Post by just atlanta. on May 3, 2016 23:29:11 GMT
foxpaw
Young apprentices weren’t supposed to be out of camp without their mentors – this was common knowledge. But it wasn’t Foxpaw’s fault that Pinestar had so many responsibilities as Clan leader. Which wasn’t to say that the esteemed leader neglected his duty as her mentor, not at all! Foxpaw respected him now as much as ever did, and knew she was lucky to be able to call him her mentor at all – there were other apprentices that would have given their tails to be in her position. But sometimes, well, it just would have been nice to have a normal warrior as a mentor. Confident and boastful as she was, living in the SkyClan leader’s shadow, striving to meet his expectations…it was different somehow. Disappointing him wouldn’t be the same as disappointing another mentor. For her, the bar had been set higher. She had to be The Best.
Which was why she was out here, alone, practicing her hunting crouch.
“Body down, ears low,” she recited clearly from memory, her voice a low murmur. Her unsuspecting victim – a beautiful cerulean butterfly, perched at the edge of a tree stump – thankfully didn’t hear her rehearsing her lessons. “Step lightly, checking your breathing – don’t breathe too loud! Get down, get your balance-” here, she dropped into the traditional hunter’s crouch, shifting her weight subtly from side-to-side, her eyes staring intently ahead “- just right. Aaaand…” With a hiss of determination, she sprang.
The pounce itself was beautiful, and a burst of exhilaration swept through her veins at the feel of her body stretching to its maximum potential, moving soundlessly through the air, the wind rippling in her pelt and roaring in her ears...
...unfortunately, given her small stature, her "maximum potential" was pathetic at best. Having misjudged her leap, she landed in the roots of the stump, tripping over her own paws to run -smack!- face-first into the bark. In a crumple on the ground, Foxpaw watched through watering eyes as the butterfly fluttered teasingly about her face for a heartbeat before disappearing into the indigo sky. Rubbing miserably at her injured nose and inwardly moping over her injured pride, the apprentice heaved a put-upon sigh. Well, that could have gone better. I can only hope that no one was around...
Which was why she was out here, alone, practicing her hunting crouch.
“Body down, ears low,” she recited clearly from memory, her voice a low murmur. Her unsuspecting victim – a beautiful cerulean butterfly, perched at the edge of a tree stump – thankfully didn’t hear her rehearsing her lessons. “Step lightly, checking your breathing – don’t breathe too loud! Get down, get your balance-” here, she dropped into the traditional hunter’s crouch, shifting her weight subtly from side-to-side, her eyes staring intently ahead “- just right. Aaaand…” With a hiss of determination, she sprang.
The pounce itself was beautiful, and a burst of exhilaration swept through her veins at the feel of her body stretching to its maximum potential, moving soundlessly through the air, the wind rippling in her pelt and roaring in her ears...
...unfortunately, given her small stature, her "maximum potential" was pathetic at best. Having misjudged her leap, she landed in the roots of the stump, tripping over her own paws to run -smack!- face-first into the bark. In a crumple on the ground, Foxpaw watched through watering eyes as the butterfly fluttered teasingly about her face for a heartbeat before disappearing into the indigo sky. Rubbing miserably at her injured nose and inwardly moping over her injured pride, the apprentice heaved a put-upon sigh. Well, that could have gone better. I can only hope that no one was around...
