Flamefrost fell but struggled. She knew rolling over would be a huge risk, because he was bigger than her now, and would be hard to throw off. She puffed her fur out to make her look bigger as she fell, hoping it’d make him adjust his grip to fit a cat larger than her actual size.
He put one paw on her neck, not putting much pressure but enough to keep her head down and the other on her ribs. It worked when she poofed out and he adjusted slightly, giving a tiny bit of room for her to move
She took advantage of the adjustment and slipped out from his grip.
"Mouse-dung" He spat under his breath. He lunged at her again, striking out with his fore-paws at her face, hoping she would instinctively step back and trip over the root that was jutting out behind her.
She did. It didn’t make her fall, but she staggered to regain her balance.
He seized the moment and barreled into her, using the sheer force of his momentum and weight to knock her down
Flamefrost was knocked to the ground and had the breath driven out of her.
He quickly got a firm grip on her. After a few seconds, he let her up, panting. "How did I do?"
“Very well,” she replied, panting also. “You’ve passed this test as well. Now you can hunt in Tallpines until sundown. Catch as much prey as you can.”
He felt his chest fill with pride as he raced off toward Tallpines.
