Kink's P.O.V.

After being instructed by Thorn to take the apprentices out for their training - especially Whip, for his final assessment and to take his mind off of his brother - I headed out. Now he was padding beside me. 

"I'm going to take Whip out for his final assessment. I need you to take care of the apprentices," I explained, "Keep them all busy, I was ordered by Venom to show new battle moves." Shadow dipped his head and we came to a stop at the training center.

"Whip, come with me." I ordered and the soon-to-be-warrior followed at my heels. He seemed drowsy. 

"Whip, I understand you just lost your brother, but you got to wake up. Time will go by, your brother is safe now, away from harms reach. I know it was only yesterday it happened but its time you put it in the past. Venom did, Shadow did, I did, we all did." I murmured softly, turning to look at him in the middle of it. 

Whip sighed and fluffed out his fur. I continued, "Today may be the day you become a warrior. You need to push away your thoughts of Slash and focus on this assessment." 

Whip looked like he wanted to protest, but he chose not to. He closed his gaping mouth and nodded. "Thank you. If you like, after this I'll let you sleep?" I suggested, padding away again. Whip shook his head and lifted his chin. 

"For your first assessment, I want you to catch at least one bird and a rabbit, even if it means you go into WindClan." Whip studied me as I talked, eyes narrow. He got down to a crouch and sniffed the air. 

Carefully, I waited for him to find the bird I had spotted. He caught it in his eye sight and began to stalk toward it. It pecked at the seeds that the squirrels must've gotten at. It was a thrush, just starting to get fat. It reminded me of Thrush, how his grey patches covered his stomach and everything. 

I shook my head. 

Whip pounced on the bird and killed it with a killing bite. He buried it and stalked into WindClan territory. He left without hesitation. I knew why, either because he was used to it or because he didn't care if he died, down here he had Bella and up there he had Blood and Slash. It seemed that, to him, either way was fine.

He was out of sight and I looked around. 'Should I stay here or should I go find him?' I wondered, looking around. I spotted him sniffing the air a bit farther up in WindClan territory and I stood up. 

He disappeared in the long grass. I followed him with my eyes by watching the grass quiver as he parted them to see. Before long, Whip's body lunged into the air and the chase was on.

Grass was whipped from all sides and after a while of patiently waiting, he pounced and trotted quickly back to me. He dug a hole beside the thrush and he stood proudly. I dipped my head and got into a fighting position. 

"Alright, now for fighting. First one down loses. If you lose, you won't fail, your skill at fighting will be what grades you." I growled, slashing my tail from side to side. He leaped at me and I skidded to the side. He landed where I used to be and I forced my claws to stay sheathed. 

He swung a heavy blow to the side of my face and I stumbled. I wasn't at all what I used to be and I was weak from hunger too. But I won't count that when I report this assessment back to Venom.

I dodged the next few blows and I tripped Whip, smacking my front paw into his front legs. He twisted to the ground and I leaped at him. He rolled away just before I could get to him. He ran away and I charged at him. I was confused, but I kept running at him. The air around us whipped my face, causing me to squint. 

Whip was closing in on the cliff of our camp. He dashed even faster and I halted in amazement as he climbed the wall, claws scraping the jagged rocks. Whip flipped into the air and I just watched. I shook my head when I realized he was diving for me. I tried to back away but he landed on me, paws first.

My body was forced to the ground and my stomach, chin and chest were smashed into the ground. Lucky for me, it was grass. Good thing we weren't on the other side of the bottom of the mountain or I'd of lost some teeth.

The weight on top of me left and I opened my eyes, dazed and dizzy. "Ugh..." I moaned, sitting up. I fell onto my back and let out a low, long moan. I touched my chin with my paw. Instantly my pain shot up through my body and I groaned. I stood up and looked at Whip. Amusement and concern was mixed in his gaze, but mostly amusement.

"Well, well, Whip. That was pretty amazing." Venom commented, padding closer. I rubbed my chin and watched Venom come to stand beside Whip. "Thank you, Venom," Whip murmured, trying to hide his excitement. 

Venom nodded, turning to me. "I was just coming to the training center to see how it was going. Care to join me?" I nodded, wincing as I stood up. Venom purred and Whip went the opposite way. Neither of us asked why.

We came to the training center where Adder and Brindle raced along the edges. "That's it, pace into a faster run!" Shadow called and Brindle started easing faster into a bigger run. 

Shadow turned to us and sized up Venom with narrowed eyes. He looked away quickly, anger rising in his eyes. "They insisted on racing since they mastered the fighting skills already." Shadow told me, meeting eyes with me and forcing himself not to look at Venom. 

I nodded and sat down beside him. "Alright you two. Whip is going to be a warrior today so you two will be the only apprentices until Mini's kits and Venom's, too," I explained, raising my voice. The two skidded to a halt and listened, panting heavily. 

"I am going to teach you new battle moves, basic ones turned to a bit more advanced." I meowed and Adder and Brindle nodded, eyes glinting with excite. "Finally, I was getting tired of the old ones," Brindle whispered. Adder nodded, smiling. 

"First one: Front paw strike. Hit your opponent on the head with unsheathed claws as hard as you can." I yowled and the two apprentices backed away from each other. Adder's ears flattened and Brindle crouched down to a stalking position. 

Brindle hopped forward and slammed her paw hard on Adder's head. His jaw hit the ground hard and he growled, jumping forward as quick as a snake and took both paws and smashed his paws down onto her head. Brindle yelped, hitting her jaw even harder onto the ground. 

I wanted to yell for them to be careful, but Venom seemed to be satisfied. I turned back to the apprentices and they circled each other. "Next one: Back kick. Sometimes, our enemies like to grab our tails and get us off track. Kick them when they are behind you, which means you'll be using all of your front paws' strength." I explained loudly and the two got on it quickly.

'This one is gonna hurt...' I thought, watching through squinted eyes. "Instead of kicking your opponent, kick a rock or tree, its technically the same but with no feelings and won't move." I interrupted just before they could fight.

Adder and Brindle both seemed to be relieved not to be kicked in the face. 

Adder looked over his shoulder at the rock he stood in front of, Brindle doing the same. The two lifted their hind legs and kicked the rock hard. Brindle stumbled forward and Adder fell on his face. They both looked embarrassed, Adder probably more. 'That's the second time.' I purred, watching as they kicked the rock harder and harder, stumbling forward. 

"I'm going to try this," Shadow meowed to me and padded to them and kicked as hard as he could. I purred as he caught himself from stumbling. Adder and Brindle did what he did to catch themselves from falling or stumbling. Venom and I watched for quite a long time as they kicked harder and harder. 

At first, Adder and Brindle could barely lift themselves on their front legs. "Adder, Brindle, come here. Practice balancing yourselves on your front legs, then it may be easier." I ordered and they nodded; Brindle hopped over and Adder padded to me.

I trotted to them and lifted Adder's hind legs. I stood on the tips of my toes and lifted them with my mouth. His leg tasted terrible. "I'm going to let go," I muttered through his leg fur. 

"Okay," He replied and amazingly, as I let go, his hind legs stayed in the air. "What in the name of Glittering Stars are you doing?" Fox's voice came from behind us and I whipped around. 

"Practicing," I replied evenly. 'What did he think we were doing?' 

"Well that looks like some odd practicing, if you ask me." His patrol looked amused. 

"I never asked you, now did I?" I spat, turning around and watched Adder try to lift his hind legs again. I helped him lift them and he kept them in the air. 

Shadow did the same for Brindle and she stayed in the air as well. Their bodies were shaking, their legs the most. Adder's tail was trembling and soon, his hind legs dropped. He sat down and fluffed out his fur. 

Soon after he sat down, Brindle's hind legs fell and she sat down, all in one motion.

"Alright, this one you need to have an opponent. Pin them down and bring down all your weight onto their stomach. It's going to hurt and I want both of you to do it at least twice." I instructed and they immediately started circling each other. 

Fox and Wolf began to circle each other, too, dropping their prey. Fawn and Shell leaped at each other and rolled around, rain water erupting around them. Brindle and Adder did the same, claws scratching on the rock. 

Fox and Wolf growled, hitting their faces with hard blows and then Wolf leaped to Fox. Fox skidded to the side and Wolf splashed into the puddle Fox stood in. Wolf growled and pushed himself toward Fox, as quick as a hawk diving for a kit.

I looked to Venom and then to Shadow; I felt like someone was watching me. Neither of them were looking at me. I felt eyes burning into my back and I looked to the cave. Amber eyes vanished in the blink of an eye. Half of me said it was my imagination, while the other half said go check it out. 

"Shadow, keep an eye on everyone." I mumbled to him and he looked at me confused, but nodded. 

The pair of eyes returned where they were and the sound of claws scratching the rock made me trot faster. As I got closer, the scent of WindClan washed over me. 'Oh for crying out loud.' I groaned and just as I got to the entrance, the WindClan intruder dashed away, down the trail. 

I growled and jumped down the trail, darting as fast as I could toward it. It looked over its shoulder and picked up speed. I picked up speed until my muscles couldn't go any faster, burning like a flame was erupting inside of them.

"Get back here!" I yowled and pushed myself until I felt like I was going to collapse. 'For an old cat, I sure can run!' I boasted to myself, shocked but happy. 

The WindClan cat dashed into WindClan territory, but I didn't stop there. "Do you think I'm going to stop there? You took our territory!" I yelled at it and he looked annoyed when he looked back at me. Fear was still in his eyes.

I stopped at the top of the hill and the cat kept going. I gasped for air, collapsing on my side. I felt like I was going to retch up the last thing I had to eat, which was a day ago. I groaned and tried to stand, but my muscles refused to let me get up. 'Sitting in WindClan territory isn't a good thing, you know!' I thought to myself, hopping my legs would hear.

******************

Venom's P.O.V.

Kink had disappeared, but Shadow said she'd be back. Like he knew anything. 

We had taken off back to camp, the cats exhausted and hurting. Wolf and Fox had gone the hardest on each other, and now both of them were groaning and shoving each other.

I led the patrol up into the camp and it was filled with commotion. I trotted to Leaf's den - where most of the cats were muttering and piling in front of - and poked my head in. Leaf was in a rush, putting a lot of herbs on a cat I couldn't see. Strike gave her the herbs when she called for them. 

"What's going on, Strike?" I whispered, trying not to wake Leaf from her concentration. I padded in. "It's Storm. Thorn had taken the patrol to Twolegplace, like you had asked, and while fighting, a dog had torn her face." Strike explained, muttering to himself, "Now Thorn isn't the only one with a scarred face."

I was stunned. Storm's face scarred? It seemed great but bad as well. Bad for her, good for the Tribe. Scars show we are tough, and now with two cats with beaten-up-faces, WindClan might be scared of us even more. There's no doubt they are scared of us now. 

"Let me see." I growled and Strike moved out of the way. Cobwebs were covering her lower jaw on the left side. Thorn's scars were on the right side over his eye. 

Blood was seeping through them, but not much. "Oh, wow," I whispered, studying her face even more. She was missing a tooth, one behind her fang. Her eye was very lucky it didn't get attacked, the gash was just below her eye. "Do you want me to tell Dagger and Snow?" I asked Leaf after she finished. 

"I fed her four poppy seeds, she won't be feeling anything or waking for at least a day." She murmured to Strike and he nodded. "Yes, and tell them she's going to be okay." Leaf told me eventually. 

I dipped my head and ducked out of her den. Jumping out, I was met by almost all the cats. I turned back to go in and poked my head in. "And how is Blossom?" Leaf exchanged a glance with Strike and turned back to me. "She's fine but she'll have a lip for a bit. Her ankle is still twisted and I found that a part of bone is broken. I gave her comfrey to help mend it again and poppy seeds to sleep." I nodded and she twitched her ear to the sleeping body of Blossom. 

"And Strike? Is he ready to be a full medicine cat?" I meowed and Strike's ears shot straight up, eyes wide with excitement. "Of course. He has some still to learn but most of my tricks have been learned," Leaf explained, smirking lightly. 

'Thats a first. I haven't seen Leaf smile in seasons.' 

I dipped my head and backed out of the medicine den, hopping back down to the crowd. 

Dagger and Snow met me immediately. "How is she?" Snow asked. "Is she going to be okay?" Dagger prompted, following me to my den. "She'll be fine but half of her face is going to be scarred." I replied, not stopping. 

"Gather everyone and let Storm and Blossom sleep." I began, my voice stopping all the muttering around the camp.

"Whip, step forward." I ordered and he did. "You've proven to any of us that you can fight, hunt and protect. I'll give you a choice: do you want to change your name?" He nodded and I continued. Bella looked prouder then anyone in the camp, mouth gaping open in excitement, smiling. "Do you promise, on your mother's life, that you'll protect the Tribe like the rest of us?" He nodded several times, "I do." 

"Then from this moment on, Whip, you'll be known as Fang." I announced and he dipped his head, backing away. "Adder, step forward." "Woah, woah. How come I had to do a final assessment and they didn't?" Fang asked, eyes narrowed. 

"You did that, they did more battle moves." I explained. 

Adder puffed out his chest and padded forward. Thorn and Lily looked just as proud as Bella was, just not as much. 

"Adder, you have also proven to be a great fighter, hunter and you're able to protect others with your life. Do you promise on the life of your kin that you'll do anything to keep our Tribe safe?" He nodded once, his chest still fluffed out. "Of course!" He boasted, chin raised. Brindle looked in awe at him. 

"Do you want to change your name?" He shook his head and I continued, "Then from this moment on, Adder, you'll be a warrior. Strong and proud."

He dipped his head and backed away. 

"Brindle, come forward." She rushed over, lifting her paws as if she wanted to run everywhere. "You have proven to everyone that you are loyal and strong. Hunting doesn't seem to be your thing, but your fighting skills are amazing." I told her and her eyes glittered with pride. Shell looked just as proud. 

'I wonder how this would go if Scar were here?' 

"Do you also promise - on the life of your mother - that you'll do anything to keep this Tribe safe?" I asked and she nodded, "Yes," "Do you wish to change your name?" She shook her head and I continued. 

"Then, Brindle, from now on, you'll be a warrior. A strong, proud warrior like Adder and Fang." She dipped her head and padded to Adder. They started murmuring to each other. 

"Before we end this, I'd like to announce Strike is going to be a full medicine cat. I don't need to ask if he'll keep his Tribe healthy with everything he has, because I know he can do it. Strike-" He looked up and Adder looked proudly at his brother. "from now on, you're the second, well working and very smart, medicine cat." 

"Strike! Fang! Adder! Brindle!" The Tribe cheered and I hopped down. Cats gathered around them, congratulating the three newly made warrior's and the new medicine cat. 

Kink rushed over, panting. "Venom, there's something I need to tell you."

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