Rosemoon's Destiny

Chapter 13

It was almost time for the assessment when Darkpaw finished his story on how Lionpaw told him that the abandoned twoleg den was haunted and when they went inside to see, they saw a whole nest of squirrel. One of them jumped at them and Lionpaw ran away while Darkpaw killed it. 

"I let Lionpaw carry it back to camp so he won't feel too bad." Darkpaw proudly told Rosepaw. She was impressed that he had the guts to do that.

"Actually, the opposite happened. This scaredy mousebrain was the one to run away while I got the prey and chased after him. He was across the lake!" Lionpaw padded up to them rolling his eyes and Rosepaw burst into laughter. Darkpaw grumbled and turned away. Luckily, Flameflight hopped onto Pride Rock in time. 

"Warriors, apprentices, come. It's time for the assessment!" He called. Rosepaw bounced like an excited kit. 

"Yay! I could become a warrior today!" She saw Frozenpaw and the other apprentices cheering. 

"We'll see." Flameflight led them and their mentors out. She heard Silverpaw wish them good luck and thanked her. 

When they reached the forest, Flameflight started assigning hunting partners.

"Frozenpaw, you will hunt with me. Rosepaw and Lionpaw will hunt with Poppywing. Pearlstrike, you're with Sandypaw, Littlewing, bring along Shadowpaw. Shadowmist, you and Darkpaw. Dustfur will take Stonepaw," Flameflight instructed. Everyone split up and Rosepaw followed her partners. 

"Okay you two. I want you both to find the largest amount of prey possible and work together to hunt. When you're done, meet up with me here. Got it?" Poppywing ordered them. Lionpaw and Rosepaw nodded. Poppywing flicked her tail and they ventured deeper into the forest. Rosepaw sniffed the ground hoping to find the scent of prey. She looked around her and found Frozenpaw stalking a rabbit. She hoped that her sister would be able to catch it. Well she should be able to since she's really good. She realized. She turned away from Frozenpaw and kept going.

"Hey, Rosepaw! I just realized something!" Lionpaw called to her. Rosepaw ran up to him.

"What?"

"We can go to the abandoned twoleg den to hunt! I bet the squirrel are still in there." He said excited. 

"Oh yeah! Let's go!" Rosepaw led the way there being careful not to alarm the critters. They arrived at the den and made a plan. Once they agreed on it, they split up. Rosepaw sneaked around the back of the den while Lionpaw stood at the front. She got into a crouch ready to leap and gave him the signal. He nodded and barged into the den yowling. The squirrels scattered around in fear. Rosepaw jumped in and caught as much as she could with Lionpaw helping. By the time they finished, the two apprentices caught a total of five squirrels. There were a total of eight but three were able to escape. 

"YAY!" They cried in unison. Rosepaw happily picked up the prey in her jaws and headed to the spot where they'll meet up with Poppywing. Poppywing looked impressed when she was their prey.

"Nice job you two! Let's head back to camp." She helped by taking one of the prey while Rosepaw carried two and so did Lionpaw. She purred on the way to camp and saw all the apprentices and mentors there except Frozenpaw and Flameflight. Probably still hunting.  She shrugged and placed her prey in the fresh-kill pile. 

"That looks great Rosepaw!" Silverpaw bounded up to her, "How'd you catch that?" Rosepaw explained how they surrounded the prey and then attacked. 

"Woah..." Silverpaw and Stonepaw eyes widened. Stonepaw had joined them mid-story.

"That's amazing how you and Lionpaw planned that! I'm gonna have to use that plan myself..." Stonepaw said and Rosepaw puffed her chest proudly. Just then, she saw Frozenpaw coming into camp with the rabbit from earlier. Looks like she caught the rabbit! But... where's Flameflight?  She decided to ask her.

"Hey, Frozenpaw! Where's your mentor?" She started going to her but Frozenpaw ignored her and headed to Lilystar's den. Rosepaw was disappointed but didn't say anything else because Flameflight was coming through the entrance and also going to the leader's den. She looked after them confused. A few moments later, Lilystar, Flameflight, and Frozenpaw padded out looking a bit worried. 

"All cats able to catch their own prey, join for a Clan meeting." Cats made their way toward Pride Rock. Rosepaw realized it was time for the warrior's ceremony. Good luck everyone!

"I, Lilystar, leader of FireClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Frozenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do." Frozenpaw replied. 

"Then, by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Frozenpaw, from this moment on you, will be known as Frozenstrike. StarClan honors your loyalty and your courage and we welcome you as a full warrior of FireClan." The newly made warrior stepped back. Rosepaw could see the excitement in her eyes. 

"Rosepaw, come." Lilystar called her name and she froze. She slowly stood up and went to Lilystar, shaking with anticipation. 

"I, Lilystar, leader of FireClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Rosepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do." Rosepaw said, lifting her chin. This is it! I will be a true warrior now!

"Then, by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Rosepaw, from this moment on you, will be known as Rosemoon. StarClan honors your intelligence and strength. We welcome you as a full warrior of FireClan." Rosemoon swelled with pride and stepped back next to Frozenstrike. They exchanged squeals of joy. The other apprentices went and got their warrior names. Darkpaw was now Darkclaw, Lionpaw was now Lionfang, Sandypaw was now Sandybreeze, Stonepaw was now Stoneheart, and Shadowpaw was now Shadowleaf. The cats below them shouted their names.

"Frozenstrike! Rosemoon! Darkclaw! Lionfang! Sandybreeze! Stoneheart! Shadowleaf!" Once everyone was quiet, Lilystar continued. 

You all are to sit the silent vigil. But no cat, except the elders and queens, are to sleep tonight, or your life could be in danger. We hear of battle at midnight," She looked at the new warriors, "You are to fight with us, but not a word said." They all nodded and Rosemoon realized that was the reason Frozenstrike and her old mentor went to her den quickly. 

"All right. ALL WARRIORS STAY HIDDEN WITHIN THE SHADOWS! Gingerleaf and Silverpaw! Take the elders and queens toward the moonpool. You may have her medicine cat ceremony there if you must. If you catch any scent of DarkClan or BreezeClan, START RUNNING BACK! Alright, disperse." She finished and jumped down. The new warriors found a place to hide and crouched down. 

Oh StarClan... please keep us safe!