Training (Tagged)

[Lionhearted]

Tagged: @jupiter [Cherrypaw] 

The sunlight filtered through the warriors' den, and Buzzardheart poked his head out, savoring the chilly wind. Walking over to the apprentices' den, he poked his head in, excited for his first day as a mentor. "Is Cherrypaw around here?" he called, a little too loudly. Apprentices near the entrance grumbled in irritation. "Oops, sorry. but Cherrypaw? Are you there?"

OOC: Sorry for the suckish beginning ;-;

[Deleted]

OOC: That's alright but you tagged the wrong person ^.^

Cherrypaw was just about to catch her mouse when she heard her mentor's voice calling for her. Groaning, her green fluttered open. Yes, Buzzardheart. I'm here. She said in a hushed toned. The she-cat stood up and arched her back, stretching a bit. She then made her way out of the den to the warrior. What are we doing today?

[Lionhearted]

OOC: My apologies ^^'

"We're going to start with hunting first," said Buzzardheart, flicking his tail in greeting. "It requires a special stance, like this--" he crouched low. "It's called the 'hunting crouch,' and it is a very important move. Notice what I'm doing. My legs are bent, and my belly is flat and level. My tail is straight, but not low or high. So can you tell me why I don't want to hold it too high or too low?"

[Deleted]

Cherrypaw watched her mentor closely, memorizing the position. She copied the warrior, making sure she was in the same position. When he started talking about his tail, she knew the reason why. Because our tails help us keep our balance. She smiled brightly up at him. Am I in the correct stance?

[Lionhearted]

"Yes. Very well done," Buzzardheart said. but I didn't even give her the command yet. "And your answer is partially correct. We don't want to droop our tails because then they'll drag on the ground. We don't want to lift them too high, either, since they'll cast a shadow, or stick out. but balance is a very important thing in everything we do.

"So, the next step is to strike. We want to first check the wind-- if it's blowing towards us, great. If it's not, then we have to change our position around the prey so our scent doesn't waft over towards them. Now, once you've made the necessary adjustments, you want to have a center of focus, and a sense of balance. Without balance, nothing is going to go right. So we'll need to make more adjustments as needed, and change your stance and whatnot.

"All right, finally, you want to leap. However, you must remember to jump forward instead of upwards-- can you tell me why?"

[Deleted]

OOC: Sorry for the slow reply, I was moving into my dorm today.

Cherrypaw nodded her head, listening to everything he was saying. Too high creates a shadow and too low causes noise... She repeated in her head. All of her focus was on him, not wanting to miss a single word that he said. She wanted to learn everything possible that she could from him.

Striking. That was next on the check list. First was crouch position. Stay downwind. Got it. The pale tabby said to herself. Then came the jump, that was third. Always jump forward. She noted to herself again. So you can actually catch the prey where it is. Otherwise you would land in the same spot and probably scare the prey away.

[Lionhearted]

OOC: Take your time! I'm still stuck in high school ;_;

"Correct on your part," said Buzzardheart, nodding in approval of Cherrypaw's answer. "Also, remember that you take the same amount of time to jump high and to fall back down. So, jumping too high might cause a shadow, make noise, and create more problems overall. You just want to launch yourself forward, and get the job done as quickly as possible.

"Now, the final move is to strike, like I said. You want to lean on your back legs a bit, just to put more weight on them so you can power through more. Now, see that flower? I'm gonna pretend it's a mouse. You push forward with your back legs, push backwards with your front, and pull yourself towards the prey." Buzzardheart demonstrated, and landed on the flower. "Oops. I overshot slightly," he said, somewhat flustered. "With more practice, you'll be able to judge the distance by instinct. Now you try."