Paints the beautiful world that you see [c]

Stormdance had been around the block of mentorship a few times now. He could still clearly remember the first time he took Woolywing out on the territory, how stressed and nervous he’d been, terrified of messing up. These days he figured it’d be very hard to beat how stressful Rowansong’s extensive apprenticeship went, and he found he actually really enjoyed being a mentor. It never got old, taking an apprentice out to see the territory for the first time or watching them grow and learn. He still worried-- he always does, and he always would-- but it was good.

It was difficult balancing two apprentices at once, but he’d done that with Woolywing and Rowansong too. And unlike those two, Tinypaw and Willowpaw were siblings, got along fairly well, and were relatively close in experience due to Tinypaw not being very far behind his sister, so most of the time Stormdance could just easily work with both of them at once. Still, it was good to get one on one time with each of them, giving them the individual attention they each needed.

Approaching the edge of the river, Stormdance looked back at Tinypaw and smiled. “You ready?” He asked, settling down at the edge of the water, sitting downstream from Tinypaw. They were going to work on fishing today. He’d chosen a part of the river that was relatively shallow (though still deep enough to hunt), where the current was at its gentlest. He knew from Willowpaw that they’d both had some practice in getting to know the water with Perchstar, but after what happened with Minksplash and Sootspirit, he wasn’t taking any chances. Stormdance had already taken Tinypaw around the territory and done a little bit of practice in hunting on the ground, but fish was their most reliable food source, and so it was important to build up those skills sooner rather than later.

Stormdance smiled at Tinypaw. “Good,” He said with a nod. Looking down at the river, Stormdance shifted his position slightly. “Patience is very important when fishing. When you position yourself, make sure your shadow isn’t casting over the water, as that’ll alert the fish.” He smiled a little more, thinking wistfully for a moment of Owlshriek teaching him the same thing, so many moons ago.

“Once you’re in position, watch the river. When you see a fish approaching, wait until it’s just about to pass under you, then reach in and hook your claws into the fish. Yank it out, and finish it off once you have it on the shore.” Stormdance waited, watching the river carefully, and then just as he said, when he spotted the shadow of a fish approaching, he waited and then reached in to grab it. Claws catching on the shiny scales, Stormdance yanked the fish out and to the shore, finishing it off just as he said. Looking up at Tinypaw, he smiled encouragingly. "Now you try." He said. "Don't be afraid if you don't get it right the first time. It takes practice."

Stormdance attempted to catch a fish, and succeeded! -3 SP.