The maine coon followed his patrolmates on quiet paws, occasionally looking around him to make sure everything was safe. In his opinion he wasn't being paranoid, just caring about the safety of his clan.. right? Anyways. So at first, Crowtooth would be going over hunting basics. That sounded good. At the comment of correcting Crowtooth if needed Applefrost nodded and settled down to watch. He was in a position which would make it easy for him to get to his paws and react if needed. His ears were pricked incase there was any prey near.
Crowtooth's explanation and demonstration seemed pretty good. He didn't have anything to interfere so he just watched, but suddenly, a rustling sound appeared close to him. "Watch," he whispered to the apprentices while he picked up the scent of a mouse. His claws slid out silently and he got into a crouch, balancing his weight evenly. He slowly moved towards the prey until he was a tail length or so away. Then, he inhaled deeply before settling most of his weight onto his back haunches and using the power to propel himself forward.
His claws swiftly sunk into the mouses' flesh and he gave it a killing bite. The catch held in his maw, he padded back over to his patrolmates. "I hope that worked as a demonstration."
Oooh yeah, there was a mink problem recently, huh? Slipped her mind! Whoops! Blinking at the apprentice, she suddenly begins to whip her head back and forth as if she were totally, obviously made aware of the possibility of minks being nearby and was looking for them. As if they could pop out at any moment. And, well, they could! Who knows where those little buggers were hiding! If they decided to get the jump on them then it would be bad, bad news!
"Thaaaaat is a good question, my dear apprentice! Dunno why they would want to, either! Maybe 'cuz Windclan is the best and our territory is the best? That's the only reason I can think of."
Obviously the minks knew how amazing and cool Windclan was and just wanted to make friends with all the awesome warriors on the moors. Yep, yep. Finally getting sick of the feeling of the sodden border land underfoot, she begins to prance off in a different direction, toward more solid ground.
"C'mon, Hushy! Let's head toward the Thunderglade where it's a waaay drier!"
Hushpaw
~<>~
14/100
9 moons || he/him || WindClan Apprentice medium furred tom w/ black, grey and white fur; gold eyes
He hums noncommittally at clover's answer, so she didn't really know either, huh? That's fine, most of them probably can only come up with guesses and no real answers. He brightens, though, at the idea of getting away from this gross, squishy ground.
"Oh, good!" Hushpaw practically melts with relief as he pads after his mentor, following her to the much drier ThunderClan border. WindClan and ThunderClan aren't exactly on the best of terms right now, but that's nothing abnormal. "What about this place?" He asks, grinning, as they arrive to the border, quickly sniffing out where WindClan's markers are and adding his own mark on top of them. Maybe if he keeps them nice and fresh everyone will see him for the super cool and competent tom he is!! "It's for sure a lot less squashy."
The tunneler was just..... Not happy. He didnt know what to do about Nightpaw. His apprentice had never shown enthusiasm or initiative with her training which he understood but nor had she put in effort to learn when forced into it. Patrol after patrol she was assigned to him with and she did the bare minimum and now was an example as Crowtooth was forced to move on with the patrol lest he risk being late turning it in, without Nightpaw.
He'd corner her and ask her what was up and maaaaaybe ask someone more experienced with an apprentice for advice later.
For now he answered Winterpaws question. "Mainly squirrels. We get rabbits, mice, songbirds, an' moles a lot on the more but squirrels like trees which we only got now here. There'll also be bigger birds here I think, pigeons an' like forest critters I dunno kid, 've never been a forest cat." The only time Crowtooth had stepped paw in one was to attack shadowclan and not to hunt.
"Right so Applefrost 's a pro, do what he did. Once ya mark the border try the crouch I showed an' hunt somethin'. Stalkin' an' pouncin' should be easy, ya just gotta make sure ta stay hidden behind somethin', not move when preys lookin', and stay downwind. Pouncin' 's just leapin' at 't when yer as close as ya think ya can get."
Falling silent upon seeing a thrush land nearby Crowtooth demonstrated, literally holding his breath to not wheeze (which did put him on a time crunch) as he stalked over and lunged, snagging the bird and killing it quickly.
"See? Quick cheat fer ya 's birds see best and hear, rabbits hear like gods an' smell, mice feel yer paws (so don' step too hard) smell an' hear all ok, voles an' moles are blind but feel like everythin', an' I dunno about squirrels.
Give 't a shot kid, catch somethin' an' 'm keen ta say ya've mastered huntin' while on a border patrol. Double duty, impressive."
They needed to hustle though, Fallownose was a harsh taskmaster.
@SpiritWolf_yt @zozelen @starry (ok so this is due tomorrow so we need to move fast yall got 24 hrs to do a short reply of marking the border and whatever extras you want before I report. Im no longer doing post order so post whenever you want)
The maine coon followed his patrolmates on quiet paws, occasionally looking around him to make sure everything was safe. In his opinion he wasn't being paranoid, just caring about the safety of his clan.. right? Anyways. So at first, Crowtooth would be going over hunting basics. That sounded good. At the comment of correcting Crowtooth if needed Applefrost nodded and settled down to watch. He was in a position which would make it easy for him to get to his paws and react if needed. His ears were pricked incase there was any prey near.
Crowtooth's explanation and demonstration seemed pretty good. He didn't have anything to interfere so he just watched, but suddenly, a rustling sound appeared close to him. "Watch," he whispered to the apprentices while he picked up the scent of a mouse. His claws slid out silently and he got into a crouch, balancing his weight evenly. He slowly moved towards the prey until he was a tail length or so away. Then, he inhaled deeply before settling most of his weight onto his back haunches and using the power to propel himself forward.
His claws swiftly sunk into the mouses' flesh and he gave it a killing bite. The catch held in his maw, he padded back over to his patrolmates. "I hope that worked as a demonstration."
The tunneler was just..... Not happy. He didnt know what to do about Nightpaw. His apprentice had never shown enthusiasm or initiative with her training which he understood but nor had she put in effort to learn when forced into it. Patrol after patrol she was assigned to him with and she did the bare minimum and now was an example as Crowtooth was forced to move on with the patrol lest he risk being late turning it in, without Nightpaw.
He'd corner her and ask her what was up and maaaaaybe ask someone more experienced with an apprentice for advice later.
For now he answered Winterpaws question. "Mainly squirrels. We get rabbits, mice, songbirds, an' moles a lot on the more but squirrels like trees which we only got now here. There'll also be bigger birds here I think, pigeons an' like forest critters I dunno kid, 've never been a forest cat." The only time Crowtooth had stepped paw in one was to attack shadowclan and not to hunt.
"Right so Applefrost 's a pro, do what he did. Once ya mark the border try the crouch I showed an' hunt somethin'. Stalkin' an' pouncin' should be easy, ya just gotta make sure ta stay hidden behind somethin', not move when preys lookin', and stay downwind. Pouncin' 's just leapin' at 't when yer as close as ya think ya can get."
Falling silent upon seeing a thrush land nearby Crowtooth demonstrated, literally holding his breath to not wheeze (which did put him on a time crunch) as he stalked over and lunged, snagging the bird and killing it quickly.
"See? Quick cheat fer ya 's birds see best and hear, rabbits hear like gods an' smell, mice feel yer paws (so don' step too hard) smell an' hear all ok, voles an' moles are blind but feel like everythin', an' I dunno about squirrels.
Give 't a shot kid, catch somethin' an' 'm keen ta say ya've mastered huntin' while on a border patrol. Double duty, impressive."
They needed to hustle though, Fallownose was a harsh taskmaster.
@SpiritWolf_yt @zozelen @starry (ok so this is due tomorrow so we need to move fast yall got 24 hrs to do a short reply of marking the border and whatever extras you want before I report. Im no longer doing post order so post whenever you want)
Looks like Nightpaw hadn't continued the patrol with them. That just meant Winterpaw would have to be extra focused. Both warriors were giving him a lot of information, but Winterpaw attentively listened to them and looked around for any prey he could catch along the border. His pupils narrowed into black slits as a little wren crossed his field a vision, pecking at the ground a few cat lengths in front of him. He crouched down as his mentor and Crowtooth had, confident that he at least had the stance correct. It was quite a distance, sure, but he could tell the sun was setting and they would need to report back soon- he didn't want to spend too much time trying to stalk forward without making noise. His snow white pelt didn't help with the sneaking around either, at least not in any season other than winter.
Winterpaw quickly pounced, leaping through the air, and... landed, on the wren? It chirped frantically under his paw, so he dug his claws into the small bird to end its life. Though he wasn't the type of cat very interested in praise, he couldn't help but turn back to Crowtooth and Applefrost to show off his catch. This was his first ever try at hunting, and he caught his wren with no trouble.
"Thank you both for teaching me," he meowed, voice tinged with an unusual hint of pride. "Now we'll all be able to bring back prey for Windclan."
(right, let's wrap it up! by the way, i was actually planning to have winterpaw mess up on this, since he's had no prior experience... but he actually rolled a nat20 in the discord, so he did a great job! go winter!!)
While Winterpaw and Crowtooth were still working on the hunting, the large tomcat decided to go mark the border. He walked along a section of it and marked as much as he could before returning to his patrolmates, very pleased to see Winterpaw managed to catch a wren. He gave his apprentice an encouraging smile, then got ready to leave. Slacking was never good and he was sure Crowtooth and Winterpaw didn't want to get in trouble with Fallownose either. Did Nightpaw see that differently?
[ @Rani @zozelen just a short post to wrap this up ]
__________________
Mistyshard is RiverClan’s current Medicine Cat. She has a semi-closed den policy. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to VM or DM me!
Hushpaw
~<>~
14/100
9 moons || he/him || WindClan Apprentice medium furred tom w/ black, grey and white fur; gold eyes
He hums noncommittally at clover's answer, so she didn't really know either, huh? That's fine, most of them probably can only come up with guesses and no real answers. He brightens, though, at the idea of getting away from this gross, squishy ground.
"Oh, good!" Hushpaw practically melts with relief as he pads after his mentor, following her to the much drier ThunderClan border. WindClan and ThunderClan aren't exactly on the best of terms right now, but that's nothing abnormal. "What about this place?" He asks, grinning, as they arrive to the border, quickly sniffing out where WindClan's markers are and adding his own mark on top of them. Maybe if he keeps them nice and fresh everyone will see him for the super cool and competent tom he is!! "It's for sure a lot less squashy."
Look at how diligent and hardworking her wonderful little apprentice was! Securing the borders, asking questions... Man, he was really the bestest, wasn't he? Grinning wide as she thinks to cloverself about how lucky she was, the thought quickly shifts to the answer to Hushpaw's question. What was so special about this place? Aside from the very obvious border line, she could think of a few things...
"Weeeell my knowledge thirsty apprentice! This place has got two things. Prey and flowers! Look at 'em all, ready to bloom!" She exclaims, gesturing a paw out toward the growing field of wildflowers. "Flowers loooove growing here because of all the sun! And lots of plants bring lots of prey! Makes sense, right? This place is muuuch better than that yucky, swampy place we were at!"
All of a sudden her ear twitches and her head whips toward the sound. Heterochromic hues clue in on movement amongst the foliage and she immediately hunkers down into a crouch, pupils dilated into slits. Even clover understand when it would do some good to be quiet.
"Alright, lesson number one underway, Hushy... Try and catch whatever's hiding over there! I wanna see your skills!"
Look at how diligent and hardworking her wonderful little apprentice was! Securing the borders, asking questions... Man, he was really the bestest, wasn't he? Grinning wide as she thinks to cloverself about how lucky she was, the thought quickly shifts to the answer to Hushpaw's question. What was so special about this place? Aside from the very obvious border line, she could think of a few things...
"Weeeell my knowledge thirsty apprentice! This place has got two things. Prey and flowers! Look at 'em all, ready to bloom!" She exclaims, gesturing a paw out toward the growing field of wildflowers. "Flowers loooove growing here because of all the sun! And lots of plants bring lots of prey! Makes sense, right? This place is muuuch better than that yucky, swampy place we were at!"
All of a sudden her ear twitches and her head whips toward the sound. Heterochromic hues clue in on movement amongst the foliage and she immediately hunkers down into a crouch, pupils dilated into slits. Even clover understand when it would do some good to be quiet.
"Alright, lesson number one underway, Hushy... Try and catch whatever's hiding over there! I wanna see your skills!"
Hushpaw
~<>~
15/100
9 moons || he/him || WindClan Apprentice medium furred tom w/ black, grey and white fur; gold eyes
[dice dc: 12]
Flowers and prey, huh? Not too bad a place outside of, you know, the fact that they share this border with ThunderClan. He's about to say something more when he notices his mentor suddenly alert. At first, he thought cover had heard enemy warriors, but he quickly realizes that what cover must have found was prey, because clover turns to him with a grin and instructs him to try and catch it. A chance to prove how cool he is! Perfect!
[roll to catch: 11, 18]
As Hushpaw brings himself low to the ground, he steps forward once and twice, slowly drawing himself nearer to the critter shuffling around in the brush. Perhaps he was too rash, too eager, because he doesn't notice the stick under his paw until he'd already stepped on it. The loud SNAP causes the mouse to startle and start darting away. Well, that won't do!! Putting on a burst of speed, Hushpaw springs after it!
In as short as two bounds forward, his claws hook into the critter just before it tried to vanish down a rabbit hole. Just as quickly, the black and white apprentice brings his teeth down on the creature's neck, killing it swiftly and purring with delight. He sends a quick thanks to StarClan for the meal as he pads back toward his mentor, tail held high.
"How was that?!" He asks, delighted, after dropping his catch between the pair of them. "Am I the coolest, most skilled apprentice you've ever met or what? Hehe~"
Hushpaw
~<>~
15/100
9 moons || he/him || WindClan Apprentice medium furred tom w/ black, grey and white fur; gold eyes
[dice dc: 12]
Flowers and prey, huh? Not too bad a place outside of, you know, the fact that they share this border with ThunderClan. He's about to say something more when he notices his mentor suddenly alert. At first, he thought cover had heard enemy warriors, but he quickly realizes that what cover must have found was prey, because clover turns to him with a grin and instructs him to try and catch it. A chance to prove how cool he is! Perfect!
[roll to catch: 11, 18]
As Hushpaw brings himself low to the ground, he steps forward once and twice, slowly drawing himself nearer to the critter shuffling around in the brush. Perhaps he was too rash, too eager, because he doesn't notice the stick under his paw until he'd already stepped on it. The loud SNAP causes the mouse to startle and start darting away. Well, that won't do!! Putting on a burst of speed, Hushpaw springs after it!
In as short as two bounds forward, his claws hook into the critter just before it tried to vanish down a rabbit hole. Just as quickly, the black and white apprentice brings his teeth down on the creature's neck, killing it swiftly and purring with delight. He sends a quick thanks to StarClan for the meal as he pads back toward his mentor, tail held high.
"How was that?!" He asks, delighted, after dropping his catch between the pair of them. "Am I the coolest, most skilled apprentice you've ever met or what? Hehe~"
The warrior stares at the young tom with a hard to read expression at first, in an attempt to keep him in suspense... Until clover can no longer handle it and breaks out in a huge grin.
"Amazing! Never doubted you for a second, Hushy! Nice work! Buuut there are definitely some things we gotta go over! Watch and learn, okay? I'm gonna give a demonstration!"
Now to show off her amazing hunting skills for real! Her long legs came in handy for moments like these-- tracking prey in such tall grass. It was easier to step over branches and maneuver through the underbrush with such graceful strides!
[ Honeyclover rolled a 14 to hunt prey. ]
Hunkering down amongst the grass, ears twitch and swivel until she again catches on to where prey is hiding amongst the foliage. Carefully she begins to move forward, staying low but lifting her feet high as to step over anything that may be in her path. As she moves, her gaze moves along the ground every so often to take note of what obstacles may be in her way while her nose and ears continued to track the mouse she was onto. It's in her sights after not too long and she freezes to observe before pouncing upon it. Her lift-off is a bit loud, alerting it to her movement, but it's far too late for it to run despite it's quick reflex. One killing bite is all it takes for her to return to Hushpaw with a plump mouse of her own dangling between her jaws.
"There! Now, I want you to tell me what you noticed different about how I did it! And then after that we can enjoy some breakfast together before heading toward Riverclan~"
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" oh the places you'll go, little love of mine " character bios.
gif of cloverhoney by @/ramen !
Rose stopped by to plant a garden here.
Today, Wolfhive figured a trip to one of the borders would do Beachpaw some good. Last time he was here they found Fawnpaw's remains - he was hoping this trip would be more pleasant.
WindClan hadn't done much in the last couple moons, and despite previous suspicions there was no evidence.. so he'd take his chances. Spidercroak was hit or miss on sending patrols here and he wanted to make sure the markers were fresh.
"This is the what's called the Thunderglade, though if WindClan's changed the name we haven't heard it. Our border got changed not too long ago so they've taken the glade part." He stopped at the treeline, where the markers were strongest. "Figured we'd freshen up our side, 'n then we can go and do something else."
°•. info & relations ✿ they/them ✿ finder coming soon ✿ challenge mode! [skill-perk free] .•°
Beachpaw -
Beachpaw didn't like being on what was evidently the losing side, since they had less of it. "But the glade part is supposed to be ours?" they asked, peering wantingly at the forbidden land. Nothing special about it except the mere fact they'd been told they Couldn't have.
The Thunderglade was a cool name though. Definitely ThunderClan-leaning in the nomenclature. "What are the other ones called? The ones ThunderClan isn't part of." More concisely, where they didn't share borders with that Clan -- without asking (something that'd come to them and they'd blurted) they doubted they'd ever know. The thought of hearing it at a gathering didn't occur to an apprentice who'd never been to one before.