Rosethorn's Destiny

10

Rosethorn woke to see cloudy sunlight seeping through the branches above her head. She rolled over, bushing up her fur, hoping it wouldn't start raining today. She could hear Jetfoot and Flamebreeze whispering, probably about her sons, who were growing bigger every day. Her second, and new apprentice, Brightpaw, was ready to begin training. He had been made an apprentice only a half-moon ago, but already he was trying to be a warrior. Blizzardpaw and Falconpaw were almost done with their apprenticeships, and Blizzardpaw was already showing interest toward Brightpaw's sister Silverpaw, helping her with her training already. Rosethorn shook her black and red mottled head. She heaved herself out of the nest to wake Brightpaw. As she padded towards the apprentice den, the silver and golden mottled tom raced out, being chased by his sister. "Take it back!" yowled Silverpaw. Brightpaw went on teasing her, "Silverpaw's got a mate! Silverpaw's got a mate!" "Do not!" Hisses Silverpaw, as she leapt, with perfect aim, onto her brother. "Fine, I take it back" Panted the silver and gold tom. Then he spotted Rosethorn, purring with amusement. "Ready to hunt?" She mewed, whiskers twitching. Her apprentice, looking guilty but defiant toward his sister, nodded. At that note, Rosethorn whirled around and raced out of camp, leaving her apprentice far behind. She stopped at the bend in the river, near the lake, and sat down, panting hard as she lapped at the clear water, brimming with unsuspecting fish. At last, Brightpaw rounded the corner, panting, as he flopped down in the lush, green grass. She purred, and with a flash, swept a paw into the water and splashed him, barely disturbing the fish. After they hunted, lots of prey, Rosethorn spoke up. "Who is Silverpaw's mate?" She asked curiously. Brightpaw looked up. Startled. "Oh, Blizzardpaw. She likes him and won't admit it, but doesn't think he likes her back." He mewed. Rosethorn looked at him, now it was her turn to be startled. "What? He likes her! A lot. He just kept it a secret, well, because, he didn't the she liked him. But how about we keep it a secret until they talk to each other." She said. He nodded, and she was glad that they had a bond to keep them together. After they had more fish than they could carry, they waited for a patrol to come help them, they went back home, and saw that Timberstar had just called a clan meeting. Then she saw his eyes gleam, and she dropped off her fish and trotted rover to her sons. "Groom." She mewed simply. They understood and soon they looked sleek and well-fed, not like they had been training all day. The sun was setting as Timberstar began to talk. "Jetfoot, Flamebreeze, have Falconpaw and Blizzardpaw passed their final assessments?" The tom and she-cat nodded, eyes shining, heads high. Timberstar dipped his head as the mentors stepped back. "I, Timberstar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They both have trained hard to learn your code, and I commend them to warriors in their turn. Blizzardpaw, from this moment forewords, you will be know as Blizzardsplash. We honor your courage and skill, but also your care. And Falconpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Falconblaze. We honor your dependency and loyalty to the clan you were borne too. Serve your clan well, new warriors." He dipped his head to rest his muzzle on their heads, and in turn they licked his shoulder, no hesitation. As the clan called their names, Rosethorn heard Silverpaw's call their names, especially Blizzardspash's name, just as loudly as her. As twilight closed to night and the warriors, apprentices, and elders padded to their dens and Timberstar and Owlfur padded off to his den to talk, Rosethorn watched Blizzardsplash and Falconblaze pad off to the tunnel leading out of camp to guard for the night. She felt a rush of warpath when she noticed Slverpaw go to talk with Blizzardsplash before he couldn't talk anymore for the night. She then turned, and with a yawn, padded into her nest for a long, well-needed sleep.