pafp Give it the ol' college try | attempt at hunting

[Bunny]

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The thing is, Bunny has been living on his own for a little while now — for longer than he ever spent with his twolegs, even. Seeing as he’s still alive and in good shape, he clearly knows how to take care of himself, how to find food and whatnot.

So why is it so hard for him to catch even a single thing to eat out there in the wild?

The squirrel he’s been prowling after suddenly sits upright, looks him dead in the eyes for a frozen second, and bolts away in a flurry of ginger fur. The previous two disappeared in the foliage before Bunny could even think to give chase. This time, he’s prepared. He pounces on top of the critter, missing it by a whisker-length: he’s so close its fluffy tail actually hits him in the chin as it veers left at the last second. He watches it climb up a tree in a flash.

Bunny sits down, bemused, and glances at the Skyclan cat who’s been assigned to accompany him today.

”I’ll be damned,” he chuckles, ”Outsmarted by a squirrel! Now that’s a new kind of stupid, even for me. D’you mind showing me again? There’s gotta be some trick to it that I’m not getting.”
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// please wait for @Johnny !​

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[Johnnyflame]

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HE SAID, "WELL MY NAME'S JOHNNY, AND IT MIGHT BE A SIN
BUT I'LL TAKE YOUR BET, AND YOU'RE GONNA REGRET, CUZ IM THE BEST THERE'S EVER BEEN."​

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When Bunny had asked to go out and do some hunting, Johnny had been a little surprised to be assigned to the tom. It was no secret that the bobtail wasn't the strongest hunter the clan had to offer, still very much learning the ropes himself, but in all honesty he hadn't minded. The bobtail knew how different the transition could be from city living to forest living, and he was eager to help the new cats settle in.

"You were close that time! The little buggers are just slippery, that's all." he assured the other tom as he padded over to join them.

The first two times Bunny had failed to consider just how sharp a squirrels vision actually was, and had been spotted before the hunt ever got a chance to begin. This time around he'd taken Johnnys prior notes into consideration and only moved when the prey was distracted, managing to close the distance and attempt a proper catch.

"Sure! Keep in mind I'm no expert, though." he replied with a chuckle as the other asked for another demonstration. "You did well with that last one, only movin' when it's head was down and foraging. It let you get close enough to go for the pounce, but you've got to put a little more power into your jump to get your front paws where you need them to be."

He gestured for the other to follow so he could demonstrate. He wasn't sure how well it would go, but he was happy to pass on whatever he could.

Spotting a squirrel, Johnny dropped low into a hunters crouch. He waited until the creatures nose was in the earth foraging, and then he'd creep a little closer, keeping close to whatever cover he could find and the space slowly closed between him and his quarry. When at last he'd gotten to where he needed to be, he shifted his weight onto his back legs, muscle coiling as he waited for it to drop it's head one final time.

With a powerful burst of muscle in his hindlegs, Johnny sprung forward and brought his front paws down on the squirrels back in one fluid motion, the scrabbling critter barely able to get a step in before it was being pinned. His fangs immediately went to it's neck to deliver a killing bite, and a moment later he was straightening up with the rodent dangling from his jaws.

OOC- rolled a 16!
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[MALLOWLARK]

Wandering, wandering... like a wayward wraith, Mallowlark trod alone for now. He was learning, of course. Prey that had leave to scale trees was a little more tricksy than the sort that flung powerful legs toward your face. Oh, the bruises he'd seen! No rabbits ran the pines, though... his nose could locate the squirrels and birds of his new home, but his claws as they leapt from inky sheathes rarely found purchase. He would keep trying, though... feed them, so they did not die and meld with the earth. Their skeletons wold not be swallowed by dirt, by plague, by rot... no, no, that was a fate only for the moor-dwellers. They would starve, and have nothing to eat but each other!

Conversation hummed nearby, and Mallowlark's wide silver eyes found the culprits. His fang-toothed grin, ever present and burning upon his muscles, wide and unpleasant and uncomfortable-looking, was of course settled as if it was as easy as breathing upon his face. Moon-silver bore, burned on the back of Johnny's head as he demonstrated the mechanisms of a kill to Bunny- and oh, a good kill! Much smoother and more on-target than many Mallowlark himself had attempted...

"Oooh, nice one," he hummed jovially, his attention statuesque now. It did not move an inch from Johnny's face; it seemed as though Mallowlark was attempting to peel his skin off of his bones with only the power of his mind. His voice was bright, the large tom clearly entertained in some manner. "Little thing didn't stand a chance!" ​

☺PENNED BY PIN​

 

[Bunny]

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Johnny warns that he’s no expert, but he looks expert enough to Bunny as he falls on top of another squirrel, snapping the little guy’s neck before it has time to squeak. ”Good catch!”

It’s echoed by another voice, a merry compliment that makes Bunny shiver as he turns to look at its source. He’s not ashamed to say that Mallowlark freaks him out: that gigantic smile just doesn’t look right. Still, that’s no reason to be rude: as intensely discomfiting as the tom may be, Bunny has yet to see him be anything but a nice, overly-enthusiastic weirdo.

Smiling good naturedly, he tilts his head towards Johnny as he addresses the newcomer. ”Can you believe he said he’s not an expert? I’m choosing to believe he’s just humble. Better for my self-esteem that way.”
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