camp A FAIRY TALE - “hunting”

[DEWKIT !]

How it happened would surely be beyond the reach of any of the warriors. After all, who would even believe such a thing? The likelihood of something like it happening was nothing but a myth. Dewkit would swear it to be true, and a lucky individual or two who were awake early enough to see it happen wouldn’t know how to explain the situation either. When she stepped out of the nursery that morning (before a fair portion of the clan had risen themselves) she would quickly find herself energized at the sight of a squirrel inside camp. Jaw dropping at the sight, she’d glance behind her, disappointed that none of her litter mates were awake to see the sight themselves.

None of the other warriors were awake (to her knowledge), and she knew what she had to do. While she had seen the apprentices practice their hunting crouch in camp, Dewkit was unsure of exactly what she was doing. Her best attempt however, would be made as she dropped down, and began sneaking up on the squirrel who was busy chewing away at an acorn. Her tail would drag the ground as she made her way to the squirrel, shaking her booty as she prepares to leap and…… lands upon nothing. Disappointment would fill her features as she sat back, watching as the squirrel raced away. What had she done wrong? The warriors and apprentices always came back with stuff, so why didn’t she catch it?

​

 

[Sunfreckle]

"It was a very good try, dear." After Flickerkit's stunt at the border he felt himself highly alert to the movements of each kitten at all times, like he coud close his eyes and know where they were from their little heartbeats and pitched voices. Sunfreckle never wanted to experience the terror of having one of them go missing and wander off onto the thunderpath again so he took special care in keeping tabs on each of them. Dewkit, thankfully, behaved herself well enough. She might sneak out of the nursery every so often but she rarely went further than the edge of camp, unlike her more boisterous sister who he worried he would one day lose full control over. Flickerkit had taken all the energy from all of them, perhaps that was why Dovekit was so despondent and Mosskit so quiet. Not enough loudness to share, he supposed.
The red tabby had watched the tiny tortie wander out of the den, carefully manuevered himself to stand without rousing the other kits or Rabbitnose and wandered out to follow her and observe her clumsy attempts at hunting. She had, at least, the idea and enthusiasm. He could imagine she'd be a far better hunt than he ever could be once she was older. He'd only just recently begun to learn, had not had the time as his kits would to be raised in a place that allowed them to start early.
He dipped his head down to give her an encouraging nudge on the side of the face with his muzzle, "Try again, we can use this leaf instead of a squirrel for practice." A white-dipped paw batted at the leaf in question, tossing it in the air to drift before her.

​

 

[salamander]

The medicine cat emerged from the direction the squirrel had fled. She presented the now limp prey to the little hunter. "I believe your claws managed to nick it in the perfect spot." There was no inflection to detect her lie and her facial expression remained as neutral as ever. Furthermore, a distinct lack of blood on the molly relayed a believable red herring.

"Look." An injured paw gestured to a small (yet very deep) cut on the squirrel. A pool of blood stained the woodland critter's pelt, signifying a "sloppy" and slow death. Surely the trained blue mink would have been capable of cleanly killing the squirrel in a swift and precise strike.

Again, her face remained a blank pallet: completely void of any telltale signs of a lying feline. If anything, she looked impressed. The molly never enjoyed the act of lying but Dewkit deserved a positive occurrence to wash away the previously negative experiences in her life. The poor child was constantly cooped up in her den when she should be playing with her littermates. Sometimes little white lies were necessary, especially in the case of a disappointed kit. If the medicine cat could get her to believe she accomplished an amazing feat despite her sick body then the lie would be worth it.

"The apprentices better step up because a skilled huntress is in the makes." she purred, allowing a small smile to accompany her otherwise straight face.​

 

[ROEFLAME .]

I TOLD YOU ONCE, I CAN'T DO THIS AGAIN​

---

Roepaw was still getting used to many things in the few short sunrises she had been an apprentice, early mornings being one of them. Eager to please and show her dedication, Roepaw had taken up at least trying to rise with the sun.
Groggily, the apprentice stumbled out of the den, ears still droopy with sleep. A sudden thump from nearby would quickly change her sluggish stance however, and she would quickly snap her attention to Dewkit, who was now brushing dust off her pelt.
Already making her way over to make sure the other was okay, Sunfreckle would beat her to it.
Roepaw herself had been eager to begin hunting practice, and was on the verge of harrassing Flycatcher over it. "That was a really good pounce though!" She offered, despite not actually seeing the maneuver, she figured there was no harm in aiding Sunfreckle to lift Dewkits spirits.
A familiar pelt of grey emerges from the sunrise-induced shadows then, a squirrel in her jaw. Roepaw scampers over as her mother drops the prey, examining the jagged cut in the squirrels fur. When Roepaw looks up and see’s her mother impressed expression, she feels an unexpected tug of envy in her heart, she can’t recall the stoic molly ever looking at her like that!
With Sunfreckles offer, Roepaw spins on her heels towards him, "Can I do it too?" She asks politely, but a newfound ambition in her heart.
"speech."​

 

[DEWKIT !]

Her father would arrive first, pride swelling in her young heart as he vocalized his praise. Puffing out her chest she would giggle, “I’ll be the best hunter in Thunderclan!” Her head would tilt to the side as Sunfreckle led the way over to a leaf, beckoning her over with his tail. A leaf for practice? That wasn’t nearly as fun! “Okay! Are you gonna teach me?” Eager to learn something from her parent that her siblings weren’t was something she found herself thrilled with the idea of. How special was she that she was able to learn something they wouldn’t?

A small wave of her tail would be directed to Cinderfrost, jaw parting in greeting as she placed the squirrel at her paws. Looking at the healer with wide eyes, a soft gasp would escape her jaws as the woman told her that SHE killed the squirrel. Did I really do that? WOW! Wait until Flickerkit hears this! Attempting to rub against Cinderfrost in a manner of greatfulness, she would watch as she pointed out the markings of her kill. Studying it for several heartbeats, she would nod in a show of understanding. “I killed it?! That doesn’t look like how the warriors kill theirs….”

Distracted from her thoughts by Roepaw’s arrival, Dewkit would watch as she gazed between her and Cinderfrost, wondering why she looked so mad. Had she done something wrong? She almost hadn’t seen her arrival shortly before the medicine cat’s distracted by her praise. Turning her attention to Roepaw, she’d once again smile, offering a quiet “thank you” at the apprentice’s praise. Roepaw wanted to hunt leaves with her? Nobody ever wanted to do that! “Oh please let her play too! PLEASE?” Drawn out words would pair with her pleading gaze to Sunfreckle, hoping he would allow her to help her learn (and more importantly to play with her) as well.


​

 

[Sunfreckle]

"You will be, I'm sure of it." All of his kits had it in their head they would be the best and he was certainly not going to tell them otherwise, realistically speaking that was a discussion for later but they were kits; let them enjoy themselves and take pride in their own abilities. They would learn eventually that sometimes just 'doing your best' was just as good as 'being the best'.

He shot Cinderfrost an amused look, only briefly worried this display might go to the kitten's head but thankfully not much lingered in there for long and she was already distracted by Sloepaw approaching and asking to join in. Sunfreckle smiled, that smile widening ever more to the eager pleading for a new friend and a chance to have fun with them and he could only nod because there was no harm in it. Sloepaw was an apprentice, but still not much older than his daughter by a lot and surely was aware to be a little more delicate with kits when it came to play.
"Of course, of course, you're always welcome Roepaw..." His tail moved, swishing and sending the leaf tumbling up into the air once more. "Have you learned the hunter's crouch yet?" He'd let the apprentice take the lead on this 'lesson' for fun, let them talk about their training and feel important.

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[ROEFLAME .]

I TOLD YOU ONCE, I CAN'T DO THIS AGAIN​

---

Dewkit’s excitement practically radiated off of her, beaming onto Roepaw as the apprentice eagerly shuffled over to the kit’s side, subtly bouncing up and down for the full pleading effect.
At the warrior’s agreement, Roepaw shot Dewkit a glance, a jovial smile stretched across her lips.
Have you learned the hunters crouch yet?
Shifting her focus from Dewkit to Sunfreckle, she paused to look over to Cinderfrost, the soft pitter patter of nervousness creeping into her chest, would the molly disapprove of her lack of knowledge?
You’re being silly Roe… she loves you no matter what! I’m sure of it…
"No, not yet!" She chirped, still lifting her chin with a confident answer, compensating for a tiny voice. "I’ve been studying the older apprentices, though!" She quickly added, happy to demonstrate her observations.
"speech."​