Blacktree knew this wasn't the safest idea, but it wasn't like they had much of a choice. The eldest kits were apprenticed now; despite her own worries about that particular decision, there was no changing it. If their leader wanted to make younger apprentices, it would be better for them to know what they were doing first.
Those who had reached 2 moons or older were mostly weaned and relatively coordinated - if they didn't stray too far into the pocosin, she could handle a little patrol of the wee ones.
"Alright, darlings," she mewed as they stood at the edge of camp. "We're going to be very careful - you must always stay close enough that I may see you, understood? I'll demonstrate some hunting pounces, and we're going to do our best trying to hunt - anything you all catch you get to eat when we come back to camp, alright?" With her message clear, she led the little group out further from camp, far enough away that prey would be likely. Her nose twitched as she scented prey - a frog, sitting lonely on a stone. Motioning to the kits with her tail, she dropped into a crouch and stalked forward, her muscles tense as she readied her pounce.
Blacktree lept, just as the cawing of a raven overhead sent the frog diving into the water for safety. Her paws closed around nothing, and her ears flattened.
"That works, if a bird doesn't ruin your hunt," she sighed. "Do your best, little ones. I'll be hunting alongside you."
Those who had reached 2 moons or older were mostly weaned and relatively coordinated - if they didn't stray too far into the pocosin, she could handle a little patrol of the wee ones.
"Alright, darlings," she mewed as they stood at the edge of camp. "We're going to be very careful - you must always stay close enough that I may see you, understood? I'll demonstrate some hunting pounces, and we're going to do our best trying to hunt - anything you all catch you get to eat when we come back to camp, alright?" With her message clear, she led the little group out further from camp, far enough away that prey would be likely. Her nose twitched as she scented prey - a frog, sitting lonely on a stone. Motioning to the kits with her tail, she dropped into a crouch and stalked forward, her muscles tense as she readied her pounce.
Blacktree lept, just as the cawing of a raven overhead sent the frog diving into the water for safety. Her paws closed around nothing, and her ears flattened.
"That works, if a bird doesn't ruin your hunt," she sighed. "Do your best, little ones. I'll be hunting alongside you."
-
