The hidden motive [open for wc]

[wren]

[ Open for wc cats only! Coyotesnarl needs the best hunters he can find ! ]


Coyotesnarl nodded briefly in his willingness to accept. “I’ll need more than that.” if he was to set his plan into motion he’d need to be accompanied by a wide range of warriors and apprentices. They’d needed lots of prey- all the while he could be gathering herbs. Perfect.

“Basilpaw, Weaselskip, Wolfbound and Peonypaw” that was decent amount of cats. If they spent all day out in the territory they could scrounge your a decent amount of prey. He turned towards brindle for a moment “this is what I need of you. You will organize these cats while I’m off collecting herbs. I want you to hunt those moors until your paws hurt. I have a plan for tomorrow afternoon that requires a decent amount of prey. Think you can handle it?” the tom asked quietly as the cats came to assemble before him, just tail tip curled. He needed someone else to accompany him however... “Honeypaw. You’ll come too. If Midnightstalker wishes to accompany us that is up to her but we leave immediately” The tom snorted looking out over (a hopefully assembled crowd) the dispersing gathering participants.

He needed honey to help hold what he collected, and brindle to hopefully do what was asked of him. Perhaps even than Twilightstar would be in a better mood for what he had planned for her tomorrow. “Alright. I have plans for tomorrow that require prey- and lots of it. Don’t question my motives I just need you to hunt. Hunt like you’ve never hunted before” the tom said with a nod. “Understand?” and with that he turned tail and left.

wolfnight Shimm Starbot Zesty Mango Arie

———


Once they had reached a decent spot he turned to the deputy, warriors and apprentices. It was a small group. They’d do fine. “We will return to camp before nightfall. You who have apprentices may give them a small hunting lesson before you begin but as soon as they got it down I expect hunting to be done of you. You will be greatly rewarded tomorrow. Now go, Honeypaw you come with me unless you wish to learn from Brindlejaw too?” Than the scarred medicine cat lifted himself from his spot and stalked towards the undergrowth. Marigold would be nearby that’s for sure.

[Mango]

Basilpaw glanced at Wolfbound and Weaselskip,” So who’s teaching me to hunt?” she asked, slightly demanding in her mannerism.

[Arie]

Weaselskip's ears twitched slightly. She was excited for a hunting patrol for once and the grey feline did not mind running her paws off hunting. She did wish she had her own apprentice Hailpaw with her, that one was a quick at learning and adapting, a trait the grey molly quite enjoyed in young cats. And so nodding to Coyotesnarl, "I'll go out, if anyone pesters me I'll teach you to hunt but my focus is on this task and if I find you a detriment to completing to the best of my ability I will not be afraid of burrowing you in a hole." With that she was off, her long legs carrying her away from the others. It would do no good to stay in a large group, it would just scare the all the damn prey away. She also wanted to catch up with her little bird today but seemed that would not be the case either. "I'm heading north. Up the moors. Hopefully some birds will be there." And then she was climbing up the moors, her pace a steady run. If she was to be out there the entire day she would not do with exhausting herself on the first few chases of the hunt.

[Elementals]

Fallenghost saw the medicine cat round up the apprentices and got curious. She followed them a like a ghost, hence her suffix in her name. She hid in plain sight and watched as they all got into groups and hunted. She decided that it would be best to show herself since they were only hunting for food after all, the leader had ordered a patrol so they weren't doing things that were against the warrior code. Fallenghost padded to the group with her tail trailing behind her eerily and meowed, "May I join?"
wren

[Puddle~]

Arie

Puddlepaw smiled, his green sparkling with excitement. He hadn't ever hunted before, but now that the opportunity was presented to him, he might as well seize the moment. Initially, he had been a tad bit worried by the fact that he was coming along on a hunting patrol without knowing exactly how to hunt. Though, he had spotted Basilpaw and Peonypaw in the group as well, which had slightly reduced his anxiety levels, seeing as they didn't have hunting experience either. Besides, it seemed like a good day to be out. The sun was shining and the breeze felt refreshing as it swirled through his pelt. Glancing around at some of the other cats in the area, he realized that he didn't entirely recognize most of them. He had seen them around camp and could recall most of their names, but he had only met a few of them. However, he did recall Weaselskip being one of the mentors from the territory tour. She's Hailpaw's mentor, isn't she? Seeing her steer away from the group, the tom gave chase, his fur ruffling in the wind. Perhaps Weaselskip wouldn't mind giving him a quick lesson in hunting. Speeding up his pace, the gap between them was reduced. "Hey, Weaselskip! Wait for me!" He called out, hoping his voice wouldn't be lost in the course of the breeze.

[Sweetie]

Brindlejaw nodded, he wasn't expecting a large hunting group for Coyotesnarl. He was almost tempted to ask the secretive medicine cat what he had up his paws until the tom told the group to not question him. "Of course I can handle it." Allowing a small cheeky smirk show on his features towards the medicine cat before following him.
Hunt, but why hunt so much?
Was it possible for the group to catch the amount of prey Coyotesnarl wished for? Before he could even ask a question the tom whisked off with Honeypaw to look for herbs. Turning to the hunting group a plan formed in his head. "Okay Weaselskip, Puddlepaw, and Basilpaw I would like to to try hunting far left from this place. Wolfbound and Peonypaw will head right and hunt there. Then Heather paw and I will head straight ahead and try our luck. I would like us to all come back at this spot by dusk." Meeting everyone's gaze before dismissing the group with a dip of his head.
wren Starbot Zesty Mango Arie Puddletail

----

"Okay Heatherpaw. The key to hunting is knowing your surroundings. Hearing, smell, sight, touch, and smell are needed as well. Okay?" Brindlejaw didn't like how he was rushing his teachings but the time was ticking for catching prey. Some other time he'll be more thorough. "When hunting you want to you to be on the tips of your paws so you can move quickly. You have to be ready to chase that rabbit if you miss." Easing into a crouching stance to show the younger tom. "It most cases you will need to pounce on your prey. So bunch your hunches until you feel like you have the strength to leap far as you need to. Like this." Slowly moving a few paws steps with his limbs tug in close the tom focused on a leaf. Without warning, he pushed himself off of the ground and landed in the leaf. "Any questions?" Looking up and padding back to his apprentice.
wolfnight

[Mango]

Arie
Basilpaw ran over to Weaselskip,” Brindlejaw stuck me with you. So I’m ready to hunt!” she meowed in excitement.

[Arie]

- Zesty Mango Puddletail -

Weaselskip sighed. Exactly the one apprentice she did not want any interest in being together with. Tail twitching the grey molly stared at the two apprentices, gesturing for them to get closer. At Basilpaw's comments she rolled her eyes. She wasn't in the mood to deal with this ass of a cat. But Puddlepaw she could deal with... She might have to bury Basil. But first she had to actually seem like she was willing to teach them anything. Not that she didn't want to, she just had no tolerance for stupid apprentices who would have an impact on her doing what she had meant to do. "Come along both of you... You know nothing about hunting I am willing to assume. We're doing a basic 1,2,3 and then you can watch me. But for the sake of keeping your fur on DO NOT disturb me while I am hunting, otherwise I'm sending you to Coyote's den for being his slaves for the next moon and delaying your warrior ceremony." With that her tail twitched and she began moving to the left.

[Polaris]

Heatherpaw nodded, trying to take in all that his mentor said. Okay, so be quick on my paws...I can do that! He copied his mentors crouch. It was like second nature to him now, because he had been practicing it as a kit. He wanted to be as prepared to be an apprentice as he could. Not to mention that his mentor was the deputy. He was glad he had practiced.

Heatherpaw saw a mouse by the roots of a gorse bush, and crept forward, forgetting to ask his mentor if he could. He slowly crept closer, when the mouse suddenly stopped moving, looking at him. Rabbit-droppings! I forgot to be down-wind! As the mouse scampered away, Heatherpaw raced after it. He loved the feeling of the wind in his fur as he gained on the mouse. When he was close enough, he slammed his paw down on its neck, killing it. He picked up the warm body, his mouth watering as the scent filled his nose and mouth.

Shimm

[Puddle~]

Arie Zesty Mango

Puddlepaw grinned, content that one of his friends was in the same group as he was. Though, Weaselskip seemed like she meant business, and he just had to hope that Basilpaw would comply with that. What Weaselskip said next confirmed what would happen if either of them acted up. A slave for a moon? And a delayed warrior ceremony? He shuddered. He couldn't imagine how disheartening it would be to see all his friends train and become warriors whilst he was stuck being a slave. But the tom shook the thoughts from his head. Why worry about that now? As long as he listened and didn't bug Weaselskip, he should be fine, right? It was Basilpaw that he was a little worried about. He knew his friend could be quite demanding, even around warriors, and he hoped she was smart enough to watch her mouth this time around. But that wasn't the whole point of why they were here. They were here to hunt, not worry. And the way that Weaselskip explained it, the learning process didn't seem like it would be too difficult. Besides, he was a fairly swift learner, so he would probably be able to pick it up quickly. He regained his confidence, becoming once again excited to start. As the warrior veered off to the left, Puddlepaw followed, waiting for Basilpaw to tag along as well.

[Mango]

Arie Puddletail

Basilpaw was a bit scared by Weaselskip’s threatening warning. She reluctantly followed after Weaselskip and Puddlepaw. She wanted to stay a bit away from that angry warrior, at least for a bit. However, after a little bit of walking she soon forgot about that warning and started running slowly, a bit, not going very far ahead and kept coming back so she wouldn’t be in any trouble for ditching, but she didn’t realize she might be wearing herself out from the running she was doing.

[dionysus]

wren / Shimm
Heathernose arrived late to the little group of hunters gathering for Coyotesnarl, but she caught the gist of their assignment. To hunt. Waiting for Brindlejaw to finish deciding groups, she padded up to the deputy and paused nearby to alert him to her presence but not interrupt his discussion with Heatherpaw. The tortoiseshell moved closer when an opening to speak appeared and she cleared her throat quietly. “Brindlejaw,” she started in a gentle voice, “sorry to interrupt, but I’d like to help out. Is there a group I can join?” Heathernose didn’t know why they had to hunt for Coyotesnarl, but the feline knew it was for some benefit so she didn’t worry about it.

[Starfall]

wolfnight Shimm wren Zesty Mango Arie

Peonypaw's ears perked as his name was called, picking himself up and striding over to where this little gathering was forming he listened intently as the Medicine Cat spoke. Doing his best to keep eye contact as little blobs and transparent felines walked through his line of sight, ducking to look beneath their legs, and raising his head to look over them. Gosh they were quite rude weren't they. "Hey wait what do you have planed?" he chirped, questioning his motives. Looking between the Scarred Medicine Cat and the Deputy.

Picking himself up and trotting after the group, he hopped over rocks and shadowy blobs. Golly this was fun. "I bet I'll catch more than all of you." he boasted. Although he was sure he wouldn't, he just wanted some sort of game to play.

----------------------

Honepaw was already quietly shuffling closer to the group, curiosity flickering in his droopy eyes. He wanted to know what was going on, but at the same time if he wasn't asked to help, than he'd just stay behind, maybe contemplate what they were doing till he got back. But than his name was called, he scolded himself for being nosy but happily shuffled forwards. Letting out little "Mkay."s and nods of his head.

Than Coyotesnarl started to pad off, the rest of the group following. Letting out a distressed chirp the Tan Tabby scuttled quickly up just behind the brown tabby. "Ah, um if you'd have me I'd love to help! Unless, that is Brindlejaw needs me? Aaa just put me wherever you need me most!" he babbled.

[Arie]

-- Zesty Mango Puddletail --

Weaselskip sighed.. Basilpaw was already causing trouble and in truth she just wanted to bash the damned apprentice's head in. But she could in good faith not do such a thing. Yelling up at Basilpaw, "HEY! IDIOT? Yes you. You're scaring the prey away with your idiocy and I am willing to tell both Coyotesnarl and Brindlejaw about this. You're ruining what is a very important job. Now stay quiet, stay there or I will have to send you down a rabbit hole in order to make you shut up and not disrupting my lesson and my job. Now your friend here actually want to learn how to hunt and therefore he will." Gesturing to Puddlepaw she moved into the area slowly, "Since your friend was oooh so nice to disturb all the prey in the nearby area I will be showing you the basics here instead of with real prey. Just watch me closely." She slowly slid into a crouch, her weight on her back paws as she lowered her stomach to the grass. "Watch how low I carry my belly. It allows me to move further down and thereby remain unseen for longer. This is useful when flushing rabbits or stalking lapwings." With that she began moving faster and faster until she had run a circle around the apprentice, keeping her entire body down as close to the ground as possible. "This is the best technique for flushing rabbits. You'll be the one doing the flushing and when we've got a rabbit, I'll show you how to tackle them and get the jump on them." Nodding at them she gestured to the clearing. "Go ahead, try it yourself. I am here to correct you, but don't listen to your friend, she'll only distract you. I'll be taking a serious talk with Coyote and Brindle later I think."

[Mango]

Arie Puddletail
Basilpaw was a bit annoyed, but decided to try despite the fact that Weaselskip was focusing on Puddlepaw, but she didn’t really get it. Instead she tried silently running in circles low to the ground around Weaselskip. She had a huge smile on her face, making her look like an idiot. She sort of had the idea of getting low, but she seemed to be missing the point of flushing. She figured Weaselskip was bluffing so she stayed optimistic and enjoying the training session.

[wren]

Coyotesnarl was pleased with the deputy’s organization. Brindlejaw was capable he just needed to pick up the pace on his duties. He’d push the tom along when he needed it. He’d be dead before Coldsong or anybody replaced him. The tom stared as Weaselskip took off with her gathering of apprentices amassed behind her. Good. That’s when heathernose appeared. “Go along with Wolfbound. Take Basilpaw with you. She seems to not be able to keep her mouth shut” his eyes flicked to the sulking apprentice who had dragged herself back toward the group. “She doesn’t have any training but you are a competent warrior” He flicked his tail towards Wolfbound, peonypaw and Basilpaw.

Than he turned and smiled faintly down at Honeypaw. He needed someone with a decent amount of brain cells to be able to help him. Marigold was tricky to gather and so was honey. He gave his ear a flick before turning his gaze back to the dispersing group. That was taken care of... they were fine. “Brindlejaw will be fine” He said softly gently running his tail over his shoulder reassuringly. “We will be gathering marigold today... honey if we can find a bees nest.” he said quietly with a nod before he stalked across the hill flicking his tail to gesture Honeypaw to follow.

Beau Starbot Zesty Mango
—

Wolfbound stood a moment listening into Brindlejaws instructions before looking fondly upon her weird little apprentice. This would be fun.. as long as peonypaw was a fast learner and could keep up. “Okay sounds good but do you-“ the she cat paused before suddenly the medicine cat interjected placing heathernose and Basilpaw on her patrol. Her ears flattened briefly at the thought of the little apprentice having to come along with them. Great. At least she had another warrior to accompany her though. Make the most of it wolf.

“Alright kit you are with us. Heathernose” she dipped her head in brief greeting “welcome. We’ll be heading straight back towards camp and stopping about halfway by the three stones. Gotta give them a brief hunting lesson and than we can begin” The she cat offered a sweet smile before turning and starting on her way towards the three medium sized stones she had personally named.

Beau Starbot Zesty Mango

[dionysus]

wren / Starbot / Zesty Mango
Heathernose nodded at Coyotesnarl’s instructions and offered the medicine cat a friendly smile before he moved on. She hasn’t yet met Basilpaw, but she offered her a smile too. The tortoiseshell hurried over to Wolfbound and gave the other warrior a dip of her head and a cheerful grin as a greeting, waving her tail at the other apprentice too. “Sounds great!” Heathernose’s tone was bright and she looked forward to spending the day hunting with this small patrol. The small feline didn’t have her own apprentice, so she had no experience training, but it seemed to her that giving Basilpaw a quick lesson in hunting while Wolfbound did the same for Peonypaw would be a good little training session for herself too for when she did get an apprentice. The tortoiseshell warrior turned to the two apprentices and introduced herself, “hi, Basilpaw, Peonypaw, I’m Heathernose,” and trotted along with Wolfbound toward the stones, keeping an eye mainly on Basilpaw since Peonypaw was Wolfbound’s apprentice.

[Mango]

Beau Starbot wren
Basilpaw gave a small skip happy to be rid of Meaniebutt, also known as Weaselskip. But she was also happy, Meaniebutt didn’t get to bury her like she threatened. Though, she wasn’t sure how she felt about her mentor’s mentor in her mind, also known as Wolfbound, who as far as she was concerned, was mentoring her wimpy and cowardly mentor, Puffinhop. Giving a big smile she squeaked,” Hunting!” bouncing along side the two warriors, she did find it weird the non-existent things Peonypaw was avoiding.

[wren]

Wolfbound found it freeing to be rid of the medicine cat and deputy... the power struggle between them was weird and tense, or perhaps she was reading the situation wrong? Never mind that. She got to get around to training today which ticked off a spot on her to-do list. As they were trotting down the hill she couldn’t help but pass sparing looks at Peonypaw. Sure she knew her apprentice was alittle weird.. ducking and moving in odd types of ways every few seconds but she thought that was just first day nervousness? Maybe there was something wrong with him? Her ears pinned to the sides of her head. Oh well... she always liked a challenge.

Hearing Heathernoses greeting the she cat only found herself grinning. Cute. The joyous molly was.. cute. The thought crossed her mind alittle too late before her mouth got away from her. “Heathernose. That’s an adorable name” Her yellow eyes fixed on the she cat for a brief moment before peeling away. Focus Wolf focus. Once she reached her destination she turned and sat down with a humph. She’d have to think back wayyy into her own apprentice days to figure exactly what to teach and how to teach it.

Beau Starbot Zesty Mango

[Puddle~]

Arie

Puddlepaw was a little taken aback by Weaselskip's sudden outburst. It was the first time he'd ever seen another cat get so irritated, though he figured it was all with good reason. After all, Basilpaw had gone and scared off all the nearby prey that could have been used for their lesson. But he soon forgot about it. Besides, the anger was directed towards Basilpaw, and not him. Though he did feel a little pity for his friend, he needed to focus on the lesson at hand, and a pity party wasn't going to help the cause at all. Reverting his attention to hunting, he watched earnestly as Weaselskip demonstrated the proper rabbit flushing technique. He paid close attention to every detail, fearing he would mess up and get scolded. Low belly, low belly, low belly... He repeated the phrase several times in his head, to make sure he wouldn't forget it on his attempt. That was his way of memorizing things, repeating them several times through. Nodding in response to Weaselskip's words, Puddlepaw crouched low to the ground, his belly just a smidge off the floor. It felt a bit awkward at first, to be hobbling around with his stomach so close to the earth. His muscles were tensed, and his joints tightened, making it feel quite uncomfortable to move around in such a position. But after a few circles around the small clearing, the russet and black tom soon began to feel a more at ease. He began to relax his stiffened joints and muscles, allowing for a more natural, quicker, and wider range of movements. He couldn't do it quite as fast as Weaselskip had done when she demonstrated the technique, but he was getting there. He smiled as he continued practicing, proud of himself for picking it up so quickly. "Am I doing it right?" He asked, waiting to see if any part of his technique needed fixing.

[Starfall]

Honeypaw let out a purr as he was told it was okay. He was happy to do something with his paws, recently he'd been out training with Midnightstalker, he wasn't good at the fighting part...or the hunting part. But it wasn't as hard as he had innitally thought! He liked his mentor, she was very paitent with him, which he very much appreciated. But due to all this new learning buisness he was becoming very sore.

However as the Medicine cat mentioned Honey the Tan Apprentice let out a loud gasp. "Wait there's honey out here?!" he gawked. Oh! He loved honey! He would always get little blobs of it when praised by his former upwalkers. "oh, also why Marigold? Isn't that like a uhhhhh a yellow flower? Or was it Blue....hmm" he hummed to himself, standing there for a few moments before realizing he was being left behind. With a gurgled noise of worry he scurried after the Medicine Cat.

---------------

Peonypaw was having a grand old time, he was about to go out and about with his newest favorite feline. Than a pair of strangers rolled in. Well..one was a stranger, mainly because he didn't care to remember who they were, the other on the other paw. "Basilpaw!" he chirped, hopping just behind Wolfbound. Shooting the familiar face a toothy smile "Wanna compete in hunting with me? The one who catches the most doesn't have to go jump in the Stream." he teased. But it only lasted a second as the stranger introduced herself. "Hiya! I'm OH!" he didn't really get to finish his introduction as he winced. Heathernose had stepped into one of those blobby things.

The Calliby didn't like it, made him uncomfrotable. How in the world were they not noticing this? With a twitch of his nose he swung his head and stuck very close to his mentor, ears pinned to the sides of his head. Shuffling to the side once they made it to where they were supposed to be. Watching with mild interest as Wolfbound sat herself down harshly.

Pouting the Apprentice crawled onto her back. "noooo, we're playing!" he huffed, sliding off her back and landing heavily on the ground.

Beau Zesty Mango wren

[dionysus]

wren / Zesty Mango / Starbot
Heathernose felt her skin heating under her fur at the compliment and she purred, “thank you! I have to say the name Wolfbound sounds so poised and powerful.” Heathernose liked the strong nature of the name- it made her think of a powerful and beautiful force. Her soft blue eyes met Wolfbound’s yellow and she gave her a sweet smile. The tortoiseshell was a bit confused by Peonypaw’s reaction to her greeting, but didn’t press him. Instead, she sprinted along beside Wolfbound, planning out how she would go about teaching Basilpaw how to hunt. It’d been awhile since she learned the basics herself and never this fast. When they reached the rocks, Heathernose sat down beside Wolfbound and turned to the other warrior. “How do you want to go about our little training session,” she mewed, looking over Basilpaw and Peonypaw thoughtfully.

[Arie]

-- Puddletail --

Happy to be rid of Basilpaw, Weaselskip threw an appreciative nod at her old sister Wolfbound and then focused back on Puddlepaw and a smile actually etched itself onto her muzzle at the apprentice's attentiveness. She may not be Puddlepaw's mentor but she would be sure to mention to them that they actually had a somewhat competent apprentice at their hands despite his talkativeness and bad friends. Well bad friend. Sighing she locked her eyes onto his technique before walking over to him, tail twitching slightly. "You're doing quite good, for a first lesson anyway. I wish we had some prey to try it out with but I guess that'll have to do for our actual hunt. We can't let old badger Coyote have a reason to skin our furs." With that she walked around him and pointed at his belly, "Gotta keep that up a bit more, don't want it at the ground but just above so it skims over the small grass but stays beneath the tall grass." Walking around she lifted his hindleg with her mouth. "Gotta tense in these muscles, you're running not just chatting or walking. We need speed when we're flushing rabbit, both the flusher and the chaser." She walked around again and nodded at his front leg. "That's some good technique you've got there. Nice and open front legs, will make you more able to easily switch the direction in which you're heading." With the corrections done, there was only one way to get about it, heading out to try it on some actual prey. "So we're heading further out, step where I step and don't make any loud noises as the rabbits will hear you approach long before you can see them. You're doing the flushing, I will show you how to kill it but for now we're here for a job and that's what we're trying to execute. If it is not a rabbit we find first, I just want you to watch me alright? I think it works better in practice than if we're to try to act like we have some prey here." With that she was off, the grey feline lowering herself down, not down into a hunters crouch but slow enough that she would not be spotted was anything to look through the grass. Gesturing with her tail she lead Puddle up north to where hopefully rabbits would be waiting to be eaten... Well not eaten. But caught any less.

[Mango]

wren Beau Starbot
Basilpaw gave a small smile to Heathernose she didn’t question Peonypaw really. She is weird, good weird, but still weird. You don’t question weird Basilfur. she thought. yes, she gave herself a warrior name that she uses when talking to herself out loud or in her head. She gave a small skip in her step and nodded,” We pounce on the prey and kill it, right?“ she squealed in excitement, to Peonypaw she meowed,” You’re on, I’ll catch all the prey in Windclan territory!”

[Puddle~]

Arie

As Puddlepaw noticed Weaselskip smiling at him, he found himself to be pleasantly surprised. The warrior had always seemed a little curt and difficult to please, so he was surprised that she seemed happy with his technique. Quickly returning the gesture, he planted a small grin on his fuzzy black muzzle. Once the moment was over, he nodded his head slowly, ears perked up to hear each of the warrior's corrections. He listened carefully and adapted his form to accommodate each problem, lifting his belly slightly, tensing up the correct muscle groups, and making sure to keep his front legs nice and spread out. His form still wasn't picture perfect, but it didn't matter too much. Even experienced cats weren't absolutely perfect. Besides, he had improved through the corrections and trusted that it had become accurate enough for him to properly execute the maneuver. But that was still just the easy part. Up until now, they had only been practicing. All the minor mistakes he had made were acceptable. Now, it was time for the real deal, and he couldn't afford to mess up here, or he'd scare away all the prey, just as Basilpaw had done only moments ago. He gulped a little as Weaselskip began explaining the proper course of action. Though he was fairly certain that he had gotten the gist of the plan when she had briefly run through it earlier, he just wanted to be sure. Angling his ears towards the warrior, he made sure he caught every little detail, not wanting to be seen as an utter disappointment to the clan. Or worse, get skinned by an angry Coyotesnarl and become his slave for a month. He gave a small shudder of fear. The thought still induced a slight anxiety within him, but he had to remain focused on what they were doing now. Worrying about every single thing that could cause him to mess up would only make it more likely to happen. And having it actually happen was far worse than just imagining it. He blinked his vivid green eyes a couple times, and nodded towards Weaselskip to indicate that he understood everything she had just stated. Step in the same spots, don't make noise, leave other prey to her. Satisfied that he had remembered the general steps, he repeated it over a few times, just for good measure. And with that, he sealed off his mind from outside thoughts and fears, concentrating only on hunting and prey. As Weaselskip began inching across the moor, he waited for her to give the signal. And once she did, he began following behind her, placing his paws in the same spots she had, remembering all the pointers she'd given him, and most importantly, trying as hard as possible not to make any loud noises. Some of the longer blades of grass tickled the tom's belly, but he paid it no attention and made sure to keep his jaws clamped shut. If he laughed now, it would ruin everything. So, he continued following Weaselskip across the moor, occasionally glancing around for the first sign of any rabbits.

[Arie]

-- Puddletail --

Weaselskip looked back and saw that the apprentice was doing exactly what she'd told him to do and a happy smile grazed her muzzle yet again. Moving on she kept low as her eyes began narrowing to slits against the sun and for her to be able to look through the tall grass. But then she heard it and the smell was clear. Her ears perked up and she crept back to where Puddlepaw was still standing. Angling her ears she lowered her voice dramatically, "We've got rabbits just over his little hill. I want you to move forward here, and I'll go that way," she angled her ears to the left and pointed with her tail the way she wanted him to go. "I just want you to practice it the way we did just before. You're just chasing it out and getting it running, I'll be the one finishing the job. As soon as it is running just stop and watch. You'll learn more from that than participating in the ending chase. Because then you know how to support the chaser as the flusher but also how to execute the job of a chaser." That was good. Pointing again with her tail she reminded him, "Stay low, get as close as you can and remember, speed is everything when chasing rabbits. Be fast, if they turn around, don't follow but circle. Just remember, that its fine if it gets away, I won't be unhappy with you. Gotta learn somehow. But I trust you that you're not as useless as that denmate of yours." With that she was off, heading into the tall grass and soon after disappearing, tail lowered to the ground. She made it to where she could see the rabbits and then raised her tail and pointed, hoping the apprentice would understand. With tense muscles she crept as close as she could and was fully prepared to shoot out.

[wren]

Wolfbound drew a blank, she herself had never mentored an apprentice. She also wasn’t ever the type of warrior who fell into the normal steps of hunting. She was a energized maniac who just dove into the chase and hoped her endurance out lasted the rabbit. She couldn’t teach that to tiny apprentices barely the height of her shoulder. Whatever she’d make it up as she went along. “I’ll be honest I’m not entirely sure” she said with a chuckle gently tracing her tail up Heathernoses flank as she stood and stepped up in front of them. She was amused by Basilpaw and Peonypaws enthusiasm and competitive nature. Peony however weird he was seemed to be shaping into a pretty decent apprentice. “Be patient and listen up, you’ve gotta learn how to hunt before you get up in each other’s faces” The she cat mused.

“You’ve heard of the hunting crouch correct? I mean who hasn’t” What was it again? Lead leg forward, stagger your steps and.. belly and tail low to the ground. Right. The silvery warrior dropped down into the crouch near perfect form with the exception of a few wobbles here and there. “Can you mimic this?” the she cat asked directing her attention to the apprentices now

Beau Zesty Mango Star/bot
——

“Yes there’s honey out here” the tom mused quietly his tail curling behind him as they padded into the thicket. “Bee’s make it. Those little fuzzy flying things.. with enough luck not enough of them are awake so we can grab a comb and run” The tom said with a snort recalling how nasty the little things were in full force.

The tom turned and smiled faintly at Honeypaw. He’d lost Oddear and Honeypaw was all he had left... these fleeting moments was all he had for a calm walk. Windclan was becoming increasingly more lonely. The tom picked up the pace ducking under wolf willow branches and manoeuvreing his way into a better path. “Marigold is the beautiful orange and yellow flowers. I can’t recall if I had you use them” the tom said with a nod.

Starbot

[Mango]

Beau wren Starbot

Basilpaw flicked her tail in impatience,” I already can do that...but fine...” she huffed as she dropped into a hunter’s crouch. She kept herself low to the ground, her tail was dragging, but her head was up and her ears pricked, she whispered to Peonypaw,” I’ll totally catch all the rabbit’s in Windclan without you catching a single piece of prey” she teased playfully.

[Puddle~]

Arie
(ik, ik, you said to keep it a little shorter, but I couldn't help it)

Puddlepaw remained on the trail of Weaselskip, keeping his radar up and occasionally glancing at his surroundings to make sure no noises would be made. The slightest misplacement of a paw, or the crack of a twig could alert all prey in the immediate area that they were there. And that wouldn't do them any good. Fixing his eyes back on Weaselskip, he noticed the molly was heading back in his direction. He assumed this meant she had found some rabbits up ahead, and his impression was right. Nodding to indicate he had understood her first instructions, he started off in the direction she had specified. He only made it out a few tail-lengths before stopping in his tracks, realizing that Weaselskip had more to say. Oops. This time, he gave her his undivided attention, making sure not to prematurely jump to the conclusion that they were ready to begin. He listened attentively to what she said, soaking up all the advice like a sponge. This was it. His first proper hunt. Giving Weaselskip a quick smile, he was reassured when she mentioned she wouldn't get upset if it got away this time. He watched as she disappeared in the other direction. And with that, he dropped into a crouch, making sure to use the proper form taught a few moments ago. Without further hesitation, the tom took off across the moor, heading carefully in the direction of the rabbits. His pace was a little on the slow side at first, but he gradually began picking up speed. Soon, he was able to see one of the rabbits, munching on some greenery, completely oblivious to the fact that it was about to meet an untimely end. He circled around the area until both he and the rabbit were in line with where Weaselskip was concealed. But he didn't go for it immediately. He kept glancing in Weaselskip's direction, waiting for some kind of indicator. As a tail poked up from behind the lush tall grass, Puddlepaw took this as a sign that the warrior was ready. Creeping as close as he thought possible, he suddenly burst out from behind a clump of taller grass, launching himself towards the rabbit. It seemed the rabbit was prepared, but so was Puddlepaw. As it raced away, he stayed hard on its heels, not letting it out of his sight. Whenever it attempted to veer off path, he would circle around on its side, steering it back into the imaginary line he had drawn out in his mind. They were getting closer and closer to where Weaselskip lay in hiding, and he knew the warrior would likely pop out at any moment to complete the ending chase. But, for now Puddlepaw was quite content with himself. He was actually doing it! He was flushing out the rabbit!

[dionysus]

wren / Zesty Mango / Starbot
Heathernose chuckled quietly at Wolfbound’s answer, not expecting it. Wolfbound struck her as the type to always have a plan for everything, something the tortoiseshell greatly admired, but she thought it was cute that the other she-cat was going into this as blind as she was. Heathernose offered a knowing grin as an answer and sat back as Wolfbound moved forward to address the two apprentices, blinking and feeling her ear tips begin to bear up strangely as the other warrior’s tail tip dragged against her flank. How had she never spoken to Wolfbound before? This cat seemed like a great warrior to get to know! Hey, Heathernose had a job to do here so she had to push the budding plans to get to know Wolfbound out of mind and move up to stand beside said she-cat. When the other feline dropped into a hunting crouch, Heathernose nodded and cast her eyes upon the apprentices, adding, “you want to keep low to the ground so the rabbit won’t see you but also make sure that you are stepping lightly. They have wonderful hearing. The crouch will only get you so far, too. Rabbits will head your heartbeat before they see you so you creep forward as far as you can get until you see them sit up alertly and then you lunge. You two haven’t had any endurance training, I assume, so we might have to plan out a group endeavor to get them. Perhaps you and I can chase the hare while the apprentices wait by the warren to catch it as it tries to escape?” She spork her final statement to Wolfbound with a tilt to her head, trying to think of other possible ways to hunt with two newbies.

[Arie]

-- Puddletail --

Weaselskip's eyes lit up as she watched the apprentice shoot out and handle the trick rabbit. Her muscles was tense, her claws sharp and her blood pumping as the rabbit raced by her and she shot out after it, hoping the apprentice understood their job was done and would just watch how a professional did it. Stretching out her long legs and the muscles now working on full speed she managed to grab onto the rabbit and latched her paws onto it and then rolled over in the sand as her grip strengthened and she finally managed to crush its neck with a bite. The thrill of the hunt was over already but it had been a good catch and a not too exhausting run. Rising to her paws from her lying down position after the tumble, she shook out the dust that had collected itself in her fur. Picking up the rabbit she walked over to the apprentice, a spring in her step the adrenaline still fresh. Putting it down with a happy flick of her tail she looked over the apprentice briefly. He looked a tad bit out of breath but otherwise extremely well for a new apprentice just out of the nursery. "Did good, kid. Now, did you see what I did? As you chased it towards me I ran it down the final steps. The chaser needs to be saving their energy for when the rabbit is already running and have to be able to reach for it. Gotta stretch out those long limbs of yours." But she had to give him praise for his good work. "You had a nice technique though, nice with the circle as well, you'll be a useful member for this hunt I think. Just gotta see if you can learn as fast by watching as when I explain it." Because there wouldn't be time when they started going after birds to teach the apprentice if they were to get the best productivity out of this.

[Puddle~]

Arie

As Weaselskip shot out from the thicket of tall grass, Puddlepaw slowed his pace until he came to a full stop, plopping down to watch the warrior complete the kill. He took note of her astonishing speed, paying attention to how she hooked her claws into the rabbit's skin and put and end to its frantic wriggling state with a single bite. Witnessing the death of the rabbit didn't faze him at all. While some other new apprentices might need a little bit of time to get used to the aspect of death, he had already seen far worse things as a kit, and was therefore desensitized to these types of scenarios. As Weaselskip began padding towards him, he got up to meet her, and sat down beside her and the plump rabbit, perking up his ears to hear any post-chase suggestions she had to make. He was expecting to hear at least a handful corrections, but was pleasantly surprised as his ears were met with praise instead. Purring a little, he gave the warrior a big smile to let her know he appreciated the compliments. He didn't want to appear cocky by puffing out his chest in pride, but the apprentice was definitely pleased with himself. Now that he could help out with hunting, he was finally able to play an important part in the clan, and not just sit on his ass and play games in the nursery all day. It made him feel good in a way he couldn't explain, being able to help keep the clan well-fed and running. "I'll try," he mewed, referring to her mention of learning other techniques through watching demonstrations. Though, he didn't quite doubt his learning abilities as much anymore. If he was able to pick up on the flushing technique so quickly, he figured he might be able to learn everything else at the same rate. Plus, he understood the need for the switch to visual learning. It was in the best interest of time. If they had to keep stopping for a proper explanation and practice of every technique, they'd hardly catch anything. So, with the first catch of the hunt officially over, Puddlepaw rose to his paws, eager to begin another. "What are we doing next?"

[Starfall]

The apprentice flicked his tail at Basilpaw's statement, letting out a snicker. "Oh is that so? There's more than rabbits to eat." he laughed. Sticking out his tongue as he shuffled closer to Wolfbound. As they went further and further out into the territory there were less of those see through strangers and...well he could only describe them as gooey blobs, out and about. It made him feel a little less like a sardine. Letting out a relaxed sigh the Calliby broke out into a trot.

Shuffling closer to Wolfbound as she struck a pose, curious eyes flickered with mischef. Licking his maw Peonypaw aimed to fling himself over his mentors back horizontally. "Like this?" he giggled, giving the she-cat a toothy grin. But seconds later his attention was whipped away to Heathernose. "Whatsa Warren?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.
Beau Zesty Mango wren

-------------------------------

The tom shuffled his paws, "I like bees...I think they're cute." he hummed as he started to jog. Gosh it was hard to keep up with cats when they're taller than you. "Though I don't really like them anywhere near me...more like...admiring from afar?" he mumbled to himself. Brows quirking up as he raised his head, catching Coyotesnarls eyes for a few seconds. Honeypaw gave the Tabby a bright smile. Frankly, he was grateful for Twilightstar, Midnightstalker, Coyotesnarl and Warblerpaw for making Windclan seem more homey. Coming to the clans was an Impulse decision, it seemed to be worth it. Aside from almost dying a good pawfull of times that is.

Being a little fluffier his fur often got caught in the branches the Medicine Cat was oh so elegantly dodging. Letting out chirps and squeaks of surprise and distress as he often got caught. By the time they were in an open space Wolf Willow branches were sticking out of his fur in every direction. With an emberassed grumble the Tan tabby did his best to pluck some of the branches out and keep up with the Older tom. However after a while he gave up, and instead jogged a little behind the Scarred tom. Couldn't quite catch up. "Oh gosh, but there's so many pretty yellow and orange flowers Coyotesnarl! That's not very descriptive." he laughed, well...wheezed with a hint of giggle. Running was not a strong point of this past Kitty pet.

@/wren

[Arie]

-- Puddletail --

Yet again, letting out a laugh Weaselskip shook her head and then shook out her fur. "We'll leave the rabbit here for now, or well we'll leave it in a secure place. Just follow me, we'll use this spot for all the other prey we catch so no predator can get it, and if Coyotesnarl has any brains he might be able to find the stash here. With the amount we're going for, you wont be walking when you get back to camp. Might need to drag ya." With that she was walking off to where the rabbits burrow had been and placed it down before bowing down the moor grass around it. "Easy. There. Now we gotta go find more prey. Just follow me, and depending on what we find, I'll tell you to participate or just let the professional do the job so we can get some proper pile and not disappoint the clan." With that she was off, setting a slow pace. Despite the energy that she felt, she knew that this was not gonna be a sprint but rather a marathon. Did the prey run out before you ran out of energy was the real equation to be solved. Soon the scent of birds washed in over her and she was pleasantly surprised when she realised it was pheasants! These would make an extremely fine meal and it would be great for the clan as well. Gesturing for Puddlepaw to come up she started speaking in her whisper again. "Now. This is a solo mission. I want you to watch me, watch every movement, the technique, the level I keep my body at and the reaction time. Everything needs to be precise and fast and executed perfectly to catch a pheasant."

[Puddle~]

Arie

Puddlepaw wasn't quite sure he agreed when Weaselskip said he'd have to be dragged back to camp from exhaustion. After all, he was older and a bit bigger than the other new apprentices, plus there was the fact that he contained a lot of pent up energy. But, he supposed he also wasn't used to this type of strenuous activity. In actuality, it could go either way, but walking or not, all that mattered at the end of the day was whether they had caught enough prey to feed every mouth in the clan. And it was best not to waste time thinking about trivial manners instead of hunting. So with that, he watched as Weaselskip concealed the rabbit, taking care to disguise it from predators. And as the warrior set off again, he set his feet in motion, and they were soon shuffling across the moor once more. He hoped they would come across some sort of prey soon. The thrill of the last chase had exhilarated him, and he wanted to relive that feeling again. To feel the rush of the cool breeze on his russet fur as he galloped after the rabbit. The feel of the scratchy grass below his black paws as they brushed the surface of the earth. It filled him with glee, and if this was what WindClan cats got to experience on a regular basis, he sure didn't regret leaving his life as a loner kit to become one. As they began the ascent of a small hill, he was overwhelmed with another scent. It wasn't rabbit, but it definitely did smell like some sort of prey. And Weaselskip only confirmed this guess. "Alright," he whispered, keeping a low volume. It was a little disheartening that he couldn't participate in this particular chase, but he understood why, and wasn't really upset about it. Crouching down, he made sure that he wouldn't be spotted by the birds Weaselskip got ready to hunt them.

[Arie]

-- Puddletail --

Nodding, happy that the apprentice was fine with sitting this round out, Weaselskip took in a deep breath. This hunt would require a bit of patience and an extreme amount of focus and concentration from her. She liked how pheasants tasted but she was most certainly not a fan of hunting them. They were harder to hunt than hares, according to Weasel herself, despite the danger level bigger significantly lower with pheasants. Dropping into her crouch she whisked Puddlepaw closer to the grass cover before nodding again. "Watch.. and learn." With that she was off, creeping off through the moor land, staying as low to the ground as possible, nearly dragging her stomach on the ground but just barely holding it off. Pause. The pheasants had noticed something was off and Weaselskip stopped mid-stride, paw lifted but completely frozen in place. When they went back to not paying attention she took a few more steps, the paw placed down silently as she awaited her time to strike. There it was! One of the stupid birds had come too close to her and out she was, taking two large leaps and then attaching her claws to the body of it, digging in with fast and expert precision and getting a nip on the place just behind the skull but not before taking a wing to the face. She really didn't like pheasants. Stupid ass birds. She could've just left this one off for Wolf to go hunt, but no no no, Weasel had to be the one to run into them and get a wing in her face. Picking up the big bird, one that was nearly bigger than her and most certainly longer than her, she trotted back to the apprentice, gait a bit unsteady from the slap from the wing but she was fine... She hoped. Dropping the stupid bird she nodded. "Did you see what I did? Can you explain it? Need to see what you learned."

[Puddle~]

Arie

Remaining silent and motionless as he peered out from behind a clump of tall grass, Puddlepaw watched closely as Weaselskip tiptoed across the moor, slowly getting nearer to the pheasants. He took note of how low to the ground the warrior was, just barely enough space to keep her stomach from rustling the grass and alerting the prey. His intense gaze flickered between the stalking warrior and the oblivious birds. But soon, it seemed the birds were not so clueless after all. They seemed alert, like they knew something was coming for them. It worried the apprentice a little, but he saw Weaselskip had also noticed this fact and was frozen in place, unable to make even the slightest movement. He relaxed as he saw that the birds soon forgot the fact, and the warrior continued inching closer to them. Puddlepaw watched in scrutiny as Weaselskip sprang towards the birds, nabbing one that had strayed from the group. But, he winced as the pheasant jabbed a wing at the molly's face. Ouch. That hadn't looked pleasant, but at least the bird hadn't managed to get away. He stepped out from behind the tall grass and waited as Weaselskip approached him, the pudgy bird in her jaws. It looked like it would make a good meal, one that could feed at least a handful of hungry cats. Nodding as the warrior asked him questions, Puddlepaw opened his mouth to answer. Good thing he had been paying close attention to every little detail. "Oh, of course. I noticed how slow and low to the ground you were as you crept up on the flock, your belly was just barely above the grass. Then, how you froze on the spot when they had sensed you. And how you only went for one when it had wandered a little closer to you." He went through the scene in his head, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything major. "Oh! And how you bit it in a certain spot to kill it." He was pretty sure that he hadn't left out important, so he sat back and waited for the warrior's response.

[Arie]

-- Puddletail --

Weaselskip nodded. The apprentice was intelligent, being able to pick out all of that from her single hunt. She was quite proud of him, that was easy to be said. She was still a bit uncoordinated from the pheasant's wing that'd hit her face but she knew it would just take a few more moments in which she could explain and lead the apprentice out for further hunting. They'd already collected an okay amount, with a pheasant and a rabbit but she knew now that the apprentice had understood some basics and been shown some techniques they could easily double their amount of catches for today, maybe even triple it. That would for sure make Coyotesnarl glad... Not that she actually cared for his happiness but she mainly just didn't want to let the clan down. "That's good, you picked up the general and the details as well. I think we can let you try to take on the next birds we find." With that she stood up and shook her fur before stretching her shoulders. They were already sore but she was just getting started. Tonight was gonna be a really really long day for the young warrior. "Let's go, the pheasant here we can leave, just need to track our way back to it after we collect the rabbit from the burrow." With that she was off again, the blue ticked molly slinking away in the tall grass before pausing and then gesturing to Puddlepaw. "Take the lead, and try to see if you can find any prey. This will help you for your next hunting session for sure."

[Puddle~]

Arie

Puddlepaw couldn't help but let out a small purr, happy he had managed to pick out the details of the hunt. It seemed that learning new things was definitely one of his strong suits. He just needed to get past the whole worrying and anxiety aspect. And, for the time being, he wasn't worried about anything major. So far, Weaselskip had been commending him throughout their hunt, so the apprentice was becoming fairly comfortable with the whole idea of being part of a hunting group. What did set off his apprehension, however, was the warrior's mention of him leading the next part of their hunt. He gulped. Take on the next birds they found and lead the search for prey? Now, the young tom did enjoy a good challenge, but that didn't stop him from worrying. Now that he would be the one in the lead...it opened up a whole new window of opportunity for mistakes to be made. But he couldn't really say no. It wasn't as if the warrior had given him a choice. So, he hid his worries with a smile and an overenthusiastic voice. "Alright!" Trying to replicate what he'd seen Weaselskip do the last few times she was in the lead, the tom began slowly trekking across the moor, signaling with his tail for her to follow. It felt quite strange, being the one leading a warrior. But she had said it would help him out, and he believed that. Continuing to creep across the moor, he kept his ears perked, eyes alert, and occasionally tasted the air for the scent of prey. It wasn't long before he caught the aroma of food. As they crested the top of a small hill, he spotted them. Another small group of pheasants, just as plump and juicy-looking as the last one. They were still at a safe distance where the birds wouldn't sense them, so he signaled with his tail for Weaselskip to come over, then waited for the warrior to arrive and give further instructions.