Larkpaw's Assessment [closed]

Sitting by the camp entrance, Mudfoot waited in silence. Today he would assess his younger sister on her skills and the tom was bubbling with excitement. He was so proud of Larkpaw for standing up to the challenge and working hard as an apprentice, even though she was over the average apprentice age. He knew it must have been difficult and a little embarrassing for the she-cat but he was so excited to see her become a warrior. Waiting for her while the sun began to set, this was the first test of the day, arrive to her patrol on time.

To say that Larkpaw was excited was an understatement. The idea of getting out of the apprentice den sounded like StarClan to her as the den was never meant to house a warrior-sized apprentice and so she found it cramped being in there with all of the other apprentices. But while today wasn't the day she would be leaving the apprentice den for good, this assessment was a good step closer.

She pulled herself from the den with a soft yawn, blinking at the fainting light of sunset. It was time. Her amber gaze quickly scanned the camp as she looked for the brown fur of her brother before finally spotting him waiting at the entrance of the camp. Her fur ruffled in a mix of excitement and as buffer against the cold air as she strolled over to him, dipping her head to him. "I'm ready to start," she said quickly - ready to go through with the final test before she would finally become a full fledged warrior of ShadowClan.

Giving a curt nod to the apprentice, Mudfoot stood up and padded towards the entrance but stopped and waited for Larkpaw. "Lead the way," he meowed with a smile. When conducting assessments, it was always good to let the apprentice take charge of the patrol since they'd need that skill in the future.

Larkpaw had quickly followed Mudfoot but came to a stop when he spoke up, her ears perking with shock. Lead the way? But to where? For a second, she hesitated as she tried to think of where would be the best place to preform this assessment. Ah, it would of been much easier to choose if it wasn't for the fact it was leaf-bare.  Highpine, the Carrionplace, the Deep Mashes...So many choices but which one was the best?

The Carrionplace seemed like a good choice - prey would go their for easy food but she felt like many hunting patrols were going in that area meaning that prey could have been scared off. The Deep Mashes would be frozen over and she couldn't picture much prey being over there. And that left...Highpine. Being the border, she doubted many cats would hunt over there as it risked crossing the border by accident. Musing over her choices, she decided upon the Carrionplace - hoping that the lure of food for the prey would outweighed their fear of the many patrols that had been hunting there.

She flickered her tail at Mudfoot as she pushed passed him, beckoning him to follow like she would if she was a warrior taking some Clanmates on a true patrol. She kept her head held high as she scanned the marshes, her mouth slightly open for any traces of prey as she headed toward the Carrionplace. Her paws crunched on the snow, taking in a note that she would have to keep her paw steps light while hunting to avoid giving herself away.

Giving an approving nod, Mudfoot followed Larkpaw and was soon able to detect where they were going from the direction in which she was headed. "The Carrionplace, good choice," the tom meowed. It was difficult to find prey anywhere in Leafbare but when in doubt, there was always something to find at the Twoleg area.

She moved as quickly as she could manage through the frozen marshes, keeping a delicate pace in an effort to keep herself from making to much noise. Pride swelled in her chest as Mudfoot praised her for her choice but took no time to bask in it as she kept moving forward. Finally, the shiny strange silver vines glimmered in the fainting sunlight informing her that they had arrived. She came to a stop, turning to Mudfoot with a flicker of an ear. "So, what am I to be hunting for?" she asked quietly, knowing it was up to him to decide what prey she would be searching for.

Before long, the two cats had made it through the frost bitten forest and although the icy mud stabbed at his pawpads, it was better than squishy mud clinging to his pelt. Coming to a halt, Mudfoot looked around, making sure no Twolegs or rouges happened to be around. Looking to Larkpaw, he was glad that she had the audacity to ask instead of jumping in with all paws. That's what a true and respectful warrior would do. "Anything you can find, but you must catch a minimum of at least four pieces of prey," he started, flicking his tail back and forth. "Once you start, I'll be watching and observing how you do, but don't worry about where I am, I bet you'll do fine."

Larkpaw found herself relieved that she had to only catch four of any prey - searching for a type would have been challenging with how little prey there was. She nodded,  giving Mudfoot a small smile before she turned and slide under the sharp silver vines and into the Carrionplace proper. She took in a deep breath of the scents as she moved quietly forward. It was time to start this assessment.

Her ears perked at the sound of faint scrambling as the scent of a lizard caught her attention. Her body turned smoothly as she followed the source of the sound until she saw the lizard clawing at some strange objects - most likely trying to get at what was underneath. She dropped into a crouch, keeping her paw steps soft as she pulled herself forward, the snow barely making a sound underneath her steps. Once close enough, she leaped forward and with a quick swipe of her paw she pinned the lizard down and finished it off. A purr rose through her. One down, three to go.

The member '9 Badgers Rolling' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 10, 2

Waiting for Larkpaw to start, Mudfoot soon followed, crawling under the silver vines and into the Carrionplace. He made sure to stay a good distance away from her, not wanting to disturb the apprentice and crouching down behind a pile of Twoleg pile of waste and snow, the tom watched as she caught her first piece of prey. Off to a good start so far.

After hiding the dead lizard to receive again later, Larkpaw followed the twist and turns of the Carrionplace, her eyes flickering at the piles of Twoleg waste as she went searched for more prey. Her mouth hung open sightly until the hint of prey caught her attention. She came to a stop, tasting the air as she focused on the scent that washed over her. It was...Frog. It didn't take long to locate the slippery prey as she dropped into a couch. Pulling herself forward, she moved closer and closer until a sudden rattle made her jump. One of the strange items in the Twolegs piles came loose, crashing to the ground near the frog as it quickly leaped away in fear. Her ears flickered back as she scowled, before quickly turning in search of new prey.

The member '9 Badgers Rolling' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 3, 5

Continuing to follow the apprentice, he understood her disappointment when she wasn't successful in catching another piece of prey but even so, he knew that she'd be find something else.

OOC: Holy shortness C':

Stalking through the Carrionplace, her ears twitched as she tasted the air. Catching hints of a lizard, she dropped into a couch as she moved forward. The lizard was sitting on a pile of trash and Larkpaw frowned sharply. There was little chance of her catching it without making a bunch of noise but maybe if...She drew forward, trying to judge how to go about trying to catch it. She could try to land near it and swipe it off the pile before it had the chance to get away but it was risky...But it was the only way she could try without making to much noise. Getting ready to leap, she judged where she had to land before taking the jump. She landed next to the pile where the lizard was sitting, ready to try to swipe it but it quickly disappeared in a gap in the pile before she could. She hissed in annoyance as she glared after it, her tail lashing as she turned and headed off to try to find another prey. She didn't want to let Mudfoot down but the odds weren't in her favor it seemed.

The member '9 Badgers Rolling' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 10, 9