[sleepyyjax]

 

Originally Posted by Moonraven

Oh, okay, so yowl at Lightningstorm then. She might have to rethink her temper, then. She was quite fond of the medicine cat and did feel like they'd be good friends if they were closer. Plus, it sounded like they had been assigned to an herb patrol and not just a random patrol down into the tunnels for the hell of it. So she really couldn't chew Vinesmoke's head off for doing his job. Still, she would be upset about it. Since there wasn't much she could do about it, she'd have to brood for a bit.

Hearing about Shrikepaw's training helped calm her grumpiness. She was a little concerned about her failing to catch a rabbit, but figured since Dapplebreeze was with her, she probably helped correct what she did wrong. Learning was part of the growing experience.

"Oh, birds are super hard to catch. Dapplebreeze must be an excellent hunter. Listen well if she gives you any advice." She purred as her thoughts drifted to her last hunt. Leopardsong needed to get out of these days and spend some time hunting; listening to Shrikepaw's story made her miss the fun she had when it came to hunting.

"Yes, I'd say I'm good at rabbit hunting. Once upon a time, I was one of WindClan's best hunters, but by now I'm sure there are a lot of cats who have surpassed me." She mused with a glint of nostalgia in her copper orbs. "I can't recall how many rabbits I've called over the seasons, a lot since they're WindClan's primary source of prey. I know for certain I've caught more rabbits than I have toes." Lepoardsong leans in to give the nudging head a nuzzle.

"I'm sure you'll surpass me in no time once you get the technique down. Being quiet and slow is one way to catch rabbits, but I always liked chasing them down. You have to be quick enough and make sure you know where their burrows are so you don't lose them when they run." Racing against rabbits had always been a thrill for her. She was sure Shrikepaw would enjoy it once she learns how to do it right.

"Whenever I'd lose a rabbit, I'd work twice as hard to catch double of what I lost, no matter how long it took. So I wouldn't go back to the clan empty-pawed. I lost a lot of rabbits when I was younger, so I spent a lot of time making up for their loss. Probably why I got so good at hunting as I did."

Shrikepaw
she/her - 8 moons

Wowie - so birds were hard. She nodded, excitedly taking in the information. She'd thought Dapplebreeze was super cool, but she had no idea that she'd been doing extra-hard-style hunting all this time. That was very very interesting. Maybe she would pester Dapplebreeze for a proper lesson, if Falconbeak didn't teach her soon. Mama didn't seem to have the same air of anger about her any more, which made her happy.

Then - what?! Mama used to be one of the clan's best hunters? Hm, she said cats have surpassed her, but Shrikepaw found that hard to believe. She bet mama was secretly a hunting superstar. She didn't seem to know how many rabbits she'd caught, so that left Shrikepaw with no particular number to aim for - but that was okay! It was at LEAST as many toes as mama had. And, as long as Songmama wasn't secretly missing any toes, that should be.... Oh dear, counting was hard sometimes. Shrikepaw had to focus her mind for a moment - 4 toes to a paw, four paws... 1,2,3,4... 16! 16 rabbits, that sure was a lot. She'd make that her first goal then, catch 16 rabbits.

Then, mama continued. So, you could chase rabbits all fast and stuff - that certainly changed things. She wouldn't have to be all slow and sneaky, she could do her favourite thing, instead! Running super fast! She bounced up in excitement, "I'll make sure to get at least 16 rabbits then! For all your toes!" The apprentice chirped, with a big grin. She'd have to get someone to teach her, but that wouldn't be a problem - WindClan was full of cool teachers to pick from. She'd already set her sights on grabbing that super-important-what's-his-face-guy for a lesson. She thought it was cool, that Songmama made sure to make up for all her lost rabbits. Shrikepaw wasn't sure she could do the same - unless she ended up really liking rabbit hunting. She could get bored very quickly, and making up for every single rabbit sounded like an awfully long job. hm - but she did want to help feed the clan, and catching loots of rabbits would certainly allow her to do that.