private Cry havoc (Assessment)

[Badgermoon]

Someday, perhaps, Badgermoon would be able to train an apprentice from kithood to the day Sootstar proclaimed them to be a full warrior of WindClan. For now, though, it seemed that he was the finishing-up mentor, the wrapping-up-loose-ends mentor, the last-few-moons mentor: both Firefang and Snakepaw had been formerly apprenticed before making their way to him. It troubled him slightly - was he not a good enough influence to be given a brand-new apprentice? - but he was, at least, content that neither of them had needed to be reassigned again. The black-and-white tom snorted as he thought, I may not start an apprentice's training, but I sure can finish it, I suppose.

Regardless, it was time for his teachings to be tested once again: the time of Snakepaw's assessment had arrived. Badgermoon was only slightly nervous - despite his too-sharp tongue and distinctly discourteous attitude, the young tom was dedicated and passionate, and he was satisfied with the amount of progress he had made. Nevertheless, he could not stop the slight tension which fizzled in his mind as he prepared for the assessment. "Now, you wait right here, if you please." he instructed the newly-appointed warrior, peering around at the spot he had chosen. It was an infrequently-visited area of the territory, near Rabbit's Run but not on the beaten path, and closer to Fourtrees than to camp.

In his estimation, it would be a perfect spot for "the enemy" to hide, given the especially thick and fragrant shrubbery and clumps of grass, not to mention a large log which obscured the area. It would be tricky to find, but hopefully not impossible - and for a WindClan warrior, it oughtn't be much trouble at all. "Try not to move too much or make too much noise - ideally, he'll detect you based on his own powers of observation, with no help from you." added the deputy, circling his volunteer thoughtfully. "When he finds you, make sure he gives you a good fight - just don't kill each other, please, or give Wolfsong too much work." he swished his dark tail before adding, with a tired smile, "And thanks for your help, Sparkspirit. I really appreciate this. Best of luck." though he supposed it wasn't Sparkspirit who needed the luck.

Turning, Badgermoon left and made the trip back to camp, being sure to wend his way across the whole moorland to ensure Snakepaw couldn't simply follow his scent. He caught a few mice along the way, which he dropped in front of his apprentice as they met just outside the hollow. "Eat, first, if you're hungry." mewed the bicolor tom, nudging the small, plump morsels closer. Badgermoon would wait for Snakepaw to either eat or refuse, before offering a warm smile, attempting to bump his shoulder against his apprentice's. "You'll do an excellent job - I'm sure of it. I'm very proud of you, Snakepaw, and while I'm sorry that this will be my last day as your mentor, I'm excited for you to become a warrior of WindClan." he puffed out his scarred chest before moving on to the instructions.

"There is an enemy - or, rather, a WindClanner standing in for an enemy - somewhere on WindClan's land. Find them, and find them fast, before they can harm any of your Clanmates; use your swiftness and your powers of observation. Stalk them, using your stealth, strength, and cunning. Fight them, and defeat them if you can, with your combat skills. If you do these things, and do them well, you will be ready to become a warrior worthy of StarClan's blessing." Badgermoon rose to his feet, his yellow eyes sharp but bright with enthusiasm. "I will be watching. Go, and earn your place, as I know you will."

[ @SNAKEPAW @sparkspirit <3 ]​

 

[SNAKEHISS]

❪ TAGS ❫ — Snakepaw had been waiting for this moment from the day he had become apprenticed. Nothing would ever be as exciting and anticipated as his actual warrior ceremony, but it was still the most important step if he intended to graduate from training. Passing his assessment with flying colors meant that, by the next meeting, Snakepaw would have his new lifelong name and rank. He would be seen as an equal to the other adults, no longer a child but a full-grown cat.

The tom had been pacing back and forth, ignoring any passing looks or comments offered his way as he mentally prepped himself for his assessment. StarClan, give me strength. Snakepaw prays silently to his predecessors above, hoping that he would be able to demonstrate his training to the best of his ability even though a month had been lost due to his injury. Speaking of his injury, Snakepaw also hoped that the healed wound would not interfere in any way. It didn't hurt to walk on anymore, no, but he could not risk agitating the site and hindering his performance.

His mentor had returned with a catch for him to snack on before he headed out into the territory. A part of Snakepaw hadn't much appetite due to his nerves being on edge, but he knew that he should fuel his body and brain as much as possible. So, Snakepaw had silently crouched and bitten into the tender flesh, filling his stomach while Badgermoon addressed him. The encouraging words and the friendly nudge against his shoulder was met with a quirk of his lips, most likely read as discomfort from his upcoming assignment. While it was true that Snakepaw was feeling all sorts of nervous at the moment, the way he viewed his mentor had changed over the past few moons. He knew that some apprentices tended to grow close with their mentors, as if they were related by blood, but Snakepaw knew better than to look at Badgermoon as anything other than a teacher. After today, he would merely be his superior and nothing more.

The tom finishes his meal and straightens up now, intently digesting Badgermoon's instructions and already laying out a plan of action in his head. Track down an enemy in the territory and fight them... Snakepaw did not worry for the former half, but he cannot help but wonder who this "enemy" was...

"Go, and earn your place, as I know you will."

Oh yes, he would indeed. Snakepaw wasn't coming out of this assessment a failure. He wouldn't allow it.

---

The apprentice had set off on his quest a short while ago, utilizing all of his senses in order to track down his fated opponent. Badgermoon had done well in covering his tracks, so Snakepaw had checked many corners of the territory, including the bigger landmarks like the Sun-warmed Pool, the Abandoned Badger Set, and Outlook Rock. As he neared the edge of WindClan's territory near Rabbit's Run, a fresh scent carried on the breeze and flooded Snakepaw's nostrils. This is it. The midnight black tom figures, ducking his ears and slinking lower to the ground, steps cautious and light. Badgermoon had once told him that stealth was a specialty better reserved for ShadowClan, but Snakepaw had always relied on light footwork and remaining undetected in order to ambush prey. He could utilize these skills in battle, too.

He sniffs the air once again, padding off the beaten path and quietly advancing toward where the smell lingered the strongest. The lithe apprentice slithered through the dense shrubbery, down and around, stopping in his tracks every few moments to survey his surroundings with his eyes and ears. A large tree trunk sat before him, the scent of a fellow WindClanner filling the vicinity, and Snakepaw's intuition told him that this could be where they were stationed.

The tom placed his paw upon the side of the trunk, gearing himself to stand on his hind legs and peek over the top, before stopping himself. If the "enemy" was smart, they would be checking every moment to see if anybody appeared upon the log, and then the surprise would be ruined. Instead, Snakepaw backed down and crouched, sneaking around the log instead and poking an eye out from behind every so slightly. He felt his muscles tense at the very sight, jaw drawing agape. Sparkspirit! Badgermoon surely must have done this on purpose. Either way, Snakepaw was determined now more than ever to defeat the rust-patched warrior. His reputation, his warrior name depended on it. Sparkspirit would not humiliate him again.

Snakepaw backed away from his observation spot and snuck behind the log for a final time. If he came in from above, then he could get Sparkspirit onto the ground pretty quickly. Light on your paws. Quick and forceful, no hesitation. He instructed himself, grounding his paws and bunching his muscles to leap. In one swift motion, Snakepaw propelled himself using his lithe legs and sprung over the fallen trunk, arms outstretched and aiming to come crashing down onto Sparkspirit and hopefully knocking him to the ground.​

 

[sparkspirit]

If this was a test for Snakepaw, there was no doubt that Badgermoon had intended to test him as well. That the deputy had chosen him, knowing– well, he assumes knowing exactly what had gone on between the two of them, made his insides prickle. Discomfort and displeasure and something like distrust, but... not for the deputy. Snakepaw? He couldn't decide. Maybe in the end it was only himself he distrusted. Not his skill in battle, but the way that he could handle himself with the other apprentice around. Not other, not another– they are no longer equals, and he had avoided the black tom accordingly. Today it seems the end of it.

Obediently he had stood in place, tucked low in the foliage. Badgermoon had not ordered him not to make it harder on Snakepaw, and a vindictive part of him wishes to. If he left this place, perhaps he could extend this another hour more. Force him to return to camp in shame and hold to his name even longer. It shouldn't be him here. He knows he cannot be wholly reasonable in this moment. Why him? Of all the warriors? Why not one of his littermates, if the deputy had been so intent on one newly named? It is through sheer force of will that Sparkspirit remains in place.

Even as the slightest brush of fur against foliage alerts him to an incoming cat, he stays. Waits, tense and taut, for the strike that does not come. One moment and then another. He might have misheard. Right as his shoulders begin to fall lax, a shadow leaps forward. He doesn't have enough time to dodge or fully brace himself, but in the seconds he has between noticing and the impact of it, his mind does what his body cannot. Sparkspirit goes with the blow, rolling to his back, but follows it immediately with a harsh kick to the apprentice's belly. Remembering what Badgermoon had said, his claws remain sheathed for now– the last thing he wants is to end up on either the deputy or medicine cat's list of worst offenders for such a delicate wound.

˗ˏˋ〘  OOC ･ ｡ﾟ🗲 REFERENCE 06.26.2023 〙´ˎ˗

• ooc: —

• 

• sparkspirit, sparky. dmab male, he - him - his.
  ──── moor runner warrior of windclan; is very loyal to his clan.
  ──── 09 moons old. born on 12.15.22, and ages 85% real time.
  ──── echolight x elmbreeze, adopted by yewberry. brightfam?
  
  a long-limbed, trim mock tortoiseshell tom with mostly black fur splashed with the occasional patch orange. he has a singular white mark on the back of his neck shaped similarly to a lightning strike, and a small scar across the bridge of his nose. his eyes are a shocking electric blue.
  
  his apprenticeship has treated sparkspirit well. a newly-named warrior, he is lean and well-muscled, with paws accustomed to long treks throughout the moorland. he is deceptively sturdy and heavier than one might expect.

• "speech"

​

 

[SNAKEHISS]

Snakepaw is sent flying backward with a grunt, his head missing the log by mere mouse lengths and instead thudding onto the ground. He rolled onto his stomach, shaking his head free from debris and dust. Starting off with a bang, huh? "I'm glad Badgermoon chose you, actually!" A dry laugh expels from dark lips as he gets to his paws.

The tom began to slink around Sparkspirit, not taking his green gaze off the multi-colored warrior. Snakepaw would argue that this was not just a test of battle prowess but a test of wit and strategy, a test of subduing your opponent by any means possible. There was nothing like a good taunting to potentially discourage an opponent, or at least distract them. "I think that beating you will be quite satisfying." Were the last words Snakepaw uttered before suddenly launching from his position, aiming to leap onto Sparkspirit's back and bite onto his scruff in order to secure his position. Whether his attempt was successful or not, all Snakepaw wanted was to get the warrior onto the ground.​

 

[sparkspirit]

"And I think I'll quite enjoy telling Badgermoon you failed." Acidic, nursing an aching shoulder from the way that he had landed, Sparkspirit scrambles up to follow him without distraction– so he would like to say. That his anger with the apprentice meant more to him in this moment than any moons-old guilt; that his mind did not wander sharply to the battle against RiverClan, where he had promised to help him and failed. Had he earned these moons of ire from Snakepaw? Maybe not. Maybe it was as Icebreath said, so long ago. He was just mean. That had even felt like the truth, ever so briefly. But as with most things in the young warrior's life, that did not linger long. Snakepaw was right. It was a distraction, if not outright discouragement. His mind is somewhere else, hesitant, ever so briefly.

Onto the ground is what he wants, and onto the ground is what he gets. The needle-sharp fangs sinking into his scruff are pinpricks of fire. The claws that dig in to maintain balance rake the flames further down his spine until he sucks in a breath and falls. The inhale is shoved out of him just as quickly. Pressing his paws into the earth, he kicks off powerfully and attempts to roll them so that Snakepaw is crushed beneath his weight. Whether or not it forces him to release the bite fully, he attempts to wrench himself away and find his paws again.

˗ˏˋ〘  OOC ･ ｡ﾟ🗲 REFERENCE 06.26.2023 〙´ˎ˗

• ooc: spark: okay sorry badger fuck your "don't kill each other, please" rule

• 

• sparkspirit, sparky. dmab male, he - him - his.
  ──── moor runner warrior of windclan; is very loyal to his clan.
  ──── 09 moons old. born on 12.15.22, and ages 85% real time.
  ──── echolight x elmbreeze, adopted by yewberry. brightfam?
  
  a long-limbed, trim mock tortoiseshell tom with mostly black fur splashed with the occasional patch orange. he has a singular white mark on the back of his neck shaped similarly to a lightning strike, and a small scar across the bridge of his nose. his eyes are a shocking electric blue.
  
  his apprenticeship has treated sparkspirit well. a newly-named warrior, he is lean and well-muscled, with paws accustomed to long treks throughout the moorland. he is deceptively sturdy and heavier than one might expect.

• "speech"

​

 

[SNAKEHISS]

"You will not stand in the way of earning my warrior name. I've worked too hard for it." What would Badgermoon think if he failed his assessment today? What about Sootstar and his parents? The rival tom was adamant about keeping Snakepaw from his victory and he could not let it happen.

They went tumbling through the air, crashing through the original outskirts of the clearing the stage for the battle had been set in. Snakepaw let out a wheeze as the warrior's weight crushed him from above and effectively released his bite. Fueled, determined, motivated, the apprentice is quick to scramble to his paws and lunge after Sparkspirit in an attempt to grab ahold of his neck again, this time trying to pull him back down onto the ground and wrap himself around him tightly.

A sound fills the air around the brawling pair, like a puffing adder and a snarling wolf combined. A foreign scent wafts within the vicinity as well and only becomes stronger, as does the noise. It's loud and close enough, surely, to force the attention of the WindClanners.

The bristling ball of black and white comes to a pause, triangular ears pricking like insect antennae and pupils narrowing into thin slits as his focus is ripped away from Sparkspirit and onto... whatever that was.

Emerging from the hole in the ground is a growling creature of black and white, accompanied by a faint aroma of milk, with beady eyes locking onto the felines. A mother badger ─ a particularly angry-looking one, too. Snakepaw has never seen one up close, as they weren't particularly social creatures, but the claws that she wielded were a dead giveaway. "W... We should go. Now." Inklings of fear make his veins run cold, a scarred paw lifting tentatively as he ducks his ears and shrinks back.

// feel free to powerplay the badger and stuff wskdfkksdfg​

 

[sparkspirit]

Had he worked for anything in his life? Did Snakepaw have aspirations to be anything but a thorn in another's side? The pain to a delicate wound? He had mastered the skill of finding weakness in another, but it only seemed to be against those he should stand beside. But Snakepaw didn't have any friends, did he? That would require kindness which the black cat thoroughly lacked. If Sparkspirit did keep him from his warrior name today, it would not be mean-spirited. He doesn't lack kindness the way the apprentice does. But it will be deserved.

Their tussling is not the good-natured sparring of friends, or kits at play. He growls deep and rumbling as Snakepaw launches at him again. They're too similarly sized for a great advantage, and this time he has prepared himself. The warrior doesn't budge. With his claws sinking deeply into moorland earth, he hisses and grunts at the straining of dark paws as he shoves forward into his chest, doing all that he can to force him off balance. Even if it succeeded, though, Sparkspirit would not have the chance to press his advantage.

They disentangle just in time for him to see it emerge. This is what Badgermoon is named for, he thinks dumbly, and– were it not from the coloration, he would never have seen a resemblance. The great, lumbering beast has long, blunt claws and beady eyes. It smells of dirt and musk and something sweet beneath the surface. A mother, he realizes just as Snakepaw does. Weaselclaw had prepared him for predators as best as any mentor could. They should retreat indeed, come back with a larger patrol. They could drive this badger from their territory and kill its kits so that the next generation of beasts would bother them less.

So to say– for once, just once, he completely and totally agreed with Snakepaw. If only the world had recognized that for the sacred decision that it was.

Instead, the badger lurches forward. Though slow and lumbering, it is surprisingly agile as it darts directly for Snakepaw, one great paw raised to bare dirt-tipped claws. And Sparkspirit lunges then, not away from the scene but towards it, until he sinks his teeth into the badger's thick hide at its hindquarter and yanks until it growls and turn towards him. "Distract it!" he shouts, and his voice is shriller with fear than he would have hoped it to be.

˗ˏˋ〘  OOC ･ ｡ﾟ🗲 REFERENCE 06.26.2023 〙´ˎ˗

• ooc: —

• 

• sparkspirit, sparky. dmab male, he - him - his.
  ──── moor runner warrior of windclan; is very loyal to his clan.
  ──── 09 moons old. born on 12.15.22, and ages 85% real time.
  ──── echolight x elmbreeze, adopted by yewberry. brightfam?
  
  a long-limbed, trim mock tortoiseshell tom with mostly black fur splashed with the occasional patch orange. he has a singular white mark on the back of his neck shaped similarly to a lightning strike, and a small scar across the bridge of his nose. his eyes are a shocking electric blue.
  
  his apprenticeship has treated sparkspirit well. a newly-named warrior, he is lean and well-muscled, with paws accustomed to long treks throughout the moorland. he is deceptively sturdy and heavier than one might expect.

• "speech"

​