Today's the day! [Littlepaw's Assessment]

[Moonraven]

It was early when Dustbunny called Littlepaw to join her as she led them into the territory. "Are you ready? We're going to do your assessment today." The lead tunneler purred as she swished her tail back and forth in excitement. She was so happy and ecstatic for the she-cat.

"First, we'll focus on hunting. I wanna check how well you hunt above ground since it's a part of being a warrior. So we'll be doing the hunting part here. You can catch as much or as little as you want." She told the apprentice.

"Then we'll do a little tunneling down below. You can hunt, or dig through and connect two tunnels to make a new route to Sunset Grove. You'll have to navigate through the tunnels to get to the Grove. Anything works so long as you can show me you're ready for the tunnels. Finally, we can do some sparring at the Grove." She purred with her tail high over her head.

"I'll be staying out of sight, but we can get started as soon as you're ready if you don't have any questions." As much as she wanted to do the more entertaining assessment, she had done with Vinesmoke. She couldn't find any moles in the areas she searched. She probably could have found one if she looked harder, but she hadn't wanted to squander the day searching when she could work with Littlepaw on her assessment.
@SuspiciousMindz

[SuspiciousMindz]

[Littlepaw]
​WindClan Apprentice Tunneler
​85/100
Lucky Duck T1 | The Collector

Oh gosh, oh gosh! It was the day!

She'd be a warrior soon enough; she just had to pass this assessment! She'd been training hard, and her optimistic attitude was helping with her nerves. So, as she followed Dustbunny out to the first part of the territory, she was nearly skipping the entire time. The assessment itself didn't sound too hard, but she mentally gave herself a timeframe to do this. She wouldn't waste much time in each part.

"So, I do some huntin' then ya tell me ta move to tah tunnels? Or do I jus move on once I bury prey?" Obviously, Littlepaw hadn't done this before and didn't want to get it wrong. She wanted to know the rules to each section and didn't want to get docked for moving on without confirmation.

@Moonraven - Dustbunny

[Moonraven]

"You can head straight into the tunnels after you bury your prey," Dustbunny answered after a thought.

"I'll be tracking your progress while you're in the tunnel as well, but out of sight. Once you reach the Grove, if I'm not there already, wait for me. I'll give you a brief assessment of how you did in tunnel and hunting, and let you know if you need to improve on anything, and then we can move on to battling. Sound good?"
@SuspiciousMindz

[SuspiciousMindz]

[Littlepaw]
​WindClan Apprentice Tunneler
​91/100
Lucky Duck T1 | The Collector

Hunting Portion
Littlepaw nodded, understanding the assessment a little better. With nothing left to say, the calico darted off, finding some taller grasses and ducking down into them. Her breathing was quick, but she inhaled deeply a couple times, settling her excitement and stalking through the grasses. Her ears picked up on the sound of scratching before the scent of a field mouse hit her. Blue eyes shifted quickly, pinpointing the rodent and she stalked forward, darting at the last second to secure her prey. Success one!

The calico didn't waste time, burying it and stalking a few more paces away. It wasn't long before she stumbled on something she didn't think she'd ever actually see. A rabbit took off through the grass, a failure of her to notice, but a patted down section of grass made her curious. She crept forward until a clump of the rabbits fur was found scattered across the portion. At first, Littlepaw was going to ignore it and move on, but a couple tiny squeaks pulled her into it. She parted the fur with her paws and found 4 rabbit kits secured inside the burrow. Ohh!

She rose, stomping in place for a moment before she'd nip the backs of each of the kits necks. They weren't super young, maybe a week from leaving the nest. They'd make decent meals! Littlepaw made a couple trips back and forth from where she buried the mouse, dropping the little bodies into the spot and covering them. Okay. She wanted to catch one more thing because that felt like a cheat.

Maybe she could find the mom rabbit!

Littlepaw went back to the area she found the nest, crouching down and focusing in on her surroundings. She began tracking the freshest rabbit scent, taking her quite the ways until she finally found it chewing under a bush. Using Crowtooth's training lessons, Littlepaw remained crouched, remained downwind and crept forward. She drew closer and closer until she was within sprinting distance and took her chance. With an explosion of power, Littlepaw shot forward. The rabbit gave some chase, but she remained on it's tail until she could reach forward and trip the rabbit. Then, she made quick work, snapping it's neck and standing proudly with her catch in her jaws. As she padded back to her kill pile, she was huffing fairly hard from the run, but she was determined to get this done. She'd cover it with the rest and head to the tunnels just as Dustbunny had said.

[+4 rabbit kits, +1 mouse, +1 rabbit]


Tunneling Portion
Littlepaw stood outside the entrance for a moment, breathing to contain her energy levels. "Just get to the Grove..." she murmured to herself, ducking into the tunnels and letting the darkness consume her. Carefully, Littlepaw made her way through a well-used route. She followed the scents on the walls and avoided bumping into them with the use of her whiskers.

As much as she wanted to try to tunnel a new route, she didn't want to consume so much time in doing so. Instead, she let the sounds of mice distract her. She could at least bring more prey out for the clan. She took extreme pride with her hunting skills. She was more confident with those skills than with combat, she was dreading that portion.

She was getting distracted. Littlepaw halted in her tracks, letting the sounds and scents around her consume her sense. She felt tiny vibrations radiating beneath her paws. She stepped lightly, following the noise and feeling until she came across, what she thought, was a nest. Littlepaw pressed her ear to the ground, confirming the location before grinning to herself and quickly digging down. Within moments, mice sprang out, scattering around her. The apprentice pounced to and fro, squishing the mice under her paws. One, two, then three. A record for her now!

Littlepaw scooped the mice up pridefully then turned around in the tunnels. For a moment, she panicked. She had gotten a little lost in the process, but she remembered to keep her cool. She'd find the closest wall and sniff, then the nest until she found her scent. A sigh of relief and she began following her scent back towards where she split from the path. Then, she'd begin following the tunnels, taking turns as needed as she made her way to the Grove.

Eventually, a light would appear at the end of the tunnel. Her eyes lit up and she sprinted forward. Of course, she remembered what Dustbunny had said and slowed down near the entrance. She'd close her eyes then slowly ascend from the tunnels, letting her eyes adjust slowly to the light outside. Once she was there out, she padded a few paces. Littlepaw would sit and wrap her tail around her paws, dropping her three mice at her paws and waiting for her mentor.

[+3 mice]

@Moonraven - Dustbunny

[Moonraven]

Off she goes. Dustbunny stays behind, tracking the she-cat with her eyes until she starts to get too difficult to see. The tunneler darts after the molly, staying out of sight and quiet so as not to disturb her. It takes some staring to figure out what Littlepaw has found before she spots the tail. It's a mouse that she catches expertly.

Dustbunny purrs softly as she watches her with growing pride. There's a rabbit, but she fails to notice it, and it runs off. She should have been scenting the air. Disappointment sits like a heavy rock, Dustbunny guts until she hears the squeals. A nest? The she-cat sits up a bit higher to see over the tall grass she was hidden in. Oh! It was a nest. Littlepaw goes back and forth bringing out for the young rabbits with her. Huh? Rabbits are more fearful prey than she thought; no good mother in their right mind would leave their babies like that.

She felt a little bad for the rabbits, but her empathy didn't last long as Littlepaw was on the move again. By now, she had more than enough prey for Dustbunny to consider it passing. Even though the little rabbits she caught weren't hunted, yet prey were prey. The brown-furred feline sits in her hiding spot, a little confused that her apprentice was up too, as she backtracked, but figured it out once she started scenting the air. Littlepaw is looking for the mother rabbit. Dustbunny hadn't known how much of an overachiever Littlepaw was until now.

It doesn't take long for her to find and hunt down the mother. It was hiding nearby. After Littlepaw catches it, Dustbunny recounts everything the younger cat caught. The whole family of rabbits was impressive, with a mouse to wrap it up. That was quite the haul she'd have to help carry back to camp. She hunted like a single patrol's worth of prey.

As Littlepaw disappears underground, Dustbunny takes a moment to check out her prey and ensure it's buried well enough to avoid any of it being stolen. WindClan could use the extra prey. Once it's secured, she dives down the narrowest burrow and into the cold, dark embrace of the tunnels. She doesn't stand still for long and trots down the narrow path, turning as it widens, and heads in the last direction she spotted Littlepaw above ground.

It doesn't take too long for her to locate the apprentice. The she-cat stops and listens, holding her breath for a second, and hears dirt moving around. Littlepaw must be digging for something. Dustbunny moves silently towards the sound and stops at the mouth of a new tunnel. She doesn't turn down, listening, until she hears the squeal of something dying. She must be hunting. Assured that the apprentice was doing alright and not falling into a panic attack, Dustbunny starts making her way through the tunnels.

She takes a roundabout way to the Grove and pops up underneath one of the trees through a rabbit hole. She keeps her eye shut as she wiggles out of the narrow burrow and into the daylight. She's shaking off dirt from her brown pelt when Littlepaw climbs above ground, mice hanging in her maw.

"Littlepaw," she purrs, padding over to the blue-eyed she-cat. "You caught enough prey to put full hunting patrols to shame." She observes with an endless smile. "You passed your hunting assessment with flying colors, and since you got here with three mice, you've aced the tunneling too." Dustbunny sounds like a proud mother.

"So all that's left is the sparring. You can bury your mice, and we can begin unless you have questions."

@SuspiciousMindz [Since I have some time today, and am working on 13 other posts, we may be able to get the assessment done today since I only need three or most posts of the sparring to finish this. We might be able to shove her up with the others for her ceremony.]

[SuspiciousMindz]

[Littlepaw]
​WindClan Apprentice Tunneler
​102/100
Lucky Duck T1 | The Collector

It wasn't long before she spotted Dustbunny. She was already back on her feet and beaming at the praise. Her tail waved high in the air and she felt her ears grow hot. Did she really do that well? She figured she always had a knack for hunting, but putting a whole patrol to shame? That was crazy! What a praise!

Littlepaw would glance down at her mice before digging a shallow hole and depositing them in that. She'd bury her mice then turn to Dustbunny who had already spoke about her spar. The anxiety was welling in her chest again. This was the portion she was worried about failing, but she'd give it her all to get it done!

She returned to her mentor, giving her a curt nod. "Alright, 'm prepared as I can be," the calico spoke, gulping harshly to contain the worries. She would follow this statement with crouching down into her best battle stance. Her tail wrapped around her leg how Crowtooth had taught her and her ears pinned to her head. She didn't give much of a battle face, but the focus was there. She was mentally prepared to give this her all.

She'd wait for Dustbunny to make the first move.

@Moonraven - Dustbunny

[Moonraven]

Dustbunny noticed how unsure Littlepaw is after burying her mice. So she's a prodigy huntress, but not so much in battling. The tunneler wasn't much of a fighter herself, but wasn't sure if admitting that would help her. She eyes the she-cat's battle stance, noticing how she tucks her tail in between her legs. Dustbunny would never understand how cats could do that, it messes immensely with her balance when she tries it.

She doesn't think long, dropping into her battle stance, staying lower to the ground, and shoving off the ground quick as a snake once she sees Littlepaw is on the defense. Dustbunny starts with something simple, mostly to see how she reacts, leaning her weight back on to her haunces for balance, Dustbunny aims a heavy pawed blow to the apprentice's head while using her other forepaw to try and knock Littlepaw's front paws out from underneath her, assuming the apprentice ducks instead of dodges.
@SuspiciousMindz

[SuspiciousMindz]

[Littlepaw]
​WindClan Apprentice Tunneler
​103/100
Lucky Duck T1 | The Collector

So it begins.

The calico lets her eyes dilate with awe at the sheer speed her mentor displayed. They'd track her, and as Dustbunny drew closer, Littlepaw broke the defensive stance, rearing into her back legs. One leg took the blunt of the harsh blow before she noticed Dustbunny was also swiping at the spot her were just at. That meant...

The blow to her one leg threw her off balance slightly, but her back legs sprang her forward. She aimed her other leg and swiped downwards as her body went up. The leg Dustbunny didn't hit, aiming to swat the warriors head. It was an ambitious swipe, but she gave it her all to try to knock her off balance or disorient her long enough to attempt leaping again -- like a rabbit -- onto Dustbunnys back.

@Moonraven

[Moonraven]

It hits sort of. The blow to Littlepaw's leg lands, but the apprentice springs upward after rearing back. Dustbunny doesn't try to follow her with her eyes; the blow to the head knocks her chin against her chest painfully, and she blinks away the pain as she feels a weight fall onto her back. Rather than fight it, she collapses to the ground like a puppet whose strings got cut, relaxing her muscles and thrusts forward using her hind legs, sliding out from underneath Littlepaw before she gets a proper grip. She turned to face Littlepaw once she was out from underneath her, aiming a strong swat at the apprentice's flank.
@SuspiciousMindz

[SuspiciousMindz]

[Littlepaw]
​WindClan Apprentice Tunneler
​104/100
Lucky Duck T1 | The Collector

The land hits! Then... she flops. Straight onto the ground in front of Dustbunny. Her mentor moved much faster than she anticipated. Littlepaw felt the air leave her body, but she forced herself to move. Her legs flailed rapidly on the ground as she dodged away from the swat, but not quite fast enough. The hit lands, sending Littlepaws flank to the side, a stinging sensation of the swat left behind. She's turn rapidly, facing Dustbunny with her tail lashing behind her now.

She was huffing, taking a moment to catch her breath. She couldn't let Dustbunny think for too long, though. The calico would rush forward this time, coming at Dustbunny head on before a last second feint and she was at her side trying to dive beneath the warrior. The goal was to wipe Dustbunnys legs out from under her. If it worked even a little, she'd try to work quickly to land a hit on her shoulder or flank this time. She just wanted to get some "damage" in.

@Moonraven