Training Grimpaw

[Grimpaw]

Grimpaw's tail swayed and he licked his muzzle as he watched the mouse that moved in a clump of grass just a couple of tail lengths ahead. The apprentice balanced his weight and lowered himself, then began to tread in quick, light steps forward. As soon as he neared the mouse in the most perfect stalk he'd ever done, he stepped on a twig and snapped it on accident. And as soon as the mouse heard the sound it darted away in the brush. Grimpaw snarled and sat down, looking toward the place where it took refuge from the cats. "Almost had it.." he whispered to himself.

[mudmask]

Hardsoul looked down upon the apprentice. "Your stalk was perfect, but you have to watch where you walk and the mouse at the same time. You'll catch one next time." Hardsoul sat behind Grimpaw. "A rabbit will hear you before it sees you, but a mouse will feel your pawsteps, but today it happened to hear you. Let's go deeper into th forest and find some more prey." Hardsoul padded in quick, quiet paws, darting low branches and clumps of brambles. His muscles pumped as he quickened his pace to a run and leaped over a fallen tree trunk.

[grim]

With a determined look on his face, and look back to where the mouse disappeared, he dashed off to flank Hardsoul on the run to find more prey to hunt. They dodged obstacles, waded through small stray streams and jumped over fallen logs. After a short time of tracing prey, Grimpaw picked up the scent of a rabbit. While making sure that he was downwind, he crept forward just as he did before, but made sure his attention was both on where he was walking and where the rabbit was. Soon, he was close enough to pounce, but he waited, bunching up his muscles to wait for the right moment to jump forwards and onto the rabbit. So he did, aiming for the rabbit. Grimpaw held the rabbit beneath his weight for a second longer before biting down into the softness of its brown pelt where he could finish it off. Afterwards, he sat up with the rabbit jangling from his muzzle, smirking with pride in catching his first prey.

[Mudmask not loggingon]

Hardsoul watched Grimpaw stalk and pin the rabbit. "Very well done young Grimpaw." he remarked. "The rabbit didn't make a sound when you caught it. Make sure you kill the prey quickly and quietly because if you don't, it will shreak and you'll lose the rest of the prey in the area. They'll be hiding in their dens. I was hoping you're first kill would be something bigger than a rabbit, you meet expectations." with the last few words he turned to a tree and sharpened his claws. The sun was falling and Hardsoul knew moon-high was coming soon.

[Grimpaw]

Grimpaw set down his fresh-kill and scraped earth over it for safe keeping until he was ready to take it back to camp. He smirked at the lump on dirt on the ground where his prey lay, and raised a hind leg up to scratch at the back of his ears before looking over at Hardsoul, nodding to his comment. A breeze ruffled his short, thick fur while they took a couple of moments of silence to let his victory of catching his first prey sink in. Grimpaw interrupted the quiet moment. "When will training for fighting begin?"

[mudmask]

((i'm just going to lump training together))

"Tommorow," Hardsoul replied. "First, I want to catch more prey for the elders and then we will return to camp. You and I will hunt except I will go east and you west. Be back to camp by nightfall." Hardsoul gave a solom expression to Grimpaw and bounded off towards the lake. He smelled some mice and a rabbit, but they would be tucking in for the night soon and he knew he would have to hurry.

((Tommorow I'll start a battle training in this thread and it will be morning or something))