vanilla sugar l flamewhisker

[JAYWISH]

Jaypaw isn't sure what today's lesson will be but as time goes on, he's slowly becoming more comfortable with the idea of this apprentice stuff. Maybe it's because Flamewhisker is younger than some of the other warriors that it isn't so intimidating or that she gives him a chance to figure things out for himself, but he's settling in much faster than he expected to. In fact, the youth is excited as he pulls himself out of the queens' den to face the dawning sun. Taking in a deep breath of cool air, he watches his breath ease through the air before deciding to himself that he'd like to find his own den soon. He's old enough, he thinks, and he's tired of getting kicked in the head by sleeping kits.

It's only a short walk into the woodland and after sipping from a puddle (yawning and stretching all the way) soon Jaypaw finds the fallen tree that Flamewhisker told him about. The sound of birds above is sharp in the chilly light and his ear flicks toward the sound of critters in the distance shuffling the leaves. Jumping up on the log, Jaypaw walks along it until he sees the fiery pelt of his mentor. "Good morning Flamewhisker! What's the plan for today?" He looks around, trying to gather a clue before looking back up to the shecat expectantly. Hopefully it's food related because he'd forgotten all about grabbing something from the freshkill before heading out.

@Flamewhisker ​

[ I'M THE HERO THAT SAVES ME ]​

 

[Flamestar]

( ★ ) It was a crisp, fall morning. A cool breeze drifted through the forest, and she could swear she felt leaf bare nipping at her ear. It wouldn't be long before all the leaves were gone, and snow replaced the grass and thick coverage of the forest. As she waited for her apprentice to join her, she quietly listened to the sound of the forest around her. She could hear birds chirping, and...crunching. Her ears perked towards the sound, and shortly after, Jaypaw hopped onto the log and greeted her.

The young she-cat raises her tail in greeting, and offers her apprentice a friendly smile. As she recalls, he had joined shortly after she had, so teaching him hadn't been much of a challenge so far. She was new too, so they were learning the clan's ways together. Though, she knew how to hunt and defend herself to an extent, so the rest of the clan's ways could be learned by ear. Just recently she had been involved in a conversation about something called Starclan. She would wait to learn about that more before teaching Jaypaw. So far to her, it seemed like a bunch of kit tales.

"Good morning. For today, I was going to assess your hunting skills. I know fighting is important too, but I believe being able to catch prey is more important to survival." Maybe that wasn't the 'proper' clan way, but as a former loner, she was a firm believer in being able to provide. "I want you to show me your hunter's crouch first." ​

( I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD ; YOU CAN BURY ME )

 

[JAYWISH]

Jay immediately realizes he should have been careful what he wished for when Flamewhisker announces today's topic and he grits his teeth behind his lips before pulling them into a sorry excuse of a smile. He tries to cover his sudden nervousness with it but all it does is make that even more apparent. Really he should just be grateful it's not fighting first because he'd probably be even worse at that (unless beating a stuffed toy into submission is counted) and that Flame is interested in teaching him the basis of survival over all else. He only lived to get to Thunderclan by the skin of his teeth after all. "Uh, yeah. Yeah. I can do that." Instead, he's only concerned about how dumb he's about to look.

Hunter's crouch... He has no idea what that should look like so he goes off the name and the closest pose he knows. Jay flexes his paws, getting a firm grip on the bark which seems like a good start only to throw himself into a position more like a large bird showing off than a cat. Not thinking of having to see through grass, he presses his chin flush to the wood like his front paws then throws his flank up with an awkward bend in his back that would certainly hurt with any sudden movement. His tail rises up without him realizing it and instead of his backside wagging, it flicks around like a warning flag for any prey. Front loaded, a gust of wind could throw him off balance.

"How's this?" It's a kitten pose and he knows it but the forced determination on his face suggests that he sincerely is trying. At the last second, either from discomfort or a realization, he straightens his back out some and raises his chin slightly off the dead tree since it's cold. In fact, this whole forest is much colder than he remembers it being just a few days ago and he feels annoyed to realize this when he's trying to focus. His whiskers twitch, probably trying to hold back a sneeze. An apex predator, this one.
​

[ I'M THE HERO THAT SAVES ME ]​

 

[Flamestar]

( ★ ) She watches as Jaypaw settles into a rather...interesting pose. Her head tilts slightly, and a small smile forms on her maw. The position looked anything but comfortable, but she gave him a few more moments to allow him time to do the few tweaks he made. She thought back to the first time she had tried to hunt, and she could recall doing a quite similar starting position. "

"Not too bad, but it does look pretty uncomfortable. I would suggest lifting your head just a little bit more, along with your front half. You want to be low, but not so low that you disturb the grass and undergrowth beneath you." she smiles again, noting his waving beacon of a tail. "You may want to lower that quite a bit too, but be sure to keep it above the ground. Sometimes tails disturb the grass too!"

She would allow him as much time as he needed to make the corrections she suggested before continuing. "Overall, the position should feel comfortable to you. You don't want to be a stiff log trying to sneak through the forest. You should feel light pawed, like your body could bounce stealthily through the forest." She flicked her tail to the left, motioning for him to join her. "Could you replicate your hunter's crouch again over here? And we can practice stalking." ​

( I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD ; YOU CAN BURY ME )