Marshmallow Creme [Hunting Assessment]

It had been hard, trying to figure out how to go about his duties with the rattling in his chest and wheeze that followed every exhale. Creamsky sighed - marred by yet another wheeze - as he led Mallowpaw out into the territory. Patrols had proven difficult, being so quickly out of breath and it was hard to sneak up on prey when a simple breath could easily alert them. It had made him nervous to be assigned to over-see Mallowpaw's hunting attempts - scaring the prey was the last thing he needed but some herbs from the medicine cats had helped, leaving his wheezing as a sound he himself could barely hear - meaning it was only an annoyance to himself at the moment. Coming to a stop, he raised his tail to motion for Mallowpaw to do the same as he turned. "Alright, as you've been told..." he took in a breath, wincing at the faint rattling in his chest that seemed to follow every word. "I'm assessing your hunting today. Before I go over the rules, do you have any questions? Concerns?"

Creamsky's ears slicked back as Mallowpaw expressed his concern, sighing as he gave a shake of his head. "I'm...Fine. I've been like this since... Since our time at the lake," he admitted with a rattling wheeze. It was the sad truth of the situation - that while the medicine cats had found a cure for the strange and strong sickness that had befallen the Clans, Creamsky's illness never fully went away despite everybody else recovering fine.

It always got worse when the sun had set for some reason and there hadn't been a solution figured out other than a few herbs that eased his breathing. "Honestly, I'm fine - its been worse, this is a lighter day," he added with a weak smile, not really realizing that perhaps it had to due with a mixture of the herbs and today being a warmer day in general despite Leaf-bare still having its claws in the forest. There was however the fact that he was also tired - it was hard sleeping, or at least staying asleep, when breathing was a struggle but...He would be fine. "I'm just happy...To get to do something instead of...Just sitting in the camp as I wait for this to go away - if it ever will. Thank you for your concern, Mallowpaw, thought - I'll be sure...To check in with Thymelight and Smokepetal once we are back just to be sure," he added before he took in a deep breath and straightened up.

"For your assessment, you will be asked to catch three prey - at least - before sundown. Any prey will do - make your choices and play to your strengths. I'll be watching from a distance, even if you won't be aware of my presence...Or well, hopefully won't be aware," he admitted, giving a shrug of his shoulders as another wheeze punctuated his point. "But if trouble shows up, I'll be sure to intervene - after all, this is a test of your hunting, not fighting." He paused as he glanced up, through the bare branches that scraped at the sky high above to judge how much time would be afforded for Mallowpaw's assessment before he gave a content nod of his head.

"You may start whenever you are ready."

The member 'Grohiik' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Creamsky watched as Mallowpaw bounded off before he turned, pouncing towards one of the nearby tree trunks before quickly scaling it. Now in the bare branches, he carefully picked his way through them to follow Mallowpaw - using the tom's black tail as the focus point to track. A content huff/wheeze escaped him as Mallowpaw stumbled across his first piece of prey and caught a bird, already off to a promising start. He made a note where the apprentice buried it before he set off to see what else Mallowpaw would go for.

The member 'Grohiik' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

Sticking to the trees had been an easy path to follow Mallowpaw as the apprentice had set out on foot...But that changed when Mallowpaw started scrambling up a tree. The warrior came to a halt - not daring to come any closer less he catch the apprentice's attention and had to crane his neck to catch what was happening. It wasn't hard to see the squirrel dart away, but Mallowpaw quickly recovered and launched after it - and managed to overtake it and slice it out of the air. The warrior flinched, feeling almost bad for the squirrel as it was sent crashing into the snow - the fall wouldn't have meant much to it if it hadn't been for the strike that Mallowpaw had dealt to it. Even with the snow to cushion its fall, Creamsky watched as it wasn't able to recover before Mallowpaw descended after it and quickly killed it. It wasn't a clean kill, that was for sure but prey was prey - and Mallowpaw only had a single catch to go as the warrior carefully started to make his way closer.

The member 'Grohiik' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Slowly leaping from branch to branch, Creamsky watched Mallowpaw with keen eyes as the tom took a moment to catch his breath before setting off on the hunt once more. The apprentice quickly caught the scent of something and started to creep forward...Before he suddenly stopped, paused then quickened his pace before breaking into a sprint. The warrior followed, neck craning to get a glimpse of what Mallowpaw had found before he saw the flicker of gray slip between rocks and disappear from view. From his position, it was hard to tell what the prey had been but it hardly mattered when it got away.

The warrior wasn't worried thought - not every catch would be clean, not every catch would happen. Prey would get away and while it was a shame, it was more important to pick up your head and press forward. His eyes glimmered as he crouched, peering over the branch's edge to stare at Mallowpaw. In some way, the warrior was happy that Mallowpaw had at least missed one prey because it would allow him the chance to see how the tom would take it - would he accept the failure with grace or let it weigh him down?

The member 'Grohiik' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

A soft huff escaped Creamsky - even thought it came out more as a wheeze - as it was clear that Mallowpaw was unbothered by his failure to catch...Whatever it had been. It was a good sign as ones' attitude mattered more while hunting than most would think. Frustrated and anger would lead to carelessness - a rashness to catch the next piece of prey that would easily lead to a misstep that would scare the prey away and it would only stack.

That Mallowpaw took his miss with grace was a sign of maturity that helped prove that he was near the edge of his apprenticeship. Creamsky could have faith that Mallowpaw would remain focused and happily followed the apprentice as he set off hunting once more. It didn't take long for them both to locate a bird by its chirps...And as the apprentice caught it, a content purr escaped the warrior.

Mallowpaw had done it. He glanced up to judge the time - the sun was starting to set and the temperature was like-wise starting to drop. Slowly he realized that his wheezing was slightly worse than before, but it was hard to tell if it was the oncoming chills or all of the energy he had spent tracking Mallowpaw. He could likely go on if Mallowpaw wanted but... He shook his head, picking his way down the branches while also keeping up with Mallowpaw as the apprentice had started to back-track.

He thought about opening his mouth, calling out to the apprentice but paused...No, he would let Mallowpaw make the decision here. He had completed the assessment, there was no need for any more hunting but there was still some time left before sunset. There was a curiosity that burned in Creamsky - would the tom take the risk or be content with what he had managed to do?