Strafe emerged from the temple where he and Xolile had been training as of late. She finally felt that he was ready to change his rank from Youngling to Padawan, but one more simple test stood between him and the rank and the ability to truly train under her to become a Jedi himself. For now he was still in his Youngling trials which were coming to a close with this little test Xolile had set up for him. He eyed the jungle with a crafty grin before trotting down the stairs of the temple to begin his search.

One of the requirements of becoming a Jedi Knight was to go out into the rogue lands to search for the stones he would need to decorate his necklace with his rank. Xolile had spent quite a bit of time in the rogue lands searching for her own and had even had a fling in the process. She didn't want him to be out there for quite as long as she had been, so she had set up a little scavenger hunt for him among the foliage of the trees. It was simple enough, really - find the three rocks that she had marked and bring them back to her in the temple. It would test his focus and determination, as well as his problem solving skills. Strafe was more than happy to take up the little test.

The first rock was found on accident. He had been ducking under a low-hanging branch when his toes had caught on a rock hidden under some leaves. On it was a bright red mark that Xolile had left with some berries found on a bush not far from the temple's entrance. "Oh...she's hiding them, is she?" he asked, leaning down to pick up the rock gently with his teeth. He brought it back to the stairs of the temple so he could keep track of all that he had found and thanked his lucky stars that he had literally stumbled over that one. What a sneaky little lioness!

Back he went, this time keeping an eye out for any disturbed patches of dirt or leaves that didn't look particularly normal or naturally placed. His search yielded nothing new and he gave a little huff. All right, then. It seemed the rocks were going to be a bit harder to find than he thought they would be. He began to use his nose instead of his eyes, sniffing here and there to try to pick up the scent of either the berries that were smeared on the last two rocks or of Xolile herself. Perhaps if he could pick up her scent and track it...ah!

He turned sharply, catching the familiar scent of the older feline on some plants. She must have brushed through here at some point. Following his nose, Strafe made his way through a thick patch of bushes he hadn't thought to check before. They were so dense he wasn't sure how Xolile had made it through, but her scent was definitely rubbed on all the leaves here! Finally the vegetation broke, a small circle inside the plants holding the second rock.

"Ha! Gotcha!" the cheetah said with a grin, gathering up the rock to bring it back to the temple. This time it took him a bit longer to get back because he had to push through the heavy undergrowth, but he made it all the same. Two down, one to go. He had a feeling this was going to be the most difficult of the three rocks. Knowing Xolile, he'd have to think a bit outside the box to succeed.

Sure enough, another lap of the area Xolile had designated as his hunting grounds turned up fruitless. Her scent was everywhere, strategically rubbed and marked so it wasn't very heavy in any one place with the exception of those bushes. He blew his bangs out of his eyes in frustration as he circled the temple again, taking in any abnormalities. As he passed the entrance of the temple he was pretty sure he could hear snoring coming from within which made him huff. He wasn't taking THAT long...was he?

Renewed by his irritation, Strafe began jogging around the temple, his eyes trained on the trees this time. Perhaps there were no more rocks on the ground at all. Maybe she had tricked him! It was then he noticed some fresh claw marks in one of the tree trunks, the bark smelling very new and sweet. He leaned in to sniff along the trunk, and sure enough Xolile scent was fairly strong here as well. The tree had a slight angle to it and he carefully tested his own claws on the bark. Unlike lions, cheetahs couldn't retract their claws, so his own were rather dull from the constant abuse the ground gave them. He dug them in anyway and hoisted himself up onto the tree, slipping and sliding and working his way slowly up to the first branch.

There it was, tucked between two smaller branches. The third rock! He gave a triumphant growl and reached out to swat the rock. It fell from the tree, as did the cheetah, who thankfully twisted in time to land on his feet. He bore a huge grin on his face as he picked up the last rock to bring it to the little pile outside the temple.

"Guardian Xolile," he called out as he trotted up the steps. "I have completed your task! Let's go to the Council!"

The snoring within the temple stopped and Strafe snickered as he sat down outside the doorway, waiting for the Knight to emerge. He was pretty proud of himself for finding all three rocks without any help at all. Hopefully the Council would be just as impressed, as well as Xolile...even though she had fallen asleep. Hopefully his Padawan trials wouldn't be quite as boring to her, considering she had already promised to take him under her wing and teach him everything she had to know.

FIN
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