babies go hunting

Coalpaw batted at Berrypaw's tail playfully while the other apprentice slept, before pouncing on Vetiverpaw's as well. "Berrypaw! Vetiverpaw! Wake up!" she meowed excitedly. "Magpiewing asked us to go hunting so we can feed the elders while the warriors patrol the borders in search of rogues," the elder apprentice explained. "This will be my first time hunting without a warrior around-- isn't it your guys's first time hunting at all? I can show you the ropes!" Coalpaw exclaimed, puffing her chest out proudly. Despite the age difference in the apprentices, Coalpaw was hardly any bigger than the two younger cats, and if Coalpaw noticed, she did not say anything. "Come on!" Coalpaw pranced out of the apprentice's den to wait by the entrance of camp, near vibrating with excitement at being given new responsibility.

Vetiverpaw had been given the last few days to adjust to moving into the apprentice's den and don her new title when she felt Coalpaw pouncing on her tail. Quickly blinking awake the young she-cat took a few moments to blink the complete sleep that was in her gaze, but excitement quickly filling her paws at Coalpaw's proposition. "Hunting? Firestar hasn't taught me how yet." She mewed, but taking a moment to think things over, excitement jolted through her small paws. "Oh! If you teach me Coalpaw, then I'll get to make Firestar super impressed that I can hunt!" Pleasing the leader was certainly something she was looking forward to. Following Coalpaw out of the Apprentice's den, she too took her place to wait for Berrypaw before they ventured forth.

Berrypaw was wide awake the second she was nudged, leaping out of her messily constructed nest after Coalpaw. "Yes, this will be my first time!" she responded, quivering with excitement. "We're allowed to go out without all those grumpy old warriors on our tail? Awesome!" She shot a wide grin at Vetiverpaw before eagerly following the other apprentices to the camp's entrance.

"It's not very hard, a lot of it is instinctual, I've found," Coalpaw meowed as she led the two apprentices into the marshes. The black she-cat stopped, flicking her ears and tail to signal to the other two to stop as well. "I smell a mouse-- I think I hear it, too," she murmured, eyes fixing on a large gnarled tree root. "You'll wanna get low to the ground, and try to stay in dry spots so you don't make too much noise, and go real slow so the prey doesn't hear you," the apprentice explained, stalking towards the tree she'd singled out, tail twitching. "And once you're close enough... pounce!" Coalpaw bunched up her back legs and leaped over the root, claws unsheathed.

Her extended paw landed on the mouse's tail, just barely pulling it into her claws before she nipped at its neck, killing the mouse instantly. "You wanna kill it quickly, both so it doesn't get away and because StarClan frowns upon playing with your prey." She took the mouse into her jaws, turning around to face the two apprentices gleefully. "You guys try!" she meowed, voice muffled by the rodent still in her mouth.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Vetiverpaw watched the other apprentice's movements closely, being sure to note where the she-cat put her paws and moved. At the mention of the mouse, the younger apprentice had tried her best to detect it too. It smelled familiar to what the fresh-kill pile did back at camp. Watching the swift movements that Coalpaw had, Vetiverpaw was shocked. She was a natural at it! Smelling the air herself, Vetiverpaw's tail bristled with excitement as she detected not a mouse, but instead a toad. "Oh, I smell a toad! My turn!" She kept her voice a sort of a hush to make sure she wouldn't scare off the bouncy creature.

Mimicking Coalpaw's movements, she spotted her prey, being sure to step in the dry parts of the marsh. With a leap, and outstretched, sharp claws, she found the toad right between them, quickly being caught. Pride beamed in the she-cat's chest as she picked it up in her mouth, going back to the other apprentices. "I caught it!"

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Despite her excitement in finally getting out of camp to go hunting, Berrypaw was focused completely on the older apprentice as she showed them the basics of hunting. Not very hard... low to the ground... slow... pounce. Okay, okay, I think I've got it. She filed the information away, taking note of it and visualizing herself in the dark she-cat's place. Coalpaw had caught a mouse, and its delicious scent wafted towards her, distracting her a little bit. She was pretty hungry. Plus, it was beautiful outside, and the territory looked even nicer up close than it had from camp.

Suddenly, at Vetiverpaw's voice, the fluffy tabby snapped back to reality. The other apprentice had caught a toad, and now it was her turn to practice. "Okay..." Berrypaw shook out her fur, then scanned their surroundings, trying to discern the scent of prey through all the new smells of the territory. Her stomach rumbled as she smelled Coalpaw's mouse again, and- wait, she smelled another animal. "Oh, a shrew!" Over there, a couple fox-lengths away in a thicket of long marsh grass. Perfect. Recalling the expert she-cat's advice, she dropped low to the ground, concentrating harder than she ever had in her life, trying to be as quiet as possible. She slowly placed one paw in front of the other, as much as she wanted to race towards her prey. However, she stalked as close as she thought she could, then pounced eagerly on the thicket. Her paws landed squarely on the shrew, and she quickly ended its life with a bite of her jaws. Then she returned to Coalpaw and Vetiverpaw, setting her first-ever fresh-kill down at her feet. "That was fun!" she exclaimed, eyes bright. She'd caught prey on her first try! What would Alfalfatuft think of that?

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 4

Coalpaw sat against a tree, watching the other two apprentices with fascination. She cheered when Berrypaw caught her shrew, making all three apprentices successful in their first attempts. "You guys are naturals!" she meowed proudly. "I'm glad newleaf is finally almost here. Hunting in leafbare is really difficult," the apprentice explained. She pushed her mouse onto a dry patch of dirt, brushing dirt over it to hide it. "If you're going for multiple pieces of prey, you want to at least partially bury what you've caught so other predators don't find it." The coal-colored cat thought for a moment. "We should probably try to get at least two each, if all of the warriors are occupied," she decided out loud. Coalpaw opened her mouth a little, raising her head to catch the scent on the air. Musky, fishy frog smell covered her tongue, and she stuck her tongue out a little. She did not care much for frog, but others in the Clan would gladly eat it, and food was food. So, she stalked towards the frog, spotting it sitting just outside of a pool of water a few fox-lengths away. The apprentice focused on readying her jump, getting ready to pounce, and leapt, claws sinking into the frog's slimy flesh before she struck its head to kill it. She spat on the ground and wiped her paws in the dirt, picking up the frog by a leg to bring it back to where she planned to wait for the other two apprentices, dropping it by her mouse and making a face of disgust.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Vetiverpaw listened intently to her fellow apprentice. She had heard that prey was a bit scarce during the harsh cold months, and was thankful that mainly during that time she had her mother to rely on for food. Sniffing the air, it took Vetiverpaw a moment before she found a good place to put her toad she had caught. From there, she stepped away from her kill to be able to scent out another piece of prey. It was hard for her to find something over the scent of her toad - it had filled her nose a bit. But finally the young cat latched onto a mouse, following its trail keenly. It was quite easy to track down, and once again following Coalpaw's instruction from earlier, she found herself with yet another piece of fresh-kill. With her tail proudly in the air, she trotted back to where she had hidden her toad. "Hunting is really fun. Although, it's hard to hunt after catching a toad. It's like the slime gets in your nose!"

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 6