Wren's heart pounded in her chest as Lark announced that it was time for the Adulthood Trial. She could feel the eyes of the entire village on her as she stepped forward, trying to put on a brave face. Aspen, Marsh, and Cedar stood by her side, their nerves showing in their eyes. Four high-ranked foxes stepped toward the group of pups and a dark brown fox spoke with her thick accent. “Marsh, that there fox will test you.” The chocolate brown fox nodded to a small and frail vixen, who nodded sheepishly and dipped her head to Marsh. “I’m Moxie.” The vixen spoke with such softness that Wren’s ears strained to hear her. Marsh glanced back at the remaining 3 pups before he was herded away to the forest by Moxie. “Wren. Hemlock will test you.” The dark brown vixen pointed with her snout to a burly, smokey red reynard. Hemlock shook himself and stood up. “Cmon, pup.” Hemlock rose to his paws and groaned. Slowly, the reynard strided toward the clearing west of Sycamore Village, Wren in pursuit. “Alright. Hunt for me.” Hemlock gestured with a paw. Wren squinted at the dark red fox. His once red snout was riddled with long grey hairs. What had Lark seen in this fox? Why would he be a judge? The vixen shook her head, clearing her mind. Hunting. Hunting. Wren thought, scenting the air for prey. Field mice were common in this area. She tensed when she heard the rustle of grass. Sneaking through tall grasses made it difficult to see prey, but after a few seconds Wren caught sight of an elderly field mouse with a lame leg. The mouse was forced to slowly drag along its leg, beady eyes staring around the clearing. Expertly, Wren tracked the mouse, always making sure she was upwind of the small creature. After a minute or two of this, the mouse turned its back to Wren, and she sprung. Wren landed almost on top of the mouse, snapping its neck quickly and cleanly. “Impressive,” Hemlock nodded. He coughed, then continued. “Go into the trees. Eggs.” He signalled to a tall tree. “This is hunting, though. You don’t hunt eggs.” Wren complained, golden fur bristling. “Listen, pup. Say you were out in the wilderness. Starving,” Hemlock made a circle with his claw in the dirt, thinking. “You imagining? Okay. Now, say there's a bird nest right above you. Would you want to starve to death because you couldn't get them? I’m guessing no. So go up to the tree and get those eggs for me, okay?” Hemlock finished, gesturing to the bird nest. Wren clenched her jaw and turned to face the bird nest. She was refraining from snapping her jaws around Hemlock’s tail. Slowly, she circled the tree, looking for a branch low enough for her to jump on that could also hold her weight. Finally, Wren spotted a branch fit for her to climb on. She crouched, preparing to spring onto it. “Tail out, pup.” Hemlock called from the left side of her. Grudgingly, Wren extended her tail for balance. She hated that Hemlock was right. After multiple minor corrections by Hemlock, Wren was allowed to jump. She leapt onto the lowest branch with ease. Now, she needed to find another good branch. Wait- why do I need my whole body on the branch? Wren thought. Carefully, she sank her claws into a solid branch above her and pulled herself up. Painstakingly, she climbed up the tree one branch at a time. When Wren reached the branch with the eggs, she was panting and out of breath. The tree was unreasonably tall. She gently collected three bright blue eggs. The parent bird was nowhere to be seen. It must have flown off at the first sign of me climbing. Wren thought. “Alright. That's enough for today.” She heard Hemlock’s distant voice. Maybe Wren was higher up than she thought. She hopped down the branches, careful not to break any eggs. “Good enough for you?” Wren sighed, shaking herself free of branches that had caught in her fur. “Mhm,” Hemlock muttered, uninterested. “Go to bed. We will do herb identification tomorrow.” He waved her away. By the moon, this guy is annoying. Wren thought as she stalked away. She had caught a wood mouse and collected 3 eggs in around 120 minutes and he hadn't even cared! Wren was still fuming as she settled in for a short nights rest, as the training had taken them into nighttime. Slowly, she drifted off to an uneasy sleep, anxious about what she would have to do tomorrow.
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