Hunting - Ocherpaw (Private)

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    Talonclaw smirked to himself he was finally training his apprentice! Everybody knew to improve in ranking you need an apprentice. His tail flicked back and forth with impatience. How long was it going to take for Ocherpaw to get his tail down here?

    A small silver and black tabby slid through the bushes. He glanced up at the sky. Past sunhigh. He was supposed to meet Talonclaw at the river at sunhigh. His tail flicked with anxiety. What would his new mentor say?
    Finally, almost too long after, he spotted the river flowing ahead. He was going to be super late.
    Ocherpaw trotted up to his mentor. 'Sorry I'm late," he mumbled, scuffing his paws.


    {I have to go now, so we have to continue this later ): }

    "Nahh, it's okayy, it is your first time after all. I'll let it go this time." Talonclaw said with a smile.

    "Now, for your first lesson I'll be teaching you to hunt, since a well fed clan makes it all the more stronger. On our territory, as you know we can fish or hunt land animals. I'll be teaching you to hunt small land critters today, because the river is frozen over at the moment. Now, tell me, what can you scent from here?"


    OOC: Okayy :)

    {Back. xD}


    Ocherpaw nodded. "I won't be late again," he promised.
    The silver tom sniffed the air. "Bird. Over there." He flicked his tail over at a clump of brambles to his right, where a red cardinal was pecking at a worm.

    OOC: WELCOME BACK!! XD :)



    IC: "Good, good, your sense of smell is quite accurate I see. Now, when you're hunting make sure you get down low." Talonclaw instructed, while lowering his body so his belly fur was barely touching the snow. Distribute your weight evenly between all four of your paws. Use your tail to help you balance." He flicked his tail about to emphasize what he was saying. "Next, creep slowly towards your pray, make sure your paws aren't heavy as you take you steps, because some prey can sense the vibrations and will be alerted." Slowly, he demonstrated the crawling forward, taking slow and exaggerated steps to make his point. Suddenly, as Talonclaw got closer to the bird he jumped up and landed right on it. With a quick blow to the bird's head he took its life. Turning to his apprentice he explained, "I had to catch the bird, otherwise he would have been alerted to my voice if I had continued to teach. Anyway, did you watch me? When I was close enough, I sprang from my hunter's crouch. Use your whiskers to judge distance."


    Talonclaw dropped off the cardinal in the corner before sitting down next to his apprentice. "Any questions Ocherpaw?"

    {Thanks. xD Oh, adn Ocherpaw is a brilliant hunter, so I can't really make him miss this one....}


    Ocherpaw shook his head. "Nope, none."
    He stiffened. "Another bird. I can't identify it, though." He looked confused for a bit until he finally decided on killing it.
    Slowly, he slid into an expert hunting crouch, slowing stalking the strange bird. Seeing it high up in a tree, he gently started to scratch his way up. Then the thing the bird did next almost blew his ears out. Ocherpaw laid them flt against his head as the bird started hacking away at the wood with its beak, sounding louder than rain on a roof. Almost like the long sticks Twolegs used to hunt animals. Anyways, the silver apprentice just wanted to shut the noise off.
    He pounced downwards, since he had climbed up past the pecking bird. The pecker let off one last screech and laid limp on the branch. Slowly at first, Ocherpaw grabbed the bird and hauled it down, branch by branch. When he got to the ground, he dropped the bird at his mentor's paws.


    {It's a woodpecker. ^_^ And Talonclaw should say something about not letting the prey screech when they catch it.}

    OOC: okayy, I'll keep that in mind, what are Ocherpaws other strengths and weaknesses?


    IC: Talonclaw couldn't help but grin as he saw Ocherpaw manage to catch the woodpecker on his first try. Training this apprentice was going to be easier then he first though. He was glad he had gotten such a competent apprentice. "That....was...amazing! Where did you learn to hunt with such skill?" Talonclaw gushed as Ocherpaw came back. "However, you should always make sure your prey is killed silently and efficiently. Otherwise his warning cries will alert all the prey in the area and they'll start scattering. Also, breathe in this scent so you can remember it later on," he said nudging the woodpecker. "This is a woodpecker."

    Ocherpaw willingly drew in the sweet aroma of the woodpecker with his nose. "I don't know where I learned to hunt like that," he said. Sure as heck his mother didn't teach him to hunt, and he never knew who his father was. He wished Olivekit was still alive and well, hunting and training with her brother. Maybe she would've been a better hunter than him. A sudden strong desire for her to come back came to him, stronger than ever before. Even though it had only been 8 moons, Ocherpaw felt like it was at least a lifetime. He didn't care about his mother. She had abused him and been exiled by the Clan. It was Winterbreeze's fault Olivekit was dead, too. Ocherpaw never thought about it that way, but it sure made him more angry at his exiled mother.

    "You must have some great genetics in you!" Talonclaw commented, still stunned by the work of his apprentice. Then he began to notice something was different about Ocherpaw. Talonclaw was feeling strong emotions radiating from his apprentice, but Talonclaw didn't know what emotion it was. "You okayy?" Talonclaw asked, concerned.

    Ocherpaw scuffed his paws on the ground, letting his claws slide out. "Yeah," he mumbled, barely controlling his anger. He swallowed it down, but still wanted revenge on his mother. "I'm...okay. I was just thinking about Olivekit. And Waspfur."


    {Ooh, should Talonclaw be Winterbreeze's mate, therefore being his father? xD Hm, I think I'm gonna make Winterbreeze's bio.}

    OOC: I'm pretty sure fathers don't mentor their sons XD And Talonclaw already sorta has a mate that we're trying to set up. sorry =(


    IC: "Ohh," Talonclaw mumbled softly, unsure of what to say. "We should focus on hunting," he offered trying to change the subject. "No use crying over spilled milk, right? Try finding some more prey. I'll be critiquing on your form this time."

    {Bah, that's okay. (: Winterbreeze is exiled anyways, and half-Clans cats can't be born....}


    Ocherpaw nodded, still not saying anything. Usually he didn't talk at all, but now he really didn't want to talk.


    {Oh, and I'm changing his mother's name to Waspfur. ^_^}

    OOC: okayy :)


    IC: "Okayy," Talonclaw sniffed the air. "Mouse, over there, catch it." Talonclaw instructed, flicking his tail to the left.

    {Bah. -headdesk- I meant Stripedbee.}


    Ocherpaw nodded stiffly, and slowly slid into the hunter's crouch, sliding forward with ease. BAM! The mouse couldn't utter a sound as the silver apprentice took its life.

    OOC: Stripedbee as the mother?


    "I doubt your hunting skills will ever cease to amaze me." Talonclaw praised with pride. "Since you seem to have gotten the hang of hunting, do you want to try some battle moves? Let's see if you can battle as well as you hunt."

    {Yes. Mother. -headdesk-}


    Ocherpaw stiffened. He didn't really want to battle, with claws ripping through fur and blood...and...and.... Horrible thoughts crept back to him, ones with Stripedbee hurting him, clawing his fur, wounding him....
    It was a minute before he realized what he was doing, his fur fluffed up and his eyes wider than normal.
    "Um, can we stick to hunting for today?" he asked.

    Talonclaw noticed the discomfort in Ocherpaw. "Okayy..." he said slowly then adding, "Battling is important. You need to know how to defend your clan. Warriors are our only line of defense. We all need to be perfectly trained to protect our leader, our elders, and most importantly out kits. You know that right?"

    "Um, yeah, but I just don't feel comfortable with it...." With the blood and claws and Stripedbee.... Ocherpaw shuddered. He just wanted to hunt.

    "What makes you so hesitant about it?" Talconclaw asked. "Most new apprentices are thrilled that they get to learn battle moves. Heck, that's my favorite part about being a warrior. I get to show the cats I'm fighting who's boss."

    Ocherpaw shuddered, thinking about how Stripedbee had abused him as a kit, slashing her sharp claws through his thin pelt....
    Eyes wide with fear, he turned to his mentor. "I don't want to learn how to fight," he whispered roughly, head down.