The hidden motive [open for wc]

[Starfall]

Honeypaw let out a purr as he was told it was okay. He was happy to do something with his paws, recently he'd been out training with Midnightstalker, he wasn't good at the fighting part...or the hunting part. But it wasn't as hard as he had innitally thought! He liked his mentor, she was very paitent with him, which he very much appreciated. But due to all this new learning buisness he was becoming very sore.

However as the Medicine cat mentioned Honey the Tan Apprentice let out a loud gasp. "Wait there's honey out here?!" he gawked. Oh! He loved honey! He would always get little blobs of it when praised by his former upwalkers. "oh, also why Marigold? Isn't that like a uhhhhh a yellow flower? Or was it Blue....hmm" he hummed to himself, standing there for a few moments before realizing he was being left behind. With a gurgled noise of worry he scurried after the Medicine Cat.

---------------

Peonypaw was having a grand old time, he was about to go out and about with his newest favorite feline. Than a pair of strangers rolled in. Well..one was a stranger, mainly because he didn't care to remember who they were, the other on the other paw. "Basilpaw!" he chirped, hopping just behind Wolfbound. Shooting the familiar face a toothy smile "Wanna compete in hunting with me? The one who catches the most doesn't have to go jump in the Stream." he teased. But it only lasted a second as the stranger introduced herself. "Hiya! I'm OH!" he didn't really get to finish his introduction as he winced. Heathernose had stepped into one of those blobby things.

The Calliby didn't like it, made him uncomfrotable. How in the world were they not noticing this? With a twitch of his nose he swung his head and stuck very close to his mentor, ears pinned to the sides of his head. Shuffling to the side once they made it to where they were supposed to be. Watching with mild interest as Wolfbound sat herself down harshly.

Pouting the Apprentice crawled onto her back. "noooo, we're playing!" he huffed, sliding off her back and landing heavily on the ground.

@Beau @Zesty Mango @wren

[dionysus]

@wren / @Zesty Mango / @Starbot
Heathernose felt her skin heating under her fur at the compliment and she purred, “thank you! I have to say the name Wolfbound sounds so poised and powerful.” Heathernose liked the strong nature of the name- it made her think of a powerful and beautiful force. Her soft blue eyes met Wolfbound’s yellow and she gave her a sweet smile. The tortoiseshell was a bit confused by Peonypaw’s reaction to her greeting, but didn’t press him. Instead, she sprinted along beside Wolfbound, planning out how she would go about teaching Basilpaw how to hunt. It’d been awhile since she learned the basics herself and never this fast. When they reached the rocks, Heathernose sat down beside Wolfbound and turned to the other warrior. “How do you want to go about our little training session,” she mewed, looking over Basilpaw and Peonypaw thoughtfully.

[Arie]

-- @Puddletail --

Happy to be rid of Basilpaw, Weaselskip threw an appreciative nod at her old sister Wolfbound and then focused back on Puddlepaw and a smile actually etched itself onto her muzzle at the apprentice's attentiveness. She may not be Puddlepaw's mentor but she would be sure to mention to them that they actually had a somewhat competent apprentice at their hands despite his talkativeness and bad friends. Well bad friend. Sighing she locked her eyes onto his technique before walking over to him, tail twitching slightly. "You're doing quite good, for a first lesson anyway. I wish we had some prey to try it out with but I guess that'll have to do for our actual hunt. We can't let old badger Coyote have a reason to skin our furs." With that she walked around him and pointed at his belly, "Gotta keep that up a bit more, don't want it at the ground but just above so it skims over the small grass but stays beneath the tall grass." Walking around she lifted his hindleg with her mouth. "Gotta tense in these muscles, you're running not just chatting or walking. We need speed when we're flushing rabbit, both the flusher and the chaser." She walked around again and nodded at his front leg. "That's some good technique you've got there. Nice and open front legs, will make you more able to easily switch the direction in which you're heading." With the corrections done, there was only one way to get about it, heading out to try it on some actual prey. "So we're heading further out, step where I step and don't make any loud noises as the rabbits will hear you approach long before you can see them. You're doing the flushing, I will show you how to kill it but for now we're here for a job and that's what we're trying to execute. If it is not a rabbit we find first, I just want you to watch me alright? I think it works better in practice than if we're to try to act like we have some prey here." With that she was off, the grey feline lowering herself down, not down into a hunters crouch but slow enough that she would not be spotted was anything to look through the grass. Gesturing with her tail she lead Puddle up north to where hopefully rabbits would be waiting to be eaten... Well not eaten. But caught any less.

[Mango]

@wren @Beau @Starbot
Basilpaw gave a small smile to Heathernose she didn’t question Peonypaw really. She is weird, good weird, but still weird. You don’t question weird Basilfur. she thought. yes, she gave herself a warrior name that she uses when talking to herself out loud or in her head. She gave a small skip in her step and nodded,” We pounce on the prey and kill it, right?“ she squealed in excitement, to Peonypaw she meowed,” You’re on, I’ll catch all the prey in Windclan territory!”

[Puddle~]

@Arie

As Puddlepaw noticed Weaselskip smiling at him, he found himself to be pleasantly surprised. The warrior had always seemed a little curt and difficult to please, so he was surprised that she seemed happy with his technique. Quickly returning the gesture, he planted a small grin on his fuzzy black muzzle. Once the moment was over, he nodded his head slowly, ears perked up to hear each of the warrior's corrections. He listened carefully and adapted his form to accommodate each problem, lifting his belly slightly, tensing up the correct muscle groups, and making sure to keep his front legs nice and spread out. His form still wasn't picture perfect, but it didn't matter too much. Even experienced cats weren't absolutely perfect. Besides, he had improved through the corrections and trusted that it had become accurate enough for him to properly execute the maneuver. But that was still just the easy part. Up until now, they had only been practicing. All the minor mistakes he had made were acceptable. Now, it was time for the real deal, and he couldn't afford to mess up here, or he'd scare away all the prey, just as Basilpaw had done only moments ago. He gulped a little as Weaselskip began explaining the proper course of action. Though he was fairly certain that he had gotten the gist of the plan when she had briefly run through it earlier, he just wanted to be sure. Angling his ears towards the warrior, he made sure he caught every little detail, not wanting to be seen as an utter disappointment to the clan. Or worse, get skinned by an angry Coyotesnarl and become his slave for a month. He gave a small shudder of fear. The thought still induced a slight anxiety within him, but he had to remain focused on what they were doing now. Worrying about every single thing that could cause him to mess up would only make it more likely to happen. And having it actually happen was far worse than just imagining it. He blinked his vivid green eyes a couple times, and nodded towards Weaselskip to indicate that he understood everything she had just stated. Step in the same spots, don't make noise, leave other prey to her. Satisfied that he had remembered the general steps, he repeated it over a few times, just for good measure. And with that, he sealed off his mind from outside thoughts and fears, concentrating only on hunting and prey. As Weaselskip began inching across the moor, he waited for her to give the signal. And once she did, he began following behind her, placing his paws in the same spots she had, remembering all the pointers she'd given him, and most importantly, trying as hard as possible not to make any loud noises. Some of the longer blades of grass tickled the tom's belly, but he paid it no attention and made sure to keep his jaws clamped shut. If he laughed now, it would ruin everything. So, he continued following Weaselskip across the moor, occasionally glancing around for the first sign of any rabbits.

[Arie]

-- @Puddletail --

Weaselskip looked back and saw that the apprentice was doing exactly what she'd told him to do and a happy smile grazed her muzzle yet again. Moving on she kept low as her eyes began narrowing to slits against the sun and for her to be able to look through the tall grass. But then she heard it and the smell was clear. Her ears perked up and she crept back to where Puddlepaw was still standing. Angling her ears she lowered her voice dramatically, "We've got rabbits just over his little hill. I want you to move forward here, and I'll go that way," she angled her ears to the left and pointed with her tail the way she wanted him to go. "I just want you to practice it the way we did just before. You're just chasing it out and getting it running, I'll be the one finishing the job. As soon as it is running just stop and watch. You'll learn more from that than participating in the ending chase. Because then you know how to support the chaser as the flusher but also how to execute the job of a chaser." That was good. Pointing again with her tail she reminded him, "Stay low, get as close as you can and remember, speed is everything when chasing rabbits. Be fast, if they turn around, don't follow but circle. Just remember, that its fine if it gets away, I won't be unhappy with you. Gotta learn somehow. But I trust you that you're not as useless as that denmate of yours." With that she was off, heading into the tall grass and soon after disappearing, tail lowered to the ground. She made it to where she could see the rabbits and then raised her tail and pointed, hoping the apprentice would understand. With tense muscles she crept as close as she could and was fully prepared to shoot out.

[wren]

Wolfbound drew a blank, she herself had never mentored an apprentice. She also wasn’t ever the type of warrior who fell into the normal steps of hunting. She was a energized maniac who just dove into the chase and hoped her endurance out lasted the rabbit. She couldn’t teach that to tiny apprentices barely the height of her shoulder. Whatever she’d make it up as she went along. “I’ll be honest I’m not entirely sure” she said with a chuckle gently tracing her tail up Heathernoses flank as she stood and stepped up in front of them. She was amused by Basilpaw and Peonypaws enthusiasm and competitive nature. Peony however weird he was seemed to be shaping into a pretty decent apprentice. “Be patient and listen up, you’ve gotta learn how to hunt before you get up in each other’s faces” The she cat mused.

“You’ve heard of the hunting crouch correct? I mean who hasn’t” What was it again? Lead leg forward, stagger your steps and.. belly and tail low to the ground. Right. The silvery warrior dropped down into the crouch near perfect form with the exception of a few wobbles here and there. “Can you mimic this?” the she cat asked directing her attention to the apprentices now

@Beau @Zesty Mango @Star/bot
——

“Yes there’s honey out here” the tom mused quietly his tail curling behind him as they padded into the thicket. “Bee’s make it. Those little fuzzy flying things.. with enough luck not enough of them are awake so we can grab a comb and run” The tom said with a snort recalling how nasty the little things were in full force.

The tom turned and smiled faintly at Honeypaw. He’d lost Oddear and Honeypaw was all he had left... these fleeting moments was all he had for a calm walk. Windclan was becoming increasingly more lonely. The tom picked up the pace ducking under wolf willow branches and manoeuvreing his way into a better path. “Marigold is the beautiful orange and yellow flowers. I can’t recall if I had you use them” the tom said with a nod.

@Starbot

[Mango]

@Beau @wren @Starbot

Basilpaw flicked her tail in impatience,” I already can do that...but fine...” she huffed as she dropped into a hunter’s crouch. She kept herself low to the ground, her tail was dragging, but her head was up and her ears pricked, she whispered to Peonypaw,” I’ll totally catch all the rabbit’s in Windclan without you catching a single piece of prey” she teased playfully.

[Puddle~]

@Arie
(ik, ik, you said to keep it a little shorter, but I couldn't help it)

Puddlepaw remained on the trail of Weaselskip, keeping his radar up and occasionally glancing at his surroundings to make sure no noises would be made. The slightest misplacement of a paw, or the crack of a twig could alert all prey in the immediate area that they were there. And that wouldn't do them any good. Fixing his eyes back on Weaselskip, he noticed the molly was heading back in his direction. He assumed this meant she had found some rabbits up ahead, and his impression was right. Nodding to indicate he had understood her first instructions, he started off in the direction she had specified. He only made it out a few tail-lengths before stopping in his tracks, realizing that Weaselskip had more to say. Oops. This time, he gave her his undivided attention, making sure not to prematurely jump to the conclusion that they were ready to begin. He listened attentively to what she said, soaking up all the advice like a sponge. This was it. His first proper hunt. Giving Weaselskip a quick smile, he was reassured when she mentioned she wouldn't get upset if it got away this time. He watched as she disappeared in the other direction. And with that, he dropped into a crouch, making sure to use the proper form taught a few moments ago. Without further hesitation, the tom took off across the moor, heading carefully in the direction of the rabbits. His pace was a little on the slow side at first, but he gradually began picking up speed. Soon, he was able to see one of the rabbits, munching on some greenery, completely oblivious to the fact that it was about to meet an untimely end. He circled around the area until both he and the rabbit were in line with where Weaselskip was concealed. But he didn't go for it immediately. He kept glancing in Weaselskip's direction, waiting for some kind of indicator. As a tail poked up from behind the lush tall grass, Puddlepaw took this as a sign that the warrior was ready. Creeping as close as he thought possible, he suddenly burst out from behind a clump of taller grass, launching himself towards the rabbit. It seemed the rabbit was prepared, but so was Puddlepaw. As it raced away, he stayed hard on its heels, not letting it out of his sight. Whenever it attempted to veer off path, he would circle around on its side, steering it back into the imaginary line he had drawn out in his mind. They were getting closer and closer to where Weaselskip lay in hiding, and he knew the warrior would likely pop out at any moment to complete the ending chase. But, for now Puddlepaw was quite content with himself. He was actually doing it! He was flushing out the rabbit!

[dionysus]

@wren / @Zesty Mango / @Starbot
Heathernose chuckled quietly at Wolfbound’s answer, not expecting it. Wolfbound struck her as the type to always have a plan for everything, something the tortoiseshell greatly admired, but she thought it was cute that the other she-cat was going into this as blind as she was. Heathernose offered a knowing grin as an answer and sat back as Wolfbound moved forward to address the two apprentices, blinking and feeling her ear tips begin to bear up strangely as the other warrior’s tail tip dragged against her flank. How had she never spoken to Wolfbound before? This cat seemed like a great warrior to get to know! Hey, Heathernose had a job to do here so she had to push the budding plans to get to know Wolfbound out of mind and move up to stand beside said she-cat. When the other feline dropped into a hunting crouch, Heathernose nodded and cast her eyes upon the apprentices, adding, “you want to keep low to the ground so the rabbit won’t see you but also make sure that you are stepping lightly. They have wonderful hearing. The crouch will only get you so far, too. Rabbits will head your heartbeat before they see you so you creep forward as far as you can get until you see them sit up alertly and then you lunge. You two haven’t had any endurance training, I assume, so we might have to plan out a group endeavor to get them. Perhaps you and I can chase the hare while the apprentices wait by the warren to catch it as it tries to escape?” She spork her final statement to Wolfbound with a tilt to her head, trying to think of other possible ways to hunt with two newbies.