Kestrelpaw's Assessment

Falconstar stood at the edge of the camp, waiting for his apprentice. It was nigh time for Kestrelpaw to become a warrior, but there was just one more task left to accomplish. So he stood there and waited.

Kestrelpaw soothed his fur once more before he met Falconstar for his assessment. His shoulders were broad now, his legs long and strong. He says he was taller than his father Cedarfur, but his father disagreed. He knew the day was the day; if he did well he would become a warrior. Kestrelheart? Kestrelcloud? Kestrelfoot? Kestrelflight? What will be my name? Shaking those premature thoughts, he finally joined Falconstar. "I am ready." he said evenly, sweeping his gaze around.

"Alright." Falconstar took Kestrelpaw out into the territory before stopping, sitting down calmly. "I want you to catch three pieces of prey; any you want. I will be watching, so do the best you can."

Kestrelpaw nodded and turned, facing into the wind. His nose tingled as he scented a rabbit, and nearby. Perking his ears, the tom listened carefully, soon picking up the general location. Silently he took off into the grass, making no noise. When he spotted the rabbit, he crouched low and quickly moved forward. The rabbit was about to dash when Kestrelpaw's long legs broke into a huge stride that ended with a leap, landing him square on the rabbit. The rabbit struggled until Kestrelpaw killed his prey with a hard bite. Quickly, he dragged the rabbit to the shade and hid it in a bush. The scent of his recent kill clogged his senses so he moved away to be able to scent anything.

As he moved, a flutter caught his eye. A moor-bird was fluttering around in the grass down a hill. Thinking for a second, he took off, silently streaking through the grass. The bird heard him too far away. It took off with a flutter, just out of leaping distance. Widening his stride to as far as he go, he pushed his speed even faster. Bunching up his muscels and outstretching his claws, he managed to snag the bird just as it flew away. Throwing it to the ground with a thud, he made quick work to ending it before it made too much noise and scared away the rest of his prey. However, it did make a lot of noise, so he decided to head to the ThunderClan border after hiding his prey once more.

Kestrelpaw traveled slowly to catch his breath after two hardcore sprints. He wanted to scent for Falconstar, but he decided it would be better for his nerves if he didn't. Soon, he made it to the border. Scenting the air, he didn't smell anything. Deciding to go with the more lengthy approach to show his smarts and stragegic abilities as well as patience, Kestrelpaw hid himself near the border.

The sun was near it's peak when a squirrel bolted from the ThunderClan's territory across the border into WindClan. Without thinking, Kestrelpaw was after it with a flash and he gave chase. He gained ground against the squirrel quickly, but it was just out of reach. Panting, he stretched once more to the max, feeling the tail brush against his legs occasionally. He was getting tired, but he figured the squirrel would too. When the pace slowed slightly, he became bold and struck his front paw out to trip the squirrel, causing him to fall forward. The squirrel flew up as he fell down, but he quickly rolled over and snagged the squirrel with his paw and forcing it to the ground on his side. Like a snake he wiggled up and bit the squirrel's neck, killing it. With a patting breath, he stood with the squirrel in his mouth, looking for his mentor whom he knew would be nearby.

Falconstar padded out towards his apprentice, purring in approval. "That was excellent, Kestrelpaw. Great catches." Standing next to him, the old leader nodded in the direction of where previous prey had been buried. "Shall we pick up the rest of your haul and head back?"

"Yes sir, let's." he said, craning his head up to look tall and proud. He shone with pride in the compliment from his hero, and his eyes shown with triumph.