Warriors: The Beginning

Chapter 21

Yinpaw followed her mentor into the tunnel that led to the Sparkling Cavern. They just had a good night's rest and a short stop for some prey.

"Are you excited?" Ambereye asked her apprentice, who was padding behind her in a thick blackness.

"Yes," Yinpaw replied, using the walls around her as a guide and pressing on flank against the wall. The black and white apprentice was almost going to burst with excitement-she had a good feeling that her mentor was going to give her her medicine cat name.

Soon, they reached the Sparkling Cave. Yinpaw relished the calming sensation of the soft amber glow given off by the Glints. She spotted her mentor going up to the vee pool.

"Yinpaw," she started. "After many moons of training as a medicine cat apprentice, I feel that it is time that you took on your medicine cat name." Ambereye faced her apprentice with pride in her eyes. Yinpaw stood in front of her and waited in anticipation.

"Yinpaw, as a full medicine cat, I name you Yinwhisker," meowed the grey she-cat. She touched noses with the newly-named cat, then they both went to eat one Glint each.

Hopefully StarClan will visit me, Yinwhisker thought, laying down beside the vee pool.

Yinwhisker found herself in a luxuriant forest, where trees had large, green leaves. She glanced around for any of her warrior ancestors. At least I'm not in that badger place, she thought.

"Yinwhisker!" A cat meowed. The black and white she-cat turned her head around and saw a sparkling black cat. Beside the cat, surrounded by sparkles(*!!!), was a white tom with ginger fur around his face.

"Who are you?" Yinwhisker asked, slowly taking a small step towards them. The black she-cat's eyes glimmered with amusement.

"I'm Blackstar, your former leader. I wasn't sure whether you'd have remembered, but I saved you from the fire," the black cat said. A terrifying memory popped into Yinwhisker's mind: Menacingly hot flames licking out at her as she was lying there, helpless as a sleeping kit. Her pelt was burning, scorching with black.

"This is Wreathface," Blackstar meowed the medicine cat out of her remembering and used her tail to gently stroke the tom's flank. "He was my mate," she started. "Before a badger got him." Now that Blackstar mentioned it, Yinwhisker could see a faint outline of a scar at Wreathface's neck, almost invisible due to fur sprouting out and covering it.

Yinwhisker bowed her head at the two StarClan cats. Blackstar opened her mouth to congratulate the she-cat on her achievement: "Well done being a medicine cat." Yinwhisker's pelt burned with embarrassment; she was shocked that her former leader had praised her.

"Is... Is there a prophecy for SharpClan?" Yinwhisker knew that the black she-cat would be shocked at this. She was wary when she asked it, as if she didn't really expect an answer.

"I cannot tell you," Blackstar said finally. "Only time will tell." The medicine cat waited for a heartbeat longer before the StarClan cats began to disappear. She wanted to shout "No! Wait! Come back, tell me about the prophecy!" But it was too late. She soon found herself back in the Sparkling Cavern.

She faced the grey she-cat beside her, noticing that she was stirring. Her brown ears flicked, and she slowly blinked awake.

"How was your dream?" Yinwhisker asked, then quickly slapped her tail over her mouth when she realised that she wasn't supposed to discuss her dreams or ask about other cats' dreams with anyone.

"I'm so sorry!" Yinwhisker apologised quickly, waiting for Ambereye's reply. She expected it to be something like "You're not a kit anymore, so follow what you're supposed to do for once!" but it turned out to be, "That's all right."

"We better get going," the grey medicine cat suggested, getting to her paws. Yinwhisker nodded and quickly followed her.

I wonder what Shadowthorn would say, she thought as they trotted through the tunnel once again in a thick, black silence.

The two medicine cats took a day for their journey, stopping only to rest and have fresh-kill. After a long, tiring trek, the two cats finally returned back to the SharpClan camp, where Ambereye had to tell Woodstar about Yinwhisker.

"Shadowthorn!" Yinwhisker called out to her friend, who came padding out of the warriors' den. He quickly nabbed a piece of prey from the fresh-kill pile and headed towards the new medicine cat. The black warrior dropped the prey before Yinwhisker and said cheerfully, "Yinpaw! You're back!"

"It's Yinwhisker now," she said boastfully, her chest swelling with pride. Shadowthorn looked amazed, yet proud.

"That's splendid!" He cried happily, settling down beside her and starting on the fresh-kill. He offered her some, but she politely declined. "I've eaten," she had informed him.

"It's like I'm a totally different cat now," she was telling him as he ate the plump vole. "I'm just worried when Ambereye will die; I don't know what to do without her."

"Yes, I know," Shadowthorn meowed in response. He swiped his tounge over his lips, relishing the taste of prey. "But I know that you'll be a great medicine cat in the future."

"Hey, I know it's strange for me to say this, but..." Yinwhisker gathered all of her courage to say this out to her friend. "It's time you got a mate."

"What?" Shadowthorn sounded rather... Offended? The black and white cat didn't know how to put his feelings into words, but it certainly was strong, radiating off him like waves of heat. Then, he calmed down after realising that Yinwhisker was just being curious.

"I... I don't want to get a mate, as long as you're around," he confessed, his pelt burning with shame. He cast his gaze to the ground, not wanting to face his friend.

"But, you know that you can't have me," she said gently. not wanting to hurt his feelings. "You can have a mate; I don't have to stop you."

"I know," he said, sniffing. "I just won't have a mate, even if I can't have you. I promise; you're the only cat that I've wanted as a mate, but you're a medicine cat now, and I respect that," he explained, not unreasonably. "You're not stopping me from doing anything. It's my decision whether to have a mate or not."

"All right," Yinwhisker accepted. "Promise me one thing: that you never say that it's my fault." She used her tail to softly lift his chin and made him face her.

"Okay," he promised, leaning into her flank. "I won't."

Just then, Woodstar jumped on top of the Vine Hill and called, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Vine Hill!"

In a heartbeat, the SharpClan cats were all sitting around the Vine Hill, looking at their leader expectantly. Once she was satisfied that all the cats were gathered, she started speaking again.

"Cats of SharpClan! After making the tiring journey to the Sparkling Cavern, Ambereye has decided to give her apprentice her full medicine cat name. Yinwhisker, please step forward." Shadowthorn nudged the she-cat beside him playfully, and she got on her paws to pad before the Vine Hill.

"Yinwhisker," Woodstar started. "You have trained hard for many moons as a medicine cat apprentice, and now you are a full medicine cat. I know that you will carry on the healing you Clan in any way possible. SharpClan, Yinwhisker is our medicine cat, alongside Ambereye."

"Yinwhisker! Yinwhisker! Yinwhisker!" The Clan cheered. Yinwhisker's chest shone with pride as she listened to her Clan calling her name proudly.