A Hawk a Day Keeps the Gnawing Away [Gnawingpaw Training Thread]

[Alchemist Kitsune]

| Gnawingpaw |
5 Moons - WindClan Apprentice
Lyrebird's Lullaby - Inactive | Well Insulated - Active | Bilingual [T1] - Active

---

The tom's voice catching her off-guard, Gnawingpaw almost hissed at her mentor in shocked anger, stopping herself only at the last second, frosted green hues glaring fiercely at the red tom. Tail lashing behind her still, the young apprentice took a deep breath, knowing he was right. Yelling would accomplish nothing. She should know better by now. A good warrior could adapt and overcome anything. No temper tantrum required. Besides... temper tantrums were for kits and, like... she was totes not a kit anymore. Like... maybe kit aged, sure, but she had been an apprentice for a whole moon now. She was a big she-cat now!

Letting go of the breath she'd taken, she opened her eyes, side eyeing her uncle once more before feeling her lips curl up into a feral, hungry grin of her own. What could she say? Uncle Furbee was a lot like Snowydad. Like... he wasn't as important as her father, duh. Except well, he was a fury... so she guessed it evened out. But no, that's like, totally not what she meant. She meant he was soft. And easy going. And hard to stay angry with. Especially when he was clearly trying to make sure she succeeded. Like, she failed, so obvs he sucked at it. But he was trying, and in her clan, that counted. Anyone who actively tried to make her life better was alright by her.

"So like, the more I hunt, the less I gotta like, make sure I'm doing it right? Bet! I'm going to like, hunt my ass off then. Making sure you're not like, messing up all the time is like, totally exhausting. Thanks Uncle Furbee!" Gnawingpaw mewed encouragingly.

Like... true, he had stated the obvious but she had to make sure he understood she was all for his undying support. Good, supporting cats were graced with words of praise. The rest? Well, she would ignore them... until she became leader. Then she would kill them all, simple as that. No room in her forest for unsupportive cats, after all. They could feed the foxes and badgers so the good cats could live.

Taking in the scents in the breeze once more, Gnawingpaw's nose twitched, the scent of feathers still clinging to the wind. With interest, however, she noted that there seemed to be a more present aroma. Like if maybe... there were more birds? Had the cardinal gone and joined more feeding cardinals? Her eyes twinkled at the thought. Revenge! The potential to hunt down one of her former namesakes was calling to her, and the feral glint in her fangs spread to her gaze as well.

"I smell more feathers, Uncle Furbee!" she mewed in a too loud whisper, her voice hushed but delighted as her tail began wagging uncontrollably behind her. If she was right... she knew exactly where her paws were taking her next.

---

@Mica [Hawkfur]

[Mica]

Hawkfur
WindClan Fury
he/him | 58 moons
[Russet tabby with tuxedo markings and sky-blue eyes]
Purrks: Flock Together T3, Killer Aptitude T1
Header by @/wingnettle
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The Hanged Man ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
· · ──────────────· ·
[Gnawingpaw - @Alchemist Kitsune ]
· · ──────────────· ·

Well, she seemed to calm down remarkably quickly. Hawkfur smiled his awkward smile at her as she promised to "hunt her ass off" to get better. Well, he couldn't argue with that! He jerked his chin at her when she mentioned she could smell more prey. "Then go get 'em, mate. You can do it!"

[Alchemist Kitsune]

| Gnawingpaw |
5 Moons - WindClan Apprentice
Lyrebird's Lullaby - Inactive | Well Insulated - Active | Bilingual [T1] - Active

---

Sharp teeth glinting beneath dark lips, Gnawingpaw turned her attention to the scent, following it carefully, this time as mindful of her every step as she was of her surroundings. It was exhausting, really. Who knew you had to like, actually keep in mind where the damn dirt was and stuff. Like... gross, but whatever. She wouldn't let something like that get in the way. She was going to be the best damn hunter in the entire clan. And the best fighter. And the best tunneler! Actually, maybe not the tunneling crap. She could leave the dusty crevices to the lesser beings like Crowtooth. Make sure they remembered they were lower than dirt and all that.

A satisfied smirk making her whiskers quiver at the thought, the large apprentice kept her trek. Slow. Meticulous. But rewarding in the end. It wasn't long before she spotted them. A small cluster of cardinals. Four of them. It seemed the one she had tried to hunt before had spotted some friends and decided there was safety in numbers. The paw's grin grew, seeing the missing tail feather on her previous mark. He would not get away this time.

Her steps as silent as she could make them, making sure her belly fur did not rustle up the grass more than it should, she crept as close to the group as she could before... she pounced. The grass besides the cardinals exploded in a flurry of snow and fur, and teeth soon met the back of her first victim's neck as she gnawed down on it, shaking it left and right with glee before spitting it out, the other birds beginning to take flight. Their shrill cries of fear were music to her ears. The song of battle and deceased enemies. Would that be what cats sounded like when she dug her teeth into their necks when the call for war came? She certainly hoped so. It was something to look forward to.

Pale green hues still trained upon the escaping birds, her former prey's tail flashed before her. Taunting her. Reminding her of her earlier failure. The red feathers instantly matching her feral nature, Gnawingpaw raised her paw as she jumped, claws unsheathed as she swatted the creature down. The strike confused and seemingly concussed the cardinal, but it did not die. She had no intention to kill it with her claws. Not after it was her teeth it had escaped from.

An ear-splitting cry of horror escaped her feathery prisoner as her teeth finally found their mark, piercing but not ending it, crushing wing bones as warm blood coated her tongue. With playful delight, she tossed the screaming bird into the air, ensuring it knew there was no escape now before catching it in her maw once more, shaking it viciously as she had the earlier one until it could cry no more. Her muzzle coated red, she dropped the bird, a vicious glint in her eyes as she turned a dripping smile towards the direction she knew her mentor would be. She had done it! She had gotten her revenge! Uncle Furbee would be like, totally pleased!

---

@Mica [Hawkfur]

[Mica]

Hawkfur
WindClan Fury
he/him | 58 moons
[Russet tabby with tuxedo markings and sky-blue eyes]
Purrks: Flock Together T3, Killer Aptitude T1
Header by @/wingnettle
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The Hanged Man ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
· · ──────────────· ·
[Gnawingpaw - @Alchemist Kitsune ]
· · ──────────────· ·
Uncle Furby, was, in fact, not pleased when Gnawingpaw looked up. Instead, there was an open expression of horror twisting his handsome face. The cardinal's shriek of pain had sent a stab of fear through him, as though it was his own body being mutilated at the paws of his apprentice. Shaking the birds like she was a bloody dog. Hawkfur trotted up to her, doing his best to smooth over his expression though with limited results.

"W-wow, mate, look at that. Two birds." He paused, staring at the mangled corpses with remorse before sighing heavily. "But we don't torture our prey, mate." Hawkfur stammered, tail flicking nervously behind him. He'd... never seen an apprentice act like this during training before. He was sure it happened, but... what was he supposed to do here? The viciousness Gnawingpaw exerted against those birds reminded him of--no. "Listen, I know hunting is exciting, but we gotta remember to treat our prey with respect. They're giving up their lives so we can live ours, yeah?" He tried to smile, but it was more of a grimace. "But, I will say, catching two birds at once is pretty impressive, mate." It was important to reinforce good behavior, but how to do that without reinforcing sadistic murder??

[Alchemist Kitsune]

| Gnawingpaw |
5 Moons - WindClan Apprentice
Lyrebird's Lullaby - Inactive | Well Insulated - Active | Bilingual [T2] - Active

---

Pale green eyes widened as Gnawingpaw spotted her mentor's face, confusion momentarily creasing her brow. Why did Uncle Furbee look so scared? It was clear to her that he was trying to hide his emotions, but after a lifetime - and being blissfully unaware that five moons was perhaps not the long time she thought it was - of having to read Ber's expressions - or lack thereof - it was hard to hide feelings from the apprentice. It was in everything everyone did. Their posture, their eyes, slight twitches in their ears and whiskers. A curve of the lip. The delightful reek of horror that wafted from them.

In earnest, the Maine Coon mix had not set out to traumatize anyone today. She didn't even know it was a power that could be obtained. She didn't want to scare or make her uncle look at her any differently. He was her family. Extended, of course. Nowhere nearly as important as her littermates or even her father. But kin all the same. And she loved him for it. The fact that he was her mentor and a fury just made it all the better for him. And yet even with all of this well meaning affection she couldn't help it.

She grinned.

It was a wild, feral grin. Blood dripped from her fangs, coaxing her tongue to run down them, savoring the flavor. She didn't fully understand why it was not alright to play with her prey. She was going to kill it anyway. If it was them, they would do the same thing. Wouldn't they? It seemed to her that if they had to kill birds and crap to eat... then they might as well have fun with it. Still, if Uncle Furbee said so, then Gnawingpaw wouldn't go against his teachings. Not while around others, in any case. Because clearly it was her playing around that had disturbed him, as he was congratulating her on her double bird catch. She could work with that.

"Right so like... no playing with our food. I can do that," she purred, pleased, clearly unrepentant and undisturbed at what she had just done despite her agreement to not do it again. Wrinkling her nose, she added, "Does that mean we are like... done here today? Cus I want to like, show off my catch to Ber and the others! They're going to be like, so jealous! Oh oh! And I have to gift at least one of the feathers to like, Snowydad, duh! He told me that, like, when mom got her warrior name, there was a cardinal feather among the treasures he gave her, but it was like, lost in a fire or something? So like, I want to give him a new one. Can I? Can I?"

Toes twitching with excitement, the young apprentice gave her mentor a wide eyed stare, looking once more like the innocent, five moon old kit she was, the bloody encounter forgotten. Sure, she was no longer like, Cardinalpaw... but if she could at least make the treasure she was named after show up again... maybe it would be a fun way to reclaim her place among her littermates? Maybe... She wanted to believe as much, in any case.

---

@Mica [Hawkfur]
| I think with Hawkfur's next response we can wrap up this training session and I can send you a starter for either battle or rabbit hunting if you like? She's had some battle training started but no rabbit hunting done at all. That said, extra battle training is always good, so I am genuinely fine with whichever Hawkfur would choose to teach her next! |