Wind and Fire AU: Fire and Ice - Chapter 22
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A few days had passed since the Gathering, and ever since then things had gone as normal. The usual routine developed, and each morning seemed similar. Firepaw was easily falling back into his usual warrior training, and Tallstar was starting to ease back into more battle training as the days went on.
Thus, Firepaw was not surprised when he was summoned to speak with Tallstar.
Firepaw felt a gentle nudging at his flank early in the morning, and after resisting for a few moments, he looked up at his agitator.
Webfoot sat down once Firepaw opened his eyes. It appeared to be early morning- the recently risen sun clear on the horizon. Immediately, he figured he was being awoken for a patrol. Perhaps he had to fill in for someone who couldn’t make it.
Firepaw rubbed his eyes with his paws, before pushing himself up into a sitting position. He quickly took a few laps at his chest to smooth down his fur.
While he adjusted to being awake, Webfoot spoke. “Tallstar wanted to talk with you. I was told he wants you to go to his den.”
Firepaw blinked a few times, somewhat surprised at this. He must want to just go training, I guess. It was still odd that Tallstar himself wasn't the one personally summoning Firepaw to his den, but he supposed his mentor had his reasons.
Firepaw quickly thanked Webfoot for telling him. Without a second word, the warrior nodded and padded out of the den.
As Firepaw quickly groomed his fur, he noticed that the other apprentices were still sleeping. Shooting a glance up at the sky, he realized that it was still early in the morning, and a faded pink still showed on the horizon from where the sun was still rising. Must be really important for me to get up this early, then, he mused to himself.
Once he decided he had neatened his fur enough, he rose to his paws and quietly left the den in order to not awaken his friends.
The camp wasn’t too lively either- the only cats that were out and about were the ones that made up the dawn patrol, as well as the warrior guarding the camp entrance. He could only assume that the camp would quickly become a lot more lively once everyone started waking up.
Wasting no time, Firepaw padded over to the leader’s den. He poked his head inside to see Tallstar sitting on his nest. Once the leader shot Firepaw a nod, the apprentice pushed himself through the entrance and sat down once inside of the den.
“Firepaw,” Tallstar acknowledged him. “How did you sleep?”
Firepaw still felt a little unnerved- why would Tallstar summon him to his den this early? Did he do something wrong? “I slept well.” Firepaw dipped his head. “Thank you for asking.”
Seemingly sensing Firepaw's uneasiness, Tallstar gave him a reassuring look. "Don't worry, I didn't call you here for a bad reason." Before Firepaw could respond, his mentor continued speaking. "You may remember that you failed your first attempt at the hunting assessment. I feel like it's been a long enough wait for you to be able to redo it. Besides," he added. “It’d be good to see how your skills are, considering the pause in your training.”
Firepaw didn’t know whether to be alarmed or relieved at this new information. This meant he could prove himself again, considering his embarrassment from his latest attempt. On the other hand, there was still the possibility of him being a little rusty with his hunting and fighting, considering how much of a delay there was in his apprenticeship. If he failed again, then what? How long would he have to wait until being a warrior if he messed up again?
"You're a fast learner, Firepaw," Tallstar mewed in an attempt to reassure him. "I'm positive you'll do even better during this attempt."
Of course I’ll do better, Firepaw thought, somewhat bitterly. Last time I ran straight into ShadowClan territory. What could I do to beat that?
Firepaw swallowed his thoughts, and nodded to his mentor. “Alright. Will we be going now?”
Tallstar rose to his paws, nodding his head in confirmation. The older tom quickly exited the den, and Firepaw scrambled to his paws and followed him out.
Tallstar led the way to the camp entrance, with his apprentice following close behind. Briefly nodding an acknowledgement to the warrior guarding the entrance, the two cats exited the camp and out into the wide stretch of moorlands that was WindClan's territory.
The two hardly spoke as they padded across the grassy land. To Firepaw’s relief, it seemed to be good weather for hunting- pleasantly warm, with a gentle breeze sweeping across the tall grasses and flowers.
Still, the closer and closer the two got to wherever Tallstar was leading them, Firepaw grew more nervous. He felt a jump of anxiety at the thought of failing this assessment for a second time- what would happen then? If he screwed up that badly, would he ever become a warrior? Last time, Tallstar had pitied him enough to let him off, but if he did something stupid again, would Tallstar be willing to lend him such kindness?
He found himself unable to quell his fears as they both made their way across the territory. Firepaw was thankful that Tallstar didn’t seem to be up for much conversation, as he didn’t think he could handle talking with his mentor very well at the moment.
It was somewhat of a relief when Tallstar finally stopped. The longer the two had walked, the more nervous Firepaw had gotten. I just want to get this over with.
Tallstar turned around to face his apprentice, and Firepaw strained himself to slow his breathing. It probably won’t even be that bad once I start.
“I will be leaving you alone momentarily,” Tallstar began explaining. “Once I am gone, you will have to find and kill as much prey as you possibly can, before I come out again and tell you the assessment is over. You will be scored based on how much you can catch, as well as the efficiency of the catches.”
Firepaw nodded, replaying Tallstar's words in his head over and over again. They were practically the same rules as his last attempt, so they shouldn't be too hard to remember. He was somewhat glad that it wasn’t a more strict rule-based assessment.
Firepaw dipped his head, and Tallstar spoke once more. “Very well, I wish you luck.” The tom quickly turned around and vanished in the tall grasses, presumably to begin watching Firepaw.
Firepaw took a deep breath, before beginning to move again. Firepaw briefly paused, looking down at the ground, to gather himself and his focus before he began to start.
Looking back up, he briefly shot a glance in the direction of the ShadowClan border before quickly turning away. No, he thought, turning away from the general direction of it altogether. Last time I tried going near the border I messed up the entire assessment.
So, staying away from it should save me all the trouble.
Firepaw began to pad in the direction opposite of ShadowClan's territory before abruptly stopping as he picked up on an all too familiar scent. Locating it with ease, he was able to spot a hare hopping around in the grass nearby, occasionally stopping to nip at the grass stalks surrounding it.
The catch shouldn't be too hard; after all, he had caught plenty of hares during his time as an apprentice, and this one didn't seem any different from the others. It was just his nerves making this one seem more intimidating. Slowly making his way towards it, he paused for a moment to ready himself, before breaking into a run.
Noticing his loud pawsteps, the hare looked up, beginning to dart away, noticeably in the direction of ShadowClan's territory. Putting on a burst of speed out of desperation, Firepaw was able to catch up with it and pin it down. With a quick snap of its neck, the hare lay lifeless on the grassy terrain.
Firepaw paused for a moment to catch his breath- not just from the run he had just had, but because of his ever growing anxieties about the situation. Shooting a glance up, he realized he was fox-lengths away from the ShadowClan border. Just as he was burying his catch to pick up later, a movement in the corner of his eye made him look up to see a patrol-sized group of ShadowClan cats padding along the very edge of the border.
Aren’t they a little too close? Firepaw frowned, finishing burying the hare. He was definitely too far away to tell from where he stood, and he knew better than to confront an enemy patrol on his own. He just hoped that Tallstar had seen them as well.
Maybe I can tell him myself once I'm finished.
Firepaw pushed away the thought, deciding to focus back on the assessment. Turning around from the ShadowClan border once again, he decided to focus his attention on staying away from it as often as possible. He was lucky to not get even closer to the border while chasing that hare.
As he was padding through the territory, he passed nearby one of the rare trees and momentarily paused. Perhaps a bird was perched somewhere on it? He wasn't the most skilled at hunting birds, but he had to prove himself to his mentor one way or another. His last attempt at catching a bird had been successful, too.
Besides, he couldn't only catch things that were just rabbits or hares or mice. Tallstar did mention he would be scored based on how much he could catch, and having more variety would be good to see.
Opening his mouth to catch the nearby scents, he deduced that yes, there was a bird in the nearby tree. It took a moment for him to spot it, but he eventually saw it perched on one of the lower hanging branches, completely oblivious to its surroundings.
Firepaw snuck through the grass, carefully avoiding getting in the line of sight of the bird. He could thank his bright orange pelt for being somewhat obvious in the yellowy green grass.
Firepaw slithered his way up the tree, careful to get good clawholds in the bark. He swiveled his head to look at the bird- now recognizable as a lark. Firepaw took tentative steps onto the branch, careful to avoid causing it to sway too harshly.
The bird startled as the branch shook slightly, to Firepaw’s dismay. The bird stood in place for a few moments, and Firepaw did the same, crouched low. In a heartbeat, the lark fluttered into the air. Firepaw sprung himself forward, desperately reaching his paws at the airborne bird.
To his luck, he snagged his claw in its wing, causing it to sharply falter in its flight. Seizing his opportunity, Firepaw used his other paw to secure the bird between his claws. He quickly slit its neck, bringing it to himself.
He steadied himself on the branch- he was lucky that it was a rather thick branch. After securing himself, he picked up the bird in his jaws and quickly jumped from branch to branch down to the ground.
Firepaw’s adrenaline settled down, and once he was on the ground, he began digging a hole for the bird. Two catches already, he noted, rather proud of himself. I wonder how many more I'll be able to make before it's over.
As the assessment continued on, Firepaw found himself just growing more confident in his abilities. His anxiety wasn’t completely eliminated, but he felt better about how it was going.
The next few catches- a rabbit and a field mouse- were quick and clean, much to Firepaw’s joy.
Once Firepaw had delivered the killing blow to the field mouse, he got started on digging up a hole. However, before he could finish, there was a rustle in the grass behind him. Firepaw glanced behind himself, somewhat alarmed. His fears were quelled once he saw Tallstar,
“Your assessment is finished,” he nodded to Firepaw. “You are done now. We should go around and pick up what you’ve caught.”
Firepaw sighed in relief, and dipped his head in understanding. He picked up the field mouse, giving up on the hole he had been digging.
As the two walked along the fields, Firepaw could recognize a thoughtful look on Tallstar’s face. Maybe he’s thinking about how I did, Firepaw squinted, trying to make out the details of his mentor’s expression. I can’t tell if he seems impressed or disappointed.
Firepaw was unable to speak as they walked, considering he was just picking up more and more prey to carry. Tallstar offered to take some, but Firepaw insisted that they were his catches, and therefore his responsibility.
When the two went to pick up the hare that Firepaw had buried, the apprentice was reminded of the ShadowClan patrol he had seen close by the border- or, at the very least, what he assumed to be a ShadowClan patrol.
Firepaw placed down his prey, beginning to dig up the hare. Taking this chance to speak, Firepaw glanced over at Tallstar. “When I came over here… well, did you see the patrol?”
Tallstar looked over at the nearby pine trees of ShadowClan territory, scanning the area. “I do not recall seeing anything. What did you see?”
Firepaw finished digging up the hare. He turned to Tallstar, shrugging. “I just saw a group of cats. They seemed pretty close to the border, but that might have just been me imagining things…”
Tallstar seemed to consider what Firepaw said for a few moments. “Very well. I’ll tell Deadfoot to tell his patrols to keep an eye out for ShadowClan.”
Firepaw felt somewhat relieved, glad that he could possibly be helping out in the safety of his Clan in more ways than just hunting. Unprompted, Tallstar picked up the hare that Firepaw had just dug up. Firepaw opened his mouth to protest, but quickly just turned around to pick up the other prey. There wasn’t a need to get upset at Tallstar for trying to help.
Without another word, the pair began heading back to camp. Firepaw was glad that he wasn’t as nervous as he had been on the way there. Still, he could only hope that he had done well.
He had done pretty well, at least in his eyes, though. He hadn’t expected to catch four pieces of prey- especially considering how he hadn’t trained that much since his ailments. He had been worried that the first two catches had just been a brief streak of luck. To his fortune, though, that hadn’t been the case.
As soon as the two returned to camp, Tallstar dropped off the hare and turned to Firepaw as he was doing the same. “You did well,” Tallstar complimented Firepaw. “I’m proud of you. Your recent sickness most likely won’t be too much of a setback, considering how things are going.”
Tallstar quickly left afterwards, and Firepaw was left sitting by the prey pile. He felt better now- perhaps this meant that he truly was getting better.
Firepaw’s thoughts were interrupted as he heard a voice calling his name. “Hey, Firepaw!”
He turned to see Onepaw padding over to him, smiling in a friendly manner. “Hey Onepaw,” Firepaw greeted his friend.
Onepaw sat down beside Firepaw. “What were you out for? You were gone when I woke up.”
“Tallstar summoned me pretty early for a hunting assessment,” Firepaw explained. "To make up for my last failed one."
Onepaw seemed to remember Firepaw’s last assessment, before speaking. “Good luck, I hope this’ll reflect well for you. You think you did well?”
Firepaw glanced over at the leader’s den, where Tallstar had vanished into. “I hope so.”
I really do.