Riverdome [battle training/open]

Dark shapes slunk between the trees to the fringes of the clearing, in pairs or in groups, with a few lone stragglers dotted among them to watch the training. The glow of the claw-moon bathed the thicket in a silver half-light, luminous green and blue and yellow eyes blinking out from the black undergrowth, the only identifying features of the RiverClan warriors gathered below. The wind whispered through the leaves, accompanied by the low rumble of the river in the far distance.

The shadow of Fishstar's passing colored the atmosphere of the small gathering. War was stirring in the air, and they all had to be ready for the harsh leaf-bare ahead of them. But there was an electrified excitement too, especially among the young apprentices, a lighthearted eagerness only matched by some of the less jaded mentors as they got to put their time-practiced skills to the test.

Yarrowpaw stood among them, pressed close to a thin beech sapling, saying nothing, and watching everyone.

Fawnpaw padded over near the other apprentice. She didn't know Yarrowpaw very well. She waited for Nutfur and Yarrowpaw's mentor too appear, or any other cats that would be joining.

Nutfur had thought that it would be a good idea for the apprentices to train better for battle. Though she hoped that none of them ever had to be in a real battle, training them just in case was for the best. She padded towards a small group of mentors and watched Fawnpaw out of the corner of her eye. She had hardly trained her apprentice in the art of fighting yet, so she hoped she didn't get to shaken up by the whole experience.

Snowpaw strolled up to the other apprentices, her eyes bright. Her long white fur whipped in the wind as she made her way to the edge of the clearing, bouncing a few steps ahead of her mentor. She would finally get to use all of the moves she'd learned! Maybe she'd even win, who knew? The RiverClan she-cat's fluffy tail swept over her paws as she sat down by the other she-cat. "Hello! What's your name?" she purred in a friendly tone. Might as well get to know the other cats- she didn't think she recognized any of them, except for Nutfur.

Amberpelt sighed softly as she followed after Snowpaw, sparing a glance around at the already gathered cats. Truth be told, the warrior wasn't the fondest of this whole...Thing. Battle training was good in all but to make almost a game out of it - a competition to see who was the best? Well, she...No, nevermind. She was growing more fond of this whole thing the more she put into it. Her eyes drifted over to where Snowpaw was standing as the apprentice greeting one of her denmates as the warrior padded quietly over to Nutfur, taking a seat next to her. She certainly didn't hope that Snowpaw would let her down...But she supposed that if Snowpaw didn't come out on top, it just meant that more training was to be done. The brown she-cat's eyes lazily scanned the clearing, wondering who exactly would be officiating it as she waited for this whole thing to start.

Swanpaw had located the first warrior she saw, which happened to be Finchstream, and asked her to stand in for her mentor - knowing what she did about Snailbelly, he was most likely asleep somewhere not far from here. The silver apprentice, however, was itching for a fight and didn't have the patience to search for him, let alone wake him up.

Oh StarClan, why did I agree to this again?  Finchstream padded into the beech copse behind Swanpaw, trying her best to hide the fact that her paws were shaking like mad.  The silver tabby warrior's disdain for fighting and blood was still her best-kept secret, even though recently it has been getting a lot harder to hide.  The stress was eating away at her conscience, and she knew having to supervise this event would only make it worse.  With a deep sigh, she flashed a forced smile at Swanpaw before gazing around the clearing; Nutfur was there too.  Can this night get any worse?!  The sight of her best friend only made her feel more guilty; she had kept the truth from her for so long, she was almost feeling as if she had betrayed her.  Her courage leaving her, Finchstream settled herself into a sitting position by herself, casting a few fleeting glances in her friend's direction.

Fawnpaw glanced over to Snowpaw. "I'm Fawnpaw," she mewed. She was then surprised when lots of other apprentices and warriors came into the clearing. Looks like this will be a very large battle training group!

IC: Yarrowpaw crept out into the center of the clearing, head low, but eyes watchful of all directions. He could feel the itch just behind his sheathed claws. Sparring with Ivystar was one thing. She could always put him on his back no matter what new trick he tried or how close he followed her stern instruction. But his other peers and clanmates weren't Ivystar. How would her training prepare him for a fight a little more close to life?

He eyed the other apprentices up and down, a silent challenge to all the gathered mentors.

OOC: Come at me bros