Frostpaws hunting training

The day before frostpaws first hunting lesson was a sleepless one for swiftheart. The nocturnal feline tossed and turned way too pumped up for sleeping. She couldn’t wait to show her apprentice all about the territory and how to hunt… she could remember her first hunting trip and how excited she felt then. It all carried forward to now as well, sure she was a a warrior now and had been for a while but she still had the heart and energy she hoped.


She was aware that this was a very difficult time to be hunting, the famine had not been kind to lick out in the hunting grounds and it was rare that patrols came back with anything. But she was always optimistic and tried to always find the silver lining to any situation. Perhaps, if she could teach frostpaw how to hunt during the hardest of times her apprentice would find the rest of they year to be easy in comparison.


When the sun finally approached evening signaling the beginning of shadowclans active hours she stretched and jumped around a little ready to go!

She went towards the apprentice den hoping to spot her apprentice so they could begin. Oh there she was!

Ohh I’m so excited for us! It’s our first hunting trip together. she practically squealed with happy energy.

I’ll show you around first then I’ll show you the basics of how to hunt. Umm you should know that this season has been really hard to catch things in, so don’t worry if you don’t get anything this time around. It’s been hard for everyone really. the last thing she wanted was her apprentice being worried about things. They would go out to learn and do their best and whatever happened happened.

“Here we go” she purred bounding forward with a flick of her tail leading the way out of camp and into the lands beyond.

She showed frostpaw the other to the pine grove one of shadowclans best hunting grounds. ”oh watch your step there hun she would purr whenever there was a marshy spot that was very common in their land. You have to be careful of your steps don’t want to fall in to the marsh ickies their land was kinda tretoruous to get used to at first.


Once she got them to a relatively dry part of their land she flicked her tail and showed her the basics of hunting.

Okie, so what you wanna do is stay low as you can. Crouch down like I am she instructed lowering down close to the ground. Remember tail low, and when you move be light on your paws, sneak as close as you can to your target then jump at it she meowed in a low whisper before jumping at a little nearby stick.

In one sense of the word, Frostpaw was prepared. In another, she absolutely was not.

Logically, she knew she would likely start hunting tonight. Unfortunately, she had absolutely no idea how to do it. Many of the other kits in the nursery had spent so much time tussling and practicing their hunting crouches, while she had kept herself quietly tucked out of the way, unwilling to expend more energy than strictly necessary. She was still skinny from that, fur a little dull and eyes a little hollow, but the idea of hunting… she would have to pay close attention, and that was that.

The nest Swiftheart had helped her make was comfortable, and yet Frostpaw found it difficult to sleep. This was important; she had never dreamed that the kittish games the others had played in the nursery meant anything, but now that she faced the idea of hunting… any practice would’ve been helpful.

Swiftheart’s voice was very loud for this early in the evening, but welcome nonetheless. At least now Frostpaw wouldn’t be stuck in her nest, attempting to not worry. Impassive as ever, face showing none of her thoughts, Frostpaw still nodded politely at her mentor’s words. She supposed she was somewhat excited as well.

Oh, yes. She knew how rough the season had been.

The first few steps out of camp felt like a fledgling’s first flight. The world opened up around her, the smell of pines and marsh mud, the sights of bushes and trees she had never seen, the feeling of true mud under her paws. It took a real effort to keep her gaze impartial and careful. One never knew what could lurk just outside camp.

By the time they came to a stop, Frostpaw’s limbs were burning. Most of her mentor’s comments had gone unnoticed, but the white molly wasn’t even panting, despite her talk. Hopefully this was simply a new apprentice thing, and not a side effect of… the thing Heatherberry had been worried about.

Thankfully, Swiftheart was a good teacher, and her words and demonstration were easy to follow. Frostpaw nodded, heart rate back to normal from the run. “Should I try?”

She didn’t see any prey nearby, but her mentor would surely point that out to her.

Swiftheart paused and listened to her apprentice question. She also quietly noted to herself that she should remember to slow down a bit more since this was all very new to frostpaw after all.

Yes, you go ahead and give it a try to get your body used to the idea of sneaking up on something quietly, remember tail low, back straight and paws light as you can until it’s time to pounce. Get as close as you can before your final move Seiftheart explained. She gave her apprentice a reassuring smile and even a little nuzzle as the happy warrior then went a little distance from frostpaw. She set up a stick and pointed to it.


For now, use this as your practice target to leap at. When you get the feeling down we will find ya some real prey she purred excitedly and settled in to watch her apprentice get her first attempt in. She gave another reassuring signal this time a nod to frostpaw that it would be alright and that she could do this!

Alright. Frostpaw nodded once at the conclusion of Swiftheart’s words, ears slicked back in concentration, fur slightly mussed from the older she-cat’s affectionate gesture. She needed to learn how to hunt quickly and well. Using a stick as a starter might have seemed patronizing to some, but Frostpaw understood quite well the necessity of every single cat making their catch. Prey could not be wasted right now, not on an apprentice’s training. Tail low, back straight, paws light. A deep breath, face impassive as ever, she slowly fell into a passable hunting crouch, slightly stiff from a complete lack of practice. She had never hunted so much as a bug before. It felt odd.

Concentrating as if her life depended on it, Frostpaw slunk towards the stick, tail low, back straight, paws light, but her progress slow as snowmelt. Once she had finally come within range of the stick, she leapt, the motion a little slow, a little hesitant, but paws connecting firmly with the twig.

The small apprentice glanced back up at Swiftheart, eyes unreadable. It was impossible to tell if she was satisfied with her performance.

Swiftheart was glad to see that her apprentice had not minded using the practice stick, and yes... the reason behind that had been to get Frostpaw some initial practice just to get her body used to the feeling of the hunt before going out to test on live prey. With such limited options during the famine they needed to try and catch anything that showed itself.


With a purr she nodded proudly as she watched Frostpaw connect with the stick in a sufficient blow that would have ended any prey.

Frostpaw was looking right up at her, expression hard to read. Swiftheart thought that it be best to give her some verbal confirmation that she did a great job, "Yea, that's the way!
I knew you could do it" she purred in her usual happy happy tone!


She winked at her apprentice playfully, "alright, you are ready to try for real, I know you can do this" she meowed quieting down lots more now so to see if they could find anything nearby.

"as for finding real prey, you have to use your nose to sniff at the air and your ears to hear any sounds around you" she whispered now, it was a very rare time to have swiftheart whispering but on hunts it was as was.

"sometimes, closing your eyes can help since it forces you to focus just on your smell and hearing" she explained doing just that. She took a deep breath in through her nose at the air,

hmm a frog/toad nearby perhaps? She glanced at her apprentice with a nod. "smell that toad? once you do try and figure out its direction" Luckily for them, the toad seemed to be nearby and it should be a good starting point for Frostpaw to be able to transition to the next step and maybe even catch it too! Swiftheart hoped

Alright. It was finally time to put whatever skill she had to the test.

Frostpaw listened intently to every word her mentor said, ears pricked and posture perfect. Closing her eyes could help? The small apprentice followed her mentor’s lead, breathing in the swampy air, along with the faint taste of… toad, Swiftheart explained. Alright. She filed away toad-scent in the back of her brain as something cold, wet, slimy, earthen, and altogether unpleasant. Now all she had to do was try to figure out its location.

Closing her eyes once more, Frostpaw breathed in deeply, the scent of marsh-mud filling her mouth. Apart from her own scent and that of her mentor, there was the faint smell of the dusk patrol, the overwhelming scent of the murky marsh, and, of course, the tantalizing scent of prey. Her ears swiveled, trying to catch the sound of a careless croak or leap…

There. The young apprentice nearly pulled a muscle in her neck from how quickly she snapped her head around, eyes suddenly open as she pinpointed the noise. Not far from where she and her mentor stood was an old toad on a rotting log, visible only because of his movement seconds earlier. With a last glance towards Swiftheart, she sunk into a hunting crouch and slunk forwards.

She had to make this catch. ShadowClan did not have enough prey in the marshes for it to be wasted on a single apprentice trying to learn how to hunt. She had to make this catch. Heart pounding against her ribs, Frostpaw readied herself for the spring, and-

What.

The old toad leapt away unscathed as Frostpaw suddenly hung in the air at the apex of her leap, sharp talons digging into her pelt, the owl attempting to fly her away. She twisted, seeking unsuccessfully to escape its clutches, but the bird was too strong and she too weak.

“Swiftheart!” she screamed, lashing out blindly, sides stinging. How hungry did an owl have to be to attempt to carry off an apprentice? Hungry enough to continue to beat its wings in an attempt to get away despite Frostpaw’s struggles.

Frostpaw attempted to catch a toad, attempt unsuccessful and consumed 5 SP! An owl has appeared! Owl used Swoop for 9 damage, costing 15 stamina. Frostpaw used Front Paw Strike and Desperate Blows, dealing 10 damage and costing 14 stamina.

Owl
20/30 HP (-10)
75/90 SP (-15)

Frostpaw
6/15 HP (-9)
10/30 SP (-20)

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

---

'Hunting Dice' : 8

Swiftheart watched intently, good! Her apprentice had spotted the toad and was moving in. Everything was going so well when it suddenly all came crashing down.

An all too familiar sound of heavy wings coming made swiftheart's tail flick uneasily. Everything appeared to be stuck in slow motion as she could only watch helplessly as her apprentice was attacked and hit by an owl who was trying to kitnap her!


Swiftheart dug her claws out into the ground below and jerked forward running at the owl.

Springing up on her back legs she leapt up as high as she could and batted at the owl with her front paws.

"Frostpaw! hang on" she meowed panicking a little bit. She had to get this owl out of here and free her apprentice.

"let go of my apprentice! she hissed as she batted at the owl trying to spring Frostpaw free

swiftheart uses front paw strike for 10 dmg and 7 sp


Swiftheart:
70 hp
153 sp (-7)


Owl:
10/30 HP (-10)
75/90 SP


Frostpaw
6/15 HP (-9)
10/30 SP (-20)

From nowhere, Swiftheart appeared, sinking her claws into the owl’s fluffy feathers with an impressive ferocity, forcing the owl to loosen its grip. Frostpaw hissed with pain, managing to escape from the sharp talons and fall into the mud below, the predator swiftly making its escape while it still could. Ow. Ow. Ow. The small apprentice slowly picked herself up from the mud, covered in muck with blood streaming from her side, paws trembling. Everything was fine now. Everything was fine. Oh, but she’d missed her catch- and that more than anything caused the tears to slowly form in her eyes. Stupid face. Stupid tears. She could keep going- she should keep going, but her paws trembled fiercely and her breath came quick and uneven and her side hurt, really hurt, like nothing she’d ever felt before. What sort of ShadowClan cat was she, to be defeated by some- some overgrown bird!

She just didn’t have the strength to go on. Not today. And besides, she rationalized to herself, the medicine cats would want to have a look at her side. Yeah. She wouldn’t want to disobey the medicine cats.

Owl has fled!

Swiftheart sighed in relief watching as the owl flew away fleeing.

Once she was certain that the threat was no more she quickly turned her attention to her apprentice. Frostpaw was shivering and had blood and mud all over her. Swiftheart was a very caring and emotional cat, always open with her emotions and whenever she felt sad or such she appreciated lots of encouragment and attention/hugs. She wasn't sure if frostpaw felt the same way as herself but seeing her apprentice begin to cry made her go full mother mode.



She awwed softly and helped her apprentice gently back up and nuzzled into her shoulder gently as she inspected the wounds her apprentice had on her sides. Yeah, the med cats should look at these.

She gave a tender and caring lick to her apprentices forhead in an effort to try and help relax her and make her feel any better.


"aww... there, there. It is gonna be alright. Come on lets get you home" she meowed quietly,

staying right by Frostpaw's side in case Frostpaw would like to lean against her she slowly led the way back to home.

Hopefully, Heather or Burdock were around.


(OOC: Do you wanna have a topic where Frostpaw sees some med cats? Totally up to you :D )

(Hmm and I guess this takes care of Frostpaw's fighting req... umm but since she is hurt now I will set up a different topic for her to try hunting again.)

Frostpaw pressed herself silently into Swiftheart’s fur, undoubtedly staining the white molly’s pelt brown and crimson. She didn’t like this. Tears stung at her eyes shamefully, as if she was no more than a kit, and yet right now, more than ever, she simply wanted to curl up in her nest and never leave. Swallowing back a sob, she silently followed her mentor back to camp, gaze fixed on her trembling paws. Despite the mess of emotions boiling inside her chest, the small apprentice couldn’t help but feel immensely thankful for Swiftheart. If she hadn’t had such a capable mentor… who knew what could’ve happened? And she was kind, and despite her frosty exterior, Frostpaw appreciated that immensely. She just wasn’t sure how she could show it, apart from following as closely as a silent shadow back to camp.

ooc: sure! that’d be great :D i got her hunting req with an open topic in the pine grove if you’d like to throw Swiftheart in there?