Training Wrenpaw

[Zesha]

★ Lilacdawn ★
@InsertCoolNameHere

The weather outside, while it still had a bit of a nip to it, was warm enough that training might actually be rather pleasant today. A few clouds floated lazily across the sky as Lilacdawn assessed the day’s temperature and decided that today would be a wonderful day to practice either hunting or fighting. With a deep breath to draw in the scent of new leaf, she turned to the apprentices’ den and poked her head inside, calling out, “Wrenpaw! How about some training this morning? Hunting or battle training, your pick.” She wanted to pair the good weather with whichever training Wrenpaw was most looking forward to.

[ThePiffle]

-Wrenpaw-


Dragging her feet on the ground the tired apprentice followed Lilacdawn. It was bright, and the sun made her weary eyes hurt. The apprentice den was full, and very loud. Some nights the she resorted to sleeping outside. Looking up and twitching her ears at the sound of Lilacdawn's meow she yawned and responded, "Hunting I guess." Maybe it would be less of a hassle to kill a few rabbits, running always woke her up a bit anyway. Sitting down she awaited the instructions of her mentor.

Compulsively flicking her tail her mind began to wander. Her window of alertness and attentiveness was dwindling.


@Zesha

[Zesha]

★ Lilacdawn ★
@InsertCoolNameHere

The pale gray tabby she-cat gave an apologetic smile. It seemed her poor apprentice wasn’t getting the best sleep in the crowded apprentice den. She stretched out her front legs, then pushed her legs forward to stretch out her back legs. “Alright, have a good stretch and we’ll be off,” she told Wrenpaw. “Stretching will help start to warm up your muscles so they won’t be as stiff when we find some rabbits.”

Once she had seen her apprentice give a good stretch, she headed toward the gorse tunnel and up into the moorland. She took a moment to enjoy the feeling of the sun on her fur before opening her mouth and tasting the air. The breeze brought back the smell of rabbit, and she asked, “Can you smell anything, Wrenpaw? You can open your mouth and taste the air that way to scent things even easier than you can with just your nose.” She wasn’t sure how much the apprentice had picked up when she was a kit, so Lilacdawn hoped she didn’t seem patronizing with her instructions and tips.

[ThePiffle]

-Wrenpaw-


Stretching her back, then her legs until everything was loose, she heard a few crackles and pops and felt loose enough to begin. Flexing her claws she listened to Lilcacdawn. Her voice seemed to echo in the grassy plains. Darting her head around in search of something, the smooth voice of Lilacdawn instructed her to smell the air. Giving her mentor a bit of confused look she nodded when she realized. Pointing her nose to the air the light brown cat's mouth opened ever so slightly, closing her eyes and breathing in the fresh air she scented many things. Grass, ground, water, and some unfamiliar scent, but soon she scented the unmistakable scent of rabbit. The smell of the animal made her mouth water, rabbit, after all was the best food there was. "I smell rabbit,," "I think," she added to play it safe.


@Zesha

[Zesha]

★ Lilacdawn ★
@InsertCoolNameHere

Lilacdawn nodded. “Very good. You’ll smell them a lot out in the moors, though occasionally there’s a field mouse or hawks that try to prey on the rabbits and mice. You’re too big for a hawk to carry away now, but their talons still hurt, so if one dives at you get out of the way. I don’t see any hawks so far today though, so hopefully we’ll have a nice calm hunting session.”

Smiling at her apprentice, she continued, “Now, let’s take a moment to see where the wind is coming from. Right now it’s coming from the left, so that’s the direction we’re smelling the rabbit from. It might be a bit hard to figure out where the wind is coming from at first, so if you need to you can let your tail hang limp and see which way the wind pushes it, but after a while you’ll get a feel for the wind and it’ll be as easy to tell as licking your paw. Let’s see if we can get closer to that rabbit.”

Leading the way, the gray she-cat paused every so often to scent the air again. The smell was becoming stronger, and soon enough they crested a hill and looked down on a rabbit grazing lazily in the grass. The wind had continued to blow towards them, so the creature was unaware that they were there. Quietly, Lilacdawn said, “There it is. I want you to go to the end of that long grass there and then chase the rabbit down. If it goes into a hole, leave it. Rabbits can be vicious when cornered. If you manage to grab it though, bite the back of its neck to end its life quickly. If that sounds like a lot I can always show you with this one first and we can find another rabbit.”

[ThePiffle]

-Wrenpaw-


She had to remember all of that. Test the air by letting your tail hang loose? Well, she is the warrior, so she gave it a shot. Letting her scruffy tail relax, the cat awaited a breeze. Wind came rushing through the moor, brushing through her fur, swinging her tail, as Lilacdawn had said the air was coming from the left. Sniffing once more she followed her gray mentor as they crossed the apex of a hill. Just below the was a calm rabbit, sensing no danger, or what was about to come. As it sat chewing on clovers, Wrenpaw resisted the urge to chase after it. Pinning her ears back when the she-cat heard about viscous rabbits, she pondered how a fluffy piece of prey could hurt anybody.


Her claws slowly slid out of their shafts, gripping the ground, fidgeting with her tail as usual. Squinting her eyes, she caught a peek of the rabbits claws. They were massive for such a small animal, and why would a creature have claws if not to kill? It made her nervous, and butterflys began to swell in her stomach. What if the rabbit blinded her? In that event, she could no longer watch the birds, run, hunt, or fight! "What happens if it trys to use those claws on me?" the light brown cat gulped, her eyes widening, looking at Lilacdawn.
@Zesha

[Zesha]

★ Lilacdawn ★
@InsertCoolNameHere

The gray tabby she-cat gave Wrenpaw a soft smile to try to relax her. “Rabbits mostly use their claws for digging out burrows,” she said, then nodded toward a hole in the ground not too far from the rabbit. “Unless they are cornered, they prefer to flee. See that hole there? That’s the entrance to a warren. We try to come from the same direction as that so the rabbit can’t run directly into the hole. That’s where they’re confident; they’ll turn and fight in their burrows, but not out on the moor. That’s why you never follow them down a hole. If they go into a burrow, an old badger set, anywhere that they’re closed in, they’ll turn and fight. As long as you remember that, you’ll be fine chasing down and hunting rabbits and hares.”

She briefly placed her tail on the apprentice’s shoulders, to try to ease her nerves. Lilacdawn’s own son had lost an eye to a rabbit because he had followed it into its burrow, so she wanted to make sure that Wrenpaw knew never to go down one. The last things she ever wanted was another apprentice to end up injured because of prey. There would always be some risk to it, but if Wrenpaw was quick on her paws and kept her wits about her then surely she’d turn out to be a great hunter.

[ThePiffle]

-Wrenpaw-

Smiling sheepishly at her mentor, the apprentice tried to ease her anxiety. It was just a rabbit! Just listen to Lilacdawn. Still it was nerve racking, although she tried to brush it off, realizing it was odd to be afraid of a mere rabbit, "It's fine, it's fine," she meowed brushing off her mentor's tail. Returning her focus to the rabbit she repeated Lilacdawn's warning softly, "Don't follow the bunny to it's hole...don't follow the bunny to it's hole...don't follow to bunny to it's hole..."


The light brown cat's muscles twitched from being in the crouch position too long. Scarping her claws against the dirt she meowed, "Can we go?"


@Zesha

[Zesha]

★ Lilacdawn ★
@InsertCoolNameHere

She suppressed a chuckle. The apprentice could have bolted after the rabbit at any time, but she supposed it was good that Wrenpaw was waiting for a signal. Many apprentices leaped before thinking and ended up not catching anything their first time. Watching the rabbit closely, she murmured, “One more second and… now!” The rabbit had turned its back on them and would have to rely on hearing only to notice Wrenpaw, since the breeze was still blowing toward them. Now it was up to the younger she-cat to take down the bunny.

[ThePiffle]

-Wrenpaw-


Shifting her weight, the cat tensed. At the sound of her voice the apprentice bolted towards the rabbit, trying to keep her pumping legs from making too much noise. The rabbit looked up, it's ears twitching, and Wrenpaw knew. It was now or never. Beginning to run faster, she could hear the blood pounding in her head. The adrenaline rush kept her extremely fast pace, but not for long. Noticing the cat bounding towards it the rabbit turned to run, horrified. About two mouse tails length away from the rabbit, and about seven away from the burrow she began to panic. Jumping forward at the rabbit her claws outstretched she closed her eyes. Hitting the ground with a loud thud, she kept them squeezed shut. As the dust settled she felt the animal squirming in her claws. How was she supposed to kill it? Panicking, she didn't think to bite the animal, and let it go. The bunny bolted into it's hole, and Wrenpaw sat dazed.


@Zesha