[VolexDovexFalcon] A gruelling assessment

[Rolo]

Volepelt led the two young apprentices, one black and one white, into the training hollow. His was already the picture of a stern assessor. Posture stiff and eyes untelling he was more than ready to to grill the young cats behind him.

It was the break of dawn. The light had only just begun to touch the land and was marred by approaching rainclouds. Both apprentices had been asleep when he’d called to them, telling them it was time for their assessment. Customary with his old clan tradition, they had not been told in advance that they would be assessed, with their readiness upon waking giving him an early indication of their true endurance abilities.

Usually, giving an apprentice their assessments was the job of a mentor, he knew that. However, this time, he knew he had to take chance. Although some moons had passed since the new regime had been established, it had far from permeated every member of the clan. While all was peaceful now and the clan appeared to be blossoming, he could see the rot and decay growing at the roots of Fogclan. It would take many moons for all the mentors of Fogclan to learn the rigor of the new apprentice assessment and weed out the weak, rather than creating new feeble warriors who lacked faith and discipline. Starclan! It would take many moons for the warriors themselves to truly be worthy of their rank. He knew the danger of letting the blind lead the blind.

Volepelt stopped in the centre of the clearing and turned to look at the apprentices.

“Sit.”

Only Starclan knew if these two would be worthy of becoming warriors. Given that they’d been born before the regime, the probability that they were pure enough to take on the rank was lower than average. However, he was aware that Falconpaw was quite the vocal Starclan follower and, while reckless, was eager to act as a miniature council member. Dovepaw on the other hand... she was quiet. Quiet could be good; submissive and faithful. However, it could also indicate doubts, rebellion. Rot.

He couldn’t stand for warriors with flaws. If he gave an inch, they’d take a mile. He’d seen that with his old clan and it had cost Truth his life and the clan their eternal souls. He couldn’t let that happen. Especially now Pineclan was closing in and they needed warriors to battle for Starclan’s honour.

“Dovepaw, Falconpaw,” He said, looking at them both, “It is time for your first assessment to see if it is time you become warriors. I hope you are both well rested, as you can expect a day of physical and mental challenges to test your skills and discipline. The test will consist of a hunting task, a fighting task, a warrior code test and, most importantly of all, the faith test. I will watch you in all areas of skill before making my decision, but I will provide feedback at each stage. I expect obedience. You must follow my instructions at all times, even if it stops you in the middle of a task. Ignoring orders will give you an instant fail.

“Should you complete all areas of the test to my satisfaction, you shall graduate from being an apprentice and become a warrior of Fogclan. However, if you fail, your training will intensify in your areas of weakness and you will receive sinwounds for your failings.

“Do you understand? Now is your time to ask any questions.”

[Glowy]

There had been no stars in the sky last night. A tapestry of clouds, in varying shades of white and grey, had obscured the sky even before sundown. The only source of light had been the moon, and that had been diffused by the clouds which thinned throughout the night. Dovepaw had found it, strangely enough, not to be ominous, as some would. Let them find nonexistent omens in the weather. She was convinced that StarClan had no power over the physical world. Their messages were to be found in dreams, and the only influence they had wad in the hearts of their followers.

When Volepelt awakened her and Falconpaw this morning, she very nearly abandoned her confidence. An assessment! Falconpaw was somebody she, admittedly, would prefer to avoid as much as possible. He was the picture of FogClan perfection. She could not recall the last time he had been given a sinwound. Dovepaw had managed to fly under the radar of the Council for almost a full moon now, which meant that her most recent wounds had scarred over. She could not even remember the cause of the punishment. Perhaps it had been for showing reticence, which had been interpreted as fear, in the face of PineClan warriors and apprentices when their patrols had met. Perhaps it had been for being slow to respond with canned praises of StarClan when Council members had addressed her. It was all a blur of pain and lack.

Falconpaw knew nothing of that experience. He was blind. He must be, to pander to the Council in the way he did. Or perhaps he was simply smarter than she. In either case, she was dreading being partnered with him for their assessment. How would Volepelt find her worthy of warriorhood if Falconpaw was the benchmark?

She padded silently behind her mentor, determined not to earn herself a lashing today. Her memory was interrupting her pessimism with inconvenient reminders of the time she and Volepelt had had a conversation about faith. She'd been honest about the state of her heart and he had answered her questions. No sinwounds had been bestowed that day, and she had told him her doubts! Perhaps there was hope for her after all.

As the mismatched group traveled out to the Training Hollow, the sun burst above the hills and washed the sky in brilliant color. Both thin and heavy clouds adorned the sunrise this morning. Some were transformed into vibrant splashes of yellow and pink. The darker, rain-laden clouds were almost like a bruise on the sky. Had she been with Poppythroat she could have even remarked on it!

Volepelt was tacit in his orders. Today was not a day to take lightly, and the gravity of it came across in his voice. She nodded as he explained the stages of the assessment. Hunting? Marvelous. Tracking was where she felt most confident. Fighting? She shivered as she remembered the fox attack that had given her her first scars in FogClan. She had survived, but she doubted her warrior name would highlight her skills in battle. Warrior Code? Faith? Those two could be problematic, if she was honest. In her mind, the Warrior Code and the FogClan Code were contradictory. The Warrior Code spoke of honor, of protecting those weaker than yourself, and providing for the Clan. FogClan's Code taught oppression. It taught of starving your own.

Did she want to be a warrior in that system? She had never doubted it before now. Did she have any questions? StarClan above, Volepelt!

"Are we not tested on our faith every day, Volepelt?" It was a long shot, but perhaps he would lift the requirement of the faith test. He took her under his wing of his own volition. Surely he felt some compassion for her by now? Surely, in all their conversations about faith, he had come to understand her beliefs? "Unless you mean a more stringent test. What exactly will the faith test entail?" If he would not lift the test, perhaps she could develop a strategy beforehand.