Training [Finchpaw]

[Deleted]

Days Go By

Sunflash slowed his pace as he reached the great tree, feeling warm energy rush through him. The night's rest had at first made him sleepy and clumsy, but those feelings had left him by then. He was ready to mentor. The golden tom took a seat at the base of the Sycamore, and waited for Finchpaw to catch up.

[Deleted]

The small black cat trotted in, head raised and jaw opened. He looked slightly uncertain for a moment, before brightening at another scent. "I found you!" Finchpaw crowed with delight, bouncing around on the tips of his toes. "I found you and the Great Sycamore!"

[Deleted]

You Found Me

Sunflash pricked his ears when his apprentice came bounding in, and lifted his chin in approval. "Very good. You found me much quicker than I expected." The tom got to his paws, then, and stepped back to admire the great tree. "Remember this place, the looks and the scents. You can navigate the entire forest by knowing it's position." He looked back to Finchpaw. "Now, what did you use to locate me? The scents, the scuffs in the earth from my paws?"

[Deleted]

Finchpaw lay on his back and waved his paws in the air, still basking in the joy of finding his mentor. Then he flipped back over and made an attempt to calm down. "Your scent, mostly," he admitted. "There was some fur caught in places on bushes that helped me, but it was mainly yourr scent."

[Deleted]

I'll Show You The Ropes

Sunflash smiled as his apprentice flopped onto his back. Although he was acting a bit like a kit, that was to be expected. Besides, the little tom had enthusiasm. Once the black apprentice returned to his paws and spoke, the warrior nodded. "Very good. Noticing the tuffs of fur here and there was especially cleaver. It's a good tip to remember in case your tracking something or some cat after it rains, and the scents wash away. But otherwise, scent is the best thing to go by."

[Deleted]

Finchpaw nodded, flattening his ears against his head in an attempt to calm down. "So, hunting?" he suggested hopefully, resisting the urge to bounce around. He knew that might scare of prey, and if Sunflash was impressed with him he didn't want to ruin it.

[Deleted]

Opportunity

Sunflash twitched his whiskers with a smile. "Alright, then. That's a good thing to focus on." The tom then pricked his ears, flicking them occasionally in order to search out any sign of prey scurrying around in the undergrowth. A little scuffled sounded from the right. His amber eyes darted in its direction, but kept his head still. There, near the bramble patch, was a squirrel, searching around for food. Making sure not to announce their presence, the golden warrior padded next to Finchpaw and indicated the prey with a flick of his tail.

"Alright, here's your chance. Drop into a hunter's crouch-" he demonstrated this, keeping his body weight even on four paws- "and be sure to keep your butt low. Take slow, silent steps until you're close enough to your prey, and then go for it. Understood?"

[Deleted]

Finchpaw nodded and dropped into the crouch swiftly. He had done this a few times before, so he knew what to do. He pulled himself forwards, slowly and steadily, rubbing his paws over the leaves to stop them from crackling. He tasted the air, checking his position. Downwind, that was good.
He kept pulling himself forwards until he was nearly a tail-length away, before leaping. His black body moved through the air, landing on the squirrel who had only just noticed that something was wrong. Finchpaw dealt a swift deathblow to the squirrel, breaking its neck, before turning joyfully to his mentor. "I caught it!" he purred.

[Deleted]

Like Nothing Before

Sunflash smiled, and padded over with a proud purr. "A very well done!" he mewed, eying the catch laying there dead. "The squirrel never saw you coming. You're a much better hunter than I had thought. The way you made sure to check the air before going for the kill is something most apprentices take a while to remember to do." The warrior twitched his ear, flicking away a buzzing bee that had been circling him. "Go ahead an burry that for now. You can dig it up when we head back toward camp."

[Deleted]

Finchpaw nodded in agreement, digging in the ground by the roots of the Great Sycamore carefully. He tucked the prey into the hole and turned around, scraping dirt back over it.
"What now?" he asked curiously, wanting to see how his mentor would reply.

[Deleted]

Always Starts The Same

Sunflash thought it over. "You seem to have a good grip on hunting," he mused, "so why not start some combat training?" The golden tom let his claws slip in and out of his paws, into the earth, to show what he meant. Of course, no claws were to ever be used in the course of mentoring. He'd leave that for when ThunderClan came head to head with ShadowClan again. "That sound good?"

[Deleted]

"Sure!" Finchpaw danced over to his mentor, before sliding to the ground and sidling forwards, hissing. "Fighting's great!"

[Deleted]

Fire Burning

The warrior's amber eyes gleamed. "Then let's get started. Remember, always keep your claws sheathed during training. We don't need to drag Dappledfrost out here on account of accidental bloodshed." He flicked his tail behind him, then fell into a fighting stance, his weight on his forepaws. "Let's start with something basic. We'll try the back kick. What you do is place all you wight on your front paws, then-" Sunflash pushed off from his hind legs and delivered a powerful blow to the invisible opponent behind him, - kick out with her back legs with all you've got. This is a good surprise attack, especially if you're opponent is coming up from behind. Now you try it."