First Lesson (Echo, Chervil)

A light, playful breeze made the grasses dance. Already a few flowers dotted the area, objectively it was beautiful but the butterflies in Chervilpaw's belly wouldn't let her appreciate it. Chervilpaw kneaded her pale cream paws into and out of the ground, dirt loosened and her paws, up until then remarkably clean, were soon covered in dirt. She glanced up at Echofrost and forced her paws to still. A warrior wouldn’t do that.

“Is… is this the badger knoll then?” Her voice was tiny. She nodded quickly, not wanting to seem like she was disobeying an order this soon. “What are we learning today?”

All around her she could scent the warmth of prey and hear rustling noises, her ears swiveled, trying to hear better. Two thoughts fought for control of her mind; how little she wanted to disappoint her mentor and how she wished she'd had time to practice her hunting.

Echofrost nodded, tail swaying with the breeze. "Yes. It's very spacious, and suitable for practicing different types of maneuvers." She scanned the grasses of the plain. We may find a rabbit or two deeper in the field. It wasn't uncommon to find the floppy-eared creatures hiding in the long grasses, rich with shed seeds and cover from the open sky. Not many warriors had the speed to run them down, however.

Echofrost turned her gaze back to her apprentice. She watched as Chervilpaw's ears swiveled, trembling slightly as they strained to pick up any sound. Attentive. That will suit her well. "We usually start off apprentices with their hunting techniques." She replied. "It's a basic, vital skill, and is arguably more necessary than combat training."

The ability to fight was important. While they rarely got into conflicts with Roseclan, foxes and badgers could be found roaming the territory, and even senior warriors couldn't stand up to those creatures alone. However, providing food for oneself and the clan was the first step.

Hunting? Chervilpaw’s heart sank. She’d been hoping to show off the fighting move she and Flutterpaw had practiced so hard with. It took a moment but he heart bobbed back to the surface like a duck coming up after diving for food; this way she’d be perfect at that move by the time she showed Echofrost.

“Okay,” Chervilpaw stilled herself, fur sizzling with excitement. “Where do we start?”

Even as she was speaking Chervilpaw couldn’t help but wonder why hunting was more important. Food was crucial, she’d learned that last leaf-bare but surely it was more important to be able to handle whatever was out here than being stuck in the medicine cat den with a full belly.

“Excuse me Echofrost,” she began, already feeling like this was a bad idea, ”but what do you mean by ‘arguably more necessary?’”

Echofrost studied her apprentice curiously. "Food is a basic bodily need for survival." She replied. "The ability to defend oneself is certainly important, especially in the lives we lead, but it isn't as immediately necessary." She gave a small smile. "I suppose you can't really place one over the other in priority. You need to be fed to have the strength to fight, and you must be healthy enough to hunt."

She thought to herself. I guess it doesn't matter how we start off. Hunting and combat techniques do tend to intertwine, after all. She began to feel the beginnings of doubt creeping in. This was her first apprentice. I hope I'm doing this right...

"Hunting is also a more immediate need for apprentices, as you will not be fighting unless it's an emergency. That is the duty of the warriors." She gave her apprentice a small smile. "But, if you like, we can do a little bit of both."

“If… if I like?” Echofrost was the deputy, what was she doing asking Chervilpaw, an apprentice for a day and a half what she would like to do? She wasn’t quite sure whether to be honoured or terrified. “No, that’s okay. If you think hunting is best… I means what you said makes perfect sense. So… are we going to…?”

She let her voice trail away and dipped her head respectfully, cautious of butting heads with her mentor too much so soon. Inwardly her mind was a mess of activity, whirring away at the questions she would be asking the warriors and elders the moment she got back to camp. Her paws were kneading again, tousling the soft dirt and upending a few blades of grass, she brought them to a halt and looked up at Echofrost expectantly.

She had hoped that giving her apprentice a little bit of freedom would ease her nerves. Apparently not. "Of course." She nodded. "We'll start with the hunting crouch."

"This is the most basic maneuver, and generally reserved for hunting that requires stealth, such as for mice." Echofrost dropped into a crouch, demonstrating. "Don't be too tense, just make sure that you will be able to leap from this position. Keep your hind legs tucked, and your belly off the ground."

(I'm so sorry for it taking this long... hopefully by next week I'll have free time again)

Chervilpaw nodded along to her mentor’s words; her face a picture of rapt concentration. Okay. Hunting. Hunting crouch. She could do that. Is there any kind of hunting that doesn’t require stealth? She found herself wondering, tail drifting behind her like leaves on the breeze. She was drawn back to focus by the crisp silence that filtered between them.

“Okay!” She meowed, stillness reverberated from her voice as prey was startled and she made a silent note to keep her voice to a whisper.

Slowly she pushed her body forwards and let her hind legs naturally fold under her to give her more purchase. Tension and need for approval seemed to roll of her pelt in waves. Her tail was drifting again as her mind wandered back to this stealthless hunting her mentor spoke of.

( No worries! ^^ )

Echofrost watched her apprentice as she crouched. Her posture was right, and she was good at keeping her tail in check. However, they would have to work on that distracted movement. Chervilpaw slunk forward smoothly, and Echofrost was already impressed with the ease of the motion. She'll make a good hunter.

"Focus." Echofrost chided, seeing Chervilpaw's eyes glaze over slightly. "You can't let yourself get distracted, or the prey could flee."

After a few moments, Echofrost nodded approvingly. "Well done." She purred with a smile. "That was very good for your first try. Just make sure not to let your thoughts drift, and try to keep your tail more still." Her gaze softened. "Relax. You're doing fine."

It took Chervilpaw a moment to still her tail but the tension seemed to fall away, making the position look a lot more natural. Beneath the mask of utmost concentration she was beaming; she was doing okay.

“Tail still. Focused.” She repeated to herself under her breath.

Her mentor dipped her head and Chervilpaw froze, unsure whether this was a signal to keep going or to stop. She settled for a compromise. First she straightened out her legs, shook her body as if ridding it of water and then sunk forwards once more to help her remember. Periodically she glanced over at Echofrost whether for approval or further instructions she couldn’t quite say. 

"No, that's not quite right." The crouch felt off somehow, so she straightened and sunk forwards once more. "Is this better?"

Chervilpaw's tail stilled accordingly, and Echofrost could see her body visibly loosen. Good.

"That's right." She nodded, examining the apprentice's form. "It will feel more comfortable, more natural, once you have become used to it. The more times you practice, the easier it gets." She noticed the stiffness that had settled around Chervilpaw's shoulders seemed to have relaxed as well. "It definitely helps to remain loose. You want to have enough tension to spring forward, but not so much as to lock up your movement."

Chervilpaw found herself looking back down at her paws, waiting for the next order, still crouched awkwardly before her mentor, waiting for the stream of scrutiny to hail down on her. As things turned out she was bracing herself for a blow that never came. She wasn’t doing it perfectly, the lack of praise told her that much, but it seemed Echofrost was not going to pick her apart.

"I’ll definitely work on keeping loose then.” For the first time since entering the knoll her voice was sure. “So! What now? Do you want me to try going into the crouch again or did you want me to try something else?”

( Sorry if I'm not mentoring very well - this is actually my first time. xC )

"We can move on." Echofrost replied. "We'll practice a few techniques today, then we can come back to the hunting crouch." She gave a nod, signaling Chervilpaw to stand.

"The next step is awareness of your environment." Echofrost instructed. "It's important to be alert while you are hunting, both for the successfulness of your catch and your own safety." She lifted her muzzle slightly, tasing the air. "Scent is primary, of course. You use it to keep track of your prey, as well as to be aware of any dangers around you, such as badgers, foxes, or twolegs. Later on, I can take you to an abandoned badger burrow and fox set so you can familiarize youself with the smell."

She waved her tail. "You also need to be aware of the direction of the wind, if you're hunting in an open space. Wind can provide cover for noise, but is also transports scent. If you're ever hunting a rabbit or the like, you need to remain downwind, or your scent will carry right to your prey."

She smiled. "I know it's a lot to learn, but you get used to it. You just need to familiarize yourself with each type of environment."

(You're doing fine )


“Okay.” Chervilpaw slowly moved out from the crouch.

Once more she found her paws kneading the cold ground; she’d just been getting the hang of it too. She nodded along at Echofrost’s words while she tried to be aware of her surroundings. Slowly but surely after outburst the grasses were rustling softly once more. The breeze tossed the fur along her hind quarters before pooling over across her back and spilling over to her mentor, that meant if Echofrost were a rabbit she would approach from this direction, or was it the other way around?

“You’re right, this is a lot to take in.” Lessons with Echofrost were definitely a lot more sedate than she’d expected.