Open Territory But pulled against the grain, I feel a little pain || Lessons in hunting

[Amethystpaw]

AMETHYSTPAW ๋࣭ ⭑✶⋆.˚ THAT I WOULD RATHER DO WITHOUT

meow

The young apprentice couldn't wait to learn all there was about hunting. He followed after his mentor through the pocosin, his dark paws leaving soft pawprints in the wet ground. His tail wasn't raised, despite his excitement, and he lifted his nose to smell the air around him - but the apprentice scented nothing.

Amethystpaw looked at his mentor with wide eyes and asked, "Will you teach me to recognise the scents of prey?" He knew what food smelled like, but did it have the same whiff when alive? He's barely had any proper food in the past few moons, he had almost forgotten what fresh meat tasted like.

✧ OOC:

This will open once we get several replies in! @Jadethorn

 

[Jadethorn]

There's only two types of people in the world

The ones that entertain, and the ones that observe

​

Muddied paws pressed through the pocosin's swampy earth, making sure to be slow and delibrate with their steps so Amethystpaw could keep up with ease. She always hated the wetness of their territory, and how it drowned everything in mud and dirt. Their journey had been quiet since camp, the night guard's thoughts filled with duties and the state of the clan without Wolfpack. It was almost suffocating, the way her thoughts swirled, before her apprentice's voice broke the sillence.

Toxic green blinked down at that dual colored gaze. 'Right. Hunting.' With a curt nod, the rosetted molly took the distraction with grace. "Of course." Jadethorn paused in her steps to breath in the air, ears twitching as she scanned the foliage around them. "The first thing you should learn is that it's not all about the smell." A spotted ear twitched and swiveled to the right. "The pocosin's mud make scenting prey a bit hard to differ from the algae and swamp. It's best to use all your senses, instead of relying on one" The Night Guard nodded in the direction her ear had swiveled before moving slowly into a crouch to pass through the undergrowth, assuming the young apprentice would follow.
​

OOC ✧❦✧ Basic Info

• ooc
  — xxx
  
• 
  string of lyrics / lengty or short quote goes

  here

  ​
  ​
• Jadethorn she/her
  ❖ An Average Sized Black Rosette Tabby with Low White and Green Eyes
  ❖ Night Guard of Shadowclan
  ❖ 40 moons; ages on the 8th of every month
  ❖ speech thought attack
  ❖ peaceful + healing powerplay permitted
  
  penned by Taru​

​

 

[Amethystpaw]

๋࣭ ⭑✶⋆.˚ AMETHYSTPAW ๋࣭ ⭑✶⋆.˚

meow

He supposed that made sense, as he perked his ears to listen to the sounds around him. Amethystpaw could hear ripples in the breeze, the vegetation swaying, the flutter of wings above him. He raised his head and saw a heron flying overhead.

By stopping his movement to look up, he had realised another thing. Not only could he hear, he could also feel. The ground beneath him trembled slightly with Jadethorn's heavy pawsteps and he made a note to walk lightly when he stalked prey - if he could feel it, surely prey could feel it too.

"I see." he nodded finally. "It's not just about scents - but sounds and vibrations as well. That makes sense."

✧ OOC:

n/a

 

[Jadethorn]

There's only two types of people in the world

The ones that entertain, and the ones that observe

​

The little guy was a quick learner. Without even having to tell him, Amethystpaw had realized that it wasn't just sounds but the movement each step made through the mud. With each paw they placed, she noticed him being more aware, weight shifting slowly and carefully. The words confirmed that much and Jadethorn couldn't help but crack a smile. "Exactly right. Keep your steps light and make sure to watch for twigs or puddles that might reveal your location."

The night guard paused near the edge of their cover, tail swinging to graze along Amethystpaw's back so that he would as well. Her voice dropped low as she continued, barely above a whisper. "And as you get close enough, you can use their scent to pin their location down." Toxic green eyes slid to a close, breathing in the scent of the air before they opened once again. "Frog..." There was disgust on her tongue but a meal was a meal. "They usually smell...tangy... Like slime coated plants..." She nodded towards a puddle of muck near the water they had come upon. "Mud is where they like to hide." A step back was made, the molly clearing the field for Amethystpaw to make an attempt.
​

OOC ✧❦✧ Basic Info

• ooc
  — xxx
  
• 
  string of lyrics / lengty or short quote goes

  here

  ​
  ​
• Jadethorn she/her
  ❖ An Average Sized Black Rosette Tabby with Low White and Green Eyes
  ❖ Night Guard of Shadowclan
  ❖ 40 moons; ages on the 8th of every month
  ❖ speech thought attack
  ❖ peaceful + healing powerplay permitted
  
  penned by Taru​

​

 

[Amethystpaw]

๋࣭ ⭑✶⋆.˚ AMETHYSTPAW ๋࣭ ⭑✶⋆.˚

meow

Amethystpaw walked on ahead, trying to focus on all of the different aspects of hunting - walking quietly and lightly, placing one paw in front of the other, while also making sure to keep their ears peeled, eyes open and nose ready. His ears flicked, angled back and forth, to really listen to all the sounds around him.

But then something tugged at his heart, a sense of… playfulness? His step turned into a bounce for a moment, his tail shot up, and before he could stop himself, his body collided with a tuft of reedgrass - and a bird resting within it. With a high-pitched cheep, the creature flew up before Amethystpaw could even react.

All he could do was huff in frustration as anger reflected in his purple eye, the mischief still lingering in the amber one.

✧ OOC:

Rolled a 1 :(

 

[Jadethorn]

There's only two types of people in the world

The ones that entertain, and the ones that observe

​

Although Jadethorn had been paying attention more towards the pond in front of the reeds, watching for movement in the mud that were telltale to amphibians, her gaze snapped towards the sound of fluttering wings. It was instinct with what happened next. Legs pushed her upward, unsheathed claws reaching to the sky. It was probably mere luck when the small body impacted against her outstretched paw, claws snagging into a feathered wing and slamming downward. The cheeps and cries were quickly silenced by bared teeth and a jerk of her head, leaving the finch twitching in the mud.

The night guard looked back towards her apprentice, noticing the stiffness in their body, the anger in their eyes. A huff and she lashed her tail. He had been doing so well...why had he suddenly abandonned his crouch? She wanted to reprimand him but with the piece of prey at her paws, she pushed down her anger and disappointment. "You won't always have someone to save your catch. Be more careful next time." Settling on her haunches, Jadethorn licked the blood off her paws. "Now, what do you think we should do with this?" She nudged the bird towards her apprentice, curious to see his answer.
​

OOC ✧❦✧ Basic Info

• ooc
  — Rolled a 9! Finch get.
  
• 
  string of lyrics / lengty or short quote goes

  here

  ​
  ​
• Jadethorn she/her
  ❖ An Average Sized Black Rosette Tabby with Low White and Green Eyes
  ❖ Night Guard of Shadowclan
  ❖ 40 moons; ages on the 8th of every month
  ❖ speech thought attack
  ❖ peaceful + healing powerplay permitted
  
  penned by Taru​

​

 

[Amethystpaw]

๋࣭ ⭑✶⋆.˚ AMETHYSTPAW ๋࣭ ⭑✶⋆.˚

meow

Amethystpaw drooped his ears in shame at having failed his mentor already - he had only now been assigned to her and already he had disappointed her!

"We, umm.... we should..." he stuttered, not wanting to say the wrong answer. His anxiety burned his throat and made his paws cold. His breathing quickened and his eyes darted between the ground and the reeds, trying to hold onto something. But then... their breathing steadied a bit as their anxiety seemed to calm down seemingly on its own and Amethystpaw exhaled a puff of warm air. "We should.. bury it in the ground so we can carry on, but.. but no scavenger finds it before we return."

The dark apprentice lowered himself towards the ground, ready to dig a hole for their bird, when he felt something. A slight tremor of the ground, too faint to feel when he stood straight, but enough now that he had lowered himself. He twitched his tail to let his mentor know there was something ahead and crept forward slowly, but steadily.

A little russet furred creature skittered on the pocosin floor, taking a few steps before sniffing the ground and continuing on its trek again. Amethystpaw held his breath, making sure to focus on this creature and nothing else, not letting anything distract him. He wouldn't disappoint Jadethorn again.

A breath passed, then another, and when the squirrel finally moved closer to Amethystpaw, the apprentice leapt from his hiding spot as quickly as he could. The russet fur caught in his claws and he bit down, to make sure the creature wouldn't escape from him.

With his prey now dead at his paws, he looked back at his mentor proudly and smiled.

✧ OOC:

Nat 10 babyyyyy