Keeping the Clans Alive {An Advanced Warriors RP} discussion

{Roleplay}
The shore of the lake, which often rises after there is a large amount of rain.

Ivywhisper followed Hawkpaw, taking note of any scents that her apprentice didn't mention. He was doing fairly well, her chest puffing with pride.

".. frog scent over there, and I can smell.. a patrol! Faint. They must have crossed here, so we must be close to the lake," Hawkpaw mewed - for the most part, he had hardly clamped his jaws together. Instead, he had keenly told her about everything he had scented, no matter how faint, inadvertently trying to show off. "Oh! There! I smell it. The water is.. it smells odd again. Because of fish? Some Twoleg scent as well." He hopped up onto a branch, giving him the height to look out and spot the water, where dark shapes frolicked in the lake. ".. Must be related to RiverClan cats," he commented, jumping back down.

"Very good Hawkpaw," Ivywhisper purred, hopping over the log to join her apprentice on the other side. The lake was stretched in front of them, her eyes scanning the horizon. "Now, what do you remember about hunting frogs?" They'd gone over this a couple days ago so she expected him to be a little rusty.

Hawkpaw paused at the question, trying to remember what she had told him. Coming up with nothing, he hazarded a guess. "Prepare for them to jump? Careful of them slipping?"

"Both of those are good things to watch out for. Frogs are pretty slippery, not much to snag your claws into," Ivywhisper said with a small nod of approval. "Do you remember the correct stance?"

((I have no idea how they hunt frogs... Do you know?))

((I watched some videos of cats hunting frogs and think I've worked it out. One isn't a house cat, one is, but: non-house cat laid down and waited. Didn't catch anything because something spooked the frogs. House cat: sat and waited, pounced on frog, continuously until it had it under its paws and bit into it to kill it.))

Nodding, Hawkpaw laid down, but kept the muscles in his haunches tense and ready to enter a pounce, his belly barely a kitstep from the undergrowth, gently raised by his front paws. "Like this?" he asked, looking ahead into the bushes.

((Okay. Good research :) ))

Ivywhisper looked down at him, making sure everything was in the right position. "Very good. Just remember not to swish your tail, that can alert your prey," she advised, turning her attention towards the shoreline. "You ready to actually catch a frog?"

((Dedication! Yeah!))

"No swishing tail," Hawkpaw repeated aloud, to remind himself, immediately flattening his tail against the ground. Sliding up to sit, he gazed at her, thought about it, and shook his head, "Could you show me first?" he mewed.

Ivywhisper nodded, knowing that sometimes it was easier for young cats to learn by watching rather than listening. "Follow me," she murmured as she began to slink through the marshy ground her eyes scanning for any leaping frogs. There. She flicked her tail to make Hawkpaw stop, as she crouched down. Her muscles tensed before shooting forward at the frog she'd locked her gaze on to, her paws wrapped around the frog his life ending a moment later when she nipped his neck. "Your turn," she purred, turning to look at Hawkpaw, "Any questions?"

Hawkpaw padded closely behind Ivywhisper, stopping as she signalled him to, his keen eyes darting to the frog and observing the way in which she killed it. Confident in himself, he nodded, and looked around, sniffing the air for frog scent.

Ivywhisper set the dead frog down, quickly burying so she could watch Hawkpaw. The last time they'd done this he'd been unable to successfully catch and kill a frog, he'd caught a couple but they'd always managed to slip away.

Finding a trail, Hawkpaw lowered himself into a crouch, watching the frog hop out of its hiding place and head towards the lake. The young apprentice pounced, his paws a flurry as they attempt to pin the frog down, which jumped from each of his advances. After four escapes, Hawkpaw pinned it between his paws, but the frog wiggled out and hopped away, leaving the tom frustrated. "I'll try again," he announced, lashing his tail angrily.

Ivywhisper watched the young tom, her tail flicking with frustration along with Hawkpaw. She wasn't upset with him, but it was frustrating to see your apprentice unable to finish a kill. "Don't pounce until your sure you can get it, the more attempts you make the more alert the frog will be. Try to slit the throat as quickly as you can," she advised.

Hawkpaw looked at Ivywhisper and considered her advice, and dipped his head. Stalking forwards to follow a scent, he crouched down, waited, and judged the distance. A few rabbit-lengths. Could he do that? Pausing, he pounced, and scratched at the frog, pinning it down. The frog wriggled and slipped, but he caught it again and bit down into it.

Ivywhisper held her breath, something she did whenever she was nervous. Her body tensed as she Hawkpaw prepare to pounce, sending a quick prayer up to StarClan that this would a successful attempt. She heard a scuffle, saw Hawkpaw reach out again, but stayed where she was when all went still. She knew how exciting it was to bring back your first kill boastfully to your mentor.

Lifting the frog up within his jaws, the small tom padded over to his mentor, almost expecting it to reanimate and leap from his mouth all of a sudden. He lay the prey at her paws, and puffed out his chest, "I got it!"

Ivy whisper's finally exhaled when Hawkpaw made his way over to her, the sight of the frog dangling from his jaws putting her at ease. "I knew you could do it," she purred, she felt as proud and excited as Hawkpaw looked, "Ready to catch another?"

Hawkpaw nodded; he was excited to prove himself more, and to help feed the Clan. While greenleaf was bountiful, he had heard just how difficult it could be in the upcoming moons. "I want to catch two more. Are you going to hunt as well?" he mewed.

Ivywhisper nodded, "Yes. I'm going to stay right around here, so if you need me just call." She wasn't worried about Hawkpaw, she knew that he could take care of himself, but she couldn't stop herself from feeling a little twinge of fear at having him go off on his own.

Hawkpaw dipped his head, and padded off, his pawsteps at first clumsily loud, and then he realised his mistake. Making light steps upon the ground, he lowered himself as he caught a nearby scent, his tail gently swishing behind him as the wind caught it.

Ivywhisper decided to catch a couple frogs herself, or whatever prey she found, and then she'd circle back to watch Hawkpaw. She crouched low, her belly fur softly brushing against the marshy ground. That was one thing she hated about hunting frogs: your belly fur always got muddy and wet. She pounced, quickly killing the frog she'd noticed out of the corner of her eye.

Struggling with his third frog, Hawkpaw tussled and fought with it until he finally managed to pin it by the back legs, and bit into it quickly whilst he had the chance. Was that a good strategy? he wondered, and decided to try it again. His fourth and fifth frogs got away too quickly, and he huffed in frustration, sending nearby prey scattering away from him. "They're too slippery and fast," he told Ivywhisper, clearly annoyed that he was having bad luck, despite having caught two.

Ivywhisper had managed to catch a quick second and third frog, burying all three together near the edge of the marshy ground. She padded up to Hawkpaw just as he let out his huff of frustration, her eyes filled with understanding. "Don't worry so much," she chided, flicking his ear with her tail. "Have I ever told you about my first time hunting frogs?" She asked him.

"No," mewed Hawkpaw, tilting his head to the side, wondering if she had been any better. Probably, he thought glumly, but was only putting himself down because he had expected more of himself. "What happened?"

"Rowanheart was my mentor, he wasn't deputy at the time but everyone in the clan knew that he would be when the position opened up," Ivywhisper began, "And like I've done with you. We started with hunting, hunting frogs." She hated this story, it always made her embarrassed, so she rarely told it. But she thought it might help Hawkpaw. "It took me almost half a moon to successfully catch a frog on my own. I was too eager, sometimes pouncing straight over the frog. You should've seen how frustrated Rowanheart became!"

Hawkpaw blinked, listening to her story, slightly amused. "Really?" he asked, and looked down to their buried frogs. "That must have been difficult," he mused, and dug up his frogs, collecting them into a small pile near hers. "Can we go back to camp and try again tomorrow? I think I scared a lot away.. Sorry."

"Would I really make up that kind of a story about myself?" Ivywhisper questioned with a purr, as she padded over to her own pile of frogs. "And don't worry about it. We've got more than enough frogs to bring back to camp."

"Maybe. Sometimes Acornbelly makes up stories that aren't true," mewed Hawkpaw, picking up his frogs with his teeth, and stood proud with them, though he could barely carry them all in his little mouth.

"Are you calling me an elder?" Ivywhisper teased, her voice muffled by the frogs dangling from her jaws. She wait to make sure that Hawkpaw could handle the frogs, knowing they were sometimes awkward to carry.

"No," mewed Hawkpaw, confused over why she would say that, but focused on pawing up his frogs and picking up one, and struggling to get the next. Putting both frogs together, he tried to get their legs together, and picked them both up by the legs. He glanced at Ivywhisper, hoping that he was meant to do it like that. They were much too big for him to carry in his mouth, so dangling them from his jaws seemed like his best chance.

Ivywhisper watched him struggling, not offering to help so that Hawkpaw would figure it out himself. Good, she thought with pride when he figured out that the easiest way for him to manage the frogs was by the legs. She began padding towards camp, flicking her tail for him to follow her.

((To camp??))

((Yep, I'll post there after you!))

Hawkpaw made sure that he had a good grip on the legs before he quickly ran after her to catch up, taking small but quick steps to keep to her long strides. His mother would be impressed, he hoped. Next time Ivywhisper took him out to hunt, he intended to catch much more prey.