The Mighty Hunters (Open + Riverpaw)

[Wolfie]

A seek black tom moved smoothly through the undergrowth. He was lean and long like his sister. It was still weird to be living near his sister again. He had not seen his sister much since their apprenticeship terms and left his birthclan. Not that it really bothered him. He still loved his sister, but couldn't be near her. She irritates him a great deal.

Blackpanther had arose earlier that morning unable to sleep. He couldn't believe everything that was happening. He gave his pelt a shake, before pushing through the last bit of undergrowth before the clearing. As he entered the clearing the sun rays reflected off his pelt showing off the black spots and stripes that only appear in the sun. The tom stopped and stared at the masses of cats. His eyes narrowed. He couldn't stop Riverpaw, his apprentice, among the cats. The calm cat quickly became annoyed.

"This is so stupid! All these damn cats in one stop. How ever am I to find my clanmates and apprentice! This is so stupid and ridiculous! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Blackpanther ranted. Just as quickly he got annoyed he became calm and relaxed again.

He let out a small sigh before heading to the fresh kill pile. He grabbed a small mouse from the top and sat a little off from the pile. Hopefully Riverpaw would come for breakfast and then they could go out and hunt. It would save Blackpanther the time searching for her. He slowly lied down and chewed on his mouse.

[cinder]

Riverpaw readjusted herself within her nest for the thousandth time, She had been awake for a while, but had hoped that she could coax sleep into retaking her. “Not likely” she thought to herself, annoyed. Riverpaw pulled herself into a sitting position and began to stretch her stiff body. After she had finished, she stood, and padded quietly out into the open of the clearing, and sat down to wash herself.

The sun was just starting to rise, casting the faintest of light over the earth. Few cats were awake at this hour that didn’t have to be, leaving it quiet and almost peaceful for a moment. Riverpaw enjoyed the moment of quiet as she washed her face, and down her lithe, silver-grey side. Before long, all of the cats would be awakening, and it would be back to the controlled chaos that the days had become.

Riverpaw was small, smaller than most of the other apprentices. She had soft fur that laid smooth to her body, and did nothing to make her look any bigger than she was. Her fur was light grey with stripes that were barely visible, and when the sun rose it would ignite her pelt with silver.

The clan was coming to life now, Riverpaw grabbed a few mice from the fresh kill pile and took them to the elders that were bathing and sharing tongues nearby. After she had bid them a good morning and spoken with them for a short time the clan had fully come to life. It was now a writhing mass of cats going about their morning duties.

Riverpaw scanned the crowded clearing, bright amber eyes searching for her mentor, Blackpanther. It took a few minutes, but she finally found him, laying down to his breakfast. Riverpaw wove her way to the fresh kill pile and dug till she found a small mouse. “Better to leave the bigger kills for the warriors that need them more than I do.” She thought; and trotted over to settle next to the sleek tom and looked up at him expectantly with a small smile on her face “So, what adventure are we going on today?”

[Wolfie]

The black tom rose his head as the soft furred silver-grey she-cat padded over to him. He gave her a small nod of his head, before swallowing the remains of his meal that he was chewing on at that moment. "Good morning, Riverpaw," Blackpanther mewed warmly to his apprentice.

So, what adventure are we going on today?

"Nothing to exciting, I fear," Blackpanther mewed. "Were going to go hunt. There are a lot of mouths to feed with all the clan cats gathered together. We will have to work extra hard. We can make it into a game if you'd like. If you win we can do whatever you like for training tomorrow."

Blackpanther was hoping that would make them both hunter and focus better then normal if their was a reward in it for Riverpaw. Not that e doubted his apprentices abilities at all. He was extremely glad to be given such a respectful apprentice.

"Then, if you are up for it after hunting, maybe, we can explore the territory to get a better grip if we are to stay here for awhile," Blackpanther mewed. "It's always good to know the territory we live in. Maybe we can have one of the Vertigoclan show us around if need be."

Blackpanther went back to his meal and finish it off quickly. He pushed himself onto his paws. He began to wash his mouth of any remain of mouse. "Whenever you are ready we can go."

[cinder]

A small thrill ran through Riverpaw at the thought of an adventure. Very rarely did they have a cause for fun these days; so when the opportunity arose, she was not going to let it pass her by. “The one to bring back the most prey wins?” she asked grinning at her mentor. There were so many uncertainties in her life now, that she would take all of the moments of normality that she could get her paws on.

Riverpaw took the last few bites of her breakfast and then quickly washed the evidence from her whiskers. After she had buried the scraps of her meal, she came back and sat in front of her mentor, tail curled around her paws. Dipping her head in respect, she mewed “I am ready when you are Blackpanther. I would like to explore the territory after our hunting trip, we should know the territory that we are living in.”

Riverpaw trotted after the sleek tom as he headed toward the entrance to the camp, humming softly to herself. Energy was flooding through her, and all of her senses seemed to be enhanced with delight. This was going to be a good trip to stretch her hunting skill, but most of all it was going to be fun.

[Wolfie]

Blackpanther let out a small purr at his apprentices excitement. It reminded him of his apprenticeship. He pushed his way through the camp entrance. The black tom led them through the undergrowth until they reached a much smaller clearing then the one the camp was in. He stopped and turned to look at Riverpaw.

"Let's meet back here at sun high and then, we will gather our prey together and see who won, sound fair? Also, do you need me to review any of the hunting technique?" Blackpanther mewed. He sat down and wrapped his tail around his paws. He was going to let Riverpaw pick which direction she'd like to go. It would give Blackpanther a chance to assets Riverpaw sense of smell. Blackpanther gave the air a quick sniff. He could smell a few pieces of prey.

What Riverpaw didn't know, was Blackpanther wan't going to focus on hunting, but quietly track Riverpaw and see how well she hunted and if given the chance he'll catch some prey too. He wasn't to worried, but if he saw she did something wrong they could go work on it later and help her improve whatever went wrong.

[cinder]

Riverpaw tried not to bounce on her paws as she listened to her mentor’s instructions; "Let's meet back here at sun high and then, we will gather our prey together and see who won, sound fair? Also, do you need me to review any of the hunting technique?"

Riverpaw replied dipping her head in respect, “No Blackpanther, I think that I understand the techniques.” She grinned at the sleek black tom.” I guess we will find out if I am right or not.” Riverpaw scanned the forest with her bright amber eyes as she opened her jaws slightly to scent the air. A variety of scents rushed in and filled her senses; the earth beneath her feet, the leaf clutter on the ground, the stale scents of other cats, all rushed in and danced across her scent glands. It took her a moment to sort them all out, but then there is was, the scent of small living things; the scant of prey. Riverpaw slowly turned her head to see which direction held the strongest scent of life. Off to her left she could smell a buffet of prey; mouse, squirrel, and vole were all on the list of thing that she could smell, so she pulled herself quietly to her feet and stalked off in that direction, making sure to walk silently.

She didn’t have to go far before she could hear the skittering of small paws in search of food. Riverpaw pricked her ears and listened closer, she could hear the speeding heart of a small rodent. “Mouse” she thought to herself, she scented the air, and sure enough the familiar scent drifted toward her. Good, she was downwind of it as well, it would not smell her before she got her chance. Crouching beneath the undergrowth, she inched forward, eyes flicking to and fro until she found what she was looking for. It sat just a few tail lengths away searching around in the leaves and fallen pine needles for its own dinner. Riverpaw shifted her weight to her back legs as she had be taught to do, and felt her muscles bunch underneath of her. In one smooth move, she sprang and caught the mouse by the neck, instantly putting an end to the sound of the fluttering of its heart.

After she had buried her catch in the cool earth for safe keeping, she continued on her search, this time following the trail of the vole, within just a matter of minutes she had found him and was stalking it as well, this time though she had come up upwind of the small creature, and before she could move downwind he caught the scent of danger and tried to flee. Riverpaw caught up to him just as he was disappearing down a hole in the soft earth, she reached out with her unsheathed claws and caught his hind quarters, jerking him back into the world above. The vole flew in a high arch and landed stunned on the ground where she quickly ended his life in the same manner that the mouse had met its end. After burying this catch Riverpaw looked up to judge the level of the sun, it was still some time until sun high.

Riverpaw headed off in search of the squirrel that she could smell. After a while of tracking she found it at the base of a tree, searching for nuts that it had buried. It was well fed and looked to have a fair amount of meat on it, it might have compared to her own body weight. “I have to bring it back to the clan, that could feed two or three of them!” Riverpaw crouched and prepared to spring for the kill. Just as she sprang the squirrel made a dash for the tree, throwing her landing spot off. Instead of grabbing it by the neck as she had intended for a clan kill, she grabbed it just below the shoulder blades. The squirrel screamed in rage and pain, and before she knew what was happening she saw it whip its head around, razor sharp teeth bared and headed for her face. Riverpaw turned her face away as far as she could without letting go with her own teeth and shut her eyes, she felt the white hot slice rip through her ear. As the squirrel changed its attention to trying to excape up the tree, Riverpaw dug her claws in and got a better grip higher up with her teeth. This knocked the squirrel off balance and they both fell head over tail to the ground, Riverpaw still holding on as tight as she could. As they fell she felt teeth gash her left foreleg in a streak of fire. They landed with Riverpaw on top of the squirrel, and the squirrel on its back. Just as she dealt the death blow to the squirrels throat she felt its back claws rake her soft under belly. After she was sure that she had won she sat and looked up at the sun, almost sun high. She could feel the blood from her ear slowly dripping down the side of her head, and the gash on her leg was bleeding freely, forming a small pool beneath her paw. She couldn’t tell how bad the belly would was. But she had won. She smiled to herself, she had fed her clan.

Riverpaw collected the mouse and vole, and carried all of her prey to the clearing they had agreed to meet at. She had even caught a small sparrow on the way back. Her wounds were still bleeding, but she paid them little mind as she sat next to her pile of fresh kill, tail curled around her paws and a smile on her face and waited for her mentor.

[Wolfie]

“No Blackpanther, I think that I understand the techniques. I guess we will find out if I am right or not.”

Blackpanther chuckled at his apprentice. he shook his head and stood onto his paws. He headed move downwind from Riverpaw. He sniffed the air for any prey. He could smell a rabbit. He slowly crept forward and peeked through the undergrowth. He spotted the rabbit farther off. It was a scrawny little thing, but it would still feed maybe two. He stayed downwind from it. He watched as the creature hop closer to him. The black tom quietly bunched up his muscles as the rabbit came within a fox length. He quickly ran forward and gave a small chase before hooking his claws at the rabbits hind legs. He tripped the the rabbit and dealt a quick killing blow. He smiled at his kill before thanking starclan fo this kill. He buried the rabbit, before going to find Riverpaw.

Blackpanther found Riverpaw just as she buried her mouse. He crept after his apprentice. The sleek black tom stayed in the shadow so he would blend in better. He watched Riverpaw hook her vole just as it went into it's hole. He smirked. She definitely had skill. She was quite a hunter. Most apprentice would have given up on the chase as soon as the vole went into the hole, but not Riverpaw. She was quite determine.

Blackpanther caught the scent of a mouse a little off. He turned and followed the scent. The black tom was up wind which would cause a bit of a problem and made his chances 50/50. He bunched his muscle and put weight on his hind paws as he pounce onto the poor creature. The mouse made run for it and Blackpanther gave chance. He caught it's tail and pulled it back and made a quick kill. He shook his head, not proud of how that went.

Blackpanther turned and went to watch Riverpaw again. He came back as Riverpaw and a squirrel fell off a tree. He was ready to run to her rescue, but saw that she killed it, but not before it scratched her. He watched her walk away. She wasn't limping so she was ok. He'd make sure she was checked over once they got back.

Blackpanther quickly gathered his rabbit and mouse, before retreating to the clearing. He placed his prey down and saw Riverpaw four kills. "Looks like you beat me fair and square. I mus say I was quite proud seeing you catch that vole," Blackpanther appraised her, "I, also, saw the fight with the squrriel? Are you okay?" He padded over to Riverpaw and gave her ear a soft lick to clean it up a bit. "How is your stomach, are the scratches deep?"

[cinder]

Riverpaw watched as her mentor padded into the clearing and dropped his kill. A mouse and a rabbit, she smirked to herself knowing that she had won.

"Looks like you beat me fair and square. I must say I was quite proud seeing you catch that vole,"['b] the sleek black tom praised her. Riverpaw ducked her head in embarrassment; she hadn’t known that he was watching her. "I, also, saw the fight with the squrriel? Are you okay?" he asked as he gently licked the wound in her ear. . "How is your stomach, are the scratches deep?"

Riverpaw thought for a moment before replying, focusing on each injury in turn to access the damage. Her ear didn’t feel too bad, and it had started to clot, but she was pretty sure it was torn, but it would be fine. The slice in her leg was still open and bleeding freely, but nothing that some cobweb couldn’t handle, that would be fine too. She could feel the sting in her belly where the claws had raked her flesh, but couldn’t see the damage. She lowered herself carefully to the ground and rolled to her back exposing her belly to her mentor. “I don’t think they’re too bad, but I can’t see them, what do you think? I got the squirrel though, that will feed a few warriors and help keep the clan strong. He must have just wandered into the territory, he is to well fed to be living here I think. The scratches sting pretty awful, but it was worth it.”

[Wolfie]

“I don’t think they’re too bad, but I can’t see them, what do you think? I got the squirrel though, that will feed a few warriors and help keep the clan strong. He must have just wandered into the territory, he is to well fed to be living here I think. The scratches sting pretty awful, but it was worth it.”

Blackpanther leaned down and sniffed her cuts. They weren't really bad. He let out a sigh of relief. "They are not life threatening, but we should get them looked over. I want to make sure you are okay." He leaned back and crouched down to look her in her upside down face. "I do not want you to get those infected and put your training behind, plus I do not want you to be hurt." He nudged her with his nose to roll her back over onto her paws.

He stood up on his paws completely. "So want will our training be tomorrow?" Blackpanther asked interest. He looked at her curiously, he wondered what it would be. He gave her a small smile, before picking up his two pieces of prey. He began a slow trot back to the camp. He wanted to make sure Riverpaw could keep up with her wounds. "Do you need help carrying your prey or no you have it?"

[cinder]

”Do you need help with your prey or do you have it?” Riverpaw picked up her pile of prey and mumbled through a mouth full of fur and feathers. “I… sink… I got it.” Her jaws were filled to the limit, and the squirrel’s tail trailed on the ground between her front paws. She trotted up next to Blackpanther, the weight from the prey was putting stress on the cut on her leg, and she started to limp slightly. It had broken back open and was bleeding freely, dripping scarlet down her leg onto her paw, but she ignored it. The day had turned out like all the others; the sky filled with dark clouds that only held the promise of more rain. She kept pace with the tom easily, though she was slightly winded by the time they reached the camp entrance.

After they had dropped the prey on the fresh kill pile, Riverpaw turned to her mentor, she had decided what she wanted to do for training. Eyes sparkling, and a small smile on her face, she mewed “I would like to work with fighting in training tomorrow please, Blackpanther.” Her tail flicking from side to side in excitement, she secretly wanted to prove herself after the incident with the squirrel, and work on her skills. But now can we go out and look at the territory? She had forgotten all about her wounds till she lifted her foot and felt her toes squish in what must be blood. She tried to discretely shuffle her feet to cover it up, and hoped that Blackpanther wouldn’t notice, even though she knew better.

[Wolfie]

Blacpanther trotted into the clearing as he dropped his prey on top of the fresh kill pile. He let out a chuckle at his apprentice excitement
.
“I would like to work with fighting in training tomorrow please, Blackpanther. But now can we go out and look at the territory?"

Blackpanther smiled at his apprentice, "Of course we can, well as long as your wounds aren't hurting you tomorrow, we can definitively work on battle training," He mewed. He flickered his tail over her ear. "Sure, lets go explore. It will be fun!" His whiskers twitched with amusement. He was excited and let it show. He let out a long loud purr. His tail twitched as he turned and trotted back out.

He paused at the entrance and froze. He just acted like an apprentice in front of his apprentice. His eyes widen. He cut the purr and dropped his tail. He calmed himself down and began to pad along the border. "Which way should we head, Riverpaw, and are your wounds affecting you at all?"

[cinder]

"Of course we can, well as long as your wounds aren't hurting you tomorrow, we can definitively work on battle training," Riverpaw let out a mew of delight. She loved to battle train. Blackpanther let out a loud purr and flicked her ear with his tail as he headed back out to explore. Riverpaw thought about how after all that had happened they could still be happy. Even though they had been run out of their home and were in a strange place, it felt good to be going out with her mentor like it was still just a normal day. She gave a soft purr of her own at the thought.

[/b]“Which way should we head, Riverpaw, and are your wounds affecting you at all?"[/b]The only wound that was still bothering her at all was the one on her front leg. It was the deepest, and was still bleeding, but more of an annoyance than anything. Riverpaw thought for a minute then mewed “just a second, I’ll be right back” and bounded off into a clump of weeds. It took her only a moment to find what she was searching for. Riverpaw carefully packed some of the cobweb into the wound on her leg and then wrapped a lengthy bit around the spot to hold it in place and soak up any more blood. She snuck back out and pounced out of the weeds landing next to Blackpanther. “I’m good now, let’s go this way.” She started to follow the scent markers along the border that was closest to them. As they went along she kept her senses keen hoping that she could find some more prey to take home. After they had gone a little way, Riverpaw took off running ahead and jumped into the weeds before Blackpanther could catch up. As he came by her hiding place calling her name, she landed square on his shoulders and laughed in his ear. “Where to now?” Her leg hurt, and she was secretly enjoying being off her paws.

[Wolfie]

Blackpanther took a whiff of the air and smelled no danger. He cocked his head towards the border. "Let us follow the border and then explore the middle section back. How does that sound?" He asked as she wrapped her painful leg. He turned and sniffed in the bushes. He found a poppy head and smacked it with his paw. He scooped up a few seeds on his paw. He limped back towards Riverpaw. He dropped the few seeds on a leaf. "Eat those to easy the pain."

"You know, Riverpaw, were about to head on a great journey," Blackpanther mewed. "I just want you to know, I'm proud to have you as an apprentice." He mewed to Riverpaw. He gave her a small smile, before heading towards the border and padded on. He scooted around the border.

As he walked on his mind went other places. He thought about his parents and neices and nephews that were buried here. He let out a sigh. Maybe, this journey will give Lionfeather and him a chance to fix their problems. Maybe they could act like siblings again.

[cinder]

Riverpaw watched as her mentor extracted some poppy seeds from a nearby plant. "Here, eat these to help ease the pain." She knew she wouldn't be able to hide it from him, he paid too much attention and cared tfo much to miss the fact that her leg bothered her. She crouched down to lap up the few seeds Blackpanther had given her. As she did so he spoke again. "We are about to head on a great journey. I want you to know I'm proud to have you as an apprentice." Riverpaw sat up and looked at him, both confused and honored. Did he think something was going to happen to one of them?

"Thank you. I am honored to have such a wonderful mentor as you Blackpanther" she mewed. Riverpaw followed the tom along the border, but her mind was far ahead, already on the journey.

[Wolfie]

Blackpanther smiled at Riverpaw. He playfully nudged her with his shoulder. "Thank you," he mewed softly to her.

"I'll do my best to protect you on this trip. Even though were going into unknown territory and leaving our homes, I think everything will be okay. Plus, this will be a great experience for you. You will learn so much and you get to help pick our new home. Just think, you can tell your our apprentice when you get one how you helped pick our new home and how you made the journey. We got to look to the future and listen to Starclan. They will never leave us, " Blackpanther mewed. He smirked at her and then teased her, "And when you're an elder laying in the sun you can gossip to all the other elders about this trip and tell the new kits."