Do It Again Till You Get It Right | Missed Catch

[Brackenpaw]

With the sun at his back, the thick canopy of towering oaks above him, Brackenpaw moves through the forest seamlessly. Sturdy paws glided over the leaf littered floor whilst his hung held in equal part with broadened shoulders, elongated ears pulled forward for any sound. He had been practicing his hunting crouch, making sure to square his still growing limbs squarely beneath his crouched form and make sure his plumed tail stayed elevated above the ground. He had this in the bag. He knew within his heart he'd bring home a catch worthy of praise from the warrior's, worthy from Howlingstar herself. He was ThunderClan, so of course he could do it. Forest heritage ran through the veins, his parents both worthy warriors that would be proud of their son. He was a wild born cat, after all.
The young tom continued to prowl through the very foliage he was named for, letting the dew seep into pale and chocolate fur as he moved. A dusted pink nose sniffed at the still damp morning air, jaw slacking to drink in the scent around him. With prey filling back into the oak forest and now Sunningrocks rightfully belonging to his home, hunting should be easy for him. A musk hits the back of his throat then, it's warm scent practically making him salivate at it's delicious aroma. Squirrel. Paws glided forth, pupils dilated as he narrows in on his unexpecting kill. There, a few tail lengths away sat the red furred rodent along a lifted root, gnawing upon an acorn and whatever seeds it could muster. Brackenpaw stills, focusing on the squirrel and trying to regulate his thrumming heart. Squirrels were quick, but the morning breeze was his ally today and his confidence was practically glowing. You're mine.
One step forward, then two, three. A gnarled bit of bramble camouflaged him perfectly, it's tendril-like limbs separated just enough to peek through. He just needed to get past this and was in leaping distance. The apprentice ducks under, maneuvering as best as he could managed but he doesn't watch his snow capped paws carefully enough. A lone twig cracks under his weight, and what would be a miniscule sound felt like an explosion within chocolate dipped ears. The squirrel he had targeted doesn't take the time to pause, but instead begins to scamper up the thick trunk of a lichen-swathed oak for a fast escape. No! He hisses in frustration, barreling after the rodent with long strides upon gangly limbs. He takes his leap without much thought, only the desperation to catch his kill. As he propels upward from the uplifted root, he moves upward with spayed ivory claws. The squirrel darts to the left, barely missing his paw and then finally scampers up the tree, barking curses in his direction.
Brackenpaw snarls out of anger, flexing thick talons into the bark. He was so close! How could he let it slip away from him? From nearby, another twig breaks under pressure from heavy steps and an icy cerulean gaze jerks in the direction of it. Of course! It wasn't him, it had to be whatever blundering idiot was heading his way. "Hey!" The apprentice barks out, venom lacing his tongue. "You made me miss my catch with your badger feet!" To whomever was coming his way would find him standing there, tail lashing and pink lips drew back into the beginning of a snarl. It had to be them, there was no way it was me!

// local turd takes his anger out of his own misfortune to whoever approaches him
Feel free to have seen him make his mistake or not!
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[ YOU'RE GONNA GO FAR KID ]​

 

[WILDHEART]

Not all hunts were successful, that was something that Wildheart had come to learn through experience. So he certainly had no intention of mocking Brackenpaw's failure, that is until the apprentice decided to insult him for simply wandering over. The calico tom looked honestly quite stunned at that moment as he gawked at the youth, but he was a natural firecracker so he returned Brackenpaw's snarl with one of his own. "Don't go blaming me for your shortcomings! That's on you, so don't go snapping at me just because you failed to make a catch!"
​

 

[nightbird]

shared snarls pulled her from her hunt, sent her vole darting off. her head shot up through the undergrowth, spotting the duo not far away. nightbird's tail lashed as she stalked over to brackenpaw and wildheart, her glare cutting through both of them. fighting due to a missed catch from a sudden noise. how ironic.

she took another step, paws landing on something sharp. lips curling, she glanced down to the pre-snapped twig underfoot. "both of you, shut up." she moved off the broken stick, cupping one half of it with her paw and flinging it in the direction of the other thunderclanner's."you wanna fight something? fight that," she added, looking between both of them. she didn't know who made this mistake, a very embarrassing one at that. it was almost as bad as trying to hunt something while upwind. however, they wouldn't be able to make it again. that was considering that any piece of prey had fled due to their abrasive bickering. "now, if you wanna keep yelling, go back to camp. some of us are trying to hunt."​

 

[crowflower]

Perched among the branches like a shadowy sentinel, Crowflower watches Brackenpaw's botched hunting attempts with a small smile. Laughter bubbles within her which forces the she-cat to twist her lips to prevent it from bursting forth, though mirth glitters in her eyes like thousands of distant stars. Wildheart and Nightbird's grumpy contributions to the situation only served to make Crowflower's struggle more difficult. Confrontation is far from her favorite thing, but she cannot help but find amusement in her clanmates bickering like a bunch of crotchety old elders. "We might as well find different hunting grounds," Crowflower comments after Nightbird. "I think the sound of those two frightened everything within hearing distance." Her expression is soft where the lead warrior is stern. She looks to Brackenpaw with an encouraging smile. "The hunt isn't over even if you accidentally alert your prey. Be patient and let the forest conceal you. Without all this yelling, the squirrel might've dropped its guard and you would've had another chance." Or maybe not. One can never know unless they try. Besides, it's to Brackenpaw's advantage to learn how to recover from a misstep.​

 

[Brackenpaw]

Glaring glacial eyes are met with blazing amber as Wildheart emerged from the undergrowth, the older tom's snarl more fierce than his own. Brackenpaw lashes his plumed tail again at the warrior, his own embarrassment fueling his ire as Wildheart pointed out his shortcomings. Did he know that it actually wasn't him that caused the apprentice to miss his catch? Or did he just happen to stumble upon him right after? He doesn't know, nor will he state the latter for his pride would not allow it. White hot iron flowed through his cheeks, his helm as hot and steaming like a kettle upon a stove, ready to unfurl in a mass of enraged retorts until another piercing voice grates his ears and his head snaps in her direction. Nightbird then hurls the split twig towards them, the pale tom almost it's target if not for his quick thinking and immediately ducks away just as it soared above his head. "Are you insane?!" He hisses fiercely, near spitting in her direction. "You could've taken out someone's eye!"
Though her words were harsh, he couldn't completely disagree with the shrouded lead warrior. Velvet ears flattened against his helm begrudgingly, muttering curses under his breath as his tail lashed in aggravation. Above them all, another shadow calls down, Crowflower's sappy and encouraging words bringing a groan passed his lips. Of course she saw it. Someone was bound to. He says nothing in response, only casting her a glowering stare from above. "Fine. Let's try somewhere else then, I guess." Next time I won't fail. I hope.


​

[ YOU'RE GONNA GO FAR KID ]​

 

[nightbird]

she nodded to crowflower, made a show of her head bobbing. the warrior even held her tongue when the other molly said that they had scared everything else off. nightbird would believe it a miracle if the two boneheads before them were capable of striking fear into anything. even a mouse would mock this ridiculous display. the only reason that they would no longer find prey here would be because the prey would have fled out of concern for their fragile ears.

growing bored, she turns and prepares herself to find a new hunting ground. an incredulous voice hisses, bites at her ears. the molly spun back around in two slowly placed steps, met brackenpaw with a still face, although amusement glimmered in her gaze. worried about his eyes, was he? an interesting fret for someone so inadequate at using them. a single white paw moves to fiddle with the remaining half of the twig. "would that be such a shame? not like you're using 'em much anyways." she drawls lazily, taking another moment with her paw on the stick before brushing it aside.

somewhere else then, the tabby suggests. approvingly, she nods, tail flicking as she looked between the others, then back to the fiery apprentice. "novel idea. brackenpaw, why don't you lead the way?" she asked, an innocent request but it was only fair that this was the price he paid for ruining one location.​