White Bodies In Snow [c]

Hailfall awoke with the sun, the sky still bathed in orange when he emerged from his den and wandered over to the apprentice's den. He had to squint to find the proper white body among the other apprentices before he found the right cat, gently prodding them with a paw to wake the young tom. "Slightpaw? It's time to get up. I'll be waiting for you outside."


The moonlit creek, while at its most beautiful during the night, was still a wonderful sight during the day. It was mostly frozen over, only a few patches where the running water was left to the open air. High piles of snow were mostly undisturbed, though he could already see the faint tracks of bird feet. Hopefully that would be a good omen for their hunt. He had spent most of the morning going over the territory, but this was the perfect place to attempt some hunting as well.

"Skyclan cats tend to be excellent hunters in both the trees and on the ground, but I'll teach you grounded hunting first. It's good to know as there won't always be climbable trees where you are and because falling from trees while your this young isn't very safe." And, like his own mentor, his foggy sight made him unable to climb trees himself. He would have to arrange for Slightpaw to be taught climbing by a different warrior at some point, but for now, training could go unhindered.

"Keep close to the ground and quiet. You want to be crouched as low as possible but without letting your tail or belly drag. Get as close as you can to your target without spooking them, then, when they seem distracted, leap and pin your prey underneath your paws and bite just behind the skull to end it quickly. Prey's hard to find in leaf-bare, but let's see if I can be an example, hm?"

He lifted his head, parting his jaws just enough to taste the air. The freezing temperature burned his lungs with the inhale, but thankfully the scent of bird came with it. He gestured for Slightpaw to follow behind him, crouching low in the snow until soft brown feathers came into sight. A thrush, not quite the beautiful colors he was looking for but it was still food.

Hailfall took careful steps forward, slow so that the crunching snow wouldn't alert his target. Once he was close enough, he launched himself forward, a shower of flakes following his body. However, the snow crunched loudly under his paws, alerting the bird and allowing it to flutter away in fright just before his claws could hook it. "Ah, be careful with the snow too. It hides you, but its quite noisy if you don't step with light paws. How about you try now?"

Hailfall attempted to catch a bird, but was unsuccessful! -7 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

Slightpaw nodded along to his mentor's instructions, restlessly flicking his tail back and forth, which churned up the snow around him. watching Hailfall's crouch carefully, he mimicked carefully, gathering his weight on his hind quarters and keeping his belly above ground, he crawled around and scented the air. red fur flashed at the corner of his vision and without thinking he pounced. suddenly, mid-jump, talons grazed his fur and he landed in a heap. the squirrel ran away while the white tom whipped around to face his attacker. it was brown and had huge yellow eyes. he leaped at it with all his strength, claws reaching for any piece of flesh. thanks to it I lost my catch!

Slightpaw tried catching a squirrel but it was unsuccessful.
55/60 SP
a predator has spawned

Slightpaw used Jumping Strike, dealing 6 (+3) dmg and -7 SP

Owl
21HP/ 90SP (-9HP)

Slightpaw
20HP/ 48SP (-7SP)

the owl tumbled out of the sky and onto the snow-covered ground. It screeched as beady eyes found its target and with a few messy flaps of its wings it rose into the air again.

Owl used Talon Strike, dealing 7 dmg and -10 SP

Owl
21HP/ 80SP (-10SP)

Slightpaw
13HP/ 48SP (-7HP)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Hailfall watched his apprentice, attempting to critique Slightpaw's crouch and neglecting to watch the skies. It was only when a large shadow swept over the white landscape did Hailfall recognize his mistake. His gaze lifted from Slightpaw, noticing the bird just as it swooped down to attack his apprentice.

"Slightpaw!" he called, racing over as the younger tom struck the bird out of the sky. It wasn't long before it started to fly again, but it gave Hailfall an idea. The muscles in his back legs tensed before launching him into the air toward the predator, his claws digging into its wings as he dragged it down to the snowy ground with him.

Hailfall used Leap and Hold, costing 15 SP and dealing 8 Damage! The Owl is pinned for 1 Round!

Hailfall:
35/35 HP
48/70 SP (-15)

Slightpaw:
13/20 HP
48/60 SP

Owl: Pinned (1/1)
13/30 HP (-8)
80/90 SP

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

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'Effect Dice' : 2

Slightpaw felt pain shear through his shoulders as talon made contact with flesh. hissing and spitting with anger, the white tom slammed his claws on the owl's face.

Slightpaw used Front Paw Strike, dealing 6dmg and -7 SP

Owl
15HP/ 80SP (-6 HP)

Slightpaw
7HP/ 41SP (-7 SP)

Hailfall
35HP/ 45SP

[Ooc: I think there was a miscalculation in the owl's health. It had 13 health left and Slightpaw did 6 damage, so it should have 7 health by Hail's turn.]

Hailfall could feel a little pride well in his stomach as his apprentice attacked with bravery. They had barely begun training and Slghtpaw was already showing to be a fearsome warrior of Skyclan. Hailfall bit into the owl's wing, feathers and skin tearing beneath his teeth before the predator went limp beneath his weight. Slowly, he took a step off, making sure the Owl had passed before turning his attention back to his apprentice.

"That was amazing work, Slightpaw! I'm so proud of you, the owl didn't hurt you too bad, did it?" He fretted, gazing upon the wound the predator had made. He instinctively hoped it wouldn't scar for vanity's sake, but quickly corrected his internal dialogue. It would be an honorable scar to gain... though a part of him wished Muddythorn was still here to take a look at the injury. "Do you want to continue? I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to rest that shoulder."

Hailfall used Leap and Hold, costing 15 SP and dealing 8 Damage! The Owl is no longer pinned and K.O'ed!

Hailfall:
35/35 HP
33/70 SP (-15)

Slightpaw:
13/20 HP
41/60 SP

Owl: K.O'ed!
-1/30 HP (-8)
80/90 SP

OOC: right, sorry about the error!

Slightpaw watched as his mentor messily finished off the owl. he was intrigued by the red blood stains against the white tom's pelt, the way it shone brightly under the sun. such a beautiful scarlet! his thoughts were interrupted by Hailfall's fretting.

"No, I don't think I want to go back to camp," He said, his blue eyes flashing as his gaze lingered on the wound. craning his neck to check his shoulder, it was at red as Hailfall's muzzle and paws. he licked it roughly a few times, slowly shaping the stain to a claw-shaped mark. beautiful. "let's continue!" he added, bright and enthusiastic as ever, "Let's catch a bird for its feathers!"

He chuckled softly at the younger tom's enthusiasm, but his fuzzy gaze flicked over the wound a few more times. "Alright, but if it begins to be a problem we a going to go get it patched up. It's not like today is the only day to catch prey." He quickly hid the owl underneath the snow so that other predators wouldn't be drawn to the body. They could collect it after their training was finished. "Ok, let see if we can find any birds that won't scar up our pelts."

It took a while to find another bird's scent on the wind, and the white tom hastily crouched down. "Ok, lets see if we have better luck this time. When you find a bird you want to use to decorate, you have to make sure to do as little damage to the feathers as possible. A quick, clean kill is important to value the life of our prey, but it's also important to make sure we have the best pick of its feathers as possible." He crept forward ward, eventually peeking his head around a tree trunk to find his new target. A bluejay just within his reach was picking through the snow, too distracted to notice the two pale cats approaching.

However, a weasel had also found their prey, and in a flash of brown fur, snapped its jaws around the bird. Hailfall stiffened. His apprentice was already hurt, he didn't want another fight to do more damage. His tail flicked in a silent motion to retreat, but his step backward snapped a twig hidden beneath the snow and alerted the predator. "Foxdung..." Hailfall hissed, his fur bristling as amber eyes trained on him. The mustelid bared its teeth in a whistling cry, an aggressive warning it was looking for another fight.

He rushed forward with no hesitation, securing his apprentice would be unharmed as he distracted it with claws to its face. The weasel was quick to retaliate, clamping its jaws down on his paw. He winced in pain before turning his head to instruct Slightpaw. "Flank it from behind! Once it realized it's outmatched and overwhelmed, it will flee!"

Hailfall attempted to catch a bird, but summoned a predator instead! -7 SP
(ooc: The dice is not our friend today >:/)

Hailfall used Front Paw Strike, costing 7 SP and dealing 8 Damage!
The Weasel used Gripping Bite, costing 15 SP and dealing 7 Damage!

Hailfall:
28/35 HP (-7)
19/70 SP (-14)

Weasel:
12/20 HP (-8)
120/135 SP (-15)

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

OOC: yes, the whole day I have not caught anything aside from adders, racoons, foxes and owls >:(

Slightpaw wanted to scream with rage when yet another predator appeared. his day was progressingly getting worse and worse. heeding Hailfall's advice, the white apprentice leaped from behind the weasel clamped his jaws around it's tail and yanking it, feeling the weasel lose balance and collapse on its side.

Slightpaw has used Tail Yank, dealing 7 dmg and -15 SP

Slightpaw:
13/20 HP
26/60 SP (-15)

Hailfall:
28/35 HP
19/70 SP

Weasel: stunned for one turn
5/20 HP (-7)
120/135 SP

Hissing and spitting split the air as the weasel became more agitated. Its head constantly shifted from between the two white toms, its fur bristling as it arched its long spine. It had wanted to defend its catch, but two cats were too much for the scrappy mustelid. Its jaws released Hailfall's paw as it pulled free from Slightpaw's, fleeing into the snowy underbrush.

The Weasel has fled!

Hailfall huffed, licking his paw. The skin was broken, but there was no damage beneath. It would heal fine, if only being tender to walk on. "I should have warned you the forest is dangerous, but it has been uncharacteristically predator-ridden today. I apologize." The other predators in the forest seemed to be feeling leaf-bare just as hard as the clan cats were. He looked down at the abandoned bird, prodding it with a paw to inspect its feathers. It was more bedraggled than he would have liked, but a few feathers looked fine to use.

"Ah, with better news, it looks like two good feathers survived. You can tell here, the feather is in good condition and the stalk is plenty long to weave fur around." He lent down to pluck the feather at the base, careful not to disrupt its delicate fluff. Then, he incorporated it into his apprentice's fur. "You've been extremely brave today and fought better than I did on my first day. You certainly deserve this. Now, I'll keep watch for predators. I'd like to see you try and catch something without something trying to catch you."

Slightpaw watched the weasel run away with narrowed eyes. the moment of anger had faded into a dull pounding at the base of his head. it deserved what it got.

He watched with awed silence as Hailfall expertly took out two beautiful feathers among the damaged and ragged bird. he purred as he admired the two feathers from every angle. the bluejay feather he had got from Hailfall was still there as well.

nodding, the white tom looked around him. his eyes landed on a pigeon. its feathers were white with brown specks, and looked interesting. crouching, the tom approached slowly. he leapt and landed on the feathers, careful not to ruffle up the beautiful patterns. he gave a quick nip and watched it fall limp.

"The feathers are beautiful! Have you seen any like these?" He exclaimed, carefully pulling out a few tail feathers and adjusting them behind his left ear.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4