Silent Training Thread ! ☆ - Page 2

**sleepyyjax** · #11 September 10th, 2024, 09:04 AM

Newtbelly

he/him | Agatha Kitty, Shadow Fiend | 17 moons

header: @/daragca

Silentpaw didn't react much, but he figured he'd show some kind of hesitation if he wasn't ready to start. "I always start by checking what direction the wind's flowing in. Sometimes it's easy to tell, other times it isn't. If the breeze is light, it's easiest to feel on your nose." he tilted his nose up, feeling for the breeze, which was thankfully flowing towards them. "Right now it's coming towards us. So, if you smell something on the breeze, it's that way," he pointed with his head. "You can also track things if you catch a smell on the ground, but it can take a while to learn, in my opinion at least. We can cover that later, or in another lesson. I don't wanna overload you with information..." He paused for to contemplate what he was saying, "Anyway, even if you're tracking, you need to be aware of the wind. That's how predators smell us. You dont want to be caught off guard." A scent reached his nose quickly, and he crouched down. He was pretty sure it was mouse, unless his nose deceived him. "That's mouse on the air. They tend to smell a bit like whatever they've eaten, but it's all the same base scent." Crouch held, he glanced up at Silentpaw, "You can try crouching if you'd like. The point's to position your paws so that you could pounce at any time, and remain close to the ground so you're less likely to be seen." Hopefully that would be description enough, and Silentpaw could follow by visuals. This was only their first session though, it's not like it had to be perfect.

"You can follow me or watch, I don't mind," he didn't know if Silentpaw preferred to watch or do yet, so he gave him both options. Though just watching was fine today, if he spent too long standing and staring, he'd have to give him no choice. He began to creep towards the smell, but only a little. He had no intention of getting too close yet, that way he could continue to talk through what he was doing without scaring the prey. That said, his tone became more hushed as he closed in. "Prey animals are primed to spot us, that means they can even feel vibrations in the ground. When you step, you want to place your paw down slowly and softly. Same thing when you lift your paw up: bring it up too quickly, and a mouse might hear or feel it." He often thought of himself as a leaf as he moved across the ground, unnoticeable to prey. "It takes some work, but it's worth it. Once you work on your stealth, it'll get even easier."

**Starphobia** · #12 Yesterday, 12:34 PM

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Silentpaw
Patched tortoiseshell tabby tom with deep blue eyes that look purplish in certain light sources and a short fluffy tail.
He/Him | 7 Moons | ShadowClan Apprentice | Silent
[39/100]

Purrks:
Ultimate Predator [Always Active]
. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.

. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.
Finally, some hunting lessons! Silentpaw stayed silent while Newtbelly explained, listening. Wind direction? He hadn't realized such thing could affect whether or not a prey or predator could detect them.

What does that matter?

He assumed it mattered a lot, given it was the first thing Newtbelly had explained. As he watched Newtbelly crouched, explaining the way he needed to move in order to not be detected. Silentpaw did the same, dropping down low, his paws tucked underneath his belly and tail low to the ground in an attempt to mimic Newtbelly's experienced crouch. He nodded, letting Newtbelly know he was listening.

{ @sleepyyjax }
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**sleepyyjax** · #13 Today, 01:12 PM

Newtbelly

he/him | Agatha Kitty, Shadow Fiend | 17 moons

header: @/daragca

Much to his thanks, Silentpaw was a good listener, and copied his crouch well. Now, he'd wait for this mouse to appear, or stalk towards it.
Just as he'd hoped, the little rodent came scurrying out from behind a tree, coming into sight in the clearing, "I'll take this one," he whispered, letting Silentpaw know he could hang back. The tom began to stalk further onward, paws placed with purpose and lightness. Until he got close enough to the mouse. Hopefully, Silentpaw was watching - the kid seemed to be super attentive already, which was good. Newtbelly pressed his weight down into his haunches, then he pounced, forepaws outstretched to grasp the animal, then finished it with a small, quick bite.

Not that he doubted his own skill, but he was glad his catch was sucessful - missing his prey in front of the apprentice would have been embarrassing. Mouse in mouth, he wandered back over to Silentpaw, then placed the catch down. Pouncing was hard to describe, but he tried his best, "once you feel you're close enough to your prey, you want to spring towards it. You might have done it before if you've chased bugs as a kit?" he tilted his head, "I put my weight into my back paws, then push off to fly forward quickly." He wasn't sure Silentpaw would have seen him bite, since he had him back to him, so he went on to explain,"then you can finish it quickly with a bite to the neck - you don't want it squirming round in your paws, plus it's respectful to the animal." His ear twitched, he wasn't sure how many cats believed in respecting their prey in that manner, but he always had. He spied out a patch of plants - he wasn't sure what they were, something green and leafy. "We can practise on that, if you want, before you stalk an actual animal?" He offered with a nose point to the plants, then gave an example - he began to stalk up to the patch slowly, then pounced explosively, before stepping out of the way to let his apprentice have a go.

**Starphobia** · #14 Today, 01:57 PM

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Silentpaw
Patched tortoiseshell tabby tom with deep blue eyes that look purplish in certain light sources and a short fluffy tail.
He/Him | 7 Moons | ShadowClan Apprentice | Silent
[42/100]
Purrks:
Ultimate Predator [Always Active]
. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.

. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.
Silentpaw almost instantly noticed the mouse, surprising even to him. He held still at Newtbelly's words, silently watching him creep towards the mouse. He watched his slow and calculated step, being careful not to shuffle his own paws.
Then, the pounce. Silentpaw assumed, that as a warrior, Newtbelly was able to execute it perfectly. After seeing the demonstration, he wasn't too sure if he could do it.
It was impressive, to say the least.
He took in the instructions on pouncing quite easily, nodding. It didn't seem all that challenging, now that he'd been taught how to do it. But then again, he couldn't be too confident in his abilities.

... Pounce on plants? Silentpaw raised an eyebrow. That was... Strange, and it seemed quite unnecessary but he assumed it... Helped..? He watched Newtbelly's demonstration again, and let out an inaudible sigh before dropping to the ground again, mimicking Newtbelly's precise pawsteps. He'd pounced on things before, it might not have been prey, or plants, but it was something. But that was when he was a kit. It would start getting serious what he was pouncing on from now on. He then pushed at the ground with his hind paws, launching himself forward and landing on the greenery.
He quickly backed off, shaking his fur. Great. He would have to spend so long cleaning all this grass and mud from his fur.
Giving his fur a final shake, he turned to Newtbelly.

{ @sleepyyjax }
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**sleepyyjax** · #15 Today, 02:24 PM

Newtbelly

he/him | Agatha Kitty, Shadow Fiend | 17 moons

header: @/daragca

Looked like Silentpaw was a natural, which was good to see, maybe that pouncing exercise wasn't all too necessary. At least now, he had a good idea of Silentpaw's skills level. "Nice one," he smiled, sniffing the air, "there's another mouse that way, you smell it?" he gestured in its direction with his nose. "You wanna give it a go?" Seen as Silentpaw reached the plants with ease, this shouldn't be hard, right? Not that it would be a problem if he missed.

**Starphobia** · #16 Today, 03:35 PM

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Silentpaw
Patched tortoiseshell tabby tom with deep blue eyes that look purplish in certain light sources and a short fluffy tail.
He/Him | 7 Moons | ShadowClan Apprentice | Silent
[43/100]
Purrks:
Ultimate Predator [Always Active]
. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.

. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.
Silentpaw fought the urge to smile at the compliment. It was hard. He quickly turned around, eyeing the greenery beyond.
Could he smell the mouse?
Of course he did. It was a strange thing, really, that he could easily identify the scent of a mouse without any prior knowledge.
A cat's instincts, he presumed. Giving Newtbelly a nod, he paused, feeling the wind just in case it had changed. Unlikely, but he liked to make sure. Sure enough, it was the same.
He crouched low, paws tucked under his belly, head low. And again, mimicking Newtbelly's slow crawl, Silentpaw creeped towards the mouse, pausing every now and then as to keep himself from going too fast.
Then finally, he assumed it was close enough. He stopped, and stayed completely still before doing the same thing he'd done with the plants earlier, except now his claws were unsheathed. He leapt at the rodent, claws extended and...
Caught it.
The amount of pride he felt was unbelievable.

Silentpaw tried to bite at its neck, like what Newtbelly had taught him, though it took a moment.

WHERE IS ITS NECK??? WHY IS THIS CREATURE SO ROUND?

He then held it in his jaws, trotting towards Newtbelly.

{ @sleepyyjax }
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