[ti]Private[/ti]Trouble Trio

[silverfang218]

It had taken him what seemed to be forever to work up his courage, but Fish wanted to go fishing or hunting and Thunder didn’t want the wayward to-be to go alone; the young tom didn’t want to pester any cat to go with him, but he would reluctantly obey his mentor’s wishes. First he had gone to Moth That Lands On Oak, a to-be homeguard to protect him on his little trip, then to Croak Of Lonely Frog, a fellow to-be preyhunter to help him bring home some prey. The invitations had been full of stuttering from the nervous to-be and he’s honestly not sure how either of them had understood enough to know what they were agreeing to, but he had eventually gotten both of them to agree. Maybe the both just felt sorry for him, who knows. Either way, he leads them out of their home, filled with anxiety at having interrupted two tribemates who probably had better plans for the day than going with him.

Once outside the Stoneshelter, Fish turns towards Frog. “Ah… would you r-rather go hunting or fi-fish-sh-fishing. I’m better at” He pauses, “fi-sh-ing” he draws out the word, careful not to stutter and make a bigger fool of himself. His voice has a nervous thread running through it, as he’s usually solitary. That’s the reason he is stuttering now too; he only does that when he’s really nervous or anxious. “b-but I don’t have a preference!" He quickly adds. He glances at Moth too, wanting her to feel free to share her input if she has any.

[Dofferz!]

But alas, opposite to Fish's beliefs, Frog hadn't anything other to truly be doing today. Pigeon was busy today, leaving the to-be stranded without much going on inside. With the caught-prey pile growing slimmer, even though prey was growing more common as the Time of Freed Water approached, Frog was more than happy to accept the hunting invitation from Fish and Moth. Besides, Frog didn't know these two that much yet, and perhaps some time alone with them would change that. Frog was always on the lookout for new friends that he could make.

“Ah… would you r-rather go hunting or fi-fish-sh-fishing. I’m better at fi-sh-ing." In all truthfulness, Frog wasn't very skilled when it came to fishing. In short, he hadn't ever done it before. Crossing the river seemed tedious enough. But alas, Frog was able to pick up on just how nervous this other to-be was. The least that he could do was participate in an activity of which Fish could enjoy. "Fishing sounds fine!" he chirped, turning his attention to Moth, hoping that the home-guard in training would be fine with this as well.

[Meow]

Moth that Lands on Oak had been enjoying a nice meal when Fish had approached her. The she-cat had been a bit surprised at that he, a very shy cat, had wanted to take her along on a hunting trip, and he'd been a tiny bit difficult to understand, but Moth hadn't minded. She'd simply smiled and agreed, happy to be of assistance in guarding her tribe mates. To-be prey hunters often invited her along on their hunting trips to fight off any threats they might encounter, so she was rather used to being a bodyguard for young prey-hunters.

At the time that Fish had specified, the she-cat had shown up to be greeted by the sight of him and Croak of Lonely Frog sitting alone, waiting for her arrival. Now, after confirming that this would be their whole hunting party, the she-cat was humming quietly to herself, enjoying the breeze as it ruffled her thin fur.

"Of course. Anything's fine with me," Moth agreed when the two cats turned their attention to her, her usual pleasant smile crossing her features. She'd always loved the sound of the river. Maybe she'd even try to catch a fish or two of her own, even if she wasn't the best hunter.

[silverfang218]

Fish will teach Frog how to fish. He’ll even try to scare the other to-bes like he did to Ghost by leaping into the water (not that he’d ever try to scare anyone, no sir). “Okay!” There’s a bit of relief in the young to-be’s voice. Fish… kind of isn’t very good at hunting, as he always trips over his own paws and his ability to stalk quitely is… lacking. Hunting clearly isn’t in his short list of talents, and that doesn’t go well with the fact that Fish just hasn’t been a to-be long enough to really have much experience hunting. Fishing however, now that is something Fish can do without embarrassing himself in front of his tribemates.

He glances over at Moth to make sure she is okay with this plan just as their guard for the day voices her approval. With a nod, he turns away. “I kn-know a good place to f-fish!” He mews cheerily, the stuttering slowly easing its way out of his voice as he becomes more comfortable with his companions. He takes a few strides towards the Swiftwater before turning back with a startled expression for only a millisecond. In Fish’s excitement about fishing, he had completely forgotten to see if any of his companions had better ideas! “Is that ok-okay?” He tilts head to one side, “Or did anyone ha-ha-have something else in mind?”

[Dofferz!]

Frog shook his head as Fish voiced, wondering if they had any other suggestions. The white male didn't; he didn't know about Moth, but he simply assumed that the same would go. It wasn't like the other to-be was going to be hunting, really. "Nope, this is good." he replied. Besides, Fish was getting a little excited and more confident. Frog didn't want to force him into an uncomfortable environment. "You'll have to show me and Moth some cool tricks, though!" he chirped. Not just tricks, but likely all the basics. Even though he hadn't any practice, he still wanted to do his best and hopefully catch one of the slippery creatures. Nobody wanted to look like a fool and fall into Swiftwater. It wasn't just embarrassing; it could be deadly.

[Meow]

Moth gave a quiet mrrow of amusement as Fish turned to them once more, so excited that they’d wanted to go fishing that he’d nearly forgotten to also establish exactly where they were going to fish. Moth, of course, hadn’t ever seriously gone fishing, though she had considered trying to catch the fish of the Swiftwater a few times when she’d seen them flash by. Unfortunately, her unpracticed paws would likely just end up scaring them away, so she’d always had to be content with watching them and listening to the sound of the flowing water. The she-cat nodded at Frog’s response, liking the idea that Fish might be able to teach them a few fishing techniques.

“You know these waters much better than I do. Lead the way, Fish,” Moth hummed softly, her tail twitching happily. She didn’t know the other to-be very well, though she had heard about his tendency to spend time in and around the water. Moth supposed fishing naturally went along with that. She trusted that he would know the best places to fish.

[silverfang218]

Fish’s eyes stay alight with excitement as first Frog then Moth agree to follow him. “I dunno if I know any cool tricks,” He chuckles, “But there’s a good fishing hole not far from the waterfall. The water is deep and fish like to gather there. It’s rather calm, too, so it can be good for swimming.” He sets off, gesturing with his tail for his companions to follow, his stutter fading away as he grows ever more comfortable around Moth and Frog. This is going to be a good day! Fish might even walk away from this with some new friends; he doesn’t know about his companions’ lack of fishing skills, but he’d be more than happy to teach them.

It doesn’t take but about five happy steps towards the Swiftwater that Fish stumbles; his big, broad paws get hung up on each other and send the to-be falling nose first to the ground. This is the story of Fish’s life; he’s pretty used to falling down so he quickly hops back up, not giving any his tumble any thought. Shaking it off, he glances over his shoulder. “Well, let’s go!”

[Dofferz!]

Well really, anything fishing related was a cool trick in his opinion. So whatever Fish could do to teach his was a cool trick. The prospect of full on swimming was a little trivial, and he was surely a little apprehensive to try it, so chances were that the white male would simply stay on the riverbank and leave the water to his paws alone. And with that, Frog would not hesitate to trail behind Fish, ears forwards as he listened for the bubbling of Swiftwater to know they were close.

And at last, when they arrived, he could feel his tail twitch in slight excitement. It had been a while since he had learned something new. Frog blinked, eyes growing wide as he saw his fellow to-be stumble and face plant into the ground, but disregarded it soon as Fish bounced back to his feet. Seemingly unaffected, he simply assumed it happened commonly: tripping over paws. Although clumsy on land, Frog was curious to see just how graceful they would become when they hit the water.

Frog let a curious mrowl drawl from his mouth as he bounded up to the edge of Swiftwater, looking in rather curiously, and a large grin forming on his maw as a little, silver fish darted away as his shadow hung to the water's surface. "So how do you really catch these little guys?" he would ask, prodding his paw into the water and allowing the current to tug at his foot.