[ and i'd stay up with you all night ] (duskpaw)

[Crowzerplorodon]

His ears flattened ever so slightly at his apprentice, watching the mottled she-cat seemingly tumble around with his words. Oh, he hoped that he hadn't said something that might have upset Duskpaw. That was honestly the last thing Cloudstar wanted to do, especially today, when both of these young she-cats were close enough to warrior age that they could probably taste it. The white tom almost spoke, to voice his concern for Duskpaw, when she recovered, looking like nothing happened. And maybe nothing did happen, and Cloudstar had imagined it all. The leader shook his head, turning back to Spottedpaw with a smile.

“All prey is appreciated, Spottedpaw.” Which was extremely true, especially in this weather. It sadden him to think it, but plenty of cats would be just fine with a thin squirrel now that it had gotten too cold for the fish StreamClan was so used to. “And yes, I will take you to the forest now. I think it's high time for you apprentices to have your assessment. If all goes well here, I'm sure your warrior names won't be too far off.” He could see it now, the two she-cat, receiving their warrior names. He, of course, would be giving them, which made the leader falter. What names would he bless these two apprentices with? Nothing stood out right away, which, while it said fantastic things about the apprentices' characters, it provided more troubles for the white tom cat.

“This way, ladies,” he said smoothly, putting the naming thoughts in the back of his mind and padding off toward the forest.

[Cloud of Diamonds]

OOC: Just in case Crow is wondering, Slug wanted Duskpaw's warrior name to be Duskstorm (for her wacky, conflicting personality) and I will uphold her wishes. o3o

In a way it was a bit of a relief to finally be doing something. She'd been starting to get a bit twitchy, just standing there. But what news! The very thought of getting her name soon brought up a whole slew of feelings.

Grief, still raw..her tail lowered to drag on the ground remembering her brave mother. Maybe, if she'd been less of a burden, Darkstorm would be here, able to watch her daughter become a warrior...why? Why hadn't her mother been spared? Didn't she deserve to have her mother with her when she got to StreamClan? Maybe if she'd had that solid dependance of family with her now, the tortoiseshell wouldn't feel so alone...and if Gingerkit hadn't gone, too...it might be him beside her instead of the calico...

Her orange eyes seemed to fill up with sadness as she padded along on bony legs, her dark face contorted with a complicated expression of sadness, love, anger, and pain.

What would her name be?

It was almost a random thought, connected but still kind of off topic from what she'd been brooding on; part of her wanted to continue to mull, but a larger part wanted to think about the possibilities of what her warrior name could be...

What would it be based on? Her skills? Or her appearance? Maybe even her personality? Who knew? Would cats like her more if she had an impressive name or not? Would being a warrior help her have friends in general?

Woah. Suddenly making herself kill something with fur seemed tiny compared to all the questions in her head.

Speaking of which...the apprentice looked up and saw that they were close to the swath of trees that covered part of StreamClan territory.

[{amberrr}]

The young calico she-cat nodded her head, lifting her dragging tail from the ground. Shaming herself for thinking low like that, she shook her head at her own stupidity. She pawed at a stray leaf that had fallen, in deep concentration. As she listened on to Cloudstar obediently, her thoughts went to her mother, who had died. If she could have seen her now, boy, would she in for a surprise! Her daughter, Spottedpaw, a StreamClan apprentice, and one that was most likely going to be a warrior soon.

“And yes, I will take you to the forest now. I think it's high time for you apprentices to have your assessment. If all goes well here, I'm sure your warrior names won't be too far off.” Cloudstar meowed to them.

All of her thoughts just vanished. An assessment!, she thought to herself, giddy at the thought of one. Her and Duskpaw had trained long and hard, and she understood what Cloudstar had meant. But still, the underlying word, assessment filled her with anxiety, and naturally, nervousness. Sure, she wanted to be a warrior just as much as any of the others, but still. It felt strange to be on the verge of leaving basically all she knew behind, and enter a whole knew world...again. She also knew Cloudstar would be hidden, watching their progress from the lurking shadows. The thought almost made her double over. He would practically know exactly how, why and when they missed something.

But then, of course, along with being a warrior, there came her new name. She vaguely wondered what Cloudstar would name her. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, unsurprised that she had let her thoughts wander. Well, her being her, she just hoped Cloudstar didn't name her Spotted-mousebrain. She knew she wasn't the 'smartest' per say. But hey, you gotta go with the flow sometimes. As she reentered the world, Spottedpaw padded alongside Duskpaw, excitedly pawing her way to a new name, rank and virtually, life.

[Crowzerplorodon]

There was a distinct difference between the ground outside of the forest and inside it. For one, it was a lot drier, given that it was farther from the river. It was also covered in plants other than grass, which created a weird - but not unpleasant - feeling against Cloudstar's paws. He could actually see how FogClanners could get used to living in the woods if it meant stepping on the cushion of plants. He still preferred his marshy, open ground, though. With the river cutting through it like claws through sand. The river, if anything, was the quintessence of comfort to Cloudstar.

"So..." The problem with being a first time mentor in a new clan was becoming quite obvious. It shouldn't be too hard, right? Just send the she-cats off to hunt for the rest of the afternoon and keep an eye on them? Is that what ForestClan cats did back in their old home? Cloudstar made a note to ask one of the ForestClanners - maybe Stormfoot - when he got back to camp, just to check. "You'll have the rest of the afternoon to hunt. When the sun begins to set, meet back at this spot with all the prey you've caught. I'd like to be back at camp before nightfall, alright? Remember, I'll be watching, so impress me." Not that they would see him. Or maybe they would, but he'd try to keep away from their sights. Hopefully his coat wouldn't be too much of an inhibitor today.

And besides, did it really matter if they caught a glimpse of him? All that mattered was that they did their best. They were two be the new warriors of StreamClan if they did well. That should be enough for him. Just the thought of making two new warriors was pleasing. Would they be made tonight, when they returned, then take the vigil? Or should Cloudstar wait another day or so, to converse with some of the senior warriors, just to obtain their opinions. Spottedpaw's mentor needed to be spoken with, of course. So maybe the girls would have to wait. But it would only be a day... and they had already waited so long. A day wouldn't matter, Cloudstar decided, waiting for the apprentices to take off.

[Cloud of Diamonds]

The tortoiseshell gulped, hoping the white tom couldn't tell how anxious she was. This could be a huge turning point in her life. And if she messed it up she would never forgive herself. Not to mention the fact that she'd be even more unpopular, even more of a freak and outcast. That couldn't, wouldn't happen. She'd do anything. Even...kill furred animals.

So the black and orange apprentice swallowed her fear, and nodded. "Okay, Cloudstar." Then she turned and began to slink further into the swath of trees, ears pricked and paws light in case she caught the scent of possible fresh-kill. Her dark nose sniffed the air, her mouth open slightly to better help her detect any traces. If she had to do this, she might as well do it well.
The dappled light on the forest floor showed her faint, familiar imprints...tracks! She suddenly realized.

Squirrel tracks. The StreamClanner bent down to sniff them. Fresh, too. Not more than a half hour old, at the most. She followed the faint pawprints carefully, trying not to step on any if she could. They seemed to lead onward, around a bush, through a log...as she squeezed out of said log, the scent of the bushy-tailed animal grew much stronger. Stiffening, Duskpaw realized it was mere badgerlengths off, nosing the dirt around a oak tree, unaware of her - for now.

Could she catch it before it escaped up the tree? Only one way to find out.

[{amberrr}]

<sup>Spottedpaw nodded to Cloudstar, and she was off. Walking in the grass seemed...bizarre. It was dry, and totally not what she liked. With this still deeply furrowed into her mind, she let herself go off, following scents. With a jolt, she realized she found herself by a perfect spot for water voles to sit by the shore. The river glistened by, carefree and unworried. Unlike Spottedpaw, its entire flow wouldn't be messed up if it didn't cat a reasonable amount of prey, and show her Clan leader she was more than willing to become a fully fledged warrior.

No!, she thought to herself fiercely, camouflaging herself against the ferns, waiting for a water vole to scurry by, unaware, I'm fully capable to be a warrior. I just need to stop acting like a mouse-brain and get my head in gear! Spottedpaw sat there, by the shore, listening to the waves and everything surrounding them. It was a smooth rhythm she knew by heart. Just then, it was interrupted by a fast beating heart. She raised her eyes, and saw her prey.

It was a fairly large water vole, chewing on a nut that had rolled down to the shore. More focused on its food than anything around it, the vole scurried around frantically, eating the nut to it's heart's content. Perfect, she thought, it's completely zoned out. She crept up on the vole, preparing her self stealthily for the killing blow. Spottedpaw jumped, executing her leap in a perfect quantity. With a quick and painless bite to the neck, the vole was dead. Time to place this somewhere, so I can go and prove myself. With renewed strength and willpower, Spottedpaw confidently dug a hole to place the vole and set out again once more.</sup>

[Crowzerplorodon]

And they were both off, pushing into the undergrowth and through the tall grass as Cloudstar stood behind, looking rather stupid all alone in StreamClan territory, staring off at the two female apprentices. If some cat just walked by right now, StarClan knows what they would think. Embarrassed slightly, the leader ducked down and moved to stand closer to a tree, keeping his eyes between the direction Duskpaw and Spottedpaw went. He wasn't sure which one to follow right now. They both needed to be watched and studied, but which one first?

Spottedpaw, he decided, should be followed first. For no real reason other than he didn't want to show bias. Without a second thought Cloudstar moved away from the tree and down the path that Spottedpaw took, following the bushy furred apprentice as quickly as he could. When he finally caught up, Cloudstar just had enough time to watch the she-cat hunt down a vole and kill it skillfully. It was a nice cat, he noted, nodding his silent approval. Spottedpaw was a bit of uncharted territory to him, but maybe that wasn't a bad thing. She obviously had a fair amount of skill if she made a skill like that. But what about Duskpaw?

On a whim, the leader dashed silently after his own apprentice, coming to a stop when he caught sight of her bi-colored fur. He studied the she-cat for a moment, watching her creep about. Moments later he caught squirrel scent – presumably what she was tracking, and tracked it himself, catching up with the apprentice just in time to see her pull out of a log. The animal wasn't that far off, he could see the tail of it himself. Now he just needed to sit in be quiet, as so Duskpaw wouldn't see him watching her.

ooc
lame. e.e

[/blockquote]

[Cloud of Diamonds]

OOC: -blows vapor at Crow- It's fine.

BIC: The bony apprentice crawled slowly out of the log, even though she knew it gave the bushy-tailed animal more time to smell her. Still, it appeared oblivious as it rummaged at the tree base. She should hurry up, though - she risked it returning to its nest or her losing her nerve to kill something with fur, even for something as important as this.

Cautiously she stood up on the hard ground. There wasn't much leaf litter, but there were quite a few sticks, she noted. Putting her paws down lightly wouldn't be too much of a concern, but tripping over something would be. The StreamClanner lightly stepped over and around the fallen branches, all the while keeping her orange gaze on the gray rodent who was only a few tail-lengths away.

She was frankly amazed that her luck was still holding - but then, there were a lot of acorns. Maybe StarClan did exist after all, though this would be pretty flimsy evidence. The idea of ancient, supreme catlike creatures who'd created her race seemed more plausible, anyway.

Step, sniff, pause. Step, sniff, pause - clench, leap! And pray to whatever divinity there is that I can kill, she thought. It was hard for Duskpaw to resist the temptation to close her eyes as she landed on the creature. It immediately started writhing and twisting under her paws before she delivered the death bite to the back of its neck. Feeling savage, she worried it in her mouth a bit more than was needed, just for good measure, before burying it.

And then she felt sickened at herself.

What sort of monster was she, to enjoy the murder of a creature? Even for food and life? Even for this? No, prey was killed only to be eaten - she'd already broken that rule. If she could kill a squirrel so easily, what about when she went into battle? What if she was taken over by bloodlust? The tortoiseshell hung her head, shamed. No wonder she was such a freak.

But she had no time to be depressed right now. With a heavy heart, Cloudstar's apprentice looked up, and began to pad away, tail dragging and head held low.

[{amberrr}]

<sup>After burying the fresh-kill into soft soil not far from the river, Spottedpaw set off back into the undergrowth, going farther from the river. The wind rustled the tree's branches, and Spottedpaw felt a shiver run down her spine. It wasn't that she was cold, her pelt had thickened over Leaf-Bare. But, Spottedpaw was sure she had felt Cloudstar's eyes peering at her through some bushes to the left of her. What did he think of her so far? Could, by the end of the day, be a full fledged warrior? Or, was Duskpaw far more advances, and Spottedpaw would be held back for who knew how long? Shaking that thought out of her head, she went back into the hunt.

Determined to prove herself to her Clan and to her leader, Spottedpaw breathed in the scents of the air, searching for more prey to kill. She didn't let it bother her, Cloudstar was watching them both. After all, if she was a cat at all, she should have been able to hear him or scent him at least once. Just then, she scented a rabbit. She fought the urge to wave her tail in delight. Rabbits normally stuck to MeadowClan's territory. If she caught one, that would have to mean something. Fighting her instinct to purr, she drudged on, following the scent.

Spottedpaw quietly looked at the terrain around her, and grimaced. There were ferns to hide in, yes, but they were soaked. If she was careful enough, she might not make a noise. But, that was wishful thinking. Instead, she planned her route to go through the path that the rabbit had taken to reach the clovers it was currently eating. Preparing her crouch, Spottedpaw put just the right amount of weight on each paw. One mishap, and the rabbit would spring. They weren't as easy as voles. But Spottedpaw knew she could do this, she could feel it.

Slowly and stealthily she stalked the rabbit. It had its hears raised, prepared for the first sound that might be suspicious, for example, a twig snap or a tail whip. A few more tail lengths and the rabbit would be her's. Just then, she heard a twig snap. Her eyes widened as she saw she had stepped on one. Daring not to breath, she watching the rabbit apprehensively. It looked up in alarm, moved its ears to detect if there was another sound. Satisfied there was nothing there, it went back to the clover field.

Silently sending a prayer of thanks to StarClan, Spottedpaw continued to creep on the rabbit. After a few heartbeats, she leapt onto the rabbit. It squirmed and kicked, but she silenced it with a bite to the neck. Happily, Spottedpaw grabbed it by the neck and went back to her spot where she had buried the vole, she could fit the rabbit in with it fairly easily. It was a bit thin, not as plump as usual, but it was New-Leaf.</sup>

[Crowzerplorodon]

By the time Cloudstar padded into the clearing, the sun had begun to set. It cast a soft, orange glow on StreamClan's territory, making everything look soft. Even the shadows seemed more pleasant, as they lacked their usual stark contrast to bright light. The leader sighed, taking a seat on the dry ground and wrapping his tail around his paws, a usual position for him. His own fur seemed to glow in the dying light, appearing to be golden rather than snow white. The sun was reflected in his eyes as he watched it sink below the horizon, growing smaller and small until it was just a blinding dot in the distance. Eventually, it went passed the mountains, leaving an gradient expanse of orange, yellow, and pink that spanned the sky.

Sundown.

His apprentice, Duskpaw, and Spottedpaw should be arriving soon. After spending the last afternoon watching the two she-cats, Cloudstar was put in a wonderful mood. StreamClan would be gaining two new warriors tonight. The apprentices had proven themselves to be deserving of the title. They had hunted like warriors, showing the skill, strength, and patience required. It was a little sad to know that they were growing up, and that their youthful days as apprentices were ending. But they would be moving to greater heights to serve their clan, and Cloudstar was grateful for that.

The tom let out a ragged sigh, continuing to watch the sunset. Dark blues and odd greens had joined the warmer colors, resulting in a rainbow of shades and hues. Quite pleasant, and possibly the last true sundown of the season. Green-Leaf was arriving, he could already feel its heat in the air. It would be welcome, after their harsh Leaf-Bare and unsteady New-Leaf. Cats would rejoice in easy to find prey and warm weather. Hopefully they would regain strength for the next Leaf-Bare – Cloudstar didn't want another scare like they had. He wasn't sure if, as a leader, he could handle so many deaths.

His ears flattened as Cloudstar heard a rustle. One of the apprentices, no doubt. Keeping silent, he put on a neutral face, determined to greet the she-cats with monotone. They wouldn't know of their success until they reached camp and Cloudstar made the announcement.

ooc: So uh, it's still New-Leaf, remember? xD Sorry this is WAY late. And. Uh. What's Spottedpaw's warrior name gonna be? c: I know Duskpaw's is Duskstorm.