Umberkit's Climb

Chapter 4

"From this day onwards, until he has received his warrior name, this cat will be known as Emberpaw. His mentor will be Hawkflurry."

"Emberpaw! Darkpaw! Haypaw!"

Silverkit's pelt burned with jealousy, despite how happy he knew he should feel for the older litter. It just wasn't fair is all. They got to move on to be apprentices, yet he had four more moons to loathe around in the nursery? He pushed the thoughts away as Goldstar raised her voice over the cheering.

"Not only do we have new apprentices, but also I'm proud to announce two of our apprentices passed their warrior assessments yesterday. Flypaw, Frogpaw, please come forward."

Silverkit watched the pretty she-cat walk up calmly while her brother looked and walked forward nervously. He wondered what Frogpaw's warrior name would be. Maybe Frogshine, from his pelt?

"I, Goldstar, leader of Shadowclan, call upon my warriors ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Flypaw, Frogpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code to protect and defend the clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Silverkit's ears flicker up and his eyes widened. What a bold promise you have to make! Silverkit knew he could make that promise too, though. Both Flypaw and Frogpaw said "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Flypaw, from this moment you will be known as Flywing. StarClan honors your confidence and courage. Frogpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Frogfoot. Starclan honors your perception and quick-thinking. We welcome you as full warriors of Shadowclan."

"Flywing! Frogfoot! Flywing! Frogfoot!"

Goldstar came down from the branch and rested her head on top of Flywing's for a few seconds before doing the same for Frogfoot. They in turn licked her shoulder, and the clan meeting was over.

"See you later, Silverkit, Umberkit!" Haypaw teased, heading towards the camp entrance with her mentor, Antwhisker.

"Where are you guys going?" Silverkit asked.

Flintspot, Darkpaw's mentor, answered. "On a tour of the territory, of course."

"Oh! You're going out of camp? Can you guys see if you can find any Chervil? Moonshine's store is running low." Umberkit requested.

"We can't have that, can we? It's one of the most useful herbs. Come on, Emberpaw, I know a patch that grows right along the path we'll take." Stated Hawkflurry, and the six cats left camp.

"What does Chervil do?" Silverkit asked.

"The leaves can be chewed up into a pulp for infected wounds," Umberkit explained confidently. "And the roots are used for bellyaches."

"How many herbs do you know?" Silverkit asked, astonished.

"It's not like I know all of them!" Umberkit defended. "I just spend a lot of time with Moonshine, so naturally she tells me what herbs do."

Silverkit winced. It was pretty clear that she wanted to be a medicine cat, but she was acting like she didn't want anyone to know. Maybe she knew that Silverkit would be disappointed if they couldn't be warriors together, so she was trying to hide it?

"What are you two doing?" Came a warm voice behind them. Silverkit was pulled from his thoughts when he looked back and saw their father heading towards them.