Final Assessment (p)

[Dapplecloud]

Dapplecloud

(For Whitejaw)

The day of the assessment came on a rather dewy morning, the fog clinging to the mountainside as always, with a sharper bite to the wind due to the transition to leaf-fall. It had been raining; the ground would be damp. Not ideal conditions, but at least some prey would be hiding in the rocks. Walking over to the apprentices' den, I called inside, then bounded toward the entrance once again, to wait.

[Whitejaw]

give me time and give me space

Whitepaw awoke with a start at the sund of Dapplecloud's voice calling him again. He lifted himself from his mossy nest and walked towards the 'door' of the apprentice's den. The young cat couldn't help but shiver slightly. It was a little chilly that morning, although nothing he couldn't deal with. Whitepaw's blue eyes looked around at all the fog and dew- he presumed that it had rained during the night.

With a smile, Whitepaw made his way towards where he saw Dapplecloud's calico pelt waiting for him, greeting her warmly, "Good morning," He purred.

aeron at thq

[Dapplecloud]

Dapplecloud

Seeing Whitepaw walk out of the den, I purred. "Good morning, Whitepaw." Deciding to announce the assessment without preamble, I continued. "You've certainly trained a lot these past moons. I believe that today will be the day for your assessment." The final assessment was always a daunting task at first, so I added, "Don't worry, though; you have the skill to get through it easily." Turning and beckoning with my tail, I went through the camp exit so I was just outside the camp.

[Whitejaw]

give me time and give me space

Whitepaw's ears pricked when he heard that today was going to be his assessment. He had waited ages for this- the time he would prove himself to be good enough to be a warrior! His mouth curled into a wide, toothy grin and the young feline spoke with excitement, "Really?" He asked, starting to head slowly away from the exit, watching Dapplecloud to see if she was going to leave also. He purred when the calico said that he had the skill to get through it easily, proud of himself.

aeron at thq

[Dapplecloud]

Dapplecloud

I nodded, grinning. "Yes, really." On a more serious note, I added, "Though it'll be no pushover, since we're covering every skill you've learned up till now." Turning, I looked over the damp territory, with the rocks glistening dangerously, an invitation to go tumbling down them. Walking along a thin path on the cliffs, I pointed instead at a large cluster of trees further on the plateau. "Try and get two pieces of prey from there." While the trees were much more likely to house prey, last night's rain would make it more difficult to pick up a scent.

[Whitejaw]

give me time and give me space

'Wait... All of them?' Whitepaw thought- he knew that he would have to show off some of his skills, but he didn't realise that he would have to show all of them! Well, he probably should have guessed that they'd be covering everything that the dark-pelted cat had learned, it was his assessment afterall.

The apprentice followed his mentor towards the area where they were heading towards, recognising the route as he had been outside of camp a few times now. His piercing eyes looked around at the many rocks, trying not to slip on one due to how easy that would be because of the weather. His eyes were then drawn towards some tall trees, he guessed that this was where the assessment would take place.

"Okay," Whitepaw said after being given the task of catching two pieces of prey. He couldn't help but wish the weather had been better as that way it would be easier to pick up a scent. Offering a small nod, Whitepaw crouched down to the ground and parted his jaws to scent the air, trying to pick up the scent of prey.

aeron at thq

[Dapplecloud]

Dapplecloud

(Sorry if my activity is a bit weird from here on, one of my classmates died >.<)

I pricked my ears at Whitepaw's momentarily confused expression, though was relieved when it disappeared, to be replaced by confidence. Using my nose instead of my jaws, I could pick up one or two stronger scents among the fainter ones, which jumbled together without the help of my jaws, only creating a very confusing tang. I instead watched Whitepaw and sat down, to observe his actions. Obviously, I would have to watch him to assess his performance, though I didn't want to make it too obvious I was doing so.

[Whitejaw]

give me time and give me space

Whitepaw couldn't help but be a little disappointed when he was struggling to find the scent on prey, however, he had been expecting it when he saw the dew everywhere. The young tom knew that the scent would've been disguised by the water. He turned around and looked at Dapplecloud with a small, sad look with slight worry that he wouldn't pass because of this. Whitepaw sighed quietly, turning around to try and scent some more prey again, this time trying to keep his nose to the floor as he walked around more, looking through the trees.

After about two minutes of no luck, the apprentice finally found a scent- it was weak, but it was a scent. This made him giv a wide, white grin and he stalked in the direction of what he recognised as a vole.

aeron at thq

[Dapplecloud]

Dapplecloud

Whitepaw had padded off a few fox-lengths into the distance, looking worried. Of course he would be nervous due to the seeming lack of prey. I followed him as quietly as I could into the forest. Staying to a less clear-cut path, I watched him sniff the ground and air, and his expression soon turned to relief as he stalked off into the distance. The only strong scent around was of vole, and so I went forward quickly in its direction, to watch Whitepaw's catch.

[Whitejaw]

give me time and give me space

Whitepaw grinned as he stalked the prey that he was hoping to catch. As he focused, the apprentice tried to forget that he was being assessed as it made him feel like he was going to do something wrong despite knowing that he would do well. Finally, Whitepaw could see the brown furred creature in front of him. The young cat let out a purr and got two steps closer before pouncing in the air, landing with his front paws on the vole. He quickly leaned his head down to give it's neck a killing bite. He smiled when he saw that the creature was then dead, happy that he had not made the same mistake that he had previously when he had no idea how to kill it.

He turned his head towards where he could scent Dapplecloud and purred loudly with pride, "I caught it!" He gave a toothy grin as he picked the smaller animal up and dropped it by his mentor's paws.

aeron at thq

[Dapplecloud]

Dapplecloud

I crept out of the brush quickly, standing up and nodding. "Good job. The other piece of prey will be a group hunt; I'll chase a piece of prey toward you, though you should still try to find a scent." I said, gesturing around the area. His hunting skills were much more apparent than his battle skills, so not much testing was needed here. I looked around and scented the air myself in case he couldn't find one: I caught the scent of more small mammals and birds now that we were in the forest.

[Whitejaw]

give me time and give me space

Whitepaw nodded, thinking to himself about how the next piece would go. All he had to do was what they did in training, catch a piece of prey that would be chased towards him. The black cat crouched down again and searched for another scent, preferably trying to find something that walked rather than flew as to be honest, birds flying at him still kind of scared him. He couldn't help but get a little disappointed when he struggled to get scents again, but he knew that he'd get better at doing so with more skill and better weather conditions.

Taking in a deep inhale, Whitepaw smiled at the scent of prey. He guessed that it was a mouse but he couldn't be too sure of himself. He looked over at Dapplecloud with blue eyes as he used his long, sleek tail to point in the direction of it, ears pricked and pink nose forwards like a dog.

aeron at thq

[Dapplecloud]

Dapplecloud

(Multiple posts in one day? A Christmas Halloween miracle! )

I caught the musky scent of mouse, and nodded my approval, stalking in the direction, slowing when the scent became overwhelmingly strong. The foliage was thick and low: good for cover, but there was the danger of rustling one of the leaves. Spotting the mouse ahead, I worked my way around it, stepping carefully over fallen leaves and twigs, before I was on the other side, ready to begin. I raised my head slightly and pricked my ears over the bush I was behind.

[Whitejaw]

give me time and give me space

Whitepaw nodded silently, mostly to himself, when he saw Dappleclouds ears prick over the top of a bush. He quickly got himself into a hunting crouch, making sure his long tail wasn't on the ground, as he waited for her to chase the mouse towards him. To be honest, he was still kind of scared considering the small creature was going to be running towards him, but then again, mice didn't have extremely sharp faces an it would probably just run straight into his paws.

He focused his bright eyes forwards where the creature would be chased towards him and smiled, showing his teeth lightly as he got ready to attack.

aeron at thq

[Dapplecloud]

Dapplecloud

The brush wasn't very thick now, and still bedraggled and damp from the morning dew. They made very little sound as I crept out of them, upwind of the prey, before I was a few tail-lengths away. Then I raced forward, paws outstretched as though to catch it. It spooked and ran in the opposite direction, right at Whitepaw. I hoped it would be too frightened to realize it was running right in the direction of another cat, waiting to catch it.