private doll me up in my bad luck * drizzlepelt

[softheart]

Dolly has been trying very hard to catch up to his clanmates, but it's slow progress if any. As of now he's drifting somewhere near the edges of the camp, as if there's something fascinating to be found. He's looking for someone, convinced he'll find him in the corners of camp. He's around, for what is early for him. The once well cared for ragdoll knows who he's looking for, but his attention has drifted somewhere away. He's determined though, steels himself to seek out the warrior.

He's ambled somewhere in the middle of camp. "Drizzlepelt?" Is asked, as if the warrior is going to appear from thin air. It's been a slow adjustment and he's not sure he's where he should be, doing what he's supposed to do, not that this worries him, he's never really been worried, his life has been underpinned by never needing to. Food just appeared, and while being dunked into water and scrubbed at had always been his least favorite part about life at what used to be home, at least he never had to worry about the dirt that seemingly clung onto his fluffy pelt as if it was on a mission.

Dolly sticks his black splotched nose in the air, his attention waning, hazy blue eyes becoming more distant than they usually are, a feat in itself. His skills leave much to be desired, his lame attempts at scrambling up trees would be somewhat embarrassing, if he could be embarrassed.

/ @Drizzlepelt
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[Drizzlepelt]

Drizzlepelt isn’t sure what he expected when he finally became a warrior, but helping train a cat around his age in learning clan life before having a real apprentice was not on his list. Sure, he offered it to Bobbie before Blazestar took her under his wing, but an actual assignment really didn’t cross his mind. He doesn’t mind though, not really. He was in the same boat once, so he has that kind of mindset that a naturally born clan cat might not. And providing aid to those who might be ignored by the clan at large makes him feel more positively about himself.

He’s up early as per usual, so when he hears Dolly call his name, Drizzlepelt approaches promptly. It’s a little odd to find him in a forgotten corner of the camp, but navigating SkyClan’s territory can be a struggle when you’re not used to it. StarClan knows he had his own trouble getting around at first. It’s also nice to get away from the swarm of warriors sometimes when you’re not used to that much company, so a more secluded spot like this is welcoming when you need it.

“Good morning!” Drizzlepelt chirps in greeting. He waits until the bigger tom’s attention is fully on him before continuing to speak. “Is everything alright? Or are you just raring to learn?” Either way, he’s ready to help Dolly with whatever his reason was to summon him over here.​

 

[softheart]

Attention fleeting, he greets Drizzlepelt with a dazed smile, his attention drifting over. Like most things that he's learning are exclusive to clan life, apprenticeship is similarly a new concept. "Hi." Dolly offers a lazy flick of his fluffy tail. He's appreciate of the warrior's good mood, and enthusiastic greeting, sharing the sentiment in his usual laid back way. He pauses to think. What did he want again..? Oh, something along the lines: "Yeah. I'm ready to do something today. Let's hunt." The ragdoll thinks some more, "We can hunt.. Uh. anything you want." He often had prey fleeing from him, a lumbering approach scaring all the local inhabitants. He knows his lax attitude doesn't inspire confidence in some, but embarrassment is a foreign emotion to him, something that hadn't been needed throughout his life. He's never experienced anything to feel particularly bad about.

He's appreciative of the tabby, it's hard to make an adjustment to clan life he's finding, but having someone to guide him along has him more grounded. The appreciation extends to the clan, any words against him due to his former occupation sliding off with ease. Rising to his paws, he lets them guide him to the exit. "Thank you." He blinks and walks, the words coming to him slowly. "For, uh, helping me."
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[Drizzlepelt]

Drizzlepelt smiles, trying to make Dolly feel a little more comfortable. The last thing that he wants to do is to make anyone find him intimidating, after all. A threat maybe, but that’s for his enemies, not anyone in the clan. “Sure, we can hunt. Let’s just try for a mouse or vole for now!” Less of a worry for them trying to scramble up a tree if they’re spooked, unlike squirrels. Birds are out of the question also; those can be saved for when Dolly is more experienced.

As they walk away from camp and into the forest to catch prey, Dolly thanks Drizzlepelt for the help, and he becomes instantly flustered. “A-Ah! You’re welcome! It’s no problem at all. I love helping people, so I’m glad Blazestar chose me. I’ll whip you into shape in no time!” He airily chuckles at his own joke. And luckily, their lesson was ready to happen right after he said that, as they reached a more secluded spot.

“Most of our attacks are done from the shade of trees, of course, but I’ll teach you that later. Just watch me for now so you know how it’s done. Hunt however you’re used to doing it.” Drizzlepelt nods, and then takes to one of the pine trees, scouring the ground for any sight of prey he can find.

// Rolled a 3!

Unfortunately, he can’t find anything from up above. Maybe the transitional period of leaf-fall to leafbare is making them slowly start to retreat to wherever they went during the colder moons. And possibly due to his own awkwardness, when he climbs back down, it’s sloppy. He almost slips from his footing, but catches himself and then laughs it off. “I don’t think I’m at my best today… maybe I’ll just hunt on the forest floor too.”​

 

[softheart]

Entirely ready to go with the flow and follow Drizzlepelt's instructions. "Yeah.. Let's see if they come out to say hello." They're always so fast he's come to learn, his lazy, lumbering stride serves to scare them off so often, having the special skill of brushing against everything in the vicinity with his fluffy coat. He tips his head up and down in a nod, oblivious to Drizzlepelt's humble reaction.

"I'm learning soo much." The thought of tree climbing brings to mind his attempts after observing Blazestar with attempts from both of the ragdolls involving excessive scrambling, and in Dolly's case, no success. "Hunting." Again he bobs his head as if he's an experienced hunter. Eyes drifting about as they usually do, his attention wanes, only fully catching ack on when the grey and white tom clumsily makes his way down. "You climbed it." he praises solemnly, having taken the opportunity to lazily seat himself. It's his turn for... hunting, that was it.

/ rolled a 7

He smells the air loudly, seemingly, like many other things, oblivious to the world around him in doing so. Vaguely capturing something he things smells food-like, he begins to follow. Lowering his body, he puddles as he gets closer to the floor. Soft belly brushing the grass beneath him, he makes the worst kind of racket. Despite this, he somehow manages to catch a decent sized vole between his paws. It isn't long before the thing is squirming out and away. He blinks his faraway eyes. "Oh."

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