propriety [hedgepaw]

This counts as topic 2 of 2 needed for Shadow Step once the move is used!

Not far from camp, Virtue found it to be a little harsh to subject poor Hedgepaw to another predator, the silver fur along his tail currently decorated with leaves as an alternative just as he had done for the kits. A kind smile played on his maw, feeling a little guilty he hadn't returned alongside the apprentice after such an amazing show of courage in the face of danger. Virtue was never the type to teach roughly, but he would make sure to be a little more gentle to make it easier on her healing wounds. "See these?" His tail raised, swishing a few times to rattle the leaves together. "Your goal is to take these from me without alerting me to your presence; as though you were simply hunting prey, vanish into the shadows as though you were the darkness itself. On my count, I will turn my back to you. Take as much time as you need. Ready? One... Two..." For the sake of being dramatic, he paused for a few heartbeats, his solo green eye locking with Hedgepaw's dual greens. He hadn't noticed this before, but she sure did look almost the spitting image of her mother. Her name escaped him, but he remembered the face at least.

"Three!" The black stripes on his silver pelt rippled slightly as he turned away from her, tail wiggling in a taunt.

Everyone seemed to be tiptoeing around her a little bit, recently, after the owl. But Hedgepaw didn't mind. Moving made the wounds on her back slightly sore, so she walked a bit slower than usual. Aside from that, though, she felt pretty much the same. She wasn't fragile. The owl had been scary--but it hadn't completely changed her worldview, or anything. Fernpaw and her Clanmates and Cherish's friends had saved her. One of them was with her even now, so she felt particularly safe. She wanted to thank him; she hadn't quite gotten to it, yet. But he was taking her out here to help train her to hide like Cherish had been doing. So first she would do that. Then, she would thank him for saving her. What was his name?... It was one of the names that meant a single word, like Cherish. But she couldn't remember it. She knew it started with a Vuh-sound. Maybe after this she'd ask him.

For now though, she listened to his kind voice, fixing her green eyes on the leaves adorning his tail, then on his singular eye. Just like Heatherberry's and Sablestrike's eyes. This seemed like a fun game. She'd have to crouch all sneakily like Quillsplash had taught, and then get as many as she could. The small part of her brain that wasn't focused on the instructions mused that it would be cool to have leaves on her fur like that, too. Maybe some of the pretty flowers she'd seen blooming with Nightpaw. But there was no time for that right now. Cherish's friend was counting down. Hedgepaw narrowed her eyes, lowering herself into a hunting crouch. Stealthy. Sneaky. She had to be very quiet. Cautiously, she placed one small white paw forward, then another. How to get the leaves without alerting him? She made her way as close as possible... then, gradually, gently, reached out and used her teeth to hold the very bottom stem of a leaf, prying it from the silver fur. Then another leaf. Then oooone more, for good measure. Three was probably enough. It was tempting to just turn and scamper away--but he'd feel the wind of that with his fur, wouldn't he? So instead, she picked up the leaves in her mouth, then tried to back away just as slowly as she'd come.

The member 'Ash' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Effect Dice' : 1

Silence ticked by as he stood idle, waiting for either a squeak of dismay or a shout of triumph... But neither came. What he had felt, though, was the the leaves stirring on his tail. Without looking, it could have been passed off as just the wind if he hadn't heard Hedgepaw make her retreat. "Had I been a fox, you would have been a meal." He mused, turning to face her. "You did well up until your retreat. I'm thinking that maybe you got a bit too greedy when plucking leaves and forgot your main goal was to take and flee... Am I wrong?" Three leaves were clutched firmly in her mouth, much more than Virtue had expected any cat to try for when their life could very well be on the line.

Not that he didn't appreciate her efforts, but it did give him perspective on how he would teach the next young cat using this method. To be more precise; that the catch may not be worth becoming the prey.