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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 5, 2017 15:37:29 GMT -6
- Willowpaw- (Making this before the assessment because why not) Swanpaw was a bad hunter. She had to improve before her final assessment, and failing wasn't an option for her. She had already lost two mice today, and soon it would be her third. She had unluckily found another mouse. Now, mice were her favourite snacks, but hunting them was definitely not her favorite. Somehow they were the trickiest thing for her to catch. Maybe it was because of how small they were. They were slippery little buggers, and she could never keep them still for the final kill. She crouched, creeping forward slowly. This was the one. It was fat, and hopefully slow. Once she was close enough her haunches wiggled, eyes sparkling with excitement. That is before something scared it away. Or someone. She snarled, whirling around. The scent was all too familiar. "Of course you just had to scare it away!" She snapped, fur rising along her spine. Stupid Willowpaw. |
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Post by Willowspirit on Mar 5, 2017 16:17:12 GMT -6
Willowpaw had been hunting as well, carefully stalking a rabbit. She wasn't training for her assessment, instead, Willowpaw simply wanted to contribute to her clan and prove that she wasn't a burden. The silver she-cat was about to pounce when the rabbit started to run, and nimbly, she set chase after it, bounding forward until snagging the creature with a paw and pulling it closer, biting down on it's neck.
She then noticed Swanpaw, who was yelling at her. "Sorry, but I had to get this." She shrugged. "It's a better catch than that mouse, anyways, and I'm sure you can still find something else." Willowpaw didn't care much for Swanpaw, and therefore, she wasn't too bothered by her.
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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 5, 2017 21:01:38 GMT -6
Swanpaw forced herself to calm down once the silver feline explained, her large ears flattening against her head self consciously. "Finding things isn't the problem, its the keeping them that's hard." Swanpaw slashed a claw on the ground in a childish fit, her teeth bared in annoyance. It was obvious that Willowpaw was a fair hunter, and that made Swanpaw even more mad.
Swanpaw was slightly surprised that Willowpaw hadn't snapped straight back at her. Perhaps she had changed since the last time they had met.
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Post by Willowspirit on Mar 5, 2017 21:13:24 GMT -6
Willowpaw found Swanpaw's anger to be amusing, especially for a cat who was old enough to be a warrior, and she twitched her whiskers. Talking to Stormsong cleared her head significantly, and Willowpaw actually felt in control of her situation for once, which wasn't something that she was going to just let pass.
"Who's your mentor?" Willowpaw frowned. She'd seen what Swanpaw was stalking, and even a kit could catch a mouse that fat and slow. "Have they not yet taught you to hunt?" Willowpaw wouldn't judge Swanpaw if that was the case, her own mentor, Ashmist, had disappeared, forcing Willowpaw to learn on her own.
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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 5, 2017 21:28:00 GMT -6
"Stormfrost." She answered honestly, her ears burning. Stormfrost was an excellent mentor, and while hunting with him she always managed to at least catch her prey. Though, when she put so much pressure on herself to exceed, she never did well. "Of course he taught me how to hunt already." Swanpaw answered dryly, thin tail lashing behind her. 'I'm almost a warrior and I'm too incompetent to even catch a fat mouse!' She thought to herself with a heavy sigh. This really wasn't the case, she just didn't know how to relax and stop thinking about what she was doing so much. She needed to trust her instincts, though instead she listened to her head.
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Post by Willowspirit on Mar 5, 2017 21:44:34 GMT -6
"Well then, you should've caught that, and you shouldn't have blamed your failure on me." Willowpaw mewed sharply, instantly regretting it. Reading Swanpaw's body language, she seemed very flustered and upset, and railing on her would just make her feel worse, and it would turn Willowpaw into a bully.
The silvery tabby let out a sigh, relaxing. "But I guess, even grown warriors make mistakes.." And so do I. Willowpaw hesitated for a moment, unsure if she should try to mend bridges with Swanpaw and risk coming across looking weak.
Stormsong would probably want her to, and Willowpaw was tired of being miserable and hated. "We could try to hunt something together, I've seen other cats pull team-hunting off really well, before.
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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 5, 2017 21:52:03 GMT -6
Swanpaw swallowed thickly, forcing herself not to look down. She wanted to respond with something, anything, though her mouth was dry. She didn't take well to failure, especially when it was pointed out so rudely, and a part of her wanted to cry. She had never really cried before. She bit her tongue harshly, forcing her expression to remain emotionless.
"Yeah, they do." She forced herself to say something, that way she at least didn't seem so fragile. She was never like this, but with all the stress she found herself in, things had been hard lately.
Swanpaw was surprised at the offer. Her first thought was to turn her down with a sharp retort and storm off, but how things were going now, she would never pass her final assessment.... "Okay..." She grumbled, unsure just how this would turn out.
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Post by Willowspirit on Mar 5, 2017 22:01:15 GMT -6
"Okay." Willowpaw nodded, surprised that Swanpaw had accepted her offer so easily. Willowpaw never had any positive interactions with cats, excluding the one with her cousin, and now that she had gotten this far, she didn't want to mess up.
Hunting. That was something Willowpaw could do with ease. She tasted the air, locating a sparrow, and flicked her tail in that direction. "How about.. You go after it, and stay downwind, and I'll come from behind and make sure it flies right into your paws?" Willowpaw suggested, though she had never actually tried anything like that before, only having seen it.
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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 6, 2017 13:24:32 GMT -6
Swanpaw nodded, forcing herself to be open minded about Willowpaw. They had both changed a lot since their last encounter, and maybe, just maybe they could manage to get along. Although Swanpaw wasn't a forgiving cat, it didn't mean she couldn't try and be nice. After all, this cat didn't have to help her.
Swanpaw nodded, crouching low to the ground. She stiffly moved forward, her stance screaming with tension. She waited for Willowpaw to get to her spot, expecting the feline to give her some sort of signal before she drove the bird towards her.
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Post by Willowspirit on Mar 6, 2017 13:44:24 GMT -6
Willowpaw, focusing of hunting instead of her opinion on Swanpaw, crept slowly towards the bird, eyes narrowed, and each pawstep careful. She wasn't exactly sure how she would signal to Swanpaw that she was ready, it had to be something the bird would miss, but Swanpaw wouldn't.
Willowpaw carefully lifted her tail and waved it, before darting forward, scaring the bird and causing it to fly towards Swanpaw. She gave chase as well, ready to catch it if Swanpaw messed up.
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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 6, 2017 13:49:43 GMT -6
A tail wave. Swanpaw closed her eyes for a few seconds, steadying her breathing. If she messed up and didn't catch it, she would probably drop dead from embarrassment. She was almost a warrior, all she needed to do was relax. With this in mind she sprang out of her hiding spot, the bird flying towards her with Willowpaw hot on its tail. It began to fly higher, trying to get out of reach from the anxious feline. Swanpaw tensed her back legs, shooting into the air. She snatched the sparrow in her claws just before it made its escape, slamming it onto the ground in victory. She quickly killed it, eyes shining. "I did it!" She lowered her voice, smirking. "I mean, we did it."
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Post by Willowspirit on Mar 6, 2017 14:08:14 GMT -6
Willowpaw felt a surge of pride for Swanpaw's accomplishment, even though she knew that the pale she-cat didn't like her, and likely despised her. That was fine with Willowpaw, because she didn't have any friends, and it was nothing new. Helping others, though, that was different, and she enjoyed feeling like more than a burden in other cats' lives.
She nodded, keeping her expression even. "It was your catch. I think you would have been fine without my help." Willowpaw mewed, unsure of herself. She avoided being too nice, not wanting to give uneseccary flattery and come across as fake. Though, praise was given where praise was due.
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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 6, 2017 14:22:23 GMT -6
Swanpaw decided that giving her a second chance was worth it. She was sure, like herself, Willowpaw needed friends. Swanpaw wasn't exactly why she thought that, though she kind of just got the feeling that Willowpaw was lonely. Maybe they had more in common than she thought.
"Nah, I think I hunt better with other cats." She admitted, looking down at the bird. She wasn't exactly hungry, and she thought giving up the catch would be a good way to get on good terms. "Here, you can have it." She tossed it towards her, tail raised.
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Post by Willowspirit on Mar 6, 2017 19:19:12 GMT -6
"You can share it with me, if you'd like." Willowpaw offered openly and lowered her head, taking a bite of the bird and thinking while she chewed. If Swanpaw could turn out to be a decent cat, then maybe others could, too. Though, cats like Almondfire and Aloepaw were probably far past redemption, and likely Brightpaw as well.
The silvery tabby swallowed, enjoying the woody taste. "Shouldn't you be having your assessment soon?" Willowpaw question. Swanpaw looked old enough to be a warrior, she had grown up fairly quickly. "My mentor disappeared so I had to get a new one, and that slowed down my training a lot, which is why I'm not a warrior yet." Willowpaw explained.
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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 6, 2017 21:33:12 GMT -6
Swanpaw nodded, moving towards her. She crouched down beside Willowpaw, plucking at a few feathers in distaste. She never did like birds much, but she had to admit, she was hungry. Swanpaw went straight for the poor suckers heart, crushing it between her teeth.
"Yeah, any day now." Swanpaw answered, a twinge of nervousness causing the fine hairs on her spine to prickle. "Ahh, that sucks. Who's your mentor now?" Swanpaw questioned, eyeing the she cat. Willowpaw was noticeably older than her.
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