"Robinpaw?"
Robinpaw shot bolt upright in her nest, noticing abruptly how shredded it was from her desperate dash through the forest. The voice she'd heard had been distant, perhaps only her imagination, but she dared not reply in fear that it was Willowpaw searching for her.
"Robinpaw?"
Now she was sure she wasn't imaging it-- a mew of concern and worry was indeed coming from somewhere nearby. It was female, though, that she was sure of. She worried, though, that it was just another Lesser Leader, trying to catch her off-guard...
"Robinpaw? Where are you?"
Robinpaw's heart leapt as she recognized the voice-- Thrushnose! Her anger at her seemed silly and petty now. Nothing seemed that big of a deal anymore...not after that...
"Thrushnose?!" Robinpaw yelled. "Where are you?"
"Here," she mewed, coming into view.
Robinpaw barrelled into her, sinking her nose into her fur.
"By the Sun and Moon, I was worried," sighed Thrushnose.
"I'm alright." Well, that was only partly true...but she'd fill in Thrushnose later.
"I hate to break up this adorable reunion," came another voice, causing Robinpaw to back away and look sharply toward its owner, "but Robinpaw's got an assessment to do."
"Foxtail!"
"Of course," purred her mentor. "I was worried too-- though maybe not as much as Thrushnose here. She looked ready to rip apart anyone who'd hurt you."
"Shut up," muttered Thrushnose.
"Really?" Robinpaw looked at her white-furred denmate with something akin to pride and admiration.
"I'm just glad you're safe."
Robinpaw purred and buried herself once more in Thrushnose's fur before Foxtail's cough broke them apart once more. "Assessment?"
"Oh, right." Robinpaw reluctantly left Thrushnose's side and turned to her mentor. "Wait, assessment?"
Foxtail purred. "It's been eight moons, Robinpaw. You're going to be a full member."
~----------------------------------------------~
Tree hunting.
Fishing.
Bird hunting.
Injuries.
The four stages of her assessment.
Robinpaw felt a shaft of worry cut through her unconcernedness, which more than one full member had told her she'd need. She pushed it aside hurriedly.
I can do this.
First, tree hunting.
Robinpaw spotted a sturdy-looking oak and sunk her claws into it immediately, ignoring the resulting pain from her claws. She'd chosen one of the hardest trees in the forest to climb.
So maybe she was showing off a bit. But tree hunting was her favorite.
She crept carefully up the tree, keeping as close to the trunk as possible. Her ears swiveled, on the alert for any rustle or bit of sound.
There!
Some sort of animal-- a squirrel, perhaps-- had made its presence known by brushing against a leaf not far above her. It had been a bit to her right, and Robinpaw adjusted her course accordingly.
A limb now stretched out almost directly above her head, and Robinpaw felt a surge of pride in her hearing skills. Moving just enough to gain access to the branch, Robinpaw stepped carefully unto it, hoping that her weight wouldn't move it.
It didn't-- fortunately, the branch was quite strong.
The squirrel was not more than a tail-length in front of her, easy jumping distance. She crouched silently and leapt, silencing the creature forever with a bite to the neck.
Robinpaw now leaned over the edge of the branch, studying the ground below her. Is it too far to drop? The ground isn't too hard, but it might not seem professional to drop it.
Best to carry it down.
She inched cautiously down, careful not to lose her grip on it for an instant. Her tail was straight down below her, and she felt its tip touch the ground.
She leapt, landing squarely on all fours.
Carefully burying the squirrel, she prepared for the second stage of the assessment.
Fishing.
For this, Robinpaw mused as she set out toward the river, Foxtail had specified that I'd need to catch more than one fish.
And it wasn't like Robinpaw was fantastic at fishing. Nor was she bad, either, but she wasn't exceptional.
This would be one of her hardest challenges yet.
The gurgling if water informed her that she'd reached the river and a feeling of anticipation filled her. She imagined Thrushnose's fishing lessons and quickly walked to the side if the river farthest from the sun.
Now she just had to wait.
The silver tabby studied the water carefully, alert for any movement, any flash of scales.
A gleam of silver upstream.
Instantly, Robinpaw's paw was in the water. A fish wiggled frantically on the bank not a moment later, its movement ceased when Robinpaw whacked it solidly on the head.
That's one.
She watched the ripples caused by her paw fade, and the fish began to swim by again.
Her paw entered the water, but the fish swerved and avoided it.
Foxdung. She'd lunged too early.
The fish didn't seem daunted, continuing to swim down confidently. She chose a large one, and...
Thwack!
This time, the fish was dead almost the moment it left the water. Robinpaw purred in satisfaction, quickly burying her two fish.
Bird hunting.
This would probably be the most time-consuming stage. The scarcity of birds was no secret.
Nevertheless, Robinpaw was confident her hearing wouldn't let her down.
She headed toward the place she knew was home to the few birds that lived in FloraClan territory.
The grove she was heading for had been dubbed "Miracle Grove" by the senior hunters. She'd only learned of its existence today as a word of advice from Kestrelwing.
It had been strange, no question, that Kestrelwing had helped her at all. Robinpaw had always thought that her mother didn't care about her.
But perhaps she did.
Maybe acting indifferent was how she had to protect herself.
The twitter of a bird interrupted Robinpaw from her thoughts, reminding her that she was here to hunt, not muse over her mother's possible care for her.
The twitter came again, and Robinpaw identified the bird as a robin.
How appropriate, she thought wryly. You, my friend, will help me become a full member.
Now, where are you?
Scanning the trees carefully, Robinpaw caught sight of a dull brown among the green of new-leaf.
Gotcha!
The robin swooped down to eat something on the first floor-- seeds, Robinpaw guessed, as those were plentiful this time if year.
Robinpaw leapt.
With the silence drilled into her by Foxtail's relentless critiques, Robinpaw's back legs pushed off the ground. The bird didn't even have time to let out a cry of alarm before it was silenced forever by Robinpaw's jaws.
Robinpaw dropped the limp creature proudly, burying it with a sort of smugness.
But now it was time for the final stage-- the one every hunter dreaded.
Injuries.
That word by itself didn't fully capture what this stage was, what it meant.
It was hunting with an injury.
It was part of the assessment because even if a hunter was injured, they still had to hunt.
It was their job, after all.
Fortunately, the trainees weren't really injured. They just had to pretend they were.
And it wasn't as if they could cheat, either. They were watched at all times.
Reluctantly, Robinpaw let her hind leg drag behind her, wincing at the slight rustle it made as it inevitably brushed against the undergrowth.
You can do this.
She listened, smelled and watched carefully for any kind of prey. There was none.
She looked back at her dragging hind leg. Can I maybe just limp...?
But she couldn't. Robinpaw remembered the rules specifically stating that her hind leg was to drag behind her.
So instead, Robinpaw focused on making sure the dead weight made as little noise as possible.
She was almost about to give up hope when a squeak and a flash if brown alerted Robinpaw to a mouse's presence.
Finally!
Unfortunately, with her hind leg incapitated, she wouldn't be able to jump.
She'd have to stalk until she was practically on top of it.
Robinpaw felt her heart rate increase, but made a conscious effort not to breathe heavily. She crept forward...one step...two...
Somehow, she'd manged to creep impossibly close to the mouse. She was downwind, but still...
That mouse had no sense of smell.
Robinpaw's paw flashed out and snagged the mouse. It let out a squeak of terror before Robinpaw managed to silence it.
She dropped the mouse, her breath coming heavily.
It took her a moment to grasp what had just happened.
She'd done it!
The assessment was over!
Foxtail and Thrushnose slipped out from the trees, congratulating her warmly as Robinpaw walked in a sort of daze.
I did it!
Even as she thought that, though, Willowpaw's face flashed in her mind.
She shivered.
Four more moons.
Four more moons before he can claim me.
WOO! Another chapter!
And no, I'm not going to do an April Fools. I'm nice that way ;)
What do y'all think Robinpaw's full member name will be? What did you think of the assessment?
One more chapter and we're 2/3 of the way through the book!
~Ember
P.S.: That pic is what I imagine Robinpaw as :)