[attr="class","llppromisedicon"]

[attr="class","llppromisedtitle"]vervain[break]star

[attr="class","llppromisedtitle2"]a leader of ashclan

[attr="class","llppromisedblurb"]



"There isn't anything here." That was what the young apprentice had declared. Vervainstar had been wondering if the stomping of her little feet would have scared the little morsel off, but as Vervainstar kept track of the rustling of a brush, he was glad to see that it must have been engrossed in its own foraging for food. It was leaf-fall, so while he was still somewhat warm out, those species of prey that did not leave to go elsewhere would need to plump themselves up to survive the harsh leaf-bare moons to come.[break][break]

"Is that so?" he asked, giving her a look and then closing his eyes and focusing fully on the sound of rustling leaves and little pattering paws. The tom flicked his tail, getting into a hunter's crouch, his belly low against the ground and his tail trailing behind him. He did need to be careful as they were upwind and if he gave the prey any reason to check the air, it would scent a predator coming for it. HE did a little side shuffling as he drew crosser, attempting to move downwind by the time he got within sight.[break][break]

And eventually, he saw it. It was a little mouse, its nose twitching as it ate some grass and leaves off the brush it was near. After a moment when he deemed he was close enough to try, the tom gave a little wiggle of his backside to prepare his hind legs and pushed off with them, leaping at the mouse. The leader landing on the mouse, his claws dug in to keep the wiggling thing still has he leaned in to give it a finishing bite.[break][break]

Vervainstar returned to where he had left Stormpaw and dropped the mouse in front of her. "Sometimes the wind will carry their scents away from us, but by doing so will carry our scents to them. It's not ideal, but it can work. You need to start opening both your senses up and listening and smelling for those smallest details of the world around you. Hunting is more than tracking and pouncing. It's about patience. If you stomp your feet and simply chase after the closest thing, you'll scare everything away." He paused for a moment as he covered the prey to keep it safe for later. "Now, try again. Tell me everything you can smell and hear."[break][break]

This time, he was not expecting her to catch the scent or sound of prey (though if she did, he wasn't about to complain). Instead, he merely wanted her to focus on keeping track of the rustling, the stream, the chirps of whatever birds had not migrated yet, or the scents of plants and relay anything she could pinpoint. An exercise in learning how to differentiate the different scents and sounds from one another.