Training in Leafbare [Whitestar & Thornpaw]

[Cai]

The crisp air of leafbare was not unappealing to Whitestar. On the contrary, it cleared his head and made him feel invigorated, which was fortunate since he had an apprentice to train. Having thought over Stonewhisker's words from earlier, he had decided to press Thornpaw's hunting training along before it got too cold for prey to be found easily. There was nothing more demoralising for a young cat than to come back to camp empty-pawed time after time, despite the fact that older warriors too were struggling to bring back fresh-kill. Though the bitter frost was settling in fast, there was still enough prey making last-minute preparations for leafbare to make it worthwhile.

Whitestar paused and glanced behind him to check Thornpaw was following. He smiled briefly, then padded on, listening to the faint trickle of the stream growing louder and louder as they neared it. He'd chosen to take his young apprentice out quite a long way today. As of yet they had not strayed far from camp to train, except for the tour of the territory on Thornpaw's first day, so to make a change, Whitestar decided to take him all the way out to the edge of the territory, right up to the stream adjacent to ShadowClan land. No doubt its waters were icy-cold now. This leafbare looked to be a cold one, and the stream would probably freeze over at times. On the upside, the chilly weather also drove the twolegs well away from the clearing and made it peacefully empty for hunting and training.

Before long, Whitestar caught the cool scent of water and they emerged out into the clearing. The grass felt cold underfoot, though the morning frost had mostly melted away. In his opinion, it was quite a nice, fresh feeling under his paws. He turned to look at Thornpaw, gesturing out towards ShadowClan territory. "You remember this clearing, I'm sure. ShadowClan is just beyond the stream." Whitestar took them right up to the water's edge.

"Can you smell their markers?" The shadowy scent wafted over the stream, warning ThunderClan not to overstep the border. "It's quite prey-rich over there, though of course we can't touch it." Whitestar smiled wryly, thinking of the numerous conflicts which had arisen from prey-stealing. "Fortunately we have our own hunting ground right here. Lots of prey roams this area and we can hunt freely during the coldest season when the twolegs aren't here. Today we're going to work on your hunting. Now, show me the hunter's crouch."

Thornpaw had been apprenticed only recently, so his skills were all new and unpolished. He knew only the basics of hunting since Whitestar had taught him them a couple of days ago, and today was a day the youngster to practise, practise, practise. It didn't matter if he didn't catch anything today; it was all an investment for the future. He might miss a catch or two today, but then he'd make the next ones using what he learnt. That, after all, was the foundation of apprenticing.

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[ivyy]

Thornpaw followed the white tom through the icy forest, a few tail lengths behind. It was a sign of respect, not to mention he was having just a bit of trouble keeping up with his mentor's stride. They emerged to a clearing, humming softly with signs of life. Thornpaw held his tail high as Whitestar told him of the meadow and the adjacent ShadowClan territory. As his mentor spoke, he wondered about the rules that apply to territory.

Before he could ask his question, Whitestar asked him to crouch. Thornpaw's ears flattened as he knelt, chest pressed to the ground. "Whitestar," he began, eyes trained forwards for a sign of prey, "What if a mouse runs across the border? Can we chase it?". He was unaware of his rear end sticking up towards the sky, ruining whatever stealth he might've been portraying. Thornpaw's long, mottled brown fur protected him from the frosty temperature, but the ice cold breeze that swept down the clearing, unobstructed by any trees or brush chilled even him. His frame shivered involuntarily.

Leafbare was settling in, it seemed. They had been in the normally prey-rich (but occupied by occasional twolegs) clearing for a little while now, and he hadn't caught a single whiff of any prey. Albeit they hadn't been very quiet, but nevertheless, Thornpaw had expected at least a vole by now.

[Cai]

Whitestar moved forward and wordlessly prodded and poked Thornpaw into a tidier hunter's crouch, pushing his rear end down and angling his tail horizontally with the ground so it didn't stick up like a beacon. "Tail down. Body flat." he reminded his young apprentice, with a half smile. Once he was certain that Thornpaw was displaying the correct position, Whitestar took a step back with a satisfied nod and regarded Thornpaw for a moment.

"If a mouse runs across the border, you leave it." He said firmly. "Leafbare is the time when tensions run high, and if you get caught over the border by any other Clan, you can bet that they will try to punish you. The mouse might be a ThunderClan mouse, but as long as it's on another Clan's soil, then that Clan has the power to challenge us for stealing their prey. Better to leave it and give the other Clans no reason to accuse us of theft. I want this leafbare to be a peaceful one."

Whitestar leaned back and spotted a small stone sitting a few fox-lengths away from them. "OK, Thornpaw, stalk that stone just as you would a mouse." He instructed, watching his apprentice carefully. He caught the faint scent of a mouse in the air, wafting from some way away, but he first wanted to check Thornpaw had remembered how to hunt correctly before he let him try and chase it.

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[ivyy]

Thornpaw nodded and wrote a mental note of his mentor's wise instructions. But he still thought that you should be able to take a ThunderClan mouse, even if it has run over the border. He didn't say anything more on the subject, but corrected his stance as Whitestar gently guided him. Thornpaw focused on keeping his tail and rear flat to the ground, and crouched through the grass, the frost havig melted away completely now, leaving soft and silent grass underfoot. He eyed the stone his mentor asked him to pounce on skeptically, if it didn't move around, how was it supposed to be fun?

That's the thing, Thornpaw may be quiet and respectful, but inside he's still a young apprentice. And a tom at that. He has a sense of adventure, of fun, even if he lets his brother, Shadepaw, do all the scheming. Nevertheless, he began to slink forwards, paws moving slowly and quietly. He flinched as a smaller twig snapped under his left fore-leg. He took a deep breath, and glanced back at Whitestar, unnoticing that his tail had sprung up again, as had his ears. Well, this wasn't going with as much ease as Thornpaw had expected, but oh well. What're you gonna do?

[Cai]

Whitestar smiled slightly as he watched Thornpaw's practice stalk. "I'm afraid your mouse would be long gone if that were real, Thornpaw. Look where your tail is. And always remember to watch where you put your paws. If you step on a twig like that, then half the prey in the forest will know where you are. Stealth is key." Whitestar beckoned the youngster back to his starting place so they could go again.

"You went at just the right pace, though. Only a few technical errors to fix." he meowed encouragingly. "Go again," he instructed "but this time watch that tail. And the ears." Whitestar's mouth quirked up in a smile, and he sat back indulgently, patiently waiting for Thornpaw to get his crouch and his stalk back up to perfection.

[[x.x Short post.]]

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[ivyy]

.: Thornpaw nodded, moving quietly back to his starting place. He took a deep breath, careful to keep quiet, and lowered his body to the ground. His tail wavered just above the earth as he crept forwards, mottled brown coat blending in with the taller grass and dirt surrounding them. His amber eyes trained on the mock prey, though it wasn't necessary, it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

.: Thornpaw's eyes flickered to his forepaws as he stepped over a crispy looking twig, avoiding an embarrassing failure. No way was he gonna embarrass his mentor, who also happened to be his leader, twice in the same day. 'Focus.. focus..' he chanted internally, as he neared the edge of his cover, his rump riggled just the slightest, and he sprung through the air like a coiled snake.

.: Thornpaw landed with his paws on the rock, a triumphant smile playing on the corners of his lips, he tried to stay serious in front of Whitestar. His tail flicked back and forth to the quickened rhythm of his pulse. "How was that?" he said, quite a bit more confident now that he had been just mere moments ago. The feel of adrenaline rushing through his veins urged him on, he craved to thrill of making a real catch. But he'd just have to take it step by step.