The BIG Day

[Yoko]

ooc: Pssst, Sydney and Yellow are needed too*

Rumbling roar of a wake up call. Distant thunder, how it wakes the sleeping emotions of any cat. How it makes the heart tremble! How it forces unwilling movement of muscles! The wind moves him less, ruffling only his fur but not piercing the skin nor the wells of his tumultuous heart. The same could be said for the rain which was cold in its stray droplets that ran between the thin trails in his fur. To think, here he stood, windblown, rain-drenched, and he could not possibly be prouder. But this pride was not for his two squirming daughters, strong and healthy, safe and warm inside their cozy little den, but rather for three incredible she-cats that had been a true joy, a passionate one too, to train.

Lizardeye was unmoved as ever by the elements. The darkness, which had blotted out any glimmer of dawn or morning light, was of no concern to him. In fact, it was better suited for their intentions this very day. As he waited patiently for their apprentices, plus one, whom they had sent Twistedclaw to call for, he could think only of the satisfaction that training these cats had brought him. They were truly talented, and with his help, they could only be more skilled. Today, he would learn their full capabilities. He knew it would put a strain on them. All the extra work would tire them perhaps to their limits. But he wanted to know everything they had learned, and he could see no other way than to extend their assessment. One might call him obsessive, but he preferred what Snaketail had called it... "thorough".

"They're on their way!" the smallest tabby grunted, responding to the curious look of his tallest brother.

He sat on Snaketail's right, his fur ruffled from the wind, and his body stubbornly still despite the cool rain. The darkness the clouds were giving was a blessing really. He could not stand that blinding gray that so often came with rain. He knew it would come later though. This was no serious storm, despite its blackness. The Sun would easily change the shade of the clouds by high-sun if not before. They had better use the darkness to their advantage.

[Sydney]

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[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Brightpaw emerged from the apprentices' den and was greeted with chilly air, a dark sky and wetness. It was dawn but dark clouds were covering what little light there was, making the air choked of light and warmth and sending a little shiver down her spine. Her ginger fur fluffed up instinctively to try to warm her body but was unsuccessful, eliciting a brief sigh of displeasure from the young apprentice.

After glancing around the clearing for a moment and realizing there weren't that many other cats awake, she supposed it was partially either because it was so early or because of the rain. She guessed both. But for an apprentice getting up early was a regular thing, there were always chores and hunting and training to be done so she rarely got a chance to sleep in. The rain would make this day uncomfortable and dragging, no doubt, but she had a feeling she wouldn't mind it as much today.

That's right, today was an interesting day. She would be training not just with her own mentor or some other apprentices, but with the trio of sisters, Eclipsepaw, Emberpaw and Honeypaw and their mentors. Brightpaw knew they were very different from the other apprentices, always as close as their mentors were and just as secretive, a peculiar group that the younger apprentice was very curious about. The fact that they were her kin made her even more speculative, and she was interested in being able to watch them. This day would be interesting...

Spotting the four tom mentors, Brightpaw shook, put on an eager face and trotted over to them. "'Morning, Fogpatch," she called amicably, "And hello," she nodded respectfully to the brothers, not knowing them nearly as well a her own mentor, she wanted to seem polite. "Rather cold today, huh? The others should be out soon..." she glanced behind her toward the apprentices' den and then back at the toms.

[/justify]

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

The culmination of the past six moons, fully half of her life so far, was to be held on a day when greenleaf's oppressive heat was replaced by cold grey rain. Emberpaw didn't mind, nor would she have voiced any complaint even had such a thing crossed her thoughts. The slick, wet terrain and lack of scents would undoubtedly make whatever their task was all the more difficult, yet that was exactly the purpose of the venture. If she could not exhibit exemplary results in the worst of conditions, she wasn't fit to become a warrior. And that was simply the way it was, so there was no point to whining about it.

The diminutive apprentice rose noiselessly from her nest and slid like a shadow into the colourless gloom of the camp. Another apprentice was joining the three of them today, Emberpaw and her sisters. Their cousin, Brightpaw, who was three moons their junior, would be taking part in an assessment today as well. Quite frankly the older she-cat doubted if her kin would be able to keep up with the three elder apprentices. After all, this test was presumably what would determine their fitness to become warriors. Did it not follow that a mere middling apprentice of only nine moons would not be able to complete it with any proficiency?

However, it was not her place to question the motives of her leader or her mentors, and so Emberpaw glanced briefly behind her, searching the darkness for the moving shapes of her sisters before continuing her way across the rain-splattered clearing. Her tortoiseshell and white fur, originally neat and well-groomed, was plastered damply to her body before she even reached the four toms who were waiting for them, but she showed no signs of discomfort. Instead she ignored the slide of mud under her paws and came to a stop beside the younger apprentice, just in front of the warriors whom she looked up to as teachers and Clanmates.

"We are out now," she corrected, catching the end of her cousin's remark as she slid up beside her. "Good morning Lizardeye. Snaketail, Twistedclaw, Fogpatch." Her greeting was precise and deliberate, acknowledging her own mentor first and foremost before she spared polite words for the other cats. Not that she did not respect the other warriors, but Lizardeye had been her teacher for two seasons now, ever since her apprenticeship began in the depths of winter. Despite the youth of her own mentor, only the Clan leader and deputy ranked higher in her eyes, and even then it was a close call. It occurred to her that the three brothers had accepted their apprentices when they were only a moon older than Emberpaw and her sisters were now. My my, how time did fly.

[Amber]

Nothing had stood in her way this past moon. She knew she was becoming closer and closer to becoming a warrior, and that had driven her to work hard. The memory she had lost over a moon ago had been recovered fully, even those she wished she could forget. And so Honeypaw has become her normal self again, quiet around others, yet determined to become a warrior. She would make her parents proud, she had to, if they could see their daughters now. All three were so close to becoming warriors.

The golden dappled apprentice wondered what her life would have been like growing up with her parents. What would they say? Would they be proud to see their youngest litter rise to warriorhood? Honeypaw could be sure they had to be, the three of them would make sure to not be like their older brother. Honeypaw couldn't take another death in her family. It would break her into pieces that could not be retrieved.

Padding slowly out of the den and realizing her paws were getting wet, aswell as the rest of her pelt, Honeypaw snapped out of her thoughts. It would be a fun day training. Letting a yawn escape from her mouth she padded to the group of cats gathered and sat next to Emberpaw. "Morning everyone." she mewed softly. Her gaze swept to her mentor, and she was glad that she had been given Snaketail as a mentor. She doubted anyone else would have been so kind to her, and so understanding. A soft smile formed on her face as she watched Snaketail. She was going to miss being his apprentice, that is if she could do well enough.

[Yoko]

Eclipsepaw followed her kin out onto the soaked camp grounds. Oddly, she felt as if she were going into battle. The dark sky, the cold sting of rain, the marshy ground crushed beneath her claws. Indeed, Eclipsepaw had all the looks of a battle-ready cat. Her black fur, though un-groomed, looked sleek already from moisture. Her ears were flat against her head. Her clouded blue-gray eyes were just a bit squinted, possibly from tiredness. She greeted all four mentors with a side-ways glance and a grunt.

Twistedclaw smirked as the four approaching apprentices confirmed his prior statement. Young Brightpaw reminded him oddly of Honeypaw, but she looked in good health at least. He couldn't wait to see how long it took to wipe that eagerness out of her today. He turned his eyes away at her greeting and gave a soft grunt of reply.

Emberpaw, whose presence the small tabby was used to, was better recieved. He bothered looking at her and then tilted his head up, a sort of reverse nod. Honeypaw would have ordinarily received something similar, but Twistedclaw had grown weary of greetings by this point. It was only when Eclipsepaw grunted and shouldered her way to his side that he cracked a real smile. Now here was a cat not concerned by words! She looked ready to do battle at any moment!

Nearly as soon as Twistedclaw sat,did the apprentices tiptoe out into the rainy darkness. First was Brightpaw, about the same size as her small-built kin but only due to age, she seemed rather eager to begin. Lizardeye had to applaud her for not being intimidated. After all, Brightpaw would be aiding her kin in their assessment. This would not be the typical partner fighter training for which many apprentices train together.

Right behind her, though Brightpaw was unaware, was Emberpaw. His apprentice moved with the decisive precision that the cold tabby had come to expect from her. She spoke elegantly, but seldom, a good combination by his standards. Yet Lizrdeye understood the importance of social graces was valuable as well. He acknowledged her greetings with a solid nod, appreciative for her greeting him first. Really, the three of them were quite lucky to have three apprentices, four today, that so matched their personalities. Perhaps that was Specklestar's wisdom in choice showing.

Honeypaw, the Cold Tabby observed, looked rather somber at first. Yet as was inevitable, she gave a warm greeting at the sight of Snaketail. He blinked greetings to her, leaving verbal room for Snaketail in case he wanted to shower her with praises.

In response to Eclipsepaw, Lizardeye only stared, but he felt deep, silent, amusement seeing a younger feminine version of his battle-hungry brother'

Snaketail gave a bright smile at the approaching apprentices. Today would be an exciting day indeed. In all his wildest dreams, he had not imagined the brilliance of Lizardeye's plans for the four apprentices. He was quite excited for them, and he bit his tongue as a reminder that the plans were to be secret for at least a few moments more!

"Good Morning, Brightpaw," he mewed with a wink, "Glad you could join us. And Emberpaw, right on schedule as always."

He paused as his eyes fell on his own apprentice. He was stunned for a moment, as if he had expected to see a small six-moon apprentice with a ringing voice. Instead before him stood a young she-warrior preparing for her final test before receiving her official name. Tilting his head a little, he smiled again, more earnest and sad tinged than the last.

"Good Morning, Honeypaw. "

He paused, feeling a bit of finality in their greeting. Then there was the arrival of Eclipsepaw, to whom Snaketail raised a brow.

Socially graceful? I think not...As good a warrior as Twistedclaw? We shall see.

Clearing his throat he mewed, Well! Whatever are we waiting for. Do we want to grow roots? Let's get going."

The tall tabby tom trotted away and like leaves swept in the wind Lizardeye and Twistedclaw were beside him. Snaketail gave a brief glance over his shoulder, pretending to assure that Fogpatch was beside them too, but his last moment of the glance was solely for Honeypaw. He had no doubt she would meet their expectations, and so sadly it would be their final lesson.