HAIL MARY ☾✩ lightpaw's assessment

[nightbird]

it was bittersweet to have her first apprentice graduating soon. lightpaw would be out patrolling on his own in just a moon, in a few after that he would be ready to take on an apprentice of his own (starclan help them). nightbird could only hope she prepared him well enough. little to the pale tom's knowledge, they would find that out today.

the sun was beginning to dip low, painting warm hues across the sky, but she had sent him on a painfully mundane mission to collect moss from outside of camp. he went on his way, but quickly the lead warrior took to the trees to watch from above, wait for the perfect moment that he had gathered enough worth keeping safe. nightbird remained a silent predator above, moving slowly and carefully enough to not shake any branches and alert him of her position. almost did she grow bored watching, having to stifle a yawn or two. however, soon enough, the excitement would commence, that was reward enough to keep her alert.

she slithered down the trunk of the tree like an adder, weaving around branches until she had reached the base. now with four paws on the ground, she peered through the brush to where lightpaw stood, plucking from another tree only a few lengths away. a small pile sat unguarded as he worked, that would be her target for this high-stake game of keep away. stalking up from behind, nightbird waited for the wind to switch, blowing her scent downwind to alert him of her presence. she moved quickly then, snaking around to the side and rushing forward, both front paws extended to aim a blow to his shoulders. in and out as soon as it happened, the warrior made a grand leap to where the pile of moss sat, standing over it protectively.

"if this moss is still in my possession by the time we reach camp, you'll be an apprentice until my last breath." the sliver of a wry smile hung to her lips as she dipped her head and gathered the moss in her jaws before darting off towards the foot of the ravine. it was no accident that this situation would closely mirror a one that caused such a rift throughout thunderclan. after all, she was not only gauging his abilities in combat.

// @LIGHTPAW . ​

 

[LIGHTSTRIKE .]

❝ WE HAVE YET TO CRASH ✧°.☀ —————————————————————————————
The thought of his warrior assessment was never far from his mind. Any day now, he told himself. Any day now, it could be the real thing. The thought excited him. He was so close to being a warrior. So close. All that stood in his way was the assessment.

Of course, when Nightbird sent him on a mission to collect moss, it was the furthest thing from his mind. Moss? "Moss?" he had said, unamused. "Isn't that a job for the younger apprentices?" Not that it would matter. His complaints never did. Sticking a tongue out in the face of her blank stare, he had turned away, rolled his eyes, and wandered off to go... collect moss.

Maybe someone else would have wondered about it. Wondered about the silence. Wondered about why he hadn't been sent off with at least another apprentice, especially so soon after the threat in the forest. As far as he was concerned, though, it was just Nightbird being Nightbird. Even after all these moons, he could still never tell what was going on in that head of hers.

Frankly, he was just as bored as she was, if not moreso - not that he'd know it. It wasn't unusual for him to drag out the task at paw, even taking a moment to plop on his rear with a sigh, stare blankly into the trees, then get up and start the process over again. He did it, at least. Gather the moss.

Something that the smoky warrior had never quite managed to cram into Lightpaw's head was awareness. Her prowl was effortless, the golden tom none the wiser. It was only when the wind changed that he lifted his head curiously. What, come to bash him for taking too long-?

Paws pummeled the earth, and a shape flew from the undergrowth, a weight shoving against his shoulder and sending him toppling. Adrenaline spiked in his veins, then, and he scrambled upright, hackles rising. Before he could get in a word edgewise, though, she was perched atop his moss and speaking a challenge.

His eyes were wide, entirely taken off-guard as he took in the phantom of a smile, as she snatched up the moss and ran. Even before he had quite processed her words he was chasing after her, mind a whirlwind of confusion. "Wait!" he had cried, even as he knew it was useless. If it was still- was this- was this his assessment? She was decently ahead of him, the gap slowly but surely growing while he struggled to get a grasp on the situation.

No. This had to be the assessment. It was too... sudden. Not sudden - he wasn't entirely unused to such things - but it was different.

Shit.

Claws sank into the earth to pick up speed, to catch up, to make up for the time he'd already lost. Even with her leg that would occasionally cause her issues, Nightbird was faster than him, far more agile. He knew that well. He also knew that it was her weakness. Training for moons under the same cat would put such weaknesses on display eventually. She certainly knew how to exploit his.

Lightpaw grit his teeth, a newfound determination fueling his gait. Catch up. Catch up. This was it. He had to catch up. He wasn't necessarily faster, but he was heavier, stronger. That was it!

With only a moment's pause to prepare, hindlegs pushed hard into the earth, sending himself forward in a bound, aiming to close that gap once and for all. Paws, outstretched, aimed to crudely knock her legs out from beneath her, hopefully sending them into a tumbling halt. He was prepared to reorient, prepared for the maneuvers that so often left him eating dirt in her wake. Should he miss, he would easily land and pivot to race after her.

[penned by its_oliverr - ☀]

——————————— ☀.°✧ BUT WE STILL MAY AS WELL ENJOY IT ❞ ​

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[nightbird]

as much as she would have loved to stand around, relishing in his spiked fur and wide eyes, it was not the time nor place. a shadow, pelting through the forest, he was quick to follow despite the confusion of it all. nightbird held her lead for a few lengths, and while he certainly harbored a longer stride there was no questioning her speed.

the paws that thundered behind her were growing closer. without eyes in the back of her head, it would be difficult to gauge where he would launch an attack once they stopped. the lead warrior braced her shoulders to be landed on from above, but her hind legs were swept from their next contact with the ground. the momentum and the rigidity of her front half lead to a brutal faceful of dirt and leaf litter.

rolling once through the debris, she would land on the other side in a predatory crouch. her hind legs would meet the ground with much more force, and due to the rather awkward position of which she settled, a familiar twinge had her ears twitching in annoyance. that little shit. although her gaze was narrowed, there was a brief flash of pride that swam through it. while she sure wasn't too happy that it was her ailment being capitalized on, lightpaw had successfully targeted a weakness to use to his advantage.

the moss stood between them now, lost in the chaos of her fall. he had done well to disarm her, but was mistaken by not launching another strike while she was down. it did not take him long to pass her in height, the apprentice was no longer so easily pushed around. she wouldn't pick an opponent of his stature willingly on the battlefield, a larger target takes much more energy and heavy hitting to take down. still, she had no option but to give him a run for his money.

storming forward, the bundle of moss was kicked and scattered in her wake. at the least, it would take time for him to gather before jetting off again. pushing off from her hind legs, she would leap forward aiming to wrap her forelegs around his neck. if successful, she would use her hind legs to barrage anywhere she could with a flurry of kicks. it would be interesting to see whether he would continue entertaining her assault, or brush her away in order to pursue the now estranged prize. the latter certainly wouldn't be difficult, whether her attacks had landed or not, she was certainly not in a stellar position for defense. ​

 

[LIGHTSTRIKE .]

❝ WE HAVE YET TO CRASH ✧°.☀ —————————————————————————————
His swing struck true, and his mentor went down. (Truthfully, watching her eat the dirt felt good). Lightpaw nearly went down with her, just about tripping over the tangle of limbs and skidding to a halt. She twisted, spun into a crouch, and a victorious grin flashed across his maw as their eyes met.

"Hah!" he barked breathlessly, and that was all the time she needed to bolt forward, kicking the moss and sending it flying. Shit, he needed that! He didn't have time to scramble for it, though, and the gap between them was gone, paws now firmly secured around his neck while the others churned, nearly dragging him to the forest floor.

The golden tom staggered, gaze briefly flickering away to the scraps of moss. Nightbird wouldn't let him ignore her so easily. Jerking himself backward but not quite out of her grip, the apprentice moved to rear up and grapple at her himself, hoping to lock them into what would be anything but a friendly hug. He would squeeze, hard, and unceremoniously drag her sideways, sending them both to the earth.

For the briefest of moments, the smoky warrior would feel the pinprick of claws, the temptation and instinct to hold her more securely, but they quickly receded. Gritting his teeth, he would roll onto his back, herself on top, plant his hindlegs into her belly, and shove. Anything to dismount her, hopefully to even stun her, so that he may get up and scramble to collect as much moss as he could before she could recover.

[penned by its_oliverr - ☀]

——————————— ☀.°✧ BUT WE STILL MAY AS WELL ENJOY IT ❞ ​

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[nightbird]

a triumphant cheer and grin quickly fell out of her vision as she grasped around his neck. nightbird would have loved to see it vanish with her own eyes, but feeling him stumble adjusting to an added weight was good enough. she did not stop her attack as lightpaw reared, but then forelegs wrapped around her tightly. she felt her chest squeeze under the pressure, grip loosened as a result.

soon they both met the ground, flanks meeting the dirt with a thud. it pushed the air from her lungs, eliciting a puff of breath through her nose. for a moment, they were locked there. the faintest prickle of claws edged through thick fur. her gaze was tapered, daring him to follow through. however, the feeling was gone as quickly as it came, and soon they were rolled and paws that jabbed into her underbelly would send her off to the side.

although quickly regaining her footing, nightbird did not launch another attack. she watched from the side of her eye as he quickly moved to gather the scattered moss, swiftly moving into dense growth. the sun dipped lower and lower every minute and she used the shadows to cover her form. they were not too far from camp as it was, but lightpaw would be mousebrained to believe that this was over.

nightbird wouldn't wait for him to collect and start running once more before she took off in the direction of home. although the denseness of the greenery she weaved was helpful in keeping her hidden, it was doing no favors for her speed, and she needed to get ahead. racing, she paused as to time her attack effortlessly. a perfect picture of stillness the lead warrior sat crouched in wait for the apprentice to speed by. as soon as he was close enough, nightbird would burst from the undergrowth, remaining low to the ground as she dove in front of where his paws would be planted next. she fully expected to be trampled in the process, but hopefully it would trip him up enough so that she was not the only one caught eating dirt tonight.​

 

[LIGHTSTRIKE .]

❝ WE HAVE YET TO CRASH ✧°.☀ —————————————————————————————
Freed of her grip and scrambling to collect the moss that he could, (although in a calmer moment he might have wondered if these scraps were even useful anymore, shredded as they were), he expected her to attach to him yet again or even move to scatter it even more. Yet when green eyes flashed over, he was just in time to see her vanish into the undergrowth. Oh, she would.

With the quick decision - or lack thereof - to simply book it and figure it out when she inevitably showed up along the way, Lightpaw did just that. With as much moss in his mouth as he could carry, he paused only to suck in a deep breath before be ran.

The forest would be getting darker and darker as time wore on. Sunlight was already receding by the moment, shadows deepening. It most certainly wouldn't be the first time she would pull a maneuver like this. With camp fast approaching, he did his best to stick to the less dense areas, what patches of sun he could still find.

It only worked for so long, however. The golden tom streaked by a thick frond, and out launched Nightbird. Heels dug in hard for a stop but it was too late, tripping over her lithe form. Unfortunately for her he didn't quite eat the earth, instead twisting so that he fell on his side and rolled, stumbling back to his paws with a wince. The earth yanking at his fur didn't feel too good.

With his mouth occupied he was forced into silence, but the flash in his eyes spoke it all. He was hasty in his turn, head twisted and stare locked on her, prepared to leap away from whatever advance she might make. Paws moved, and he accelerated into the trees once more.

As much as he wanted to grapple with her, to put her in the dirt and keep her there, he wasn't sure if he had the stamina to spare. It was getting difficult to suck in breaths through his nose or around the moss. Stars, did she really run all that way with this shit?

[penned by its_oliverr - ☀]

——————————— ☀.°✧ BUT WE STILL MAY AS WELL ENJOY IT ❞ ​

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[nightbird]

although now her underbelly was undoubtedly caked with forest debris, she was successful in tripping him up. a win in itself. nightbird pulled herself back to her paws only to see lightpaw had done the same. the moss seemed sent from starclan in this moment, prevented him from barking at her. a blazing green gaze chewed her out instead.

quick to turn and run once more, he remained locked in on her as she pelted along just behind him. they were more evenly matched in speed now, thanks to his first attack that sent her rolling, but she had no plans of making a move just yet opting to remain his shadow until the right moment. past a few more trees and they would be reaching the camp tunnel, he was closer than ever to his warrior name. it seemed that he knew it too, less willing to entertain her attacks with a sole goal of breaching the gorse tunnel into camp.

a thorny barrier was beginning to come into view, the entrance seemed to be highlighted by the last splash of remaining light. as much as her body now ached from this little jaunt, nightbird just couldn't let him enter peacefully. when they reached a spot just outside of the threshold, she would jump to aim for a spot on his back, her front paws reaching around to grapple at his face. ​

 

[LIGHTSTRIKE .]

❝ WE HAVE YET TO CRASH ✧°.☀ —————————————————————————————
He was so close. Even with the sun going down, he knew where he was. Almost there. His warrior name- he could taste it. If he could just get away from her, just a few more bends...

Lightpaw seemed to put on a burst of speed he didn't know he had, a mixture of excitement and the urge to get the assessment done and over with fueling his gait. Even so, it wasn't enough - he had stopped paying attention to her, too focused on what lie ahead.

Once again that shadow burst from some place only StarClan knew, and black-and-white paws slammed down onto his scarred shoulders. His legs buckled beneath him and he twisted, once again hitting the earth on his side. Those same paws flooded his vision, a challenging growl rising in his throat and his head jerking to the side, chin tucking to his chest to keep the stupid moss away.

As much as one part of him whined that she just couldn't let him go, the other wanted to finally prove once and for all that he wasn't a failure anymore. He wasn't. He was the next warrior of ThunderClan!

With a garbled noise that may have been words, the golden tom reached up with his own paws, aiming to grab her and push her to the side, using his hind legs to aid in the test of power. He would aim to roll over, then, and quickly try to plant himself on top of her, pinning whatever he could to restrain her movement, be it her chest, legs, or a mixture of both.

There was a wild glint to Lightpaw's eyes now, the exhilaration of the exercise only slightly dampened by his growing exhaustion. Rarer still, confidence. Even with the ragged moss clamped in his jaws, there was a surprisingly lighthearted grin that planted itself there. This is the cat you have raised. Are you finally proud of what you see?

[penned by its_oliverr - ☀]

——————————— ☀.°✧ BUT WE STILL MAY AS WELL ENJOY IT ❞ ​

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[nightbird]

nightbird struggled to maintain balance as lightpaw's frame moved beneath her, pale body twisting so that his flank may meet the ground. her quest to grab at his face was abandoned quickly in order to regain stability. her efforts were rather worthless, paws rolled from under her body as he writhed.

she landed awkwardly on top of the apprentice, legs not quite reaching the ground that they reached for. there was a growl, something unintelligible, then she was forced away. nightbird hissed as hind legs made contact with a soft spot just below her ribs, the pressure relieved just as she hit the ground.

tail twitching, she began to collect her paws underneath her. dark ears angled back as she heard lightpaw stir to do the same, this time he was quicker. the small distance closed, she was now pinned firmly with a white paw in her chest, another holding down a foreleg. if it were a real fight, this position would be her last.

nightbird half expected to look up and see the flash of teeth veering towards her neck, but an expression much different greeted her. he looked ridiculous, mouth full of moss. a grin sat upon a sandy maw, just peeking through the greenery. it was not as malicious as she would have assumed, but the look on lightpaw's face could only reflect what she thought he must be feeling. the sweet rush of a victory to come, but he didn't yet seize it. holding them both just out of reach. "you gonna end this or what?" she prods almost playfully, ears twitching as she reached up a free paw swiping towards the moss in a taunting motion.​

 

[LIGHTSTRIKE .]

❝ WE HAVE YET TO CRASH ✧°.☀ —————————————————————————————
It was rare for him to so soundly have Nightbird defeated in a fight, especially as a young apprentice. Had it been getting easier? He truly hadn't quite noticed. Maybe he... really had been getting stronger.

Grinning down at her, she seemed a little more than disgruntled, maybe even slightly confused (although he couldn't begin to guess why), but it seemed to ease as the moments ticked by. He was still panting for breath, and yet he felt invigorated like nothing before. He wouldn't be Lightpaw for long.

Nightbird questions him, both a light challenge and an admission of defeat that has his heart leaping into his throat with pride. Even though she can't reach with her lazily swatting paw, he still recoils his head out of reach. Then, after a pause, he lifts one of the paws pinning her leg - surely momentarily increasing the pressure on her poor chest - and bopping her in the nose as if to say Boop! You're dead now.

Lightpaw hopped backward from the smoky warrior, turned, and began to bolt those final strides toward camp. I won. I won. I'm a warrior now- I won.

[penned by its_oliverr - ☀]

——————————— ☀.°✧ BUT WE STILL MAY AS WELL ENJOY IT ❞ ​

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