After spending the entirety of yesterday socialising and running around in the freshly fallen snow and overall just goofing around and having fun. He slept well and easy, better than he had in recent nights. The cold barely even bothered him for once, and that had nothing to do with the fact he'd moved his nest to the center of the den and closer to the rest of his denmates.
A certain familiar voice called to him, pulling him from his dreams and into the waking world. A voice he hadn't heard that much recently. Aspenpaw arched his back stretching and let out a yawn, and that was as much time he would let himself waste waking up. He knew there was only one reason his mentor would be calling him for and that was training! That was enough to get him up and out of the warm comforts of his nest and had him darting out of the den and into the cold-- freezing clearing.
"Training? We're going training! Oh is it battle training?" he exclaimed loudly, the excitement in his voice very palpable.
( @goodacacia ; Floodsight )no need to apologize, irl stuff is more important than silly battle cats so I completely understand! <3
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“All toasters needs some bread and all bread needs to be toasted” - infamous burntToast
Aspenpaw followed his former mentor down the river till they reached a spot where the waters were calmer. Aspenpaw sat down and watched the tiny shadows beneath the water's surface swim past. His eyes didn't leave the water but he was listening to what Floodsight had to say.
Floodsight then told him the basics, hunting fish was not the same as hunting land prey or birds. There was no sneakiness. Well not really, no stalking. All you had to do was wait for a fish to swim by close enough for you to catch. Only thing he had to remember was to not let his shadow fall across the river and alert the fish of his presence. ”mk! So if I catch one wouldn't that scare the rest of them away? If so, how would you catch more if they are all gone?? And I've seen some cats fish while standing in the river. Is there a method to that too??”
He asked, tilting his head and then looking from the river back to Floodsight. ”Uh we can fish now!”
( I'm sorry this took so long!! I went on hiatus and then returned with zero motivation/w\ I apologize for my untimeliness )
Floodsight ✦ RiverClan Warrior | 28 moons | Mind Reader ; Killer Aptitude T3 ; empty slot
Floodsight chuckled softly, wanting to reply swiftly, but her raspy, torn up voice from moons outside of the clans stopped her. "Of- of course, we can fish now~"
"And you're right, there's two methods to fishing. Both are a waiting game, both are valid and they yield the same result, it's up to you which one you want to use. Though learning both can be helpful when one tactic isn't working.
First, when the water is too deep to wade in, fishing at the shoreline's your only choice. Wait and watched the water carefully- as well as your shadows. You move, they run. Once you think the fish is close enough, hook it out of the water with your claws. Be patient with it though~ sometimes, these fish are smarter than you'd think.
Second, shallow waters. Now you are free to wade into the rivers. Same thing, except you have to precise. Hook, and then bite down as soon as possible. Don't let go." Floodsight explained, holding in a few coughs. Her dry throat was practically begging her to stop talking. It was probably the most she'd spoken in a long time. Though it wasn't a accurate comparison, considering there'd been no one she'd could talk to other than the coyotes that chase her till dawn. Even then, they've been gone for a while.
She finished up the long explanations with a small note. "Or you can dunk your head into the river and bite them directly. If there aren't any questions, feel free to start."
[ This must've slipped into the depth of my notifications, but it's here if Aspen still need fishing ]
Floodsight voice sounded real raspy, like she was sick. Was she sick? She didn't look sick. Aspenpaw ignored the scratchy sound and instead paid attention to her words and nodded along showing he understood. Midway through he could help the question that slipped out of him, he always acted impulsive after all. Something that would eventually have to be fixed. ”You sound like you need to cough, maybe you should drink some water?” he suggested with a tilt of his head– oh yes wait he should be attempting to hunt. ”uh sorry- I shall give it a go then!”
Aspenpaw loomed over the side of the river, his shadow only briefly falling over the water before he recoiled remembering that he had to be careful of that. Repositioning himself, aspenpaw sat so that his shadow didn't leave the bank and watched as the small little figures swam past. ( ROLL: 8 Success ) Aspenpaw swiped his paw through the water and by some miracle managed to hook a fish and slap it onto land. For a single shocked moment aspenpaw didn't comprehend his cath and simply watched the fish flop around on land. When it got close to the bank he snapped back into reality and grabbed the slippery thing with his paws and killed it with a single efficient bite! Haha first try!!
Not yet satisfied with just one he turned back to the river for a second try, the first one might've just been dumb luck after all. Making sure his shadow didn't touch the water's surface, aspenpaw waited for a fish to swim by and when it did he repeated his previous action and swiped at it with his paw. ( ROLL: 6 success! ) Once again it was successful and he managed to catch the fish with ease- hey maybe he was a natural at this? He swiftly killed the fish and then dropped both at Floodsight’s paws. You know, just so she could assess his catch and not because he was showing it off or anything. Though he was proud. ”first try” he said smugly, okay maybe he was just a tad bit proud.
Floodsight ✦ RiverClan Warrior | 38 moons | Mind Reader ; Killer Aptitude T3 ; empty slot
"Yes, water...I'll get some soon," The silverish cream cat had replied and nodded at his suggestions before he bounded off to the rivers. Floodsight made sure to keep an eye on him, but not as closely as she did before. He's all grown and should be able to take care of himself. Or at least that's how Floodsight decided to convince herself, but somehow she was still unwilling to let him go unsupervised completely. Not in the fear he'll do something reckless- just little things like: what if gets hurt...what if something happens?
Augh, it takes more than a little to break a habit. The kid's all grown now and doesn't need her to worry over him. The silver warrior finally concluded her internal ramblings and settled herself by the riverbed, using the time to drink some water and keep her fur clean.
It didn't take long before Aspenpaw came back with two fish dropped in front of her paws and a proud expression all over his face. Her stormy eyes lit up and Floodsight chuckled jokingly. "Woah there, that was fast~ Are you sure you haven't been practicing beforehand?"
She stood up and gave the apprentice a soft headbutt proudly. "Looks like RiverClan's got themself a secure future with you fishing. Grab your fish and let's head back for the day. You can take one for your meal tonight and give the other to any cat you'd like."
[ @burntToast | probably gonna conclude the fishing arc here! if aspen needs other training, flood'll always be available <3 ]