private BE FREE, WITH ME // hawkspine

[spicepurr]

Spicepaw knows why she seeks him out. The hole in her chest pains worse without a distraction, and though Hawkspine cannot fill it entirely with their half-hearted small talk, it does enough for a few minutes. She lingers by the camp entrance, no different than any other day, however as soon as she spots her former denmate she waves to him. "Hawkspine!" she calls, her grin hardly subdued, "Come over here!" Spicepaw insists.

Only when he closes the gap does the she-cat chirp, "I passed my assessment." She does not express how perceptively easy it was (nor does she share her doubts of if Momowhisker gave her easier challenges this time.) She remains factual - excited, but factual. "Turns out I just needed a little more practice..." she offers instead with a small laugh.

@HAWKSPINE
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[HAWKSPINE]

Hawkspine doesn't hesitate when he's called, whirling to face Spicepaw with hazel eyes alight and plumy tail lifting in greeting to his friend. Being a new warrior had kept him busy, the patrolling and hunting nearly constant now in lieu of training with Howlfire and Sillybreeze, but he can linger behind his next patrol by a short while to converse with a Clanmate. He would always make time for her, after all, taking comfort in the presence of his peer.

Spicepaw had been nervous to redo her assessment if the tension held around her muzzle had been at all an indication. Her cheerful demeanour as she greets him now can only mean one thing:

"You did it!" He gasps. Hawkspine's excitement shows in the eager sparkle of his eyes and the twitch of his whiskers, paws tapping against SkyClan ground in genuine delight for his friend. He stamps a few times, fur fluffed out in pride. She's earned this, he thinks, unaware of her self-sabotage the last time around. "Spicepaw, you're going to get your warrior name!"

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[spicepurr]

There's a warmth in her chest as he cheers her name, as his dual colored eyes twinkle with excitement. It's exhilarating in its own right to be celebrated, and though she knows she's destined to be mantled within a meeting... it's nice to have this moment with her friend. His little dance earns an awkward giggle, too, and she leans out of the way, "Oh, stop that," she chitters, her tail curling around her paws. "You'll have the whole Clan thinking you're no different than a loon...!"

In any case, though she greeted him with excitement, his in return is infectious tenfold, and Spicepaw takes the chance to relax in his company. "Yeah! I... wonder what it's going to be. I heard Orangestar likes to name after legacy sometimes..." her ears fold back for a moment as she tries to think, "So... Spicewhisker, then? Or... Spicebeam. Spiceberry? None of them seem quite right, huh..." She learns quickly that she's not really one for legacy, if she can help it. She'd rather her siblings hold to their own definitions instead of stealing them.​