Warriors: The Beginning

Chapter 20

Several moons had passed since Mistyflight's arrival in SharpClan. Three apprentices-Silkpaw, Honeypaw and Shadowpaw-just had their final assessment the previous day. Their mentors had decided that it was the right time to have their assessment, since newleaf had just arrived and all the prey would be scampering out of their burrows to find food.

Today was the day that Woodstar would give them their warrior names. The three apprentices felt their pelts bristling with excitement as sunhigh drew nearer; their mentors had informed them that Woodstar would hold their ceremony at sunghigh.

"I wonder what she'll name me!" Shadowpaw's excited mew came as he sat beside the medicine apprentice. Suddenly, two flashes of white and tortoiseshell came bounding beside them.

"Hi!" Dawnpaw squeaked, cheerily purring as her sister licked her face affectionately. "I heard that Woodstar is about to make you into a warrior!" Admiration gleamed in the apprentices' eyes.

"We're going to do everything together!" Fawnpaw mewed, trying not to sound boastful, but failing. She squirmed beside her sister. "Well, at least I hope so. Mousefur and Rowanpelt seem a bit... Over-protective."

Just then, the cats around them saw a flash of brown on the Vine Hill. "You're going to be a warrior!" Yinpaw meowed happily, unable to push down her pride in her friend. She had watched him grow up, and now it seemed that many, many seasons had passed, even though only three had.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather below the Vine Hill for a Clan meeting!" The leader meowed out the words. The clatter of the Clan cats died down and several more cats joined the horde that was already gathered.

"Cats of SharpClan," Woodstar began. "Today is a very special day for three cats. This will be one of the most important days of their lives. Shadowpaw, Silkpaw and Honeypaw, please come forward."

The three cats walked up to the Vine Hill, trying their very best to hold in their excitement. Ricekit boasted to her mother and brother: "I'll be the best warrior SharpClan has ever seen!" Her mother licked her head and mewed tactfully, "I'm sure you will."

"I, Woodstar, leader of SharpClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these three apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn." The brown leader turned to the three apprentices in front of her.

"Shadowpaw, Silkpaw and Honeypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" She meowed to them, waiting for their answer. The three cats meowed simultaneously, "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names." The three apprentices waited in a tense but excited silence as Woodstar announced their new names to the Clan. "Shadowpaw, from this moment you will be known as Shadowthorn. Silkpaw, you will be known as Silkscar. Honeypaw, you will be known as Honeydapple. StarClan honors your courage and loyalty to the Clan, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SharpClan." The three cats went, one by one, to the leader and rested their muzzle on her shoulder as she gave them a lick each.

"Shadowthorn! Silkscar! Honeydapple!" The Clan cheereed, ecstatic for their Clan's new warriors. The three newly-named warriors padded down to greet their Clanmates as new cats.

* * *

S

everal sunrises had passed since Shadowthorn, Silkscar and Honeydapple were given their warrior names. Half-moon was due tomorrow, according to Ambereye, and the medicine cat said that she had something special in store for the apprentice.

Oh, I hope I'm getting my medicine cat name! she thought happily, stringing out the herbs in their den. They were low in several herbs, but Ambereye had assured her that the herbs could be found soon and that they'd so and get them.

Yinpaw padded out of the medicine den and headed towards the fresh-kill pile, which looked like it was almost overlflowing with prey. The black and white apprentice chose a plump and juicy vole for herself and sat down under the shade of some large fronds while she devoured her prey.

"Mind if I joined you?" Shadowthorn asked, padding up beside the medicine apprentice with a mouse hanging from his jaws by its tail. The she-cat shook her head and shifted a little bit so that her friend would have space.

The two cas finished their meal in quick, hungry gulps. The sun rose higher and started beating down relentlessly on the camp, as a border patrol just arrived.

"Everything's clear," Otterstep, who was leading the patrol, reported to Crestfoot, who was sitting under the shade of a tree. The deputy nodded in acknowledgement and flicked his ears, allowing the patrol to disperse.

Yinpaw's black and white pelt bristled with glee as she thought of tomorrow and the Sparkling Cavern. "Tell me all about it," Shadowthorn reminded her.

Dawn finally came on the day of half-moon. This was the time Ambereye would reveal her special surprise to the apprentice. As she entered the medicine den, licking her lips after a filling meal of a rabbit, the medicine cat meowed, "Come on, Yinpaw. Let's start making our travelling herbs."

Once they finished that, Ambereye glanced outside and saw the half-moon hangin=on the horizon. "It's about time we left," she advised her apprentice. The black and white she-cat nodded, grabbing the travelling herbs bundle in her jaws.

"Let's eat, then we can leave," Yinpaw suggested, quickly unravelling the leaves that wrapped her herbs together and hurriedly swallowing them. They were bitter, yes, but they did still help and were better than any piece of fresh-kill.

"We'll leave at once," the grey medicine cat decided, getting onto her paws and padding to the camp entrance, her apprentice beside her.

The journey was long and tiring, and although Yinpaw knew that they would make it to the Sparkling Cavern safely without a doubt, her legs still felt like they were going to collapse and then shatter into tiny fragments.

"Can we rest?" Yinpaw suggested, tiredness clinging to her pelt like a tick. She stifled a large yawn as Ambereye looked around for any cover.

"Over there," the medicine cat meowed, gesturing with a flick of her tail in the direction of a bush. The apprentice nodded in agreement, and the two medicine cats stalked off towards the bush.

"Well stay here for the night," Ambereye informed her apprentice beside her. "Then at dawn, well leave for the Sparkling Cavern, then come back." Ambereye added tactfully, "We'll hunt tomorrow." Her apprentice just grunted in acknowledgement and then laid her head on her paws and tried to get herself to sleep.

The pale grey light of dawn flittered into the bush as the sun slowly rose. Several beams of grey dawn light were blinking around the bush as Yinpaw awoke. She remembered that she was heading to the Sparkling Cavern with her mentor, Ambereye.