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66 posts
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Aug 16, 2014 8:52:54 GMT -8
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Apprentice
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Post by Twilidramon on Jun 9, 2014 6:31:49 GMT -8
"Now," Willowface went on, "look into the water. It might be hard to see at first, but there are dozens of little fishes in there, just waiting to be caught! You don't want the small ones - you want the ones that look like they'd fit in your paw. Save the really big ones for when you're more practiced - it takes a lot of strength to pull them up."
Willowface looked for herself. There were little fish darting to and fro, with the occasional bigger fish in the mix. She didn't expect Dawnpaw to catch something immediately, nut it would be nice to know what the trembling apprentice needed to work on.
"Do you want to try catching one?" Willowface asked.
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151 posts
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Jul 28, 2014 19:43:19 GMT -8
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Leader
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Post by Spade♠ on Jun 10, 2014 23:55:31 GMT -8
Dawnpaw took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She nodded. "Yes, I want to try," she mewed. Her ears folded back as she stared at the water with determination. She shifted herself so that her shadow wasn't being cast over the fish and tensed herself. She hovered over the water, paw raised before striking out. Her claws slashed through empty water and she squealed in surprise as she scooped the water up into her own face. In surprise, she stumbled backwards and fell onto her rump. She shook her head, scattering water droplets from her ears and whiskers and gave her chest fur an embarrassed lick. "I missed," she mumbled.
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66 posts
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Aug 16, 2014 8:52:54 GMT -8
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Apprentice
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Post by Twilidramon on Jun 11, 2014 9:21:51 GMT -8
Willowface purred. "That's all right, dear," she said. "Technique and skill will come later; for now, though, let's leave off the fishing and go practice some claw work. Having complete control of your paws is key when fishing."
She stood up and shook the sand from from long fur. Willowface raised her tail and mewed, "Come now, we're going further inland."
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151 posts
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Jul 28, 2014 19:43:19 GMT -8
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Post by Spade♠ on Jun 13, 2014 18:27:05 GMT -8
Dawnpaw nodded, trying not to let her failure get to her. After all, she shouldn't expect to be perfect on her first try, right? She shook her fur out so hard that she almost carried herself off her paws and started after Willowface. Her black and white fur spiked out from the moisture, but she was starting to relax.
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66 posts
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Aug 16, 2014 8:52:54 GMT -8
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Apprentice
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Post by Twilidramon on Jun 14, 2014 4:55:14 GMT -8
Willowface padded up the grassy slope, leading Dawnpaw deeper into the drier parts of their territory. Trees were sparse here, but Willowface managed to find a good one. She sat by its roots and mewed as Dawnpaw caught up, "It may not seem like a terribly fun task, but collecting moss is the best way to perfect your fishing technique."
Willowface extended her paw, tilting it at an angle. She found a nice, mossy patch and then sliced it off with precision. She showed Dawnpaw the clump hanging off of her paws.
"You want to get as little debris in the moss as possible - it's actually very relaxing!" she mewed.
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151 posts
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Jul 28, 2014 19:43:19 GMT -8
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Post by Spade♠ on Jun 14, 2014 19:18:25 GMT -8
Dawnpaw watched Willowface skeptically. Gathering moss as a way to practice with her claws? It didn't sound right, all she'd ever heard about collecting moss was that it was a boring and menial apprentice task. And yet... Willowface would have to know what she was doing, right? Otherwise why would she have been given an apprentice to teach? And it made sense to want as little debris in the moss as possible. After all, the cats used it as bedding, so they would want it to be as comfortable as possible. She inched herself over until she was crouched beside her mentor and reached for the moss more slowly. She hooked a small clump of moss out and dropped it in front of her, nosing it around some. "Like this?" she asked.
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66 posts
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Aug 16, 2014 8:52:54 GMT -8
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Apprentice
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Post by Twilidramon on Jun 15, 2014 6:23:16 GMT -8
Willowface used her paws and nose to check Dawnpaw's gathered moss for bark and other hard things. Her ears pricked in shock - there was hardly anything to be found!
"That was great!" Willowface purred. "You've managed to get it off the tree without taking half the tree with it!"
Willowface glanced at the remainder of the tree's moss. "Let's try and go for as perfect as possible though, all right?" she mewed. "The more you arch your paw, the more control you'll have. It's OK to take it slow at first. Try again."
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151 posts
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Jul 28, 2014 19:43:19 GMT -8
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Post by Spade♠ on Jun 16, 2014 22:58:50 GMT -8
Dawnpaw's tail lifted straight up and she purred at Willowface's praise. "Did I really do that good?" she asked with a huge grin on her face. She rolled the ball of moss under her paw while listening. She arched her paw in practice and then nodded. "Okay, I'm ready to try again." Reaching with her claws, she scraped at the moss once more. She jumped back with a startled yelp at a sudden and sharp, though small, pain in the pad of her paw. She drew back and huddled around her paw, drawing the painful appendage close to her chest. Once the initial shock had passed, she held her paw out again and turned it to examine her paw. She looked wide eyed at her mentor with her ears back against her head. "I got a splinter," she breathed.
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66 posts
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Aug 16, 2014 8:52:54 GMT -8
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Apprentice
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Post by Twilidramon on Jun 17, 2014 5:16:39 GMT -8
Willowface's ears pricked at Dawnpaw's shriek, then lowered as Dawnpaw discovered her splinter.
"It's all right dear," she mewed. "Splinters can happen to any cat, practised or not."
She nudged Dawnpaw's paw with her muzzle. She could just see the little spit of wood poking up from Dawnpaw's soft pad. A tiny little bubble of blood was oozing out, and Willowface flicked her tail.
"We should get that out straight away," she decided. "Splinters can be rougher on the pad than a thorn sometimes, especially when they're not removed. Come on now - let's get you back to camp. Lucky it's not so far a walk!"
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151 posts
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Jul 28, 2014 19:43:19 GMT -8
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Post by Spade♠ on Jun 21, 2014 18:12:40 GMT -8
Dawnpaw mewled pitifully, but when she put her paw back on the ground, she found it didn't hurt as badly as she remembered. The suddden shock of the splinter had made it seem like an entire branch had tried to lodge itself in the pad of Dawnpaw's paw. She grabbed the small amount of moss they had managed to collect and set off after her mentor. The limp in her gait was slight and every few steps she would skip a little to avoid walking on her pricked paw, but other than that, she was fine. Mostly she was embarrassed that she hadn't been careful enough and now they were heading back to camp early.
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