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Post by Hellion on Oct 9, 2016 23:19:01 GMT -5
The brown furred tabby woke from his brief nap due to Petalrain returning from her noon patrol. Considering her for a moment a decent wake up call, the tom-cat rose out of his nest and stretched. His mouth opened into a yawn before he gathered himself up and exited the warrior den. His pale green eyes studied the area around him and settled on a familiar shape. Across from him likely talking with clanmates was Cricketpaw, his apprentice. Glancing toward the fresh-kill pile he saw it lacking.
Heading toward the pile he picked up a decent size mouse before heading toward his apprentice. "Cricketpaw have you eaten?" He asked, placing the mouse at her paws, glancing toward the other apprentices around her. Two nodded in greeting while the other just looked at him, but Hawkfall paid no attention to them.
"I figured we could get some hunting in today, see how your training is coming along," He told her flicking his tail to point the mouse "Once you've finished eating we can leave for the moss meadow to hunt," He told her taking a few step away from her, allowing her the chance to say goodbye to her friends before following him.
@dreamer |205 | NOTE: it is assumed that even if they don't have threads with certain skill they still learn them just outside of rp if that makes sense
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2016 10:18:19 GMT -5
Birds-eye view, awake the stars 'cause they're all around you  9 Moons : She-Cat : Apprentice
Cricketpaw was standing near the middle of camp, talking with her brother and some other apprentices. Valerianpaw was currently droning on something about how battle moves have to connect to be efective, and how holding back in training actually hinders cats when it comes time to actually fight. Cricketpaw just kind of nodded along, but with a somewhat zoned out expression. She had helped check the elders for ticks and replaced some nests this morning for some chores, and her brother had spent the morning beside her wondering what the porperties of mouse bile were that they would cause ticks to separate from cats' skin. His newfound fascination with medicine didn't surprise Cricketpaw, but it make him envy his ease of learning.
Just as she was considering the fact that she had spent all morning working and hadn't eaten a scrap of prey, her mentor appeared out of nowhere with a mouse for her.
"Oh, uhh, no I haven't eaten, I was too busy to hunt this morning."
She beamed when he asked if she wanted to go out and train. Starclan yes! Maybe she would become a warrior soon after all... probably still not as fast as Valerianpaw though.
"Definitely! I've been practicing my hunting and stalking a lot recently. Have to be prepared for Leafbare."
Turning to her brother and the other apprentices, she muttered a good bye of some sort, before wolfing down the mouse, hopefully she wouldnt get sick from eating so fast, and skipped over to her mentor to show she was ready and waiting.
"So where are we going to go? Are we hunting anything in particular?" Her voice was high and excited, and her tail waved behind her with anticipation. Finally some more quality time with her mentor and more training. This was going to be great!
--Word Count:303Tags:Hellion Notes: |
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Post by Hellion on Oct 15, 2016 20:25:52 GMT -5
Hawkfall smiled toward Cricketpaw and it was bigger than before. It was nice to see her excited to train and not dreading it. He might not be the best of mentors but he tried his best to ensure Cricketpaw was learning what she needed to be a good warrior for StoneClan.
Waiting as she devoured the meal, Hawkfall took a moment to wipe away the lingerings of his own quick meal. Once she was finished Hawkfall's ears perked up as she asked a few questions but he didn't answer them right away. Instead he flicked his tail for her to follow him as the duo left camp.
"We are going to hunt in the moss meadow. Mice like to go there when it gets cold to stay warm. Hopefully we can bring back a few," Hawkfall explained, picking the quickest route to the meadow his pace around a medium trot and ears moving back and forth to listen for any sort of noise.
@dreamer | WORD | NOTE
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2016 17:12:26 GMT -5
Birds-eye view, awake the stars 'cause they're all around you 12 Moons : She-Cat : Apprentice
It was great to be training with her mentor again, to be able to show him her progress. Since he had been busy, everyone had been preparing for leaf bare, she had practiced alone when she could. Hopefully he wouldn't complain too much.
When he started out without answering her questions, at first she was worried she had upset him. But soon he told her they would be hunting mouse in the moss meadow. She cocked her head slightly,“What if there are other apprentices or warriors gathering moss? Since we're getting camp ready for leafbare?” Her voice trailed off near the end, embarrassed she had tried to refute her mentor, and instead she tried to recover.“I guess we could check the outskirts, because the mice would have to hide somewhere. And even if we don't find mice you can still check my hunting crouch, or we can go hunt somewhere else.” Cricketpaw realized that she was really just filling her mentors silence with her awkward high strung words.
She finally clamped her jaw shut, letting her mentor lead or respond to her nervous words. It was hard sometimes being such a talkative apprentice with a less than responsive mentor. After all, it sometimes made her feel more inadequate than she already was. Already 12 moons and still not anywhere near her warrior name? Maybe he just thought she was hopeless and didn't want to take the time to train her. With each thought, her paws felt heavier and heavier, but she kept up her nervous smile and only picked up the pace. If that was the case, she had to prove herself to him.
Wide eyes will always brighten the blue |
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Post by Hellion on Oct 17, 2016 15:42:01 GMT -5
Hawkfall's thought drifted for a moment and came to circle around his own idea that he wasn't a great mentor. Over the past few moons Hawkfall felt less suited for the duties. Perhaps it was because of his own mix-clan heritage that made the tom-cat even more anxious. When ever he stumbled cats seemed to come out of nowhere to comment on it. This was like that time but longer, a prolonged stumbled.
If Cricketpaw failed to be made a warrior in a timely fashion it would reflect on his failure as a StoneClan cat. Doing his best to push away those thoughts and listen intently on Cricketpaw's question he slowed down his pace in order to reply.
"Hopefully our timing will be right and anyone in the meadow will be leaving. The mice will think its safe and venture further out then before," Hawkfall explained. "And if our timing is off we can try the outskirts" Hawkfall added with a gentle flick of his tail across her shoulder.
The duo crested over the slight hill that lead into the moss meadow. Upon their arrival it was easy to tell that their timing was perfect! No one lingered near the moss meadow and the last scent of any clan-mate was Valiantstride which tasted stale. It would be a great time to hunt.
"Alright Cricketpaw, what is the first thing you do when you want to start hunting?" Hawkfall ask, his voice dropping down into a whisper.
@dreamer | 245 | NOTE
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2016 10:27:56 GMT -5
Birds-eye view, awake the stars 'cause they're all around you 9 Moons : She-Cat : Apprentice
The apprentice nodded along with her mentor's words, glad that her words had not been seen as impertinent. "Alright, I guess we'll see then." The spring returned to her steps as they arrived and found that indeed there weren't any warriors or apprentices gathering moss. While her mentor spoke to her, she raised her head and twicthed her ears and whiskers to feel the wind and air flow, confident when she noticed that there was little air movement, so one less thing to worry about. After she had done so, she realized she had instnctively done one of the preparatory steps to hunt. Speaking quietly so as not to alert the prey to their presence, Cricketpaw addressed her mentor.
"O-oh right. Um well I guess it depends. You should be aware of wind direction and airflow, and you should crouch and take stock of your surroundings, the scents, the sounds, the trembling of the earth beneath your paws... I guess that's how you start? That's how you find where your prey is at least."
An embarrassed look crossed her face as she hoped she hadn't made a mistake. She desperately wanted to impress her mentor and prove that she was ready to be a warrior, that she knew what she was doing.
"Then, I mean then after that is when the crocuh comes in and moving as quietly as possible. Thankfully this moss will muffle noise, although mice might feel the vibrations of the movement more readily."
She waited to see her mentor's response, rigid in an attempt not to shuffle her paws.
Wide eyes will always brighten the blue |
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Post by Hellion on Nov 7, 2016 0:49:19 GMT -5
Hawkfall noticed the twitch of his whisker considering his own did the same. It was a habit learned from moons hunting small and quick foot prey in the rocky terrain they both called home. Scenting the air and knowing which direction it went was perhaps the most crucial skill Cricketpaw would ever learn. Hawkfall could reminder fondly the firs few times he tried hunting. He was perhaps a large tom in his youth and struggled with being quiet with his pawstep, resulting in him being a better fighter than hunter. Despite his slight short-comings, Hawkfall was determined to give Cricketpaw a well rounded warrior education.
As her reply filled his ears, Hawkfall let his praise be visible on his face. "Correct. We have to be stay extra sharp when hunting mice. They are skittish,"Hawkfall added before pressing his shoulder into her as a form of comfort. "Cricketpaw it is important that you remain confident as you hunt. You know what to do and I am proud of how you've come,"]Hawkfall's praise might be at an odd time but without much warning, Hawkfall flicked his tail before taking a few steps away from her.
"I'd like you to try and catch four mice before I do. If you beat me you can take your pick of the biggest to eat,"] He told her before pointing with his tail for her to take the left side of the meadow and him the right.
@dreamer | WORD | NOTE
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2016 10:21:06 GMT -5
Birds-eye view, awake the stars 'cause they're all around you 9 Moons : She-Cat : ApprenticeHawkfall seemed pleased as he listened to her reply to his question, and she relaxed slightly, relieved. Of course, she stiffened again when he spoke comfortingly, telling her that he was proud of how far she'd come, and that she should be confident of her skills. warmth seemed to cascade down on her, from the tip of her nose, to the tip of her tail, and warmed even her cool paws in the Leaf-fall air. A bright smile lit her face. "Thanks Hawkfall! I'll keep trying."
He stepped away, and Cricketpaw caught the shift in mood. Now it was time to hunt. He challenged her to catch four mice before he could, and with more energy and confidence than she had felt in a long while, the apprentice nodded. "Maybe I'll even catch five!" She giggled quietly as she turned the direction he had sent her.
Once she was away from her mentor, her mind buzzed with happiness at her mentor's words, but she knew she had to focus, so she shoved them back to a corner of her mind. Taking slow light steps around to the edge of the clearing, she began to scent around the edges first, making sure she was always downwind. She caught the first scent almost immediately, strong, close. She froze, dropping dropping soundlessly into her hunting crouch, rigid as she sought to detect the vibrations and sounds of the mouse. She felt it first to her right, and heard it rustling under a bush. Then she saw it, a bit skinny but still a decent size, and it was in front of a tiny burrow! This could be her chance, if she caught the mother mouse and any of its offspring, she could beat her mentor in no time!
She took her sweet time, aware that her mentor was likely getting ahead of her, but crept ever closer. Finally the perfect moment came, and she pounced just as several half-grown mice were rooting around the whole. unfurtunately, she didnt expect them to scatter, and hissed as she only trapped the mother and two half-size mice under her paws. Well she did have three, but how many did her mentor have?
With a slightly hurried pace, she managed to catch two more in a few minutes, sloppy bloody kills, and then hurried back to where she had left her mentor. Who had won?
--Word Count: 423Tags: HellionNotes: Wide eyes will always brighten the blue
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Post by Hellion on Nov 25, 2016 4:07:16 GMT -5
Hawkfall watched Cricketpaw with a pleased smile on his face. He did intend to hunt on his own as well, but Hawkfall was more concerned with watching his apprentice. Giving her a moment to have a head start, Hawkfall was careful to trail after the she-cat. He paid extra close attention to the direction of the wind to avoid his scent alerting any lingering mice or his apprentice.
Grateful that the mouse was supple enough to muffle his pawsteps, Hawkfall was close. A purr nearly escaped him as Cricketpaw spotted the mother mouse near a burrow. Cricketpaw was a clever huntress. Content that she could handle it herself, Hawkfall waited long enough to watch her kill three of the mice before departing for his own hunting.
A couple fox-lengths away Hawkfall managed to catch two mice without much trouble. However, it had become apparent to the brown tabby tom that the mice were on high alert. Two mice was all he manged to find without rooting through the moss like some wild hog.
Accepting defeat, Hawkfall found his apprentice again and surprise was clearly written on his face. Not only had she beaten him but she also caught a grand total of five!
"Wow Cricketpaw! I am very impressed with you. I didn't have much luck, the mice were on high alert after awhile. But you did great! Clearly you are a better huntress than I!"
[/b] Hawkfall went on to praise, as he added his mice to her little pile. "We ought to head back home lets divide the kills up so we can carry them all back. When we get home you are free to take the biggest mouse and enjoy your meal,"[/b] He added before adjusting the mice so that he could manage to carry four and his apprentice to carry three. [/div] @dreamer | WORD | NOTE [/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote] |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2016 9:02:04 GMT -5
Birds-eye view, awake the stars 'cause they're all around you 9 Moons : She-Cat : ApprenticeWhen she reached the meeting place, she was surprised to discover that she was the first. A jubilant little giggle escaped her, as she bounced slightly on her paws. WHen her mentor did return, not long after her, she basked in his praise, surprised she had indeed managed to catch so much, and he so little. In fact she was a bit embarassed, he ears folded back closer to her head as she looked up at her mentor sheepishly.
"I'm sure you're a better hunter than me Hawkfall! I just... got lucky is all."
But he seemed to be moving on without a thought for stopping, suggesting they divide the prey evenly to take back to camp. Shuffling her pile of prey towards his two mice, she helped separate the four to her mentor and three to her. He mentioned she could ave the largest of the bunch and she nodded enthusiastically. She could not wait to tell Honeypaw of her success today in training! She was just so excited!
Grasping the mice by their tails, Cricketpaw began a bouncing jog back to camp, too excited to wait and see if her mentor would follow, and imagining her warrior ceremony not too far away.
--Word Count: 229Tags:HellionNotes: If you are okay we can just wrap up here or with a reply from Hawkfall... then at some point start a battle training thread. Wide eyes will always brighten the blue |
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