Stormpaw and Rainpaw's Assessments (For Marcel, Sailor Cat, and me)

Hollyberry paced by the camp barriers, waiting impatiently for Stormpaw and Rainpaw. The two apprentices were due to become warriors any day now, and they still needed their assessments. The black she-cat stopped pacing after a bit and sat down in the grass. Her green eyes glimmered as she took her surroundings in. The new-leaf scent that invaded the forest this time of year swirled around her, comforting her. The sun shone brightly, covering everything in its golden light. New leaves rustled above the warrior in the soft breeze. Hollyberry stayed curled up in the grass for a few minutes before she heard pawsteps coming toward her. She scented the air, and smiled when she realized it was one of her apprentices. "Hello, Rainpaw." she mewed.

A little nervous the apprentice walked through the grass. Suddenly she smelled the scent of a cat - it was Hollyberry. I wonder what we're going to do today... "Hello, Hollyberry!", the she-cat mewed friendly.

Hollyberry smiled and dipped her head to the apprentice. "Just in case you are wondering, yours and Stormpaw's first set of assessments are today. When she arrives, we will go over the rules again, then practice new hunting moves. After that is finished, you two will hunt in separate places for an hour. Then, when I feel the time is right, you will use your practiced strategies of team hunting until sunhigh." she finished, looking up when spotting movement.

The she-cat was a bit suprised, when Hollyberry said that their assessments were today. Have I really been an apprentice long enough? She wasn't sure if she was ready for an assessment. But the apprentice decided to give her best.

Stormpaw emerged from the undergrowth. "Hi, guys," she greeted as she sat down

OOC: sorry it's short

OOC: I know in the books they only do one assessment, but I just realized that Rainpaw still has to learn some things and isn't quite as old as Stormpaw. They also don't team-hunt (do they?), but I'm just going with it.


Hollyberry dipped her head at the gray-and-ginger apprentice. "Hello." She opened her mouth to launch into what she was speaking of earlier. "Stormpaw, today is you and Rainpaw's first set of assessments. There will be second half, for battle training. But, today is hunting. After we think up new hunting strategies and practice them, you will both be hunting for an hour. In different places, mind. Then you will be hunting together, using your team hunting skills." she finished. Hollyberry waited patiently to see if there were any questions, or if the two were ready to move on.

Stormpaw nodded. "Fine, but do we have to hunt together too? I'm more of a loner."

Hollyberry dipped her head, knowing that what the apprentice said was true. "Well, the rules could be stretched a bit..." she mewed thoughtfully. "You just have to make two team catches, that's all. Is that alright with you, Stormpaw?" she asked, hoping that she didn't have to completely remove the team hunting. That was an important skill to learn and perfect.

Hollyberry explained what the two apprentices would have to do. "Okay!", Rainpaw said nervously, but then Stormpaw mentioned that he could hunt better alone. I was a bit frustrated when I heard that, because I was sure, he didn't wanted to hunt with me cause I was a bad hunter. But I knew the tom was right. I was afraid of this assessment. I was convinced that I would do one mistake after the other.

The pale and cream she-cat looked up at her grandmother/mentor and sighed. "Fine." The only cat she would ever hunt with as a warrior would be Soaringwing, so Stormpaw didn't care if she failed team hunting. "Let's just get this over with...you said we were supposed to come up with new hunting strategies first, right?"

Hollyberry held back a flinch. Sorry, Stormpaw... Nodding briskly, she set off into the trees, going 'back toward the camp.' Before she disappeared into the bushes, she turned her head back. "Off you go, then," she mewed with a half-smile.

Rainpaw nodded. Her heart was beating fast, but she forced her paws to go into the forest. "Good luck!", she said to Stormpaw before running deeper into the woods. Alright, Rainpaw. What do you smell? The she-cat became more and more nervous when she noticed that she didn't know which scent belonged to which prey. She looked around and suddenly she noticed a movement at the roots of a tree. A mouse! The apprentice stalked (?) the mouse and then she jumped - too late. The mouse was already gone. Oh no, what shall I do?

When Rainpaw had turned away and ran off, Stormpaw mouthed good luck mockingly before bolting in the opposite direction, heading towards the river. Okay, Stormpaw. What could be a new hunting strategy? The pale grey she-cat looked around, her eyes landing on the treetops as she remembered Soaringwing and how he traveled through the trees. Quickly, the she-cat scurried up a maple and sat on a branch, crouching down and looking below. Stormpaw wasn't the best hunter; she was built for strength and more for fighting, but she was okay at it. Along with her strong build came with the realization that jumping from branch to branch probably wasn't a good idea, but Soaringwing could do it so maybe she could to.

The warrior-sized apprentice sniffed the air, drinking in the scents of the forest with her mouth open. Lets see...the river is to my left, up ahead is a stale squirrel scent, a recent vole and mouse scent trail is behind me and slightly to the right, a robin is nesting in the branch above me, and oh! There is a thrush right below me! The she-cat was a bit surprised at how much she could smell, but she hadn't noticed before her strongly developing tracking skills. Time to test out this new hunting strategy, she thought as she got into a hunter's crouch and eyed the thrush. The branch was right above it, so Stormpaw had perfect aim. The she-cat unsheathed her claws, barred her fangs, then pounced off the branch and onto the prey below. All she saw was feathers and beaks before she ended up with a thrush hanging limply from her jaw. "Yes, it worked," she exclaimed through the fresh-kill. Stormpaw quickly buried it before climbing up a tree and leaping from branch to branch closer towards the river.

OOC: Sorry it's so long, lol.

OOC: That's alright :)

Hollyberry watched from the shadows a good distance away, a serious expression on her face when she examined Rainpaw's hunting strategy. Then, she spotted Stormpaw and crept closer, as silent and dark as a shadow. Her serious expression melted into one of approval as Stormpaw caught the thrush. Let's see if there are any other hunting techniques that they use... The black warrior spotted a sparrow high in a tree above her, and remembered her hunting technique from a while back. Refraining from leaping up in the tree and hunting, she crouched down lower and continued to watch the apprentices.

The gray she-cat became more and more desperate. She coulnd't see any prey. After a while she suddenly noticed little steps on the ground. There was a squirrel in front of her! As soundless as possible she put one paw after the other and took off. She landed a mouselenght (?) before the squirrel. Of course the prey ran away, but Rainpaw jumped after it and managed to catch it somehow with one paw. As fast as she could she killed the prey and buried it. Okay, one squirrel, better than nothing, right? I wonder how much prey Stormpaw has caught already...