Creamfluff's Hope

*/\* Chapter Thirty-four */\*

Soon enough, another moon had passed and newleaf was settling over Clan territory. Amberstorm and Sageflame had given Softpaw his final assessment, and he passed successfully. Now Blizzardstar was standing before him, about to give him his warrior name. Creamfluff was glad for him but also glad for the Clan. They were low on warriors and needed more.

Blizzardstar had recited the first part of Softpaw's warrior ceremony, and Softpaw replied to it with a proud meow. "I do."

The gray and white leader nodded and looked in Softpaw's eyes. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Softpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Softsplash. StarClan honors your courage and intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of MistClan."

As Blizzardstar rested her muzzle on Softsplash's head, the newly named warrior licked her shoulder in return with the Clan chanting his new name with acceptance.

"Softsplash! Softsplash! Softsplash!"

"Softsplash!" Creamfluff yowled alongside Butterflypaw. Warriors began crowding around Softsplash to congratulate him, but the gray-and-white swirled tom looked around for his family frantically. Creamfluff was sitting with Rainspeck, Aloeheart, Heatstep, Lilypurr, and Butterflypaw at the back of the crowd.

Softsplash finally spotted them and ran over to the six cats, his face lit with joy. Lilypurr and Heatstep loudly purred their congratulations while Butterflypaw twined her tail with her brother's. Rainspeck and Aloeheart congratulated the new warrior while Creamfluff waited for Softsplash to finish with his family. The gray-and-white tom turned to look at her and smiled. 

"Creamfluff!" He yelped, running toward her and bowling her over. "I'm finally a warrior!"

Creamfluff purred and nuzzled his cheek. "I know! Congratulations!"

Softsplash let Creamfluff get up and pressed against her thick fur. Creamfluff purred, savoring his sweet scent. Lilypurr and Rainspeck purred loudly at this, but not in amusement.

"You're both still very young," Heatstep mewed gruffly.

"Oh, be quiet!" Lilypurr swatted his ear. Rainspeck stepped forward and touched noses with the two young warriors.  

"When do you plan to have kits?" She asked. Creamfluff's mouth opened wide in embarrassment and Softsplash rubbed his ears. Creamfluff shook her head and her tail dropped in awkwardness.

"Well, I kind of want to serve my Clan for a couple more moons..." the cream furred she-cat mumbled.

"That's perfectly fine." Rainspeck turned to Softsplash. "What do you think?"

"Whatever Creamfluff wants is okay with me," he purred.

Rainspeck blinked kindly at him. "A kind, respectful young tom you are. Creamfluff is lucky to have you."

Creamfluff and Softsplash looked at each other, Creamfluff gazing in his eyes. Softsplash was going to be the perfect mate, and she already loved him. She couldn't wait to raise her own family with him and become an elder at his side along with fight beside him in battle. Creamfluff rested her head against his shoulder with a purr.

"Softsplash, do you want to join us on a hunting patrol?" 

Softsplash and Creamfluff turned around to see Amberstorm and Cloverpetal standing behind them. Softsplash looked at Creamfluff who stared at the older warriors.

"I'll come too," she blurted out.

Cloverpetal looked from Creamfluff to Softsplash in confusion, but Amberstorm purred and nodded. "The more cats the merrier. We'll also have better luck in hunting. Hurry up, you two." Amberstorm and Cloverpetal padded out of camp with Softsplash and Creamfluff following. Creamfluff kept her tail entwined with Softsplash's as they followed the older warriors. Softsplash would occasionally break away to hunt, glad to not be stopped by his former mentor. Now that the warmer weather was here, hunting would be easier, and prey would be plentiful by the end of the season.

The four cats returned to camp soon after sunhigh with mice and one rabbit that Creamfluff and Cloverpetal had caught. Creamfluff was becoming fond of the warrior, something she never thought she'd find herself thinking about. She watched as the tom carried a mouse over to Nightmoon and the kits.

"Here you go," he mewed, dropping the mouse in between the four of them. Nightmoon purred gratefully as she dug into the mouse her mate had brought her.

"What about us?" Sweetkit rushed over to Cloverpetal as Honeykit tried to climb his back. Cloverpetal twisted and took Honeykit off of his back. 

"You can go and choose your own mouse today," purred Cloverpetal as Luigikit came running toward them. "Think of it as a treat."

"But we didn't do anything special," Luigikit mewed.

"Don't spoil it!" Sweetkit hissed, swatting at her brother.

Cloverpetal parted the two before they broke into a quarrel. "You'll both ruin it if you keep this up. Choosing your mouse will leave your mother in peace for a little bit. She's quite tired."

Honeykit started running toward the fresh-kill pile. "First one there gets to choose the mouse!" 

"Hey! You started without us!" Sweetkit yelped, rushing after Honeykit. Luigikit scampered after them as Sweetkit yelled out "Cheater!" Honeykit tumbled into the fresh-kill pile when skidding to a stop, allowing Sweetkit to drag a small brown mouse from the pile. Luigikit helped her drag it back to Cloverpetal with Honeykit clambering after them.

Cloverpetal let out a sigh when he saw the now dirtied mouse from the kits. He quickly began to lick the dirt caked into the mouse's fur. 

"What are you doing that for?" Honeykit squeaked, trying to pull the mouse away.

"It's not Sweetkit," Luigikit tilted his head in confusion.

"Hey!" Sweetkit grumbled. "I'm not that dirty!"

Cloverpetal looked at the three kits. "I'm cleaning the dirt from the mouse. I won't allow you to waste perfectly good prey. It's part of the warrior code."

Honeykit rolled her eyes. "'Warrior code.' Sounds mouse-brained to me!"

"Don't say that," Cloverpetal growled as he shoved the mouse toward his kits. "The warrior code is what makes us warriors. If you want to become an apprentice, I'd suggest paying attention to it." He walked away with a flick of his tail.

Creamfluff heard paw steps as Softsplash came toward her and sat down. "Do you think that we'd have kits like that?"

"Hopefully not," Creamfluff whispered as the kits carelessly dug into the mouse. "I'd hope our kits will respect us. Nightmoon and Cloverpetal are too carefree."

"But no cat wants strict parents," Softsplash mewed. Creamfluff nodded as Softsplash began to lick her shoulder fur. Creamfluff relaxed against him and closed her eyes as he groomed her fur.

Sorry that this took a few days for me to update. I wasn't sure what to write for this chapter after writing Softsplash's ceremony, so I settled on something random and quick.