pafp SHE HAD TO LEAVE — o, (attempted) hunt

Stars above, why must he be grouped onto a patrol with SkyClan's newest nuisance? Something about learning from seasoned warriors, surely, though why couldn't a more patient cat like Blazestar have tagged along instead? Whatever. Slate was not here to kit-sit or teach this ridiculously named pet how things worked in SkyClan; maybe actually having duties would drive her to revert to her kittypet laziness and leave.

It was difficult for a burly tom like Slate to keep quiet in the snow, with tiny crystals of ice crushing under his pads. He awkwardly maneuvered forward, stepping as lightly as he could, before catching the scent of a mouse nearby. Focus narrowing in on a grayish rodent foraging near the base of a tree, the former rogue licked his lips and ducked down ( not that this action made his dark form stand out less against pure white surroundings ).

Carefully, thoughtfully, he began to slink forward. His belly hungered and he could practically taste the meat on his tongue...

  • @MACARONIPAW
  • 65130298_NehVJpKdIdopdn5.png
  • SLATE
    —— he/him; lead warrior of skyclan; former rogue
    —— bisexual; single; not looking
    —— hulking, scarred charcoal-black colored maine coon with amber eyes
    —— "speech", thoughts, attack
    —— link to full tags; @ on discord for plots.
    —— penned by beatles
 

"IF YOU SEE THE WONDER OF A FAIRY TALE"
Still, the child was clueless as to how things worked in Skyclan. Not yet having a mentor to teach her things, Macaroni would be sent to tag along with Slate, and hopefully learn something along the way. Clearly, any desire for a successful hunt would be asking too much. Being ordered to "stay put and shut up" was not something Macaroni was skilled in. Watching the warrior stalk the bird almost had her awed into total silence. In true macaroni form, however, she would find some way of making things run sour. "Get it Slate! It's right there!" Unaware that her encouragement would not make things go the way she hoped, she would watch the warrior's now doomed attempt at pouncing on the prey.


 
His concentration was abruptly interrupted by a childish voice squeaking out from behind him. That, along with a sudden jerk of his body, caused the mouse to scurry away into its hiding place. "You- numbskull!" Slate hissed, his dark pelt beginning to bristle wildly like an offended porcupine. He turned back to face Macaronipaw, fiery eyes blazing, and growled, "Yeah, I knew it was there. Now it's gone because of your loud mouth." Did this cat have no hunting instincts whatsoever, or did being coddled by twolegs make her so stupid that it simply didn't click in her brain?

Realizing that any further outbursts would only disturb the prey around them even more, Slate took a moment to breathe and lower his hackles. A deep inhale later, the burning in his gaze seems to wane now as he huffs, "Do all of us a favor and keep quiet." The lead warrior turned on his heel and stalked off in the other direction to scent out the rodent he had lost. Securing prey was of utmost importance, now more than ever, so if Macaronipaw was smart she would shut her trap and watch instead of being a nuisance.

  • SLATE
    —— he/him; lead warrior of skyclan; former rogue
    —— bisexual; single; not looking
    —— hulking, scarred charcoal-black colored maine coon with amber eyes
    —— "speech", thoughts, attack
    —— link to full tags; @ on discord for plots.
    —— penned by beatles
 
𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 〰 Listen... Edenpaw is no master of hunting by any means. In all their moons here, they still had failed to catch anything. But Slate's harshness and generally dour demeanor really get under their skin. How he is considered a 'mentor' figure of any kind is beyond them and they pity Cherrypaw for the daily torture that must be his method of training. Yelling and berating new learners is no way to encourage them of anything... that much, they learned from Tawnystripe. Though it would've been nice if they'd gotten a chance to rush at the little creature before it fled (at least then it would've been lost in the name of practice instead of shouting), they wouldn't be so cruel as to lecture Macaronipaw in front of everyone else. "It's alright, there'll be more," they meow to their fellow daylight apprentice softly.

A marred face turns to glower at the lead warrior before pointedly walking past him, having no interest in his sour-puss attitude being around them any longer than it has to be. Lead warrior... yeah... Blazestar must be an idiot to give someone like this guy any semblance of 'power.'

"This way, this way," they chirp gently, flicking a bobbed tail to encourage the other apprentice to follow after their hulking, sulking chaperone. "We gotta whisper if we don't wanna scare them off."
 

"IF YOU SEE THE WONDER OF A FAIRY TALE"
The tone of the insult (not the insult itself) would cause her to jump, gazing at the warrior with a hurt expression. Had she done something wrong? All she was trying to do was encourage him! Was it so wrong that she had wanted Slate to catch the bird? Falling silent as ordered, she would watch as the tom stalked away, muttering under his breath. While she hadn't yet learned about hunting, she didn't grasp the concept of having to stay quiet during hunting yet.

A nod would answer the reassurance offered by the fellow apprentice, almost too afraid to say anything in response. Soon, she would learn and not cause everyone to be as upset with her. For now, she would follow behind Edenpaw, simply for the sake of having something to do on the hunt. Their encouragement was all she needed, her eyes now lit up with the thought of being taught how to hunt as well. She would take careful note of the soft tone they used, her eyes shinning brightly as she waited for them to explain things further to her.