Forbidden Ties

The Assesment

The sun shone bright in the sky over the flat moor. A gentle breeze made the grass wave back and forth.
A beautiful tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat stalked across the grass,her green eyes locked onto her prey. The she-cat slid her claws out as she neared the prey,a tasty moor rabbit.
When she got within the striking range,the she-cat stopped. She assesed her chances,then took a big breath to steady herself,and launched herself at the rabbit. She landed right next to the rabbit who bolted. The she-cat cursed under her breath and ran after it.
A stubborn look of determination appeared on her face. The rabbit was fast,but it couldn't match the swiftness of a cat,much less a WindClan cat. The she-cat caught up to it and jumped at it. The rabbit squeaked as it was pressed down by the skinny she-cat. The she-cat killed it with a bite to the throat. "Good work Duskpaw." a voice said. The she-cat turned. It was another cat,this time a pale sand-colored tabby tom with green eyes.
"Thanks Lightclaw" Duskpaw licked her chest fur in embaressment. Lightclaw was Duskpaw's mentor. Lightclaw smiled:"I think that's enough hunting for now. You passed your hunting assesment. Now I have to judge your fighting. I hope you improved since last time." Duskpaw nodded,remembering last time she was battle training;she accidentaly hurt a younger apprentice,Moorpaw. Duskpaw muttered:"I'll try not to hurt anyone." Lightclaw sighed and said:"Let's take your prey back to camp before we go out and test your battle skills" Duskpaw picked up her kill and followed her mentor back to camp.

It was Sunhigh when they returned. Lightclaw told Duskpaw to eat and then come to the training ground. Duskpaw left her prey at the freshkill pile,and then settled to eat a field mouse by the apprentices den. She only started to eat when suddenly a reddish-orange she-cat approached Duskpaw. Her eyes were shining with excitement. The reddish she-cat blurted out:"Duskpaw! Guess what! I passed my hunting assesment!" Duskpaw smiled:"That's great Rowanpaw. I passed my assesment too!" Rowanpaw smiled:"I can't wait to be a warrior! I waited so long for it!" Duskpaw was proud of her friend. Duskpaw meowed:"Do you want to share this mouse with me?" Rowanpaw nodded and settled next to Duskpaw.

They shared the mouse and together they headed to the training ground. Lightclaw,and Rowanpaw's mentor Honeyberry,along with Moorpaw and Skypaw waited for them. Duskpaw sat down and Rowanpaw joined Honeyberry. Lightclaw began:"Ah,there you two are. We can finally begin your battle assesments. I brought Moorpaw and Skypaw to help you with it."
Moorpaw looked a bit uncomfortable,but Skypaw seemed excited about it.
Lightclaw meowed:"You two have to beat Skypaw and Moorpaw to pass your assesments. Rowanpaw,you can fight with Moorpaw,while Duskpaw can take on Skypaw." Moorpaw looked relived to not be paired with Duskpaw. Duskpaw snorted. Honeyberry meowed:"Okay,Duskpaw,you're first. Go"
Duskpaw flicked her ears and lowered herself into stalking position. Skypaw did the same and flicked his tail. Duskpaw darted at him and with a hiss leaped on his back. Skypaw rolled out of the way,and Duskpaw landed on the sand. She spat sand out and swiftly got up. It was Skypaw's turn now. The small black tom ran towards her and hit her in the head with his paws. Duskpaw staggered,but quickly came to her senses and attacked. She swiped a paw at Skypaw's legs. Skypaw was knocked out of balance and and fell down with a yelp. Duskpaw pinned him to the ground. "Well done Duskpaw!" Lightclaw praised her."You passed!" Honeyberry addded. Duskpaw let go of Skypaw. The small tom got up,shook the sand out of his black fur. He meowed:"Congrats on passing your assesment,sis! What do you think,was I good?" Duskpaw chuckled and meowed:"Of course you were good. Now let's go and watch Rowanpaw fight Moorpaw."
The two cats settled down and watched Rowanpaw and Moorpaw. The two she-cat circled eachother. Rowanpaw launched herself at the smaller she-cat. Moorpaw didn't dodge,but instead she hit Rowanpaw hard in the mouth with her paw. Duskpaw noticed Moorpaw's claws were unsheated. Rowanpaw staggered and she whimpered:"Ow...my jaw...it...hurts.." Skypaw gasped as he saw blood weiling down Rowanpaw's neck from her jaw. Honeyberry quickly ran towards her apprentice. Skypaw and Duskpaw exchanged glances. Honeyberry whispered something,and Rowanpaw replied something to her. Honeyberry then told Lightclaw:"I have to take Rowanpaw to Whitefrost. I think Moorpaw broke Rowanpaw's jaw. " Skypaw gasped. Honeyberry took Rowanpaw back to camp. Lightclaw turned to Moorpaw and growled:"Where in the world did you learn that move? Because Windclaw surely didn't teach it to you." Moorpaw snorted:"Does it matter? Look,I'm sorry and it will never happen again." Moorpaw didn't look like she was sorry at all. In fact,she looked as if she was really proud of herself. Lightclaw growled and glared at the cream colored apprentice:"Well,it does matter. Now,because you obviously did it on purpose,I'm going to punish you. For the next three moons,you will be forbidden to leave camp. You will help the elders with their ticks and help around camp. You need to be taught a lesson." Moorpaw growled:"What!? You can't do that! You're not my mentor!" Lightclaw retorted:"Of course I can,I am still a senior warrior and deputy,as well as your father." Moorpaw growled and stormed off. Lightclaw sighed and turned to Duskpaw and Skypaw:"Come you two. We have to go to camp. Duskpaw has a warrior ceremony and we have to see how Rowanpaw is doing" Lightclaw had a concerned look on his face.
They padded back to camp. Honeyberry stood in front of the medicine cat den. Lightclaw padded towards her and asked;"How is she?" Honeyberry gave a sad look:"She did indeed break her jaw. Whitefrost is trying to put it back in place,but it was damaged." Duskpaw and Skypaw exchanged a look. Lightclaw turned to Duskpaw:"This is bad...but still,you go and prepare for your ceremony while I tell Blizzardstar you passed your assesments. Honeyberry will watch over Rowanpaw. " Duskpaw nodded and padded towards the apprentices den. Skypaw followed her. Lightclaw and Honeyberry exchanged a look.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather underneath the Tall-Rock for a Clan meeting."Swirlstar shouted. WindClan cats started gathering. Duskpaw took a big breath before walking out of the appentice's den. Swirlstar,a big,pale silver tom with ice-blue eyes and white paws and ear tips stood on Tall-Rock. Cats were gathered around it,so Swirlstar began:"I have a few news to share with the Clan. The first one being that Heatherleaf is moving to the Nursery. " Swirlstar glanced lovingly at his mate. Then he continued:"Now let's move to more serious matters;Moorpaw broke Rowanpaw's jaw on her warrior assesment. For that,she was severly punished." Some cats gasped. Meanwhile Moorpaw looked as if she wanted to run away. "But now,some happier news! Duskpaw passed her warrior assesment and it's time to make her a warrior." Duskpaw padded towards Tall-Rock with Lightclaw at her side.
"Lightclaw,is Duskpaw proven that she is ready to become a warrior?" Swirlstar asked "Yes,she has. She is ready to become a warrior" Lightclaw replied. Swirlstar then meowed:"Then I,Swirlstar, leader of WindClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn."
Swirlstar continued:"Duskpaw,do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
Duskpaw answered,her voice clear:"I do" Swirlstar then meowed:" Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Duskpaw, from this moment you will be known as Duskfeather. StarClan honors your determination and wisdom, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan."
Swirlstar jumped down from Tall-Rock and rested his muzzle on Duskfeather's head,and she licked his shoulder in return. They Clan then started chanting:"Duskfeather! Duskfeather! Duskfeather!" Duskfeather licked her chest fur in embaressment. Skypaw padded towards her and meowed:"Congrats Duskfeather! I'm so happy for you" Duskfeather smiled and meowed:"Thanks so much Skypaw. You'll be a warrior soon too you know." Skypaw nodded and padded away. Some other warriors congratulated her too. Duskfeather padded towards Swirlstar:"Um..Swirlstar,could I visit Rowanpaw before I begin my vigil? I want to see how she's doing" Swirlstar nodded and added:"Don't be long". Duskfeather padded towards the medicine cat den. Whitefrost was just padding out her den. "Whitefrost? Can I visit Rowanpaw?" Whitefrost nodded and said:"She's sleeping,so be quiet,okay?" Duskfeather nodded and entered the den. Rowanpaw was sleeping in her nest in the den. Her jaw seemed a little crooked and it was smeared with dry blood,but other than that it was fine. Duskfeather sighed in relief. She touched Rowanpaw's ear with her muzzle and muttered:"I'm sorry you couldn't become a warrior with me. I hope you heal soon." Then the beautiful tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat turned and padded out of the den,ready for her vigil.

(That's the end of this chapter! I really hope you liked it ^^. I think it was fairly decently made,and I still can't belive I wrote 1634 words! I'm proud of myself! Bye!)