The hidden motive [open for wc]

[Arie]

-- @Puddletail --

Weaselskip's eyes lit up as she watched the apprentice shoot out and handle the trick rabbit. Her muscles was tense, her claws sharp and her blood pumping as the rabbit raced by her and she shot out after it, hoping the apprentice understood their job was done and would just watch how a professional did it. Stretching out her long legs and the muscles now working on full speed she managed to grab onto the rabbit and latched her paws onto it and then rolled over in the sand as her grip strengthened and she finally managed to crush its neck with a bite. The thrill of the hunt was over already but it had been a good catch and a not too exhausting run. Rising to her paws from her lying down position after the tumble, she shook out the dust that had collected itself in her fur. Picking up the rabbit she walked over to the apprentice, a spring in her step the adrenaline still fresh. Putting it down with a happy flick of her tail she looked over the apprentice briefly. He looked a tad bit out of breath but otherwise extremely well for a new apprentice just out of the nursery. "Did good, kid. Now, did you see what I did? As you chased it towards me I ran it down the final steps. The chaser needs to be saving their energy for when the rabbit is already running and have to be able to reach for it. Gotta stretch out those long limbs of yours." But she had to give him praise for his good work. "You had a nice technique though, nice with the circle as well, you'll be a useful member for this hunt I think. Just gotta see if you can learn as fast by watching as when I explain it." Because there wouldn't be time when they started going after birds to teach the apprentice if they were to get the best productivity out of this.

[Puddle~]

@Arie

As Weaselskip shot out from the thicket of tall grass, Puddlepaw slowed his pace until he came to a full stop, plopping down to watch the warrior complete the kill. He took note of her astonishing speed, paying attention to how she hooked her claws into the rabbit's skin and put and end to its frantic wriggling state with a single bite. Witnessing the death of the rabbit didn't faze him at all. While some other new apprentices might need a little bit of time to get used to the aspect of death, he had already seen far worse things as a kit, and was therefore desensitized to these types of scenarios. As Weaselskip began padding towards him, he got up to meet her, and sat down beside her and the plump rabbit, perking up his ears to hear any post-chase suggestions she had to make. He was expecting to hear at least a handful corrections, but was pleasantly surprised as his ears were met with praise instead. Purring a little, he gave the warrior a big smile to let her know he appreciated the compliments. He didn't want to appear cocky by puffing out his chest in pride, but the apprentice was definitely pleased with himself. Now that he could help out with hunting, he was finally able to play an important part in the clan, and not just sit on his ass and play games in the nursery all day. It made him feel good in a way he couldn't explain, being able to help keep the clan well-fed and running. "I'll try," he mewed, referring to her mention of learning other techniques through watching demonstrations. Though, he didn't quite doubt his learning abilities as much anymore. If he was able to pick up on the flushing technique so quickly, he figured he might be able to learn everything else at the same rate. Plus, he understood the need for the switch to visual learning. It was in the best interest of time. If they had to keep stopping for a proper explanation and practice of every technique, they'd hardly catch anything. So, with the first catch of the hunt officially over, Puddlepaw rose to his paws, eager to begin another. "What are we doing next?"

[Starfall]

The apprentice flicked his tail at Basilpaw's statement, letting out a snicker. "Oh is that so? There's more than rabbits to eat." he laughed. Sticking out his tongue as he shuffled closer to Wolfbound. As they went further and further out into the territory there were less of those see through strangers and...well he could only describe them as gooey blobs, out and about. It made him feel a little less like a sardine. Letting out a relaxed sigh the Calliby broke out into a trot.

Shuffling closer to Wolfbound as she struck a pose, curious eyes flickered with mischef. Licking his maw Peonypaw aimed to fling himself over his mentors back horizontally. "Like this?" he giggled, giving the she-cat a toothy grin. But seconds later his attention was whipped away to Heathernose. "Whatsa Warren?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.
@Beau @Zesty Mango @wren

-------------------------------

The tom shuffled his paws, "I like bees...I think they're cute." he hummed as he started to jog. Gosh it was hard to keep up with cats when they're taller than you. "Though I don't really like them anywhere near me...more like...admiring from afar?" he mumbled to himself. Brows quirking up as he raised his head, catching Coyotesnarls eyes for a few seconds. Honeypaw gave the Tabby a bright smile. Frankly, he was grateful for Twilightstar, Midnightstalker, Coyotesnarl and Warblerpaw for making Windclan seem more homey. Coming to the clans was an Impulse decision, it seemed to be worth it. Aside from almost dying a good pawfull of times that is.

Being a little fluffier his fur often got caught in the branches the Medicine Cat was oh so elegantly dodging. Letting out chirps and squeaks of surprise and distress as he often got caught. By the time they were in an open space Wolf Willow branches were sticking out of his fur in every direction. With an emberassed grumble the Tan tabby did his best to pluck some of the branches out and keep up with the Older tom. However after a while he gave up, and instead jogged a little behind the Scarred tom. Couldn't quite catch up. "Oh gosh, but there's so many pretty yellow and orange flowers Coyotesnarl! That's not very descriptive." he laughed, well...wheezed with a hint of giggle. Running was not a strong point of this past Kitty pet.

@/wren

[Arie]

-- @Puddletail --

Yet again, letting out a laugh Weaselskip shook her head and then shook out her fur. "We'll leave the rabbit here for now, or well we'll leave it in a secure place. Just follow me, we'll use this spot for all the other prey we catch so no predator can get it, and if Coyotesnarl has any brains he might be able to find the stash here. With the amount we're going for, you wont be walking when you get back to camp. Might need to drag ya." With that she was walking off to where the rabbits burrow had been and placed it down before bowing down the moor grass around it. "Easy. There. Now we gotta go find more prey. Just follow me, and depending on what we find, I'll tell you to participate or just let the professional do the job so we can get some proper pile and not disappoint the clan." With that she was off, setting a slow pace. Despite the energy that she felt, she knew that this was not gonna be a sprint but rather a marathon. Did the prey run out before you ran out of energy was the real equation to be solved. Soon the scent of birds washed in over her and she was pleasantly surprised when she realised it was pheasants! These would make an extremely fine meal and it would be great for the clan as well. Gesturing for Puddlepaw to come up she started speaking in her whisper again. "Now. This is a solo mission. I want you to watch me, watch every movement, the technique, the level I keep my body at and the reaction time. Everything needs to be precise and fast and executed perfectly to catch a pheasant."

[Puddle~]

@Arie

Puddlepaw wasn't quite sure he agreed when Weaselskip said he'd have to be dragged back to camp from exhaustion. After all, he was older and a bit bigger than the other new apprentices, plus there was the fact that he contained a lot of pent up energy. But, he supposed he also wasn't used to this type of strenuous activity. In actuality, it could go either way, but walking or not, all that mattered at the end of the day was whether they had caught enough prey to feed every mouth in the clan. And it was best not to waste time thinking about trivial manners instead of hunting. So with that, he watched as Weaselskip concealed the rabbit, taking care to disguise it from predators. And as the warrior set off again, he set his feet in motion, and they were soon shuffling across the moor once more. He hoped they would come across some sort of prey soon. The thrill of the last chase had exhilarated him, and he wanted to relive that feeling again. To feel the rush of the cool breeze on his russet fur as he galloped after the rabbit. The feel of the scratchy grass below his black paws as they brushed the surface of the earth. It filled him with glee, and if this was what WindClan cats got to experience on a regular basis, he sure didn't regret leaving his life as a loner kit to become one. As they began the ascent of a small hill, he was overwhelmed with another scent. It wasn't rabbit, but it definitely did smell like some sort of prey. And Weaselskip only confirmed this guess. "Alright," he whispered, keeping a low volume. It was a little disheartening that he couldn't participate in this particular chase, but he understood why, and wasn't really upset about it. Crouching down, he made sure that he wouldn't be spotted by the birds Weaselskip got ready to hunt them.

[Arie]

-- @Puddletail --

Nodding, happy that the apprentice was fine with sitting this round out, Weaselskip took in a deep breath. This hunt would require a bit of patience and an extreme amount of focus and concentration from her. She liked how pheasants tasted but she was most certainly not a fan of hunting them. They were harder to hunt than hares, according to Weasel herself, despite the danger level bigger significantly lower with pheasants. Dropping into her crouch she whisked Puddlepaw closer to the grass cover before nodding again. "Watch.. and learn." With that she was off, creeping off through the moor land, staying as low to the ground as possible, nearly dragging her stomach on the ground but just barely holding it off. Pause. The pheasants had noticed something was off and Weaselskip stopped mid-stride, paw lifted but completely frozen in place. When they went back to not paying attention she took a few more steps, the paw placed down silently as she awaited her time to strike. There it was! One of the stupid birds had come too close to her and out she was, taking two large leaps and then attaching her claws to the body of it, digging in with fast and expert precision and getting a nip on the place just behind the skull but not before taking a wing to the face. She really didn't like pheasants. Stupid ass birds. She could've just left this one off for Wolf to go hunt, but no no no, Weasel had to be the one to run into them and get a wing in her face. Picking up the big bird, one that was nearly bigger than her and most certainly longer than her, she trotted back to the apprentice, gait a bit unsteady from the slap from the wing but she was fine... She hoped. Dropping the stupid bird she nodded. "Did you see what I did? Can you explain it? Need to see what you learned."

[Puddle~]

@Arie

Remaining silent and motionless as he peered out from behind a clump of tall grass, Puddlepaw watched closely as Weaselskip tiptoed across the moor, slowly getting nearer to the pheasants. He took note of how low to the ground the warrior was, just barely enough space to keep her stomach from rustling the grass and alerting the prey. His intense gaze flickered between the stalking warrior and the oblivious birds. But soon, it seemed the birds were not so clueless after all. They seemed alert, like they knew something was coming for them. It worried the apprentice a little, but he saw Weaselskip had also noticed this fact and was frozen in place, unable to make even the slightest movement. He relaxed as he saw that the birds soon forgot the fact, and the warrior continued inching closer to them. Puddlepaw watched in scrutiny as Weaselskip sprang towards the birds, nabbing one that had strayed from the group. But, he winced as the pheasant jabbed a wing at the molly's face. Ouch. That hadn't looked pleasant, but at least the bird hadn't managed to get away. He stepped out from behind the tall grass and waited as Weaselskip approached him, the pudgy bird in her jaws. It looked like it would make a good meal, one that could feed at least a handful of hungry cats. Nodding as the warrior asked him questions, Puddlepaw opened his mouth to answer. Good thing he had been paying close attention to every little detail. "Oh, of course. I noticed how slow and low to the ground you were as you crept up on the flock, your belly was just barely above the grass. Then, how you froze on the spot when they had sensed you. And how you only went for one when it had wandered a little closer to you." He went through the scene in his head, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything major. "Oh! And how you bit it in a certain spot to kill it." He was pretty sure that he hadn't left out important, so he sat back and waited for the warrior's response.

[Arie]

-- @Puddletail --

Weaselskip nodded. The apprentice was intelligent, being able to pick out all of that from her single hunt. She was quite proud of him, that was easy to be said. She was still a bit uncoordinated from the pheasant's wing that'd hit her face but she knew it would just take a few more moments in which she could explain and lead the apprentice out for further hunting. They'd already collected an okay amount, with a pheasant and a rabbit but she knew now that the apprentice had understood some basics and been shown some techniques they could easily double their amount of catches for today, maybe even triple it. That would for sure make Coyotesnarl glad... Not that she actually cared for his happiness but she mainly just didn't want to let the clan down. "That's good, you picked up the general and the details as well. I think we can let you try to take on the next birds we find." With that she stood up and shook her fur before stretching her shoulders. They were already sore but she was just getting started. Tonight was gonna be a really really long day for the young warrior. "Let's go, the pheasant here we can leave, just need to track our way back to it after we collect the rabbit from the burrow." With that she was off again, the blue ticked molly slinking away in the tall grass before pausing and then gesturing to Puddlepaw. "Take the lead, and try to see if you can find any prey. This will help you for your next hunting session for sure."

[Puddle~]

@Arie

Puddlepaw couldn't help but let out a small purr, happy he had managed to pick out the details of the hunt. It seemed that learning new things was definitely one of his strong suits. He just needed to get past the whole worrying and anxiety aspect. And, for the time being, he wasn't worried about anything major. So far, Weaselskip had been commending him throughout their hunt, so the apprentice was becoming fairly comfortable with the whole idea of being part of a hunting group. What did set off his apprehension, however, was the warrior's mention of him leading the next part of their hunt. He gulped. Take on the next birds they found and lead the search for prey? Now, the young tom did enjoy a good challenge, but that didn't stop him from worrying. Now that he would be the one in the lead...it opened up a whole new window of opportunity for mistakes to be made. But he couldn't really say no. It wasn't as if the warrior had given him a choice. So, he hid his worries with a smile and an overenthusiastic voice. "Alright!" Trying to replicate what he'd seen Weaselskip do the last few times she was in the lead, the tom began slowly trekking across the moor, signaling with his tail for her to follow. It felt quite strange, being the one leading a warrior. But she had said it would help him out, and he believed that. Continuing to creep across the moor, he kept his ears perked, eyes alert, and occasionally tasted the air for the scent of prey. It wasn't long before he caught the aroma of food. As they crested the top of a small hill, he spotted them. Another small group of pheasants, just as plump and juicy-looking as the last one. They were still at a safe distance where the birds wouldn't sense them, so he signaled with his tail for Weaselskip to come over, then waited for the warrior to arrive and give further instructions.