CHASING TRAINS || hunting patrol

[WEASELCLAW]

Weaselclaw heads through the gorse tunnel and into the heart of the territory. Heather and stiff prairie grass rub stiffly against his striped flank, and he inhales deeply, forgetting the stink of smoke that still pours from ShadowClan's territory.

With a cautious frown at the sky, he turns so that he and the patrol do not have to look at it. It's a distraction. He only hopes it doesn't affect the rabbits today.

"Apprentices," he commands. He levels Jaypaw, Molepaw, and Owlpaw with a stark blue look. "It's time for you to show us what you've learned. I want each of you to bring something back. Think of it as a... mini assessment." He glances at Mallowlark and Pebblenose, smirking. "We will hunt elsewhere, close by. Whoever brings back the most prey will get to take the rest of the day off when we get back."

Dismissively, he twitches his tail.

@MALLOWLARK @JAYPAW @PEBBLENOSE @MOLEPAW @OWLPAW

// feel free to roll dice or whatever, apprentices! i probably will for weasel's own hunt. :) just thought it might make things marginally more interesting than a typical hunting patrol!
​

PENNED BY MARQUETTE​

 

[MALLOWLARK]

Oh, this was exciting! Last time he'd had a pleasant but uneventful conversation with RiverClan- there had been no competition, no bargaining. This was fun- or, it would be- and he wasn't even the one participating! His grin grew impossibly large as he returned Weaselclaw's glance, inky paws kneading the ground in ill-hidden thrill. Grey eyes flickered to the point ex-kittypet, his half-tail twitching in what was meant to be a wave of encouragement. "Good luck, Jaypaw! Remember what we said about balance," he encouraged, hiding not his biases. Of course he wanted his own apprentice to win! What sane cat wouldn't?

Head tilting a little too sideways, yet body staying perfectly upright, Mallowlark let his attention snap from each apprentice to the next. "If any of you find something that's already dead, give it to me!" Chirped in complete innocence as if it was a completely normal thing to say, Mallowlark got to business as usual, taking in a deep breath of the air to try and get a read for the scents. If there was any one thing he was best at, it was tracking.​

[ PENNED BY PIN ]​

 

[ivoryflight.]

While her own apprentice was not part of this assessment, she was still happy to watch the apprentices on their hunt. It would be nice for her, to take from their examples to see what she could potentially need to teach to Shrewpaw. It was better than feeling lost with her current training, and was sure that the apprentices would all do well. “You all are going to do well. Just trust your instincts and remember what your mentors have taught you.”
​

 

[OWLPAW]

A mini-assessment. Owlpaw's ears flicked knowingly. Their mentors were pinning them against one another in hopes to boost morale and motivation to take down prey for the day. Owlpaw had lost her chance at being a medicine cat, and though that was a wound that still ached unlike any other, she had to settle on the next best thing, becoming the best warrior in the Clan. So that meant that this hunt had to go her way. She had to beat Molepaw and Jaypaw. Weaselclaw's dismissive tail sent her off, but not before sending a withering look in Mallowlark's direction when he asked that anything already dead be brought to him. Freak, she thought, deciding she would not indulge him in... whatever it was he liked to do with rotting corpses (and prayed to StarClan he did not enjoy eating them - yuck!).

Her blue and white pelt quickly disappeared into the tall grass. Her nose wrinkled as she scented the air and then opened her mouth for a better taste. Scents mingled together, weaving through the meadow laid out before her. She closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and focused. Her nose caught a whiff of a rabbit. She dropped into a hunter's crouch, unsure quite yet how close her prey was. The scent smelled fresh, but she couldn't determine if it was older than an hour or as recent as five minutes ago. So she crept forward, hoping her sneaking around and wasting time was not in vain. After what was probably far too long, a rustle in the grass made her ears perk and she swiveled her body around to face the singing grass as it swayed with the disturbance. Owlpaw quickly followed along, trying to be quick but quiet. Finally, a flash of brown fur caught her eye.

A rabbit!

Her mouth watered at the thought of tasting its fresh blood between her jaws. This could be her very first catch! Excitement swelled in her chest as she lowered herself in her hunter's crouch again, trying to remember the way Weaselclaw had showed her. Shoulders together, level to the ground. She moved closer until she could see the rabbit's beady black eye staring blankly at her. Did it see - or was she hidden? Not wanting to take too much of a chance, she sprang forward as quick as a whip, her claws snagging on her. I've got it, she thought triumphantly until she landed on the hard ground. The rabbit zoomed out of sight. "Shit..." she grumbled.​