Ridgefeather took a deep breath. He only had half a moon before his warrior assessment. Would he pass? He tried to wipe his mind of his worries as he watched Ink and Oakkit pad to the base of the LakeRock. Dreamstar stood calmly on the rock, the weak Leaf-fall sun warming the clan slightly. He smiled as he saw Ink shaking slightly with excitement, while Oakkit just held his head high. The clan murmered, before Dreamstar silenced them with a flick of her tail.
"We gather here today to welcome two kits on their way to becoming warriors. Oakkit and Ink, please step forward."
They both stepped forward, their faces beaming. Maple sat down next to Ridgefeather, smiling.
"By naming apprentices we show that LakeClan will survive and remain strong.
Until you have received you warrior names, you will be known as Oakpaw and Ink!
Until you have received you warrior names, you will be known as Oakpaw and Ink!
Frostysky, you shall mentor Ink.
Fleckrain, you shall mentor Oakpaw."
"Oakpaw! Ink! Oakpaw! Ink! Oakpaw! Ink!"
Ridgefeather purred.
"They'll both be great warriors."
His gaze flickered over to where Nestflame sat. His pelt prickled, and he longed to be able to be the tom's friend again. Nestflame looked over at Ridgefeather, his gaze blank. A sinking feeling fell in Ridgefeather, and he looked down. Oh, Nestflame... I'm sorry I hurt you.
::---::
A Half-Moon Later
Ridgefeather sat at the entrance of Dreamstar's den, waiting for her to come out. She padded out with Rippleblaze behind her. The scarred tom nodded at Ridgefeather, his scars fading slightly in colour.
"Let's go. I want to see how you've progressed. I know that this isn't the path you may want to take. I've seen you staring at the medicine cat den. But you chose this path, and only StarClan can decide if you can go back to those duties. But then you will have to treat your family as any other clan mates. Which is hard to do when you love them."
Her gaze flickered to Rippleblaze who had padded away to speak with Frostysky.
"Do you want to go ahead with this?"
He nodded.
"Yes. I don't regret my time as a kitty-pet. I don't regret Maple having my kits. I never will."
She nodded, and padded into the leaf-bare forest, the chill wind pulling at her thick fur. Ridgefeather followed swiftly, quickly warming up from their run.
"First, I want you to hunt. Go to the river, or anywhere. I'll follow. I'll then get you to fight a warrior, and see how you fair."
He nodded, and padded away, sniffing the air. Hunting was his better talent, and he hadn't worked much on the hunting aspect. He quickly had plenty of prey, and brought it back to the training hollow. Dreamstar padded in soon after, nodding at his prey.
"That'll be good, especially with the on-coming months. This will not be an easy Leaf-Bare. Now, the warrior you are going to fight is Grayshadow. She's a good fighter, but not above what is hopefully, your level. She'll be here soon."
A few moments later Grayshadow padded into the clearing, her thick gray fur almost touching to ground. Dreamstar and her looked so alike, except Grayshadow was a lighter colour, and smaller because of her father, Soaringheart.
Ridgefeather nodded, and they started circling. Ridgefeather then leaped. He twisted in the air, acting as if he was going to land behind her. She leaped forward, and he threw his weight down, landing directly on her back. Ridgefeather flipped Grayshadow over, and she relaxed. He narrowed his eyes, and in his one second of indecision she pushed up with her back legs, throwing him off. He stumbled on the frost covered ground, sizing her up.
Grayshadow is a lean cat. Agile, yet sturdy. Her shoulders were her widest points, and her legs were long and nimble. Her tail seemed to be longer than her body, and waved across the ground in expectancy. She didn't seem to have many weak stops, but then he noticed how she held her head lower, protecting her chest. Why is she covering her chest?
He lowered himself to the ground, then leaped forward, rearing up on his hind legs, and crashing down. She rolled out of the way, and while he was on the ground, she went up on her back legs as he just did. Instead of avoiding her attack, as she had did, he leaped into it. He slammed his head into her stomach, causing her to fall backward. She gasped for breath, shaking her head. She shook slightly, and Ridgefeather stood stock still, his eyes wide in alarm. Dreamstar yowled.
"I have seen enough!"
She quickly padded to her kit, and licked her head. She then turned to Ridgefeather.
"How did you know that her chest was a weak spot?"
He stuttered.
"I-i noticed her protecting it with her head. She was trying to defend it."
Dreamstar nodded slowly.
"When she was a kit, her and a few other cats, and me, were stolen by BlackClan. I lost a life, and she was taken elsewhere. They tortured her, and she almost died. She's lucky to be alive, and from then on her chest has always been a weak spot. It makes her have trouble breathing, because her sickness affected her lungs and heart. She's still as strong as any other cat, she just needs to be careful."
He nodded.
"I never knew..."
Dreamstar nodded.
"We'll go back to camp now. I'll help you with the prey."
They picked up the prey, and padded back to camp with Grayshadow slightly wheezing beside them. When they got back, she padded to Nestflame's den to get some juniper berries to help her breathe better. Ridgefeather brought some prey to Strongspirit and her kits, and then padded over to Maple, curling up beside her in the Warriors Den. He knew Dreamstar would call a clan meeting closer to Sun-Down to announce whether he could stay. For now, he drifted off to sleep.
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