Cold Yet Determined [Closed for Zeeps 'N' Stars]

It was déjà vu all over again. Here he was walking over to the apprentices' place to rest to awaken Pinepaw so they could begin his training. It was early in the morning and the rest of his clanmates have yet to do something productive. The wind was blowing and the cold was seeping into his bones. Yep. Leaf-bare was here...oh joy. A faint memory of a certain she-cat flashed through his head before he shook it away. It was no time to think. He needed Pine up and ready to go.

"Kid. Time for your training remember? Meet me at the camp's entrance as soon as you're up. Got it?" he instructed the apprentice as he nudged said tom awake with a paw. The warrior then made his way over to the rendezvous place only looking behind him once to see if the other had awoken. He hoped the young tom had heard him or he'd have to go back and that wasn't something he wanted to do.

Pinepaw slept softly, then was awoken, by.. uh.. Oh, Robinpatch!, Robinpatch was trying to wake him up, but... for what- OH RIGHT TRAINING!, Pinepaw practically Leaped out of his moss bed and Caught up with his mentor at the Camp entrance. "I'm here!.. I'm here. Pinepaw announced to His mentor, panting because of how fast he got out of his bed "What're we doing? He asked, Shaking the tired out of him and looking at his mentor with Wonder and Excitement for the upcoming training.

Thank the stars! Pine had actually heard him. He relaxed as he watched his apprentice scramble over to him. The sense of urgency in Pinepaw's movements pleased Robinpatch. He appreciated his words being taken to heart. "Like I promised at your ceremony, we'll be tackling on the joys of hunting. I've decided to teach you how to hunt fish for this lesson. Tomorrow we'll be doing some land hunting instead. As you know, Leaf-bare has finally taken over and it'll be harder to find as much prey as we used to. That won't stop us though. We'll do our best to bring back what we can and be prideful while doing so." Robinpatch grinned at the other tom. He stood up and beckoned him to follow. "Come, my faithful minion. Let's go and use our time as best as we can."

The trip to the river wasn't as fruitless as expected. All along the way the warrior took the time to explain more about their territory to his companion. He'd given him a rundown of the river, sunningrocks, beechcopse, the broken pools, and even the twolegplace farm. It wasn't super detailed since the walk wasn't going to take too long. It was just enough for Pine to get a good grasp on the layout and what each area offered the clan. As soon as they made it to their destination, he held up his tail to signal arrival. It was time to begin that day's lesson.

"Alright kid. Here's our clan's famous river. A beauty ain't it? Pretty much one of our prides. Leaf-bare's tough on it though. That's why I brought you here for your first day. I want you to experience fishing before the cold becomes too much...you with me so far?" The warrior scanned Pine's face to see if he was comprehending well. "Okay then. I'll be teaching you how to fish. I need you to stay close yet not too close as I demonstrate the techniques. You ready? I'll begin once you've given me conformation."

Pinepaw sat as he listened, Hunting, eh? What're we hunting?  He thought, as his question was immediately answered, Tomorrow, More hunting? nice, They walked and Pinepaw learnt briefly of the territory, The clan was Beautiful right now, but also cold, Aside from that, they finally made it, They were at the Beautiful River. "It's.. Gorgeous.."

It was indeed beautiful, He was going to fish!- er, LEARN how to fish. "Yep, I got it!" He said, Excited and Ready to learn, He watched as his mentor, Robinpatch, taught him how to fish

The warrior gave him a faint smile. "Good. That's what I like to hear kid." he said approvingly. He then walked over to the edge of the river bank and settled down. He turned his head to address the apprentice behind him. "Alright. First things first, pick a spot next to the river's edge then either sit or lay down. Be careful as to not slip in. It's a struggle to get out for you youngsters cause of the currents but it's even harder now that it's getting colder." The warrior chose to remain seated instead of laying down. "If the sun's shining somewhere behind ya, you're going to have an extra step to do. You're gonna want to watch your shadow. Make sure it isn't casting on the water. If it is, either scooch back or pick a better spot." The calico-colored tom allowed his apprentice to inspect his positioning and where his shadow was before he started again, "Next, get those claws ready. Those are an essential part of fishing. It's how you'll snatch your fish outta the water. Also, keep your senses sharp. Your back will be exposed when you're doing this type of hunting so you'll need to be extra aware of anything that might be trying to approach ya. I'll be watching your back for ya but when you're hunting alone, keep this in mind. Safety first kid."

The older tom paused his explanation so the apprentice could take it all in. Once he was reassured that he was following, he spoke up, "Once you have all that down, you can start the watching part. This could either take a while or it could be almost instant. Just focus your eyes on the water and watch for any of the fish to swim right under ya. The less clear a fish seems, the closer to the surface it is. Keep that in mind when your aiming your claws." Robinpatch turned his eyes to the water as said previously and kept them trained while his instructions continued, "As soon as one is where you want it, do a quick scooping movement with your paw and make sure to sink your claws into the fish so it doesn't slip away. Once ya got the bugger hooked, throw it behind ya so it's safely away from the water. If you can balance the thing well enough, you can just bring it up to your mouth and kill it with a bite as soon as ya catch it. Do what you need to ensure it doesn't jump back into the river. You can even stand on your back legs and use both paws to catch but that will take time to perfect. Try different strategies. Use the one that's best for ya. That's a great way to help yourself improve..." Robin trailed off as his eyes caught a glimpse of movement in the water that was headed for him. "Okay, okay. Look here kid! One's coming right now. I can demonstrate the techniques I just explained. This'll really help ya see what ya gotta do. Before you have your turn, remember that if you aren't able to catch something, it's all good. Nobody's perfect kiddo. I've missed quite a bit before. Never give up though. Just keep going."

The warrior lifted a paw as he eyed the blurry figure swimming right to him. Wait for it...Go! He dunked his paw in the water with his claws ready to hook the scaly creature. Hopefully he'd be able to catch the bugger.

He...should really stop doubting himself. He had the fish caught before his eyes could even track his own movement. He sighed internally. Thank the stars for this meal he caught. The warrior brought the fish to his jaws and bit it until it stopped wriggling. It was dead. He nodded to himself then turned to Pinepaw, fish still skewered on his claws. "You saw the movements I did? That's what you're aiming to do. It'll take a while to hunt with that type of speed but I believe ya can achieve some good things kiddo. Just believe in yourself." The warrior unhooked his catch and placed it safely next to him. "Okay. I want you to try this now. I'll be right here to watch in case of any trouble so just focus on your hunting." The older tom settled a few tail-lengths away as to give the apprentice some room. "Okay. Go for it kid."

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

Pinepaw listened and watched as His mentor, Robinpatch Explained how to fish, Each word echoing in his mind, Pick a spot? Got it. He sat close to Robinpatch, But not close enough to the river to Catch anything, And not too close that it'd be possible to slip in, next? If the sun is shining behind you, Check your shadow on the water, Got it!, He looked for Robinpatch's shadow on the water, There wasn't any, Next thing, Get the claws ready, It's how to fish, Keep your senses sharp, Know what's behind you, Your back is a weak spot while fishing, So be aware, It clouded Pinepaw's mind.. But he got a breather to take it in and make a mental note of it, And think of now. "Okay, I'm ready to move on!" When his breather ended, His mind was clear, Mental notes made, And he was focusing on now. The hazier the fish, The closer it is. It could take awhile to find one or an instant. Once you have one where you want it, You scoop it out, Sink your claws into the fish to make sure it doesn't get away, Pinepaw added these to his mental notes, Making sure they were stuck in there, he continued to listen to his mentor. You can either throw it behind yourself, Or.. If you have the speed, You can quickly put it to your mouth and bite into it, killing it. The thoughts of the techniques Amazed Pinepaw! It'll take time, But Pinepaw will get it, Eventually. Pinepaw watched as Robinpatch caught a fish! now it was Pinepaw's turn. Pinepaw sat by the river, Carefully getting close enough to get a fish, He checked is there was any backlighting, none, He hovered other the water And waited for the chance to strike, About a minute later, a shadow appeared! Pinepaw scrambled to get it.
He did it, He caught it! Pinepaw inserted his claws into the catch and threw it behind him, He'd caught a fish!, He walked up to the leaping fish, and bit into it, Killing it.

The member 'Zeeps 'N' Stars' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

Saying he was mildly impressed would be putting it lightly. The kid had potential. Normally he'd rack this up as beginner's luck but as he surveyed the apprentice's try, he noticed that he was putting to use all of the guidance given to him. Seeing how well Pine was listening made the old tom feel lighter than ever. He appreciated a good apprentice. Well, he hadn't had bad ones before but this tom seemed to be able to grasp things quicker.

"Well kid. Seems like ya caught one. I gotta say, I'm impressed. You've, um, done good, Pinepaw. Well done. Be proud of yourself kiddo. You're a quick learner. That's gonna help ya down the path." The warrior offered a light pat to the tom's head with his tail and an approving look then walked back to the edge of the water. "Let's try to catch one more and then I'll be able to call this a successful day. If we can't then it's alright. We've already gotten two nice fish to take back home." He signaled for the other to start then turned back to focus on his own hunting.

He'd almost caught another fish but he had miscalculated how deep the thing was and had only grazed it with his claws. Well. The tom shook his head and got up from his spot. He stretched his limbs then offered his apprentice a shrug. "Lost my catch. See what I mean? Everyone misses once in a while so there's no need to fret if ya don't get things right. Guess my eyesight's not what it used to be." he snorted then moved to sit near the other tom. He still gave him space though. "You try to see if you can make up for my sad miss and catch a second one. I got faith in ya. Just try your best kiddo."

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Pinepaw was delighted by Robinpatch complimenting him. "Either that or you're a good teacher!" He chuckled, Robinpatch was a Great mentor in his eyes, they were going to catch one more fish each, He watched as Robinpatch barely grazed a fish, His turn! He stared at the water, His eyes staring, waiting. A few minutes later, A shadow passes by..

...He didn't notice it, Too focused on the water and not looking at anything else!, oh well, As soon as it exited his line of sight did he realize that a fish went by him! "Ah... uh...
Better luck next time?

The member 'Zeeps 'N' Stars' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

The warrior snorted then let out a hearty laugh as they had both failed their second tries at fishing. That was something rare for him to do but he just couldn't help it. "Better luck next time indeed kid. Like I said before, we've already got one each. They're both a good size so it's all good." The calico-furred tom walked over to Pinepaw and nudged him gently with a grin. "Alright. I say today was a success. Let's grab our fishes and skedaddle outta here. Hey, since ya did a pretty good job today, you can eat your fish when we get back to camp as a treat."

Robinpatch stretched then bent down to pick up his fish. He signaled for the apprentice to do the same. As they began their march back to camp, his mind began to wander for a bit. Today had been a good day. He was starting to get the hang of all this mentor stuff and he'd been blessed with one that could follow instructions well. For the first time in a long time, he was feeling prideful.

Pinepaw giggled alongside Robinpatch, All in good fun!, They had some good sized fish according to his mentor, And according to his mentor, He could have his own fish when they got back!, He was happy and tired, He couldn't wait to tell Petalpaw, His littermate, They each picked up their own fish and got outta there!, Pinepaw had fun, But now, It was time to go to camp.