greenleaf heat [closed]

With a shake of his medium-length pelt, Hawktalon stood up, tail brushing the warrior's den as he exited. It was time for Darkpaw's training. He'd been assigned to her a while back, still didn't really know her... oops. After being appointed deputy, suddenly he'd found his time shrinking. But he was here now, and he spotted her pelt in her den, curled up in her nest. Trotting over, he prodded a paw into her side none too gently. With no thought about how the volume of his voice might affect the other sleeping apprentices, he called, "Rise and shine, kitten! I'm teaching you how to hunt today. Meet me by the entrance when you're up, and eat something first, too." Backing out of the den, he turned around eyeing the sky. It was just turning to dusk. Pale indigo sky was creeping in, soothing the dull blue from what remained of the greenleaf afternoon. It was a cloudless day, and the sun was just sinking beneath the horizon, moon coming up on the other side. A bit impatiently, Hawktalon turned around, waiting for Darkpaw to come out.

Darkpaw's eyes flickered open, looking up to Hawktalon with wide eyes. They hadn't done any formal training since he became her mentor, and she hadn't done any training with Alfalfatuft either- she was content with that, to say the least. The last thing she wanted to do was approach either of the older toms, and requesting something from them would be another ordeal all on it's own. So when Hawktalon came to her instead, a flurry of emotions rose up in her chest. She didn't particularly want to go hunting, as it was a foreign skill that she hadn't attempted yet. At the same time, she didn't really want to do anything that required leaving camp. The outside world... It was scary. She didn't want to go. She simply sat for a few moments after the deputy left the den, avoiding the awkward stares from other apprentices. Eventually, she padded out, walking right past the fresh kill pile. "... I'm not really hungry." She said sheepishly, pawing at the ground anxiously.

"Fine by me. Don't know how long we'll be out, though. Fresh-kill pile's stocked well enough that we can probably eat some if we catch a lot." He led Darkpaw out of camp, humming softly to himself. "Alfalfatuft was your first mentor. Did he teach you about the crouch? I've been busy lately, sorry." Setting a brisk pace, he squinted at the rising moon. A good time to hunt. Prey would be scurrying back to their nests now. Hawktalon glanced behind him and slowed slightly. Although he had slightly shorter legs than most, Darkpaw was smaller, and it was probably harder for her to keep up. He didn't want her to feel like she was pressured to catch up... though, in a way, it was her first test.

Darkpaw didn't respond to Hawktalon's remark about eating on the way back, following after him in silence instead. She preferred the relative quiet as they walk, and held back a slight sigh when he began speaking again. "Yes." She lied, knowing that it was convincing enough. She'd seen the other apprentices practicing crouches of their own and had hunted enough small beetles as a form of temporary solo training. It certainly wouldn't be perfect, but it would be believable enough. Hopefully it would land her a catch or two, so her new mentor wouldn't ask any questions.

Hawktalon nodded to himself. He’d do some sort of a quick test, then, check to see what she knew and didn’t know. She didn’t seem to want to talk, so the tabby was content to keep quiet for the rest of the walk. It was within a short time that they reached the designated training area. Hawktalon turned to Darkpaw and swept his tail around in an inviting gesture. “Go ahead,” he murmured, careful to keep a quiet voice so no prey was disturbed. “Scent around, catch something. I’ll watch, and we’ll talk after.” He ducked down into a patch of tall grass, hazel eyes watching Darkpaw as she began to hunt.

Darkpaw tried to conceal her panic a bit when Hawtalon told her to go ahead and hunt. She'd never actually done it before, and she'd half hoped the tom would at least show her the reigns... Well, now she didn't have a choice. At the very least, she knew what prey smelled like... That had to get her somewhere, didn't it? She crouched down clumsily, sniffing the air and eventually smelling a frog a few pawsteps away. After a moment of faltering and wondering what the best course of action would be, she simply pushed her body weight forward, landing on top of the frog. After a quick instance of panic, she managed to end it, looking around with the frog limp in her jaw. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad after all?

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

Hawktalon carefully watched his apprentice as she leapt at the frog. Good scenting work. The actual leaping and stalking was a bit more clumsy, but he guessed Darkpaw hadn't had much time to work on technique. He rose from the tallgrass and nodded at her. "Good catch. Room to improve, but there always is." The gray and black tabby strode nearer to her, sinking into the crouch. "Your leap stood out to me as the thing to improve on. You sort of... hurled yourself at the frog. Keep awareness throughout all of your body as you leap, and try to keep your weight balanced evenly. I'll demonstrate."

His ears perked up and his mouth opened, all trying to find prey. Scents were fading as the prey moved away from the area, but there were always a few slower than the others. Hawktalon's ear twitched as a tiny scuttling sound came from a nearby flat rock. A lizard swarmed off of it, pausing at the edge. Moons of practice allowed Hawktalon's stalking to be near silent as he slowly crept forwards. When he felt the time was right, he leapt. He growled in frustration as the lizard suddenly whipped away from his outstretched claws. Turning back to Darkpaw, Hawktalon lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug and said, "Even if you have the right technique, hunting can be luck, too."

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

Darkpaw nodded shyly at Hawktalon's instruction, letting the instructions sink in. 'That should have been common sense...' She remarked nervously, fidgeting with her paws a bit. She nodded when he finished, watching carefully as he demonstrated... or tried to, at least. "That's okay... I still got to see it, kind of. I'll do better this time." She nodded gently as she stalked off to find more prey, scenting the air a bit to try and find something good. She was determined to get it right this time... She smelled something off in the distance, but she wasn't really sure what it was. She stalked around a bit before laying eyes on something black and furry... She was unsure what it was, but she could just barely tell that it was breathing underneath all those leaves and mud. She leaped towards it, making sure to balance her weight as Hawktalon showed her... But when she landed, a sharp set of teeth faced her. This... This was unprecedented. In a panic, she lashed out at the creature with unsheathed claws, leaving deep scores across the creature's face.

Darkpaw used Claws & Teeth on the Badger, dealing -9 Health Points.

Darkpaw:
30/30 HP

Badger:
31/40 HP [-9]

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

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'Battle Dice' : 5