EYE ON THE TARGET AND, WHAM! ✩ PRIVATE

[nyme]

SOMETIMES MY MIND DON'T SHAKE AND SHIFT
BUT MOST OF THE TIME IT DOES

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ❖ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

WHITERABBIT . 20 MOONS . SHE/HER . WINDCLAN

Augh....the empty is creeping in. This is no good. Whiterabbit stirs from something that was almost a nap but now isn't. Restlessness prickles at her nape, stealing away whatever drowsiness had lulled her to begin with. Maybe the wind had shifted, maybe a cloud had passed over the sun—something had changed, and now what had almost been a happily snoozing warrior is now a restless cat up and on the prowl.

Whiterabbit's not in the mood for a nap. She's in the mood for something, but it isn't a nap. It isn't to eat. It isn't to run. So what is it? What. What, what, what. Stars. Times like these make her want to pluck her own coat, piece by piece. That'd be something, at least.

"Auuuuuuuugh!!" The groan rattles out aloud, a bit of noise for the sake of it. Whiterabbit's pacing, eyeing dens. She skirts past the nursery, for now, without a second glance; better places to look. That milk-sweet scent and the sound of kittens fussing makes her hackles stand up. No more! No more. She's a warrior again. She made it. It's fine that she doesn't quite feel it, yet; there's time. It's fine that she feels so strangely out of place in the warriors' den; she was hardly there for any time at all before becoming a queen, and she's only just made it back.

It's fine. She'll get there. It's fine.

Whiterabbit doesn't realize she's bristling like a raiding party's just invaded by the time she comes to stop by the apprentices' den. All that's on her mind is that she's a warrior now (again) and that she won't (can't) ruin it this time and that she knows (she doesn't) just what to do to help her feel the part again. She's gotta teach.

Whiterabbit's never had an apprentice; there wasn't really any time to give her one. Frankly, teaching isn't something she's ever found compelling, but it's also something she's never tried doing before, and therein lies the sudden appeal. How hard could it be? And, hey, if she sucks at it, it's not like she's an actual mentor; whoever's supposed to really be teaching these kids could easily undo whatever damage her own faulty instruction left behind. It's a perfect plan.

A perfect plan.

She shoves her way into the den.

"Uhhhh—you! Pouncepaw?" She nearly gets his name right. "Pouncepaw, come on, we're gonna go hunt. I feel like rabbits, do you feel like rabbits? Can you do those, yet?" There's no way for her to have known he has yet to learn that skill, but she's hoping he hasn't. As a Windclan warrior, rabbit hunting feels like one of the easier skills to impart to a youngster, and one of the more enjoyable ones.

@Badwolf ; BOUNCEPAW

[Badwolf]

[Bouncepaw]
Apprentice|7 moons|Windclan

· · ─────── ·· ─────── · ·

"No, I don't know how to catch rabbits yet. And it's Bouncepaw, not Pouncepaw." Bouncepaw meows, much more serious than Whiterabbit. He wonders what 'feel like rabbits' meant.

Whiterabbit looked excited. Bouncepaw didn't want to spoil her fun, but he himself honestly felt a little nervous for this hunting session; many of his past hunting attempts had ended very badly. Recently, after a lot of difficult training, he was slowly getting the hang of things, but it didn't change the fact that he just wasn't very talented. And it didn't make him any less nervous.

But that was what practice was for, Bouncepaw tells himself. And it was what training was for. Whiterabbit seemed nice. Surely she wouldn't be mad even if he missed. Bouncepaw follows the warrior and scampers after her.

Tags:
@nyme /Whiterabbit

[nyme]

SOMETIMES MY MIND DON'T SHAKE AND SHIFT
BUT MOST OF THE TIME IT DOES

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ❖ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

WHITERABBIT . 20 MOONS . SHE/HER . WINDCLAN

"Bouncepaw, sorry, right." She did not know that. She was so sure it was Pouncepaw. Oops...

"Well, I know plenty about chasing rabbits, so I need you to focus up and I'll get you there, okay? Into that uh, rabbit-hunting state of mind." Uhhhhhokay, actually, how did her old mentor teach her this stuff? Whiterabbit can hardly remember her apprenticeship. It's just fragments. Losing her tail, bickering with her siblings, pining after (and subsequently alienating) this denmate or that...all of that has stuck. But the training itself? Even less than fragments, there.

Alright, well, whatever. I can still make this happen.

"Okay so!" Headfirst into it as she leads the younger cat out of camp, into a late morning that's just started to shake off that early chill of leaffall. "The thing about a rabbit is, you need to really work for it. Mice and the like are treats-on-legs with no brains in their head or survival instincts to speak of, and birds are so arrogant with those wings of theirs that it makes them stupid which makes them easy—but a rabbit is smart. Those suckers are born knowing they're prey, and they live accordingly." She pauses, glancing back to make sure Bouncepaw's still with her. "So in most instances, you can't just sneak on up and tackle one. It knows that game already, and if you're not quick about it, the little beast is gonna wriggle around, kick your nose in, and make a run for it. And a rabbit-kick is no joke. You could end up with a nasty bruise if you're lucky, or blinded by their nails if you're not."

She's led him out toward the Sky Glade. Part of her is hoping to see the porcupine she'd found out here a while ago, but also it's a pretty prime spot for this kind of training. There haven't been any reported Big Evil Bird sightings (at least, none that have caused any undue trouble) and she won't have to yell over the kind of blustering wind they'd be dealing with at the Hills.

"You go ahead and take a moment to stretch, 'cause I expect you're gonna be doing a lot of running. When you're ready, I'll go find you a practice-bunny and tweak it's leg, and you'll be able to chase it down and get a feel for it. Your mentor, uh...ummm....Bluestripe, right?" Once again: she almost gets the name right! "Bluestripe's gotten you through some hunting before, hasn't he? At least, you have killed something?" She'd be a little hesitant to send an apprentice after a stressed out rabbit for the killing-shot if the apprentice had never done such a thing before, but Bouncepaw seems old enough (maybe? Whiterabbit can't tell how old some young cats are; they're all kits, to her) to have made a kill at least once before.

@Badwolf ; BOUNCEPAW

[Badwolf]

[Bouncepaw]
Apprentice|7 moons|Windclan

· · ─────── ·· ─────── · ·

Bouncepaw visibly winces when he's told to beware of kicks and scratches from a rabbit. Starclan knew he didn't need to be reminded that. He already had experience of being sent to the medicine cat den because of a prey animal once, and he was not going to let it happen again. Prey was prey in the end. Bouncepaw cautiously flexes both paws and stretches.

"I've caught birds before. And mice." Bouncepaw meows awkwardly, "I caught the large crow on the prey pile yesterday." He was quite proud of that. Bouncepaw didn't like to brag, but the crow was large and plump, and was a very hard earned catch. The result of a lot of practice. A month and a half of hunting training sessions and practice, in fact. Thanks to that, Bouncepaw had more than gotten the hang of catching small animals, and he was more than ready to move on to bigger prey.

Tags:
@nyme /Whiterabbit

[nyme]

SOMETIMES MY MIND DON'T SHAKE AND SHIFT
BUT MOST OF THE TIME IT DOES

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ❖ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

WHITERABBIT . 20 MOONS . SHE/HER . WINDCLAN

"That big ol' thing was you? Then you got this, buddy!" Whiterabbit chirps, actively trying to hype the young cat up. She did sort of pick him out at random and haul him out here on a whim—might as well make an effort to ensure he's enjoying himself, in the meantime.

"Alright. I'm gonna head out, now. You'll see your practice rabbit before you see me. Don't wait up or anything, okay? Just go for it. I'm gonna keep back and sorta circle, just so if you miss it or whatever, I can keep it from finding a hole to hide down and maybe herd it back towards you for another try." She intended to maim the thing with the hope that it wouldn't have to suffer long. Letting it escape would defeat the purpose. Whiterabbit gives Bouncepaw a curt nod before bounding off into the grass, docked tail flicking behind her.

She's gone a fair amount of time before an urgent, offbeat rustling can be heard, zipping back toward Bouncepaw. A limping rabbit races past.

@Badwolf ; BOUNCEPAW

[Badwolf]

[Bouncepaw]
Apprentice|7 moons|Windclan

· · ─────── ·· ─────── · ·

[Bouncepaw rolls an 11]

The rabbit was a lot faster than Bouncepaw anticipated. Though he thought himself ready to take it on, when he starts chasing after it, it dodges, and starts hopping away despite it's limping leg. Oh, dear. He couldn't lose the rabbit!

Bouncepaw runs after the rabbit, jumps, and pounces on it. He's careful not to be hurt in the process- a little too careful, in fact. His jaws miss. But good news, the rabbit is starting to tire, and it's frightened by Whiterabbit. His second attempt is wilder and desicive, without fear. It works, and the rabbit goes limp.

"I got it!" He yells to Whiterabbit. Funny name, actually, since he just caught a white rabbit. How ironic.

Tags:
@nyme /Whiterabbit

[nyme]

SOMETIMES MY MIND DON'T SHAKE AND SHIFT
BUT MOST OF THE TIME IT DOES

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ❖ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

WHITERABBIT . 20 MOONS . SHE/HER . WINDCLAN

True to her word, Whiterabbit watches from a distance, jogging lightly and ready to rush in to correct the rabbit's course if Bouncepaw can't keep up or if it slips away. Frankly, for a moment there she sort of expects that she'll have to. The rabbit changes course abruptly the moment it realizes it's being chased by two predators, but Bouncepaw recovers quickly. Then he makes a fruitless pounce, snapping at air. Did I scare him too bad when I talked about the kicks? She frets, wondering if Bouncepaw is pulling his punches (consciously or not) for fear of getting too close to the frightened prey animal.

Finally, just as she's trying to decide if she should swoop on for the assist, he makes it. Whiterabbit whoops in celebration, bounding over with an excited grin.

"Hey! You did! You did it!! Yay, you!" She cheers. "Had me nervous with those first two shots but you got it at the end, there. Hunting rabbits with a partner is always an option, too—helps especially if you're newer just to have someone else hover so the thing doesn't slip away. You'll get better and better at doing it all by yourself, too, the more you practice. And, I don't know if your mentor has you doing this already or what, but I think running regularly's a good habit to get into for this kind of thing, not just if you're out training. Helps get you fast, helps keep you fast, helps get you comfortable maneuvering at high speeds—'cause I saw it tried to dodge out of your way at first, right? A healthy rabbit's gonna try and pull that kind of stunt too, only quicker. You need to be able to keep up when it decides to change directions on you like that."

She nods at the pale catch, inwardly getting a kick out of the irony, herself. "That guy probably won't taste the best since we messed with him so much, but it'll still fill a belly. How are you feeling? You wanna try on a healthy one or do you need to stop for now?"

@Badwolf ; BOUNCEPAW

[Badwolf]

[Bouncepaw]
Apprentice|7 moons|Windclan

· · ─────── ·· ─────── · ·

Nope, Bluestrike didn't instruct him about hunting rabbits, and he wasn't told to practice running. He'll have to put it in his schedule for the future. Bouncepaw feels guilty hearing the rabbit won't taste good because of him. Whiterabbit could kill it in a blow, yet they tortured the thing so that he could get more rabbit hunting experience.

He'd rested enough. He wasn't tired. Bouncepaw wasn't confident in his speed, but stamina was something he was more confident in. If he grit his teeth and put his mind to it, he could run for a long, long time.

"I'm fine," Bouncepaw meows in reply, "I don't need to stop."

He was too excited about catching a rabbit to stop.

Tags:
@nyme /Whiterabbit

[nyme]

SOMETIMES MY MIND DON'T SHAKE AND SHIFT
BUT MOST OF THE TIME IT DOES

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ❖ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

WHITERABBIT . 20 MOONS . SHE/HER . WINDCLAN

"Right on, then we'll go and get you another one. Here, bury that one and we'll come back for it." She gestures back toward the Lone Pine, but really, any spot will work for now. With any luck, it won't have to stay buried long. "This time, it's all you. I'll be watching and I might keep it from going under if it looks like that's where it's headed, but I'm not gonna catch it first or anything. So remember, it's gonna be fast and jumpy." A pause. The, brightly, "but you already did a great job with your practice one, so you'll do fine. C'mon, bury it and then, nose to the wind. You'll be doing the tracking this time, too. Might need to head out a little ways."

The practice round would have caused some ruckus; it's likely any prey in the immediate area would have scattered by now. Fortunately, they have the whole territory at their disposal.

@Badwolf ; BOUNCEPAW

[Badwolf]

[Bouncepaw]
Apprentice|7 moons|Windclan

· · ─────── ·· ─────── · ·

Bouncepaw nods, burying the rabbit in the soil. He then licks his fur and checks to make sure there's no bloody scent left. He continues a way from where he and Whiterabbit caught the first rabbit and heads off into another spot, where the prey wouldn't see them coming. Downwind? Check. Tail tucked in? Check.

[Bouncepaw rolls a 13]

He sniffs the air. Nothing noticeable. It's mostly just cat and grass. But he can hear pawsteps. As he gets closer, he can also smell the earthy scent of prey, although he isn't sure. Bouncepaw creeps up on the rabbit, ready to pounce.

[Bouncepaw rolls a 12]

And he took his time too much. He was a good stalker, but he was too close, and the rabbit had spotted him. It notices Bouncepaw, and it runs. Fast.

Oh, Starclan... Bouncepaw inwardly mumbles as he chases the rabbit as fast as he could. If the injured rabbit was fast, this one was faster. And it was very big. Every kick raised dust, and the most annoying part was that it was very good at changing directions, which Bouncepaw wasn't good at. It took Bouncepaw all he had to chase it and stop it from running away, nevermind catch it.

"Whiterabbit?" He yells, "Help?" He tries his best to corral the rabbit towards her. He'd already given up on the final kill, it was impossible.

Tags:
@nyme /Whiterabbit