one paw after another [training]

Sunpaw

As a kit, Sunpaw’s natural propensity to awakening early had caused nothing but annoyance to every queen in the nursery. Now, though, he was grateful that he’d risen before sunrise. It gave him a bit of time to think about his first day of training… and the illusion that he was prepared for it, which was not at all the case. Still, the tomcat was excited, and determined to prove to his mentor that he’d be a great warrior. He didn’t ask questions (despite the large amount that he had) and Nightdancer didn’t offer much conversation as she led him out of camp. Sunpaw’s eyes were wide as he stared into the forest, ears and nose twitching to catch all the new scents ThunderClan’s territory had to offer.

It was’t lonng before Nightdancer stopped, and Sunpaw turned towards her, meeting her gaze with a hint of apprehension that was overwhelmed by adrenaline and excitement. The hunting crouch? “Well, I know what it is. And I’ve tried it a little before.” The tabby made a clumsy attempt at a crouch - it was at least recognizable as one, though clearly sloppy from the Sunpaw’s lack of training. He straightened back up into a standing position quickly; his muscles quickly got tired as a result of not using the position often.

“There’s so much forest out here,” Sunpaw said offhandedly, gazing out at the trees around them and giving his pelt a slight shake in the cool leaf-fall morning air. “Do you have to memorize it? I can’t even see the end of the trees.” He craned his neck curiously, but only recognized the camp entrance from the direction they’d come earlier. The tom’s ears twitched as he realized he’d already forgotten about his training, and he turned back to Nightdancer, a sheepish grin on his face. “Sorry. I, um. It’s just a lot of… new… things…” He trailed off, internally wincing slightly at his lack of decorum. “I’ll pay attention for the rest of the session. Promise!”

Sunpaw

Sunpaw watched Nightdancer’s crouch attentively, attempting to copy it. The crouch was, of course, still clearly imperfect - but it was already better. The tom straightened up, checking the air for scents (he was pretty sure that was how warriors did it), half listening to Nightdancer as he caught scent of a vole. An ear twitched slightly as Nightdancer finished speaking as an acknowledgement of her words. “I think I scented something,” the tom murmured, voice dropping in volume as his ears pointed in the direction of the vole. “Gonna try and catch it…”

He could see the vole now, half-hidden under a pile of multicolored leaves a good bit away from him. Sunpaw resolved he’d like to get as close to the vole as possible without the hunting crouch, as it still hurt his body to do so for long periods of time. His nose twitched again as he tried to interpret which way was downwind; he didn’t know a whole lot about hunting, but he knew he wanted to approach with the wind blowing towards him so the little rodent wouldn’t see him coming.

Unfortunately for him, it did. Sunpaw tried to stalk towards it, but he was unable to do so without causing a lot of noise. The many leaves littering the forest floor did not help his case, and after a particularly loud rustle, the vole's head perked up, saw Sunpaw, and scurried away. Sunpaw made a halfhearted attempt at chasing it, but it was gone quickly, and the apprentice was left with a scowl and empty paws. He returned back to Nightdancer, tail twitching slightly. Most apprentices probably don't catch anything their first try either. But it would have been nice to impress Nightdancer.

Sunpaw did not catch the vole, losing 3 SP.
57/60 SP [-3]

Sunpaw

Sunpaw doubted it was really a good first try - he hadn’t caught the vole, after all - but he allowed Noghtdancer’s praise to wash over him nevertheless, tail lifting slightly. He watched his mentor as she paused to track down a squirrel. It seemed effortless for her. With training, the tom thought, that will be me, too.

“I don’t have any particular strengths,” Sunpaw murmured. “My pelt is pretty good for blending in with the leaves right now, but it’s not going to last.” The apprentice scented the air again, undeterred by his previous failure. There was an abundance of scents around; the forest was rife with life, preparing for the danger of leaf-fall. Sunpaw decided he’d go for a squirrel like Nightdancer, and set off following a scent trail of one.

The squirrel was at the base of a tree, small claws scratching at dirt. Sunpaw’s approach wasn’t particularly graceful; under most circumstances, the catch would have likely been unsuccessful. But the squirrel was invested in its task, and the ginger and white tom was able to catch it with a quick pounce and bite to the throat. He returned to Nightdancer, catch proudly displayed in his mouth.

Sunpaw caught the squirrel for 3 SP!
54/60 SP [-3]

Sunpaw

Sunpaw wasn't certain if Nightdancer was being nicer than she should've. He half felt like she was - so supportive for all of his little uncertainties and mishaps. He appreciated it nevertheless, but uncertain of how to voice that feeling, ignored it and carried on.

Staring out across the territory, Sunpaw's ears twitched in thought. Fighting might not be as useful as hunting, given how much more likely it was he'd use hunting skills over fighting - but fighting just... Sounded fun? Turning to his mentor, the apprentice said (maybe a bit louder than was needed), "Battle training!"