New Horizons

Chapter 11

"Mistpaw!" Reedfur called, catching up to the dusky brown she-cat. "Why in the name of StarClan were you meeting up with him? He's from WindClan, not RiverClan."

"So what?" Mistpaw replied, rolling her eyes before padding off. "Besides, I'm not supposed to be around you. Your father killed my brother, and who's to say you won't do the same thing to me, eh, Reedfur?" Reedfur watched as Mistpaw padded off, growling beneath his breath before following the she-cat back to camp.

Two moons soon passed, and it was the day of Nightpaw, Featherpaw and Mistpaw's warrior ceremony. Nightpaw and Featherpaw hadn't really talked to Mistpaw since she had forgiven Ripplebreeze and Minnowstripe all those moons ago, even if it hurt them to ignore their sister.

"Let all cats old enough to swim gather in the clearing for a Clan meeting!" Crookedstar's voice echoed through the camp as cats crawled out from their dens and gathered below the large rock. "Nightpaw, step forward." He did so. "Wildwillow, Silverwind, do you two believe Nightpaw is ready to become a warrior?"

"Yes," they replied. That's another thing. In the past two moons, Silverwind and Nightpaw had made up, which surprised a lot of the cats in the Clan.

"Very well. I, Crookedstar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." Crookedstar turned to Nightpaw. "Nightpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Nightpaw promised.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Nightpaw, from this moment you will be known as Nightstream. StarClan honours your dedication and determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of RiverClan."

Crookedstar rested his muzzle on Nightstream's forehead, and the tom gave a lick to the leader's shoulder before stepping back.

"Featherpaw, step forward." She did so. "Wildwillow, do you believe Featherpaw is ready to become a warrior?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"Very well. I, Crookedstar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on 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." Crookedstar turned to Featherpaw. "Featherpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Featherpaw pledged.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Featherpaw, from this moment you will be known as Feathershade. StarClan honours your loyalty and spirit, and we welcome you as a full warrior of RiverClan."

Crookedstar rested his muzzle on Feathershade's forehead, and the she-cat gave a lick to the leader's shoulder before stepping back.

"Mistpaw, step forward." She did so. "Whiteclaw, do you believe Mistpaw is ready to become a warrior?"

"Definitely," he answered proudly.

"Very well. I, Crookedstar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on 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." Crookedstar turned to Mistpaw. "Mistpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Mistpaw nodded.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Mistpaw, from this moment you will be known as Mistcloud. StarClan honours your honesty and resilience, and we welcome you as a full warrior of RiverClan."

Crookedstar rested his muzzle on Mistcloud's forehead, and the she-cat gave a begrudging lick to the leader's shoulder before stepping back as the Clan cheered. What shocked the trio the most was the fact that the cats around them were cheering loudly, ever proud of the three of them.

"Nightstream! Feathershade! Mistcloud! Nightstream! Feathershade! Mistcloud!" they cheered.

"Tonight, Nightstream, Feathershade, and Mistcloud will sit vigil whilst we rest. Meeting dismissed." Crookedstar announced, dipping his head to the cat around him before heading to his den. Ripplebreeze, Minnowstripe, Duskkit, and Weaselkit raced forward.

"You guys are warriors now!" Duskkit exclaimed, jumping up and down as Mistcloud chuckled.

"We're so proud of you three," Ripplebreeze mewed, nuzzling her three kits. Nightstream and Feathershade hared a glance before nuzzling Ripplebreeze and doing the same to Minnowstripe, both having tears in their eyes. "So proud." Night soon came, the trio sitting vigil for their Clanmates who seemed so much more accepting now that they were warriors of RiverClan. We did it, Mistcloud thought as she glanced up towards StarClan, we made it.