New Skills for Shadepaw [p]

[snowflake.]

Shadepaw
Pure black pelt; dark mackerel markings; amber eyes
She/her || 8 moons || ShadowClan Apprentice
Agatha Kitty: Perm Activated - Just a Scratch: Perm Activated - Silver Tongue [T2] - Shadow Fiend
Mentor: Shrewstep • Post Count: 56/100 • Site • Bio

Shadepaw wanted to learn more skills. That is, skills not necessarily needed to be a warrior but are still very useful. Like climbing and fishing. Knowing more things makes her more powerful--and that's what she wants. Power. Respect. Maybe then, she'd escape the shadows of her family...
Of course, she needed a warrior to teach her those things. She didn't trust her mentor to know those extra skills, so she went to another warrior. And who better than an enforcer?
She approached Rookfire and regarded him coldly with her amber eyes. She didn't know much about him at all, except that she knew he was pretty infamous... She just didn't know why yet. So she was wary. "Will you teach me fishing? Or tree climbing?" Shadepaw asked.

[ @alec ]

[alec]

ROOKFIRE
[ he/him | shadowclan enforcer | purrks ]
⤷ᯓ★ˎˊ˗ mid 20s | large & lean ˗ ★
~ the eclipse ~

✧˖ °. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁‧₊˚ ☾. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˖°✧

rookfire had been minding his own business, dark pelt soaking up the heat of the sun in the clearing when a figure stepped between him and the rays. cool grey eyes blinked open to eye the intruder. an apprentice, not much of a surprise really.

he returned shadepaws gaze equally, it was mildly off putting to be approached and stared at by an apprentice only for them to then ask for training. as if they hadnt just stared him down.. the mention of tree climbing made his fur rise, just a bit, barely enough to be noticable, and had him straightening up as if that could take his fear of height away. stars what sort of cat was he, scared of heights...

"fishing we can do, yes." he replied with a slight tip of his head before uncurling his striped tail from around white tipped paws and standing. the walk to the mourning ruins would be a rather long one, but at least that meant he had time to tell her the basics of fishing before they were close enough to scare them away.

"fishing is a bit more complicated than hunting, not because they hear better cuz they dont, but because you have to pretty much work perfectly to catch one." the enforcer began, eyes scanning the territory as they passed through, while his ear remained trained on shadepaw. "if the sun casts a shadow of you over the water it may be harder to see, and some fish swim away as well if that happens.. otherwise, you just need to be quick and commit fully once you reach in"

[ @snowflake. ]

[snowflake.]

Shadepaw
Pure black pelt; dark mackerel markings; amber eyes
She/her || 11 moons || ShadowClan Apprentice
Agatha Kitty: Perm Activated - Just a Scratch: Perm Activated - Silver Tongue [T2] - Shadow Fiend
Mentor: Shrewstep • Post Count: /100 • Site • Bio

Shadepaw narrowed her eyes slightly as she saw Rookfire's reaction to tree climbing. It was quick, almost imperceptible, but she had sharp eyes. He doesn't like to climb. Or doesn’t know how to, but she shouldn’t assume. This was a useful fact about her clanmate that she carefully stored away in her mind. After all, knowing her clanmates strengths and weaknesses gives her the advantage in battle. Whether she’s fighting against her clanmates or not was a different question.
She wasn’t surprised when he said fishing. It was a useful skill to gain, and maybe her mother would be impressed by her knowledge of it… Maybe. After all, fishing was more of a Riverclan skill, and knowing how the other clans hunt and fight would be tactful. But it isn’t useful for battle… Shadepaw shook the crawling thought away. Not everything was for battle. It’s important, but it’s just another way for surviving; and fishing was also a survival skill worth knowing. She wouldn’t be here otherwise.
Shadepaw followed Rookfire, the shadows of the pines falling across her pelt periodically, making it seem like patches of her weren’t there, then was again. She perked her ears to listen to the enforcer. If she had to do it perfectly, then she would. She’d figure it out no matter what. After all, if she couldn’t get the hang of it, she’d have wasted a whole afternoon. She couldn’t abide that. At least the fish won’t hear her coming…
If shadows fall over the water, the fish would ru—swim away, and it would be harder to see. Useful to know. As for being quick, she could do that.
A thought just occurred to her—Since she was going to fish, and fish live in water, she… might get… wet. Her fur spiked in apprehension, before she quickly smoothed it down. Shadepaw didn’t want to make Rookfire think she was afraid, of all things (it was a good thing she was trailing behindhim, off to the side). She wasn’t. She just hasn’t touched a body of water other than puddles before… She narrowed her eyes. She had asked for this. Shadepaw certainly wouldn’t just turn tail and run at the first sight of water. I’m not a coward, she thought angrily. I’m going to do this, and I’m going to learn fishing, and nothing can stop me. She didn’t even care anymore if fishing was a useful skill or not. Now she had to prove it to herself, that she could do it. And if she failed… she wouldn’t.
Shadepaw continued walking in silence, flicking her ear in acknowledgement to the words Rookfire had said, letting him know she had been listening.

[ @alec ]

[alec]

ROOKFIRE
[ he/him | shadowclan enforcer | purrks ]
⤷ᯓ★ˎˊ˗ mid 20s | large & lean ˗ ★
~ the eclipse ~

✧˖ °. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁‧₊˚ ☾. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˖°✧

rookfire eyed shadepaw as she thoughts... thats what he assumed anyway. he wouldnt bother ask what exactly she was thinking about, he didnt have to care about that in order to teach her fishing. she listened quietly, only barely showing a slight negative reaction. at what? who knew.

one they arrived the the mourning ruins, rookfire made his way down to the water before leaping onto the rock he had picked out during his hunting trip recently. there must be some wider stones somewhere around but he wasnt going to bother walk along the stream in order to find them right now.
the enforcer eyed the water for a moment before turning to shadepaw and continuing his explanation quietly.

"you want to focus on one fish, theyre too slippery to just reach in blindly." a medium sized fish, greyish green in colour, with scales sparkling in the sun, lingered close to the rock, picking at the algae with its little beak like mouth. quick as lightning, he reached a paw into the water, sinking claws into the already wiggling body and pulling it out of the water. water coloured the rock a darker colour as if flopped about under his paw. rookfire inserted a claw of his opposite paw right under the fish gills and the movement slowly ceased, blood joining water.

"questions? if not, your turn" his voice came out muffled, having picked up the fish and jumped back to the grassy lakeside.

[ @snowflake. ]

[snowflake.]

Shadepaw
Pure black pelt; dark mackerel markings; amber eyes
She/her || 11 moons || ShadowClan Apprentice
Agatha Kitty: Perm Activated - Just a Scratch: Perm Activated - Silver Tongue [T2] - Shadow Fiend
Mentor: Shrewstep • Post Count: 61/100 • Site • Bio

Shadepaw followed the enforcer until they reached the river by the Mourning Ruins. Her gaze was momentarily drawn to the bleak walls of the abandoned twoleg den, glancing at it apprehensively, before looking back at Rookfire, who was now up on a rock. She briefly wondered whether she needed to get up there, too, but she dismissed the thought. The warrior would tell her if she needed to be up there, and besides, there was another rock next to Rookfire’s that she could jump up to if need be.

Her amber gaze was on the enforcer as he spoke once again. Just reach for one fish, as they are too slippery to reach in blindly. Okay. When Rookfire’s paw moved, she saw the fish he was aiming for a second before he caught it. She felt faint surprise at how fast it took to catch it, but now she knew what she needed to do. She noted where Rookfire inserted his claws to kill the fish, in between the gills, just like how you’d nip the spine of land prey.

Shadepaw didn’t have any questions. She shook her head no, before leaping up onto the rock she’d noticed before, next to the enforcer’s. Her sharp eyes scanned the water before latching on to a pinkish-red fish. She watched it for a long moment, her forelegs and hindlegs tensed and coiled like a waiting snake. She noticed the glint of its scales reflecting off the sunlight, and the way the ripples made it seem like it was slightly shifting even when it was staying still. She waited until it drifted closer to her, waited until it wasn’t moving. Shadepaw narrowed her eyes in complete concentration, before she shot her paw into the water and tried to latch on to it with her claws and pulling up and up and she was slipping a little bit and with a flash of panic she adjusted her paw to go more underneath the fish like a hook and bam. The fish flopped onto the stone, dampness spreading underneath her. She stared as it wriggled helplessly, then remembered and sliced her claws between the gills. It felt squishy on her claws, and redness seeped underneath it. I did it, she thought, surprise quickly turning into triumph. Realistically she knew she had been sloppy, but she didn’t care at the moment. She turned to Rookfire, her eyes glinting in pride.

[ @alec ]