learning from your seniors [C]

Deerpaw waited patiently at the camp entrance. she had no idea what Swiftheart had been thinking when she declared the Deerpaw was hunting with two of the most senior warriors in the clan, but Deerpaw had no say in the matter. her mind wandered back to all the other random patrols and missions with Swiftheart. the white warrior really was an unpredictable cat, wasn't she?

the apprentice snapped back to reality as she heard the sound of pawsteps muffled by snow.

Deerpaw, Frostgaze had said. Swiftheart's apprentice, and Mistyfalcon knew little else about the pale-furred she-cat waiting near the camp entrance. He waved his tail in greeting as he padded toward her, but said little as his dark eyes scanned the camp for the third member of the patrol. The night was bitterly cold, and the prey was likely to want to be out just as much as Mistyfalcon wanted to be. Which was to say, not at all.

Deerpaw nodded silently as she caught sight of Mistyfalcon. she got to her paws and shook off some of the snow that had gathered on her fur... not that it was easily noticeable. "where is Batglow?" she asked softly, her voice almost carried away by the howling wind of the night. she was almost frozen, having short fur that did not belong in Leafbare. she shook each of her paws in turn to warm them up.

"Right here." The lanky tom said as he approached the two. He wasn't fond of the cold, especially with his short fur, but he would have to deal with it as much as he could. "Let's get going. The sooner the better." His warm nest was calling his name, this leaf-bare really wasn't helping him out at all.

It seemed as though the apprentice was impatient to get going too, but Batglow's arrival saved Mistyfalcon from replying. He didn't know how Bat could stand the cold with such short fur, Mistyfalcon himself had medium length fur and this leafbare had been miserable. He moved to lead the two out of camp with a flick of his tail. Moving would help keep them warm... And maybe it would help the stiffness in his joints that he'd woken up to earlier. Probably just the cold, but he was eager to shake off the discomfort with some hunting.

Deerpaw hopped to her paws. her earlier statement might have been taken as rude, and the apprentice had a silent debate in her head about whether she should mention it. if she did, they might think she was weird and unnecessary, but if she didn't they'll think her rude and stuck-up. she groaned. why was socializing so difficult? huffing, she quickened up her pace to match the long strides of the two other warriors.

perking her ears, the apprentice turned her gaze to a pine tree. crouching and circling around the pine tree, Deerpaw noticed a shape among the roots of the tree. it was large and unlike an rodent. upon further inspection, she noticed it was a rabbit. it could feed the elders for moons! on instinct like every other time she saw a rabbit or hare, the apprentice leaped and chased after the creature, sending snow in sprays behind her.

the brown rabbit took off immediately, but in a few bounds Deerpaw had caught up with the prey. she clamped her jaws around it's neck and watch it skid to a stop and fall limp. she turned to face Batglow and Mistyfalcon. did she spray snow on them? was the catch too messy?

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

Batglow watched the apprentice as she went for a catch, finding a rabbit as prey. At first he didn't think she could do it but he was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't completely perfect but she did well enough. "Good catch Deerpaw." He told her. Of course he couldn't stand around and watch her all day, he needed to find something of his own.

As he began his search, a little mouse caught his attention. The lanky tom crouched low, yellow green eyes focused on his target before he pounced. The mouse slipped away from his paws with ease, and into a small burrow. The tom let out a small huff. Oh well he couldn't catch them all.

Batglow attempted to catch a mouse:

The member 'Reaper King' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

The apprentice went after a rabbit, and Mistyfalcon watched, whiskers twitching. "Rabbits are tricky, nice catch." He nodded once in approval before turning to find his own prey.

The scent of another rabbit caught his attention, and Mistyfalcon followed it in silence, quietly slipping into a crouch and stalking toward the creature near the base of a pine. Once close, he leapt forward with claws unsheathed, and the rabbit darted forward. He gave chase, claws coming within a hair's-length of the rabbit's tail before it managed to pull away. Sighing, Mistyfalcon turned, keeping an eye on his patrolmates as they continued their hunt.

Deerpaw pretended not to notice Mistyfalcon's failure. she reminded herself that he was much more skilled and probably caught far more rabbits and hares than she. she buried the rabbit for later and set off in search of other finds. she noticed a rustle under a thicket of brambles.

she was about to approach it when a scent wafted towards her sent shivers down her spine. this was not prey scent! as the striped creature lumbered out of the brambles, Deerpaw arched her back, bristling and hissing at the creature. the racoon in response hissed back, its eyes lit with fury. Deerpaw ran and leaped on the striped creature, sending it sprawling.

Deerpaw used Jumping Strike, dealing 6 (+3+1)dmg and -7SP

Deerpaw
20/20 HP
53/60 HP (-7)

Racoon
10/20 HP (-10)
120/120 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

Batglow stiffened as soon as he heard the sound of a fight. He quickly turned tracing the sound back to Deerpaw and a Raccoon. He should have expected a predator. Every thing was hungry including predators. They would have been looking for prey just as much as the cats were. He quickly raced over slashing heavily into the Raccoon, hoping to finish it off before it could cause any damage.

Batglow used Front Paw Strike and Night Finesse dealing 10+1 damage, -7 SP

Deerpaw:
20/20 HP
53/60 HP

Batglow:
70/70 HP
144/160 SP

Racoon:
KO'd

"Thanks," Deerpaw gasped as Batglow raced over and finished off the racoon. she made a fool of herself, didn't she, running right into danger like that? she should have just stuck close to the rest of the patrol! she ducked her head, waiting for the black tom to punish her.

"Raccoons," Mistyfalcon sighed, "We've been seeing more predators than prey recently. That's one less to worry about at least." His tail twitched. The bad-tempered beasts weren't exactly edible, but that was one less mouth in competition with Shadowclan.