Foxpaw's Training [Lunar]

[Rogue]

ℓυиαя Sorry about the delay.

Redflower padded out of the warrior den and stretched, the sunlight turning her ginger pelt to flame.  After training her apprentice Creekpaw yesterday, she was a bit tired, but excited to meet the other apprentice that she had been given.  She would have to work out some sort of training schedule with the two so that they both got her equal attention, she decided to herself as she padded over to the apprentice den.  "Foxpaw!" she called out, sitting down just outside the entrance to the den. "Time to train!"

[ℓυиαя]

Today was the day.

For as long a she could remember, Foxpaw had wanted to be an apprentice, and today - she was meeting her new mentor and commencing her training. The small ginger she cat was shaking with excitement, her feathered tail moving backwards and forwards. She had always been unable to keep still when excited and it was no news that she liked to keep moving.

I wonder what my mentor is like, the new apprentice thought excitedly.

"Foxpaw!" A female voice called out.  "Time to train!" 

Green eyes widened and the small apprentice bounded out of her new den and into the sun. Setting her eyes on the older, more experienced she cat, Foxpaw made her way over and turned in an excited circle. "Redflower, hi! What are we doing today?"

[Rogue]

ℓυиαя

Redflower let out an amused purr as Foxpaw came bouncing out of the den. It was clear that the young apprentice was very excited to start her first day of training. "Hello Foxpaw," she meowed, dipping her head to the young she-cat. "I can see you're excited. That's good. Enthusiasm is a trait of a good warrior." The ginger she-cat turned and headed for the entrance to the camp, flicking her tail for Foxpaw to follow. "Today we're going to be hunting." Redflower didn't mention when they would practice fighting for a reason; it was the part of training that she dreaded.

[ℓυиαя]

"Hello Foxpaw," her new mentor greeted her. "I can see you're excited. That's good. Enthusiasm is a trait of a good warrior."

As her mentor turned, Foxpaw followed her with a bounce to her step. She was already impressing her mentor then and on the path to being a good warrior. Foxpaw beamed and followed Redflower to the camp entrance, obviously looking forward to going out into the great unknown. Was this how all cats thought when they stepped outside?

"Today, we're going to be hunting," Redflower continued and Foxpaws ears perked up. Hunting! "I love hunting. I used to catch moss balls with my siblings as a kit."

[Rogue]

ℓυиαя

Redflower purred at her apprentice's words. "Catching moss balls in the nursery is a lot different than catching prey in the forest," she gently reminded the young she-cat. She brushed her tail lightly along Foxpaw's flank, and then continued walking. Once they reached a good spot, she turned to her apprentice. "Alright Foxpaw, why don't you show me your best hunting crouch?"

[ℓυиαя]

"Catching moss balls in the nursery is a lot different than catching prey in the forest," came Redflower's gentle reminder.

The apprentices face faltered for a moment but soon the spark was back and she bounced along behind Redflower at the touch of her tail to her flank. They moved deeper into the forest, the smaller of the two having to walk faster to keep up but to complain would be for her to look weak. She had to work hard and really impress her mentor on the first day and then all of them after that. Finally they stopped and Foxpaw looked around, taking in their surroundings and only looking back at her mentor when she spoke up again.

"Alright Foxpaw, why don't you show me your best hunting crouch?"

Her first challenge!

Tail waving, the small tabby bent down, legs lightly uneven but with her head low and eyes pinned straight forward. Ears twitched and after a while, the little apprentice looked up at her mentor with a question in her look.

"Is this ok, Redflower?"

[Rogue]

ℓυиαя

Redflower circled her apprentice slowly, examine the young tabby's form. Occasionally she would correct a few things with a light touch of her paw, molding the apprentice into a current hunting crouch. Finally, the ginger warrior stepped back and nodded her head in approval. "Very good Foxpaw, you got it."

[ℓυиαя]

Foxpaw tried her best to listen to her mentor as she corrected her here and there, circling around her smoothly before stepping back and nodding. There certainly was a lot to remember for something as simple as crouching, who would have thought

"Very good Foxpaw, you got it," came Redflower's voice and Foxpaw sat back, secretly happy that she could get out of that uncomfortable position.

Legs tired after the unusual motion, Foxpaw looked over at her mentor and fluffed her tail, excitement across her maw. "It was good? Awesome! I can't wait to tell all the other apprentices! What are we going to learn next?" Her energy and enthusiasm had certainly not dulled over her first lesson, she small she cat rearing to go once more.

[Rogue]

ℓυиαя Sorry for the delay!

Redflower purred softly. Foxpaw was so eager to please and excited to learn. Her brain was like a ball of moss, soaking up all of the information and lessons. That was a characteristic of a good warrior, and the ginger she-cat was very proud. "Now I want you to scent the air," she told the young apprentice. "See if you can smell anything, and if you can locate it."

[ℓυиαя]

OOC: No worries c: Everyone is busy.

At her mentor's purr, Foxpaw's eyes brightened and her tail puffed up in delight. This was exciting, on her first training she was managing to impress her mentor, Redflower. She was going to be the best warrior Leafclan could ask for.

"Now I want you to scent the air. See if you can smell anything, and if you can locate it," came her mentor's next task. Cocking her head slightly to gather what she was meant to do, Foxpaw then lifted her nose to scent the air and was instantly hit with a number of warring scents.

This was... harder than expected. Back int eh nursery or even in camp, she had begun to learn the different scents for cats around her, the freshkill pile, the moss in the nursery and her mother. However out here, there was much she didn't know. Sniffing at the air, the small apprentice tried desperately to separate out the smells until she found something that vaguely resembled the freshkill pile. Turning her nose in the direction of the scent, her green eyes tried to see something, anything, in the forest however whatever it was was hiding.

"I can... smell something over there. Squirrel?" She asked, before looking at her mentor.

[Rogue]

ℓυиαя

Redflower watched her apprentice try to puzzle out the many different smells, compassion filling her eyes when she saw Foxpaw look a little lost. It was probably very overwhelming for her, with this only being her first hunting lesson and all. Redflower purred softly when the apprentice suddenly perked up and glanced at her for reassurance. "Yes, that's squirrel," she told Foxpaw, lowering her voice a little. "Now remember what I taught you. Get into your crouch, and when you creep toward the squirrel, make sure you watch where you place your paws. If you step on a twig or a dry leaf, the squirrel will hear you."