Calm The Mind [Ripplepaw]

[.&&. Snowsong.]

(( I'm crappy with the thread titles today xD ))

Light, delicate paw-steps lifted a figure's abdomen off the ground. Slow and silent, the paw-steps created a neat path through the trees and shadows of the forest. The canopy above was between thin and thick, and so light filtered through the gaps, beating upon the ground and two pelts padding along.

The sunlight beat upon Gingerpaw's pelt quite comfortably as she padded straight forward into the forest. Her gaze scanned her surroundings every once in a while, and then it traveled back to Ripplepaw.

(( No muse D= ))

[xradx]

[That's okay, I'm bad with thread titles every day =P]

Ripplepaw padded silently beside Gingerpaw, letting the peace of the forest relax his mind. The sun cast light spots on his grey tabby pelt, giving him a bit of a mottled appearance. He let his eyes wander around , absorbing every inch of the forest scenery, until he noticed Gingerpaw's gaze upon him.

"Well this is nice weather we're having, considering the season..." As soon as he said it, he felt like a complete loser. The weather? What apprentice talked about the weather?

[.&&. Snowsong.]

Gingerpaw chuckled, nearly laughing, as Ripplepaw spoke about the weather. "Wow, a new discovery! There are apprentices who talk about weather!" She winked at him, using sarcasm in her statement, and then flicked her tail gingerly over his shoulder. "Don't worry, if you feel like a loser, I'll be one with you."

A light breeze whispered through the forest, and her gaze grew mellow. "So, what do you want to do? Discover more things about the weather?"

[xradx]

Ripplepaw felt his cheeks grow hot under his tabby fur. He relaxed a little when Gingerpaw didn't seem to think he was a loser, or at least not in a bad way, and he soon was laughing a little himself. "Well, I guess since you don't appear to be interested in weather, we can do something that does not involve weather. Is there a particular non-weather related activity that might interest you?"

Earlier that day Ripplepaw had thought that he was living a great life, now he realized that he actually led a very boring life. Arcticpool was a good enough mentor, but excitement was not her thing. Gingerpaw, however, was much more fun.

[.&&. Snowsong.]

Gingerpaw shifted her gaze toward the nearly hidden sky and pondered for a short moment. When she seemed to have made up her mind, she allowed her gaze to descend to Ripplepaw again. "Well.... We could go for a small hunt, and then perhaps I'll think up some other stuff from there."

(( No muse. ))

[xradx]

Ripplepaw's grey tabby head nodded slowly, "Okay, that sounds good."

Honestly it didn't sound good, but he was too polite to admit that. It wasn't that he couldn't hunt. Just because he was a medicine cat didn't mean he was completely useless when it came to basic warriors tasks, in fact he was actually a decent hunter. But he didn't like the idea of hunting in front of a warrior apprentice, he would proably make a complete fool of himself and try to cover it up with some random fact about herbs. Oh well, I guess that's part of being a medicind cat.

[.&&. Snowsong.]

Gingerpaw nodded slightly, and then turned her tail toward Ripplepaw as she padded about a foot deeper into the forest. She pricked her ears, and her senses began to switch on. Her instincts began to leap to her side as sounds of prey began to sound.

Her ears flicked slightly as she scented a mouse. Her figure lowered itself toward the earth, and then froze for a short moment. After that short moment glided by, a mouse appeared from the undergrowth and scuffled about a foot in front of Gingerpaw.

Muscles tensing, her instincts and senses began to concentrate completely upon the mouse. As its whiskers twitched, she froze completely for a longer moment. Then, as the mouse set its fore paw onto the earth, she shot towards it. Before it could squeal, its corpse was limp in her jaws. She turned around to face Ripplepaw.

[xradx]

Ripplepaw was amazed at the swiftness with which Snowsong killed her prey. That mouse never had a chance. "Wow, great catch!" Ripplepaw remarked. I guess it's my turn...

The grey tabby pricked his ears and stayed as silent as possible. Hopefully the next small creature to pass by here would be slow or have a broken leg or something, so there would be no way he could miss it. But as a leaf shook a little and a tiny vole head popped out, and then wandered out into the open, it did not appear to be disabled in any way. Silently, he inched closer to the tiny creature, and then sprange at it.

For a second Ripplepaw thought he was going to catch it, but then his foot caught on a loose bramble and he tripped clumsily, giving away his presence to the vole. He lept for it anyway, but it darted away before his feet left the ground, leaving nothing but leaves and forest undergrowth for his paws to catch. His cheeks grew hot as he turned back to Gingerpaw, "I guess some of us just aren't meant to become great hunters..."

[.&&. Snowsong.]

"It's alright. We all make mistakes." Gingerpaw glanced at Ripplepaw's hind paw. "Well, it seems okay." She then shifted her gaze to his. "Come on. Try again. I could help you on the way if you want." With that, her gaze began to surround their surroundings.

(( No muse... ))

[xradx]

Ripplepaw nodded, slightly embarressed at his not-so-great hunting skills. "I don't need help, thanks," his voice was cold, did she think he was so imcompetent that he couldn't catch a vole on his own? Well, he would just have to show her otherwise.

He grew very still as his senses grew alert for any sign of prey. Not much time had passed before a mouse emmerged from the undergrowth, nibbling on seeds that had fallen onto the ground. He silently dropped into a hunter's crouch, and his hind legs prepared to spring. Just as silentl he leaped into the air, and a heartbeat later the mouse was dead in his jaws.

"See, I told you I didn't need help," his mouth stretched into as broad a grin as it could with a small rodent clenched in his teeth. He set it down carefully on the ground, as if it was a prized possession, and then buried it.

[.&&. Snowsong.]

Gingerpaw allowed a light smile to play at her lips. "Wonderful. That was great." She padded over to Ripplepaw, and then buried her mouse next to his. She then straightened up and allowed her gaze to scan the area again.

(( No muse D= ))

[xradx]

Ripplepaw nodded, "Thanks." He too scanned his surroundings for any sign of prey, but for a moment there was only silence, filling everything, inlcuding h=the air between them. The sun felt cooler, as if it had fallen lower in the sky, and the air was stilled. He strained to hear any sounds in the forest undergrowth, and sure enough, a slight rustle and small movement caught his attention. He was about to go for it when he thought that Gingerpaw might want another catch. He silently stepped back, indicating that the catch was hers for the taking.

[.&&. Snowsong.]

At the indication Ripplepaw gave her, Gingerpaw nodded slightly. She then dropped delicately into a hunter's crouch and silently padded forward, each step as ginger as avoiding stepping on thorns. A figure soon appeared from the undergrowth, a vole. As if on cue, she launched herself through the air toward the vole, and it soon fell prey as her jaws clamped onto its neck.

[xradx]

A tiny smile bloomed on Ripplepaw's face as he watched Gingerpaw hunt. He was always amazed by the skill that most warriors possessed when hunting. Of course, he was a bit jealous too, but that was something else.

"That was great!" He purred his approval. "Sometimes I wish I could hunt as well as a warrior." As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He just hoped that she wouldn't try to help him improve his hunting skills, because he really was no interested.

[.&&. Snowsong.]

Gingerpaw allowed a warm smile to play at her lips as Ripplepaw complimented her. She padded over to him and dropped the vole next to the hidden hole that they had placed the mice in. As she was digging, she heard Ripplepaw's 'wish'. She stopped digging and looked up at him. "Well, all you need is practice."