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Description
Redpaw scraped his claws against the ground, making deep marks which depicted study material he needed to remember. His friend, Atlas, was lying on a rock and seemed ready to take a nap. The two had just finished their final class before the next exam. The other young apprentices had dispersed and were hanging around the clearing, happy to be free for a while. Redpaw and Atlas sought out a quiet and shady spot, as Redpaw wanted to get started on studying. Atlas had promised to help, but at moment, the tom didn't seem too keen on reviewing.
"Redpaw, the exam isn't until the next quarter moon. Why don't we take a break, or go explore or something? Maybe we can go hang out with the other guys, too." He suggested.
Redpaw wrinkled his nose, running battle tactics through his head, half-listening to Atlas. "But it's best to get a head start. You know me, if I have the theory memorized I do better."
Atlas sighed and flicked his tail under his friend's nose in amusement. "Yes, I also know that you probably already have it all memorized and that you're just over-stressing. You'll do fine, Redpaw."
Redpaw rolled his eyes. "I'm certainly not surprised that you aren't worried, but not everyone can freeload and still ace an exam, Atlas."
"Well, everyone should." He pouted, pressing his cheek against the rock.
Redpaw made another mark and went silent. It was true that he knew the material by heart already, but since he struggled so much in the physical portion, he thought mentally mastering the material first would be of help. Guilt-ridden, he knew that Atlas wanted to do something else and was being held back because of his insecurity over his abilities.
"Listen, you don't have to stay here and help me if you don't want to. I'm perfectly capable of reviewing on my own." Atlas gave him an unreadable look and, feeling the awkwardness of the situation, Redpaw started to word-vomit. "Honestly, I think I work better when I'm alone and I know that you want to do other things with the other toms, so I understand completely if you wouldn't want to spend the day with me and don't get me wrong, I really appreciate your offer to help, but I would hate to hold you back from doing things you want to do and that's not to say I don't enjoy your company it's just that--"
"Whoa, whoa." Atlas had raised a paw, cutting him off. "Of course I want to help you. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't. I just thought you might want to do something fun while we still had the chance." He paused and offered a smile. "But hey, if you want to study, I'll study with you. You've got a good point; if we get a head start it'll make us stand out from the other boys to the examiners." He smiled wider and added teasingly: "Even though I, The Freeloader, already know all the material I need to ace the exam."
Redpaw looked at his friend and gave him a slow, shy smile. "A-Alright, if you insist. Maybe, then... we can get through the material from the first few classes and then go do something fun like you said."
Atlas grinned back, "Sounds good, my friend."

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I feel like I need to explain a few things about how their education system works:
Unlike in canon Warriors, the apprentices have to attend "classes" that are led by senior warriors. While they are also assigned individual mentors, those are more like "tutors" that help them touch up on material rather than actual "teachers". They mostly learn in large group systems, that require them to do teamwork, participate in class and preform demonstrations. After a certain series of classes, they have to do an exam (similar to the evaluations done by mentors to their apprentices in the Warriors canon) where they demonstrate what they've learned.

Atlas, being the clever and physically adept boy he is, has done relatively well in every exam he's done. Redpaw, while not the star student (he isn't as physically built as the other toms), does reasonably well. However, his father (who is the leader of their clan), pressures him to get higher scores as he feels it will taint his and his son's reputation if he doesn't. So, Redpaw (very anxiously) studies hard for every coming exam.

Related works:

do not use, redistribute, repost my art without my permission thanks

Description
Redpaw scraped his claws against the ground, making deep marks which depicted study material he needed to remember. His friend, Atlas, was lying on a rock and seemed ready to take a nap. The two had just finished their final class before the next exam. The other young apprentices had dispersed and were hanging around the clearing, happy to be free for a while. Redpaw and Atlas sought out a quiet and shady spot, as Redpaw wanted to get started on studying. Atlas had promised to help, but at moment, the tom didn't seem too keen on reviewing.
"Redpaw, the exam isn't until the next quarter moon. Why don't we take a break, or go explore or something? Maybe we can go hang out with the other guys, too." He suggested.
Redpaw wrinkled his nose, running battle tactics through his head, half-listening to Atlas. "But it's best to get a head start. You know me, if I have the theory memorized I do better."
Atlas sighed and flicked his tail under his friend's nose in amusement. "Yes, I also know that you probably already have it all memorized and that you're just over-stressing. You'll do fine, Redpaw."
Redpaw rolled his eyes. "I'm certainly not surprised that you aren't worried, but not everyone can freeload and still ace an exam, Atlas."
"Well, everyone should." He pouted, pressing his cheek against the rock.
Redpaw made another mark and went silent. It was true that he knew the material by heart already, but since he struggled so much in the physical portion, he thought mentally mastering the material first would be of help. Guilt-ridden, he knew that Atlas wanted to do something else and was being held back because of his insecurity over his abilities.
"Listen, you don't have to stay here and help me if you don't want to. I'm perfectly capable of reviewing on my own." Atlas gave him an unreadable look and, feeling the awkwardness of the situation, Redpaw started to word-vomit. "Honestly, I think I work better when I'm alone and I know that you want to do other things with the other toms, so I understand completely if you wouldn't want to spend the day with me and don't get me wrong, I really appreciate your offer to help, but I would hate to hold you back from doing things you want to do and that's not to say I don't enjoy your company it's just that--"
"Whoa, whoa." Atlas had raised a paw, cutting him off. "Of course I want to help you. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't. I just thought you might want to do something fun while we still had the chance." He paused and offered a smile. "But hey, if you want to study, I'll study with you. You've got a good point; if we get a head start it'll make us stand out from the other boys to the examiners." He smiled wider and added teasingly: "Even though I, The Freeloader, already know all the material I need to ace the exam."
Redpaw looked at his friend and gave him a slow, shy smile. "A-Alright, if you insist. Maybe, then... we can get through the material from the first few classes and then go do something fun like you said."
Atlas grinned back, "Sounds good, my friend."

----------

I feel like I need to explain a few things about how their education system works:
Unlike in canon Warriors, the apprentices have to attend "classes" that are led by senior warriors. While they are also assigned individual mentors, those are more like "tutors" that help them touch up on material rather than actual "teachers". They mostly learn in large group systems, that require them to do teamwork, participate in class and preform demonstrations. After a certain series of classes, they have to do an exam (similar to the evaluations done by mentors to their apprentices in the Warriors canon) where they demonstrate what they've learned.

Atlas, being the clever and physically adept boy he is, has done relatively well in every exam he's done. Redpaw, while not the star student (he isn't as physically built as the other toms), does reasonably well. However, his father (who is the leader of their clan), pressures him to get higher scores as he feels it will taint his and his son's reputation if he doesn't. So, Redpaw (very anxiously) studies hard for every coming exam.

Related works:

do not use, redistribute, repost my art without my permission thanks