll have your back so you don't have to multitask too much. You'll learn as you keep doing this." Once he finished, he patted Dreampaw's shoulder with his tail as he walked away. He kept his distance as promised and gave the younger the go ahead. Now it was time to see what Dream could do.
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Silverlight was successful in catching a Hare costing 3 SP.

Silverlight:
60/60[HP]
137/140[SP] (-3 SP)

The member 'Mayflower Middy' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

For once— Dreampaw widened his eyes, astonished by Silverlight's surprisingly quick catch. Every step he took, clear elegance and skillful beamed from it. Raising up his nose, the tom tried to sense any familiar scents of prey that he could recognize— and there it was! A somewhat faint, though clearly noticable scent of a hare nearby. Then within just a heartbeat, Silverlight has already caught it, now showing him the hare that he had just caught. Noticing the signal for him to come over, Dreampaw obediently did, and continued to listen closely to Silverlight's words. Soon enough, it was finally his turn to take it in action. The young tom took in a deep breath, and kept his eyes sharp for movements.

They scanned the clearing, constantly searching for a prey in sight. There. They finally saw it. A grey, fairly plump rabbit. Rabbits and hares were fast— but that didn't stop him from attempting to catch one. His eyes narrowed as he carefully crouched down, managing to remember the crouch that Silverlight had fixed for him before. Slowly, he began to creep up on it, keeping each pawsteps of his as light as a feather. He was determined to not let his mentor down. After all, Silverlight had been so determined as well, guiding him through every littlest of details that he needed to know of. Then with a final jump, Dreampaw immediately pushed himself up, and leaped torwards the rabbit with paws outstretched. As soon as his fangs pierced through the creature's neck, the tom snapped his jaws shut, finishing off the rabbit in just a blink of an eye.

Dreampaw softly smiled, returning back to Silverlight with the successful catch held in his mouth. He had kill the rabbit swiftly and quietly— just like how the warrior have instructed for him to do.

Dreampaw attempted to catch a rabbit. It was a success!

Dreampaw
20/20 HP
57/60 SP (-3)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

OOC: I can spawn in an enemy after your post like we've discussed (Only if you don't spawn one in with the dice first)

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IC: At the sight of the rabbit his apprentice had gone after dangling securely from the young tom's jaws, Silver's chest swelled with pride. That had been quite the smooth catch! He could certainly tell that his teaching method was proving effective. He felt like Daystar would be proud of him for passing down her lessons.

"That was a great catch Dreampaw! It was quick and well executed. I'm glad that you're learning as fast as you are!" the warrior praised with a grin. "Now, let's catch something again but with a different method. We're going to hunt with our speed alone. I want you to do what you did before but instead of using the hunting crouch once you've got a target, immediately start sprinting toward it and try to time a direct pounce as you near it. Remember to keep downwind for the best outcome. I'll demonstrate first but keep in mind that this method doesn't bring out the most successful results unlike using the hunting crouch. We still have to practice this though. Speed and agility is in a WindClanner's blood after all."

The warrior signaled for his apprentice to move back as he began to scent the area again. Like before, it didn't take long for him to spot a critter. This time, it was a rabbit. The silver-furred tom maneuvered himself downwind from the furry creature and as soon as he was, he wasted no time in racing toward it, eyes zeroed on the prize. Once he felt like he was nearing the appropriate distance to leap, he did so, unsheathed paws outstretched and momentum backing up his movements.

The warrior felt relieved when his paws closed around the warm body of his prey. It was a direct hit! It had been such a successful catch that the rabbit didn't even have a chance to react to it's impending doom. The tom picked up the rabbit with his jaws and hurried back to the waiting apprentice.

"As I just demonstrated, you must push your muscles more than previously since this is all about how fast you can take something down," he began as he dropped his catch by his paws, "Don't overdo it either. Find a middle ground and keep your eyes steady and let your legs push you to victory. Timing your pounce is a crucial part of this method. I found out that someone my size has the most success leaping from a fox-length or so away. You're smaller than me so I suggest just a bit short of that. It'll be tricky since you can either overshoot it or barely miss the mark depending on how fast you're going or at what distance you leap at. I want you to try it out but don't feel discouraged if you miss. You can always practice more and more to improve on your aim. I believe in you though! No matter the outcome, I'll be proud of you anyway. You've showed me so much growth in such a short amount of time and this is barely your first day of training! Just do your best but also, have fun! Hunting becomes a chore if you so choose it to be. It can be a blast if you allow the stress of it all fall away."

After that, the mentor, walked back once again and signaled for Dreampaw to start his turn.
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Silverlight was successful in catching a Rabbit costing 3 SP.

Silverlight:
60/60[HP]
134/140[SP] (-3 SP)

The member 'Mayflower Middy' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

Once again, Dreampaw stared up at his mentor, eyes gleaming in awe. For the first time in what felt like moons, he truly hadn't been distracted. At least, not distracted until now, he had hoped. Just as earlier, the apprentice nodded, watching Silverlight's movements. As soon as he had finished, Dreampaw took his turn, and set of into the not-too-far-off distance in search for prey. "Ears keen, eyes sharp." He had told himself. Right then, another rabbit scent from behind a tree has caught his attention. Slowly, Dreampaw approached the sound with high caution, right until he was nearby. Then as his mentor has instructed, he didn't plan on using the hunting crouch any further— and bolted torwards the scent, fangs beared in action.

As soon as he have taken off, so did the rabbit. His eyes widened in wary, though quickly narrowed it to focus more on the prey. It was fast. It dashed left and right, making him forced to continue on with the abrupt turns. Though finally— he was just a fox-length away from it, and decided to land his final leap. With unsheathed claws, he took enough force in his haunches, and leaped on the prey. As his claws and fangs sunk in, he heard a small shriek of the rabbit before it immediately got finished off. He gave thanks to StarClan for the prey, and trotted back to his mentor. Fortunately enough, today has gone quite well.

Dreampaw attempted to catch a rabbit. It was a success!

Dreampaw
20/20 HP
54/60 SP

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ooc: Is it just me, or do I have unnecessary luck at hunting with my oc's? I normally can't trigger a predator unless forced

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3