[furrensic]

SQUIRRELPAW
she/her. 9 moons. small russet molly with brown markings and yellow eyes.

following the enforcer, squirrelpaw drops into a hunter's crouch alongside her. her stomach twists and turns, jittery with growing nerves. oh, she hated this. she's not sure what she's more afraid of: messing up and losing perfectly good prey, or disappointing mistlewhisker. they're practically tied. the latter is definitely higher, though, just by a bit. balance balance balancebalanceBALANCE!! BREATHE--, she repeats in her head, giving a quick nod.

she parts her jaws lightly, seeing what she could smell. what was that smell..?? "I s-ssmell..a bird..?" she notes, voice barely above a whisper. which, she honestly thinks is the most intimidating to catch due to their ability to fly. she's half tempted to turn to her mentor and admit that she really doesn't think she can do this. she clenches her jaw, heart fluttering wildly. "I'll - I'll..go..try..to..catch it.." she mumbles.

the area is mostly quiet, save for the sound of heart heartbeat and the occasional sounds made by local creatures. she doesn't stray too far away from where the warrior is stationed before she pushes through some thicker foliage, leading into a teeny tiny opening. a blackbird hops around, pecking at a soft spot in the ground, just a few fox lengths away. the apprentice remembers what mistlewhisker said – she loosens her muscles (the best she can), deep, albeit shaky, breath in, then out.

she slowly creeps forwards - breathe in. yellow eyes lock onto the bird, anticipation bubbling inside her - breathe out. her heart drums against her chest, almost painfully, and her limbs feel like jelly as she nears the unsuspecting critter. I can't do this, I can't..starclan and mistlewhisker forgive me, I can't..I can't do it.., she thinks, feeling the horribly familiar lump in her throat grow – she's so scared and nervous she wants to cry. her paws burn with nerves. no!! I can do it!! I CAN do this, I know it.

it does little to calm her down, but still does just enough to boost her confidence the tiniest bit. bunching up her muscles, she launches herself at the blackbird. paws wide and outstretched, she lets out a squeak when she actually gets ahold of the bird. "oh. s-starclan! oh my go-goodness!" the joy is shortlived when she comes to the realization that she has to actually murk the bird next - as it was very close to slipping out of her grasp. very unsure and awkwardly (and a little guiltily), she kills the bird with a harsh whack. oh!! she did it!!! she feels so happy and.. proud? yes, proud! she feels as though she could cry tears of joy.

[ @Micanomancy it's alright!! we can move onto either battle or stealth next if that sounds good either is fine with me. also exploring squirrels slowly growing confidence in this post hehe ]