Rise From Darkness {COMPLETE}

Timberstar's Journey -Chapter 4-

Timberpaw took a deep breath, trying his best to calm his nerves. He sat beside Rootpaw who was also doing her best to stay calm. They were waiting for Larkclaw and Rustleaf to return to camp so that they could begin their warrior assessment. The two of them had been training hard for this moment and Timberpaw was desperate to show off what he had learned.

In the months since Timberpaw's fall from the tree, everything had been rather uneventful. His father had pulled back just a little bit, being less demanding about Timberpaw's training, but only slightly. He still watched Timberpaw like a hawk, making sure his training was going well and criticizing Larkclaw's training of him constantly.

He never brought up the leader thing around him, but Timberpaw knew that his father was still pushing him to become leader. Ultimately it was neither of their choices, being leader wasn't something that was happening anytime soon. He wasn't even a warrior yet and he would have to mentor an apprentice. There wasn't even any kits in the nursery, but there would be soon.

His mentor, Larkclaw, was currently expecting kits and would be moving into the nursery after Timberpaw's ceremony. She was just over a moon along, but she said she didn't want to stick him with a different mentor when he was so close, and he usually ended up doing most of the work while Larkclaw took it easy. They also both knew if Larkclaw stopped being his mentor Branchfur would try and force his way into the position or Tigerfang.

Tigerfang had been Branchfur's apprentice and him and Timberpaw really didn't get alone. Branchfur treated Tigerfang like a second son but Timberpaw would never see him like a brother, mostly because Tigerfang had a brother but he still followed Branchfur around like his shadow.

More than once Tigerfang had implied that Branchfur liked him more than Timberpaw, and Timberpaw really didn't care. Tigerfang was a warrior who acted like an apprentice and Timberpaw just wanted to be a warrior and not have his father constantly nipping at his ankles.

In the few moons since he encountered Branchfur and his mother fighting he had kept his distance from Branchfur as best he could, but Branchfur didn't give him much space. He continued to practically ignore Rootpaw who seemed to be getting over it.

She had the support of Timberpaw and Flamewhisker, but Timberpaw was still concerned for his sister. He always did his best to tell her how good she was doing, but he also couldn't help but feel...envious. He would give anything for just one day where Branchur wasn't constantly looking over his shoulder.

He also noticed that his parents had drifted apart. They never shared prey together, they never went on patrols together, they never even really spoke to each other. Though neither Branchfur nor Flamewhisker had said anything; Timberpaw was sure that they were no longer mates.

Timberpaw didn't know what to think, but he did notice that Flamewhisker had been happier lately. She was very involved in their training in a healthy way, having pleasant conversations with Rustleaf and Larkclaw about the progress of their training.

After waiting for quite a while, Larkclaw and Rustleaf returned to camp and approached the waiting apprentices. "Are you two ready?" Rustleaf asked with a happy wave of her tail.

"We've been ready this whole time!" Rootpaw jumped to her paws, clearly playing. She had a very good relationship with Rustleaf, the two of them often joking as Larkclaw and Timberpaw did.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Larkclaw tears with a purr. "Get your tails out in the forest. We'll be watching, and we'll come get you when you're done. Do your best."

Timberpaw also jumped to his paws, his entire body buzzing with excitement. He was so excited to prove everything he had learned, not to his father, but to himself and to his Clanmates.