Hawkbite's tail thumped on the ground in the Warriors' Den. He was bored. He'd been doing a lot of training. His ears wandered to the den entrance before his body was rise and slip out. Slowly, his paws would lead him towards the Medicine Cat den. It was weird approaching here. The last time he'd been here, Mossfreckle was attending Fishpaw -- then -kit -- in the recovery of her fox attack. However, he was brought here for another reason. He wanted his old Enforcer back. However, the tom wanted to play with herbs instead.
"Rookfire," Hawkbite would call from the entrance of the den, his eyes adjusting to the dim lighting. The sun was setting, casting his shadow into the den and leaving nothing but a silhouette for the medic to see. He'd just have to know or assume who the Commander was. "Let's go kill some time and refine some ambush skills," he spoke, unaware of the fact Rookfire hadn't been formally trained. "Still important for you to keep up on your warrior skills," he'd huff, a little more bitter on that comment.
The Commander would back up and start padding towards the camp entrance, his ears swirling to catch on to any pawsteps following. If he didn't follow immediately, Hawkbite would simply sit at the entrance and wait for Rookfire to join him.
rookfire frowned at the commotion, brightstripe had been bloody shifting sticks for far too long in his taste and now she was putting a stop to his well earned peace and quiet, reflection time. after a while he had shuffled into the medicine den, taking his time inspecting the butterfly still resting in the gaps in the stone before letting his eyes drift over rows of herbs. they werent running low by any means but lower than he wouldve liked, after the rat eherm.. issue. it was no wonder a more unusual selection of herbs were fewer than usual. i mean, when else does one use burdock root? this whole thing would be a lot easier if he wasnt discouraged to send out his own herb patrols and mossfreckle wasnt bloody swallowed by the earth for most of the time. he huffed, annoyed that this would be left for him to deal with on his own again and set off towards the exit when hawkbite called into the den, possibly unable to make out rookfires dark fur in the dim light. well, he himself couldnt see a lot of hawkbite either but he had been around the commander for long enough to be able to remember his voice, thank you very much.
for the same reason he had refused to settle down for only medicine cat work in the first place, rookfire slipped out of the den behind hawkbite. 't'll hardly be refinin' any skills" he grinned, trotting up behind hawkbite. "havent actually gotten 'round ta' any ambush til now" the medic admitted openly, having long lost the perceived need to hide his shortcoming from hawkbite. he wouldnt have gotten anywhere without admitting lack of training to himself and certain cats around him, so there was no reason to start throwing more rocks in his way now. besides, hawkbite was a good fella. "i've been practicin' my stealth though if thats worth anythin'" the former enforcer added with a shrug, cool gaze lingering on hawkbites form for a reaction.
Hawkbite continued out into the territory with Rookfire close behind him. So, the former didn't have ambush yet? Well, the Commander could work with that. That was a simple task to catch up on, especially hearing that he at least had stealth down. That was a core for ShadowClan, but it was hard to know what Rookfire had and hadn't learned in his time here aside from herbs.
"That's a good start, ambush is just a step up from that since you'll be hunting down cats and not prey," Hawkbite spoke. That was the best way he could describe the difference between basic stealth and actual ambush training. "Ambush is like a mixture of hunting and stealth training. You need both to successfully utilize it. Eventually, you can utilize it in the trees, too."
They didn't get super far before he'd stop in the darker area of the territory. His tail swished behind him before he'd pause in his tracks and spin around to face Rookfire now. He'd study the dark tom for a moment before clearing his throat a little. "Questions about anything so far?"
Hawkbite continued out into the territory with Rookfire close behind him. So, the former didn't have ambush yet? Well, the Commander could work with that. That was a simple task to catch up on, especially hearing that he at least had stealth down. That was a core for ShadowClan, but it was hard to know what Rookfire had and hadn't learned in his time here aside from herbs.
"That's a good start, ambush is just a step up from that since you'll be hunting down cats and not prey," Hawkbite spoke. That was the best way he could describe the difference between basic stealth and actual ambush training. "Ambush is like a mixture of hunting and stealth training. You need both to successfully utilize it. Eventually, you can utilize it in the trees, too."
They didn't get super far before he'd stop in the darker area of the territory. His tail swished behind him before he'd pause in his tracks and spin around to face Rookfire now. He'd study the dark tom for a moment before clearing his throat a little. "Questions about anything so far?"
so simply more specified stealth training, fighting would be an issue. rookfire nodded simply, the concept of ambushing other cats wasnt really something he had to think about to understand. sneak up, overwhelm, easy as. the only aspect was probably utilising stealth skills and refining certain things to ease staying undetected. cats were smarter than prey anyway, though perhaps less concerned for looking out, not used to being the prey and having cats hunt them. rookfire knew of his physical advantage over some cats, strong and relatively quick, but in situations in which the enemy outnumbered them shadowclans signature skill might come in handy..and who was he to turn down extra training, another way to advance himself beyond the average warrior?! hawkbite had practically served it to him on a silver platter. "no questions, no" the medicine cat met the other toms eyes, having come to a halt slightly behind hawkbite, leaving a couple of steps between them in order to keep the enforcer commander in the center of his view. otherwise, there wasnt really much to see anywhere around. a part of the territory like any other, thick evergreen trees casting deep shadows over the dim area, easy to hide, but not without the risk of making noise.
[ leave it to me to take 2 months to reply to something i asked for ]
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✮" in all timelines, in all possibilities,.. only you. "✮
"So, as a cat, when you're on patrol, what are you looking out for? Scent and sounds, correct?" Hawkbite would inquire, turning to look at Rookfire with a curious gaze. "Prey is similar, but making a mistake is okay because typically you can correct it or catch the prey before it gets away or notices you. You can't do that with a cat. It's fight or flee at that point. Being incredibly cautious when you move around is important," Hawkbite spoke, dipping down into a crouch and sidestepping around in a circle. His head never turned away from Rookfire. His paws tapping the ground to check for branches or twigs or leaves before settling down carefully. The moment his paws tapped a twig, he'd recoil it away before it made a sound.
Slowly, Hawkbite would complete a circle, demonstrating while lecturing as he did. "Your gaze cannot move away from the cat. One glance away and your opponent could disappear and get the upper hand on you. Instead, use your paws and slow movements. Step carefully, feel for anything rough or crunchy and move away from it the moment you feel it touch your pawpad. You can't mess up. You can't afford that mistake," Hawkbite started to step backwards. Trained paws continuing the cautious taps and slow but fluid movements as he backed into a bush, his eyes resting on Rookfire the entire time. "Use your knowledge of your territory wisely. You'll know it better than another clan or loner or whatever you're going after."
With that, Hawkbite would pause within the bush, staring outwardly at Rookfire. Perhaps it wasn't fair, considering Hawkbite was becoming known for his soundless steps and lack of scent when he was stalking around. This included now as he padded back out of the bush. However, Rookfire could one day master this skill, too. He'd just need to practice. So, Hawkbite stepped in front of the warrior, sitting down and gesturing for him to attempt such movements now.
rookfire nodded along as hawkbite spoke, drawing a line between prey and cat was certainly logical, especially considering there are cats that would for sure simply go for the exact same technique no matter the goal. "must be useful for large predators as well" he added quietly, voice dropping to almost a whisper due to the tense silence needed for an ambush as he replicated hawkbites motions. while the commander moved silently around him, rookfire shuffled in place in order to keep his eyes on him as well. the way he chose his steps carefully did not go unnoticed. he'd try to replicate the motion, slowing his steps and searching for safe spots before setting down his paws.
it was sort of like night hunting if you thought about it for longer than a moment. both required absolute silence without the ability to see your surroundings clearly. scout the ground with paws, slow movements, got it. while the urge to glance down still burned at the back of his mind and it took a good bit of repeated convincing to remain with his eyes fixed to hawkbite, he could see how a practice like this could almost become second nature after a while. similar to how he could go through the motions of walking without overthinking it.
honestly, hawkbite was not one rookfire would like to be stalked by, soundless and practically melting into his surroundings wherever he went.. the warrior cleared his throat, briefly relaxing before going back into the lose tension of a crouch. eyes fixed on hawkbite, he tried to recall the bushes and trees around them without confirming his memory by sight. slowly, he moved sideways, paw by paw, hovering over the ground before either setting it down or jerking the limb back up. around half the spots he thought to be safe either turned out to be sticks that threw him off balance for a moment or surprisingly flat crunchy leaves. he resisted the urge to close his eyes and cringe in darkness each time and managed to back up towards a large tree, nestled between two needle-y bushes. rookfire pressed himself closer to the ground in order to shift his dark fur from standing out in front of green nature to undetectable at first glance, merely another shadow.
lastly, his ear flattened against his head, chin dipping behind a foreleg in order to shield the light fur from sight.
"Predators also, yes," Hawkbite confirmed as he watched the other tom think before he'd eventually get down and begin practicing. The Commander would nod in approval, Rookfire was aware of his lighter patches and hid them well. However, Rookfire didn't seem to catch onto his eyes. "Remember that moonlight and sunlight will reflect on your eyes. Keep them angled downwards or stay out of direct lighting to avoid this. If you can see the sun or moon in the corner of your eyes, they're reflecting the light."
Hawkbite would get to his paws, again. He'd crouch down, his tail tip twitching with thought. He'd start to step around cautiously, practicing his own motions as he let Rookfire adjust to his. "You seem to understand the concept, well done," the tabby praised lightly.
"Now, you're going to try it out on me. I'll walk a few trees away and I want you to try to ambush me. No promises on whether I'm moving around or not," Hawkbite spoke, doing exactly what he said and walking away.
Once he was where he wanted to be, he assumed Rookfire would have started or was about to start. Hawkbite began his act. He'd wander around a couple paces, looking around like he was lost. His eyes would chase the shadows, but only briefly. His ears would swivel around and listen to any weird noises. Hawkbite would continue this routine until Rookfire either landed on him or he caught sight of the warrior.
@alec - Rookfire [tbh I forgot what I was even training and dunno how to move forward with this]
Taking the birds song [p]
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