“A Rabbit on the Hunt! So Scary!” [P]

[Dolomedes]

Rabbitpaw
He/him | WC Apprentice Tunneler | Moons: 6 | Purrks: Cat got your tongue? | Part Manx cat

Rabbitpaw woke up and just knew that it was going to be a good day! He woke up with the sun, got to stretch and do a few laps around the clearing to wake up, then one of his favorites was fresh on the prey pile for breakfast, and then his day really got started! It was pester warriors until they taught him something time and as he peered around camp he found his first victim! Rabbitpaw prided himself on knowing most of his clan mates, at least their names, so he knew the feline as Loudwhisker, though the blonde apprentice didn't know more than that. Well, that just wouldn't do!

He found himself bounding across the camp towards the warrior at a record setting pace and skitted to a stop, almost falling into the warrior's paws with a giddy grin on his face. His green eyes wide with excitement and expectancy, "Miss Loudwhisker! Canyoutakemeoutandandandthenteachmesomething really..." The apprentice trailed off as he realized all his words came out too quick and then he got tongue tied and it dissolved into gibberish even to himself. He's been doing that a lot lately, he wondered why. Rabbitpaw took in a really deep breath and then said each word almost separately, with slight pauses on each of them. "Can, you, take... me out.. for a lesson, Miss Loudwhisker?" He waited for her response with a happy wag of his stubby tail.

[ @rubberRatroom - Loudwhisker ]


Rabbitpaw gif made by ramen!
Rabbitpaw header made by Marigoldwhisper!

[rubberRatroom]

Loudwhisker woke with a start. The sun was shining, beaming down on her short fur. She purred, she loved the feeling of warmth on her back. That was all interrupted when an apprentice bounded up to her. She was taken aback, not in a bad way, as she examined her clanmate for a moment.

"Take... take you out?"

She stammered out, confused, a bit flustered even. Then it all clicked. This was Rabbitpaw. She smiled nodding her head as she came closer to the apprentice. This could be an opportunity for her to get to know her clanmate better. Also, of course, to possibly get experience with mentoring. This wasn't exactly the same, but it would teach her well enough.

"Sure, I don't see why not."

She took a moment to think about what she could teach the apprentice. She was okay at some things, but she certainly excelled at tracking down prey. That could be a valuable lesson. At least she thought so. She wasn't much of a thinker, more of a "do it now, think later" kind of cat.

"Would tracking be okay?"

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@Dolomedes

[Dolomedes]

Rabbitpaw
He/him | WC Apprentice Tunneler | Moons: 6 | Purrks: Cat got your tongue? | Part Manx cat

Rabbitpaw was excited that Loudwhisker had said yes! Rabbitpaw thought about the lesson they had offered, tracking? Like for prey and stuff? That sounded important for land hunting and maybe it could help for when Rabbitpaw was down in the tunnels though tracking there was much much different than it was on the surface so he'll have to see. The blonde apprentice gave a happy nod and bounced in place as he waited for the warrior to get up and start taking them out of camp. "So what can tracking be used for? Prey! But also... what else?" He asked, genuinely curious. Maybe he could track down other cats and maybe he could track down herbs and maybe he could track down other things but what other things? Though he made sure to trot alongside the warrior as they left the territory. He waited for a response from the warrior.

[ @rubberRatroom - Loudwhisker ]

Rabbitpaw gif made by ramen!
Rabbitpaw header made by Marigoldwhisper!

[rubberRatroom]

Loudwhisker thought for a moment, then grinned. Her voice came out in a wispy, exaggerated way.

"Anything, if you put your mind to it."

After she elaborated.

"Well not everything, but you can smell the ground beneath you, squirrels in the trees."

She, oddly, closed her eyes and flicked her tail. She opened her mouth and was simply, well, focused. She could taste, smell, and almost feel the green grass near the moor. She could visualize the bright green hues of the blades, their spiky tops, and she could feel how itchy they would make her paws.

"Wanna try? It's quite fun, like having a day dream."

She motioned to the apprentice to do to the same as she had.

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@Dolomedes

[Dolomedes]

Rabbitpaw
He/him | WC Apprentice Tunneler | Moons: 7 | Purrks: Cat got your tongue? | Two Left Paws | Part Manx cat

Rabbitpaw laughed a bit as the warrior claimed that tracking could do anything, which was obviously not quite true. Though he liked the idea of being able to track prey better but also it could maybe make it easier to track things underground. If he got good enough, maybe he’ll be able to pick out which underground scents were fresh and which ones weren’t despite how old scents can be as strong as new scents on the surface. If that made sense, he wasn’t quite sure if his own thoughts made sense but they did to him and who else should they make sense for. His green eyes watched curiously as Loudwhisker began to open her mouth and close her eyes, scenting the air. Soon she was motioning and telling him to do the same so Rabbitpaw sat down and closed his eyes.

When he opened his mouth to fully scent he was immediately confused on how such a cacophony of everything could be seen as a ‘daydream.’ Beneath the surface smells were loud but they were limited to cat scents, earth, and prey. Not plants, air, cats, prey, earth, and then also sounds on top of that. It was much more overwhelming when you focused on it all rather than tuning out most like he usually did. He didn’t even realize how much he was missing with how unconsciously he’d been focusing on specific things rather than it all. But he couldn’t pick one single thing in the mess, everytime he thought he was nailing down the scent of a bird he would get tangled in the scents of rabbit and heather, and then the cycle continued as he tried to focus on one of those. Nothing was quite making sense yet, but that’s just it! It's a yet! This probably took all sorts of time to understand easily like Miss Loudwhisker seemed to do.

Rabbitpaw blinked open his eyes, then turned his gaze from the terrain around them to the warrior. “That was confusing, how can you pick anything out when everything is hitting you all at once on top of sounds!” He was curious, maybe it was just a practicing thing like what tunneling seemed to be. Though surely there was some tips that the warrior could offer, otherwise you couldn’t really call this a lesson, more of a practice.

[ @rubberRatroom - Loudwhisker ]


Rabbitpaw gif made by ramen!
Rabbitpaw header made by Marigoldwhisper!

[rubberRatroom]

LOUDWHISKER

Trans Female | Moons: 18 | Kin: ?

Loudwhisker sighed. Explaining things wasn't her best skill. Nor was she much of a speaker, at that. She rather sit back, examine, and leap in when she needed to.

"Um... sorry... I'm bad at explaining..."

Her ears pinned against her head. Huh. She was starting to feel guilty. What for? Though she'd accepted to train this apprentice, she'd do it her way. Which is the only way Loudwhisker knew how to do it. She was flexible though.

Loud tried her best to explain again.

"You said it's too busy?"

She got reassurance from the apprentice. She thought about it for a moment. How did she get better at tracking? Loud thought back to when she was an apprentice. Her mentor had suggested her to focus on one thing. Like taking tiny steps while hunting. Your one step is you trying to focus, while the others are coming to focus on all of the others.

"Well, think of it like a puzzle. When you figure out one part, you go on to the next. Instead of trying to get the whole picture, try getting one small part at a time. Like if you're trying to smell the grass out by the moor... try to imagine each blade of grass at a time. It might seem grueling-trust me, it wasn't too long ago I was an apprentice as well-but taking it slow is the best way to go."

Loudwhisker gave a small, hesitant smile to Rabbitpaw. She felt that she wouldn't be able to match Rabbit's energy.

"I know daydreaming isn't the best example. More like... thinking? You think one thought at a time, then you begin a conversation in your mind."

She realized how odd that sounded. She chuckled nervously, unsure of how to talk to this apprentice.

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@Dolomedes - Rabbitpaw

[Dolomedes]

Rabbitpaw
He/him | WC Apprentice Tunneler | Moons: 7 | Purrks: Two Left Paws | Part Manx cat

Right okay, Rabbitpaw can do that, he thinks but he wasn't sure until he tried so he swiftly responded with a wide smile and a determined nod. He let his green eyes fall closed again and this time when he tried to understand the puzzle of scents and noises coming at him again. This time he tried to catch the scents like rabbits in a tunnel. It was linear at first thought, catch the scent, hear the skittering, then the chase begins and soon you realize that there's more to it than you originally thought. Old scents tangle with new ones, and the tunnel bangs and bumps in the trail beneath his paws trying to trip you at every twist and turn and suddenly the rabbit seems so far away... that was until it wasn't and it was suddenly at your paws and you hardly even realized because it was so dark and you're so used to seeing prey as it lands beneath your claws, but it was here.

So anyways, he thought about scents, bit by bit, piece by piece until some parts of them all made sense and clicked into their proper places. The morning dew on blades of grass, the tall heather reeds, then he moved onto bigger pieces. His own scent and then Loudwhisker's scent. Then moving further. While most of it was still muddled and confusing and tangled, it was starting to make sense and Rabbitpaw opened his eyes excitedly to tell the warrior about his discovery. His tail wagged behind him as Rabbitpaw turned towards Loudwhisker with a wide smile, "I think I'm starting to get it!! Do you have tips on how to track down like prey trails like this? Like prey scent through all the plants and air and stuff? In the tunnels new scents and old scents are similar because of the lack of air to sweep away old ones. OOoo what about finding herbs by scent?"

[ @rubberRatroom - Loudwhisker ]


Rabbitpaw gif made by ramen!
Rabbitpaw header made by Marigoldwhisper!

[rubberRatroom]

LOUDWHISKER

Trans Female | Moons: 18 | Kin: ?

Loudwhisker nodded her head, feeling her confidence return.

"For herbs, it's easier to have experience with their different smells and tastes. Otherwise, you could confuse them."

Loudwhisker herself didn't have much experience with herbs. She always liked the possibilities, but was too invested with warrior duties to explore them.

"You'll have to acquaint yourself with herbs, I don't have much experience in that area. But it works similarly to tracking prey."

She got into a hunting crouch

"Can you smell any prey nearby?"

She asked waiting for a reply.

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@Dolomedes

[Dolomedes]

Rabbitpaw
He/him | WC Apprentice Tunneler | Moons: 7 | Purrks: None| Part Manx cat

Rabbitpaw nodded at the information. The blonde tom hasn't had much experience with herbs but he would like to, it was fascinating to him just as the rest of the world was. Learning how to hunt, and tunnel, and track things down was just as interesting as herbs were. Though herbs felt like some sort of magic and in his opinion it was when you thought of it. Like all these plants that so happen are able to heal and mend under careful care and collected knowledge that's passed down so meticulously as more knowledge is learned and passed on. It was so cool! He would like to learn some basics and stuff to help be better at collecting herbs for patrols and also for his natural curiosity and maybe one day it would come in handy, who knows. Well anyways, tracking prey was also very very interesting!

He closed his ears and tried to focus in on what he knew things smelt like and tried to place it among the scents of everything else happening right now. He knew the smell of fur and vole and mole, he was familiar with those so it was easier to search for those than prey that he hasn't caught yet. [ D20: 10 | shaky pass ] Rabbitpaw just barely was able to get something that he recognized among the plants and grass and everything and he blinked open his eyes into a squint and bent down lower to the ground trying to nail down which way the scent was coming from. Well if the wind was blowing that way and then scent must be coming from upwind. That made sense, yes, and so with his nose towards the ground he padded forward slowly. After a few tail lengths he closed his eyes again trying to catch on to where the scent with as the wind change enough to lose it through logic. [ D20: 1 | Critical failure ] Ah, he lost it. The flowers that were closer overwhelmed everything else he tried to catch through the scents through his nose and he sat up and turned around to pad back towards Loudwhisker. "I smelt a mole nearby and tried to follow it but all the flowers made me lose track." He explained and waited for the warrior to offer more words of their own to hopefully guide him or oh! "Can you show me how to follow scents easier once you catch them at first? Like it totally just disappeared on me when the breeze changed just a smidge."

[ @rubberRatroom - Loudwhisker ]


Rabbitpaw gif made by ramen!

[rubberRatroom]

LOUDWHISKER
Trans Female | Moons: 18 | Kin: ?

Loudwhisker was amazed by the apprentice's form. Everything was right ... except the execution. Which she was struggling to admit to the friendly lad. Huh.

"Well... uhm..."

She mumbled and then drew in a breath. What was the sense in stammering? Suck it up, Loudwhisker!

Loudwhisker got low into a hunting crouch. She wasn't much good with words, but actions, that was more in her skill level. But actions could only express so much.

She cleared her throat.

"You said you smelt a mole? Very good! That's the first step. Losing it is very easy if you take too huge of a leap. Think of what I said before. Take in all of the scents slowly. Then once you get to your target, take time to really recognize your smell. Like how you would recognize WindClan scent ... it's familiar."

She continued her lengthy spiel.

"Once you get that scent, you can't let go of it. The wind will carry it elsewhere ... you'll just have to get used to the scent smelling faint instead of fresh. With your mole, I say the circumstances were unlucky, but not impossible. It's all about... focus."

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@Dolomedes - Rabbitpaw