[ti]Private[/ti]Teach a Man to Fish

[Fireflake]

"Alright. Now all the snow and ice is gone, we're blessed with the pleasure of continuing your education."
Buckleap flicked his rounded tail-tip as he strolled through the forest, wishing for once that it was just another woodland hunting lesson. Though really he would have liked to chase rabbits all day, even padding warily through the trees was better than getting his paws wet for a slimy, legless chunk of meat. Alas, that was the clan's way, so he'd have to suck it up and teach his apprentice. It wasn't their first fishing lesson altogether, but it was the first time it would be the main focus.

"Remember what I said about just doing what comes naturally, when we worked on stalking? Same here. Do whatever seems right and we'll narrow it down afterwards."

He'd brought Lionpaw to a shallow part of the stream so that he wouldn't have to worry about their lack of swimming practice thus far. The tom noticed a tree a few fox-lengths downwind that he'd once hidden from Silvermist behind, during a game. Buckleap didn't think about his friend a whole lot nowadays. It didn't even occur to him, as he sat beside the little river with her son, that they were close to the border she'd died on. "Do you want to see me do it again first, or try it out on your own?"

GnawingOnIce

[GnawingOnIce]

”Alright. Now all the snow and ice is gone, we're blessed with the pleasure of continuing your education."

Lionpaw glanced at his mentor as he spoke. He padded just a little ways behind Buckleap, sunlight bathing his shoulders and back. The younger tom’s ears shifted forward as the bubbling of a shallower part of the river reached them. The sound of the water was pleasant, and brought a sense of peacefulness to him. His golden eyes turned to Buckleap as he asked, ”Do you want to see me do it again first, or try it out on your own?"

Oh, right. Fishing. ”Uh- let me try.” he stepped forward and leaned his head over above the water, waiting for a fish to swim by. After some moments, a smaller fish with a spotted back swam near the bank of the river and hovered there, teasing Lionpaw. A determined look grew on his face and he thrusted his forepaws into the water. The little thing was a little too quick for him and sped away down river, leaving a defeated Lionpaw behind it.

”Oops,” he said, taking his forepaws out of the cool water and shaking them off. The apprentice looked back at Buckleap with a sheepish look on his face.

Tags;; Fireflake
Notes;; n/a

[Fireflake]

Buckleap's ears subtly perked as Lionpaw offered up his own attempt. When it failed, he nodded, unfazed. "Good energy, clumsy execution. Try it like tag with your littermates. Aim where you know they're going to be, and don't let them see you coming if you can avoid it."
He dipped his toe into the water to show the distortion, then quickly pulled it out and flicked the water off. "You'll have to figure out where the fish actually is in the water, and where your paw is headed once it's under, but I think it would be frowned upon to dunk you under, so we'll just have to give it time."

Moments later, the tom's paw shot into the water and came out with a squirming fish hooked on the end, which fell off soon after it was out of the water. It wasn't long before Buckleap had sunk his teeth into the fish and made it fall still. It was less graceful than the majority of MistClan, but it worked. He dropped the prey in the grass beside him.
"In places with a little overhang like this, you can lie down and try it with two paws. Just don't be too obvious about it or the fish will notice."

GnawingOnIce