Cattail Pond

[kairosclerosis]

nettlepaw
dark grey cat with darker spots and tail; green eyes
12 moons - thunderclan - they/any
the collector, agatha kitty, kitty softpaws t2, ultimate predator

Nettlepaw gave themself a small smile. This patrol was going well. But Nettlepaw had other plans — that great big pond here! Some waterfowl could be nearby, and maybe.. maybe Nettlepaw could try and catch a fish or two! They didn’t say it out loud, but they did actually quite enjoy fish.
They’d catch a bird or two first, though. Nettlepaw stepped closer to the pond and crouched down within the cattails, and looked around to try and spot some water fowl.

tracking - 17 (kitty softpaws t2 (+1) + ultimate predator (+2))

A mallard at the shore caught Nettlepaw’s gaze and nose. It would be a perfect catch — it looked like a good piece of fresh-kill to bring back to camp. They slunk closer, making sure to keep their body close to the ground, tail nearly stuck to the frosty grass.

hunting - 21 (kitty softpaws t2 (+1) + ultimate predator (+2))

Bunching their muscles in preparation for the pounce, Nettlepaw leapt forward, clamping their jaws around the mallard’s neck and catching it with ease. That was.. easy. But it wouldn’t be their last catch of the patrol. Burying the mallard under some dirt and cattails.

Now it was time for the hard part — fishing. Moon…freckle? Moonfreckle had taught them a bit about how to fish, considering he was always out catching fish to his heart’s content when Nettlepaw was still with him. Nettlepaw admired that part about their father, even if he was a bit egocentric.

So now, it was time to put that to use.

It was mostly about waiting, right? And looking at the water, making sure to hide your shadow. Nettlepaw had that bit down. So there they sat on their forepaws, peeking above the water.

Waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

Suddenly, the image of a shimmery fish just below the pond’s surface came within paw’s reach to Nettlepaw. Finally! It felt like it had taken forEVER for one to come along.

hunting - 10 (kitty softpaws t2 (+1) + ultimate predator (+2))

Nettlepaw crouched down and quickly extended a paw, hooking their claws into the fish’s scales in the water. Unfortunately, it barely surfaced before flipping around crazily into the air. In a shocked daze, Nettlepaw sat up, trying to catch it before it got sent flying back into the water.

Thwack.

“Ow!” Nettlepaw hissed loudly through gritted teeth as the silver little nuisance thudded directly right between their eyes. Before the fish could escape back into the water, Nettlepaw just barely pulled it back and finished the job, before picking it up and turning to face the rest of the patrol. Hopefully nobody saw that — especially their mentor, Dandelionmane. That would be very embarrassing.

@korok @seeingstars @Wiggleworm @Starfall