Training (Leechpaw)

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    "Oh. uh..." leechpaw looked down, embarrassed. She racked her brain for the schedule. Come on, come on, come on... her eyes lit up. "Hunting!' she exclaimed proudly.

    "That's right." Hollowsong took Leechpaw to the other side of the Ash Pine where it was more secluded. "Now, like we did with your climbing activity, I'm going to see how you hunt. There's tons of prey here. Pick one and catch it."

    Lechpaw flicked her ears to show that she had heard. Spotting a mouse, she crouched down and stalked toward it until she was close enough to pounce. She bunched her hind legs to pounce, but her weight was too much for a poor twig she was standing on, and it snapped. Alarmed, the mouse looked up and scurried away.


    Leechpaw turned back to her mentor, tail drooping with disappointment. Darn it! I messed it all up, now Hollowsong will think ive never hunted before! she yowled inwardly at herself.

    Hollowsong grinned. "You're all disappointed now, aren't you? I can tell." She padded up to her apprentice. "Like your climbing, your hunting is pretty decent. You did well with the crouching. The thing you need to work on is stealth. Every now and then, cats step on branches and whatnot so this was just bad luck. However, even if the prey starts to run away, there's still a chance you might catch it."


    She gestured to another rodent: a squirrel. This one however, was perched up on a tree branch. "This one will be a little more difficult. To be honest, I'm not expecting you to catch it. But it will require you to work on your stealth and your climbing ability. Go ahead."

    Leechpaw sighed. More hunting and cimbing. She tried to use what she had learned earlier to climb her way up to the squirrel, but she had only gone a little ways when the squirrel sat up. She ducked into the leaves, trying to hide. But the squirrel had already scented her, and chittered noisily before running away.
    the black shecat leapt down beside hollowsong, saying, "Well, i've never been the best at hunting anyway." She shrugged. "I bet I'll be better at fighting, though." She wasn't too discouraged; after all, this was only her irst day, she couldn't do everything perfectly.

    "Of course I am, I havent caught anything yet." Leechpaw muttered. "Why, can you get me something to eat?" she asked hopefully.

    Hollowsong nodded. "But remember, you've got to climb the Ash Pine as a penalty. You do that while I go find something to eat. Is there anything you prefer?"

    "Well... I like squirrels. a frog maybe if nothing else." Leechpaw padded toward the Ash pine and did a few stretches to warm up. "Thanks. I'll be up the tree and back by the time you return!" She yowled determinedly. She had to get this one right. She tried to make herself think that if she wasn't down by the time Hollowsong got back, she would get no food, but somehow it didn't work. She would have to rely on instinct and skill, not self-bribery.

    Hollowsong nodded and bounded off. It didn't take long before she spotted a small group of squirrels by the roots of a tree. With one great pounce, she landed on the closest one. Her claws immediately dug in and she felt the animal go limp under her paws. The rest had scattered in various directions though there was one that had been curiously looking on from the tree branch. Hollowsong smirked. She buried the squirrel she'd caught before scaling up the tree. The squirrel, panicking once it realized Hollowsong could climb, began chattering and leaping from branch to branch. Hollowsong followed it, easily keeping up with it. Once the squirrel reached the top branch, it jumped down and began running down the side of the tree trunk. Hollowsong leaped down to the ground, landing right next to the squirrel. The critter squeaked, the last sound it made before Hollowsong's jaws snapped around it.


    Happily purring, she went to dig out the previous squirrel and brought both of them back to the Ash Pine.

    While Hollowsong was hunting, Leechpaw had been running up the Ash Pine at full speed while at the same time trying not to lose her balance and fall. She had been to the top already, and was on her way own when Hollowsong appeared from the bushes. Rapidly Leechpaw leaped for the ground, not making that mistake of landing too hard again. By the time Hollowsong had reached her, she was on the groung panting. "Is that squirrel? Plump ones too! Great!" She said excitedly.

    Hollowsong's whiskers quivered in amusement. "Eat. You deserve a rest." She sat down to eat her share of food.

    Hollowsong waited for Leechpaw to finish. Once she did, Hollowsong continued, "Now it's time for fighting. To begin with, I'm doing an evaluation (again). We'll do a mock fight, no claws, no teeth. The objective is to pin the other cat down. If you are not sure what to do, follow your instincts. Don't worry," she winked. "I'll go easy on you."

    "oK." Leechpaw said enthusiastically. She was much better at fighting. She tensed her muscles, ready to jump. She feinted twoard the right, then leaped left, aiming for Hollowsong's flank.

    Hollowsong leaped up, over Leechpaw before making a sharp turn to--hopefully--flip the apprentice.

    A close call. Leechpaw dived under hollowsong just in time, trying to buckle her legs and make her collapse and run out at the last second.

    Hollowsong knew what Leechpaw was trying to do and purposely collapsed in order to trap the apprentice.

    "EEP!" Leechpaw squealed, muffled by her mentor's fur. She trashed around for a while, trying to get out. "okay, I give up!"