Where you belong [Rabbitpaw's Assessment]

[Rani]

Crowtooth
Windclan Deputy | He/him | 55 Moons
Power Card: Cold Gust

Things had changed so much in the past few seasons. Paths had shifted, choices had been made and fate had moved in ways no one could predict.



And yet somehow near the end they'd ended up back here, exactly where they'd planned to so long ago. They were both different now, but it wasnt for the worst.


Taking in a deep raspy breath of morning air Crowtooth casted a glance down at Rabbitpaw, wondering at the thoughts running through his (once again and in the end his) apprentice's head. Was his kid excited? Sad? Did he feel regret for all that'd brought him here? Guilty? Crowtooth hoped not, he hoped Rabbitpaw could see what he did, that everything had shaped Rabbitpaw into a strong wonderful individual he was proud of. That Rabbitpaw himself should be proud of too.



This in the end was a formality, the younger tom was more then ready.
"Alright Rabbitpaw, times finally come. Ya can do this, just breathe deep an' keep calm.



First I want ya ta do a spot o' moor top huntin' just a formality ta prove ya can, I dont need much. Honestly I barely passed this section myself." Crowtooth was still horrible at moor hunting and never really did it. "Then we're movin' on ta tunnel skills. Duck below an' hunt, connect two tunnels or dig a solid stable structure, an' navigate us ta the sky glade. Anythin' else ya wanna show off ta prove yer skills ya should do there too.


Once we're at the glade we'll spar. I dont expect ya ta win I just expect ya ta fight on the level o' a warrior.


Ya can begin when ready, Ill be around just hidin'. Ya got this kiddo, do me proud."
Honestly Rabbitpaw was smart enough to probably see straight through Crowtooths poor hiding and spot his father figure stalking around watching, (the deputy was just plain bad at stealth) and really if Twilightstar hadnt ordered no favoritism he wouldve passed Rabbitpaw already on the battle portion. His kid had for well in the 3v1 raid, more then enough proof for the skunk striped tom but maybe this'd be fun for the duo to.


@Dolomedes

[Dolomedes]

Rabbitpaw
@Rani

Rabbitpaw followed behind his father, a million thoughts on his mind all at once, and none of them making any proper sense before they disappeared. It was... an experience he's been slightly relieved from after asking to step down, which was one of the thoughts that plagued him nightly since. To leave the high ranks during something like this, where injury and wound was an inevitability rather than a preventative. At the same time, what use is a medicine cat apprentice when they couldn't even grab herbs without asking themselves if they were doing it right at every step.

He hated himself for it, even though he's had the reassurances of his former high ranking team, he hated himself even more with how okay he's felt since then. Like he could breath without fearing that everyday he wakes up or merely exists he would kill someone he loves. Lightningstorm told him this when she offered the role to him, but Rabbitpaw had been naive and stupid and had just watched his mother's slow dying to illness before the owl gave her a mercy death. Had just seen the aftermath of a full fight, and felt the aftermath. He only wanted to help, but Rabbitpaw wasn't good at thinking ahead, not in any productive way.

He blinked, coming to an abrupt halt so that he wouldn't walk right into the skunk-colored feline. Moor hunting, tunnel hunting, tunnel building ( something he never really did practice as much even now ), navigation, and then a spar. He was out of practice when it came to sparring, he's been hunting on and off, in and out of tunnels, since the start of the new apprenticeship but sparring and battling wasn't something he practiced. It doesn't mean his claws haven't gotten any less sharp, perhaps it just means he knows how to hurt people better. Knows what imbolizes a cat... not that Rabbitpaw would be testing the reversal of his medicinal knowledge on his father, stars no, it was... just there.

"Alright..." Rabbitpaw winced at how quiet his voice was, and not in volume, just in... everything else. He really didn't deserve this chance, he let down Windclan when Lightningstorm and everyone else placed their trust in him. It honestly made him want to cry. "Alright, I went out recently, with a warrior for moor hunting. They were a strange one," Had denied him on the pretense that medicine cats lacked the skill.. or rather just couldn't hunt? He was confused by the logic even a few days afterwards. Not that that matters now, less than ever.

Perhaps weirder still that he was.. well not really fully alone, but was to not have any one actively at his side. At 16-17 moons, perhaps that was laughable. Several apprentices that he had as denmates and even saw ceremonies too, had been named before him. Rabbitpaw took a deep breath in, closing his eyes and holding the air in his chest for a few seconds, before releasing it into the wind. "I'll do my best!"

The blonde was off, deciding to distance himself away from where he and his mentor had been standing because it was likely any prey nearby caught wind of their meows and decided it was best if they wanted to keep their heads, to leave. Along the hills, the wind was ever more prominent, but he has long since learned specific skills to combat tracking with the shifting tides of scents. The warrior that taught him was long gone, but the practice remained in Rabbitpaw, perhaps that's the only thing you could hope to do when being lost was a more frequent illness than death.

Rabbitpaw wanted to catch his name sake, being able to properly hunt rabbits was an important skill for a moor hunter given it was one of their special know-hows. He dropped into a crouched position, long ears flicked up and around as he opened his mouth ever so slightly to catch the smells. Heather, grass, morning dew, the likes of a dawn patrol. Oh speaking of, the fresher scents of what was probably his clan mates passing through for hunting or border, whatever his father assigned that evening or morning- he couldn't tell.

Crawling forward through the tall grass of the apprentice stayed on high alert for anything suggesting any borrowing rabbits or any prey for that matter. It wasn't long, until the scent of metallic blood stained his nose. Something was already hurt? Whatever it was, the noise of feathers and flapping was apparent as well. The tom crept through the grass. Through the wind ruffled greenery, laid a rabbit that met its end awhile ago... perhaps there was poetry there but he wasn't one to see it.

More importantly, were the birds surrounding and pecking the thing. A group of crows, if Rabbitpaw was smart he would be able to collect at least 2, maybe maybe maybe 3 but... no counting on it. The two closest had their backs turned, one attempting to tear at the rabbit with its claws clutched around a mound of fur. In a quick movement, one that the blonde was happy to have practiced not long ago before this just in case, he sprung through the grass landing on one crow. The next second was filled with bird screeches and feathers, with no more but a slight wince from the chaos, Rabbitpaw kept one paw pinned down on the crow and then lunged to catch a crow taking off by the leg and tugging.

While the rest of the crows got away, two were good for the lot. The crow food was just that, and dead too long to be brought back. Taking a moment to bury his prey somewhere that was secure enough to leave for the reminder of the assessment, Rabbitpaw took a moment to bury the rabbit much deeper so that no predator could be drawn in by it. The last thing they needed was predators on top of the rest of the growing pressures on Windclan. Should he catch a rabbit too? Or should he catch one underground?

It felt weird being alone.

[ + 2 Crows | I figured each section of the assessment in one post-ish but if you want I can do a longer post for all the tunneling stuff. ]

[Rani]

Crowtooth
Windclan Deputy | He/him | 55 Moons

Power Card: Cold Gust

The deputy could admit that the timing for the assessment, at least the hunting portion, was not making things easy for Rabbitpaw. It was still kind of leafbare, if the end of it, and the twolegs activities were making prey flighty and scarce. So all in all the tom had expected little to be caught in the moor top portion, he just really needed proof Rabbitpaw was taught and could (though given he'd been Rabbitpaws mentor it was kinda redundant). With that in mind and that Rabbitpaw knew he knew he was fine on the hunting front Crowtooth couldnt help but think his kiddo was being snarky with his choice of prey.


Crows when Crowtooth was watching from the next hill over? Ok Mr cheeky.


Though then again Rabbitpaw had been too morose for cheeky of late.


Letting himself be visible (though no doubt his kiddo had already caught glimpses of a non camouflaged black pelt in this open moor) Crowtooth tilted his head silently, nodding and indicating down to where the tunnels lay below their paws. Time to shift locals.


@Dolomedes

[Dolomedes]

Rabbitpaw
#???
@Rani

Right tunnel hunting. Was any specific kind necessary to show that he understood the concept? The blonde recalled, well kind of- it had been awhile, the first tunneling lesson that he had received from Crowtooth and how they had dug through walls for burrows but also had gone after rabbits not long after. The world grew darker around the apprentice as he made his way down into the tunnel, if a certain kind of hunting was needed then Crowtooth would've said as much- or rather could tell Rabbitpaw at any moment as well.

The blonde's ears twitched, lifting as he attempted to listen out for any movement in the tunnel's structure. It was likely that it wouldn't take long for anything to be found, tunnels had more prey than the moor during leafbare and it was getting warmer but it was still on the tail end of things. Luckily, at least the season was kind to Windclan if nothing else was- cough twolegs cough. Lock in Rabbitpaw, lock in. Sure enough the sound of scratching was picked up and Rabbitpaw paused, making sure that what he heard was real before he lifted his paws to start at the wall.

It took longer than expected, hitting the burrow, it was further away then he thought but eventually the dirt fell way to a hollow spot. The squealed squeaking of startled prey followed sharply, and through the dark Rabbitpaw managed to snap his paw down onto at least one. How many more were there? He caught another- oh were there only two? Two moles, two crows.. That wasn't too bad, at the very least if this assessment fell to pieces it wouldn't be a total waste of time! Positives- kind of.

Rabbitpaw set the prey to the side before patting the loosened dirt back into the floor and wall as it had been before, leaving it messy just seemed rude, also digging through the wall probably could've effected stability even if it was just a little bit. What needs to be done next? Oh right, making a structure? Or connecting two tunnels? Rabbitpaw had experience, though not much, in making structures underground so maybe that would be better- he honestly didn't really know what tunnels he would connect, nothing comes to mind as immediately efficient and he didn't want to make paths just to make paths.

[ +2 moles | Hey, I'm finally kind of alive again, sorry for the awful delay on this response and the million others I owe you. ]