Take Two [lichenpaw assessment]

[Neptune.]

Lichenpaw
~<>~
18 moons || she/her || WindClan apprentice || honed skill [INACTIVE]
scrawny calico with one blind eye; blue eyes

So, she was beginning to feel like her old self again, and along with that, Lichenpaw's drive to have her warrior ceremony came back in full force... besides, she had all her training done and dealt with, and she didn't much fancy going to have a talk with Twilightstar because of her age and her lack of graduating yet. She wasn't exactly struggling with anything, but both Wolffang and Crowtooth had told her she needn't rush into anything. She could take another moon or two to come back to her center and to readjust. So that's what she did.

Honestly? She was sort of glad for it. The younger Lichenpaw might have balked at the fact that she was already 18 moons old and not a warrior yet, but the Lichenpaw of today found herself ready to take the next step, and the first task into doing so, was to get a redo on her assessment. Who better to go to for it than Crowtooth? He might be her mentor now, but he'd also been the one who held her first assessment, although that had been interrupted and then... she'd gone and gotten herself captured. But she was ready. If not now, then when?

"Crowtooooooooooooooooth!!~" The small calico chirps, cantering around WindClan's clearing looking for the deputy, single sighted eye bright with anticipation and humor. Finally spotting the tom, she grins and makes a beeline for him. "There you are! Hey, so guess what?" Before he can answer, she continues, "I wanna retake my assessment today! I think I'm ready, and if I don't get it done now, I think I might just keep pushin it off forever, so I'm ready." Behind her, her tail sways back and forth with barely concealed excitement. She's comfortable again, and with that comfort came her slightly pushy attitude - not that she meant any ill by it, but she knows what she wants and has a hard time saying no on the best of days.

[ @Rani - crow !!!! ]

[Rani]

Crowtooth
Windclan Deputy | He/him | 51 Moons

Power Card: Cold Gust

It was probably a very good sign that Crowtooth had returned to his prankish ways. A sign of healing and recovery from the deaths that'd plagued his heart. But the cats inconvenienced by this act were probably less pleased by the return to nuisance then they were happy at the lack of droop in his ears.


Crowtooth was flat on his back, paws limply dangling as he 'snored' loudly, blocking the warriors den entrance as the few trapped within complained and poked at him. Of course it was mid day so there were only a couple of cats, which meant he could get away with it, but regardless of what they did he refused to 'wake' and snored on.


At least until Lichenpaw padded up. Crowtooth wasnt going to ignore her.



To the annoyed groaning of the now freed cats the tom yawned and 'woke' rolling over to grin at his apprentice. "Well congrats then Lichenpaw! I know yer more then ready fer this an' Im glad ya feel that in her core too. Thats what counts after all


Let get goin' an' get this done so ya can join the warriors quick."
Plus, with the blazing sun right now and summer heat the longer the day went the more unbearable this'd be.



Padding out into the territory Crowtooth grinned going over the instructions Lichenpaw probably already remembered, just to make sure. "Alrighty, huntin' first. Ya know the drill, Ill be hidden nearby just catch what ya can though ya should try an' get at least one rabbit ta show ya can. Call if ya need help!" With that the tom slipped into a nearby tunnel and disapeared, leaving Lichenpaw seemingly on her own.


@Neptune.

[Neptune.]

Lichenpaw
~<>~
17 moons || she/her || WindClan apprentice || honed skill [INACTIVE]
scrawny calico with one blind eye; blue eyes
[bird/rabbit dc: 12; rodent dc; 10]

Hunting first, just like last time. With a nod and a grin, Lichenpaw says "wish me luck!" and dashes away into the tall grass. The day is warm, and the sun blazes brightly onto WindClan's territory... meaning the rabbits are probably all in their warrens unless they were stupid. Hopefully she'd stumble across a stupid one.

[rolls... 11, blackbird; catch: 5, fail]
Walking away some paces, small calico creeps through tall brush and heather, mouth open to scent the air and ears perked to listen. Somewhere up ahead of her, she hears a bird calling from somewhere down low, likely on the ground as trees are not exactly available to them here. Up ahead, a blackbird scratches at the dirst, looking for bugs or seeds or what have you.

Maybe she's too excited, maybe that twig literally came out of nowhere. Either way, the small snap alerts the bird, and it goes flying off. In a desperate attempt to catch it, Lichenpaw sprints forward a small pace and springs into the air to try and catch it. The jump is impressive, as athletic as she's ever been, but she still comes up short.

"You got lucky!" She whisper-shouts after the bird, before turning back into the grass and once again going on the prowl.

[rolls... 14, crow; catch: 12, success]
Her next encounter is another bird, specifically, a crow. Is this a poor omen? Based on her failed blackbird, Lichenpaw's inclined to say yes, though she doesn't really believe in omens so it's most definitely just a silly coincidence. Despite her failed catch a moment prior, Lichenpaw's skill in hunting does not suffer, and she springs forward and catches the crow with little trouble, snagging it on the wing before grabbing its neck in her mouth and biting down hard.

Purring hard with pride, Lichenpaw finds some soft dirt and and digs a small hollow, placing the dead crow into it and then covering it with long grass before moving on to her next two catches... and hopefully one of them is a rabbit.

[rolls... 44, mouse; catch: 12, success]
She spots her next catch by sound, after standing still for a moment to listen. To her left, she can hear the small pitter patter of tiny little rodent feet, and the scent of mouse soon follows. Licking her lips, the apprentice creeps closer to it. For just a moment, she pauses, and then she springs.

Before long, the sweet taste of mouse blood is gracing her tongue, and, happy with the easy catch, Lichenpaw brings the mouse back the short distance to where she had hidden her crow. That done, her task now is just to find a rabbit. Although, her theory that any smart rabbits would be hiding away in their warrens is looking more and more true right now...

[rolls... no roll. rabbit only lol; catch: 15, success]
It takes longer than she's like it to, but eventually, she smells a rabbit. Relief washes over her shoulders all at once, and she breaths a quick sigh before refocusing. Only a few paces away from what looks like the entrance to the warren, a decently sized rabbit chews on a clover. There are two ways Lichenpaw could go about this: spring from here, or creep behind it so she'd approach from the same direction as the warren's entrance. She chooses the latter.

Staying low to the ground, Lichenpaw slips around, breathing quite and even. She doesn't waste much time after rounding, though, and sits still for only a heartbeat before tearing across and participating in a minor chase before ultimately hooking needle sharp claws in the rabbit's flank and killing it a moment later. That taken care of, Lichenpaw brings her rabbit back to her other catches where she waits for Crowtooth to reappear, licking the blood from her claws.

[ @Rani ]

[Rani]

Crowtooth
Windclan Deputy | He/him | 51 Moons

Power Card: Cold Gust

Watching Lichenpaw work Crowtooth was, as always, struck by the skills of the moor top hunters. He generally was not considered one of their number, lacking stealth to a critical degree unless abusing the tunnels the tom failed at hunting under the sky, but even beyond his pitiful skills it was impressive. Windclan was always the most open of clans, bare to the sky with few trees or bushes to speak of, only tall grass at most. With that layout one would think it impossible to catch anything at all, and yet windclan seldom went hungry.

They out thought, out sped, and outskilled their way around all obstacles and thrived in the environment, something Lichenpaw displayed.

Though Crowtooth still winced seeing her miss the blackbird then catch the crow. Despite or perhaps because of his name the tom despised the taste of crow and rather felt bad taking down the intelligent birds. Especially since if any of them spotted a cat killing one of their own that cat could expect hell for weeks.


Hopefully Lichenpaw was prepared for that.


Still, the hunt was complete and well done, a clean obvious pass and so Lichenpaw was on to the combat portion of the test, and as Crowtooth smirked hidden in his darkened tunnel, he hoped she was prepared.

The deputy burst from the dark, lunging at his apprentice with a startling yowl breaking the quiet. It was an unconventional start to the combat part of the assessment but few battles in ones life would ever truely be prepared for. This was just a test of Lichenpaws reflexes, not Crowtooth being a menace~


The toms paws extended out as he carried through his lunge, one paw reaching out to 'swipe' the mollys head hard as he lowered his shoulder in an attempt to ram her off her paws. Crowtooth knew the apprentice outsped him by far, most did in general and his clanmates especially tended to do flips around the tom. However he was well aware his strength was considered ridiculous and that if he could get Lichenpaw stunned or prone and so immobile the battle would be over like that.

Any foe the molly encountered would know that too, which was the point of testing if she knew how to get away from such attacks really.


@Neptune.

[Neptune.]

Lichenpaw
~<>~
17 moons || she/her || WindClan apprentice || honed skill [INACTIVE]
scrawny calico with one blind eye; blue eyes
[dc: 12]

Jumping at the sudden yowl, Lichenpaw's fur stood on end just as Crowtooth rammed right into her. She stumbled, and whipped around, teeth barred, half expecting an enemy attack more than anything, until the flash of duel colored eyes entered her vision, and Lichenpaw's snarl turned into a grin. Oh, so he was cheating now, was he?

[dodge: 2 - fail || recover: 20 - crit success]
As a strong paw connected with her head, for a moment Lichenpaw was dazed, crumpling to the ground, where she managed to have enough wherewithal to roll away. She was dizzy, though, so she might've been a little slow getting up, but she wasn't about to let a little bit of daze cause her to fail this part of her assessment.

She didn't really think about her next action, she didn't have the time to think, but she sprinted towards the deputy, trying to streak past him - make him think she was going to attack head on only to slip past at the last minute. If she managed to get behind him without getting barreled down in the process, she would change up her momentum to make a sharp turn, using that energy to leap up and land on Crowtooth's back where she would try and cling as best she could without the use of her claws for a good grip.

[ @Rani ]

[Rani]

Crowtooth
Windclan Deputy | He/him | 51 Moons

Power Card: Cold Gust

So Lichenpaw hadnt managed to dodge the initial blow, fair enough it was a surprise attack and she hadnt much time to duck, but she had the wherewithal to put distance between the two as much as possible. Good, an enemy wouldve attempted to catch her in a pin as soon as she was downed so getting space to recover and not be caught was key.


This was aptly demonstrated when the deputy's paws slammed down on the space Lichenpaw recently was, a fanged grin growing as he found the apprentice no longer there.


She recovered quickly too, on her paws and counter attacking without hesitation and Crowtooth braced for a moment to take advantage of a, frankly, stupid tactic of head on attacks. Only to find Lichenpaw slipping by his guard like the wind itself, using trademark windclan speed to twist her way right up onto the larger toms back.


A good move and could be near impossible to counter.... If one was able to use claws to hang on. The toms smirk turns a shade mean, a low rumble of "Oh Lichenpaw.... Good luck~" coming from his throat before he burst into motion. She could hang on for a bit but it wasnt long before the molly was summarily bucked off, flung unable to hang on without claws and fangs.



Still if she was able she might show off some moves while up there.


@Neptune.

[Neptune.]

Lichenpaw
~<>~
17 moons || she/her || WindClan apprentice || honed skill [INACTIVE]
scrawny calico with one blind eye; blue eyes

When Crowtooth taunted her, Lichenpaw almost had enough time to make a quip back of her own. Almost. She opened her mouth with a crooked grin, and just as she was about to speak, she was bucked right off the deputy, words caught in her throat, chocking out in a strangled yelp of "EEP-!"

In the air, she twisted around to instinctively land on her paws, though her landing came down a bit hard and wobbly. There was no call to end the fight just yet, though, so Lichenpaw took that as her cue to continue the assult.

"You cheater!" She shouted, but there was laughter in her voice as she tried a move Bravebird had taught her in one of the battle events WindClan had held during her apprenticeship. Would the Fury be watching her assessment? Would she remember the little apprentice who looked up to her silently? Lichenpaw wasn't sure, but she hoped so...

Perhaps Crowtooth wouldn't expect her to run right at him again, or maybe he would but Lichenpaw was confident, and she knew she was fast - faster than her deputy at any rate, heh - so she surges forward and leaps, trying to lock her forelegs around Crowtooth's neck. She's not as beefy as he is, her frame much slimmer and built more for swiftness than for bulkiness, but she did know how to be a nuisance, so she used her weight to wriggle back and forth and try and bring him to the ground.

[ @Rani ]

[Rani]

Crowtooth
Windclan Deputy | He/him | 51 Moons

Power Card: Cold Gust

Heh, you might be ready to become a warrior soon Lichenpaw but if you wished to snark during battle like the masters then you'd find that you still had much to learn young padawan.


Crowtooth only smirked smugly at the accusation of cheating, tail lashing in amusement as he readied himself to the apprentices next attack and his proper counter attack to it. This far she'd been smart and chosen strategies that made it hard for him to do so sure, but the deputy would not be letting her pass without trialing her dodging and avoidance some more.


If she'd freaking let him of course!



Grunting as the apprentice someone managed to latch her way around his neck like some sort of strange furry scarf despite all attempts to duck away, Crowtooths ears pinned. He knew the logical counter of course, and immediately 'turtled' his head ducking into his own neck so Lichenpaw couldnt get at it through his now bunched up ruff fur and immediately making it harder to hang on. However that was only half the battle.


The large tom could for sure carry her weight and was still standing, even if his head was tilting down a bit slowly under her bulk, but he couldnt really strike back. Lifting a front paw to swipe at her would immediately unbalance him with her hanging there, sending him crashing down, so dislodging her that way was moot......

Time to find a rock to scrape her off on.


Chuckling lowly as he kept his head and neck tight to limit Lichenpaw's chances of getting to vulnerable bits the tom b-lined it to a boulder nearby. And rammed into it face first. Well not face first, more like impromptu large furry 'scarf' first as Crowtooth used the rock in the place of paws to hit her and try and scrape the apprentice off of him onto the boulder. Dodge that and still stay on you annoying tick!


Of course, he was laughing maniacally at the situation the entire time, snapping at her as extra support from the rock finally made the act viable, as one does.


@Neptune.

[Neptune.]

Lichenpaw
~<>~
17 moons || she/her || WindClan apprentice || honed skill [INACTIVE]
scrawny calico with one blind eye; blue eyes

Getting rammed against a rock was not, in fact, how Lichenpaw expected to be thrown off. Sure, she expected not to stay on very long, but OW, seriously! She had just enough time to think that maybe she should let go before her back made contact, effectively ridding her of her fun little ride. Did she mention ow?

Pinned here, between rock and cat, Lichenpaw didn't have a good vantage point to wriggle free, and Crowtooth's snapping at her wasn't exactly helping the situation. Mind racing to come up with a solution quickly, she comes to only two; struggle and snap right back at him... or go limp until he thinks she's given up and releases her. Se decided to combine them, making a few snaps back, aimed at whatever part of the deputy she can reach, before pretending her strength was failing her, panting hard, and deliberately slowing her movements. It wasn't all that hard to pretend her strength was leaving her - she was starting to get pretty tired from all her running and jumping, but if Crowtooth's grip slackened at all she'd look back up at him with a gleam in her eyes and kick out as hard as she could, trying to make contact with his belly.

[ @Rani ]

[Rani]

Crowtooth
Windclan Deputy | He/him | 51 Moons

Power Card: Cold Gust

Clackclackclack, the snapping of fangs clicking near the others bodies as the two tried to bite at dodging forms sounded akin to several angry snapping turtles in the quiet. Crowtooth was trying to keep her pinned as they nipped at eachother in a pantomime of the maiming bites of a real battle but honestly he knew that wouldnt last.


He could win this, given time, but it was becoming clear that'd it would actually take some effort which was absolutely wonderful for the assessment. Lichenpaw wasnt expected to win this, holding her own was more then enough but doing well at it was a testament to her skills. Skills that were more then enough to pass her now. However.....


However the slippery little rat had just kicked him in the stomach, causing the tom to wheeze so one last exchange before he called this to a close.

Groaning as his grip slackened, giving her room to wiggle away Crowtooth turned to growl lightly at Lichenpaw rolling his shoulders with a "Lets wrap this up shall we?" as he lunged again.

It was a classic move, the tom kicking up dust to obscure the view as he started a feint of a swipe at Lichenpaw for the last moment she could see him. He didnt maintain that of course, instead moving to try and grab the molly's scruff and pin her so ending the fight. But... Given how wiggle she'd been so far he braced for that to also not work and for her to turn this on him someone.

One last bruise for him for the road perhaps.


@Neptune.