Slowly, she allowed Brokenstream to fix her stance, and once that had happened, the small apprentice noticed the slight advantages to the stance, and nodded, casting her gaze over to her teacher.
Examining the moment he scooped out two fish, she focused her gaze on the angle of the paw. It seemed simple enough.
Questions? Did she have any?
"When we start fishing with swimming, how are we supposed to scoop them out of the water? Or do we scoop them into our jaws? Also, wouldn't water get in our mouths instead of a fish?" oops, she flicked her tail, and blinked, looking out at the water.
Not waiting for Brokenstream's answer, she crouched beside the water, molding into the position she had been in just moments before. Her eyes spotted a small sheen just inches from her reach, and she let out a small noiseless hiss.
Come on fishie. Maybe fish could read minds, because it did swim closer.
(Rolled a fifteen)
So she used her minimal knowledge of fishing, and went to swipe under the fish, curving her paws as closely to Brokenstream's technique, and shrieked when the fish actually came flying at her face.
It's wet slimy tail hit her nose, then flopped to the ground. She gazed at it, shocked, horrified, disgusted, maybe all three and just watched as it squirmed on the ground.
His whiskers twitching was the only thing to give away his amusement at Cricketpaw's stance. "You can relax a bit. If you sit stiff like that, the fish are going to be able to swim right past you before you can react." He purred, nudging the apprentice gently with a paw. He glanced at Rainpaw. "Excellent!" He mewed with an approving nod. Looking back at Cricketpaw, he gave the young apprentice a warm blink. "Don't worry, you're RiverClan! You'll be a natural by the end of the day." The Lionheart mewed encouragingly.
"Now, while you readjust, watch closely." Doing as he explained early, the tom positioned himself in the preexisting shadow of a tree, eyes fixed intently on the water. Without moving, he whispers to the apprentices. "Patience is key here. Fish know we hunt here, but they're still to dumb to be too cautious. They'll come to the shore as well, thankfully, since neither of you can swim yet." After a few moments of ticking silence, Brokenstream flashed out a paw into the water, scooping two minnows onto the bank next to him. A mrrow of satisfaction escaped him. "Fishing is one of the most fun things RiverClan cats can do- and once you learn how to swim, fishing in the water is even more fun." He gaze curiously at the two she-cats. "Any questions so far?"
Slowly, she allowed Brokenstream to fix her stance, and once that had happened, the small apprentice noticed the slight advantages to the stance, and nodded, casting her gaze over to her teacher.
Examining the moment he scooped out two fish, she focused her gaze on the angle of the paw. It seemed simple enough.
Questions? Did she have any?
"When we start fishing with swimming, how are we supposed to scoop them out of the water? Or do we scoop them into our jaws? Also, wouldn't water get in our mouths instead of a fish?" oops, she flicked her tail, and blinked, looking out at the water.
Not waiting for Brokenstream's answer, she crouched beside the water, molding into the position she had been in just moments before. Her eyes spotted a small sheen just inches from her reach, and she let out a small noiseless hiss.
Come on fishie. Maybe fish could read minds, because it did swim closer.
(Rolled a fifteen)
So she used her minimal knowledge of fishing, and went to swipe under the fish, curving her paws as closely to Brokenstream's technique, and shrieked when the fish actually came flying at her face.
It's wet slimy tail hit her nose, then flopped to the ground. She gazed at it, shocked, horrified, disgusted, maybe all three and just watched as it squirmed on the ground.
Rainpaw's whiskers twitched with delight at Brokenstream's praise. Unlike her sister, Rainpaw hoped to excel in hunting, where she felt her skills were best suited. Body type aside, she didn't really have a personality that enjoyed the idea of inflicting pain on another, even an enemy. As Raven said, she was too soft. She readjusted and turned her eyes to watch the Head Lionheart closely. Her tail-tip twitched as she watched. So, it's a scooping motion. She was determined to do well here and bring Riftpaw back a fish, hopefully that would make up for swimming without him for her first swimming lesson! She nodded, and purred as Cricketpaw was successful.
She waited for the water to settle, light green eyes narrowed with her intense focus.
-rolled 11-
Nothing was close enough for her to even attempt to catch it, and she dared not move after readjusting to meet Brokenstream's suggestions. But he said patience was key here, so she kept still and waited. Eyes never leaving the water...
-rolled 19-
There! Before she could even think that there was a fish's shadow there, her paw swooped out and down and scooped out the wet, slimy creature. It hit the bank flawlessly, and her teeth followed shortly behind it. Jaws clamping on the creature. A wet tail slapped her cheek as the fish gave a final protest before going still. She blinked, surprised. Everything happened so fast! She looked over at Cricketpaw and Brokenstream, eyes twinkling. Perhaps this was what they called "instinct"!
"No, you won't have to scoop them out of the water when you're fishing in the water," The young Lionheart began to explain to Cricketpaw. "But you may get some water in your mouth. It will get easier with practice, but you'll be using your claws and jaws to catch them. In my opinion, it's like hunting a very slippery squirrel." He joked with a wink, turning so he could pay more attention to how they hunted onshore.
Cricketpaw was quick as a flash, pulling out a catch onto the bank beside her. "Well? Kill it!" He instructed, swiping the fish closer to the apprentice with a paw so that it wouldn't flop right back into the river. "You may be training, but we shouldn't be wasting any food now." Brokenstream explained, glancing over at Rainpaw. She seemed to be picking it up quite quickly as well. "Well done, you two! You're naturals." He purred. "Since this is your first fishing catch, you can eat them. It tastes extra good when you catch it yourself!" The bengal glanced at the river as he spoke. "And once you can swim, you'll be able to catch much bigger fish- like salmon and carp!"
Brokenstream licked his lips at the mention of carp. His absolute favorite. But that was neither here nor there. "If you'd like, since we are already here, I can teach you the basics of swimming- but I'd recommend going back to your mentors afterwards for more detailed pointers." He offered.
Stepping back slightly, she dipped down her muzzle, nipping at the fish, and surprisingly, it died. Nodding as Broken stream let them eat it, she sunk her teeth in, savoring the taste.
"No, you won't have to scoop them out of the water when you're fishing in the water," The young Lionheart began to explain to Cricketpaw. "But you may get some water in your mouth. It will get easier with practice, but you'll be using your claws and jaws to catch them. In my opinion, it's like hunting a very slippery squirrel." He joked with a wink, turning so he could pay more attention to how they hunted onshore.
Cricketpaw was quick as a flash, pulling out a catch onto the bank beside her. "Well? Kill it!" He instructed, swiping the fish closer to the apprentice with a paw so that it wouldn't flop right back into the river. "You may be training, but we shouldn't be wasting any food now." Brokenstream explained, glancing over at Rainpaw. She seemed to be picking it up quite quickly as well. "Well done, you two! You're naturals." He purred. "Since this is your first fishing catch, you can eat them. It tastes extra good when you catch it yourself!" The bengal glanced at the river as he spoke. "And once you can swim, you'll be able to catch much bigger fish- like salmon and carp!"
Brokenstream licked his lips at the mention of carp. His absolute favorite. But that was neither here nor there. "If you'd like, since we are already here, I can teach you the basics of swimming- but I'd recommend going back to your mentors afterwards for more detailed pointers." He offered.
Stepping back slightly, she dipped down her muzzle, nipping at the fish, and surprisingly, it died. Nodding as Broken stream let them eat it, she sunk her teeth in, savoring the taste.
Rainpaw purred with delight at Brokenstream's praise, nodding her head. She set her catch down so she could eat it, amazed at how much sweeter and fresher it tasted than the fish she got from the fresh-kill pile! She cleaned the loose scales off her whiskers, looking over at Cricketpaw and then back to Brokenstream. Head tilting to the side slightly. A swimming lesson? She nodded gratefully, bending to finish her fish in swift, clean bites. Careful to avoid any bones. She took a moment to clean her jaws and whiskers before looking back to Brokenstream, giving him her undivided attention. "I had...some exposure to swimming with Foxleap." She admitted.
"He took me to a pond and we swam around some. But I don't have any experience with a current like this." She looked to Cricketpaw, eyes widened with curiosity. She wondered where Cricketpaw was with her swimming, she didn't want to hold her back. She knew that her denmate said she hadn't done any swimming lessons before, she hoped she hadn't made them feel awkward! Oh no!
Re: Catch & (No) Release! (Fishing Lesson) - Cricketpaw & Rainpaw
