We Are Family (Snowfoot fam hunt)

Snowfoot padded across the marsh, sighing contentedly at the crisp Leaf-fall wind blowing across her pelt. By her side walked her son and apprentice, Burnpaw, and behind her followed her other two kits, Lightpaw and Sablepaw. The little family were out on a hunting patrol, Burnpaw’s first.

Lightpaw shook out her fur. “So how’s training going, Sablepaw?” she asked her brother.

Sablepaw was ordinary, and that was alright. He had no greater obligations to his clan, no destiny to follow, and most importantly no need to push himself. So why on earth did he feel so empty? His sister shook Sablepaw from his thoughts. "Training's going well, Nightstar can't really train me too often, but I've been trying to learn from the other warriors in camp in the meantime. What about you? It's about time for you to become a warrior right?"

Burnpaw padded alongside his mentor. He had never been on a hunt before. He had wanted to be the best hunter in his clan since he was a kit. He loved to pounce on moss and leaves. However, today he was going to hunt prey. He was very excited. All his family was with him. "What is the most common piece of prey?" He asked Snowfoot.


OOC: sorry it took me so long to answer. I forgot about this topic

“Mice are super common everywhere, but here in ShadowClan the favorite prey is frogs,” Snowfoot answered nonchalantly. “In fact, I think I smell one now. Lightpaw, would you care to show your brother the hunting crouch?”

“Of course,” Lightpaw mewed, picking up the scent.

Snowfoot quietly narrated as Lightpaw hunted. “Watch closely. The first thing she does is locate her prey. She sees exactly where the frog is. Now she ducks low to the ground. That’s the hunter’s crouch, crucial when you’re a ShadowClan cat since we stalk our prey. Notice how her ears and tail are low, and she keeps her belly off the ground and watches where she puts her feet, so she doesn’t make a sound. Now the final moment, muscles tensing… And she’s got it! Good work, Lightpaw! Now, why don’t you boys try it?”

OOC: Not super worried about post order.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

He wanted to pay close attention to Snowfoot's explanation of a proper hunting stance, but it was hard to stay invested in something so boring. He had hunted before, this was nothing new for him, but it was for Burnpaw. With a flick of his tail, Sablepaw stalked off in another direction in search of prey. His family was still within eyeshot as he found a promising scent. Dropping into a hunting stance, Sablepaw crept up on the poor unsuspecting prey. A mouse, nothing too interesting, but it would fill a belly all the same. He leapt for it, claws aiming to trap the creature. The mouse squealed as it became surrounded by the apprentice's claws. His claws lifted briefly from it, but only to allow for a killing bite.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

It was finally Burnpaw's turn, he was nervous. He had watched Lightpaw and Sablepaw both successfully catch prey. Burnpaw wanted to walk through the camp entrance with a piece of prey dangling in his own jaws. He started sniffing for a mouse or frog. It took him a while to scent a frog. Reminding himself of what he had seen Lightpaw do he started slowly walking towards the frog. He suddenly felt conscious of every movement he made. He realized he was dragging his tail so he lifted it to the height of his back. "Mouse dung! I've probably scared off all the prey." Burnpaw exclaimed as after he steeped on a twig. He was too concentrated on the frog to pay attention to where his paws were stepping. He was disappointed and frustrated at himself. He walked back to his family with head and tail drooping. Now he was going to have to walk to camp with nothing to put on the fresh kill pile.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

“Chin up, Burnpaw,” Snowfoot mewed gently. “Plenty of cats mess up the first time around. It takes practice. Here, try watching a master at work.”

“Go mom!” Lightpaw whisper-cheered.

Snowfoot caught the scent of a vole and began stalking towards it. Her form was near-perfect, though she stepped somewhat lightly on her right back leg. She’d had a weak leg most of her life, after all, so she’d learned to correct for it. Giving her rump a slight wiggle as she focused in on her prey, the warrior pounced.

Perfection. She had it by the neck and killed it instantly. She carried her catch back to the others and looked at her apprentice. “I don’t expect you to be completely accurate yet, but I’m sure you’ll get it. Go ahead and try again.”

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

Sablepaw couldn't help wincing at his brother's misfortune. His movements were so awkward they almost hurt to watch. As he rejoined his family, Sablepaw addressed his brother. "Take a deep breath, Burnpaw, you won't be able to catch anything if you're too wound up. Your hunting stance actually got better near the end there, you just have to watch where you're going." He hoped that his words were encouraging, but even if they weren't he still had faith in Burnpaw.

Burnpaw felt he was now ready to try again after his family's encouraging words. He decided that he would go after the first piece of prey he could smell. Shortly after starting to sniff the air he scented a mouse. He located it under a few leaves. Burnpaw decided to take a moment to think about what he was going to do. When he opened his eyes again he was relieved to see the mouse was still there. He started stalking towards it. As he advances forward in the hunting crouch he made sure to not step on any twigs and be light on his paws. As Burnpaw got closer to the mouse he started swinging his haunches. He was tensing his muscles in preparation for leaping. He jumped high. He landed on his side. He was full of embarrassment as he once again walked back to his family with no prey in between his jaws. This time he was silent.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Snowfoot and Lightpaw both cringed from sheer secondhand embarrassment. This time, though, Lightpaw stepped forward to comfort her brother. “Hey, Burnpaw. Everyone misses sometimes. I think I see part of your problem, though. You’re putting more effort into your jump than into making sure you land in the right place. Here, watch this.” She padded a few steps away and dropped into her crouch, before leaping at a random spot in the dirt. Her leap was high enough, but she didn’t get so far from the ground she lost focus on her target. “There. It just takes a little practice. If you like being high up, though, maybe you could try climbing trees sometime? Not to hunt, just for the feeling.”

Snowfoot looked thoughtful. When did Lightpaw learn about tree climbing?