Practice Makes Perfect [O]

Duckfeather was in the corner of the camp, their body low to the ground as they were working on their hunting crouch. It was one aspect of their training that they had neglected - it was hard to tell what they were doing wrong on their lonesome and... It had just been easier to focus on hunting in the river - it was easier on them anyways, requiring less effort but today was a day where they actually felt full of energy so why not brush up on their land hunting? ...Granted there was better places to practice instead of the camp but heading out into the territory on their lonesome wasn't... Something they were excited for - better to claim a small corner of the camp to themselves than risk being caught unaware by a predator or anything else.

They stalked forward, frowning as they felt...Unsure on their paws - shifting their weight around to try to find a good balance while glancing behind them to try to figure out what they were to even do with their fluff of a tail. This was going to require some work but... Well, they would likely figure it all out sooner or later.

Duckfeather's ears twitched at the soft mrrp, head turning slightly to see who it was without disturbing their pose... Thought they froze entirely at the sight of Cindersky approaching. O-Oh, the deputy! The warrior couldn't help but feel sheepish that out of all cats, it was Cindersky who had taken notice of them  but their ears perked nonetheless as she started to offer advice. Fluid front paws, back legs prepped for movement and their tail... They glanced behind them, lowering their tail as much as they dared - it would be far too easy to catch the reeds and taller grass with it with how much space it took up. Not swishing it was also a trouble, the warrior hadn't realized how natural it felt to them to keep their tail almost always in motion.

"Like this?" they asked as they turned to face the deputy once more, trying to take her advice in as they took a few steps forward to test it out. It certainly felt better but Duckfeather had doubts that they would ever manage to catch land prey - sitting at the shore of the river was far easier even if it came with its own important skill-set. After a few seconds, their ears flickered back as they gave the deputy a sheepish look. "And um...Thanks. I'm still... I might be a warrior but I guess I haven't figured everything out," they said weakly, a nervous laugh following their words as they drifted off.

Duckfeather smiled softly as Cindersky praised their new attempt at the hunting crouch, relieved as they made sure to commit the advice to memory. They glanced up in a bit of surprise however at the deputy pressed that most learning was after the name, listening silently as she went on before they bowed their head. They pawed at the ground beneath them, rolling the words over in their head as they tried to find a response.

Being a warrior felt...Harder for them - not just because of their...Exhaustion issue, but because the latter half of their apprenticeship had been done without a mentor. Too sorrowful to even consider asking for a cat to replace Hawkstrike, they had struggled to teach themselves what they thought they still needed until finally, far too many moons later than they should have, they had received their name. "...Still, thank you nonetheless," they finally said, giving a small shrug of their shoulders as they looked up at the deputy. "For the advice on the crouch and the advice now - its... I guess I feel there is a...Weight with my new name I hadn't expected. That..." They took in a deep breath, flashing a weak smile at the deputy. "Well the last thing I want is to feel like I am still behind everybody else. I want to be able to pull my weight when its needed, and so I guess I just feel like I need to be...Perfect."