WARNING:I HAD TO POST THIS IN MORE THAN ONE PART BECAUSE IT WAS APPARENTLY TOO LONG FOR IT TO DOWNLOAD WITHOUT CRASHING.
Hello once again. On the request of I-Really-Hope-Not, I am making the one-shot about too short deadlines. (Ironic since this is the longest chapter I have ever written). This one will be longer than the last one:). I was aiming for at least 2,000 words, but got to 5,918 (without the author's note)! I will also mention that this is a slightly altered version of Shadowclan camp and territory. Also, the trivia game on the Warriors app is so... Bad. It gives us the wrong answers... SINCE WHEN DOES RIVERCLAN LIVE IN A TREE? (And apparently now Shadowclan cats don't use the bridge underneath the thunderpath to get to gatherings, they swing across using trees?).
" Needlepaw, you are to patch up all of the dens so that they are safe to last for many moons by sunset tomorrow, and Snowypaw, you are to stock up on crucial herbs for Silverberry. I know that this type of final assessment is unusual, but Pebblestar decided to do another one of his 'wonderful experiments' and see how well you two work under pressure. It will be leaf are soon anyways, so think about the ways that you will be helping your clanmates." Lilyclaw, Snowypaw's mentor, explained while Pebblestar nodded approvingly and Dustwhisker stared at Needlepaw firmly as if to confirm that she has to complete the task at paw or face the consequences.
Needlepaw and Snowypaw exchanged a panicked glance, knowing far well that even the best weavers and those who knew the forest like the pad of their paw would usually take more time than that going at a comfortable pace, but the two friends knew that this was also a way to test their dedication and self sacrifice to the success of the clan and themselves, for they knew that if they passed this test they would officially be known as warriors. For a moment Needlepaw was caught up into thinking about what her warrior name could be, Needlefrost, Needlefoot, Needleclaw- "Your time starts now!" Dustwhisker called from the other end of the clearing.
And my free time has officially vanished, Needlepaw groaned inwardly, although she had to admit that she took pleasure in weaving, she hated having to do things under pressure, it just... Ruined the feeling of doing something for the fun of it. Nonetheless, now that she had permission, Needlepaw exited the camp and padded into the dense forest, feeling the frosted pine needles crunch underneath her feet.
She veered to the left, thinking of a spot where a few young pine trees grew near the thunder path. Being near Thunderclan territory, a few bramble bushes sprouted along the area, and she could recall an ivy wrapped oak tree at the edge of the border. She traversed the half-frozen marches, which were filled with trodden nettle patches, and gazed up at the clouded grey sky, ignoring her numbed muddy paws.
Arriving to destination, she did not waste any time speculating on the twolegs' strange inventions and immediately started her job. She wound her way through the sharp edges of the pine's needles and scuttled up to the top of the tree, hissing as she felt tree sap getting tangled into her fur, not looking forward to taking a dip in the river at the outskirts of the territory. When she found a reasonably tender branch, she unsheathed her claw and ran it repetitively over the soft bark of the younger branch. The she bent down and dug her teeth into the sappy pine. She let out purr of satisfaction as the branch fell loose and crashed down into the needle carpet below. She afterwards spat the thick liquid and bit back a growl as she was left with a bitter aftertaste.
She picked out two more branches and leaped back downtown the ground where she rested her sore claws into the frosted puddle that lay conveniently at her feet. What she could not get was how much more boring something could be when she was forced to do it. She looked up at the sun, noticing that it was mid-day, and felt overwhelmed by the extent of the task. She gathered the branches into a pile, being careful not to damage useful material. She then went on to cutting bramble branches, knowing that she was being a bit sloppy with her work, but also knowing that she did not have the time to make her work fancy, only efficient.
She made another stack with the brambles before bounding off to the edge of the border where the oak tree sat. In her head she ranted about how she could be doing much more entertaining things, but she had and irrational fear of mentors getting upset, and therefore continued doing her work, although she was constantly reminded by her parents that her mentor was much less strict than her imagination made it seem. maybe she could just wait some time... Before she could change her mind Needlepaw leap gracefully up the tree, enjoying the wind in her fur and the soft touch of rain, for it had started raining now, in her thick grey fur.
Meanwhile:
Snowypaw carefully dug a hole underneath a young cedar trees, carefully concealing her juniper berries, yarrow, watermint, and poppy seeds inside the small hollow befor continuing her trek through the territory. This time carrying three different leaf samples, as Silverberry had given her an example of each one that she did not already know by heart. While passing by a patch of muddy ground, her attention was brought to a plant with sharp tips and a slight curve to the fuzzy green seeds. Stinging nettle, she identified, or at least she hoped, correctly. She cut the plant off at the bottom of the leaf and wrapped it inside her ivy bundle. Hurrying up her pace, she halted to a stop next to a delicate white flower. She picked it at first mistake bing it for daisy before noticing that although an almost exact copy of the common flower, a plant that almost every warrior knew about, it was smaller and had a bright yellow core that look lost inside the multitude of tender petal, but stood out by its size and sudden burst of colour. Camomile? She asked herself before shrugging and picking it anyways, for she it was not a coincidence that she was at this end of the territory, one of the samples that she had placed down next to her was exactly the same, and Silverberry's instructions rang through her mind.
I have separated the herbs into five packages, each representing a corner of the territory, understand? And Snowypaw had nodded, grabbing two of the packages and leaving the other three for the next day.
Snowypaw shivered as she felt the first drop of rain touch the mid-length of her tail. She glared up at the sky, knowing that if her herbs were soggy by the time she returned, her assessment would be ruined. What was the idea anyways? Snowypaw asked herself, bushing her silky white fur. Sending an apprentice who barely has the basic knowledge of herbs after spending a half-day in the medicine den to collect twenty two different types of plants? Really? To be honest, although she understood that Pebblestar had the purpose of helping the apprentices to be able to have a fast reaction in case of danger, whether it was in a field of inexperience or not, she could still not be impressed with the idea that she had to be the one doing this while the other apprentices before her had simply done a more... Classical assessment.
Thinking back to the rain, which was beginning to grow more and more insistent, Snowypaw rushed back to her stash and quickly made it into a water-tight area before thanking the skies that she could leave her collection without having to be bothered to check for any hungry animals. Straight after that she cursed the assignment for the hundredth time that day, realizing that because she had no intention of letting the plants rot, she would have to initiate extra precautions to avoid her work ending up in a puddle.
Using common sense, Snowypaw thoughtfully ran her bright green gaze, similar to Needlepaw's around the pine forest. If she headed to the twolegplace to gather catmint right away, she could give the rain time to falter before having to many greens to carry underneath the cold droplets. Even during the trip there, she could seek out herbs if she found any. Nodding to her own idea,she set off to the edge of Shadowclan's territory, relieved to wash out the bitter tang of herbs in a nearby puddle, although the half-frozen state of the latter burned down her throat after she had to carry so many greens, including mint, which probably amplified the cold feeling over water even more.
When the rain started calming down after drenching Snowypaw, much to her discomfort, she finally arrived at the wooden twoleg fence that barred her way out. Carefully cuecking for intruders, she leaped to the top of the fence and gazed at the endless maze of twoleg dens, feeling her senses blur from the constant roars, chatters, acidic smells, decaying smell, flowering smells, blinding flashes, and an overwhelming sense of crowd. Even through wondering how kittypets could stand this Snowypaw felt a flicker of reckless contentment at the feeling of separation from her clan. It was as if Starclan were suddenly offering her complete freedom on a golden leaf (instead of plate since she is a cat), and she was suddenly sure that none of her clanmates were watching her if she managed to fail anything. Beyond that feeling though, was a heartwarming tug towards her family and friends, as well as the constant reminder of her task if she wanted to become a warrior, for she really did want to become a warrior.
Snowypaw still remembered her journey to the moonstone, and how Starclan had told her that the price of being a successful warrior was compromising her own happiness at times, but Snowypaw knew that she wanted the future of a warrior, but she did not want to have to be ordered around all the time, which was probably why she often secretly broke a tiny rule or two... She wanted to spend time exploring. She knew it. But as a soon-to-be-warrior, she needed to find catmint at this moment, but she planned to come back here some day when she did not need to follow a mouse-dunged time limit.
Meanwhile:
Needlepaw rushed back to camp when the rain reached its climax, knowing that this was the time to use a slight bit of mud to reinforce the dens without having to seek out a puddle. She had wrapped herself in ivy until she could badly moved, strands of ivy which had pine branches and brambles stuck into them, and had moss stuck underneath her chin, mouth, and claws. If it weren't for this Starclan cursed time limit she could be... Not hidden underneath a hindering pile of den materials. She dropped just about half of her moss collection along the way and felt her grip on the rest slipping. Luckily, she arrived at camp quickly using a mostly unused passage known only by Shadowclan cats. When she walked into the camp, the few cats that were still outside froze and stared at her, until Dustwhisker broke the silence by letting out and amused purr,
" Starclan, Needlepaw! You look like somebody tried to kitnapp you using plants!" Her laughed in good nature.
" I nao." She mumbled (meaning to saw I know) around her moss-filled jaws before letting out a rare purr, as she was not the type of cat to have many friends, at the same time as Muddykit slid into the clearing with his brother Pinepaw and his sister Dropkit. The kits only took a moment before squealing and playing a game of 'Ivy Monster versus Shadowclan', but their carefree attitude was interrupted by a scowling Morningdew who wanted her kits back inside the warmth of the nursery.
"Here, let me help you,' offered Greenmist while gently pulling the tangled branches out of her fur with a firm grip.
" Thank you!" Needlepaw gasped, feeling as if she had just emerged from a sunny spot into the summer and padded into cool shade.
She then slowly made her way to the far end of the clearing to the patchy nursery that she could see the queens had blocked off with pieces out moss. She let out a sigh, knowing that this was going to be a long day. She poked her head into the hollow space, and was greeted by the quizzical interruption of the kits' squealing and the burning gazes of each and every occupant of the den, nine in total, on her pelt.
" I just came to fix the nursery," she began.
" Oh thank you!" Goldenbranch grinned. " There are a few stubborn leaks in this old things." She said, patting the wall with her dark brown paw.
" We will bring the kits to the elders for a story, that might make your work quite a lot safer." Morningdew purred, prodding a spot in the den wall that the kits had obviously punctured.
"Thank you." Needlepaw nodded respectfully before retreating to the outside of the den just as a mix and matched pack of ginger, grey, golden, black, and white kits.
She waited until their begging howls for a story faded before going back on her steps to fetch her materials. She started by laying out the pine branches, making sure to tangle them slightly into the already existent base thorn base, before filling in all of the gaps using brambles. When that was finished, she tugged on the tangled ivy string until it revealed itself in all of its length. She carefully wove it into the sharp tendrils already grasping the den walks and roof. When she was satisfied that the glossy leaves could she water if the need came. She agreed with herself that that would have to be the next day though. She sighed before trekking back to where the rest of her supplies were and added these to her already messy fur and one again carried them to camp. Luckily, this time a patrol of three warriors was sent to help her, as Greenmist happened to be a very nice deputy.
She repeated the procedure for the nursery with the warriors' bramble den, and finally realized that most of the warriors had gone to their dens, and after spending a brief moment with Needlepaw, who explained that she had left her supplies in a small hollow underneath a pine tree that she had carefully barricaded, she also went to her nest, disappointed that she still had so much work to do. She wanted to eat, sure, but still there lingered the fear of failing, and the fear of losing time.
Meanwhile:
Snowypaw padded into the apprentices' den, which she noted, Needlepaw had not fixed yet. The white she-cat had not talked much while they shared their sparrow, apart from complaining briefly about how long it had taken her to get rid of the pine sap on her fur. Snowypaw wanted to sleep, yes, but she had things that she wanted to catch up on before that, so instead of doing anything, she curled up in her nest and replayed the events of the previous day in her mind. She remembered being drenched in rain, trying to find the black twoleg den amidst the commotion, and then that black kittypet who appeared at the top of a tree for one moment before leaving at the sight of Snowypaw. Snowypaw remembered finding some around a black den, as Silverberry had said, and collecting as much of it as she found carry, including getting some stuck underneath her claws along with the bottom of her chin and her back. She smiled as she thought about how ridiculous she might have looked. Luckily by then the rain had eased and she was an,e to make her way back to camp without being covered in catmint pulp. The catmint had been the only plant that she had brought back to camp. The juniper, poppy seeds, watermint, camomile, yarrow, burnet, marigold, and horsetail that she had found were still inside her hollowed out store.
She felt a jolt of discomfort at the thought of having to pick eleven other herbs, few of which she could recognize, and finally, the hardest, honey. So... Maybe she should ask Silverberry if there were any of these herbs that she could pick for bee stings. If she was lucky, she could probably catch some honey running down the smooth trunk of the bark-less maple tree at the edge of the thunderpath. If not, she would have to hope that the bees would be impassive from the cold weather.
The next morning:
Needlepaw awoke to the quiet chatter of the few warriors that were already awake. The patchy den walls were filled with dappled sunlight, giving everything a surreal golden tint, and the air held a cool briskness that seemed to entice energy into every one of Needlepaw's limbs. This felt like the exact definition of peaceful, and Needlepaw say on the ground for a moment, enjoy the warmth that the sun could bring mingling with the slight leaf-fall breeze on her fur.
Breathing in the fresh scent of cold, Needlepaw made her way to where Mossypaw and Honeypaw were sharing a lizard. She grabbed a finch that had strayed too far from its territory and smiled as the two apprentices beckoned her forward.
" It's so quiet out here!" Honeypaw exclaimed, breaking the mentioned silence.
" I know right." Needlepaw sighed.
"I can't believe I still have to complete the apprentices' den, the leader's den, the elder's den, and the medicine cat den." Needlepaw said with a laugh. Now this was a thought that went well to shatter the peace.
"Well, you better make the elders' den properly or you'll never hear the end of it!" Mossypaw purred, nudging his sister in the doing, laughing at the time when she had accidentally left a thorn inside Lynxfoot's nest.
"That was an accident!" she protested, and Needlepaw couldn't help but grin at her friend's mock indignation.
" I wonder what Pebblestar will think of for your assessment?" Needlepaw added mischievously. "Perhaps she will ask you to line every one of the nests with the softest feathers you can find. "
Mossypaw flicked his orange tabby before responding, " Well, I suppose that we can worry about that in a moon right? Seriously though working through Pebblestar's assessments has become more of a challenge every time."
"Well, maybe it's because during apprentice's previous training she regretted not having had them train under pressure. I know that Violetpaw and Ivypaw seem to complain a lot about training assessments." Honeypaw commented.
"This could be a one time thing." Needlepaw suggested, "We all know that Pebblestar tries a new idea here and there but usually still goes with traditional warrior traditions. Mintmuzzle and Algaepond never had to do any of that, and I heard no talk of your assessments being this way." she added.
" Actually, Ravenwing did say something about hunting." Mossypaw seemed to recall.
" Well, we can see that in a moon from now, Needlepaw, I can't believe that you and Snowypaw are actually becoming warriors!" She exclaimed.
" I suppose that the one thing worth it about this is the reward. But guys, I haven't even been to the Moonstone yet, so it could be in several days from now. The thing that I regret about this is that all the light will probably be ship it out of the dens after this." Needlepaw cautioned.
"I would rather sleep in the dark than freeze, I don't think that you'll have many complaints if you ask me." Honeypaw encouraged.
"Talking about this, where in the world has Snowypaw gone? Don't tell me that she let already?" Needlepaw questioned.
" She left a few moments before you got here," The golden she-cat answered.
"Oh." Said Needlepaw, " So, what's your training schedules today?" She asked, trying to make conversation.
Two pairs of green eyes turned to her. " Well-
" Mossypaw! You have dawn patrol! Get over here!" Called a voice that Needlepaw identified as Lizardfang's.
Honeypaw laughed while Mossypaw dusted his ginger fur before saying, " Well, I guess that answers your question! Sorry, I have to go."
NEXT CHAPTER IS PART TWO.