Into the Woods (closed)

Making his way through the oak-filled forest with Morningpaw at his side, the large leader was taking the time to take his apprentice on a morning patrol. The young tom was progressing quickly through her training, which was expected, seeing as though he was his mentor, and it made him proud to see his clan grow, slowly but surely. After the Great War, all five clans had been reduced significantly in numbers, but he knew that ThunderClan would make a quick comeback. "Today we will be patrolling the borders," the husky voiced leader mewed, turning his gaze ever so slightly down towards the tom. "Tell me, what do you know about RiverClan?" he pressed, wondering how much of what he'd taught her she remembered.

Morningpaw kept up with the leader, pressing them for a rather brisk pace. He was filled with energy and ambition, ready and willing to impress the leader that he called mentor.

"RiverClan? They're not to be trifled with lightly. Fish might be disgusting, but it gives them the strength to batter against the river. They live within the reeds and small rivers, and consider themselves the prettiest cats in the forest." Despite his inclination to defame the fish-eaters, he couldn't in front of Lightningstar. Whether it was intimidation on the leader's part, or his own aspirations hiding the truth, he didn't know. But the tom knew something was stopping him from speaking his own mind, and giving a mostly-unbiased answer instead.

Listening as Morningpaw answered his question, Lightningstar nodded along. "They certainly are a bunch of softpaws, but even so, do not let your guard down around them, or any clan for that matter," the deep voiced tom mewed, proud that his apprentice knew so much on the neighboring clan already. "Now, what do we want to make sure to do when marking the borders?" he asked as the pair walked onward, almost reaching the River.

Morningpaw nodded along, his mouth tight as he held back a smirk. Despite his own words, he knew he had nothing to fear from those stinky fish-pelts.

"We want to make sure to spread out the markings, avoid condensing our marks in one spot on the border. As well, keep an eye out for our neighbours, RiverClan and SkyClan, making sure their markings aren’t on top of ours." The russet-white tabby spoke with pride, puffing out his chest as the pressed along.

"That's correct," Lightningstar replied to his apprentice, proud of him that he knew so much. Walking a few foxlengths or so away from Morningpaw, the large leader marked a few areas of the border, hoping that the younger tom would do the same. Once he was done, he made his way back over to where he left Morningpaw and waited for him to return. Maybe they'd get some hunting in as well, seeing as though the clan could always use more food on the freshkill pile.

The apprentice followed Lightningstar's lead, marking the border far enough away from the leader's to not condense them. After finishing up he returned to the leader, looking at him expectantly. "Should we do some hunting as well?"

"Good idea. The clan could always use more prey in such a harsh season," the leader mewed and began to go to their next destination, which wasn't anyplace in particular. "When hunting in cold conditions where prey is scare, what do we need to keep in mind?"

"Be on the lookout for any possible prey to take back to the clan, but also lurking predators who may be hungry as well," he meowed, padding forward, his mouth hanging open for any scents. It was always harder to find good scents with snow-covered bushes.

While making their way further into the territory, Morningpaw caught the smell of critters hidden behind a collection of dead bushes. He slunk down, silently inching towards the smell.

Quickly, he pounced. With much success. With the small vole in his mouth, he padded back to Lightningstar, burying the dead critter in the softest ground he could find.

The member 'Icee' has done the following action : Roll Dice

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

Listening as Morningpaw explained his answer, Lightningstar gave a silent nod of approval at the apprentice's answer. He certainly knew what he was doing, which was a good thing. Watching as the apprentice left his side to hunt, the leader was just barely able to watch Morningpaw make his successful kill through the brush. "Good catch," he mewed. The large tom rarely said 'good job' to any-cat, but his apprentice proved to be a skilled hunter already and deserved it.

Morningpaw thanked his mentor before padding forward, searching for a new scent to chase. A shrew this time. He could tell from the scent alone it was plump.

Just as he jumped forward, ready to catch the critter, it leaped away, his claws just missing the shrew's back. The tom cursed under his breath.

The member 'Icee' has done the following action : Roll Dice

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Lurking behind Morningpaw as he began his hunt, Lightningstar watched as his apprentice tried and failed to catch a shrew. "Try again, then we can head back to camp," the deep voiced leader mewed from the shadows.