AN: I only got one review, and no help with FalconxWillow! The weird thing is, I have plenty of views, but just eight reviews! I'm trying to improve my writing but I can't do that if I don't get any feedback! I feel a little guilty, begging for reviews like this, but I really want to become a better writer, and your two-cents is very helpful. :) And thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Just the fact that the number of reviews goes up by one makes me bounce in my seat.
The Moon's Song-huh, I hope it isn't to obvious.
Chapter 9: An Assessment and a Trick
Pinestar's elegant black head rose with the confidence and dignity of a leader. Her face was carefully neutral and Falconpaw wondered what she could have summoned them for. He just finished his hunting assessment and was depositing his mouthful of prey to the fresh-kill pile. Sandpelt had praised his hunting skills and Falconpaw was sure he passed. Now all was left was his fighting assessment - and hunting with Willowpaw. He felt a purr rising in his chest, then realized, that his fighting assessment would get in the way of that and later, his warrior vigil. Oh no, she'll be so disappointed! he moaned inwardly, purr dying in his chest. He didn't know the assessment he was completing was his warrior assessment! If he did, he wouldn't have asked then. I guess now my ceremony can be a surprise, Falconpaw attempted to think optimistically. His thoughts returned to the clearing where Pinestar was talking.
"Oakfur's patrol has found something disturbing, but I'll let him tell with his own words," Pinestar nodded and sat down. All eyes made their way to where Oakfur was sitting next to Firelight, but he was not daunted by the intense attention he was receiving. Falconpaw's stomach lurched. With the clan at the beginning of leafbare, they were in no position to fight or get rid of this problem.
"We found a strange scent. One that was not quite cat, yet not quite fox. It was some kind of mixed animal, or so we think. There was no blood, and the scents mingled curiously. We must track it, and every cat should use caution when venturing out alone. In fact, it's probably better that no cat should go out without a companion, though Pinestar will decide the restrictions on that," Oakfur dipped his head to Pinestar.
"I would like a council of my senior warriors to discuss this. If it is a rogue, it must be driven out. If what Oakfur's patrol found was a fox - or worse," here Pinestar sighed, "then we must be prepared. Dawnclan will need every healthy warrior it can get for the upcoming leafbare. The meeting is over. My senior warriors are needed in my den. You know who you are."
The Dawnclan leader jumped down from the think tree stump. The stump's gnarled roots spread across the back wall of the hollow, buried deep into the dirt and rocks while the rest created a surprisingly large den underneath. Erosion carved the beginning of the den many seasons ago, when the founders first made their camp here. The remaining part of the leader's den, like many others, had been carved, softened with water and sticks. The gathered cats began muttering among themselves, and shifting anxiously. Falconpaw didn't know what the fuss was about. It was just one fox, it's not like it could do a lot of harm. Craning his ears, he picked up snippets of conversation.
"-could attack anytime, on a hunt or patrol."
"What about the apprentices? They'll get eaten for sure-"
Finally, Pinestar emerged from her den along with Blizzardpelt, Mossheart, and Sandpelt. The crowd of cats was silent. Pinestar meowed, "We have come to the conclusion that a cat must havbe rolled in fox scent, although why a cat would do that, only Starclan knows, but that still means a fox is in the area. Until the fox is caught the cat is found, no one is to go out without two others. Two to fight and one to run for help. Apprentices must have two warriors or one warrior and two other apprentices. This applies to everyone." Pinestar's gaze swept across the assembled clan, but lingered on Stormpaw and Willowpaw for a heartbeat. Briefly, Falconpaw wondered what the sisters could have done to attract the leader's attention like that. Stormpaw frowned slightly at this piece of news and Willowpaw flicked her tail. Falconpaw was irritated at first, but replaced it with determination. He would fight this fox-thing, for Willowpaw! There were several obsticles he had to clear, unfortunately, and several holes in his plan, if you could call it that. The obvious one is how to fight the animal once he found it. Another problem was how to find it.
Falconpaw would have to work with someone, but who? Not Sparrowpaw; she was too grumpy. Foxpaw was much like their sister Firelight in that she would open her big mouth and everything would come spilling out. Whereas Firelight learned self-control, Foxpaw couldn't keep a seceret if her life depended on it. Falconpaw learned that the hard way. He knew none of the warriors would help him, they would be too busy doing their own thing. This only left...the mottled brown tom glanced at Stormpaw and Willowpaw, who heads were bent, quietly talking. Thinking further about it, he realized they would be a perfect team. Stormpaw was an exceptional fighter, stratigic in her planning and quick thinking in battle. Willowpaw, perhaps destined to be the best hunter in the clan had excellent tracking skills. Both of the littermates were on the patrol that found the scent so they both know it well. Falconpaw, well, he was a bit more rounded, but had more experience than either of them. He was going to recieve his warrior name tonight! That should speak for itself. Training had given him skills and experience even Stormpaw didn't have. Now for probably the hardest part in this mission: talking to Willowpaw. Tenitively Falconpaw stepped toward the place where Stoneclaw's kits were sitting, although they could hardly be called kits. Pinestar just dissmissed the clan so cats were quickly becoming scarce, whether they dissapeared into their den for a quick nap, or being sent on a patrol by Stoneclaw.
"Yes, what do you want?" Stormpaw asked rather sharply. Falconpaw knew she hadn't meant to be rude, sometimes Stormpaw was fun, and thought of the best pranks, but other times she was more... dignified and reserved.
Falconpaw shifted on his paws, "Well, I - I was wondering if we could team up and..." he let the word hang in the air, unsure how to finish the sentence. Stormpaw nodded, understanding lighting in her deep blue eyes.
"Find and fight this fox-thing? Of course! Willowpaw and I were just talking about doing something like that. But what about your warrior assesment? Won't that get in the way?" Falconpaw stared at Stormpaw. How did she know about my warrior assesment? he thought, annoyed that she told Willowpaw before he could tell her.
Willowpaw turned to Falconpaw, "Why didn't you tell me?" she meowed, sounding a little hurt.
"I'm sorry, Sandpelt didn't tell me I was hunting toward getting my warrior name, and I wanted to tell you, but there wasn't time," Falconpaw ducked his head.
The trio sat in awkward silence unitl Stormpaw sighed and meowed, "This is getting us nowhere. We need a plan. And a warrior," she added with a glance at Falconpaw. "We need to wait until Falconpaw is a warrior, then we can act. For now we need to plan and make sure he gets to his second assesment on time." Stormpaw nodded to where Sandpelt, Mossheart, Sparrowpaw and Rainsong were standing at the entrance. They were craning their necks as if looking for someone.
"Foxdung! I have to go!" Falconpaw scurried off, slightly embarrassed.
"I didn't know," Stormpaw muttered sarcastically.
"There you are! Where were you? Foxpaw is in the apprentice den looking for you, there she comes now!" Sandpelt gently scolded his apprentice. When Foxpaw arrived, he began talking again. "As you know, it is time for your final assesment, the one that will mark you as warriors if you complete it succesfully."
Foxpaw gave a little squeal. Falconpaw purred at her excited expression, a nice distraction from the own nervous twisting of his stomach.
Mossheart looked sternly at her apprentice, quickly silencing her. "You will battle each other, then in pairs against us. You will also have a test on the warrior code. So let's go. You have a long day in front of you." Mossheart led the way, swiftly skimming over the snow. Foxpaw followed behind in a similar manner. Although his sisters could travel easily over the snow, Falconpaw was much bulkier and often fell through soft spots. When they arrived at the Sandy Clearing, Falconpaw could barely reconize it. Snow coated the ground and the plants surrounding it, turning it into just another clearing.
Rainsong frowned. "Start clearing some of the snow off to the side. We want to assess you without the snow slowing your movement. It'll be slippery, so be careful," she meowed. Foxpaw eagerly bounded forward, bumping into Sparrowpaw as she did so.
"Watch it," the prickly russet and cream she-cat growled. Foxpaw purred a high-pitch "sorry". Falconpaw stared at his sisters. How could they be so different? Foxpaw was happy and energetic, while Sparrowpaw was moody and silent. Though, he reflected, Sparrowpaw was loyal as the river to the riverbed. One time, as kits, when Brackentail batted Foxpaw off his tail, sending her squealing past Falconpaw, Sparrowpaw flew at him, claws unsheathed. Brackentail still carried that scar, much to Sparrowpaw's satisfaction.
They finished quickly, to Falconpaw's relief. He didn't think he could stand one more moment with his stomach tying itself in knots.
"Sparrowpaw and Falconpaw will spar first," Mossheart meowed.
Falconpaw studied his opponent. Her tail was lashing and her eyes were narrowed, flicking back and forth. Despite her skinny and irritable appearance, Sparrowpaw was clever and her techinique expressed that. She would bluff, double bluff, be in front of him one moment and on his back another. Sparrowpaw knew how to read others. Although Falconpaw hadn't sparred with Stormpaw much, he knew their techiniques were similar. The difference was that Stormpaw had more freedom physically. Sparrowpaw, once he got a hold of her, would be easy to beat. Falconpaw also knew that his sister got angry easily, and a blind rage could overcome her, but he was above provoking her like that. Falconpaw would beat Sparrowpaw without resorting to dirty play.
Sparrowpaw must have seen the distant look in his eyes because that's when she leapt. Falconpaw instinctively rolled and landed lightly on his feet, a move he had first had a lot of trouble with, but now did as naturally as breathing. The mottled brown tom pounced at his littermate, ready to trip her either way she went. Too late he realized she could jump over him. Falconpaw spun on his hind legs to face his opponent, but she wasn't there. Instead, the wind was knocked out of him as a weight slammed into him and he landed heavily on the frozen floor. Instantly a flurry of paws battered his stomach Falconpaw's mind went blank. He could think of only one thing to do: the explosive hind leg kick.
With a grunt and in a blur of legs, Falconpaw sent Sparrowpaw flying across the clearing, Falconpaw springing after her. Sparrowpaw struggled furiously, but Falconpaw's weight was too much so she finally admitted defeat. With a groan and slump of the shoulders, Sparrowpaw sighed, "You win. Now get off you great oaf. Have you been sneaking prey from the fresh-kill pile?" There were no traces of bitterness or anger on Sparrowpaw's face when she got up, leaving Falconpaw to stare at her.
"Stop staring at me as if I killed a fox and ate him for dinner. I would quite like for my face to stay unexamined." Sparrowpaw snapped. Falconpaw muttered an apology and watched her pad to where Rainsong sat. Rainsong said something to Sparrowpaw, but she just grumbled. Something flashed across Rainsong's face, mostly anger, but a bit of disappointment, although Falconpaw was never that good at reading emotions.
Falconpaw turned at the touch of Sandpelt's yellow tail tip. His amber eyes glowed. "You did well. Now you'll have to wait through Foxpaw's mock-fight."
"I don't mind," he meowed quickly. "Who's she fighting?"
"Stormpaw," was the short reply. Falconpaw nodded. He guessed Stormpaw would win, although Foxpaw was older and had more experience. Stormpaw was simply more skillful. Then again, Stormpaw might let Foxpaw win, since it was her warrior assessment.
The fight began quickly. Stormpaw blocked and dodged blows, saw through Foxpaw's tricks and obviously held the upper paw. Foxpaw was coming back though, forcing Stormpaw to fight defensively. She still sneaked in a blow here, a kick there, and appeared to be tiring. Yet when Foxpaw had her pinned, Stormpaw twisted, grabbed the ginger paw testing restraining her and flipped herself so she was facing Foxpaw. Foxpaw reared but Stormpaw just rushed in and grabbed her by the middle. Somehow, Foxpaw ended up on top, one paw on Stormpaw's throat. Stormpaw got up, purring and congratulating her friend.
"You can go now, Firelight's waiting for you. Rainsong and Mossheart can escort you," Sandpelt told the bluish-gray tabby. Stormpaw nodded, and with the two other she-cats, raced off. Just then Foxpaw's stomach growled loudly. She flattened her ears in embarrassment, but nobody teased her. All of their stomachs gnawed at them painfully. "Sorry, but we have one last stop: the Rippleclan border." Falconpaw suppressed a groan, but followed his mentor without verbal complaint. Sparrowpaw was narrowing her eyes and Foxpaw was yawning, displaying a mouthful of sharp white teeth.
Falconpaw's ears pricked. Wailing could be heard through the trees. Heart thuding, he meowed, "Someone's in trouble! Come on, we have to help!" Without any of the warrior's consent, he raced off, Foxpaw not far behind.
Behind him, he heard Sparrowpaw asking Sandpelt, "Should we go after them? They could get hurt." Dimly he registered that his mentors and Sparrowpaw were running after them, but was too focused on finding the source of the crying he didn't care. His paws brought him to the Rippleclan river, where he spotted a small, dark shape clinging to the ice with it's front paws but the rest of it's body was being tugged by river. With a shock, he realized it was a kit, a female Rippleclan kit by the scent. Foxpaw appeared at his side.
"A kit! We have to help it!" she gasped. "Where's Sparrowpaw and Sandpelt?"
"Here," came the reply
"Come on, we need to make a chain. Sandpelt and I can be at the base since we're the heaviest. Then Foxpaw, and then Sparrowpaw. Lie on your stomachs and grip each other, don't let go! Dig in with your claws if nessesary, though I don't think it will be," Falconpaw directed. He winced as Sandpelt's paws gripped his hindquaters but tried to concentrate on holding on to Foxpaw. He knew if Sparrowpaw slipped, or if one of them fell through the ice, letting go could be deadly. As Sparrowpaw neared the middle, where the ice was thinnest, Falconpaw unconsciously gripped Foxpaw tighter, making her hiss.
Sparrowpaw slowly inched closer to shivering, whimpering figure. Her mind was spinning, trying to concentrate on every thing at once. She was making sure her weight was proportioned evenly, carefully monitored the creaking ice, watched the she-kit to make sure she didn't fall in, and wondered why this kit was on the river like this. Finally after several tense moments, she reached the kit. The kit looked about six moons, so probably an apprentice. She was brown, orange, white, and black, and had frightened pale green eyes.
"I'm going to grab your scruff and drag you on the ice, so don't squirm around," Sparrowpaw meowed briskly and reached for the kit. She was heavier than Sparrowpaw expected, but she was still able to gently set her down on the ice. "Now slowly crawl back to the riverbank, but stay next to me," she ordered. To Sandpelt she called, "I've got her, pull back!" They reached Dawnclan territory without incident thankfully.
Falconpaw stared at the young cat that sat in front of them. She was strikingly familiar, but he couldn't put his paw on it.
"Good job Sparrowpaw, Foxpaw, Falconpaw. Let's take her back to Sunfall so she can warm up," Sandpelt gently picked the kit up and ignored the reproachful look she gave him.
"Mouse!" Foxpaw exclaimed. Falconpaw's mouth watered when he thought of the juicy rodent. "Can I catch it?" she pleaded. "I won't eat it!"
Sandpelt nodded, eyes narrowing. Foxpaw quickly came back with the mouse. The look on her face was strained, as if she was using all her willpower not to eat it.
"Can I have some? I'm really hungry," the kit whimpered.
But before any one else had a chance to answer, Sparrowpaw meowed, "No. Not until we get to camp anyway. The warrior code says we put our clan first and feeding you would break it."
"Well I don't like it!" she whined.
"Is also the reason why we had to save you," Sparrowpaw snapped, and Falconpaw could see she was losing her patience.
Quickly he said, "We're here!"
"Congratulations! You passed your warrior assessment," the she-kit padded up to them. Momentarily Falconpaw was confused, but then he realized it was Lichenpaw! "I rolled in Rippleclan scent, found some Rippleclan fur and attached it with a mixture of a couple plants, mostly ones that grew in Rippleclan territory, and sap. So don't feel stupid that you didn't recognize me. Anyway, that was a test, and you passed!
Sandpelt added, "Remember, never speak of this particular test to anyone. Now, go get something to eat, tell your friends and family you passed, in other words, shoo!"
AN: Last chance to send in names! And please, please, review!