private The Hunter's Way || pikesplash

[Nettlepaw-]

NETTLEPAW ♂
RIVERCLAN
APPRENTICE
THREE MOONS
BLIND IN BOTH EYES
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
APPRENTICED TO PIKESPLASH
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH​

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The morning air has a bite to it, as the leaves rattle overhead and the river whispers past. Nettlepaw rises with a wide yawn, pulling himself from his nest and out into the crisp leaf-fall air. His thick fur fluffs against the breeze, ears pricking to take in the chatter of RiverClan's residents. Belly grumbles and the boy can't help the twinge of guilt. He still hasn't caught anything. With a swish of his tail, he gets to work, sniffing out Pikesplash and silently hoping the tom hadn't been sent out on the dawn patrols. Luckily, Nettlepaw manages to find his mentor, and with an over-sized paw, he prods at the warrior in silent demand.

"Pikesplash." Nettlepaw speaks with a firmness, "I need to learn how to hunt."

@PIKESPLASH
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[PIKESPLASH]

Nettlepaw has been nothing but forward and while he appreciates his apprentices eagerness to learn from him, he wishes the younger tom could ask a little nicer. However, he understands that Nettlepaw is frustrated and going through some things. Not that it excuses his apprentice entirely, but for now he will let it slide. Nettlepaw is a extremely different from Catfishpaw. Catfishpaw when he had trained her was similar in terms of demeanor. A bit skittish but one with a good heart. Focus on Nettlepaw, he asked to learn how to hunt. Nevertheless, he answers "Alright follow me." The pair would find themselves swiftly leaving camp and towards the ever familiar Beech Copse. As much as Pikesplash would prefer to teach him fishing first, hunting on land would be easier for a number of reasons.

Let's not forget that Leaf-bare was approaching and teaching Nettlepaw land hunting then would be more difficult. Not to mention it would do no good for his temperamental apprentice. The last thing he wanted was for Nettlepaw to be discourged learning how to hunt on land during Leaf-bare. He hoped by then he could shift to fishing and teach Nettlepaw properly. "The first thing when it comes to hunting is tracking down your prey. A lot of our land prey are rodents, so they're very skittish and run away at the first sign of danger. They're fast and small, well except the rare rabbit. Rabbit's are big, but forget trying to catch them once they start running. They're extremely fast." To be honest he believes in his apprentices ability to sniff out prey, not so much in the catching department. He's seen his apprentice struggle when it comes to battle training due to missing his opponents. It makes sense, but prey is not as forgiving. Not to mention other than rabbits Nettlepaw's aim needs to be more precise. These are small targets after all. Lets hope for the best.

He leans closer to Nettlepaw. Even if you can't see, you aren't helpless. "Once you've caught the scent of prey, make sure you always are downwind of it. This is to make sure it won't run off from your scent alone." Green eyes glance downwards at his apprentices paws. Maybe this is more trouble than it is worth what he's about to tell Nettlepaw what to do. It's different from his peers given the fact they can see. Nettlepaw can't be expected to know where every single twig or stone is. "You're going to learn the hunter's crouch today with some modifications. First, keep your body low Nettlepaw and make sure your tail is sticking straight ahead. Make your hindlegs are ready to leap and frontpaw are ready to pounce. But, because most of our prey are rodents I'm going to ask you to keep your pawsteps light on the ground and try to slide them, so they wouldn't be able to feel your pawsteps."

 

[Nettlepaw-]

NETTLEPAW ♂
RIVERCLAN
APPRENTICE
THREE MOONS
BLIND IN BOTH EYES
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
APPRENTICED TO PIKESPLASH
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH​

---

Pleased by Pikesplash's agreement, Nettlepaw follows dutifully close behind as the pair make their way to the famous Beech Copse, where the sting of his previous sparring loss still sparks a glimmer of frustration within the youth's sightless eyes. At least by now he thinks he's memorized the way between camp and the copse, so he's one step closer to navigating RiverClan's territory with relative ease, despite his blindness.

Pausing once they've arrived, ears straighten as Pikesplash launches into his explanation of tracking prey. He knows there are mice and voles on the territory, lurking unseen in the damp undergrowth. As for rabbits, he doubts he'd be able to catch one. He's not even sure he's ever had a taste of one before, given how rare they seemed to be on this side of the river. There are birds too, but Nettlepaw isn't so certain he'd be able to catch one if they can simply fly away before he realizes they're even there. He reminds himself that that was what his nose and ears are for, but perhaps his recent failures have shaken the boy's confidence. Despite this, he soaks in his mentor's advice about the wind, and the explanation of the hunter's crouch.

He starts by slowly mimicking the vocal instruction of Pikesplash, moving his four paws into position, and letting his tail flow into place as directed. Though Nettlepaw cannot see where he's placing his paws, he has an intimate connection with his own body. He knows exactly where each paw is placed, where his tail is at any given time, how low his head is to the ground... it will come as quite the shock to Nettlepaw (and perhaps Pikesplash) that his first attempt at the hunter's crouch is a complete success. He sinks into position as if it is natural, pure instinct on the apprentice's part.

Pausing, Nettlepaw awaits further instruction.
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[PIKESPLASH]

He is pleased when he Nettlepaw is able to replicate his instructions. Unlike other mentors and apprentice pairs, he can't tell Nettlepaw to watch him and copy him. That's not how it works. He knows at the very least Nettlepaw can track him more or less, but the tom can't be expected to tell where his paws are precisely. With Nettlepaw he finds himself speaking more than he's used to. Not that it's a bad thing. To be honest moments like these show that he's doing a somewhat okay job mentoring the young tom. They haven't been together for that long, but Nettlepaw was getting there at his own pace. He notices that his apprentice is waiting for something. Oh! Shoot! Right.

"Very good, now try and track your prey. I want you to try and find something and do your best and catch it." Instructions were nice, but he wondered how Nettlepaw would go about this. He understands it is his job to ensure the young tom is able to hunt not only to feed himself if something dire were to happen, but for the clan. However, he is also curious what Nettlepaw was capable of on his own. In his eyes if the tom was able to track down prey and leap close enough, then that was a good start. The struggle for his apprentice would always be precision due to his lack of sight. Prey is more unforgiving in the sense unlike his clanmates, they make a mistake more pronounced. They do not come back, so one could learn from them. It's always a different fish or vole, but cats? Nettlepaw could learn from Cicadapaw by challenging the other apprentice to duels. Know the others preferences and how to use it against him.

With that, he remains silent, watching with curious eyes what his apprentice will do. Just be patient. Don't rush things. If you rush, then you won't catch anything.

 

[Nettlepaw-]

NETTLEPAW ♂
RIVERCLAN
APPRENTICE
THREE MOONS
BLIND IN BOTH EYES
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
APPRENTICED TO PIKESPLASH
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH​

---

An ear twitches in quiet acknowledgement, as the apprentice takes in his mentor's words. Uncertainty fills the boy's mind, but he pushes it down, swallows it away. He hears birds all around, and so the sightless tom closes his eyes and chooses only to listen. Each call is distinct, and as he takes in the surrounding ambiance, he scents the air that surrounds him, tasting the gentle breeze. Something rustles nearby, reeds, he thinks, dying in the coming chill of leaf-bare. His nose twitches, and he thinks he recognizes the source. A vole.

Trying to remain silent, he slinks forward as if he were an adder, gliding through the grass. Paws are silent, and he holds his breath, fearing that even the slightest sound might frighten the small creature away. Eventually, the scent is fresher. The sound of it's scurrying is so close he wonders if he could simply reach out with a paw and scoop it right up. Stilling himself, Nettlepaw waits, listens, tries to find patience. He's tracked the vole, followed the vole, now there was only one step remaining. He does his best to judge the distance between his sunlit frame and the prey, and then, the boy leaps. He hears the soft thud of his paws strike dry ground... then the sound of the vole's panicked retreat as it dives into a burrow in the grass.

"Mouse-dung!" The apprentice hisses, spitting a curse to himself as he rises from his crouch with ears flattened. He knows he must have been close, but he had been unable to judge the distance accurately. The tabby's bristling tail flicks irritably back and forth against the ground as he awaits Pikesplash's judgement, preparing himself for the lecture that would surely come.
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[PIKESPLASH]

Once again he is in awe of his apprentice. One may argue that Nettlepaw completely missing his first attempt is not something noteworthy, however this is the tom's first time learning how to properly hunt. He was able to get into the hunter's crouch position based on words alone, a true natural. He's seen apprentices struggle with maintaining the position or even struggle to get in it. In short, he's proud of Nettlepaw. Even if the young tom himself seems to be discouraged by the lack of vole in his claws. It takes him back watching Catfishleap. When she was an apprentice she struggled hunting and even when she was under his guidance she did not carry herself with the same ease as Nettlepaw.

"If you're expecting me to lecture you, then you're wrong. You did very well Nettlepaw," he mews while padding over to his apprentices side. We can try again, but maybe we should talk about it a bit? The urge to place his paw on his apprentices head is strong, but he fights the urge knowing that Nettlepaw if he could would fling him off the gorge. "This is your first time properly learning, so don't be hard on yourself. You were able to get into position and track down prey easily Nettlepaw. Okay yeah maybe you didn't properly guess the distance to jump, but you were very close. Don't take it as a bad thing. You know what this tells m- you?"

As if to make his point clear, he draws away from Nettlepaw to circle him. Knowing his apprentice they would probably track him and turn their head to follow him. You find me easily. Maybe I should change my scent and see if you could find me? That would help both of us, wouldn't it? "Your greatest advantage is your tracking skills. No one else will compare. All you need to work on is honing that skill to know exactly where you need to be. Whether it's hunting or fighting."

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 it's easy just to pretend

• ooc : —
• — pikesplash / riverclan warrior / masculine pronouns / 47 moons
  — bisexual / single / looking / open to flirting and crushes
  — short haired silver mackerel tabby with green eyes
  — may powerplay minor harm / can powerplay healing
  — biography / @ on discord for plots
  — penned by velou

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[Nettlepaw-]

NETTLEPAW ♂
RIVERCLAN
APPRENTICE
FOUR MOONS
BLIND IN BOTH EYES
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
APPRENTICED TO PIKESPLASH
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH​

---

Pikesplash says that he has done well, that there wouldn't be a lecture over his missed catch. Nettlepaw stares at the other tom, or rather, through him, sightless eyes glimmering with frustration. Pikesplash goes on to praise how he had succeeded in learning the hunter's crouch, as well as actually tracking down the prey, regardless of the fact that he hadn't managed to catch it. He's not so sure he agrees... with the cold season looming over their heads, a missed catch meant a hungry belly. He knows how important it is that he can actually hunt and kill prey. Head swivels as Pikesplash pauses in vocals and begins to circle the apprentice. Nettlepaw tracks his mentor easily enough.

"Tracking won't fill hungry bellies, or fight off enemy warriors." The apprentice points out flatly. Sure, he could locate such threats and food, but that was only half the battle. "I'll keep practicing." Nettlepaw makes his determination clear. Failure or not, he wouldn't be quick to give up. "Come on, we probably scared off all the prey around here. We should try somewhere else." He points out with a flick of his tail, face set in stone as he turns to slink past his mentor, trying to think of where he could hunt next.
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