Longpaw's Assessment

Lightfoot stretched and padded to the apprentices' sleeping area. He was going to give his former apprentice's apprentice an assessment. He was curious and excited to see how Slateslash had been doing as a mentor, and today was an excellent day to find out. Prodding Longpaw with a white paw, Lightfoot carefully woke him and asked, "Are you ready for an assessment?"

Longpaw woke up immediately at the call of Lightfoot, his mentor's mentor. His sister, Silverdapple, had already gotten her name, and he was more than ready to earn his. "Yes," he responded. "What do I have to do?"

He smiled, glad that Longpaw was so enthusiastic. "Good. I want you to catch as much prey as you can before sunhigh today. I know it'll be a tad bit difficult because the seasons are changing, but I know you'll do well." Lightfoot encouraged, sitting back to watch him go.

Longpaw nodded and raced off onto the moor. When he smelled a promising scent, he crouched and stalked towards it. Sure enough, a rabbit sat on its haunches, nose twitching, by a bush. Satisfied that there was no danger, it began to nibble some grass. Longpaw crept closer and pounced onto the small, furry hare, killing it instantly. He buried it under the bush and set off to find more prey.

Lightfoot followed at a great distance, cautious not to let his white fur show through the long grasses. He'd feel awful if his pelt scared away Longpaw's prey. But the apprentice showed great skill in capturing his first piece, and Lightfoot was pleased to be able to give this assessment. I mustn't forget Goldenpaw's assessment as well. He mused to himself, still watching Longpaw closely.

Longpaw grinned as he caught a small flash of Lightfoot's white fur in the grass. He opened his jaws and scented again, this time catching the smell of a bird. Finch? Thrush? Robin? He wasn't quite sure. Either way, it was fresh-kill. Birds were trickier. Plus, it was in one of the few trees that were sparse on the moor, just near the boundary with RiverClan. Pretty far away. Maybe it was time to show off his tree-climbing skills. He crawled towards the tree and then, excruciatingly slowly, used his claws in the tree's bark to get up onto a branch. By the time he got within a fox-length of the bird, it flew away. Mouse dung, Longpaw thought in frustration. But as he scented a squirrel, it occurred to him he didn't have to leave with nothing. He found the squirrel, killed it, carried it down, and buried it. Shaking his fur self-consciously, he went to find more prey.

His whiskers twitched in amusement. Tree-climbing was more of an oddity in WindClan, but any prey would do. Perhaps this tom just had some strange strengths? He had not shown any aptitude for running, as he himself was accustomed to, but Lightfoot understood that not every cat--WindClan or not--enjoyed running as much as he did. Despite missing the bird, Longpaw was doing well overall and Lightfoot was pleased that his former apprentice had done well in training the young tom.

Pleased with himself, Longpaw shook his fur before reminding himself not to get too complacent. Slowly, he turned around, and saw a rabbit staring at him. He immediately crouched down, but he was too late. The hare sprang off. Stupid, prideful apprentice! he chided himself. You should have noticed that! Furious, he ran after the small, furry creature, not willing to let it get away. His muscles ripples as he sprang, but the rabbit remained just out of reach. It darted into a burrow and was safe. Angry, Longpaw sat down, panting for breath. Then the idea occurred to him that rabbit burrows weren't generally very long. He batted a paw into it, and felt the rabbit bite his paw with its surprisingly sharp teeth. He pulled it out, cursing, and found that the rabbit was still stuck to it. Quickly, he clawed at the hare with his other paw, and it released him and collapsed. Well, that's one way to kill a rabbit. He buried it and wondered whether he was done.

"Well, a little out of the box, but that'll do." Lightfoot meowed, making his entrance from the tall grass. "That's two hares and a squirrel, all caught during leaf-fall to boot. I'd say that's a decisive pass." He smiled his pleasant smile and purred his congratulations. "Slateslash will be proud to hear of your hard work and success. Go ahead and collect your prey and meet me back at the camp. Meanwhile, I'll have a word with Falconstar about your warrior ceremony."

Longpaw nodded happily, proud of himself, and took his prey to WindClan camp.
OOC: such shortness