FETCHING FABLES & FROSTY FRIENDS ✿ apprentice assessment / twitch

[Daisyflight]

"SUREFIRE, YEAH, THE SETTING SUN WANTS COMPANY"​

Chill caught her whiskers, the silvery barbs tugged by the breeze like a web. Daisyflight’s bleach-bone lids fluttered shut for a breath. The imperfect conditions were a boon, in a way. It would force her apprentice to be staunchly aware of the wind direction and position himself downwind. The warrior had no doubts he’d heed her teachings. She only hoped recent sorrows would not hold too much of a sway.

Twisting to face him with limber footing, the molly took a moment to look him in the eye. When Blazestar had informed her of the assessments to take place, she had almost protested. She knew Twitchpaw was ready- every outing was growing proof of that. Perhaps it would benefit him though, a weight acknowledgement of his progress. It wouldn’t hurt. Daisyflight broke the eye contact with a self-aware chuckle.

"Apologies for the scrutiny, I know you aren’t fond of it. You’ve grown so much, have you noticed?" Lilt like a fallen feather, her tail gestured him back into step beside her. They were almost there.

The scarce cloud cover boiled the blue sky to grey, their dredged masses quickened by the gale. Pine trees roiled overhead, evergreen fringes lapping against one another. Daisyflight came to a decisive halt. This would do. A hollow sensation crept up her chest and she found herself so sentiment-soaked it took her a heady breath to begin.

"As you may know, as mentors we have been asked to put our apprentices through assessments- a final test of sorts" Slate cheek sloped low, the calico gauging Twitchpaw’s reaction to her words. "It’s not the be-all and end-all, I have a strong enough understanding of where your skills stand so don’t worry. Take this opportunity to prove all that you can."

She bobbed her head, satisfied with her reassurance, before directing her dusky nose further into the forest. Trunks bedded the horizon into obscurity, giving the impression of boundlessness. Somewhere that way, out of sight, was the Thunderclan border. "Fetch me a squirrel, making use of the treetops. I’ll keep an eye." Daisyflight wreathed him, a few paces clear so as to avoid contact, and waited for her apprentice to be off. That breathlessness had yet to abate, pressing her consideration. She’d miss this.

/ @TWITCHPAW
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[TWITCHBOLT]

The weather was beginning to warm, though he still could not call it nice. Oftentimes he and Daisyflight ended up chatting even a little bit, but... this journey had been markedly more silent than most. There was something... different about it, this time- he'd be a fool not to notice, and he was no fool. The wind tangled his fur- if this was to be some sort of test, some last hurrah, he'd curse the weather from the treetops rather than praising it for once. Just his luck to bag a day where everything would be a little harder...

"I guess so..." he murmured, sparing a glance to his mismatched paws. It was hard to notice when you were the one getting bigger- all he'd really noticed was Quillpaw growing from awkward and gangling to a tall and well-built adult. He... still felt rather small. Small, but bigger. If that was possible, even.

Her voice had... some sort of thickness to it, like she was fighting past something to be able to get the words out. Like she had to prepare herself before she said them. Ears angled, he heeded her instructions as ever- but he'd been right. There was something different about today- this was to be a test of his abilities, his hardiness, his... whatever. It'd be their last outing. And then... into the pit of adulthood he would go, a new name and new duties given. Always shaking from head to toe, Twitchpaw's namesake twitching grew a little more frequent as the realisation fully set in.

Hearing her words of reassurance, he swallowed, steadying himself. Grounding himself. A squirrel... could be worse. Glancing up at his mentor, he allowed a shaky smile to occupy his lips, his uncertainty readable but struggled past. "Okay. Okay." Repetition, as always. Something that reeled in the down-spiral of his thoughts. A rush of cooling air sprawled through his lungs, loosening his muscles and un-clamping the teeth he had not realised he had been grinding.

To the treetops, then. He'd always found scents were a little clearer up there- and over time, thanks to Daisyflight's own expertise in the field and a surprising lack of fear, Twitchpaw had turned into quite the talented climber. Using lower branches to move deftly without making too much noise, Twitchpaw ascended the pines, keeping his form low to the branch surfaces. Watchfulness glowed verdant in wide eyes- the tracking would begin. Wind rocked the arms of the trees, but keeping himself downwind by keeping watch on the direction his fur was blowing, the apprentice found himself relatively confident he would not be spotted through his scent. As he forged forward, the twittering of a bird caught his attention for a moment- but that prey was soon dismissed, nesting above him. It'd be a waste of time to catch it... to fail catching it. He probably wouldn't even get close if he tried.

It was lucky- or perhaps something he loved about his home- that the pines grew so close together and reached out with such a radius. It made leaping between them more of a step, made traversing them stealthily a little simpler once you learned how to do it well. Finally- there, ahead and just below- a squirrel. It snuffled something, poking around near a hollow- likely its hibernation nest. Camouflaged among the earthy tones of the trees, Twitchpaw was able to observe it from above, pondering his next move. It'd see him if he tried to go straight for it... and he was fast, so might catch it up, but that wouldn't be very impressive, would it? Plus, trying to get something in the treetops.... it's be easy to fall and die before he ever became a warrior. No- he had to think cleverly, like he did when he was sparring.

A pinecone hung in his periphery. Picking it between his teeth, Twitchpaw began to descend the tree, keeping his vision as fixed upon the squirrel as he could manage. The heave of every breath whispered in his ears- he could feel every creep of cold, every inch of exhalation. Now a few branches below the squirrel, able only to see its bushy tail poking from behind the branch, Twitchpaw put his risky plan into action. Abandoning all stealth, he sent the pinecone flying. Colliding with a tree-trunk opposite him, it made a small thunk before it hit the ground. Vision snapping back to the squirrel, he saw its tail stiffen. Its attention was snagged- now he just had to hope it would...

A flash of ruddy fur scampered down the tree, away from him- right to where the pinecone had landed. Resisting the urge to celebrate, as quietly as he could Twitchpaw descended fully onto the ground, dropping into a hunting crouch. He'd never be the best hunter in the world, but- at a time like this, average would do just fine. Once he was close enough, he sprung forward, rolling over a little at the end- but there wasn't much struggle before he administered a killing bite, and the squirrel sat dead in his jaws.

Through the scruff of its fur, he really smiled. It felt like moons since he'd done so. ​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[Daisyflight]

"SUREFIRE, YEAH, THE SETTING SUN WANTS COMPANY"​

His compliance smoothed the ridge of sooty fur along her back, brought with gladness at the small smile accompanying it. Daisyflight was well used to the stilt-and-stumble manner that sometimes possessed Twitchpaw and paid it no mind, focusing instead on his deliberate motions. She dipped her chin in a final show of faith before retreating into the undergrowth behind him.

Many paces away, parallel, she stalked his progress. Her front paws mimicked snowfall, in colour and ease. Branches spilt before them as barbed pathways, navy in the shadows. Eager eyes took in his oak-stripe silhouette as it wove across them, as natural as the prey he sought. A lick of that warmth, pride, warded her from the wind chill. Lower in the rungs of the canopy, it took her a moment to catch sight of the passing distraction- her only indicator of the bird being Twitchpaw’s ears swooping to meet it. Observant, good.

Throughout the hunt, Daisyflight sternly sought each of her apprentice’s intentions in every step, scent of the air and balance of his tail. The forest was open to him, owed to his mastery of climbing. Not flawless, no cat was, but close. Soon enough, a slip of fur came into view- his quarry. She settled on a broad branch, claws rooted deep into the bark below. The tracking was over, a strength of his, and now it was time to put fang to throat.

The angle required to snatch up the squirrel would be a tricky one. It would be interesting to see how- she blinked. Why was he holding a pinecone? Hollow of lung, she peered through the foliage to watch his ploy. Such a keen mind, to apply cunning to his prey as if it was an opponent. As the tom connected with his quarry, she felt the success vibrate through her bones.

Movement flooded the air as she lanced across the pine trees that separated them. All subterfuge abandoned at the sight of prey in Twitchpaw’s jaws, she allowed needles to shudder free around them.

"Excellent! I’ve never thought to tempt them out like that, you’ll be recounting that trick to half of camp." Her thrill was palpable, purr caught in the tail of each word. "If you’re comfortable- of course." The wind warped chill around them, emboldened by their place high in the canopy. Spying a quiver of branches a tree or two over that laced together to form a shelter, Daisyflight gestured him out of the elements.

"Well, I’d say you passed." Pink nose tipped to the squirrel; she gave him a genuine smile. "How do you feel?"
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[TWITCHBOLT]

She praised him- uniqueness of thought above all else, and his smile remained. Only now did he notice how wobbly and numb his paws felt, but by virtue of what he had no clue. Couldn't guess. Thrill, apprehension, excitement, adrenaline...? Evidently, he could guess. Wide eyes lingered upon the ground for a moment before he finally lifted his head to meet his mentor's gaze, leaving the squirrel at his paws. Good thing it hadn't been bird... he'd have no one to give it to. No other idiots thought bird was a lunch food- no other idiots would be that picky.

"Hmm-maybe I'll just- teach it to- m-my apprentice, when I- if I... y'know," A trailing thought, he almost tripped over the words as they struggled out of his maw. Twelve moons old, still struggling like this. Still... stammering. At least he didn't lose his temper quite as often as he used to- he remembered the first time he'd met Daisyflight very vaguely. Shredded nests around him, close to tears of frustration... now he wasn't quite as tall as her but he was grown, and she- she was looking at him, beaming, purr in her throat.

How do you feel? Like he might faint, but- he couldn't say that. Not when it wasn't entirely true, because really he often felt as if he was going to faint but never did. And he'd followed her just fine into this shelter, ferrying the squirrel in his maw. For a few long moments her words hung suspended in the air, like the sun at noon. Baring down upon him... but with kind warmth.

"I, uh- I- I-" Twitch of the eyelid, but he pushed through it. Barely did he notice them now, despite the fact his name drew red, glowing attention to them. "We're really never gonna- train together again...?" It wasn't really an answer, but he gave it anyway. He couldn't help the small fray of tears in his voice, the way it pitched up at the end into a squeak. Stupid- pathetic, really, a fully-grown warrior by all but name close to tears. But he could not help it, couldn't... pretend he would not be sad for it all to end.​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[Daisyflight]

"SUREFIRE, YEAH, THE SETTING SUN WANTS COMPANY"​

The sight of the apprentice’s happiness propped up her own, even if it was muddled with a clutch of other emotions. Around them, trees shivered. Like a shed chrysalis, fledgling against the wind. So sentimental, Daisyflight griped to herself.

Twitchpaw’s stammering response drew the arc of her torn ear. The thought of the tom with an apprentice of his own earnt another ripple of expression through her. His kithood still felt too familiar. As fraught as clanlife could be, the goodness found in it certainly kept time on their tails. He would be a good mentor, considerate with just the right touch of intensity if called on. The memory of a cedar-snow scrap latched onto a certain warrior’s foreleg surfaced. Daisyflight swallowed a laugh.

’We're really never gonna- train together again...?’ It jumped down her throat, that loss. The star-bright tip of her tail troubled her paws for a moment. She supposed they wouldn’t, not as they had been. "No, we won't but… I’ll never stop being your mentor- it's just that after your ceremony you can ignore my orders!" The attempted humour bubbled up in a purr, airy.

Sincerity pulled at her maw. "You will be a fine warrior, you’ve all the training you need. Fret not, we will still patrol and hunt together." The molly’s tone was sure, allowing for no argument. She meant it. It was time he stood on his own, though Daisyflight would be lying if she wouldn’t remain vigilant to his footing.
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