Crash the hunting course

[Estelle]

Sleepypaw didn't often request training from others. It was either offered to her or done by Miss Grandmama; on the off-chance she requested training from a random warrior within the clan, it had a noteworthy reason - such as, Miss Grandmama and most enforcers being gone, leaving her with nothing but a busy mama she didn't want to disturb and warrior's whom she wouldn't trust with her life. But today wasn't that day. Sleepypaw wanted to get a head start, get better at what she already knew and impress Miss Grandmama when the leader found the time to cover that aspect of her training - that is why she approached Mistlewhisker today, an enforcer, Sleepypaw knew, her eyes vibrant in the dim light and piercing as she looked straight at the warrior.
"You're an enforcer."
She stated, blinking.
"You teach -- teach me."
She continued, expression unmoving.
"..Hunting. Please."


[ @Mica ]

[Mica]

Mistlewhisker
ShadowClan Enforcer
she/her | 39 moons
[Large black cat with a half white muzzle and a pale green eye (left gouged out)]
Purrks: Beefed Up T3, Shadow Fiend
· · ────────────── · ·
[Sleepypaw - @Estelle ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Ah, an ark kit. Or, more accurately, a Lostspark kit. Mistlewhisker's good eye shone in the dim lighting much like the apprentice's, regarding the young cat curiously. Hunting training? Hm, it had been a while since she taught hunting. The enforcer pushed herself out of her nest, her hulking form seeming to suck the light from the den. She lumbered towards Sleepypaw, voice low and rough with sleep. "Come." Was all she meowed before pushing past Sleepypaw and out into the clearing.

Leading the apprentice out into the territory, Mistlewhisker only spoke when the camp was long gone behind them. "Have you done this before? Or should we start with the basics."

[Estelle]

...Mistlewhisker. That was this one's name, for this one wasn't Hawkbite or Darkfall. The remaining possibilities were Silverlark and Mistlewhisker - and this was Mistlewhisker. No pun intended, the apprentice's whiskers twitched at the enforcer's reply, dull eyes following her every move. Straight to the point. Easy. Sleepypaw liked that. She could see why this one might've become an enforcer, for now. Without complaint or word the young apprentice obeyed and fell into step behind Mistlewhisker, letting the silence settle over them as she regarded the grounds beyond their camp, and followed.
"Crouch."
She then replied, vibrant eyes returning to the older feline.
"...Miss Grandmama taught..me the crouch."
However accurate that still was now, as she was still just a kit back then, though the youngling often liked to practice it when she had time.


[ @Mica ]

[Mica]

Mistlewhisker
ShadowClan Enforcer
she/her | 40 moons
[Large black cat with a half white muzzle and a pale green eye (left gouged out)]
Purrks: Beefed Up T3, Shadow Fiend
· · ────────────── · ·
[Sleepypaw - @Estelle ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Hunting crouch. Good. Mistlewhisker's tail flicked towards Sleepypaw, a silent order to show her.

She inspected Sleepypaw's crouch, correcting any mistakes with a gentle nudge of her paw if she saw any. As she inspected, she spoke. "Hunting and stealth are very closely related. One can help the other. We will start with your stalking, using a pine cone as a stand-in for prey." She remembered using the same tactic on Squirrelpaw, and as far as she knew it had helped the apprentice with her form.

Once she was satisfied with Sleepypaw's crouch, she snagged a pine cone from a super secret stash she kept for training. Tossing it into the clearing, she nodded towards it. "That is your prey. Keep your center of balance low to the ground as you stalk it, tail off the ground but not high in the air. Once you are approximately one tail-length away from it, pounce." The enforcer eyed the young cat. "I assume in your play you have pounced before, yes?" With so many siblings, it made sense for Mistlewhisker to assume Sleepypaw had played before. She jerked her chin forward. "Begin."

[Estelle]

A light nudge narrowed her stance, corrected her posture - it had been some time since she practiced, but bases of a crouch remained present, now corrected. Sleepypaw accepted these corrections without complaint, gaze forward as her ears were perked to catch Mistlewhisker's exact words and instructions. The instructions were understand, they were simple - stalk and pounce, stalking much like in mama's stealth lesson. However, Sleepypaw gave no sign of understanding other than a peculiar set of words she had repeated more than once within her lifetime:
"I don't play."
A dull statement; a project saved especially for Miss Grandmama for, yes, Sleepypaw still intended to play her first game with the leader and no one else. A project she aimed to complete.

But with those intentions aside, the young apprentice had to focus on her lesson, and she did. Vibrant coloured eyes narrowed on the pinecone careless thrown ahead into the clearing, her tail lifting just a little higher as it hung level behind her, adjusting her stance just a bit to be fit for walking. She had snuck before during her stealth lesson, or at least, anything similar enough to that. She took a breath, eyes briefly grazing the ground as she analysed her terrain before stepping forth, careful to avoid any noise debris or step extra lightly if they were unavoidable. Albeit it not perfect, she found the stalking aspect to be far easier than the next task: the pounce, an act she was wholly unfamiliar with other than the few instances in which she watched other kits in the nursery pounce.

In its bases it couldn't be that difficult, could it? It was a mere jump forth, it seemed, and that's what she did. Bunching her back legs, Sleepypaw leaned back a bit before jumping forth with outstretch paws, staggering over the pinecone as she landed with a pair of paws on top of it - practice, she told herself. She ought to practice more. She had to. This wouldn't do. Blue eyes turned to look at Mistlewhisker, awaiting the critique.


[ @Mica ]

[Mica]

Mistlewhisker
ShadowClan Enforcer
she/her | 40 moons
[Large black cat with a half white muzzle and a pale green eye (left gouged out)]
Purrks: Beefed Up T3, Shadow Fiend
· · ────────────── · ·
[Sleepypaw - @Estelle ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Mistlewhisker eyed Sleepypaw as the apprentice insisted that she did not play. The Enforcer canted her head to the side, now curious. Fascinating. Perhaps Sleepypaw was a little more like Mistlewhisker than she first thought.

The pounce was the only part of Sleepypaw's demonstration that needed work. It seemed former lessons were sticking with her. Good. Mistlewhisker snagged another pine cone and tossed it in the vague direction of Sleepypaw. "Keep your claws out to snag the pine cone. If you crush it, fine. You are aiming to kill, after all." She nodded towards the new cone. "Aim gets better with practice. Again."

[Estelle]

Claws out, better aim... Her attempt had not been satisfactory. Sleepypaw knew that, staggering over the pinecone like she did was not acceptable. She had to do better. More precise, more careful. She vaguely nodded at Mistlewhisker's explanation, retreating a few steps. Claws out... Better aim. She told herself again, crouching low like Miss Grandmama had taught her moons ago, creeping forth like mama had shown her that night in the woods - careful and calculated, aware of her surroundings and, when she got close enough, vibrant blue eyes narrowed on the cone in a moment of pause before leaning back and leaping with outstretched paws, claws unsheathed; swiftly moving through the air, one paw with a pair of claws dug inside the pinecone, the other landing on the ground right next to it - with no stagger, this time around, a solid landing, though the cone not yet crushed. She blinked, she paused, then turned around to dully look at Mistlewhisker.
...Better?
She wanted to ask, awaiting the following criticism.


[ @Mica ]

[Mica]

Mistlewhisker
ShadowClan Enforcer
she/her | 41 moons
[Large black cat with a half white muzzle and a pale green eye]
Purrks: Beefed Up T3, Shadow Fiend
· · ────────────── · ·
[Sleepypaw - @Estelle ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Mistlewhisker nodded as Sleepypaw looked at her for confirmation. Her leap had been better, and her landing was stable. ”Good. Polishing your form will come with practice. Now we will move on.”

Mistlewhisker abandoned her pile of pine cones, kicking them with a paw to send them sprawling into the forest for her to collect later. Without a word, the Enforcer padded further into the forest.

Her destination was another small clearing. Mistlewhisker settled down, tail swishing over her paws. “We have gone over stalking and pouncing. Now you will hunt actual prey. Open your jaws and scent, then recall what we learned.” She wouldn’t give any hints. Sleepypaw seemed to be intuitive, and Mistlewhisker believed in the lesson style of “try until you figure it out, and if you’re really struggling I’ll help”.

[Estelle]

Sleepypaw watched as Mistlewhisker careless kicked away the peculiar pile of pinecones (was it normal to have a pile of pinecones? Or did Mistlewhisker just particularly like them?), the enforcer apparently of her second attempt at a sneak and leap. She nodded, naturally engraving in her mind that she still required practice - lots of it, mind you; practice made perfection and she felt required to achieve nothing less than perfection or beyond.

Without a word, the young apprentice followed Mistlewhisker towards a new clearing, slowly familiarising herself with the surrounding areas, committing these paths and locations to memory all the while wondering what exactly would come next, if not catching actual prey - she couldn't make a fool of herself.

Ah, as expected. The hunt for true prey. She flicked an ear in recognition, nose lifting to the air as she took in a deep breath, mouth naturally opening to taste the air - it was a strange idea, but all the more strangely, or worked. A musty, indescribable, almost unnoticeable smell wafted through the air, pulling the young apprentice closer. She kept her paw steps lightly, seeking out - with mild struggle - the exact path of the idle smell, crouching when she finally felt close enough.

Her tail grew level, messy belly just above the ground as she kept low, nose guiding her forth towards her first prey, and it was --- oddly meagre and ugly. How would this thing feed anyone? Hidden from sight, her cat brows quirked as she watched the lizard rummage about the ground, leaving Sleepypaw perplexed. She had seen smaller on the preypile, but did they not come larger sizes at all? Was she doomed to catching a lizard as her first prey? She didn't have particular opinion on the prey herself, taste-wise, anyway.

Defeated and in no position to pass up the opportunity of a catch under Mistlewhiker's watchful gaze, Sleepypaw crept closer - keeping quiet as could, sneaking forth, until finally, she put into motion the practice leap to catch the lizard within her clawed paws - only for its tail to break off, and the little creature falling to the ground!
"Heep!"

She gasped, surprised, mind reeling as the creature tried skittering away before a set of claws came to pierce through it, catching it neatly on her nails. Still, stunned, Sleepypaw stared wide-eyed at the tailles lizard (now, evidently, lifeless), taking a few moments to process what just... Happened. She had to compose herself, flicking the surprise away with an ear before rising and switching the carrying the play on her claws to letting it rest between her jaws, swiftly moving to present her catch to Mistlewhisker, awaiting the impending scrutiny.


[ @Mica ]

[Mica]

Mistlewhisker
ShadowClan Deputy
she/her | 41 moons
[Large black cat with a half white muzzle and a pale green eye]
Purrks: Beefed Up T3, Shadow Fiend
· · ────────────── · ·
[Sleepypaw - @Estelle ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Mistlewhisker watched blithely as Sleepypaw stalked some prey, a quick scenting revealing a lizard nearby. Ah, lizards were tricky. If Sleepypaw pulled this off, Mistlewhisker would be impressed.

Her stalking was good—the lizard’s scent didn’t seem to drift off as it would if it had run away—and the leap had her landing right on the lizard.

But then Mistlewhisker watched as the creature tangled in Sleepypaw’s claws dropped, leaving behind its scaly tail. Ah. She had forgotten they did that. She watched with interest as Sleepypaw mrrped and reached for the fleeing lizard, killing it swiftly. The deputy nodded as the apprentice cast her gaze to her, looking for scrutiny. Mistlewhisker recognized the look as something she often gave Thornwing when she was an apprentice.

Sleepypaw reminded her a lot of her younger self, though more mature than she had been.

“Good work. You did not hesitate, which would have lost you the prey.” Mistlewhisker padded over, sniffing the lizard. “Lizards shed their tails when they are threatened. They will eventually it grow it back if they escape.” Weird creatures, lizards.

“Congratulations.” She meowed. “You have caught your first prey. That is a significant milestone.”