private JUDGEMENT DAY [ ✦ ] assessment ii

[BURNSTORM]

Before, Burnstorm had been hard on Falconpaw. But he had had his reasons. They needed more time together, more time to train more time for him to get ready to enter his warrior life. It had been the opposite for Burnstorm. He had been ready before his time, had long established himself as a defender, someone who would protect his family with his life all stemming from the young age where his family had split apart. He had needed to step up in his mind, to be better and do better, to prove that he was more than just his blood. Falconpaw had no such prejudices to work against. He was the son of the deputy and a lead warrior, greatness was something he was born into, not something he needed to work to earn.

"Do you feel ready this moon?" he asks the brown tabby next to him once they make it to their destination, the sandy hollow. One moon ago, they had stood here and he had demanded an impossible task, but this moon it would be different. He would ease up on him, he would leave it in his paws whether he passed or not this time and he would not take it from him like he did last moon. Was what he did wrong? Perhaps, but if he had let Falconpaw go and he had gotten himself killed because he still needed more instruction, Burnstorm never would have been able to forgive himself.

// @FALCONPAW.

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[FALCONHEART]

The disappointment from his assessment has trailed Falconpaw through the month, through his clanmates’ return and his sister’s gradual recovery. He needs to do better. He needs to prove that he’s going to be a good warrior. Howlingstar said that he would be; he can’t let her down again. He can’t let his family or his clan down again. But when Burnstorm leads him out of camp and to the sandy hollow, the tabby-striped tom feels nervous, entire body tensed as he walks along beside his mentor.

Burnstorm asks if he’s ready, and the apprentice shrugs. He’s not defeated, only uncertain. "I- I don’t know. I’ve been training hard, but I thought I was ready last time, so…" he trails off, drawing a paw through the sand in a jagged line. "What are we doing this time?" If it’s the same as last time, the apprentice thinks he may just give up. There’s no way he’ll ever beat Burnstorm. The older tom is so good at being a warrior that he became a part of Howlingstar’s council at only a few months older than Falconpaw—and if he choosss the same assessment as last time, Falconpaw might end up being stuck as an apprentice until he’s as old as Burnstorm.​

[ find me way out there ]​

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[BURNSTORM]

There is no denying that Falconpaw looks nervous. And he cannot say that he blames him. An assessment was something big, an accomplishment. It was a way to prove your worth and every day before he became a warrior he had found himself wondering what his would be. He had never gotten to find out. He had proved his mettle in aa real life situation, something he truly believes Falconpaw may have been able to do if only he had stepped up during the rogue invasion. "You doubt yourself too much Falconpaw" he says with a slight sigh "Look, last time I was hard on you, I admit. But it is only because I wish to see you succeed" he does not want to see him laying dead on a battle-field one day, body broken and twisted at strange angles. "I'm sorry for that, but have confidence in yourself. You will make a fine warrior, regardless of if you were promoted on time or not." his golden gaze lingers on the apprentices form for a long moment before he lifts it to study the tree-line.

"Leaf-bare is coming" its an observation as well as a segue into what they are doing here today. "Your test today will be to catch as much prey as you can before the sun starts to set. I will be following you from a distance, watching your techniques and keeping track of your progress. Meet me back here at the end of the day and I will tell you whether you have passed or not." and with that he flicks his fluffy tail, a dismissal and a clear signal that it was time to start.


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