The Seesaw Game (First Catch) Is Always Marching On

[Shinebug]

Since becoming an apprentice, sky-blue eyes had been focused on one thing. Even in the back of an empty head during his ceremony, the worm of want was burrowing into his brain as Howlingstar placed a ‘paw’ on the end of the boy’s name. Determination burned as bright as Shinepaw’s pelt as the goal was placed in front of him. Yes, this was undoubtedly the most important task of the talkative tom’s life: His first catch.

Sure, sharing tongues and cleaning the ticks out of elders’ fur was rewarding (well, the former more so than the latter), but this would mark his first real contribution to Thunderclan. Some cat would get energy out of whatever Shinepaw brought back. Energy to hunt, fight, build, anything that would help them! The apprentice couldn’t help but feel giddy at the idea.

However, heights of happiness turned to depths of dismay when Shinepaw didn’t catch anything on his first day. It was a common occurrence (hunting took time to learn, after all) but the shaft of sunlight had hoped he’d be better. A fluttering mind had formed fantasies where he hauled back a massive and monstrous fox for the whole clan to feast on, but as time wore on it became clear to a sinking spirit that mundane mediocrity would be the boy’s calling.

That same fluttering mind now filled with worries that plagued every young apprentice as Shinepaw stalked through the undergrowth, this time part of a small hunting patrol. What if he never caught anything? Would he be demoted to a kit? A shiver ran down the shaft of sunlight’s spine as he imagined himself fully grown, yet confined to the nursery for incompetence. A laughingstock. A joke. A failure. Sky-blue eyes screwed shut as he tried to silence the torrent of foolish thoughts, only to open and be presented with the perfect opportunity.

A mouse, so close that Shinepaw thought he could hear its heartbeat (though it was just his own). In the half-second before action, the apprentice remarked how strange it was to see a piece of prey alive and this near to him. Before a blurry paw shot towards his quarry, he was able to make out the twitches of a tiny nose. As claws outstretched and closed around its neck, the child wondered if it was out hunting as well.

And like that, it was over. As Shinepaw held the corpse between his claws, though, disappointment scrawled itself across sun-drenched features. “That wasn’t a real catch” “it was too easy” “it doesn’t count”. That’s what they would say, the critics that the cat knew would come crawling out of the woodwork if he brought this pathetic piece of prey back to camp. The shaft of sunlight shook it for a moment. It was more bone than meat, any energy that could be gained from the meager meal would be expended on chewing alone.

What kind of first catch was that? This was an important moment, and the idiot had wasted it. If Shinepaw presented this, he’d doubtless be seen as lazy; only wanting to catch the bare minimum before calling it a day. No, that wouldn’t do. At the moment, the apprentice assumed he was thinking rationally, a dangerous assertion indeed. With a huff, The child pushed the corpse aside, inadvertently drenching it in his scent, before stalking off. His first had to make an impression. It had to be special. It had to help.

It was some time before Shinepaw found a suitable replacement. A squirrel, fat and juicy, had tried to dive beneath a root before stupidly getting itself stuck. The boy laughed as he picked it up between his jaws, finally satisfied. It was something that would fill a clanmate’s belly, and the boy had a good story to tell. Deciding to return and drop it off before heading back out to help the patrol, Shinepaw entered camp as the picture of smug self-satisfaction.

It felt good to be adding to the prey-pile like all the warriors he’d watched as a kit. Shinepaw gingerly placed his catch on top, careful to make sure it looked appetizing. The shaft of sunlight turned on his heels, intent on returning to the group, when he made a snap decision. The apprentice was truly exhausted from the ordeal, and wanted to rest for a moment. And If resting worn-out legs just so happened to give any passing cat the perfect answer to who caught the succulent squirrel that just appeared in the middle of camp, then that was just a happy coincidence.

//anyone can respond right now, but @BURNPAW ! will be the one who exposes Shine!​

 

[WOLFWIND]

" Someone looks pleased with themselves, " The warrior notes, flashing Shinepaw an easy smile as mitted paws carry her closer to the fresh kill pile. The mechanisms are turning in her head. New apprentice, oh - so delicately posed in the sunlight and beaming like the cat that got the cream, there were a few conclusions she could draw, though one clearly stood above the rest as the shifting of the fresh - kill pile catches her eye, newly disturbed, it seems.

Wolfwind would nonchalantly eye the pile, but nonchalantly in the way that she was making it obvious, it wasn't actually nonchalant but not because shes a bad actor, because she's a supportive warrior and like hell she wasn't gonna hype this kid up. Wolfwind draws closer to the pile on exaggerated footsteps, now free to carry herself with ease without her fur flying all over the place with the dying of the wind. She'd seemingly mull over the picks within the pile for a ridiculously long time, before settling herself on one of two worthwhile catches. " Could it be... that one of our newest apprentices has caught this? " she asks, grinning back at him.

She's not really super sure which one is his, (she could even be entirely wrong, and hoo, that'd sure be embarrassing) but she's looking in the general direction, has the general... thing going on​