Cloudpaw's Assessment [Closed]

Mottleheart sat just outside of the camp, his tail wrapped around his paws as he waited for Cloudpaw. His training with Cinderpaw had rather slowed down and in an effort to find something to do, he had decided to take on Cloudpaw's assessment. It made him joyful to help the apprentices of the Clan, even if he wasn't exactly their mentor. And so he waited for the apprentice to show up, already deciding how many prey Cloudpaw would have to hunt. There was a nervousness in him, he had never taken care of an assessment before but he remembered his own assessment rather clearly and knew he could go from there.

Cloudpaw hurriedly lapped at a few stray hairs that stuck out oddly from his fur, using his chin to smooth down the thick fur on his chest before rising to his paws and scampering out of the apprentices den that Windclan resided in during the winter. The cold, frost-dusted ground crunched slightly as he padded up to Mottleheart, who had graciously agreed to proctor his final assessment in place of Emberfall, whom often had her paws full nowadays. Stopping in front of the older tom, he dipped his head in a polite greeting before mewing, "Hello," his tone was friendly but detatched as usual, "Are you ready to get started?" Nerves were fluttering wildly in his belly, but he was eager nonetheless- it seemed like ages ago when he was first made an apprentice.

Mottleheart smiled warmly as Cloudpaw came scampering up to him, a small chuckle at his question. "I should be asking you that," he pointed out playfully as he pulled himself to his paws. "But yes, I'm ready to get started. Come along, Cloudpaw." He turned and padded into the territory, glancing at the sky. The days were getting warmer, even if a bit still on the chilly side but what Mottleheart was most eager for was the fact that the sky was cleared - no signs of clouds anywhere. It was a good sign, a perfect day for an assessment. Hopefully the warmer weather would also draw out the prey. He didn't know Cloudpaw's hunting ability but as long as there was plenty of rabbits around he was sure Cloudpaw would do fine.

Cloudpaw nodded and quickly set off after Mottleheart, following behind the older tom several steps back as they journeyed deeper into the moorland. Despite the chill in the air, the sun hung heavily in the clear sky and the scent of new growth filled the air with its tantalizing smelll- hopefully Newleaf would be soon. Once they were a suitable distance from camp and more in the center of the moorland, he paused to taste the air, only to be pleasantly surprised by all the different prey scent that lingered in the air; the temporary sunshine and weak warmth must of lured everything out. "Is this a good place to start?" he questioned, paws buzzing with newfound energy.

Mottleheart came to a stop as the young tom spoke up, glancing over his shoulder as he dipped his head in agreement. This was a perfect spot to hunt - it was a good distance away from the camp but also the border. You could still smell the scent of WindClan but it wasn't overbearing and it was something the prey wouldn't think much of. The prey here would be plentiful and a quick taste of the air agreed. And so he tuned to fully face Cloudpaw with a flicker of his tail. "We will start here. You have until sundown to catch four pieces of prey. I will be watching you the whole time to judge your progress and your skill. Once you catch those four pieces, we shall head back to the camp and I'll inform Ashstar that you are ready for your ceremony. Sound good?" He paused, barely waiting for an answer before he spoke again. "Start."

OOC: Link to the Hunting System

"Four pieces? Is there even that much prey on the entire moor?" Cloudpaw wondered, belly rolling slightly at the idea that he would fail his assessment and disappoint both Emberfall and Mottleheart. After the signal began, he began to scan the rolling hills of the moor- which now suddenly seemed empty as became more nervous. Inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes as he cleared his mind, focusing on the warm, musky scent of hare bathing his tongue. Opening his eyes, he broke out into a steathy jog, paws hardly making any sound as he rushed over a nearby hill. The small sight of the plump, brown creature made him instantly freeze and drop into a crouch- muscles twitching in excitement at the prospect of his first catch. After crouching down until he was nearly flat against the prickly moor, he exploded forward in a massive leap and darting forward after the panicked hare. Springing forward in a massive leap once more, Cloudpaw fell upon the small, plump creature with his claws outstretched before killing it with a quick, neat nip to the neck.

The member 'Seer' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Mottleheart watched as Cloudpaw hurried off into the territory, dropping into a crouch as he slowly followed him as quietly as he could. He didn't want to be spotted and distract Cloudpaw but luckily the wide open moor allowed him to watch from a safe distance away. His eyes were narrowed as he came to a stop on a hill, watching as Cloudpaw stalked a hare and quickly caught it when it tried to make a run for it. There was a rumble in Mottleheart's throat, a soft, steady purr. Speed was truly one of WindClan's strength - fit for their open moor. Unlike the other Clans, they could often catch their prey if they alerted them as their prey had little places to hide other then the holes that littered the moor but even then...WindClan tended to be made of small cats. If one was truly desperate they could follow the prey into the tunnels leaving them no places to hide.

The frantic chase and catch must of startled a nearby rabbit, because before Cloudpaw even had time to set down the still warm body, a lean, dark-furred rabbit was suddenly scrambling out in front of his paws. Hurriedly dropping the hare, he flung himself forward in a not-so-neat lunge to leap at the lean, dark colored creature, adrenaline firing through his system at this slightly chaotic approach. The rabbit clearly had a much better head start on the startled young tom, as it made it to the safety of a near-by warren right before he could pounce at the creature. Cloudpaw sat up, spitting slightly in annoyance at his messy loss before he turned and hurried back towards the body of the hare, digging a shallow grave for the creature before continuing his hunt.

The member 'Seer' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Mottleheart's ears perked when he spotted the other rabbit dart stupidly in front of Cloudpaw as the apprentice hurried to make chase. For a second, Mottleheart's hopes flared but he saw the dark fur of the rabbit disappear into the ground as Cloudpaw slid to a stop. Ah, what fowl luck. His frowned slightly as he watched Cloudpaw defeatly head back to his first kill and bury it before heading onward to find more prey. Hopefully StarClan would grant Cloudpaw luck - he was sure that Cloudpaw deserved to be a warrior and knew he would feel bad if he was forced to wait longer due to prey not being in his favor.

Forcing away the rising tide of annoyance and disappointment within himself, Cloudpaw tilted his head once more to inhale deeply, searching desperately for the scent of another rabbit- if one was this stupid, then hopefully they all were. "This time I won't let some stupid creature catch me off guard like that again!" He thought with a forced rush of determination. Padding along a familiar rabbit track, he eagerly followed a stronger scent of rabbit over another rise, dropping into a crouch as he stalked along. Spotting a plump, light brown rabbit, he wasted no time exploding forward in another leap before giving chase after the startled creature. Giving brief chase, he easily outran the slow creature, killing it quickly as soon as he pounced on it. Scooping up the heavy creature, Cloudpaw turned and proudly buried his new catch, confidence restored.

The member 'Seer' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Mottleheart followed quietly after Cloudpaw as the tom hurried off. His eyes were narrowed, watching as Cloudpaw padded down a small path until he spotted a rabbit. It was smart, using a path used by rabbits like that. Even from his safe distance away, Mottleheart could smell the scent of the tracks. He watched as the apprentice darted after the rabbit, quickly catching up to the plump prey and killed it. Another purr rose from Mottleheart. Cloudpaw was half way there - perhaps this assessment would be done in good time.

Cloudpaw's gaze swept the hills and rises that now flattened out into a smoother, more open territory. Ignoring the way his belly had begun to rumble, he continued to move about the more gently sloping land, green and blue eyes taking the grasses as he searched for something more suitable to hunt. His careless movements through the longer grasses startled a lone pheasant, and sent it hurling into the air with a loud squawk of alarm. Instinctively, he bunched up his limbs in a powerful crouch before he leaped into the air, swatting at the pheasant. He must of leaped a heartbeat to late though, as the pheasant narrowly escaped his claws and lifted itself well into the air above his reach. Dropping down, Cloudpaw let out a gusty sigh as he began to search around for his next target.