Going postal (LoonxElm)

[RiiRii]

Elmpaw watched his mentor, thinking about what to do thoroughly, his past attempts had failed, but this time he was going to prove to his mentor that he could do it.

Taking a very deep breath, he dived under the water, kicking his legs and made sure his head reached beneath his legs, lifting him up slowly, thankful the water supported his weight and his fur ruffled in the water. As he was able to get more under him, his body was able to get under him completely, causing him to shove his haunches into the older warriors stomach.

Quickly, the toms breath needed to seep to the top, so he did and squirmed away from his warrior, gasping for air and flattening his ears, gripping at the clay and kicking off it shortly after, landing against his mentor and shoving his haunches into the warriors side.

[Cloudbat]

What the...well, I guess I did ask him to think of a way. To be fair this actually would be a viable strategy in a fight where cats were moving. Only rotating his limbs slightly to limber up, his yellow eyes noted everything about the apprentice’s technique – his breathing (which needed to start in his stomach, not his mouth), his dive (his approach needed to be swifter) and the motion of his paws (which needed to be more focused).

Still, his overall movement was good and his boldness to test the water, while risky, was also a sign that he was keen to overcome his initial fears.

As droplets covered his broad white face, he blinked, whiskers twitching as Elmpaw – oof.

Slightly taken off guard as inexperienced paws shoved into his stomach, he nevertheless smiled as the striped brown PineClanner rose back to the stream’s surface, gasping amusingly as his green eyes bugged, his scent almost completely blended into the water’s.

“Not bad. A bit advanced for where you are right now, but…” His black ears perked as an idea occurred to him, and his short tail flicked excitedly. “…with a bit of practice you could turn that into your signature move. Elmpaw the pike!” He said, smiling, recalling the hunting abilities of that mighty fish.

[RiiRii]

Elmpaw watched his mentor, keeping his legs kicking so he stayed floating and landed safely in the water.
Elmpaw the pike?
He imagined cats calling him the fish, a long cat with a pointed face. That was /not/ him. "So I guess I did good?" he eventually asked when he had gathered his breath and his heart wasn't thumping so rapidly that he could hear it in his ears.

His body was aching now by the force of the water when he had dived. His fur was soaking and he could even feel the water press his skin, causing him to shiver. Not only that, exhaustion had swept him like a tidal wave. When would training finish? Admittedly he did not want it to end.

[Cloudbat]

[bg=22334a][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,500,true] Somewhere in the world, there was that amusing sound effect that a balloon makes as it deflates. Seeing as that would fairly accurately describe Loonstep's emotions at the moment. He knew he'd always been kind of weird, especially with the bird and water metaphors he liked to think in. Not very masculine, either, though when push came to shove he could hold his ground. So he knew he shouldn't be a bit disappointed that Elmpaw didn't even seem to acknowledge the cool name he was giving him. Not even a little, because it was weird and stupid and...yeah. His enthusiasm for the session dropped a bit, so his voice was a bit guarded as he answered: "...yes. You have things to work on, but it was a decent initial approach. See? You just had to try." I don't belong here, whispered a voice at the back of his head. I can try and try and I will never fit in because...because...there's no one to teach me. Because... ...there are no other bird cats here. "Anyway, we could both use a break." He said, returning to his more brusque tone. "You may not have hunted for the elders today but you can eat when we get back to camp." Yawning, he finally lifted his stiff, wet limbs out of the water and winced - cold clung to them like burrs as he waded to the bank.

[RiiRii]

Elmpaw nodded, shaking his fur and letting water droplets spray everywhere before stretching out. His already-sore limbs clenching and tensing and he walked beside his mentor.
"I'm so hungry I could eat a... Hare!" he meowed before looking around. "First, elders... They'll complain if their food isn't perfect, so I'll catch the biggest thing I can find and give it to them"

Watching the area, he noticed a starling pecking at the ground. It was certainly fully ground and should do quite well.
Sneaking forward past his mentor and crouching down, his body ruffling softly against the floor but now touching it completely he crept towards the starling before leaping and landing on it just as it spread its wings and got ready to fly. With his jaws clasped around the now limp bird's neck, he turned to his mentor and watched him. "Well?"

[Cloudbat]

[bg=22334a][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,500,true] Loonstep winced as the droplets hit his pelt, even though he already had rivulets of water streaming off of him into the ground. Then his expression turned from nostalgic to somewhat puzzled. "Wait, what? I told you that you don't need to -" Too late, the mouse-brain had dashed off. How do those little furballs do that? Marveled the black and white warrior as he arched his back, stretching. Might as well relax and warm up as he waited for the inattentive tabby to return from...wherever the heck he'd gone. Yet having barely formulated the thought, the little bugger trotted back looking pleased as punch with a dark mess of feathers in his mouth. The drenched PineClanner sniffed; starling, he was almost certain. He looked at Elmpaw with raised eyebrows for a moment but then merely shrugged, rising and flicking his ears to dispel any last bits of wetness from them. "Well all right then. Let's get our tails back to camp." OOC: I think that's a good ending, no?