Rabbits || RP

Bramblesnap ||

Being pent up in the medicine den for the last couple of moons had been far less than desirable. When matched with enduring the pain and repercussions injury he'd gained, Bramblesnap fell into another one of his slumps. Being quiet for a period of time wasn't unknown to those who may have paid attention to the prickly tom, and it was a time of rest when one remembered his fits of rage from moons ago.

Things were looking up despite the mark upon his pelt; he'd gotten his name back, been able to leave the camp and sleep inside the dens whenever he wished. He'd never been fond of sharing the space with so many other cats, but at least the nighttime rain would be less noticeable. On top of this, to his (somewhat pleasant) surprise, he'd managed to keep Stumppaw as his apprentice throughout and following the unfortunate circumstances. But the younger had consequently been lacking training time thanks to Bramblesnap's own setback, and so, here they were. The mentor and his apprentice had set out into the fields, nothing but silence for the most part on Bramblesnap's end. Until..

"Yew know why I've brought yew out 'ere?" The long-furred tabby jerked his head out towards the distance. "Rabbit huntin'. Covered the basics, ain't gonna repeat 'em. Should've remembered, done it enough." Stumppaw had certainly had enough time to practise merely crouching and keeping his jaws clamped together. "A buncha dumb fucks but yew've gotta give their runnin' ability ta' 'em. Gotta track 'em down first," he explained gruffly before shoving Stumppaw before him with a paw. "Yew take the lead, I'll let yew know if yew've wandered far off track."

He took a moment before flicking at ear, staring down at the ginger and cream tom. "Think've it like detection trainin'. Listenin', smellin' 'n' seein'. Yew'll get nowhere if yew don't have or use 'em all. Rabbits're smart 'nough to figure that one out. Don't wanna be dumber than 'em, do yew?" He flicked his tail behind him, but his expression appeared nonchalant. "Go 'head." 

Stumppaw ||

Stumppaw had his tufted ears pointed upwards as he listened to his mentor, his head tilted to the right slightly. He wasn't too confident in his stealth skills, as he often managed to step on something without paying attention- something like a twig, which would cause said sound to scare away the prey. He was determined this time, though, he had to catch a rabbit. Due to his smallness, it was a little easier to be light and quiet, but he still had to force himself to glance down at the ground every time he took a step.

At Bramblesnap pushing him forward, he turned back and looked at him with an awkward expression, before slowly beginning to move forward more. "Do I really just.. look for the rabbits? Or no- I mean- listen to them?" He asked his mentor, tugging on his bandanna with one paw, and therefore almost tripping. He caught himself and gave Bramblesnap a shy smile, "Oops-"

Suddenly he heard something, like the sound of a small creature's paws against the ground, and he quickly looked towards where the sound came from, squinting. Stumppaw couldn't see anything, though, and just let out a sad sigh, his ears drooping a little. "Aw man.. I thought I had that one! I swear I heard something. Guess my luck is just that bad," He laughed awkwardly, "I KNOW I can catch one! They just aren't visible, I swear.."

He continued to walk through the field, glancing back at Bramblesnap when he thought his mentor wasn't looking, wanting to avoid an awkward moment, but still looking for his approval. "This is boring.." He mumbled to himself, sighing, "Are all the stupid rabbits gone now? Hmm.. I can't be doing it that wrong, can I?"Stumppaw stopped walking, turning to look at his mentor, "Should I be crouching the whole time? I think that's what I'm doing wrong, but I'm not too sure.."

Bramblesnap ||

Expressions twisting, the tom glared down at the small feline. He noticedv the other's misstep which only caused Bramblesnap to furrow his brows more, frown settling deeper into his features than before. There was a brief silence among the duo. "Think yer clever, smartass? Do it yer own way." He lashed his tail, gruff words coming from his mouth in retort. He seemed to have taken offence, ears pinned to the back of his head but only for a mere moment. 'Let yew die ta' the badgers if I left yew 'ere alone. Do someone a favour.'

Although Bramblesnap has a rather peculiar reputation among the clan, he was also known to be a rather skilled hunter. So, if Stumppaw wanted to learn to catch a rabbit, the grouchy tom may actually have some decent advice to offer. He kept his senses alert; listening, smelling, seeing. Whilst ambling behind the small tabby, he'd heard the pitter patter and the thudding of smaller paws meeting the ground off in the distance. Too small to be a cat's, the scent of rabbit not too far off. He perked his ears, making not a single sound to not scare the creature away. But as Bramblesnap had planned to keep moving on towards the prey, Stumppaw seemed to have another idea of how this ought to be done. The corners of his lip twitched. "Cut it out."

He slouched as he trudged on, but halted as soon as Stumppaw looked back. He shook his head with a grumble to himself. No, no. "Aight," he started with a sigh. "Yew've gotta look 'bout yew. Seein' ain't jus' looking for the vermin - yew've gotta look at their tracks. What they leave behind; prints, food 'n' shit. "That's what seein' is, pisstake. Sniff at the tracks 'n' get familiar with it. Use that empty space between yer ears," he harshly batted at Stumppaw's head. "Some've 'em sods back at camp found 'emselves useless at birth. Yew ain't like that - yew ain't get an excuse ta' skimp out. Ain't broken." Bramblesnap's words came out in a snap, spitting as he spoke lowly as to not scare the rabbits away.

He tilted his head, rolled his eyes to the side. He'd diverted from the question and wondered if all the words would have been too much for the idiot to handle. "Ain't gotta crouch 'till yer there. Yew need ta' relax more, move slow. Ain't a rush out 'ere 'till they're runnin'."

"Got it?"

Stumppaw ||

The small apprentice nodded a little, "I got it.. probably.." He muttered, unsureness poisoning his tone. Looking away from his larger mentor, Stumppaw began to continue on going forward, keeping his head down more so that he could see the ground for prints, but also possibly see a rabbit.

He then heard something rustle, and swerved his head to look, narrowing his eyes. He couldn't see anything, so he slowly stepped forward, looking down towards the ground to find prints. Hmm… He thought to himself, trying to keep quiet, If I was a little rabbit, where would I go? Wait.. that's not very helpful, this field is huge..Then, he spotted tracks down in the dirt, holding back a gasp. The small apprentice slowly lowered himself closer to the ground, following the tracks, and trying to be as light as he could. Suddenly, he smelled the rabbit, and decided to try and pounce. He soared up, landing back down.. but didn't catch anything.

Stumppaw heard rustling as the rabbit escaped, and let out a sigh, slowly walking back to his mentor. "It escaped!" He told him, confused and seemingly quite irritated.  "I pounced at it and it left- you saw it all, anyways.. I think."

The apprentice sat down, a rather sad expression plastered on his face. He had been so close, but he couldn't catch it! Maybe if he had just tried waiting longer.. or tried getting closer.. or tried chasing after it. There were so many things he could've done better.

Stumppaw lifted his head up to look at his mentor again, obviously feeling guilty for not catching it. He muttered a small, quiet, "Sorry.." and then looked back down at the floor, his tufted ears drooping.

Bramblesnap ||

Eyeing Stumppaw at he trecked on forward, the large dusty tom hung behind again, giving the younger some space. It was unknown to Bramble that his own words were never the best formed, strung together sloppily in an attempt to rush through it - just a side effect of his impatience.

He could also pick up the scent, the creature obviously lurking close by. Dark tufted ears perked at the rustling and at Stumppaw's movements. But, obviously, first time wasn't the charm.

Bramblesnap slunk closer to the small apprentice as he returned to him, ears flattening against the back of his skull. The tom frowned down at the ginger and cream tabby as he begun to sulk, watching the pathetic expression on his face.

Suddenly, a paw swiped at Stumppaw's ears, a sharp small flick of a cuff. "Told yew day one - make a fool've me 'n' I'll make yew a fool." He hissed his words then pushed his face close to Stump's own.

"Up."

He strode onwards, starting to grumble out words and instructions right away. "Told yew ta' take yer time, told yew ta' listen. Ain't leavin' 'till yew got sum'n. Take 'til fuckin' Leaf-Fall for all I give a damn." He wouldn't return home with nothing. Not again. Not like last time.. But Bramblesnap swiftly shook the sound of sniggers and pathetic little comments from his mind, casting a withering glare at his sad sap of an apprentice.