More than just a test.

[Heathclaw]

"Alright. Now stop," said Redfang, coming to a halt on top of one of the large moorland hills. He glanced back over his shoulder at his apprentice Dapplepaw, and his whiskers twitched approvingly. "You've gotten quicker. I remember when you could hardly keep to pace on our first day," he said.

"It's been two moons since then, and you'd typically be a third of the way through your training... if your mentor was any other cat. However, since I'm your mentor, I want to see if my training has made any difference before we take it to the next level."

[ivyy]

Dapplepaw's ears flicked eagerly as her mentor spoke. "Of course it made a difference, I'm moons ahead of the other apprentices!" she mewed happily, pleased deeply at his testing, the only reason he would test her so early, is because he thinks she has made progress, right?

She craved his approval desperately, she usually excelled, and having such a stern mentor forced her to work especially hard. Something Dapplepaw was not used to. She padded happily up to Redfang's shoulder. "I'm practically ready to be a warrior!" she said, tail flickering left and right quickly, showing just how excited she was. A cold breeze rustled the tall grass surrounding them. Her short fur didn't block the sudden chill well, and her body quivered in response. Denying her weakness to the frigid wind, Dapplepaw stood tall, chin pointed upwards as she awaited her mentor's challenge.

[Heathclaw]

"Now now. You're not ready to be a warrior yet," said Redfang sternly. "Overconfidence will get you killed." But that was a lesson for another day. "Alright. As you've probably noticed, it's gotten pretty cold outside lately." While he spoke, he batted at a tuft of grass, shaking frost off of it. "We're entering leaf-bare now. Let me tell you what that means from a warrior's perspective. Prey is going to get scarce. Cats are going to get sick, and it's around this season that prey-stealing is at its worst. For us to survive, we need to do two things. First, we have to train harder to protect our territory, and second, we need to hunt better and faster, to keep our clan full and healthy."

"Today's evaluation is more than just a test- what you do today will affect the survival of the clan. I'm going to have you go hunting now. Alone. You won't see me, but I will be watching you, so show me your best, Dapplepaw. Good luck."

And with that, he stepped away downwind of his apprentice and disappeared into the thickets of tall grass.

[ivyy]

Dapplepaw didn't move at first, she stood motionless as her mind grasped everything Redfang had just told her. With a confident flick of her tail, she padded in the opposite direction of her mentor.

Everything was tuned out, any thoughts, any sounds, nothing was penetrating Dapplepaw's concentration. She smelled a rabbit, not far off. She lowered her body to the ground, the longer hairs of her belly dragging across the frosted grass. As she listened to the small mammal shuffling in the grass, Dapplepaw could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins. She slunk forwards until she had the large, brown rabbit in her sight. Her rear-end wiggled as she prepared to pounce.

Dapplepaw shot forwards, taking the surprised rabbit in her unsheathed claws. She swiftly bit into it's pulsating throat, she tasted it's hot blood and quivered in excitement and joy. It fought her weakly as she picked it up. She turned, pointing her head almost completely upwards as to not drag her freshly caught kill on the ground.

[Heathclaw]

Redfang watched from afar as his apprentice scented out a rabbit, and proceeded to pounce on it, taking soft, mincing steps toward it. Good... good. Now, what will you do once you get close? Redfang's whiskers went straight upwards in surprise as he saw what happened next. How on earth... She's either the best stalker I've ever seen, or that was one slow rabbit. Alright... now let's see how she handles this...

While he was observing his apprentice, he was also on the lookout for rabbit warrens, and had just spotted one. Bunching up his muscles, he leaped on top of it, sending a rabbit shooting out towards Dapplepaw, dashing like a furry bullet.

[ivyy]

Dapplepaw's body tensed as a rabbit hurdled towards her like a bat out of hell, out of instinct, her paw shot out, and she caught it's rear leg, sending it spinning. She hesitated for a split second, and ran in it's general direction. The rabbit she had taken only a few moments ago dragging along the frosty earth. She saw the rabbits, still running swiftly, but injured.

She picked up speed as she tried to understand why a rabbit would run straight at an enemy. Not focusing on her footwork, she stumbled, and rolled, the dead rabbit flying out of her mouth. A yowl escaped her lips and she rolled over and over down the hill. She came to a stop at the bottom, shell-shocked. Her side was heaving quickly. Unconscious, laying at the bottom a hill, Dapplepaw was unprotected and vulnerable like you couldn't imagine.

[Heathclaw]

Tch. She shouldn't have done that, thought Redfang, as he watched his apprentice dart after the rabbit. How on earth could she catch it with another rabbit still in her mouth? She should have just l- great StarClan! Dapplepaw had just tripped, rolled, and crashed straight down the hill, letting out a pained yowl as she tumbled out of sight.

"Dapplepaw? Dapplepaw!" shouted Redfang. He jumped up, breaking his cover without a second thought, and dashed like the wind towards where his apprentice had fallen. As he reached the crest of the hill, he glanced down at the body of his apprentice splayed out on the bottom of the hill. "Oh great StarClan... don't be dead, don't be dead," he muttered under his breath as he hurried towards Dapplepaw.

She was still breathing, rapidly, and she seemed to be unconscious, and perhaps suffering from shock... but she was alive. "Dapplepaw. Dapplepaw, can you hear me?" asked Redfang, nudging gently at her muzzle. He glanced around between nudges, trying to see if there were any helpful herbs nearby. He kept a list of basic remedies in his mind ever since his father died of infection, but he just couldn't seem to remember the remedy for shock at the moment. Was it thyme?

[ivyy]

Dapplepaw's wide open eyes held no signs if life as her heaving continued. The depths of her mind were just stirring as she began awakening from her unconsciousness. "Mmnn" she moaned as her tail started to flicker back and forth, the heat from her body was melting the frist beneath her, soaking her right side.

Dapplepaw whimpered, and her eyes moved slowly towards her mentor's face. She couldn't understand anything he was saying yet, but she had the vague idea that she was being spoken to. The only thing going through her mind was how she lost the rabbit, how she would be in trouble. Her eyes had settled on Redfang, though she barely saw him. She exhaled heavily and closed her eyes, all Dapplepaw's thoughts swirling together now.

[Heathclaw]

"Dapplepaw! Dapplepaw! Wake up! Don't you fall asleep on me!" growled Redfang frantically, as he watched his apprentice fade in and out of consciousness. "It's shock. What's the cure... What is it?! 'If you're a cat who's deep in shock... ...find some... Thyme! And you'll be fine!'" he said, remember the old rhyme. He glanced around... and to his dismay, he found that there was a distinct lack of thyme in their general location.

This wasn't happening. He wouldn't allow this to happen. He wasn't going to lose his apprentice in a training accident. He wasn't going to lose an apprentice ever. Never, never again.

"Argh..." he groaned, at his wit's end. "DAPPLEPAW! WAKE UP!"

[ivyy]

Dapplepaw flinched at the sharp sound, her eyes flickering open then closed again. With another, louder yell, her eyes popped open. "Mmmn, the, the rabbit." she murmured, eyes rolling back and forth. Her tail started to flicker again, twitching furiously in Dapplepaw's shock and anxiety. "Redfang.. Rabbit.." she mumbled as her eyes finally settled on her mentor's face.

"The rabbit!" She exclaimed, mouth snapping open as she regained full consciousness, "I need to go get the rabbit!" Dapplepaw said, struggling to get to her feet. She seemed unknowing of her previous tumble. She couldn't quite understand why Redfang looked so shocked and upset, all she knew was that she had to get that rabbit!

[Heathclaw]

Oh StarClan... she's still going on about the rabbit, thought Redfang, feeling a rush of both relief and consternation. "Dapplepaw, forget the rabbit. We're done for the day," said Redfang, walking up alongside her and helping push her up on her feet. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but you just fell down a hill. Never do that again, understand? You could've broken your neck. One rabbit isn't worth your life. Understood?" he said, adding some bite to the last word.

Normally, he would've been shouting furiously at his apprentice to make sure his message sunk in, but he was worried that that would send her back into shock. "Let's pick up the one rabbit that you did catch, and head back to camp. You can try again another day."

However, as he made his way back up the hill, his nose caught a horrible scent that made his blood boil. "No... No!" he shouted, dashing up the hill, and coming face to face with a fox, drawn to the scent of the dead rabbit lying there in the open.

Tch. Now that the fox had seen him, it was either flight or fight. With Dapplepaw on hand, flight was the preferable option... but that wouldn't work. Not in the state she was in. It would have to be fight then. Redfang stepped forward, hissing and fluffing out his already long fur. "Get back!" he growled.

[ivyy]

Dapplepaw yowled in shock. "Nyah!" she yelled again, a battle cry this time. The fur bristled on her shoulder blades, and the skin of her nose crinkled as she crouched, ready to defend herself. "No!" she growled lowly back to her mentor, standing at his shoulder. "This is my fault. Let me take care of it." Dapplepaw hissed as she stepped forwards, towards the fox.

"Come and get it." she hissed, the fox lunged at her, jaws snapping. Dapplepaw's paw shot out, and she raked her claws down the fox's muzzle. The fox whined, blood rising and dripping into it's fur. It shot at dapplepaw, and caught her hind leg in it's jaws. "Agh!" Dapplepaw cried in pain. Her eyes rolled back into her head at the pain, but with a shake of her head, and a frenzied scramble she was out of the fox's mouth.

Dapplepaw was limping now, her eyes caught a flash of fur as Redfang shot forwards. .

[Heathclaw]

"Dapplepaw! Stay back!" Redfang yowled, dashing to intercept the two of them. He was just a flash too late, but the sight of Dapplepaw crying out in pain a second time tempered his fury. With a vicious snarl, he bulled straight into the underside of the fox, knocking it off of its feet. He leaped onto the beast's belly as its back hit the ground, and he dug his claws in deep, raking and slashing. They wrestled around on the hill, rolling over and over, clawing and scratching.

"Guh!" he grunted, as a fox foot made contact with his stomach, tearing fur and knocking him off. The fox struggled onto its paws, and Redfang squared himself into a fighting stance, eyes blazing. But the beast had seen enough- one rabbit wasn't worth fighting this angry tom. Snuffling, the fox retreated, leaving a dripping trail of blood in it's wake.

Redfang panted heavily, glaring at the retreating fox as he got his breath back. And when he did...

"You idiot!" Redfang roared, about as vehement now as he'd been with the fox. "What were you thinking? You can't take on a fox by yourself- you're an apprentice! Don't you ever disobey an order from me again- you're lucky you still have a leg after that! Why I ought to- Koff! Ugh..."

Looking down, Redfang realized that he hadn't come out of that fight unscathed either- his blood was currently dotting the frosty grasslands. "We'll... we'll continue this later. Can you walk? Pick up the rabbit- we're- we're going back. Urggh..." he grunted, turning towards the direction of camp and taking a few wobbly steps.

[ivyy]

Dapplepaw was frozen as her mentor and the fox scarmbled about, it looked like Redfang was winning, but.. Oh no! She yelled internally as the fox caught his stomach, throwing her mentor back. She cringed, watching the two leaking vital fluids onto the cold earth, and the fox finally backed down. Dapplepaw exhaled in short-lived relief, as the adrenaline wained, and her bloodstream cleared. She shivered from a combination of the cold and the pain her leg was causing her. Not the mention her ribs, which has been jostled quite a bit on her previous fall.

She limped over to the rabbit, and crinkled her nose. Hoping the scent of fox would die off by the time they reached camp, she held it in her jaws. She felt the uncomfortable warmth of matted blood on her rear left leg. Her eyes drooped with guilt and fatigue as the padded off in the direction of camp. "Mnn shorry Edthang" she mumbled through the rabbit. Awaiting an answer, she felt tears stinging her eyes as she stared at his dampened shoulder and stomach.