[Abyss]

The guilt of it all had stuck with him ever since their time with the Tribe. He couldn’t help it. The earthquake, the loss of lives, the loss of homes, figuring out food and shelter and space, attempting to work with all of the clans together. It had been hard for everyone, he knew this. But that side of him that loved to teach, the part of him that felt pride in watching Apprentices become Warriors even when he hadn’t been their mentor, it couldn’t help but think of the younger members of the clans.

The combining of multiple clans meant there was a hardy amount of Apprentices in Gorgeclan, many of whom had already surpassed 12 moons by a hearty leap, yet still held the title of -paw. He felt awful for them. He had interacted with multiple of them in their time in their new home, and they were all capable cats worthy of their names. But…there wasn’t exactly a Leader to give them a ceremony, nor was there a Starclan to present them to. Though, after the message that had been passed to Sagepaw and Ebonyheart during the half moon of Leaffall, there was hope that those things were coming soon. If that was the case, and the clans reconnected with Starclan, and Gorgeclan finally found a Leader, all of these cats would hopefully be given the ceremony they deserved.

But what was a ceremony without a final assessment? Even though he wasn’t the Leader, he still hoped that being one of the two Deputies meant that this was allowed, that his word was credible enough that the future Leader would see these Apprentices as worthy as he did.

The large white tom stood on a relatively flat and elevated portion of the gorge floor, the giant pile of stones and boulders that formed the Redshade Rift located just a fox-length to his right. At his side, he had brought Orioleflight to accompany him in looking over the cats who stood before them, watching as they showed their skills. If he trusted anyone to accurately measure another’s ability and give them criticism where it was needed, it was the tortoiseshell molly.

His singular yellow-green eye scanned over the faces that stood before him, all Apprentices of similar ages.

“Me and Orioleflight have brought you all here for…an assessment of sorts. We’ve seen how helpful all of you have been, with hunting, with securing the camp, and everything in between. But there is one thing that we haven’t had the chance to see. And if you guys are gonna become Warriors as soon as possible, you need to know how to fight. So that’s what we are doing here.” He glanced to the she-cat at his side for a moment before he looked back to the rest and continued.

“We chose this spot because there is a lot of variation here, lots of big stones and trees growing from the gorge walls. There are any number of ways you could get height advantages or shadows to hide in, so we are gonna see what you all can do. I want all of you to get into partners and you will all show off your moves.”

Words: 537 | Tags: ### | Notes: -------

[Aqua]

Wrenpaw

Ain't no use in tryin' to slow me down...

In the recent days there had been so much commotion and work. The newly named Gorgeclan had laid claim to their new camp and had set to work building it up as a proper home. While the camp itself was a solid choice from the start, it had needed a good deal of improvement to provide adequate living quarters for the whole clan. From the walls to the dens and prey pile, everyone had taken on a fair share of work to help out. Needless to say, things had been a little hectic for everyone. So when it was announced that they wanted to hold a sort of assessment to see what the current apprentices could do, Wrenpaw couldn't pass up the opportunity. The earthquake had put a wrench into any training sessions being held so she was itching to get back out there to prove herself. Heck, just getting out of the camp at all sounded great to her since she had chosen to work on building the walls up around camp for the duration of all of this busyness.

Her charcoal graced frame moved quickly out of camp and into the territory. Whitehawk had called upon them to meet him and Orioleflight at Redshade Rift so she excitedly padded in that direction. Her tail whipping about anxiously as she moved ahead, curious as to what they would ask of her. She had plenty of pent up energy so she was confident that she was ready for anything they threw her way. And being that she lost so much to the quake, she felt as though she needed to prove she could push on all on her own. Whether it was an attempt to prove herself to her recently passed mother or just the urge to make a name for herself in the clan, who knew. But she would make sure to show how well she was doing and show how ready she was to be a warrior.

It didn't take long for the she-cat to see the familiar white pelt of Whitehawk just ahead of her. He was sitting on one of the flatter areas of the Rift while he waited for them. She smirked as she approached and sat before him. "Whitehawk. Orioleflight." She meows giving each a respectful nod as she awaits further intructions and the arrival of her fellow apprentices.

"And if you guys are gonna become Warriors as soon as possible, you need to know how to fight."

Wrenpaw smirked at this part of Whitehawk's speech. In all her days as an apprentice, she had very little opportunity to hone in on her fighting skills. She always wanted the chance but had never gotten it due to all the chaos and her mentor not being much of a fan of her. So this made her fur raise and tingle in anticipation. Not only did the two warriors want to see her ability but she too wanted to test herself. If she was put up against another cat, could she not let her head get too big and blur her judgement? Could she knock the other cat off their paws and give them a proper tussle? She was anxious to test this and see what she could really do.

“We chose this spot because there is a lot of variation here, lots of big stones and trees growing from the gorge walls. There are any number of ways you could get height advantages or shadows to hide in, so we are gonna see what you all can do.”

Wrenpaw took this moment to observe their surroundings. Whitehawk definitely had a point, lots of nooks and crannies to take advantage of here in the Rift. She would definitely have to remember that while she was up against another apprentice. She wasn't sure who she'd be paired with but she was ready regardless. It was time to prove herself.

Cause you're runnin' with the fastest girl in town

^{Made by Aqua || Tagged: # || Words: #652}