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Post by Faulty on Nov 10, 2007 17:32:37 GMT -5
Mintpaw smiled as she bounced across the ground. Mothstar had decided to take her to the Apple Grove for her first hunt. Mintpaw hoped she could actually catch something. The older warriors had passed stories about how apples had fallen on their head while they were hunting. Stopping she turned to look behind her and waited for Mothstar to appear. |
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Post by K a r m a on Nov 10, 2007 18:06:44 GMT -5
Mothstar arrived within a second and tossed her head around, inspecting the familiar surroundings. "Good choice," She meowed approvingly, impressed by Mintpaw's decision. She was just newly apprenticed, but had chosen a great spot. "This is one of the best places to hunt, as you can probably tell. It's full of mice and small birds." Frowning, Mothstar whiffed the air and thought she could scent Hazelpaw, though it was very faint. Even fainter was the scent of WinterClan, but it was still there. Figures, She thought to herself, Hazelpaw must have met up with a WinterClan she-cat here. And by the scent of it, it must have been as recent as this morning. What am I going to do with him? "What can you smell?" Mothstar asked, turning to her apprentice.
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Post by Faulty on Nov 10, 2007 18:29:13 GMT -5
Mintpaw practically glowed with pleasure at Mothstar's praise. She lifted her nose to the air and sniffed. "Smells like, Spring Clan..maybe Hazelpaw and Winter Clan." She stated matter-o-factly. "Oh and mice." She added after a moment before looking at Mothstar. She hoped thats what Mothstar had wanted her to say."I don't smell any other cats besides Hazelpaw's why would he be out here all alone?" She asked flicking her ear. |
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Post by K a r m a on Nov 10, 2007 18:51:41 GMT -5
Mothstar didn't want to reveal Hazelpaw's secret, for the young apprentice probably didn't want any rumors about him traveling through out the whole camp. "Ohh, he was probably just out on a little morning hunt." She meowed simply, "WinterClan... Well, it's normal for you to scent them. Their border is right there." She pointed with a flick of her tail. "Once you reach the pine trees, you know you've crossed the border into WinterClan territory. It's best that you not travel too far in that direction." Padding over to the border, Mothstar rubbed herself against the thin trunk of an apple tree, marking her scent on it to keep away any WinterClan she-cats who might still come looking for Hazelpaw. "As for the mice, there are plenty of those around here. Very good, Mintpaw! Now, how would you like to try catching one? Show me what you can do first, then I'll show you some helpful techniques that might help improve your hunting skills."
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Post by Faulty on Nov 12, 2007 13:04:37 GMT -5
Mintpaw nodded and searched the ground for a mouse. When she finally spotted one she crouched down and crawled forward. Halfway to the mouse she hit a branch and alerted the mouse to her presence. Hoping to catch it before it scurried off she pounced. When she opened her paws there was only air and leaves. Crestfallen she looked up at Mothstar and flicked her tail. "I missed." She mewed softly. |
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Post by K a r m a on Nov 13, 2007 21:00:23 GMT -5
Mothstar looked down at the crestfallen Mintpaw and narrowed her eyes in sympathy. "That's alright." She meowed, flicking her tail dismissively and making sure her voice wasn't too harsh or brutal. "I missed my first mouse too, and even as a warrior you will still miss from time to time. It's normal, so don't be too hard on yourself." Mothstar understood the apprentice's desire to impress her mentor, and the disappointment of her failure. She didn't want Mintpaw to feel this way, and decided to her apprentice what her own mentor had told her many moons ago. "Besides, if you were to kill off all the mice in your very first training session, where would the Clan get its food then? We have to leave some for later generations, its how its meant to be." Moving on, Mothstar thought back on Mintpaw's hunting crouch and how it could be improved. It was pretty good for a new apprentice, but there were still some things she needed to work on. "Now, your hunter's crouch is pretty good. You know what I would do though? I would keep all my weight on my right side when putting down my left paws, and keep all my weight on my left side when putting down my right paws. That way, you don't make much of a sound when you creep up on your prey." Mothstar dropped down into a crouch and rocked from side to side to demonstrate, stalking her imaginary prey. "As for the branch, that was just bad luck. But next time, try to be more careful of where you put your paws." Mothstar smiled down at her apprentice, "You're very swift though, I'll give you that. You almost had it."
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Post by Faulty on Dec 20, 2007 20:48:06 GMT -5
Mintpaw nodded and watched her mentor. After Mothstar finished her demonstration Mintpaw copied it moving like water over rocks. After stalking for a minute shew stopped and looked back at Mothstar. "How was that?" She asked happily. At that precises moment a late apple plummeted to tot he ground. Only to miss its mark and land on Mintpaw's head, right between her ears. With a startled yowl she flopped to the ground. |
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Post by K a r m a on Dec 20, 2007 22:23:14 GMT -5
"Oh my goodness!" Mothstar exclaimed, rushing over to help her fallen apprentice. "Are you alright, Mintpaw?" She asked. Mothstar skidded to a stop right beside her apprentice's limp body, unsure of what to do now. Finally, she crouched down and pressed herself against Mintpaw's warm flank, pulling her up to her paws. "I guess those old stories about falling apples are true, after all!" The leader laughed, gently licking her apprentice over the head where the apple had just landed. Her eyes were full of concern, though behind it was hidden laughter as the ginger she-cat remembered how she herself had first been hit with an apple as well. It seemed like such a long time ago. After giving Mintpaw enough time to recover from the shock, Mothstar went on, "Your crouch was very good, by the way. Well done!"
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Post by Faulty on Dec 20, 2007 23:40:25 GMT -5
Mintpaw groaned her ears twitching in final spasms of pain. After around five ear twitches the pain had subsided into a dull pain. "Thank you Mothstar." She mumbled and blinked. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get her eyes to focus. Turning she tried to recognize Mothstar but only caught a faint blurry ginger outline. After blinking a few more times she lifted her gaze to where she thought Mothstar was. "Did you ever get hit by an apple?" She asked after a moment."I can't get my vision to clear." She added quickly. |
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Post by .:Drenchy:. on Dec 21, 2007 21:00:37 GMT -5
Windmist ran in calling, "Mothstar!" She found her and sprinted faster. "Mothstar!" She called again. She noticed Mintpaw on the ground and she heard the two speaking. "Oh, my! What happened?" she bounded in and was over Mintpaw like a shadow, examining her. "Are you alright, Mintpaw?" She shot a glance back to Mothstar saying, "I need to talk to you." She turned back to Mintpaw.
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Post by K a r m a on Dec 21, 2007 21:36:37 GMT -5
"I did." Mothstar replied, now she was truly concerned. Mintpaw didn't seem quite... herself. "I was an apprentice too. It happened quite the same as it did you. I was training with my mentor when it hit me." She paused for a moment then added, "Ohh, that doesn't sound very good. I was fine after a few moments. To me, it was just shocking, nothing too serious." The leader wasn't quite sure what to do now, she was beginning to panic. She wasn't a medicine cat, after all! To her relief, Windmist bursted through the bushes and rushed to Mintpaw's aid. "Alright." Mothstar told her, "Just tend to Mintpaw for now, that's probably more important." The Clan leader still couldn't believe her luck. Windmist came at precisely the right moment.
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Post by .:Drenchy:. on Dec 21, 2007 21:41:59 GMT -5
Windmist nodded. "I'll go fetch some herbs." She bounded off and soon came back with several herbs in her mouth. "Here, Mintpaw, eat these. They should help ease the pain. And some of this sappy stuff, when rubbed, will help you head fell better." She rubbed the sap-like substance onto Mintpaw's head. "Your vision should clear soon." Windmist smiled. She shot another glance to Mothstar saying, "Now?"
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Post by Faulty on Dec 22, 2007 17:44:33 GMT -5
Mintpaw ate the herbs obediently. When she felt the sappy stuff clinging to her fur she shook her head. "How long does this stuff have to stay on?" She asked then sighed in relief as her vision began to clear. "The herbs are working..."She said then noticed how excited Windmist was. "Umm Mothstar, Windmist I think I'll go over and hunt so you can talk with out me."She said getting to her paws a little unsteadily. |
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Post by K a r m a on Dec 22, 2007 22:17:52 GMT -5
Mothstar watched as Windmist tended to her apprentice with the gentle caring only a true medicine cat could possess. When Mintpaw seemed to recover a reasonable amount and offered them some privacy, the leader nodded her thanks. "That would be much appreciated," She told Mintpaw gratefully. "Take it easy though, you still look a little shaky on your paws." Turning back to Windmist, she added, "Thanks for helping, I was starting to panic and I don't know what I would have done without you." The leader knew that this was not the reason Windmist had come for. There was still something else on her mind. "Now, what is it, Windmist? This sounds quite serious." Mothstar bit her lip nervously and trailed her tail in the dirt, awaiting the news.
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Post by .:Drenchy:. on Dec 23, 2007 18:35:33 GMT -5
Widmist nodded gratefully at the apprentice. "You can go wash off the sap now, if you want!" she called. She turned back to Mothstar. "Serious? A bit. Exciting? Yes!" A grin spread across Windmist's face. "Mistheart's origins have been revealed! Her sister, Drench, has come to SpringClan!" Windmist beamed, anxiously getting to her paws. "And it's up to you about what to do with her but I think she's considering joining SprinClan after Mistheart brought up the idea." Windmist finished in a whisper. Her tail flicking excitedly.
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