Greet the Daylight Looming [c]

As promised, the morning after Lionpaw’s apprentice ceremony, Rainfrost came to retrieve the young tom from the apprentices den. He led the way out of camp and into the territory proper. It was a cloudy morning, a chill in the air that made Rainfrost shiver, but he figured they had plenty of time before any true threat of rain would interrupt their training. He breathed in the familiar scent of wood and the new-leaf flowers that had begun blooming on the territory, and looked to his apprentice.

“We’ll start with hunting,” He said simply. “I’ll teach you the basics on the ground first, and then we’ll work on hunting in the trees.” He slowed to a stop, ear flicking as he caught the nearby sound of a birds song, nose twitching at the familiar scent. He looked around, spotting a bird through the brush hopping down from a low branch of a tree. Perfect. He flicked his tail to Lionpaw to draw his attention to it, and in a low, quiet voice so he didn't catch the bird's attention, he said, "Here. Watch me."

Dropping into the now-instinctive hunter's crouch, Rainfrost approached the bird on silent paws, eyes narrowed in concentration. He pushed carefully through the brush, and then leapt forward in a pounce. Unfortunately, he mistimes the jump ever so slightly, and a noise alerts the bird to send it flying off. Rainfrost's paws land on empty air, and he watches the bird disappear into the trees with an irritated twitch of his ear. A juvenile mistake, and it made his fur feel hot with embarrassment. He tried to shake it off, letting out a sigh and turning back to Lionpaw. Dryly, he said, "Ideally, you won't miss like I just did. But that's the basic idea."

Rainfrost attempted to catch a bird, and failed! -3 SP.

Rainfrost offered Lionpaw a small smile at the reassurance, dipping his head in acknowledgement. He watched Lionpaw spot his own prey, and he held himself as still as a statue as he watched Lionpaw drop down to approach the squirrel. Lionpaw leapt into the branches, and Rainfrost’s whiskers twitched in shared victory when he successfully made his catch.

“Well done,” Rainfrost told him when he returned, lips twitching upwards again as he instinctively returned the proud smile on his apprentice’s face. He remembered the thrill of successfully making his first catch well. He rose to his feet once more and flicked his tail in indication of a patch of softer earth. “Go ahead and bury it so we can pick it up on the way back,” Rainfrost said. “And we’ll keep practicing.”

When Lionpaw fell back into step beside Rainfrost, he nodded towards one of the oaks towering above them. With a push of his hindlegs, Rainfrost leapt smoothly into one of the lower hanging branches, the sturdy branch barely shifting from Rainfrost’s light weight. “Most of your hunting will be done in the trees,” Rainfrost said, tilting his head. “You had the right idea with that squirrel. Let’s see what else we can find up here.” He didn’t quite smile this time, but he swished his tail in invitation for Lionpaw to join him in the tree.