I'm not Burningwing (Hunting for Zenpaii)

Nightstalker was nervous, that was for certain. His first apprentice. But he would not show it for he had appearances to keep up. Padding into the apprentice's den, he prodded his apprentice awake, surely tuckered out by their extensive tour of the territory which had thankfully gone off without a hitch for once. "Wake up, we're going out for a hunt." he mewed sternly before backing himself out. It was not long ago that this was the den he slept in. Whether he was grateful to be out was up for debate, it was still awkward being in the same den as Burningwing, Frostgaze, and Mistyfalcon... but it was getting easier he supposed.

The young tom sat by the camp entrance and waited.

Sootpaw jerked awake at the sound of his mentor's voice, yawning and dragging himself out of his nest. His paws were sore from his tour of the territory, he'd had no idea Shadowclan's lands expanded quite so far. Regardless, he was excited to learn how to hunt for his clan.

Blinking sleep from his eyes, he emerged from the apprentice den, shaking bits of moss from his pelt and looking around until he spotted Nightstalker's dark form perched by the entrance. He quickly trotted over, his eyes aglow with anticipation.

"Today we will be hunting in the Pine Grove. Do you remember it from our tour?" Nightstalker meowed, getting to his paws and paving the way for his young apprentice to follow closely behind. Nightstalker let them walk a bit before he spoke up. "While we are traveling to our destination, take this time to take all the smells in. Think long and hard about everything you smell, from earthy tones, to musty, to the smell of pines. It may all smell like one big scent, but the more you practice, the better and sooner you can distinguish the scents." He meowed, opening his maw and tilting his head to demonstrate.

Sootpaw followed behind Nightstalker, scrunching his eyes closed as he tried to focus on the smells surrounding him. His tail twitched in concentration. The scents seemed to be muddling together, all of them recognizable as the familiar pine forest, some more familiar than others.

Frustrated, he shook his head.

"I can smell you." The dark-furred apprentice muttered sarcastically.

I'm probably just not doing it right! He thought to himself with a lash of his tail. Focusing on his task once more, he parted his jaws, trying to identify specific scents.

"There's something... It smells awful- I remember hearing the warriors talk about twoleg things smelling like that, but I never imagined it'd be this bad"

"... well that's two things. But that's alright I suppose. You'll get there, you just have to believe that you will." Nightstalker meowed, trying his best to be encouraging without being too nice about it. With a shrug, he paused the both of them in their tracks, their paws finding themselves at the Pine Grove. "If your strongest sense is not your nose, then try giving your other senses a try. See if you can hear anything, small and rustling, or slithery? Something chirpy or scratchy. You can also look around too." Nightstalker meowed. There was prey around, scant and sparse as it was, hopefully, Sootpaw could find them.

"Hmmmm" He muttered as he concentrated, his ears pricked and his eyes flitting rapidly around the grove.

Before long, his ears picked up a small scuffling noise, like tiny paws rustling leaves.

"I can hear something! There, by those roots!"

He pointed with his tail to a clump of roots near the edge of the clearing. He strained to hear anything else, but the indicators of prey seemed to be few and far between.

They're probably curled up warm in their nests, Sootpaw thought with a hint of jealousy as a chilly breeze ruffled his fur.

"Good, very good, Sootpaw. Now, I want you to try to get it. Tuck your paws underneath you, and steady your tail." Getting into his own hunter's crouch to demonstrate a bit better. "You can dig your claws into the soil to help steady yourself if you need to. Once you are ready, approach your target and leap for it."

He crouched on the ground, trying to imitate Nightstalker's stance. His paws felt heavy and awkward as he tucked them in by his side.
Fixing his eyes on the clump of roots, he began to slide slowly across the forest floor, his eyes alert, focused.

Shifting his weight onto his back legs, he bunched up his muscles and leaped forward.

The leap was clumsy, so he was surprised when his paws landed squarely on the vole, it's panicked squeal cut off quickly by his killing bite. His ears rushing with adrenaline, he turned to Nightstalker, proudly standing over his first catch.




Sootpaw tried to catch a vole. Success!
55/60 SP
OOC: yea idk if I did this right

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

"Wonderful catch! Starclan has truly blessed you on your first hunt, tonight." Nightstalker meowed approvingly, giving his apprentice's catch an approving nod. "Now, kick some debris over it, and try again. Practice makes perfect after all."

Sootpaw purred with pride, using his paw to scrape some dust over the vole. He felt like a real warrior now! Motivated by his success, he stood and confidently prowled past his catch, stopping to prick his ears for any more noises.

This time, he scented the prey before he heard it, the smell familiar as something he'd eaten quite a few times before. He turned toward the scent, his movements stilling as his eyes locked on a squirrel nibbling a seed.

It was a bit scrawny, he'd admit, but food was food he supposed.

He dropped low, his belly fur brushing the snow and his paws shifting clumsily to get in the right position.

Fixing his gaze on the unsuspecting squirrel, he began to creep forward.

As he squared his haunches to pounce, he noticed his tail was sticking up obnoxiously, and he lowered it with a thump, trying to correct his hunting posture. Unfortunately, the loud sound of his tail hitting the snowy ground alerted the squirrel, who immediately fled for the nearest tree. Frustrated, Sootpaw aimed a hurried leap towards it, letting out an annoyed hiss when his paws landed empty and the squirrel escaped into the shelter of the pine tree, chittering at him as it went.

"Great, now it's laughing at me" He commented snarkily, his eyes fixed on the tree in an angry glare.


Sootpaw attempted to catch a squirrel! Failure!
50/60 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3