Warriors: Burnttail's Regret (Complete)

Chapter 25

 Burnttail swam out of the river and shook his fur, trying to raise his head as high as possible, although he was just feeling exhausted. Acaciapaw sprinted right past him and let out an excited squeak. ''I passed my assessment, right?''

 Burnttail chuckled. ''Yes, you did. Now come on, sit here. I'll go and talk to Frecklestar.''

 Acaciapaw let out another excited squeak and started running in a circle. Burnttail blinked, surprised, then smiled and looked around. When he saw Frecklestar, he padded towards her. Tornfeather, Swiftbrook and Berryfeather, the mentors of the other apprentices, were all gathered there.

 ''Burnttail!'' Frecklestar greeted him as the dark ginger tom approached them. ''How did Acaciapaw's assessment go? Did she pass it?''

 Burnttail dipped his head. ''Yes, she did. She's also very excited about it, as well. She's not even tired!''

 Frecklestar chuckled and looked at Acaciapaw. ''I can see that. And I'm sure that her warrior name will suit her. I'll start the meeting soon.''

 Burnttail nodded, then looked at the other three warriors. ''How did your apprentices' assessments go?''

 ''Pretty good.'' Berryfeather meowed. ''Lavenderpaw managed to focus and catch a lot of prey. I'm proud of her!''

 ''Horrible.'' Tornfeather growled, twitching his ears. ''Sweetpaw still managed to catch enough prey and I think she deserves to pass her assessment, but she kept scaring away all the prey!''

 Burnttail smiled, then looked at Swiftbrook. The long-legged gray she-cat raised her head, thinking. ''Grasspaw's went okay. He was a little bit scared and unsure of himself, but he's very fast! He managed to catch every single prey that ran away from him. And that's very good, now that Leaf-bare is very close.''

 Burnttail nodded, then looked towards Frecklestar, but blinked in surprise when the she-cat wasn't there anymore. The brown-and-cream leader sat down on the Wetrock and looked around.

 ''Let all cats old enough to swim the currents gather beneath the Wetrock for a Clan meeting!''

 Burnttail dipped his head towards the other three mentors, then he got up and sat down at the base of the Wetrock, where the deputy sat. As the other cats soon gathered around, Burnttail was surprised to see Whitewhisker's body right in front of him. Whitewhisker died? But.. he was fine yesterday when I went to take the ticks out of Goosepath's fur! But Whitewhisker was silent the whole time.. Oh, no.. May StarClan welcome him.

 When everyone else gathered and let out shocked gasps when they saw Whitewhisker's body, Frecklestar began speaking. ''First, I want to say that we have sadly lost Whitewhisker. This morning, Goosepath woke up to Whitewhisker not breathing or moving. He died peacefully in his sleep. He lived a long life and served us when he was a warrior. May StarClan light his path and welcome him.'' She sighed and closed her eyes.

 Burnttail, along with the other cats, remained silent for a little bit. After a while, Frecklestar opened her eyes and began speaking again. ''We'll soon sit vigil for him, but before that, I have other things to announce. First, four apprentices are ready to become warriors. Acaciapaw, Lavenderpaw, Sweetpaw and Grasspaw, step forward.''

 The four apprentices quickly stepped forward, looking proud, but clearly troubled by Whitewhisker's death. Acaciapaw looked energetic and happy, Lavenderpaw looked proud, Sweetpaw looked curious and like she was going to jump out of her pelt, and Grasspaw looked scared. Burnttail blinked in surprise when he saw how anxious Grasspaw looked. He then sighed. He's scared he won't actually get his warrior name, isn't he?

 ''Do you four promise to uphold the Warrior Code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?'' Frecklestar asked, looking at the apprentices.

 ''We do!'' The apprentices promised in unision. Burnttail blinked, surprised, but smiled when he saw how close the siblings were.

 Frecklestar chuckled. ''Then, by the powers of StarClan I will give you your warrior names. Acaciapaw, from this day forward, you will be known as Acaciaspark.''

 The ginger she-cat with a cream belly raised her head, her green eyes sparkling with joy. Burnttail purred, looking at his former apprentice.

 ''Lavenderpaw.'' Frecklestar moved on. ''From this day forward, you will be known as Lavenderpurr.''

 The long-furred white she-cat with ginger and black splotches looked surprised, but then purred and twitched her ears. Burnttail could see her lavender still being at the young she-cat's ear. He smiled.

 ''Sweetpaw.'' Frecklestar meowed. ''From this day forward, you will be known as Sweetpetal.''

 Sweetpetal blinked in surprise, but then purred and flicked her tail.

 ''And Grasspaw.'' Frecklestar started.

 The cream tabby tom flinched and looked up, scared. Burnttail blinked, tilting his head.

 Frecklestar smiled. ''Don't worry, I'm not going to eat you. From this day forward, you will be known as Grassfoot.''

 Grassfoot looked relieved and he let out a sigh. Burnttail smiled, then raised his voice. ''Acaciaspark! Lavenderpurr! Sweetpetal! Grassfoot!''

 The rest of the Clan soon joined him. The four new warriors looked both proud and ashamed, and then they backed off. When it was quiet again, Frecklestar started speaking again. ''There are two other things that I want to announce. Berryfeather will now move to the nursery, as she is expecting Bouldershade's kits and she finished training Lavenderpurr.''

 Bouldershade smiled and touched his nose with Berryfeather's. Lavenderpurr looked at them, surprised, then dipped her head to her former mentor.

 ''And Tornfeather wants to retire to the elders' den, since he also just finished training Sweetpetal and he thinks it's his time to retire.'' Frecklestar meowed, then looked at the black tom with a short tail. ''Tornfeather, is it your wish to give up the name of a warrior and go join the elders?''

 Tornfeather dipped his head. ''It is.''

 Frecklestar nodded. ''Your Clan honors you and all the service you have given to us. I call upon StarClan to give you many moons of rest.''

 Tornfeather dipped his head again, smiling, then he turned and padded towards Goosepath. The gray-and-white speckled tom greeted him with a nod, then sighed and looked back at Whitewhisker's body. Frecklestar lowered her head and looked at the pale gray-and-white tom's body as well. ''We will now sit vigil for him. All the cats that were close to him may sit vigil. We will bury him in the morning. Meeting dismissed.''

 Frecklestar jumped off of the Wetrock and crouched, burying her nose in Whitewhisker's body. A few other cats joined them, and Burnttail hesitated, sighing. I wasn't that close to Whitewhisker, I barely even talked to him, so I don't think I deserve to sit vigil for him. I'm sorry, Whitewhisker, but may you find your way to StarClan soon.

 ''Burnttail?''

 The tom blinked and turned. Acaciaspark padded towards him and smiled. ''Thank you for training me. You were an amazing mentor, and if I ever get an apprentice of my own, I promise to teach them everything you taught me!''

 Burnttail blinked, surprised, then purred. ''You're welcome, Acaciaspark. You were an amazing apprentice, and you and your siblings deserve to be warriors.''

 Acaciaspark smiled, looking very proud, then she turned and ran towards her siblings, who were standing in front of Whitealder and Nettlebrook. The two warriors were congratulating their kits, looking proud and happy.

 Burnttail dipped his head, then he sighed and looked around. Most cats are sitting vigil for Whitewhisker, and the others were already in the dawn patrol.. and I can't send Acaciaspark, Lavenderpurr, Sweetpetal and Grassfoot either, they just became warriors and they have to get ready for their vigil. Then, Burnttail shrugged and padded towards the Fresh-kill pile. I'll just do them a bit later, I guess.