into the heather [p]

[Aroogi]

Birchpaw
He/Him / Apprentice / 6 moons / WC

---

The tom had exited the camp and was following Sunburst, ears perked and eyes wide. The territory was soooo big! His tail swished with excitement.

"So where we headed? What prey will we catch?" Then he started to worry. "What if I don't catch anything? Will I be able to become a warrior?" If he didn't become a warrior, he just may put his paws over his eyes and never ever move again. And THAT would be dreadful!

[ @Seamrog ]

[Seamrog]

Sunburst

16 Moons | He/Him | No purrks

WindClan warrior

Sunburst was glad to see Birchpaw looking excited to begin training, sure this could be some fun as well, Sunburst wasn’t the best hunter but he did still find hunting to be enjoyable, and teaching the basics to Birchpaw could be fun too, he’d never tried to teach another cat to hunt before so it was a new experience. "We're heading to near the RiverClan border, we won't go too far, we'll still be a decent bit into WindClan territory, but there should be plenty of prey over there of all different kinds since RiverClan aren’t hunting anymore." Sunburst said, quickly realising that Birchpaw had probably heard stories of RiverClan and their actions. "It's safe though, there's nothing to worry about, those fishies are gone now anyway. And besides, even if they were still there, you'd be safe with me." Sunburst could fight, but he didn’t tell Birchpaw that his only action during the war against RiverClan was to join the attack late, then have to fight a hare-brained WindClan warrior who attacked him thinking he was RiverClan…somehow.

Sunburst quickly started to notice Birchpaw's questions having a more nervous feel to them. "There'll be plenty of prey, we'll catch something!" Sunburst assured him. Then he answered Birchpaw's question about if he’d be able to become a warrior. "Do you want to become a warrior, Birchpaw?" He took a brief pause before continuing. "If you truly want to become a warrior, if that’s what you really want, all you need to do is give your best, that's all I'll ever ask of you. If that's what you want and you're willing to put in the effort for it, then nothing will stop you from becoming a warrior."

When they had reached the spot Sunburst had planned to show Birchpaw how to hunt in, it wasn’t long before his nose detected the scent of a mouse. He whispered to Birchpaw as not to scare the mouse, "Do you smell that?" Detecting prey was the best place to start, he decided, as he waited for Birchpaw's answer.

@Aroogi

[Aroogi]

Birchpaw
He/Him / Apprentice / 6 moons / WC

---

The tom gave a smile at his mentors encouraging words. If Sunburst believed in him, that was good for him.

Crouching down beside him mentor, he opened his mouth and drew air over his scent glands, eyes narrowing in concentration. "I-I think so.. is it.. mouse?"

[ @Seamrog ; sorry its so short I doin choresss ]

[Seamrog]

Sunburst

16 Moons | He/Him | No purrks

WindClan warrior

Sunburst smiled in satisfaction. "It is!" He said, slightly above a whisper, before he went straight back to whispering to explain how to hunt mice. "What you need to remember about hunting mice is that they'll notice the vibration of the ground from your paws before they actually see you." He said, getting into the hunter’s crouch to demonstrate the right position. "So you want to crouch down, and put all of your weight onto your haunches. That way your paws won’t have an impact and the mouse won’t notice you approaching, then you pounce on it, and one quick bite to the neck will do the trick."

For a moment he debated with himself whether to ask Birchpaw to try catching the mouse, or whether it’d be better to demonstrate first. "Would you prefer if I showed you first, or would you like to have a go on your own?" Sunburst asked.

@Aroogi (It’s no bother!)

[Aroogi]

Birchpaw
He/Him / Apprentice / 7M / WC

---

The tom tried to remember everything Sunburst was telling him - and goodness it was a lot! "Those make sense." He mewed, nodding slowly.

His face lit up in excitement as Sunburst suggested he try to catch the mouse. He crouched down, trying to balance his weight. He crept forward, placing his paws down lightly. Finally he spotted the creature - nibbling a small sunflower seed. He tensed his muscles.. ready to...

BIRCHPAW ROLLED AT 12!

...POUNCE!
Leaping forward, he grabbed the mouse in his paws before it could even squeal in terror and gave it a quick nip to the back of it's neck.

Thank you StarClan for this prey! He prayed silently. He trotted back to Sunburst, a huge smile on his maw as he carried the mouse in his jaws, his tail swishing with pride and joy.

[ @Seamrog ]

[Seamrog]

Sunburst

16 Moons | He/Him | No purrks

WindClan warrior

Sunburst watched silently as Birchpaw leapt for the mouse, he seemed to take in everything Sunburst said, and quickly, because he caught the mouse perfectly. "Well done!" He mewed, clearly very impressed. "Very nice catch! Especially for a first try! Okay, so now what you want to do is bury it in the ground, that way nothing can steal your prey and you can come back for it once you’ve caught some more." Sunburst stood up as an idea came into his head. "How about a little challenge if you’re up for it? Try catching two more pieces of prey, you did very well there but practice always makes you better at things, it should help you remember what I told you."

He was interested to see if Birchpaw would catch two more pieces of prey, Sunburst hadn’t been expecting him to get it on his first try, StarClan knows, he didn’t as an apprentice. Even as a warrior he still wasn’t very good at it.

@Aroogi (I was so tired when I got in so I didn’t post, sorry about the slight delay with that! Also for anyone that sees this, this was already ongoing before Sunburst was demoted)