In the Spirit of Newleaf [OPEN AS HECK]

OOC: Wait until I say it is officially open and Ripped calls an announcement

After what had seemed like such a long, cold spell, the forest had begun its thaw. Newleaf was not quite there, but it was well on its way. The black and white tom had padded across the clearing and purred as the rays of sun warmed his pelt. One patrol had been sent out for the time being, but a majority of the clan still lingered about before going to start their days. There had been something on the deputy's mind as the days grew longer. He had wanted some excitement for the clan. Leafbare had not been as harsh, yet hunger still hit the clan. With the coming change in season, he hoped to boost spirits and excitement in the clan.

"Crowstar?" Rippedsky called before padding into the leader's den. He smiled softly at his former mentor. They hadn't had much time together lately. Although, he always enjoyed being in the presence of Skyclan's leader. Hopefully, the fuffy black tom would be on board with his idea. The desire to start it at once was overwhelming. More than anything they needed some time with the whole clan together, taking a break from the normal monotonous tasks, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to ask you something... I want to bring the whole clan together for, what I would like to call..." He paused for a moment, what was it exactly? There was still a point and purpose to this whole thing. It was not just a silly waste of clan time and resources.

After a moment, he spoke up again, "A day of assessments, I suppose? We can test the skills of the apprentices through a series of challenges or games. The winner gets first pick of prey caught. The rest of the clan can cheer on their kin. I just thought it would really bring some excitement after a long leafbare. What do you think?" It wasn't something done often and was rather obscure. But, he hoped Crowstar would see the reason behind it and support it.

Crowstar shifted in his den, yellow eyes looking up at the entrance to see who was asking for his company. "What is it Rippedsky?" The tom asked. The tom sat up leaving room for his deputy in the den letting the tom inside.

A day of assessments? "What kind of games or tests?" He didn't want to give permission for this event to take place when he didn't know what exactly would be happening. He had an idea but they needed this completely planned out for it to work.

"Mock battles, hunting challenges... all sorts of things. We can see where they're all at in their skills through a friendly competition. And after, we can have a feast from all the prey caught." He explained, the excitement growing in his voice. Not only would it be fun, it would have a purpose as well. Picturing it now, along with the wonderfully warm weather, this would be perfect. The black and white tom flicked his tail as he thought. Rippedsky understood the fact that the leader wanted to know what this meant.

"I'll make sure we a patrol at all times and it would be held not far from the camp. With your permission, I will run the whole thing and organize it at once." The deputy awaited a response eagerly, hoping for a good word from Crowstar before he went off to announce it to the clan.

The leader nodded. He understood what his deputy was getting at. "Sure, why not. As long as you take care of everything." The leader couldn't really deal with a fun event right at the moment. He needed to finalize things with Ivystar in case the Riverclan leader needs assistance.

"Go ahead and announce it if you need to." The black fluffy leader stood up to follow his deputy out of the leaders den. Of course he was going to be up on the rock with his deputy but just sitting by.

It felt like he had been holding his breath. A pleased smile turned up the sides of his maw as Crowstar agreed. The leader had so many things on his mind and he was happy for the opportunity to be able to organize this. Kin had always been important to him and he hoped to bring the clan together more through this. Rippedsky nodded and turned to pad out into the open air. Again, he was greeted with the warmer fresh air. He swiftly leaped up onto the tallbranch to stand above the clan and let out a yowl as he settled down, "All cats old enough to climb a tree gather beneath the tallbranch for a clan meeting!"

He tried to look relaxed, hoping not to worry them by the presence of both the deputy and leader sitting above the clan. Rippedsky's tail twitched excitedly. The thoughts of the apprentices competing in the spirit of friendly competition was thrilling. For the longest time, he had not been looking forward to anything as much as this. Maybe some of the warriors could get involved as well and they could learn a thing or two from each other in the process. As he waited for them to gather, he mulled over all this.

OOC: OPEN TO POST NOW. After a few posts, he will explain and we will get this thing going in another topic.

Blossomheart stood up inside the nursery. Perhaps one of her kits was to be apprenticed? Or an apprentice became a warrior? She padded under the tallbranch, the first one there.

Russetpelt stretched as he padded out the warriors’ den. What was going on that just had to wake him up? He sat down by Blossomheart, tail twitching.

OoC: eh short

Mintpaw peered out of the medicine den curiously, grinning. What was this all about? Perhaps there was an apprentice ceremony or- she gave a happy little hop at the thought -it was Fernpaw's warrior ceremony. For some reason, Fernpaw had been a little bit less than friendly with her since her Medicine Cat Apprentice ceremony, but Mintpaw would be excited when her sister became a warrior anyways.

Echoflame settled with the rest of the clan What did her father want?

He was old enough to catch his own prey, wasn't he? Just a couple of sundowns prior, Quietkit had been close to catching his best friend, the wind. But of course he couldn't eat the wind. Not because some found it physically impossible, but solely because it was his very good friends, and friends, from what Quietkit had gathered in his short life up until this point, did not eat each other. Even so, the small creature drew nearer at the call of the deputy, gazing around to his Clan members in an attempt to make himself look bigger than he was.

Tinykit perked up as she heard the call and padded out of the nursery after her mother. She was pretty sure she wasn't quite old enough to become an apprentice but they had said old enough to climb a tree and she was sure she could do that.... well, pretty sure anyways. Sitting down near her mother, Tinykit looked up at at her Great Grandfather as he sat on the rock next to Crowstar.

Mallowbrook came out of the warrior's den and sat a few ways away.

Once cats were settled, the deputy began to explain, his voice ringing loud and clear, "There is thankfully no troublesome news today. We have had a rather peaceful season as a clan. Instead, I have something good for you all." He paused a moment and scanned the crowd with bright blue eyes. There was a curiosity in many of the stares below. Rippedsky hoped that as he announced it, they too would feel the excitement that had built up in his chest. After taking a deep breath, the black and white tom continued, "Cats of Skyclan, as leafbare draws to a close and we prepare for the renewing season of newleaf, I would like to bring the clan together for a celebration." Immediately he began picking out the cats who would participate in each event. Likely, he would also put an older warrior in charge of holding playfights for the kits. Everyone would be involved.

"Tomorrow, as soon as the sun is high in the sky, we will have a series of competitions and games between the apprentices to test their skills. The whole clan will cheer them on. Kits and warriors are to attend as well, and there will be activities for them at times too. These will include hunting and battle skills, along with some races." Rippedsky continued to look over them to gauge reactions, particularly those of the apprentices who would be the main event of it all. His tail flickered as he let them mull it over for a moment before adding, "At the end of the day, there will be a feast where winners will get the first pick of prey from the games. Mentors, you have the rest of the day to train your apprentices between patrols." With that, he nodded to the crowd and then Crowstar. He leaped down from the tallbranch to stand with the cats below in case they had any questions. Next, preparations would be made.

***

Mumblefoot's ear twitched as he heard his father's call. One glance at one of the clan's kits made him pause. Drizzlekit wasn't old enough to climb a tree, right? Regardless, he backed up and quickly turned towards the nursery. It had started becoming second nature to constantly fret over the little she-cat. In fact, his mother had told him the other day that he acted like a worried queen over her. For a task he had taken on rather begrudgingly, the little tailless warrior had put as much effort in as if he had birthed her himself. Sighing at the thought, he poked his head in to see his seemingly adopted daughter, "Drizzlekit, we have a clan meeting."

He took a step in and gingerly took her scruff in his teeth to help her out of the nursery more quickly. Once they were seated by the rest of the clan, he instructed her to sit quietly and listen to the deputy. It took a moment to convince himself it was okay to take his eyes off of her for the moment to look at Rippedsky. There was a mild interest about this somewhere in the back of his mind. As the older warrior explained, his ears perked up. If anything, racing competitions did not seem back. If there was one thing Mumblefoot enjoyed, it was climbing and leaping from branch to branch. But, who will watch Drizzlekit? His ear twitched at the thought. Maybe one of the oth- the queens could keep an eye on her for a while. It was a decent idea, he had to admit, regardless of whether or not he could participate, "I guess we'll be going to that, huh?" Mumblefoot muttered to the kit.

OOC: this will start taking place in the next few days, likely on the 5th or 6th. Feel free to throw up training or preparation posts in the meantime. I will handle all the events and competitions. PM me if you have any more ideas, I'm more than willing to listen. See you all at the games ;)

Blossomheart grinned in surprise. It sounded fun!