new ventures

[val]

fenneldrop

Things had been busy after the move. She'd been stressed out. Nothing looked the same anymore; she had to familiarize herself with the new territory.

And nobody seemed the same anymore, either.

She could feel the snake coiling tighter around her ribcage, making it harder and harder to move.

A cat's two-tone pelt flitted out of the corner of her eye. Fenneldrop turned to look at her clanmate in the clearing, recognizing it as the more recently apprenticed Wispypaw. She watched them for a moment before an idea filled her mind. Why not take them out training?

She hesitated. Considered. Her eyebrows furrowed as she studied the younger cat with suspicion. I want to believe the best of you. But I can't. You could be one of them.

Fenneldrop approached Wispypaw with apprehension, paws soft as if she were sneaking by. "Hey, d'you want some trainin'? I can teach ya how to hunt. Or just show you around the new territory. Or both," she offered lightly.

@Eden

[Kix]

Wispypaw
▵ She/Her ▵
❀•°❀°•❀
‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿

Today seemed perfect for her to seek out her mother since she wasn't the medicine cat anymore. Sure she was an enforcer but that didn't mean she would see countless idiots who got hurt or sick. No, the only thing she would be doing is commanding those who were lazy. With sure steps, she made her way to the warrior's den. Thank god they've been in this new camp for a bit for her to tell which den was what now, it was a mess when they had first arrived. With patience and determination, she was able to scent out which den was what, along with hearing if someone was in said den. Clearly, she didn't need sight to get where she wanted, that is what made her better than the others. Wispypaw had to laugh when she heard who got announced as Mossheads new apprentice, hope they enjoy the nose full of plants. Right when she was closing in on the den she heard someone talking to her, huh when did they approach her?! She had half the mind to lash out at this warrior but she controlled herself. Instead, she just showed a not-very-pleased expression, "I suppose we could do both, I don't know the new territory so whatever" Which was true, she didn't know the new territory but she also didn't know the old one and she had no idea how to hunt.

@alkaline

Header by Marigoldwhisper

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[val]

fenneldrop

Ah. This one's half as willing as Bitternpaw - though she supposed the latter had come up to her, and not the other way around. Fenneldrop's head tilted slightly to the side as she surveyed Wispypaw's expression.

"Alright," the warrior said, flicking her tail. She'd never taught a blind cat before, though she hoped it wasn't that much different from any other cat. Wispypaw looked like they could get around fine enough. It didn't look like a problem to her.

Fenneldrop shifted her paws indecisively and turned to lead the way out of camp. "We could go to the grotto first. 'N you can catch something there, yeah?" she suggested amiably, glancing back over her shoulder at the apprentice. She was making sure they were following along after her paw steps, which she tried to set down heavier.

@Eden

[Kix]

Wispypaw
I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere
But you can't catch me now
+ she/her + No purrks

Unlike others around her, she didn't let her disability dictate her life and how she lived it. Who cared if she was blind and couldn't visibly see anything around her, who cares if everything she did had to be modified a bit for her to be normal? She sure didn't and if someone said something about it then they'd get one major tongue-lashing from her. Wispypaw wasn't one to sit there and take someone talking down to her too easily, no, she'd make them regret they were ever born. "Sure, wherever that is" she easily agreed, she had no idea where the new territory landmarks were. Yeah, she heard her grandma list them off during the recent meeting but she hadn't physically been out to any of them. Without anything else to say she followed after the warrior once she felt their presence get a bit further away. Wispypaw idly wondered which kind of prey they would encounter and if she'd be successful in her hunting lesson, maybe if it was good enough she could show it off to her mom, dad, and maybe to Grandma.

@alkaline

Header made by Marigold

[val]

fenneldrop

"It's kind of ... deeper into the territory," Fenneldrop begins to explain as she walks through the forest with the apprentice in tow. "There's a clearing, and then, well, a grotto. It's very lush there, lotsa plants and stuff. And there's a little stream over the grotto," she describes.

The warrior lets silence fall between the two for a moment, picking her way through the underbrush. "...so, what do you know about hunting?" she asked, trying to gauge how much needed to be taught. No use in repeating information they already know.

Fenneldrop hoped she could teach this apprentice well. Even if she wasn't necessarily responsible for them - but then again, isn't everyone responsible for everybody in the clan anyway? She just didn't want to teach the apprentice poorly. Her only experience had been that instance with Bitternpaw. She's never been a mentor in her life.

@Eden

[Kix]

Wispypaw
I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere
But you can't catch me now
+ she/her + No purrks

Wispypaw would give credit to the other to give her a decent description of what part of the territory looks like. Gave her room to use her imaginary skills to just think of what it looked like, even if she couldn't physically see it for herself. Others around her hadn't seemed to have done that, just led her to it and expected her to know her way around. Like yeah, she had her other senses but they could only get her so far. What if there was a water source she couldn't exactly tell how close they were to it, smell and hearing could only go so far. "by stream do you mean, like a bit of water going through? Like enough for me to get soaked if I fall but not drown?" she would be screwed if it was deep. She did not know how to swim at all, she wasn't interested in learning how to in the first place.

"I don't have any prior knowledge of hunting beforehand, just know that it involves crouching and all that jazz" she answered. She was sure everyone else knew that you had to crouch, only a newborn kit wouldn't know, or maybe the morons back at camp. Otherwise, she didn't know how to do the crouch just yet nor how to properly sneak up on prey. Maybe she could just wing it and hope she got it right, if she got it right maybe that'd just make her better than her siblings.

@alkaline

Header made by Marigold

[val]

fenneldrop

"Well, sort of? But it goes over the grotto, so it's more like a...spray. If I remember it right. But anyways, nothin' bad would happen to you - I don't see a situation where you would... uhm. Be in the stream for whatever reason. Or drowning in it," Fenneldrop provided, smiling sheepishly at her own shoddy explanation. She'd never been asked a question like that before.

The warrior nodded to herself as Wispypaw explained her knowledge of hunting. So she'd have to start from the basics and up. Though at least the apprentice wasn't completely clueless. Feneldrop could find herself grateful for that.

"Okay, hold on a moment," she said, waving her tail in front of the apprentice's nose to get her to stop in her tracks. "We're here," she announced in a soft voice, not wanting to scare off any potential prey by yelling her head off.

Fenneldrop stood in silence for a moment to let Wispypaw soak in the scenery, then began, "Hunting's got a lot to do with calculations. Estimating 'n such about how far you've gotta pounce to kill the damn thing." She glanced over the clearing. "For you, I'd guess you'd have to do it based on what you hear and feel to know where, say, a mouse is hiding.

"But, right now, I'm gonna show you how to properly crouch so you're not flailing about after a frog. That's their thing," she joked with a small laugh. "Go ahead and show me how you do it, and I'll fix whatever might be off."

@Kix

[Kix]

Wispypaw
I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere
But you can't catch me now
+ she/her + No purrks

Good, she wouldn't be facing death if she so happened to be anywhere near a body of water. Today was not planned for any swimming lessons she also would not like to learn to swim either, water looked too...heavy. Maybe at a later time, she would take up a lesson but for now, she wanted to focus on the important parts of her training. Wispypaw trailed after the warrior in a moment of silence, not having much to say for now. If she weren't one to control her actions she would have snapped at Fenneldrops tail when it waved in front of her, she was fully capable of telling when someone stopped walking in front of her.

Of course, she stopped walking and looked ahead of them with a bit of a dissatisfied face. Great they finally were here after all that walking and chatting, she was ready to learn something. That learning has to do with skills and not trying to make a companion for the moment, she could do that at a later time. "And I thought we were just going on a stroll" she mumbled.

She flicked a tufted ear to show she was listening to them speak and explain the logic of hunting. That was common sense for her, she could see them so she had to rely on her hearing and scent. Without a word, she dropped into what she assumed a hunter's crouch was, which was probably wrong but she had no idea. She was somewhat low to the ground almost parallel to the ground but her legs were a bit too out from her center and her tail was just barely brushing the ground.

@samm

Header made by Marigold

[val]

fenneldrop

Fenneldrop snorted slightly at Wispypaw's comment, finding it amusing.

She looked over the apprentice's crouch, searching for any mistakes. "Move your legs in a bit," she corrected. Her gaze alighted upon her tail. "And lift the tail a little. Unless y'wanna sound like a slithering snake," she quipped.

Once Wispypaw had corrected her stance, Fenneldrop stepped back with a small nod. "Alright," she whispered. "See if you can find anything?" she suggested. She glanced over the clearing.

Surely there'd be some kind of small piece of prey out there - though whether Wispypaw caught something would probably be up to beginner's luck. Fenneldrop knew she sure didn't catch anything the first time she was taken out hunting. Well, caught a mouthful of bog mud. She shuddered at the memory.

@Kix

[Kix]

Wispypaw
I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere
But you can't catch me now
+ she/her + No purrks

Wispypaw grumbled a bit to herself as she shifted her legs to be closer like the other said. Once again she she twitched her tail to raise it a bit off the ground, didn't help when she never realized how long her fur was. Being born blind she never did know what she looked like, she knew her pelt was a dark color going by how it soaked up the sun. "Haha funny, Though I'm sure there are cats in the clan that act like snakes" he retorted.

With a small nod of her head, she slowly moved forward, sniffing around trying to catch a whiff of her training victim. All she needed was a few moments and she finally caught a whiff of a vole close by. "I can smell what I believe is a vole." she made no other move. Like mentioned she would have to judge how close she was to the prey but she didn't want to get ahead of herself. "Guess I should give it a try at trying to go for it?"

@samm

Header made by Marigold