storms make trees take deeper roots
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Post by cosmic on Oct 13, 2023 14:38:45 GMT -6
#s://i~imgur~com/C4iKU9c~jpg wolfpaw | | show me the way, Lord...
'cause I am about to explode |
Dawn broke the horizon as the apprentice galloped along the forest. Thankfully, the recent snowfall had melted, but as a result, it left a slushy, muddy mess all over the floor. As much as he wanted to play and roll around, he knew that he wasn't a kit anymore. He was to be a warrior in no time. Carefully, he watched where he placed his paws, careful to not startle any prey that was near by. However, the air smelled bland, and that there was nothing of value in this part of the forest to hunt. A small sigh escaped from him, before he settled his rum down. As much as he wanted to be a skilled hunter, he knew his skills were more adequate for fighting. But with sparring came the comments.
"Wolfpaw needs to be careful or he'll become the next Wolfstar," they spoke. "I think Wolfpaw shouldn't spar, he might hurt someone," they said. His identity just revolved solely around the late RidgeClan leader, and it irritated him. It felt like nothing he did was praised or discouraged for being himself... but because of his name sake. Anxiety caused him to kneed his paws under his form, before he couldn't take the silence or the sitting any longer. The tom glanced around, keeping an eye out for any birds or rodents that he could being to stalk. However, a cat that was approaching caught his eye instead. "Hey there!" he spoke, swishing his tail in greeting. |
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Post by adrian on Nov 4, 2023 20:00:40 GMT -6
#s://i~ibb~co/Wpwx12x/frost~png There was something unpleasant about feeling the ground beneath her paws squelch under her with even the lightest step, mud caking around her paws in a way that gave her the urge to turn up her nose. Something distinctly kitty-pet that she wasn't willing to acknowledge. There was some use in mud, however. It meant when she saw the slightly smaller paw-prints of a cat who was still growing, she could make the safe assumption that an apprentice had wandered off into the forest alone. Not such a terrible thing for a young, curious cat to do. She used to stalk off on her own all the time, too. But she knew better than most how easy it was to get lost, and beyond that, she thought it wise for a warrior to be nearby in case anything happened. As she followed the path, she began to recognize the scent left on these paw-prints as Wolfpaw. Any cat who was the apprentice of the deputy should be very proud, but she had the impression that Wolfpaw was a little looked down on by his peers. Just an overheard comment here and there, really, but enough that she'd noticed. She caught sight of him ahead and a moment later he turned to see her. "Hey there!" he called out. Frostfeather smiled back. "Well hello there, Wolfpaw," she replied. "I hope I'm not interrupting. Are you hunting?" |
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storms make trees take deeper roots
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Post by cosmic on Nov 9, 2023 23:33:00 GMT -6
#s://i~imgur~com/C4iKU9c~jpg
| | show me the way, Lord...
'cause I am about to explode |
However, he couldn't help but have a moment of anxiety rise in his chest, which definitely could be seen by his clan member. Wolfpaw knew that Frostfeather was the sister to Hailstar. As much as he tried to write it off as nothing more than a coincidence, it made him worried. The apprentices were always rumoring and teasing him due to his name, but had it gotten so bad that the leader was suspicious? However, as quickly as the thought came to him, it left again. He hoped that wasn't the case. Wolfpaw just didn't want anyone else to worry about.
"O-Oh! Frostfeather, how are you?" he finally spoke, which was awkwardly delayed from when he first saw the warrior approach. "I wasn't hunting really. Well, kind of, I guess." Wolfpaw rambled, not being able to collect his thoughts like he wanted to.
"You see, Briarpelt has been busy with patrols today. Lots of sniffling cats, he said, has caused him to have to go on some of the patrols today without me. 'It's too serious for you, kid,' he told me." He had begged his mentor to let him join, but it didn't really help at all. And really, no apprentices were on those patrols, either. The only thing he could suspect is that it was patrols dedicated to looking for the missing kits. "Anyways, we were supposed to do some training in hunting, as he says that I need more practice before my assessment in two moons. But with him being busy today, I was thinking I could surprise him by bringing him some prey when his patrol returns to camp! That'll prove that I'm just fine at hunting!"
Wolfpaw, for a moment, had a gleam of eagerness and enthusiasm in his eyes. Something that had been lacking the last moon or so. "Are you good at hunting? Could you maybe help me? I'm not used to hunting in the winter, and I haven't been able to track anything so far. The cold wind keeps changing the direction of the mouse I smell near by, and it hurts my nose." |
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Post by adrian on Dec 16, 2023 13:44:43 GMT -6
#s://i~ibb~co/Wpwx12x/frost~png Wolfpaw looked briefly nervous; Frostfeather hoped she wasn't unapproachable or intimidating to the apprentices. It could be her proximity to the leader, she reasoned, but still, she was pleased when he appeared to relax. She smiled as he rambled, thinking perhaps she hadn't needed to worry about him at all. He seemed chipper enough, even if he heard an occasional unkind comment now and then. "Are you good at hunting? Could you maybe help me? I'm not used to hunting in the winter, and I haven't been able to track anything so far. The cold wind keeps changing the direction of the mouse I smell near by, and it hurts my nose."And why should he know how? For an apprentice born moons ago, this would be his first leaf-bare. It was entirely different than listening to his senses during any other season. The air was so cold, now, it would be hard to catch scents as strongly as in green-leaf - but not at all impossible. "I would be happy to help," she said, impressed by his eagerness to prove himself in this way. She raised her nose to the breeze to try to catch scent of the mouse he was trailing. He must have a better sense of smell than she did, she decided, or the wind had changed, because she couldn't place any nearby prey. "We'll want to make certain we don't frighten it away. The way the snow and frost crunches under paws this time of year gives up our position, and sound is even louder in the quiet of leaf-bare."
All things she hoped Briarpelt had instructed him on already. But you never knew, everyone was a little busy and frazzled lately. "Do you still smell the mouse?" she asked. "If it moved further out, we'll have to pick up the trail." If they were lucky, it might even have left prints in the snow somewhere that they could follow! Not all hunts were lucky ones, but she hoped this one would be, for Wolfpaw. |
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storms make trees take deeper roots
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Post by cosmic on Jan 28, 2024 0:37:22 GMT -6
#s://i~imgur~com/C4iKU9c~jpg He watched the she-cat as much as he would watch a piece of prey he was trying to catch. Milkpaw called him silly for analyzing cats too much, but it had quickly become a habit. By anticipating what a cat was possible feeling or going to do had saved him a lot of the headache of not avoiding cats that weren't pleased with the name he was given.
But, Frostfeather seemed fine... for now.
His tail waved in excitement as the silver warrior agreed to help. She lifted her nose toward the sky as he copied the same. Due to his known personality around camp, it could easily be taken as a way for him to mock, as he exaggerates a big sniff into the air. It seemed like there was a scent of prey that wanted to make itself known to Wolfpaw, but he could only recoil his head from the icy wind pricking the inside of his nostrils. Her comments about the crunch of the snow didn't go unnoticed by the tom. It was something that Briarpelt had taught him, yes, but something he had overlooked when first hunting.
Wolfpaw looked at the ground. While it was muddy, he imagined the sound that the snow would give as he flexed his claws. "Right, Briarpelt told me about that. I think I just... forgot. I'm used to hunting without the snow, so I just didn't think about it. But mud can be loud too, right? As it gets caked on our paws, we'll still have to be careful." The snow crunch was slightly noticeable to a cat, but there's no telling how loud it would be for a little mouse or a small bird. The same could be said for muddy paws.
Frostfeather continued, asking him if he smelled any prey yet. "Not really, I think the cold wind is carrying the scents too much." When he first had set out by himself, there were a couple scents that he could smell. However, as he got lost in thought, there was no telling which way the air carried the smells now. "Trails? Good idea, Frostfeather!" It thought it was silly of him to not think of that before. "With all this mud, it'll be easy to find some tracks, I'm sure." Wolfpaw couldn't help himself but look about at the paths of pawprints that the pair left behind them. Prey would have done the same thing if they were lucky to find any.
"Let's head in deeper to the grove, especially around the fallen logs. I hear that squirrels and chipmunks like to hide their food in the cracks of them." Wolfpaw looked toward Frostfeather, before starting to head toward some of the fallen logs that were quite a distance from their current location. Assuming that since he was an apprentice learning how to effectively hunt in leafbare, he took the lead, as if he was the head of a patrol.
"How often do you come to the grove, Frostfeather?" Wolfpaw began to make small-talk, trying to mind his manners as if Briarpelt was next to him. If he tried to give a smart opinion, he could almost feel his mentor's paw bopping the back of his skull. "I think it is one of my favorite places in the territory, especially if you want to be alone and away from all the crying kits and whining elders." |
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Post by adrian on Feb 25, 2024 16:33:47 GMT -6
#s://i~ibb~co/Wpwx12x/frost~png ooc: my hobby is responding to this thread once every month apparentlyIt seemed like Briarpelt was teaching him well, she thought with quiet approval. He might be a little forgetful, but he overall was showing good instincts. Keen observation skills went a long way when hunting - fighting, too, come to think of it. If he grew the skill to back it up, he would make a fine warrior. Analyzing the muddy ground, the apprentice said, "but mud can be loud too, right? As it gets caked on our paws, we'll still have to be careful.""It can be louder," she agreed, surveying the wet earth around them. It was her time among two-legs, she knew, that made her wary of getting her paws wet in the muck. A learned behavior masking her better instincts. Not something to entertain. So as she spoke, she demonstrated, "It will sound more muffled, at first," and she stepped a paw into the wet mud. There was barely a sound. "But then, when you lift your paw to leap or prowl forward..." She brought her paw back up and the mud released it with a loud pop. She wiped her paw against some bark. "If your prey is injured, it won't matter. But if you hunt a fit creature, it will surely hear you and flee."Hopefully their mouse was far enough at this point that the sound wouldn't draw attention. She smiled again at his enthusiasm for her trails idea. A mouse might not weigh enough to leave tracks, but if the ground was soft enough, they could find something. Oh, a squirrel though... they would leave prints in the mud. "Lead the way, Wolfpaw," she said, happy to follow after and see how he hunted. She could let Briarpelt know how he did, later: where he excelled, where he needed work. Not to mentor along the sidelines, but an outside perspective sometimes helped. And encouragement from more than one warrior might be morale boosting, too. "How often do you come to the grove, Frostfeather?" Wolfpaw asked. Frostfeather responded with a considering hum and then said, "Not every day. Often, though. It's a good place to hunt and a better place to take your mind off things - which is what I'm sure you meant by escaping the noise of crying kits and whining elders." She smiled, despite scolding him. "Never forget that kits are our future, and that we wouldn't be here at all if not for our elders." |
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