Post by Broadwaykat on Jul 30, 2019 1:55:52 GMT
“So what you want to do…whenever you’re hunting something, is remember three things before you pounce; soft, scent, sunlight.”
Duskypetal waggled his bottle-brush tail in the air as he pressed himself down into a hunter’s crouch in front of his apt pupil; something that he wouldn’t do if he was actually in a hunting crouch, of course, but for the sake of dramatic gesturing effect. “Soft; be on the tips of your paw pads so that your steps are soft; as anything smaller than we are make up for it by being able to feel heavier vibrations in the air and ground; like, say, paw-steps. Scent; you want to keep track of where it is by smell, as chances are if you’re close enough to see it, it can see you – and you want to keep your own scent downwind so that it isn’t alerted to the fact that you’re there either. And sunlight; because I’ve lost many a good piece of prey because of a wrong-falling shadow than either of the other two.”
He grinned in a self-satisfied way at his clever mnemonic of course – this was only his second time with an actual apprentice, but if he did say so himself it was going swimmingly. Until, that is, someone else interrupted his lesson.
“And what about when you hunt at night…how do you manage to bungle your kills then?”
Duskypetal frowned and rose from his crouch to greet the ginger and white she-cat who sat watching their lesson from above with an irritated grimace. Meeting her cool, calculating glare with one of his own. “Nettletooth, oh…wonderful to have you with us this morning. And I was going to be getting to that in our next lesson...”
“Oh I’m sure you were.” Her voice oozed a sort of smarmy condescending attitude that she might have shared for a kit who was very, very small. And possibly feeble-minded as well, but when her attention turned to his apprentice, she actually warmed up a little bit. “I hope you don’t mind my intrusion. Only I’ finished with the morning patrol and thought that I’d come and see how my grandkit was doing. I hope I’m not…intruding.”
“Not at all.” Duskypetal spoke through his teeth, but did his best to try and hide the fact that, yes, indeed, he did mind. If had been anyone else other than Nettletooth, probably not; but the she-cat had the uncanny ability of getting under his fur in a way rather like her namesake, and prodding at the most uncomfortable spots and pricking at the delicate underbelly of things like his own ego.
“I hope he’s taught you more than just a hunter’s crouch, dear.” She continued to Foxpaw as if Duskypetal didn’t exist from then on. “After all, it’s been nearly an entire moon since he’s started teaching. I’ve heard one can’t rush progress, but I’d hate to hear that you were behind in anything.”
Duskypetal waggled his bottle-brush tail in the air as he pressed himself down into a hunter’s crouch in front of his apt pupil; something that he wouldn’t do if he was actually in a hunting crouch, of course, but for the sake of dramatic gesturing effect. “Soft; be on the tips of your paw pads so that your steps are soft; as anything smaller than we are make up for it by being able to feel heavier vibrations in the air and ground; like, say, paw-steps. Scent; you want to keep track of where it is by smell, as chances are if you’re close enough to see it, it can see you – and you want to keep your own scent downwind so that it isn’t alerted to the fact that you’re there either. And sunlight; because I’ve lost many a good piece of prey because of a wrong-falling shadow than either of the other two.”
He grinned in a self-satisfied way at his clever mnemonic of course – this was only his second time with an actual apprentice, but if he did say so himself it was going swimmingly. Until, that is, someone else interrupted his lesson.
“And what about when you hunt at night…how do you manage to bungle your kills then?”
Duskypetal frowned and rose from his crouch to greet the ginger and white she-cat who sat watching their lesson from above with an irritated grimace. Meeting her cool, calculating glare with one of his own. “Nettletooth, oh…wonderful to have you with us this morning. And I was going to be getting to that in our next lesson...”
“Oh I’m sure you were.” Her voice oozed a sort of smarmy condescending attitude that she might have shared for a kit who was very, very small. And possibly feeble-minded as well, but when her attention turned to his apprentice, she actually warmed up a little bit. “I hope you don’t mind my intrusion. Only I’ finished with the morning patrol and thought that I’d come and see how my grandkit was doing. I hope I’m not…intruding.”
“Not at all.” Duskypetal spoke through his teeth, but did his best to try and hide the fact that, yes, indeed, he did mind. If had been anyone else other than Nettletooth, probably not; but the she-cat had the uncanny ability of getting under his fur in a way rather like her namesake, and prodding at the most uncomfortable spots and pricking at the delicate underbelly of things like his own ego.
“I hope he’s taught you more than just a hunter’s crouch, dear.” She continued to Foxpaw as if Duskypetal didn’t exist from then on. “After all, it’s been nearly an entire moon since he’s started teaching. I’ve heard one can’t rush progress, but I’d hate to hear that you were behind in anything.”