Training Hailpaw (Midnight)

[Babylonranger]

The blue-grey light of predawn filtered into the Warriors' den, waking one of the toms. The brown tabby blearily blinked his yellow eyes and yawned widely. Rising from his nest, he left the den and stretched his limbs. Seeing that not many cats were yet awake, he sat and let his gaze rove over camp before settling on the Apprentices' den. With a start, he remembered that he was responsible for an apprentice now, that he was a mentor.

Mossbrook stood and padded over to the Apprentices' den. He remembered his time there with some pain, but there had been happiness too. Before. Shaking the memory away, the tom stuck his head in the den and looked for his apprentice. "Hailpaw!" he called out softly, not wanting to wake up the entirety of the apprentices.


Ooc: Hope this is alright for starting, Midnight.

[Midnight]

Hailpaw was washing his snow-white pelt, purring softly to himself as the sound of chipper birds tweeting in the distance filled his ears. When Mossbrook poked his head into the apprentices' den and called out for Hailpaw, the young tom's ears perked, and he glanced up. I guess it's time for training, then, Hailpaw thought, looking toward the rear of his coat, feeling very disappointed that he'd been unable to finish washing himself. "Clan matters come first," Hailpaw mumbled the reminder to himself as he stood and stretched his body.

Upon finally finishing his morning wake-up ritual, Hailpaw gingerly stepped around his denmates, pulling himself out of the apprentices' den. Hailpaw was a massive cat, and having been an only kitten, he'd had all of his mother's nutrients to himself from the time he was conceived to the day of his ceremony, when he was fully weaned. While many apprentices were able to slip right out of their den with no problem, Hailpaw had to put effort into squeezing himself out, trying not to tear his fur out or destroy the den's entrance.

"What are we starting with?" Hailpaw asked.

[Babylonranger]

Mossbrook's whiskers twitched in restrained amusement as he watched his large apprentice struggle to exit the den. I hope he doesn't grow much bigger before his ceremony, the older tom thought. The den's entrance will probably have to be enlarged as it is. At Hailpaw's question, the brown tabby considered his options. He didn't have patrol duties that day, so those were out. That left battle training or . . .

"Let's start with hunting this morning," Mossbrook said. Maybe they could move on to battle training after Sunhigh.

[Midnight]

"Hunting, huh? I'm not the best, but I guess that leaves room for improvement." Hailpaw responded, dipping his head respectfully to his mentor. He wondered momentarily where they would be hunting, but Hailpaw decided not to ask, figuring that Mossbrook would be leading him there anyway.

Glancing up, Hailpaw took note of the rising sun. "There aren't many clouds in the sky, and given the already-warm temperatures we have this morning, I'm going to guess that there will be a lot of prey scurrying around today. I've already heard several birds chirping away, so they might be out on the beach trying to get at the fish. Twolegs are also a large danger, I would guess, but maybe not so much this early in the morning." The young tom observed, blinking slowly at his mentor.

[Babylonranger]

Mossbrook grinned easily at Hailpaw as he led the way out of camp. "There's always room for some improvement," the tabby warrior agreed. "No cat is perfect after all." And what a boring world it would be if we were, he thought to himself.

The brown tom paused as his large, white-furred apprentice rattled off a few observations. The older cat studied Hailpaw for a moment before nodding. "Very good. Many of the birds you hear will be out on the beach, hunting for fish or other small sea creatures. Twolegs aren't usually around this early, no, but that's not a hard and fast rule. As for the prey scurrying around, yes and no." Mossbrook headed steadily towards the Abandoned Twoleg Nest. "Once we reach the peak of greenleaf, you'll be more likely to find prey in the early mornings or toward dusk when it's not as warm. Some creatures will still be active come Sunhigh, but not in any large amount."

((Ooc: Do you want a time-skip to when they arrive?))

[Midnight]

(It doesn't matter to me either way, you choose. ^^)

As far as Hailpaw was concerned, the most important thing was to avoid twolegs, because there was no point in hunting prey and bringing it back to camp if twolegs invaded the camp and took most of the SunsetClanners away. Whenever Hailpaw left the camp, he made sure that no twolegs saw where he'd come from and where he was going.

Hailpaw padded through the camp entrance after his mentor, mewing softly to Mossbrook to let him know to wait up for a few minutes. The apprentice then flopped into the sand, rolling around for a few minutes. "It's not easy having a white pelt. I attract the eyes of everything, so I like to roll around in the sand for a bit before I head out into the territory. It works better with mud, but assuming you want to get going, this will work too." Hailpaw said as he heaved himself up, fighting the urge to shake out his pelt. "Besides, if I look ragged, twolegs will pull their kits away from me." The young tom nodded to his mentor, trotting forward to catch up.

[Babylonranger]

Mossbrook stopped and looked back at his apprentice, the brown tabby's tail flicking from side to side. He watched silently as Hailpaw dirtied his pelt and thought on the younger tom's words. "I would think sand is easier to get out of your fur than mud," he said, walking again once Hailpaw had caught up. "And since depending on how you do this morning, I was considering running you through some battle training later, we should probably get moving."

---

The sky had lightened significantly by the time the pair reached the abandoned Twoleg nest. Songbirds and sea birds alternated their calls, and Mossbrook caught the faint scent-trails of other members of Sunsetclan as well as the more recent ones of small prey mammals. The mentor came to a stop and turned his golden gaze on Hailpaw. "What do you notice?" he asked quietly, checking his apprentice's observation and reasoning skills.

[Midnight]

The temperature had gotten significantly higher since the time the pair left camp, and Hailpaw was nearly panting, his long coat already causing him to have a very miserable greenleaf. The sun shone down as Hailpaw slipped out of the jungle area in SunsetClan's territory, the young tom's golden eyes narrowing against the sharp brightness. When he was fully adjusted to the area, Hailpaw first swiveled his ears, taking in the sounds of the area. "I can hear twoleg kits playing in the distance, a bit beyond that fence over there," Hailpaw began nodding his head toward a large, pale brown fence that was several fox-lengths away. "I hear a bit of scuffling in the area, but nothing too major."

Hailpaw looked around slowly, letting his eyes take in everything possible, though his eyes were far from the best. There was moss growing on the abandoned shack, and plants crept up through the cracks in the old wood, reaching for the sun. "I don't see any prey, but given I can hear it, I know it's there." Hailpaw mumbled, more to himself than to Mossbrook. Hailpaw opened his mouth slightly, allowing his scent glands to recognize everything in the area. "I smell many plants, which makes sense, as I often hear Mintpaw grabbing apprentices to bring them here and gather herbs with her, and there's definitely some prey-scent around, but nothing specific?" Hailpaw looked at his mentor, tipping his head slightly to the side as he waited for a response.

[Babylonranger]

Mossbrook nodded when Hailpaw had finished, pleased with what his apprentice could make out from what he sensed around them. The older tom took in their surroundings, noting the rising temperature. He had heard Hailpaw panting earlier and did not want to keep the apprentice out so long that he dehydrated or over-heated.

"I would like you to catch three items of prey," Mossbrook said. "I won't set a time limit, but the sooner you're done, the sooner you can take a swim and cool off. If you start to feel dizzy or sick, let me know at once and we'll stop. Understood?"

((Ooc: Hailpaw already knows hunting basics, right?))

[Midnight]

(He's eight moons old, so I'd say he's probably trained a bit in the basics.)

"Got it." Hailpaw replied distractedly, already on the search for prey. The heat was beginning to slowly drain the tom's energy, and he crouched low, creeping toward the shack. Why had Mossbrook not chosen to go fishing somewhere? Hailpaw's tail-tip flicked as he began to question his mentor's choice. Mossbrook couldn't have predicted the rising temperature, Hailpaw supposed, but he could have taken Hailpaw fishing to begin with. Suppressing an irritated sigh, Hailpaw stopped moving when he reached the entrance of the abandoned building. The young tom's nose twitched as a scent drifted toward him, but Hailpaw could not name the creature. This is why SunsetClan mostly hunts fish. No cat in this Clan likes land prey, and it's greenleaf, so there's no point in hunting rodents right now, Hailpaw thought crossly just as a mouse scuttled out of a corner. Hailpaw lunged forward, slamming his paws down on the mouse's tail. As the apprentice bent to bite its neck, the mouse ran off, leaving Hailpaw scurrying after it to no avail.

Hailpaw returned to Mossbrook, glared, and said, "A mouse got away from me and I probably scared off most of the prey in the shack."

[Babylonranger]

Mossbrook watched as his apprentice crept towards the old twoleg nest and sighed mentally. He'd thought the heat wouldn't be as bad in the shade, but the warmth of greenleaf was oppressive, even this early. If there had been some wind off the sea, it might have helped. but the air was still.

The brown tabby sat in silence, his ears pricking up as he caught the sounds of Hailpaw scrambling about in the nest. He wasn't surprised to see the younger tom glaring at him after Hailpaw returned. Mossbrook sighed softly and stood. "Very well," he said. "We'll take a break from hunting practice. Pick a place and we'll see how your swimming is coming along."

(Sorry for the late reply. I was having trouble thinking of what to write.)