[Mauve]

Originally Posted by blue jellie

[ sounds good! ]

Once landing back on the earth with a thud, it was immediately clear she was going to need to move areas. Her weight hitting the ground, however quiet, would send vibrations through it that would push the mice into their burrows, and the branch cracking and crashing to the ground would keep a lot of prey in their dens until they thought it was safe. Snowpaw crept around the nearby patch of thickets, her tail high and her paws light footed to ensure that she would not disturb any telltale branches. Upon reaching a spot that was out of earshot of her previous catch, the she-cat lowered her tail more and crouched, beginning to glance around for possible prey. A small flicker in the brambles about a foot across from her caught her eye. She parted her jaws a sliver, scenting mice- a family, actually. There was no need to kill the whole family, but she might be able to catch one or two. Paws light, she assumed her best mouse stalking position and began to slowly and quietly creeping forwards, avoiding any dry leaves or sticks. As soon as she could hear a faint squeaking, she stopped, swiveling her ears to face the sound and not moving a muscle. Straining her eyes, she caught a glimpse of brown fur, moving casually throughout the bramble bush, as though it was not being hunted. Perfect. She was practically nose to nose with the thorns now, one dangerously close to her muzzle. Eyes narrowed, she made a purposeful sound with her tail to get the mice out of the thorns, leaping forwards immediately. Her calculations were correct; by leaping forwards as soon as she flicked the ferns with her tail, the mice had leaped as well, and she had two of them beneath her paws that were easy catches. Snapping their windpipe, she buried the prey and looked around expectantly for Shadetail to begin the battle portion.

The warm feeling of admiration that had begun in Shadetail's heart only grew as he watched Snowpaw expertly call the mice out of their hiding place and time her leap correctly. It was what a warrior would do while hunting - an apprentice would've rushed head first into their hiding place. She's already passed in my book, he thought to himself, yellow eyes glowing from where he hid in some nearby bush thickets. He was sure to keep his body still and calm as she looked up, obviously searching for him to start the battle portion, but the gray tabby had a different thought on how to approach it. Most mentors would reveal themselves and waste the element of surprise. Shadetail wanted Snowpaw to be ready to any possible scenario - and that included any surprise attack that might come her way. Despite the Dusk Syndicate being disbanded, this would come in handy should the younger molly ever face one, as they were keen on using their stealth and shock factor to their advantage.

His movements were silence as he slunk closer, each limb moving fluidly across the dirt terrain. Shadows worked in Shadetail's favor, and for once the tom was thankful that his pelt was short and thin, making it possible to fit through tinier crawl spaces. Once he was in the same thorn bush that Snowpaw had been hiding in, he gathered his haunches, eyes deadlocked on her snowy-white flank. It would be a shock indeed to her, but the warrior knew she would be able to handle it. They had practice surprise ambushes during their training enough times for Shadetail to be sure of this. Without any warning, he lept forward, long sheathed claws extended and aiming for Snowpaw's exposed flank. His yellow eyes were narrowed in concentration as he flew like a bullet from the bushes, pelting towards his apprentice's side in an effort to connect and bowl her over, and perhaps pin her once he'd caught her off guard.