Assessment Time! (P-wolf)

[Melodysong]

@bark

Melody song sighed. Being a mother was hard enough, but now she had to finish up the training of an apprentice. Wolfpaw. Cool name. Ugh. She was tired, but she also appritiated that she'd been trusted to give an apprentice his assessment.

She padded over to where the apprentices were staying. "Wolfpaw, come on out. I'm here to finish your training. Hurry up. I need to get back to my kits." she snapped, and waited for he younger cat.

[Deleted]

Wolfpaw flinched as he heard his name. 'Must not be a morning cat.' With a shake of his fur he padded out, dipping his head to Melodysong once he reached her. "Ready when you are." He said, too tired to get excited about the fact that this was his assessment. There wasn't a reason to get excited, anyway. This was bound to happen sooner or later. 'Just not like this.'

[Melodysong]

Thank goodness that the apprentice had gotten up fast. "Alright, go get a mouse or something, then will get on with the assessment. I'll meet you outside. Be quick about it." She said, and passed out into the crisp morning air after saying goodbyes to her kits.

[Deleted]

He mumbled an "okay" and padded off to the prey heap. He quickly gobbled down a squirrel (yuck), then made his way to Melodysong. He waved his tail in the air as he approached her. "Ready."

[Melodysong]

"Alright. So, let's see what you can do. Go catch as much prey as you can. I'll tell you when time's up."

[Deleted]

Wolfpaw nodded and padded off. He took a sharp turn, deciding to go near the side of the farmhouse. There was a lot of mice there. Sniffing the air, he crept up to a little corner. He kept his ears perked, hearing the scuttle of the mice. Getting closer, he finally caught sight of one, followed by two more. The tom leaped.

He twitched his whiskers in satisfaction when he felt his teeth sink into fur. Not only that, but his right paw had a mouse pinned to the ground. The third one had gotten away, but he was okay with that. Wolfpas gave the struggling mouse a killing bite before padding on to find more.

[Melodysong]

Melodysong watched as her new sort-of apprentice hunted for mice. His form looked pretty good, but he'd only caught one so far. After a few more she'd likely move on to the fighting part of the assessment, but right now she wanted to see more of his hunting skills. Wonder how long this is going to take... she thought. Although he is quite speedy and efficient. He'll make a good warrior.

[Deleted]

Wolfpaw glanced back, making sure he'd remember where he placed the two mice. Looking ahead, he sniffed the air again. 'Vole.' He tracked it down to a cluster of bushes a few badger-lengths from the farmhouse. He squinted, getting a glimpse of fur through a space in the leaves. Wolfpaw raced forward and lunged for the kill.

He came out of the bush holding a fat vole. He carried it back and placed it with the two mice, deciding to make this his little kill-pile. 'But the time isn't up yet. I have to catch more.' He thought, setting off again. This time he trotted in the opposite direction.

He listened closely as birdsong became louder, and the chirps more frequent. He looked up. In a tree nearby he spotted a nest, and lucky for him, it looked like the bird was going out to fly again. He followed it closely, staying a few tail-lengths away when the bird landed on the grass. 'Lark.' He thought, creeping forward and leaping out. His claw snagged its wing, and from there he bent down and delivered the killing bite. Wolfpaw lifted it up and padded away to place it with the rest of his prey.

[Melodysong]

Melodysong approached from her hiding place and said her congratulations to the apprentice. "Well, you seem to have caught enough prey. Good job, I'm satisfied." And she realized she was hungry. Again. Being a queen would do that to you. She picked up a squirrel that Wolfpaw had caught, and devoured it quickly. Then she realized that Wolfpaw might now have known she was a queen....

[Deleted]

"Thank you." Wolfpaw purred lightly, watching with a slight smile when she dug into the squirrel. He flicked an ear. "You should take that mouse, too. Woollykit will like it." He nodded at the little brown body, remembering how happy the tom had been to try it. 'He's a nice kid.'

[Melodysong]

She looked up from her meal. She laughed, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry about that. I was just sort of hungry... I think you should bring the mouse back to Woollykit though. He seems to have taken a fondness to you." she finished up what remained of the squirrel, cleaned her paws, and then turned towards Wolfpaw. "ALright, assessment part two. Attack me." she said, and braced herself.

[Deleted]

"No, I don't mind. Eat more, if you want. You need your energy." His smile grew as she continued. "Really? Then maybe I will." He said, taking a few steps backward when she started cleaning up. At the sound of her next words, Wolfpaw raced forward. He was headed straight at her, but at the last second he swerved and tried to push Melodysong down by a slam to the shoulder.

[Melodysong]

Melodysong wasn't the strongest, but she made up for that in speed. She dodged his attack, but he still grazed her shoulder. Whirling around, she shouted "again!" Through the adrenaline rush.

[Deleted]

He spun around and sprinted for her again. Wolfpaw circled her, swiping his paw underneath her as he did so. He was hoping to trip her up, though if that didn't work he'd try to knock her over again.

[Melodysong]

Melodysong dodged his attack, easily recognizing it. "Stop using such predictable moves! Be spontaneous you're strong, use that to your advantage!"