Can You Help Feed Hungry Mouths?

[Honey]

Ooc;; Since we started this before the season change, I'm still going to say it's Leaf-fall like weather and such. Prey still pretty easy to catch. Anya


They had left camp just after dawn and it was now just before mid-day. The More Fields were still golden but the ground was dry and cold under paw. The sun was desperately trying to warm whatever it could, but that didn't mean it could wash away leaf-fall's bite. The trek from TalonClan's camp to the fields had warmed Honeyrain up nicely and a kit like excitement filled her. Finally, she was back to feeling like a warrior! 
Looking behind her, just briefly, she made sure Fallenpaw had made it okay. She didn't doubt the apprentice's abilities but that didn't make TalonClan's terrain easy to naviagate.
"Alright, first things first. When hunting prey you have to keep quiet and move softly." Honeyrain's voice was soft as she spoke. "Tell me what you smell first and we will move on from there." At this point the tall, golden grass of the More Fields gave them enough covering so there was no need for crouching. Little at a time she would explain more and more. The warrior wanted to see how well Fallenpaw could smell and see if she could differentiate stale scents from fresh ones. Once that was established they would pick a scent to follow and hunting techniques would come after that. 

[Anya]

The ground was rocky and cold to the touch. Fallenpaw shivered as the mid-day sun peeked through the disappointing clouds above. Leaf-fall was just a warning before the real cold settled in. Honeyrain glanced behind briefly and the younger cat picked up the pace.

"Alright, first things first. When hunting prey you have to keep quiet and move softly." Honeyrain's voice was soft as she spoke. "Tell me what you smell first and we will move on from there."

Fallenpaw nodded, she raised her nose and opened her maw to take in the scents. Grass...wet earth from the morningdew...I like that scent. For the time being she couldn't detect fresh scents of prey. "There were some burrowing squirrels here and some field mice..." she kept her voice low and soft so as not to scare away potential kill. Her head turned towards the strong scent of a gray necked thrush. It was probably after the fresh worms that were out in the moist mud. A flutter of wings confirmed it. "Up northeast from us," she pointed with her tail, "a thrush."

"I'd say about...four or six tail lengths away." The calico (I looked at her description and it said she was a tortie but she also had white so I'm going to just say she's a calico) apprentice turned her yellow eyes back to face her mentor, awaiting her next set of instructions.

[Honey]

A small purr rolled from Honeyrain's throat as her apprentice named prey that hid around them. "Wonderful job!" Her voice may have been a whisper but the excitement was not dulled. Keeping quiet and angling her ears toward the thrush's direction, the TalonClan warrior dropped her body low to the ground. Looking at Fallenpaw she then looked back her own body, indicating she wanted Fallenpaw to follow what she was doing. 

Most of her weight sat on her hind legs, fore paws lightly perched on the dirt. Moving forward it was fluid and obviously second nature. Her paws were placed with thoughtfulness and minding the loose rocks that could disrupt her path and scare the thrush away. Honeyrain's tail was parallel to the ground an un-moving. Once she was about two-tail lengths away the warrior pushed her hind legs into the ground and used it to propel herself forward. Her speed in the action allowed the thrush to notice her but didn't give it much time to react. 

When it darted to the left of its original course Honeyrain was forced to turn on a dime, her tail working as a rudder. Claws digging into the ground for traction the feline jumped upon a rock and used the height it gave her as an advantage. Leaping from the rock with paws outstretched, claws sharp, Honeyrain landed directly on the bird and gave it a swift ending. Coming up from her crouch the prey dangled from her jaws. Trotting back to Fallenpaw she laid the bird at her feet.


"Now, I want you to find that mouse you smelled earlier and try and pounce on it. I want to see how you do it on your own before giving instruction. Think of it as if it were a leaf you used to chase in camp, only this time it has legs." Her eyes lit up as if she was laughing giving humor to her words. She trusted Fallenpaw would do just fine. However, if she missed the mouse they would find another and Honeyrain would give a bit more direction. To her everyone had their own technique and she was only there to make it better. 


Anya

[Anya]

"Wonderful job!" Honeyrain purred. Fallenpaw felt her chest swell up with pride and her ears grow warm at her mentors praise. Her mentor soon dropped her body low and signaled Fallenpaw to watch what she was doing.

The calico apprentice nodded as her mentor moved forward effortlessly. Fallenpaw noted the positioning of the paws, head and the tail. Hunting was a full body experience. In a matter of heartbeats the interaction ensued and Fallenpaw's eyes widened as Honeyrain pursued the thrush. The warrior adapted herself to each response like second nature. Fallenpaw needed only to bat an eye when she saw the lifeless bird in her mentors maw. "That was amazing!" Fallenpaw kept her voice from rising, but her eyes showed her admiration and excitement. Her mentor trotted over and placed the kill at her paws.

"Now, I want you to find that mouse you smelled earlier and try and pounce on it. I want to see how you do it on your own before giving instruction. Think of it as if it were a leaf you used to chase in camp, only this time it has legs." That made Fallenpaw's smile widen.

The apprentice nodded and opened her maw once more to catch the scent of the field mice. Her nose twitched and she shut her jaw as she smelled the breath of a mouse a fox-length or two away. It was hidden somewhere in the tall grass. Her ears swiveled back and forth in an attempt to locate the exact location of her prey. She could hear teeth gnawing away at something. The chewing stopped every now and then and Fallenpaw moved along with the pattern.

She positioned herself downwind and dropped her body low like she had watched Honeyrain demonstrate. She rolled her paws forward, keeping her weight on her toes as she crept forward stealthily. She stopped when the chewing ceased and continued when it began again. Her tail mirrored the ground and aligned her body as she slithered forward. The mouse was now into view. Two tail-lengths from her.

Fallenpaw narrowed her yellow eyes, the white rims almost invisible in the light. She crouched, waiting until the mouse began to chew again. The waiting period had increased and she suspected that the mouse sensed something. In her haste she pounced, launching off her hind legs, pushing the weight onto her haunches before releasing. With claws unsheathed, she landed on the critter, sinking her fangs into it's neck. but her landing was noisy and she was thrown off balance causing her to stagger before regaining her balance. She turned over to Honeyrain with an uncertain look.

[Honey]

As Fallenpaw tasted the air again the wind shifted and Honeyrain was impressed with the apprentice's ability to keep downwind. There was instinct with hunting, as there was with fighting, and Fallenpaw had a good grasp on it. Keeping amber eyes on the younger cat's form, Honeyrain nodded in approval and noted just a few minor things to tweak here and there. Crouching low the warrior moved in a small arc so she could watch Fallenpaw's progress. 

Then, Fallenpaw made her choice. Alternating her movements as the mouse was chewing was a brilliant move! Noting the small hesitation, Honeyrain admired Fallenpaw's reaction and made her kill swift. As her apprentice came from her crouch there was a small falter in her balance, that was nothing. "Excellent job!" Bounding to the calico Honeyrain touched noses with her. Her tail flicked proudly; which could be felt in the air. "Landing, balance, those things will come with time. I have a few things that can help with that." Another purr tore from her throat as she glanced up at the sky. The sun was moving further across which indicated going back soon. 

"If we are going to beat the cold and dark walk back, we'll have to leave soon. Let's bury these so we don't attract badgers or foxes and I'll give a quick explanation of where each clan is. We'll revisit this later, in more depth, but in the mean time let's get on those boulders over there so we can see over the tall grass." Digging a hole large enough for the thrush and mouse, Honeyrain deposited her kill and waited for Fallenpaw to do the same. Heading to a small group of rocks the reddish-gold feline jumped onto the biggest one in a couple bounds and sat, tail curling around her paws. With the sun just past mid-point in the sky, Honeyrain felt a smile hit her muzzle. It was so beautiful watching the colors change and gave her a sense of peace. You could just start to see the water that was salty. And of course you could see the Sky Field. Once Fallenpaw joined her, Honeyrain would show her the general direction of the other clans and where the twoleg place was. That was one of the saving graces of TalonClan, they were far from an abundance of twoleg activity. 

Anya

[Anya]

"Excellent job!" Bounding over Honeyrain touched noses with her. Fallenpaw felt her ears grow warm at the praise and her tail stuck up happily. "Landing, balance, those things will come with time. I have a few things that can help with that." her mentor purred. 

"If we are going to beat the cold and dark walk back, we'll have to leave soon. Let's bury these so we don't attract badgers or foxes and I'll give a quick explanation of where each clan is. We'll revisit this later, in more depth, but in the mean time let's get on those boulders over there so we can see over the tall grass." Digging a hole large enough for the thrush and mouse, Honeyrain deposited her kill and Fallenpaw followed right behind her. She quickly kicked the dirt over and bounded after her mentor. They were headed towards a small group of rocks. Hoenyrain scaled over them with ease and sat on the largest one with her tail curling around her paws. Fallenpaw scrambled up, not so gracefully. She would learn, eventually. She wriggled her way over the edge and joined Honeyrain, fur slightly disheveled. 

"Wow!" the younger she-cat gasped at the orange tinged blue sky. There were pink streaks lining the edges and almost purple hues here and there. "The sky has so many colors! It's beautiful!" TalonClan had a vast gap between them and the other clans. Isolated they may be, but by no means were the lacking in beautiful scenery. Fallenpaw felt blessed to be here. Her eyes wandered over the landscape before them. It was vast and far. She wondered if her mother or sister were out somewhere out there. 

[Honey]

Anya

Honeyrain nodded in agreement. The sky was absolutely stunning. Positing herself to be facing the general direction of WhisperClan and StormClan, the warrior started her mini lesson. "In front of us are Whisperclan and StormClan. WhisperClan would be there," her tail aimed in a southwest direction, "and StormClan borders with them." Taking a moment to make sure she had her information correct, Honeyrain paused then nodded to herself. 
"There is a stream that divides StormClan from MidnightClan. Then following would be, LeafClan, SunsetClan and then the twoleg place." Looking down at Fallenpaw she admired the young cat's wonder and excitement. Feeling a cold wind brush up against her fur the honey-golden warrior shivered and shook out her pelt. 
"Now, lets go gather our kill and head back to camp. Think about the Clans and when we get back I'll ask you what you know about them." She didn't believe in being so separated. Knowledge about the other clans was important. It helped aid with negotiations and helped grow together. Jumping from the boulders Honeyrain moved to their covered prey and re-dug them up. Once her apprentice made her way to her they would start back to the camp and go over their lessons. 


((ooc:: We can go back to the first thread we made at camp and go over some stuff. Then tomorrow I'll make a new thread for fighting practice ^^ Let's get your apprentice moving toward warriorship!))