Sunsetclan hunting patrol-7/22/13

[Sand]

Grassfall walked out of the warriors den yawning and walked over to the camp entrance. Ratmask had told her that she was leading a hunting patrol with just Otterpaw in it. She sat down patiently waiting for Otterpaw to arrive. She wasn't going to go and wake her because Otterpaw had to learn to wake up on time without someone telling her to.

[[Acro.]]

Otterpaw was too busy dreaming.

'Ma? Ma, wait for me!' yipped the tiny brown kit as she skipped after her mother. She darted past her slower siblings to reach the warrior's side. 'What are we doing today, Ma?'

'We're going to hunt grass.' The small kit paused, obviously confused.

'What? Hunt... grass? Why?' She smiled, and her mother turned to face her, purring.

'Because--don't you see it falling?'

The slender young she-cat startled awake and jolted to her paws. "Grassfall!" she gasped, suddenly remembering she was supposed to accompany the warrior on a hunting patrol. Right now. Without minding the other apprentices who may be sleeping, Otterpaw bolted from the den and came to a nervous, skidding halt in front of Grassfall. She wasn't overly late--just a little tardy. "Sorry!" she chimed, kneading the ground. "I was, ah... stuck in a dream, but I'm ready now!" Because of everything that had been happening, Otterpaw didn't exactly have an official mentor, so this was one of her first hunting patrols. She had hunted before, but only with other apprentices--never an actual warrior!

...and her mom didn't count.

[Sand]

Grassfall saw Otterpaw shoot out of the apprentice den and sighed. "Now, that your ready we should get going," she meowed getting to her paws. Then she led the way back to camp flicking her ears back and forth. She wondered if the should catch fish or land prey. She knew that Otterpaw really didn't like swimming. 'Maybe I can help her with that,' she told herself.

[[Acro.]]

Otterpaw nodded, determination lighting her eyes as she followed beside Grassfall. She would catch all of the prey, if she had to. She could do this. "So," she began, trying to sound casual and cool in front of the warrior. "Where are we headed?" but this laid-back facade was short lived, because in the next instant the apprentice's paw caught on a gnarling root and she stumbled in her step. 'Curse this awful, gangly body to the Dark Forest,' she thought bitterly as she regained her balance. At least she hadn't fallen. She made no comment, and went on pretending the trip hadn't just happened.

[Sand]

"We're going to the ocean first, hopefully the fish will be really close. My fur takes forever to be groomed when I'm wet," Grassfall meowed glancing at Otterpaw. "You okay there?" she asked slowing her pace a little to make sure she was alright.

[[Acro.]]

'The...ocean?' Otterpaw could already taste the bitter saltwater running down her throat, feel it burning in her chest, hear it crashing in her ears, see it washing into her eyes... "Sounds great! I love fish," the apprentice purred excitedly, her tail weaving back and forth. "And, yeah, I just wasn't paying attention to what my paws were doing." Otterpaw laughed, but said nothing else as they continued to pad along. She could see the foam of the waves now--the churning sea was just a few remaining foxlengths away. "Um... I like eating fish," she began, voice slightly more timid. "but I've never had to catch one before..." Though, really, she hated fish. "When it's time, Grassfall... do you mind if I watch you first?"

[Sand]

Grassfall saw the ocean come in view and quickened her pace. "Yeah, I'll show you how to catch fish, it really isn't that hard," she meowed flicking her ears back and forth. She reached the ocean and sat down making sure that the sun was in front of her so that her shadow didn't fall on the water. She waited patiently for a fish to appear. Her paw suddenly shot out and she hooked up a fish and dropped it onto the shore.

[[Acro.]]

Otterpaw watched Grassfall catch the first fish in one smooth motion, the silvery creature now struggling helplessly up on dry sand. The apprentice swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling quite dry and raspy. "Okay," she remarked, clearing her throat so her voice would not seem so small. "That looks... simple enough. I'll give it a try." Slowly, with tense paws, the young she-cat approached the water, her mind racing as it tried to come up with a reason that she couldn't do this--an excuse to offer Grassfall. 'It's no use--my paws will have to get wet one way or the other...' Inhaling deeply to try and calm herself, Otterpaw crouched by the water in about the same area as Grassfall, so her shadow was not an issue. Her eyes stared into the cold, rippling sea.

She saw the slender body of a small fish darting within reach, and she focused on it, but, as she watched, the sky darkened and the fish morphed into a huge, raging beast. Waves suddenly began crashing all around her, spraying her face with salty brine. She shuddered, shaking her head to try and clear these awful visions away, but she couldn't escape them. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she found herself standing precariously on a tiny stone in the middle of a tumultuous sea, the water churning with darkness in every direction. 'No, no, no, no--' Tremors began to run down the apprentice's body and she screwed her eyes shut. A familiar scent reached her--it was Grassfall--and using it as an anchor she pulled herself back to reality, backing hastily away from the water's edge. She was panting.

"Hey!" she choked out, trying to sound excited. "I've got an idea--I'm really no good at fishing, and we're kind of wasting time with a lesson today, don't you think? I mean, this is a patrol, not a mentoring session." She laughed dryly, her words coming out much too fast. "So I was thinking maybe you could get some fish, and I'll nab some birds--I'm good with those--so that way we'll have a variety of kill to bring back to camp! Yeah? Yeah, okay, it sounds like a great plan to me!" Fueled by residual terror, Otterpaw darted off into the trees at the edge of SunsetClan's beach before Grassfall could say otherwise. If Grassfall wanted to stop her, she would probably need to physically restrain her, because words would not be enough.


ooc:// You could have Grassfall go after her, or just stay and fish--I had no plan either way =P

[Sand]

Grassfall sighed when she ran off wondering what to do. She was afraid of heights so she glad that they didn't climb trees. She turned going to the rocky part of the beach deciding that fishing would be good there. She cauggt a few more fish then went to grab her other fish. She also had a fear that a tree might fall on her during a storm. She headed away from the ocean lost in thought. She wanted to help Otterpaw with her fear. "Its just like running through the forest. If she thinks on the positive side and pretends that she is running through the trees then the fear should go away," she meowed to herself. "Great now I'm talking to myself," she told herself brushing paste a tree bristling as her fur brushed against its bark.

[[Acro.]]

Otterpaw did not stop running until she could no longer hear the waves or smell the sea. The trees shielded that for her now, and she immediately felt much better. 'All right... but now I had better find a bird to catch, because no way can I go back empty-pawed after that little display...' The apprentice tried to recall what she had learned from her time spent with other apprentices, and her mother. She considered hunting from the trees, but knew she wasn't nearly coordinated enough not to fall, so she stuck to the ground. After a little while, she heard some soft fluttering in the distance, and she came upon a young bird having itself a dust bath. Otterpaw grinned and fell into an awkward crouch, her ears straining forward. The young she-cat crept forward, and then she pounced...

...and the bird startled and flew into the underbrush. Otterpaw struck the ground with her paw in frustration. 'Come on! StarClan, give me a break!' And, apparently, someone up in Silverpelt was listening, because in the next instant Otterpaw heard very frantic fluttering coming from the underbrush. Curious, the apprentice poked her head in to the dense foliage, eyes widening when she saw her bird. The young thing had crashed into a net, of sorts, of ivy and heavy leaves and could not find its way out. Sympathy hit Ottepaw, but hunger hit her harder and she clumsily disposed of the tiny creature. She emerged with the bird hanging limply in her jaws, pleased she had something to show for her attempts. As she padded back the way she had come, she caught another whiff of Grassfall and her ears lowered with embarrassment. 'She probably thinks I'm just no good.' Quietly, Otterpaw dropped her bird and called out. "Grassfall? That you?"

[Sand]

Grassfall heard her name said and sighed dropping the fish. "Yes," she meowed her mew a little wary like she was tired. Thinking of her fear tired her out and made her just want to get back to camp. She picked her fish back up and walked over to Otterpaw. "Look I know your afraid of water. Everyone is afraid of something even me, but that isn't the point I want to help you get over your fear," she meowed wounding her tail over her paws. "When you get a mentor, your mentor will expect you to learn how to swim and catch fish. Fish is our main source of prey and the only time we usually catch birds is when the ocean is to cold," she meowed looking around.

[[Acro.]]

Otterpaw's ears burned and her pelt bristled as she averted her eyes. She dropped her head, unsheathing her claws in frustration. She hated that her fear wasn't as secret as she liked to believe it was. "I don't know what you're talking about, all right?" she snapped after a few moments, tail lashing. The she-cat briefly met Grassfall's eyes. 'She said "even me"... what could she possibly be afraid of? She's a warrior!' As incredulous as Otterpaw was, the thought that being afraid was normal was, for a moment, comforting. but that comfort dissipated quickly when Otterpaw remembered her awful visions of the black ocean, ready to swallow her. Shuddering, the apprentice moved to retrieve her bird. "Look, can we just go back to camp?" she grumbled. And then her tone softened as she added: "...please?"

[Sand]

Grassfall sighed and nodded almost seeming upset. "Come on let's go," she meowed heading to back to camp. She wanted to help Otterpaw get over her fear. 'Can't she see that I'm just trying to help her?' she asked herself sighing. She just wanted to go to sleep or spend time with Wolfsong. Wolfsong always erased all of her worries.

[[Acro.]]

Relieved, though still upset, Otterpaw picked up her small bird and followed behind Grassfall back to camp. What did Grassfall know, anyways? The warrior knew nothing about Otterpaw! Why did she think she was allowed to bring up uncomfortable things? Sulking, the apprentice dropped her catch on the fresh-kill pile and slithered off to the Apprentices' Den. It was mostly vacant, except for one or two others. 'Probably napping after a training session...' Sighing quietly, the young, lanky she-cat padded carefully around the sleeping bodies and curled up against the back wall of the Den. 'I don't need to be able to fish to be a great warrior of Sunsetclan,' she thought bitterly. 'I'll show Grassfall... I'll show them all...' And with that, the young Otterpaw had drifted off, hoping to sleep her worries away.

ooc:// Aaaaand I'm assuming that's the end of this patrol--if not, just keep post-post-postin' =P