Warriors Forbidden Kits

Chapter 10

--- many moons and gatherings later ---

Snowpaw, Shadowpaw, and Cloudpaw sat patiently waiting for their warrior ceremonies. Their mentors were nearby, all except Jaggedstar. He was on the leader rock. Life had been hard since the gathering when they had promised to wait until they were Warriors to learn the truth. Thundertail and Snowpaw had spent most of their time training together, hunting together, and talking together. Cloudpaw was almost constantly training with Jaggedstar. Shadowpaw was with Bramblespike a lot, but not as much as his siblings. He spent more time talking to all of the female cats in the clan. Especially Smallpaw, now Smalljay. Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, Cloudpaw was in love with Smalljay as well.

"Cats of Waterclan! Today we celebrate three apprentices who have learned all they can about the ways of warriors! Today they receive their warrior names!" Jaggedstar called. The clan cheered.

"Snowpaw, step forward." Jaggedstar commanded. Snowpaw nervously stepped forward. She looked different now. Older. More beautiful. The scar on her face had never fully healed, leaving her with three jagged lines from her ear over her eye and to her nose.

"Snowpaw, you have learned all you could and trained as hard as you could. No one can doubt your ability as a warrior. From this day forth you will be known as Snowleap!" Jaggedstar declared.

"Snowleap! Snowleap!" The clan cheered. Snowleap bowed, then stepped back beside her two brothers. Thundertail laid his tail across hers.

"Shadowpaw, step forward." Jaggedstar said. Shadowpaw stepped forward. He looked different now as well. His fur looked sleeker, and he looked more handsome than as a kit. His eyes glinted with mischief.

"Shadowpaw, you have learned all you could and trained as hard as you could. No one can doubt your power. From this day forth you will be known as Shadowstalker!" Jaggedstar declared.

"Shadowstalker! Shadowstalker!" The clan cheered. Shadowstalker bowed and stepped back to join his siblings.

"Cloudpaw, step forward." Jaggedstar commanded. Cloudpaw stepped forward. Like his siblings before him, he looked different. He was bigger, stronger. No longer the runt, he was easily bigger than Snowleap. But not yet as big as Shadowstalker.

"Cloudpaw, you have learned all you could and trained all you could. No one can doubt your loyalty. From this day forth you will be known as Cloudrunner." Jaggedstar declared.

"Cloudrunner! Cloudrunner!" The clan cheered. Cloudrunner bowed, then stepped back to join his siblings.

"These three cats have proven their worth, and are now Warriors of Waterclan!" Jaggedstar yowled. The clan cheered.

"As customary, each will take one last patrol with their mentor alone. Tonight, there will be a feast!" Jaggedstar said. The clan cheered again as Jaggedstar hopped off the stone and led Cloudrunner through the clan entrance and into the forest. Shadowstalker and Bramblespike walked side by side into the woods as well, and Snowleap waited for Thundertail to stand up. Together, the two of them walked into the woods.

The air was quiet and clear, and not a sound could be heard. Neither cat spoke until they were well away from camp. Then Snowleap sighed.

"I guess we won't really be seeing much of each other anymore." She finally said softly. Thundertail stopped walking. Snowleap turned around and tilted her head, unsure what the problem was. Thundertail looked like he couldn't make us his mind. Finally, he looked up directly into Snowleap's eyes. He was only a tiny bit bigger than she was.

"It doesn't have to be that way." He finally said. Snowleap tilted her head.

"W-what do you mean?" She asked nervously. Thundertail took a step forward.

"We can see a lot of each other. You're a warrior. You're an adult. You're old enough." Thundertail said. With each sentence he stepped closer to Snowleap until he was standing directly over her. Snowleap's fur burned.

"You mean..." She started to ask, then trailed off. Thundertail nodded.

"We could be mates." He finished for her, staring directly into her eyes. Snowleap couldn't speak. Finally, she just nodded. That was enough. The two mates twined their tails and then continued on the patrol.

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Smokepaw couldn't wait for her warrior ceremony. It was supposed to start any minute. Life had been interesting since the gathering where Stormstone had promised to tell her and her brothers and those other apprentices the truth. Smokepaw had avoided every cat since then, especially Stormstone himself. The only cats she talked to were Maplestep and Bluepaw. Bluepaw had had his ceremony only a few weeks ago. Now he was Blueheart. But he still visited Smokepaw on the border every three days except for on gatherings. At gatherings they didn't have to talk to each other in secret.

Starpaw sat beside his sister. He had changed. He wasn't as nervous anymore. He took charge more often. He looked out for his siblings. But he always seemed to lose track of them at night. One of them would go missing every once in a while. He never told them he knew this, but he kept a careful eye on them.

When Stonepaw vanished, it was because he was visiting a she cat from Airclan. He had learned his to use the tunnels under the waterfall and traveled to Airclan frequently. He stayed secret and was never caught until another apprentice spotted him. She was a she cat with cream fur and green eyes. Her name was Creampaw. Her warrior ceremony was supposed to be one week after Stonepaw's. Bith had fantasized about their names, but neither could make any good guesses.

Finally, Morningstar climbed into the leader cave. That was where she addressed the clan from.

"Cats of Earthclan! Today we celebrate three apprentices who have learned all they can about the ways of warriors! Today they receive their warrior names!" Morningstar yowled. The clan cheered.

"Starpaw, step forward." Morningstar commanded. Starpaw stepped forward.

"Starpaw, you have learned all you could and trained as hard as you could. No one can doubt your wisdom. From this day forth you will be known as Starpelt!" Morningstar declared.

"Starpelt! Starpelt!" The clan cheered. Starpelt bowed, then stepped back to join his siblings.

"Stonepaw, step forward." Morningstar said. Stonepaw stepped forward.

"Stonepaw, you have learned all you could and trained as hard as you could. No one can doubt your courage. From this day forth you will be known as Stonebite!" Morningstar declared.

"Stonebite! Stonebite!" The clan cheered. Stonebite bowed and stepped back to join his siblings.

"Smokepaw, step forward." Morningstar commanded. Smokepaw stepped forward. Starpelt gave her a reassuring smile.

"Smokepaw, you have learned all you could and trained all you could. No one can doubt your faith. From this day forth you will be known as Smokeflower." Morningstar declared.

"Smokeflower! Smokeflower!" The clan cheered. Smokeflower bowed hastily, then stepped back to join her brothers.

"These three cats have proven their worth, and are now Warriors of Earthclan!" Morningstar yowled. The clan cheered.

"As customary, each will take one last patrol with their mentor alone. Tonight, we will feast!" Morningstar continued. The clan cheered again. Each new warrior stood and joined its mentor for their last patrol. Starpelt glanced at Stormstone. Stormstone looked nervous, but nodded towards Starpelt. Tonight was the gathering. Tonight they would find out the truth.