Young Blood [C]

Frostgaze awoke early, the sun having just reached below the horizon. He had an apprentice to train, and apprentices needed to get used to waking early. Some duties simply required it. Leopardpaw was no exception. Smoothing his fur down for a moment, the deputy entered into the apprentice's den. Spotting the sleeping form of Leopardpaw, he reached out, giving her a tap or two. "Leopardpaw, it is time to train. Meet me at the camp's entrance." With that, he removed himself, nimbly dodging the sleeping forms of the other apprentices.

Leopardpaw pulled herself to her feet at the tapping of someone else's paws, belatedly recognizing the voice as ShadowClan's deputy - and, a moment later, recalling that she was now an apprentice, and he was also her mentor. "Right," she mumbled sleepily, realizing only after she said it that he'd most likely already left.

Right. She was an apprentice, and her mentor had come to wake her for training - and she had, if only for a moment, brushed him off. What kind of a start was that?

The sleepy haze that comfortably covered her was gone in an instant as she dashed out of the apprentice's den, trying not to disturb any of her denmates. It took longer than she would have liked, and she was sure that she still bumped into one or two of them, but that mattered less than making a good impression. She was going to be the perfect apprentice. "Right," she repeated as she approached the entrance of the camp, much more energetically this time. "I'm ready to get started!"

The deputy flicked an ear as his apprentice approached, apparently steeling herself for the training ahead. Stars, he seemed to have chosen a determined one. That was not bad, per se, just... reminiscent of himself. Frostgaze nodded at Leopardpaw, and motioned with his tail to the entrance. "Then let us be off."

Leading Leopardpaw through the cold marsh, pale blue eyes searched for an appropriate place to begin teaching for the night. Thankfully, the harsh weather the forest had been suffering had let up. Unfortunately, though, that lead to the defrosting of the marsh, and it was already harder to move through it, mud grabbing at every paw step. "Watch your step, the marsh has finally deigned to defrost. Follow where I go, because it is the safest path through."

Spotting a fairly dry clearing, Frostgaze halted, watching Leopardpaw carefully to ensure she was not ensnared by the mud. Once she had completely arrived, the deputy sat, parts of his fur beginning to turn a deep brown. "How much do you know of hunting? All kits learn some, it is a common game, but I would like to know just how proficient you feel before beginning."

Leopardpaw followed in her mentor's pawsteps as instructed, wondering briefly how long it would take before she could walk so confidently through the marshland. She followed his lead, sitting when he did and considering his question. It was tempting to claim she knew all there was to know, to try and impress him somehow, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Honesty, then. "I don't know how much I know," she admitted, ears flattening slightly. There was no way to learn, to improve, without a solid foundation - that was what training was for, wasn't it? "I can catch little bugs in the camp, usually. I don't know if that really means anything compared to real prey, though... They'll be bigger and probably faster, right?"

"Indeed. I was simply curious what you could do already, nothing more. So, with that being said, allow me to teach you the proper hunting crouch. You will want to crouch down until your belly fur reaches the ground. You will also want to keep your tail low, however, do not allow it to drag, unless you wish for it to make noise. When hunting, you will want to check the air first to find the scent of prey, go into your hunting crouch, and creep toward it. Ensure that you are downwind of it, or else it will scent you. As you move toward it, ensure your paws are not going to step onto noise-making objects, like small twigs or dry leaves. Finally, you will pounce, bringing claws and teeth down upon the prey, and killing it."

Once his lecture was finished, Frostgaze lowered himself into the crouch, taking care to keep his tail from brushing the ground specifically. His fur was so long that it could brush against things he didn't see, causing him issues. "Observe me for a moment, then try on your own. If you are comfortable, you may even attempt hunting, just be careful that you do not step foot in the deeper marshes. I will do my best to warn you of those, as if you want to hunt, I will follow a little ways behind." Once he was sure Leopardpaw had seen enough of his crouch, Frostgaze stood back up, stretching his shorter legs as he did so. The hunter's crouch, good as it was, still could make his legs burn to this day.

After taking a moment to watch, Leopardpaw did her best to mimic Frostgaze's movements. Given that she hadn't had much practice, there were some obvious tells - her long, feathery tail brushed against the ground when she lowered herself, though she lifted it just slightly when she paused to recall her mentor's words and posture. "Like this...?"

Her eyes scanned the space before her, keeping an eye out for leaves and twigs, and when she was satisfied with her surroundings she started searching for the scent of prey. Her nose twitched, and she caught the scent. Slowly, she crept forward, practicing her movement - keeping her tail just slightly off the ground was the hardest part, the long fur threatening to betray her presence with a single misstep.

The prey she'd scented caught her eye - a rat, with its long pink tail, nibbling on a plant she didn't know the name of.

She pounced, nearly missing her target but pinning it with her claws before it could escape. With a swift bite from sharp teeth, she lifted it in her jaws, wordlessly looking back to Frostgaze for his input.

Leopardpaw caught a Rodent, costing 3 SP.
57/60 SP remaining

The member 'Holly' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

The white tom silently stalked along as his apprentice hunted, watching quietly. He observed her tail, long and feathered as it was. Similar to his, and he remembered the pains he went through to train himself out of that habit. Cats with longer fur always had to raise their tails higher, and it was double-edged in annoyance. It took more concentration, and it was easier for animals to see.

Leopardpaw pounced on a rat, quickly ending its life. As he had asked. "Excellent," Frostgaze spoke, voice piercing the silence, "for your first time truly hunting, you have done well. Remember to keep your tail up, else it will alert your prey. I had the same issues as an apprentice, you will learn, do not worry." Tipping his head to the starless sky, Frostgaze checked the moon's position. They still had quite a bit of time.

"Would you like to learn some basic combat as well today? We have the time, though I understand if learning to hunt has tired you out. I would not blame you for wanting to return to camp." Frostgaze wrapped his tail around his body as he sat once more, mud covering the white tom's fur. A flicker of disdain crossed his features before he was his stoic self one more.

Leopardpaw held her head high at the praise, pleased that her first catch was good - even if it was just good for a first catch, she'd manage to one-up herself in time, she was sure. After setting said catch down so her words were more than gibberish, she nodded in understanding. "Gotta keep my tail up, got it! Don't want them to see you coming, but you don't want them to hear or smell you coming either. There's a lot more steps to it than I always thought."

She stood taller when Frostgaze asked if she wanted to do basic combat training. "I'm not tired at all!" she declared, the adrenaline rush of finally being an apprentice hadn't quite worn off. "I want to learn everything there is to know."