Hunting in Fields of Lavender and Creeping Phlox

[twizzypaw]

(Closed - Hunting Lesson 1/1)

Bright flowers and tall grass danced under the blistering sun as a light breeze stirred through the clearing. Amongst a thick patch of shrubbery, Lavendersong emerged silently and visually scouted her surroundings, her ice colored eyes vigilantly scanning the clearing before pressing on. Given that ThunderClan are forest cats, she figured the open fields of Thunderglade would be the perfect opportunity to practice hunting without the comfort of tree cover. Her long pitch black pelt glistened in the sun as she stepped out from the underbrush, with her young apprentice Creepingpaw not too far behind. The short haired tom cat padded quickly behind Lavendersong, his slender yet lean frame gliding through the terrain with ease. He was eager to explore and hunt in Thunderglade for the first time, but he did his best to not show it as it would compromise his cool guy attitude. This was just another step closer to his goal of becoming a fearsome Hornet.

The pair entered the flowery fields from the tree line, heading straight towards the boarder. Creepingpaw lifted his striped and speckled head to envelope his sense with the scent of his surroundings, noting the territory markers, distant prey, and pungent plants that were picked up in the wind. Lavendersong paused under a thick patch of grass, turning to face Creepingpaw to begin the lesson. She sat on her haunches, her long and fluffy tail resting perfectly over her paws.

"Your hunting lesson today will also serve as a bit of a challenge. No doubt that you are light on your feet and are skilled at staying silent..." She purred, her voice remaining gentle as always, yet stern, "The real challenge is hunting in an environment with no cover. Utilizing the landscape and your senses to your advantage as much as possible with the odds stacked against you. Silence can't be your only weapon. In order to complete today's training, you need to successfully catch prey without being detected... Any questions?"

The silver and black speckled apprentice shook his head before flashing his mentor a smug look, the green pools in his eyes swelling with confidence, "That's all? Seems easy enough." He grinned toothily.

Lavendersong smiled, she figured her haughty apprentice would say something like that. But she definitely wasn't above calling his bluff, "You think so? Well.. great! I'll observe you from afar while you hunt. Just remember the crouches I taught you!" She meowed enthusiastically before excusing her apprentice. Creepingpaw exchanged a quick nod as he turned to begin his training. Entering the clearing, he lowered his frame closer to the earth as he briskly dashed through the clearing. Maneuvering through ditches, rock formations and thickets, the silver tom eventually reached the heart of the fields and crept through the tall grass and steadily sunk into a large pasture of purple flowers. Taking a good whiff of the air, his bright green eyes lit up as he smirked once he picked up the scent of nearby prey. He’d have this done in no time! Remaining low, he crept silently between the flowers. Mindful of where he was shifting his weight as his paws hit the earth beneath him, he began controlling his breathing by keeping it steady as his pupils narrowed with focus. Near a small patch of short grass, a plump rabbit feasted on the greenery surrounding it, unbeknownst to the danger lurking nearby. The 10 moon apprentice, with his target locked in sight, leaned back into his haunches and tensed his muscles as he prepared to leap. He was hitting all the marks, so surely he couldn’t fail.

But before he could take another breath to prepare himself, without warning the rabbit dashed swiftly and disappeared into the depths of the clearing. Creepingpaw’s ears pinned to his skull as he bared his teeth and tsked in frustration. He had it, so what happened?!

“Nice attempt… now are you ready for me to teach you?” Lavendersong meowed from behind Creepingpaw, approaching him before diving into the ground without warning and rubbing the dirt into her fur. The 10 moon old tom, briefly stuck in his anger, suddenly snapped out of it and tilted his head at his mentor’s bewildering behavior. “...You’re taking a dirt bath to teach me?”

“It’s all about concealing your scent!” She purred brightly, giggling as she rolled over onto her belly to stare up at Creepingpaw, “When you have little to no cover when hunting, your next best trick is hiding your scent while keeping in mind where you are relative to the prey to keep your scent from traveling in the wind.”

Nodding with his eyes wide, he suddenly shook his head and cleared his throat, “Y-Yeah… I knew that.”

“No you didn’t.” Lavendersong retorted as she got up and shook her silky black pelt, “Otherwise… you would’ve taken a dirt bath~ Now let’s try that again!”

Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, Creepingpaw sunk into the dirt near his mentor and began rolling vigorously in it. Sufficiently covered, he lifted himself back up on his paws and began racing into the flower fields. Lavendersong followed him not too far behind, giggling to herself at Creepingpaw’s stubborn personality. She hoped to have kits someday and couldn’t help but have maternal instincts for her apprentice.

The blue sky above was blotted with the rolling clouds that passed shadows down below as Creepingpaw entered a shaded area and stood taller to survey the flower fields; their bright colors flashing and waving with every gentle zephyr. Creepingpaw’s tail twitched with anticipation to try the newfound hunting tip. Just as he was about to press on, his peripheral caught a vole nearby digging for seeds and grubs. It wasn’t a fat rabbit, but it’ll do for now. Pausing to make sure that the wind was blowing from northwest, he circled from a distance around the vole to make sure his scent wouldn’t be picked up. Without the trees to provide cover, this definitely was a challenge. Claws unsheathed, Creepingpaw steadied his breath once more as he slinked through the tall grass and flowers. Remaining low, his paws positioned firmly beneath him so that he was ready to strike as he silently crept up on the unaware mammal ahead of him without stirring a leaf. Suddenly, a flash of silver and black speckles shot out from the underbrush and pounced effortlessly onto the vole. Claws outstretched and tail lashing, Creepingpaw grabbed hold of the squeaking vole in his jaws and bit down fiercely into its neck before dropping it’s body as soon as he felt it go limp.

“Well done, Creepingpaw! You really picked up on that quickly.” Lavendersong purred with delight from a distance, her pale icy eyes shining with pride for her apprentice.

“See? I told you! Easy!” Creepingpaw grinned widely, holding his head high and his chest puffed with his victory.

“Right…” She chuckled softly, her voice ringing happily regardless of her apprentice’s cockiness. As long as he was one step closer to becoming a warrior. “Let’s go drop off the vole in the preykill pile and celebrate.” She purred warmly, bumping Creepingpaw’s shoulder as they exited the field of lavender and creeping phlox.