down by the banks [training]

With all of the chaos and conundrum that had stirred in the forest as of recent times, it was natural for the warrior to detect how her priorities needed to shift. How she now had to alternatively prepare her apprentice for their changing seasons. Pride had welled within her for a flicker of time at her first apprentice successfully gaining her warrior name, and it was enough proof for the molly to know that she could do it again. The current tom under her guidance had shown to be particularly adept at fighting, and it would be a strong set of instincts to then push towards hunting prey on land. Given that the river was tainted and untouchable, they needed to source their catches from elsewhere.

It was why she had decided to go to Sunningrocks. Even in leaf-fall, the rocks had seemed unaltered, even if quieter than usual. Riverclan still held hunting rights, and they were rights that she intended on making full use of while she could. Looking back towards Scarletpaw, her feathered tail flicked. "As a reminder, we are not to chase prey that leaves to the other side of the border. I do not wish to be the reason this alliance shatters." After all, a war on their paws over a mouse? In days past, it would have seemed silly. In current times... it seemed more than likely.

Mentally waving away the thought, she halted her steps as they solidly found themselves among the cluster of flat stones. "As our river is off-limits, it is a good opportunity to teach you how to catch other sorts of prey. Sunningrocks has plenty in the nooks and crannies of rocks, and I am sure we will be able to find something. First: attune your nose. Can you smell any prey?" The two-toned molly had been taking deep breaths as they found their place, checking if she had the correct instinct in bringing Scarletpaw here to train. Thankfully, they had been, as there were at least a singular rodent or two that could become quarry for the training duo.

"Yes, Mistwalker," Scarletpaw nodded. "I understand."

Really, he didn't care one way or the other about their alliance with ThunderClan; but if his mentor expected him to take it seriously, he would do so. It wasn't like he had anything against it, anyway, he just didn't see much of a point: RiverClan was obviously and easily the best Clan in the forest, even if things were rough at the moment.

He lowered himself to his best approximation of a hunting crouch, far more used to fishing than anything else. "Like this?"

Scarletpaw sniffed the air, turning his head slightly when he caught a scent. "I can scent a mouse," he said, gesturing with his tail.

He slowly crept forward, edging closer and closer, and finally pounced...

Missing his target entirely by a tail-length or so.

RiverClan cats weren't meant to catch land-prey in the first place!

Scarletpaw attempted to catch a Mouse, but failed, costing 5 SP!
55/60 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Her apprentice had managed to catch the scent of the prey before she had, and her ears twitched just slightly as she moved to find the creature that he'd scented. She watched as he moved out of pure instinct to attempt to catch it, the mentor's gaze scrutinizing every inch of his positioning. Truthfully, she wasn't in much of a position to critique his movements. Mistwalker herself was a born-and-raised Riverclan cat, through and through. She could easily tell the incorrect tilt of a paw for fishing, or being just a whisker too far above the water. But for land hunting? She knew enough to get by, and that was about it. It was why she withheld immediate critique as Scarletpaw fell short, instead watching the mouse skitter away for just a moment.

Stepping forward, and wincing as her bad paw seized for a moment, the two-toned feline shoved away her pain to keep going. "Good on catching the mouse before I did." She praised. "Land-prey is much harder, as we cannot wait for it to come to us. It took me moons to learn how to catch them. So, we try again." She nodded in affirmation, turning her head towards a cluster of stones in which she could smell another vole hiding.

"I still don't think we were meant for this," Scarletpaw muttered, but he obediently followed Mistwalker's lead to try again. He followed her gaze and scented the air, making his way toward his new target with swift strides. "...Vole? I'm pretty sure that's vole. It's not a mouse, it's--different." As he approached, he fell into his questionable hunting crouch once again, preparing to pounce.

This was so much more involved than fishing: it wasn't that he disliked hard work, but the fact that it hadn't yet paid off wasn't exactly endearing him to the prospect of hunting like this for the foreseeable future.

Again, his target escaped before he'd even landed, and he just barely managed to avoid crashing awkwardly into the ground.

"We definitely weren't made for this."

Scarletpaw attempted to catch a Vole, but failed, costing 5 SP!
50/60 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3