[Deerspark]
Tom\Warrior\RC
"Da da da we're dead-"
· · ─────── ·· ─────── ·

If anycat were to walk up to him and him why he was pacing in nervous circles, he wouldn't be able to tell them. Partly because he would be far to embarrassed too, but mostly because he felt as though his reason for being so anxious was stupid, overly stupid.

That's how he felt half the time though, how come this time was any different? He should at least be used to it by now. Obviously not though. Bile always managed to rise right back to his throat just as quickly as he swallowed it. Which wasn't very fun.

It's just an apprentice, no big deal right? Sure, an apprentice he had to teach, but it couldn't be that hard. Other warriors take and gain apprentices every moon or so, and Deerspark refused to be any different!

Then he finally finally turned over to the apprentice den, his stub of a tail shooting up like a bristling bush. He gulped rather deeply, his paws already shaking.

This was going to be bad, really bad.

"Strawberrypaw?" Deerspark called as he pushed through the hanging leaves, some of which caught onto his tan pelt. "Y' there? It's uh... It's time."

[Deerspark]
Tom\Warrior\RC
"Da da da we're dead-"
· · ─────── ·· ─────── ·

He was takenaback by Strawberrypaw's obvious enthusiasm, almost relieved. At least he hadn't gotten a snarky cat for an apprentice, but this one was obviously excited. That was something he could deal with, something that wouldn't completely rack his brain.

He just blinked rather slowly before twitching his short tail at her and turning on his heel. While he did have other things in mind, he wasn't about to protest, there was obviously no need. It wasn't like she was demanding him to bring her to the river, it was more of a request than anything. A pretty good request.

He walked out to the riverbank, his paws tingling with excitement. But also fear, great Starclan was he sick with shakey fear.

"Sss..." He grunted frustratedly. "Strawberrypaw. What... What do you see?"

He softly crouched down by the river, his green eyes intent on searching his apprentices, even if it did make him oddly uncomfortable.

https://warriorcatsonline.com/forums...ictureid=50439
[Deerspark]
Tom\Warrior\RC
"Da da da we're dead-"
· · ─────── ·· ─────── ·

His eyes crinkled with a murrow of laughter. Had Strawberrypaw never been to the river before? What was he thinking! Of course she hadn't been. She was an apprentice and wasn't allowed to leave camp unless a warrior accompanied her. Goodness, his head was far fuzzier than he thought.

He sat up into a sit, his ears perked. "Great." He complemented with a soft purr. "I... I see that too. Now---" he began to walk closer to the shore, close enough to feel seafoam rush underneath his paws and feel mist spray onto his face. "What kind. Yeah. What kind of fish do you... Think would be. Easier to catch? Give 'em a good look." He flicked a paw to the calm river, hums of rushing water filling it with life.

This should be easy. The fish were considerably unbothered, probably because they hadn't seen the two predators looming above them yet. But still, it was a perfect opportunity to see which fish would put up more of a fight. "Every kind of carp, trout, whatever has their own weaknesses and strengths. Your goal... Is to find them."

https://warriorcatsonline.com/forums...ictureid=50439
[Deerspark]
Tom\Warrior\RC
"Da da da we're dead-"
· · ─────── ·· ─────── ·

His face tightened in a quick little smile. "Have at it. Go for the gills." He mimed a scooping motion with his paws.

He then backed away from the river, his body now a few tail lengths behind Strawberrypaw. If he knew one thing he knew that actually catching the fish was the messiest part. Even if he was a full Riverclan cat, he still didn't really like to get splashed when his whole body wasn't in the water, it just didn't feel right having some parts of his fur damp with water and others perfectly dry. He'd rather choose one or the other, not both!

Deerspark had noticed how his apprentice said "we", implying that he'd catch some carp with her, but he only shook his head an nodded towards the fish. If he needed to visually demonstrate to better help his clanmate then he would, no hesitation. But he wanted to see how much work really needed to be done with Strawberrypaw's patience and stealth. He couldn't see that if he did all the catching for her. Sometimes warriors had to work on impulse. This was one of those times.

https://warriorcatsonline.com/forums...ictureid=50439
[Deerspark]
Tom\Warrior\RC
"Da da da we're dead-"
· · ─────── ·· ─────── ·

Deerspark had taken note of the thrills of excitement that filled the air. Whether or not he'd admit it with his mouth, it was obvious that he was holding his breath as well, watching anxiously as he stared daggers into the back of Strawberrypaw's head.

He took the silence that hung between them as his apprentice thinking which was already a good sign. From what he had gathered, he saw Strawberrypaw as a vary talkative cat. So, seeing her put this much effort into actually catching something was beyond endearing.

Deerspark pushed back a smile of pride. Not that she could see him, it's just that Deerspark always felt he either smiled too wide or too small, he hated how it never fit his face just right. He hadn't gotten any comments about it, and yet he still felt the need to cover his maw with a paw.

https://warriorcatsonline.com/forums...ictureid=50439
[Deerspark]
Tom\Warrior\RC
"Da da da we're dead-"
· · ─────── ·· ─────── ·

Deerspark leaped up like a meerkat, and he nearly fell on his face because of it. He launched himself up to his paws and was practically radiating excitement. "That's a big one!" He crowed. Wow, that was probably the loudest thing he'd said all evening.

He bounded over to his apprentice and leaned over her shoulder. He took the newly caught fish in his jaws and buried it near the riverbank but far enough to the point where the prey would stay underground.

"You're a natural," he beamed at her as he kicked up sand. He must be a really good teacher. "Think you can... Can try and get the other ones?" After he was done digging he walked back up to her. "They're a bit more tricky. If you think you can only... Stick to the ones near the surface, then do that."

Either option was fine for him actually. Strawberrypaw showed great promise and he couldn't wait to congratulate her in front of the clan when the time came.

https://warriorcatsonline.com/forums...ictureid=50439
[Deerspark]
Tom\Warrior\RC
"Da da da we're dead-"
· · ─────── ·· ─────── ·

Deerspark licked the traces of newly caught fish off his muzzle. He nodded at his apprentice with a twitch of his lips like a small smile.

That's alright, Deerspark thought, watching as Strawberrypaw crouched her fluffy body by the riverbank once more. "Trying is good." He said, his voice coming out far more unevenly than he would've liked. He cleared his throat an contemplated trying again, but there was no use in that. The pause of open conversation had already passed.

He leaned forward as he watched with a thrill of anticipation. Unfortunately for Strawberrypaw, she hadn't caught anything. Deerspark offered her a quick little smile as he trotted up next to her. She seemed to be waiting, as if holding her breath, for his denial or approval. It made Deerspark slightly confused that a cat could look up to him so quickly.

"You... Ya almost had it. Maybe if you acted scarier it would fainted right where it swan." The tall tom joked, his lips pulling back in a smile that revealed his teeth. "The trick with the more feisty fish is to be efficient---" Deerspark explained, his body tensing as his eyes begam to stop blinking entirely, now fully focused on the startled trout just below his paws. "And far faster than you had been, no offense though, it was still quite a pleasant start."

And with a lunge as quick as the racing of his heart, he scooped his paw into the water and smacked the large fish on a sharp stone. Blood fanned from their scales, their mouth open in permanent gape. Deerspark then scooped the fish out of the water and tossed it to Strawberrypaw. "Like that. Use their surroundings to you're advantage. Hit 'em against something, splash farther up the river to lead them to you in a reverse mechanism kind of way." He then paused. "Does that make any sense? Sorry."

https://warriorcatsonline.com/forums...ictureid=50439
[Deerspark]
Tom\Warrior\RC
"Da da da we're dead-"
· · ─────── ·· ─────── ·

The tall tom fluffed up in surprise. Well... Wasn't that interesting? He was joking about the whole "scaring the fish" thing, he genuinely didn't expect it to work, especially this well. Ha! He surprised himself everyday.

He nodded encouragingly at Strawberrypaw, a light purr rumbling in his throat. "Ya sure did, ya little bugger." Deerspark kneeled and swatted at his apprentices ear, a wide smile on his maw that wrinkled the corners of his eyes and folded his features. "I think you're ready to move on to battle training. We'll do that after I teach ya how to bury this prey real quick."

He took the trout from Strawberrypaw's maw and walked off with it, burying it next to the other fish they had caught. He then took the other one, the one he had used as an example, and put it there too.

What a nice successful catch. He was impressed. His newly appointed apprentice was able to catch two fish in one sitting, that couldn't just be by chance. Deerspark was positive that Strawberrypaw had a great deal of potential.

"So," he began, " When it comes to burying prey you've gotta make sure that you kick really hard at the surface you wanna dig up. It can be easier or harder depending on the surface, but in my opinion sand is the hardest to manage. This is because of how much sand moves. Dig a hole? Watch out! The remaining sand might fall back into the hole, then you'll have to start all over again." Hopefully that was enough explaining. The next steps would probably be common sense, like making sure there's no sand in the prey and yada yada.

"All done," Deerspark muttered to himself. "Y' up for a little sparring?"