[Phoenix]

Wasn’t there a saying somewhere about the blind leading the blind? Usually he was not one to pay attention to such nonsense, let alone apply it to his own life, but he thought that in this case, the phrase was too fitting to ignore and brush aside. For all the talent he had at hunting, he might as well have been blind, and how they expected him to successfully pass on that knowledge to Oakpaw was beyond him. He had no hunting prowess to teach, and anyone in NightClan who was unaware of the fact either had to be deaf – even then, he doubted that such a disability would prevent knowledge like that from spreading, when simple observation would be just as effective as word of mouth – or living under a rock for the past 30 moons. If it was the latter, chances were they were no longer NightClan, for he doubted that Ravenstar would tolerate such a decision for 30 moons.

Beckoning to the apprentice – what with the hero-like worship he had received from the start, he knew without looking that the younger tom was there by his side – Ratfur led the other deeper into NightClan territory and farther from the camp and any popular hunting spots. Though ridicule had become a part of his life (Thanks, Blackwolf), he had no desire to publicize his failures and attract any more attention to them than he already would. Besides, in the event that they would make fools of themselves, they would not interrupt any other warrior’s hunting. And the forest was ripe with chances to humiliate.

Flicking his tail, the warrior came to a halt, allowing his green eyes to survey the surroundings with a critical eye. While he was not completely confident that the area actually had prey, he knew that, at the very least, they were alone. ”Hunting. I don’t doubt that Thornpaw has shown you the basics multiple times, and I know that we have covered it ourselves before,” He started, tail twitching behind him. The tom was fully aware of the apprentice’s enthusiasm and distaste for his brother’s mentor. ”But unless you have proven yourself to become unnaturally adept at the task overnight—“ Here he paused for a moment, as if waiting for some indication that his words were true despite knowing full well that they were not ”—then I think it prudent to cover them once more.” There was no need to linger on them, of course, not when he was about to repeat the instructions he had delivered numerous times before.

For all his eye rolling at the thought of teaching an apprentice a task that he could not complete himself, Ratfur had to acknowledge that he at least knew the theory behind hunting. That in itself was rather simple, and far easier to say than carry out. ”Keep your weight evenly distributed in your crouch,” He intoned, listing everything with barely a pause between them. It was to act as more a review after all, not a first lesson. They had had that already, and he avoided thinking about the event as much as possible. ”Keep your fur from brushing against the ground. You want your movement to be easy and fluid, well-balanced and unlikely to stumble. Focus on your surroundings as well as your prey, remember; stepping on that twig by your foot is a very fast way of ruining your prospects of bringing home food.” Perhaps, if he repeated the information enough, he could drill it into his apprentice’s skull. ”Try your crouch again.” It was doubtful, he decided a moment later, but he could dream.

[Fate Admin]

Oakpaw bounced along after his mentor, as excited for today’s training as he had been for his very first journey out of camp… well his first journey out that he remembered. Sometimes the elders would tell the story of his parents’ deaths and how he and Thornpaw and Ashpaw were all found mysteriously scattered around the valley. Apparently Ravenstar and Blackwolf had saved him from being eaten up by a sinkhole! He couldn’t claim to remember it happening though. He thought sometimes in his dreams he maybe remembered a little, but when he was awake he’d forget it all over again.

He looked about with all the wonder of a kit taking his first pawsteps from the nursery. He wondered if maybe he would see anything new and exciting today. Maybe he and Ratfur would meet a patrol of TreeClanners invading and chase them away all on their own and then Ravenstar would make a big announcement about how great they were and make him a warrior and-

Ratfur had stopped moving and his mentor’s voice broke into his fantasy. He nodded eagerly. Hunting! He… admittedly wasn’t very good at it. Stealth was NOT his forte… which was more than a little sad to be said about a NightClan cat. He was just too clumsy. It seemed like if there was any possible way to trip and more noise, his paws would find it, or his tail. His tail had a habit of twitching when he was excited… which was a lot of the time… and it was just so hard to control! So when hunting it sort of… sometimes… lashed against leaves and stuff and scared his prey away, even when he was doing so well about not tripping!

He turned a narrowed gaze to his tail even as Ratfur was explaining hunting basics for the umpteenth time. No twitching, tail! Just stay still this once! … Please? So far he’d only managed to catch a lame bird he’d actually been lucky enough to come upon. With a broken wing, probably attained by fighting off some other predator, it couldn’t fly away and was a fairly easy kill even for Oakpaw. It was the only thing he’d ever brought back to camp for the freshkill pile. He desperately wanted to change that. Thornpaw apparently wanted to change that too because he tried to help him with his hunting skills a LOT. It was awfully nice of him.

He hastily settled into a hunting crouch… or… it was a crouch at least. No one could deny that it was a crouch. What sort was another matter. His tail did not answer his pleas and whipped behind him in an irregular fashion, betraying his excitement as usual, as well as his location to any prey he might be hypothetically stalking. His haunches wiggled like a kit ready to pounce. His paws shifted beneath him as he tried to work out where they should go to give him the best balance. In the end he crouched awkwardly, uncomfortably. Was the hunting crouch supposed to be uncomfortable?

[Phoenix]

Ratfur
so prepare for a chance of a lifetime
be prepared for sensational news
a shining new era is tiptoeing nearer

- - -

Green eyes had fallen shut as he heard the sounds of his apprentice situating himself into his approximation a hunting crouch. Please, StarClan – just this once. With his belief in them flimsy at best, his warrior ancestors rarely crossed his mind, and his thought was more of a plea for patience than a prayer to them for some miraculous improvement on his apprentice’s part. His acceptance of the inevitable allowed him to remain wholly unsurprised and without disappointment when he opened his eyes a moment later and rested them on his apprentice.

Oakpaw had assumed a crouch that resembled that of a kit more than one of an apprentice who had been in training for a few moons. Far from the hunting crouch he had asked for, the younger tom’s attempt included too much movement of everything – like always. Ratfur predicted that he could have pointed out the issues without even having to look, for they were the same ones his apprentice had the last time he had covered his topic. Knowing that it would do little to impact Oakpaw’s perpetually, ridiculously bright attitude and the insult would probably go right over the younger tom’s head, the warrior did not even bother making a show of walking around, examining his position, before he listed off the flaws in Oakpaw’s crouch. ”Keep your tail still,” He instructed, eyeing the offending body part. ”Stop wiggling like you’re a kit about to pounce, and don’t keep moving your paws like that. It makes noise that will give away your location—“ if your lashing tail hasn’t done that already ”—and you won’t have the firm footing you need to pounce when the moment comes.”

Perhaps the pieces of prey he brought to the pile numbered a painfully small amount, but at least his hunting crouch was decent. It wasn’t the stalking part that gave him troubles; he could at least get to the point where he had the option of pouncing on his prey. It would be a miracle if he could get Oakpaw to even improve that much. Rising from the sitting position he had adopted while initially instructing his apprentice, the tom took a step forward before dropping into his own crouch. Wiry frame low to the ground and paws meticulously placed, Ratfur turned his head and pinned the younger tom with a green gaze. ”See how my whole body is still? My tail doesn’t move, and I’m well balanced.” He glanced down unnecessarily at his paws and gestured for Oakpaw to try and copy his stance now that he had a visual. "Try again."

- - -

i'll be king undisputed
respected, saluted
and seen for the wonder i am

[Fate Admin]

Oakpaw shifted as his mentor looked him over and barely a moment later listed off everything he was doing wrong. The list was very familiar. He turned his head to glare at his tail again. He managed to stop his haunches from wiggling, at least, but as he turned forward again his tail began to twitch once more, and he still couldn’t get the placement of his paws right, feeling awkward and uncomfortable no matter where he put them. He shifted a bit more until Ratfur came up beside him and fell into his own hunting crouch, pointing out all the things he was doing that Oakpaw was not.

The fluffy brown apprentice watched his mentor for a moment, shifting his paws and trying to copy where Ratfur’s paws seemed to be. Suddenly he was he falling. Eyes wide, he fell forward and straight onto his face, his paws having come too close together beneath him and completely unbalancing him. He let out a small yelp as his chin hit the ground, causing him to bite his tongue. Scrambling to his paws he stuck his tongue out as tiny droplets of blood welled upon it, “Ahhmm….” He shook his head. That hurt! Now all he could taste was his own blood, and pain. Could you taste pain? Oakpaw was pretty sure he tasted pain now.

His swiped his paw over his face and shook himself. His tongue hurt! Then he remembered he was supposed to be practicing his crouch and turned sheepishly back to Ratfur. Doing his best to ignore the pain of his tongue, he screwed up his eyes and paid more attention to where he was putting his paws. He did NOT want to bite his tongue again! No wiggling. Tail… please stay still! He moved his paws around quite a lot and finally managed to find a position they weren’t completely uncomfortable in. Did that mean he was doing it right? He looked down at his paws in surprise. His haunches weren’t wiggling either, but his tail still twitched behind him.

[Phoenix]

Ratfur
so prepare for a chance of a lifetime
be prepared for sensational news
a shining new era is tiptoeing nearer

- - -

The moment before it happened, he knew that it would happen. It was inevitable, really, that Oakpaw would stumble and fall and manage to hurt himself, for he was far from the most agile and fleet apprentice in NightClan. As the warrior who had been given the unfortunate honor of keeping the apprentice in one piece while attempting to teach him, Ratfur fully believed that he had every right to feel exasperation rather than surprise at the young tom before him. Lids closed over pale green eyes for a moment, though he kept his expression carefully neutral and let out a quiet breath. The unique scent of blood reached his nose. Tail flicking, he opened his eyes again only to see the source of the smell: the young tom’s bleeding tongue. Any ideas of hunting in this area disappeared, for if he could smell the scent, any nearby prey would be able to as well. ”Be careful, Oakpaw,” He suggested idly, ever the helpful one. His position as the apprentice’s mentor dictated that he not completely overlook the mishap, but nothing stated that he had to give helpful advice.

Soon enough, however, the apprentice had lowered himself back into the hunting crouch, and Ratfur caught a determined glint in his eyes – or rather, something as close to determination as he had seen thus far. Surprise flickering through his consciousness, the wiry warrior noted the sudden improvement in the young tom’s stance. It was still far from perfect, but Oakpaw had, at least, stopped squirming around like a kit. ”Better.” The older tom inclined his head slightly, slinking around the apprentice as he took note of his stance. ”Can you feel how your weight is more evenly distributed like this? How you’re not leaning toward one side? That is key.” If you were any other cat, I would say that this enables you to move in any direction without tripping. However, even with a perfect stance, you would undoubtedly still find something to trip over. Ratfur paused in his circling, flicking his apprentice’s tail tip with a paw. ”This, however, still needs work.”

The warrior returned to his former position in front of Oakpaw and turned to face him. A moment passed as he studied his apprentice. ”Your crouch has reached an acceptable point.” Though we must all lower our standards, when it comes to you. ”But can you move?” Without turning away from the tom, Ratfur backed away from the younger feline and sat, lowering his haunches to the ground. ”Come to me,” He ordered, tail tip flicking idly behind him, as if to beckon his apprentice forward.

- - -

i'll be king undisputed
respected, saluted
and seen for the wonder i am