Disruption [open!]

[Moli]

The forest was quiet. A breath of wind murmured through the branches only just now regaining their leaves, rattling them slightly. In the undergrowth below them, a white she-cat padded softly on the scent of a squirrel, too close to the ground. Her green eyes remained fixated on the small creature, only a fox-length ahead of her.

Only another mouse length... She carefully placed each paw on the ground. This was the best piece of fresh-kill she had seen in awhile, though it was becoming more plentiful as newleaf progressed. Still, she would bring it back to her Clan - the elders and queens would be hungry, and no doubt they would appreciate this fresh-kill.

But it wasn't fresh-kill yet. She still had to catch it. She narrowed her focus as Littlefoot had taught her all those moons ago. Only she, the prey, and the narrow environment surrounding them existed while she was stalking it.

Suddenly, the squirrel's head shot up. She froze with it, holding her breath. Its head twitched the right, paused for a moment, and then the squirrel was gone up the nearest tree. She stood up snarling. She glanced where it had been looking and saw rustling in the brush. Who, or what, had disturbed her hunt? She padded toward it, her ginger-spotted tail flicking in annoyance.

"That was my fresh-kill you just chased off," She said as she walked over, giving whoever was there forewarning of her approach, if they hadn't heard her or seen the squirrel in front of their noses.

[Blush]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true] [atrb=style,width:440px; background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/j7kH1.png),bTable] my feet will carry me to places only fools fear NETTLESTRIPE There was nothing like ruining a perfectly good Newleaf with the burden of an unruly apprentice. Normally, he didn't mind mentoring but being assigned to Tawnypaw?! He didn't trust Tigerstar for all the voles in the forest, and he surely was suspicious of the arrogant tom's daughter. He had to give Tigerstar and Foxheart kudos for once. They had reached a new level of cruel and unusual punishment with this one. He could simply refuse to train her. He could tell Tigerstar, No. Find your daughter another mentor. But that would only bring him more of a headache than he needed. His game plan now was simply to train her as quick as possible, get the little furball her warrior name, and then wash his paws of her. Which was why he had rushed to get her out of camp and into the forest for their first hunting session. Better get this over with as soon as possible. "Hunting's a pretty basic task, but it does take a while to master," Nettlestripe rattled off, beginning a lecture he knew by heart. He refused to look Tawnypaw in the eye as he spoke to her, and luckily, all the information she needed to know about hunting right now was generic. Things would get more difficult for him, he knew, when he had to watch her closely and correct her form, so for now he enjoyed the impersonal stroll as he recited the facts every warrior knew. "In our territory, the main places to hunt are in the thick of the forest, away from the Sandy Hollow or the Snakerocks. Near the Great Sycamore usually has pretty good prey, but you're more likely to run into other cats, so we'll start here." He stopped in his tracks and looked around, figuring the dense thicket was as good of a place to start as any other. There was bound to be prey scuttling around the bracken. "The process is simple, and it's necessary that you memorize the steps: stop and listen and sniff around for prey; when you find one, narrow in on it and stalk forward; then, when the distance is right, leap on it. For smaller prey, a good slash to the throat will do. Once it's dead, you thank StarClan, bury it, and move on. On the way back to camp, you retrace your steps, get all the prey and bring it back to the fresh-kill pile. You never eat on hunting patrols, and you don't eat back at camp until all the elders, queens, and sick cats have eaten. That's the warrior code." He didn't care if he'd been rambling. He was always talking a lot, and Tawnypaw would have to get used to it. There were a lot of things that new apprentices needed to hear, a lot of rules and tips and ideas. But there was a time for talking and a time for doing, and as the tom picked up the scent of a squirrel nearby, he knew now was the time for doing. "Hear that?" he asked under his breath. "Now scent the air. That's the smell of squirrel." The rippling of grass keyed him in to where the prey was furrowing, and Nettlestripe nodded to Tawnypaw. "Watch how I do." Slowly, he stalked toward the squirrel and, once he was within leaping distance, pounced. But his sheathed claws grasped only dirt as he landed. What had happened? That was my fresh-kill you just chased off. Mousedung! He knew that voice. Spottedtail. "Your fresh-kill?" he asked incredulously. "I didn't realize the prey of this forest were claimed. Did you mark it with your scent?" His tail slashed angrily, covering up the embarrassment he felt at missing the prey. "I'm trying to teach my apprentice to hunt, and it looks like you were the one scaring off my squirrel." And of all the cats, too! This was just his luck, Nettlestripe decided. For some reason, StarClan hated him. words: 694 tags: tawnypaw, spottedtail notes: I'm looking forward to this thread! Yeah cranky/awkward Nettlestripe! credit to ALPHA of BACK TO NEVERLAND

[Moli]

Nettlestripe! Spottedtail saw the tom just before he spoke, and felt the familiar twang of confusion that she usually felt around any of her half-siblings. She wanted to be nice to them, and that wasn't terribly hard for her - she was usually a friendly cat - but it was odd when she wasn't sure how they felt about her and her brother, Flintshade.

Her spotted tail twitched at the tip before she replied evenly, trying to keep her tone calm, but friendly. "I suppose both of us were too busy stalking to notice each other. But newleaf is coming - there will be more prey today." She remarked, attempting to put a pleasant spin on the miss. She never knew how to talk to Nettlestripe. He always seemed a little prickly.

"Oh, are you here with Tawnypaw?" She asked, remembering that he had recently been assigned to take on the daughter of Tigerstar. She felt a little jealous. She could have trained her! Tigerstar would have been proud of how she would have turned out with her training. But Nettlestripe was a good warrior too, she reminded herself. She looked behind him, expecting Tawnypaw to be close by.

((Not a fantastic post, but it'll do. ^_^))

[shiningheart]

"Hunting's a pretty basic task, but it does take a while to master." No duh. ""In our territory, the main places to hunt are in the thick of the forest, away from the Sandy Hollow or the Snakerocks. Near the Great Sycamore usually has pretty good prey, but you're more likely to run into other cats, so we'll start here." Thanks for the info, Captain Obvious!

Tawnypaw trailed behind Nettlestripe for the sole reason of not letting him see the scowl. She knew all of this. She'd only been recently assigned to him as an apprentice, yes, but the point was that she's been an apprentice for three moons already. Tawnypaw was nine moons old, and he was treating her like she was only just out of the nursery! Oh, she couldn't wait to see how he handled battle training. She's wipe off that look then...

The scent of squirrel washed over her at the same time as Nettlestripe paused. He instructed her to watch what he did. Honestly, Tawnypaw had half a mind to make some noise, just to mess with her new mentor. But the Clan always needed fresh-kill, even in newleaf.

Luckily, she didn't even need to do anything. The squirrel was already up the tree when Nettlestripe's paws hit the ground, and Tawnypaw burst out laughing at his failure. She almost didn't hear the following argument between Nettlestripe and Spottedtail.

When Spottedtail called her forward, Tawnypaw sucked up her amusement until only little snickers came out. "I'm here. And that was the most spectacular example of hunting I've ever seen!" she meowed sarcastically, a smirk on her muzzle.

[/blockquote]

[Blush]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true] [atrb=style,width:440px; background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/j7kH1.png),bTable] my feet will carry me to places only fools fear NETTLESTRIPE Nettlestripe would rather be rolling around in a thorn bush than stuck in the forest with these two particular she-cats. In theory, he shouldn't have a problem with either of them. After all, Spottedtail and Tawnypaw hadn't been able to choose their parents any more than he had, but he just couldn't get over his prejudices. To him, Spottedtail would always be the cat whose existence had devastated his mother and wrecked his parents' relationship. Spottedtail's mother had been the other she-cat. And Tawnypaw could do whatever she pleased, but she couldn't change the fact that she had Tigerstar's blood running through her veins. Her father was untrustworthy, and therefore so was she. "I suppose both of us were too busy stalking to notice each other. But newleaf is coming - there will be more prey today." It killed him how civil she was. It was difficult to keep up the cold shoulder when the receiver was so bent on being reasonable. But he wasn't the kind of cat who would be polite simply because she was. He could try to tolerate her, but he wasn't going to exchange niceties with her anytime soon. He had just opened his mouth with a snarky retort when another little voice piped in. "I'm here. And that was the most spectacular example of hunting I've ever seen!" Embarrassment and irritation flooded him, and the tom began to lick vigorously at his front paw, as if to avoid the pain of accounting for his mistake. Or really, Spottedtail's mistake. When he had finally obliterated the imaginary speck of dust on his paw, he replied casually, "Perhaps if other cats weren't chasing off the prey for us, that example would have gone as planned." His eyes slid slyly toward Spottedtail. "But apparently my apprentice already knows how to hunt and has no need for a mentor," he told his half-sister. He cast an irritated look at Tawnypaw. He could feel himself becoming grumpier than normal, but he couldn't help it. He had had nightmares about this exact situation before. To Tawnypaw, his voice was caustic. "I'm sure your father has already passed on his excellent hunting techniques to you, so maybe you could show Spottedtail and I how you do it." Careful, Nettlestripe. He had to control himself or he could get into serious trouble. He might not like Tigerstar, but the tom still had control of the clan and a handful of rogues at his disposal. Antagonizing the leader's daughter could get him into some serious trouble. Especially with Spottedtail here as a witness... words: 430 tags: tawnypaw, spottedtail notes: he reminds me somewhat of snape in this post, hating on his student bc he has a grudge against her father. wait a sec... maybe nettlestripe had a crush on goldenflower once upon a time... hmmm. plotting time. credit to ALPHA of BACK TO NEVERLAND

[Moli]

What do I have to do?! Spottedtail wondered as Nettlestripe gave her a sharp look. It was confusing - both with irritation and a bit of confusion. It wasn't her fault he had scared off the prey she had been stalking. That made it hers, at least in her mind. Though none of the prey belonged to them until they caught it, really. But there was no point in arguing this with Nettlestripe, or Tawnypaw, who appeared just behind her mentor. Her tongue had not softened, she noted, but her bravery could be admirable in the right circumstance.

At Nettlestripe's insistence that Tawnypaw would demonstrate, Spottedtail nodded. "I would be happy to help assess Tawnypaw." She replied evenly, trying to keep her emotions out of this, though it was so hard. Why didn't he want to be civil to her? They were related, and even if it was upsetting, they weren't their parents! Why should they hold their grudges?

She moved out of the way, nearer to Nettlestripe, and settled down to watch. She was curious as to what Tigerstar had taught Tawnypaw, if anything. She had assumed he would have been too busy to teach her anything, but perhaps he was a more caring father than he let on.