Poppypaw's Assessment

Crowflight waited at the entrance of his camp for his apprentice to join him. If this assessment went well he could make her a warrior.

Poppypaw came running up to her mentor, her fluffy fur sticking up in all different directions. She had misjudged the time and had slept in much longer than she had hoped to. "Sorry Crowflight!"

The apprentice flashed him a big smile. It was finally time for her assessment! Soon she would be a warrior!

Crowflight perked up once his apprentice decided to show up. It didn't really matter that she was late, they still had plenty of time to do things. "No worries. Well you already know what we are doing today. I want you to catch two pieces of prey in the trees, and then two on the ground. It doesn't matter what they are." The deputy said. "Remember I will be watching so do your best."

Poppypaw gave him a quick nod and bolted off into the forest. The arrival of Greenleaf would make her hunt that much easier. The multi-coloured apprentice smile and slowed her pace till she was stalking her way through the underbush. The she-cat lowered herself so her long belly fur barely grazed the dirt.

Crawling her way along the earth, she opened her mouth to take in the less potent scents. Not too far away from her, the scent of a rabbit caught her attention.

As she made her way towards the scent, she had been somewhat careless with her pawsteps and the quick crack of a twig snapping broke the natural silence. The rabbit jolted out of the bushes, starting a chase between her and the creature. It was large. Larger than most. The apprentice began to doubt herself, wondering if she could take it down. Throwing away the thought, Poppypaw let out a deep hiss and jumped as far as she could to catch the prey.

Luckily for her, the rabbit had just jumped into a bush, letting her catch it just in time. It struggled in her grip, causing the two to roll around, kicking and scratching until only the she-cat was left standing. She huffed and gasped for breath, worn out from the rabbit's strong kicks. "T-Thank StarClan..."

Crowflight watched silently, a little distance from his apprentice. She did well catching the rabbit, but she could have done better. Maybe with the next one she would be more careful. He would continue following her.

Letting out a small sigh, the she-cat quickly buried the rabbit and carried on with her hunt.

Feeling angered by her mistake, she carefully watched her paws as she searched for her next prey. Thankfully, she managed to keep herself from stepping on any more twigs, but it felt like she had been walking for much longer than she wanted to.

It felt like a lifetime before anything crossed her path. A small mouse, from what she could tell. Following the scent carefully this time, Poppypaw paused a fox-tail-length away from where she assumed it sat. Peering her head around the tree she sat at, she saw the small brown creature nibbling happily on some seeds. It hadn't noticed her. Good.

Lowering to a crouch again, she quickly ran around the tree and pounced, crushing the mouse under her paws. A smile appeared on her fluffy face. She opened her mouth to cheer, but remembering her training, refrained from doing so. She didn't want to scare away the other prey.

Crowflight prevented himself from letting out a purr at Poppypaw's next catch. It was better executed than the last one, and he was slightly proud. If it continued like this then she was surely ready to be a warrior.

Poppypaw buried the mouse with a smile. Two down, two more to go.

The she-cat was about to continue on her path, when Crowflight's instructions popped into her head. Her next two needed to be caught in the trees. Glancing up, the apprentice swallowed the rising lump in her throat. She was a pure SkyClan cat, but she was never fond of climbing trees, let alone hunting in them. She had heard stories of cats falling from the branches, resulting in broken bones, and even death depending on the height. She shuddered at the thought, and prepared herself to climb. Even with her slight worry, she needed to overcome this to become a warrior.

Once up in the trees, Poppypaw balanced herself only on the thickest branches. She felt her legs shaking under her, but made sure to keep herself going. This would be much tougher than before.

Going along slower that before, she hadn't been expecting a bird to fly right in front of her. Nearly jolting up, the she-cat back up slightly from the shock, one of her back paws slipping.

She managed to catch herself, but she frantically looked around for the bird. Thankfully it only sat a few branches away, pecking at it's wings to clean it. Taking in a deep breath, she carefully leaped across to the branch the bird was carefully perched on. Still holding her breath, the she-cat took a leap of faith. Literally.

Her eyes closed tight, it took her a moment to realize she was still on the branch with a mouthful of feathers.

Crowflight watched from below. He let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding after Poppypaw reclaimed her footing, glad she didn't go plummeting into the ground below. He watched as she jumped across the branches catching a bird. He watched as it took some time for her react to catch the bird, but he was glad she did. Carefully he hid away again, ready to follow her wherever she went.

Not knowing what to do with the bird, she dropped a few branches down and place it on one easily accessible for later.

Returning to the branches above, she jumped along, eyes wide and searching. There didn't seem to be any sign of anything just yet, but she could smell something sweet not far from where she sat. Her favourite. Squirrel!

Frantically searching for the creature, she leaped from tree to tree, all of her senses alert. Where was it?

It took her a moment, but when she returned to the branch where she first smelled it, she saw the brown critter. It sat in a hole in the tree, directly in line of the branch she sat on. Poppypaw smiled. Standing in front of the hole, she made sure to make enough noise to startle it. The only way out was straight into her grasp.

Praise StarClan it was stupid enough to do so.

The squirrel now dead in her mouth, Poppypaw made her way down to the ground, picking up the bird on her way. Placing them on the ground, she glanced around for any sign of her mentor. "Crowflight? I'm finished!"

Crowlfight emerged from some bushes, and went over to his apprentice. "You did well. Let's get back to camp." He said with a purr.