WarriorCats: Raised by foxes

Chapter Nine

River heard her name being called by the old fox, and she stepped forward bravely. A ripple of unease seemed to pass through the crowd. What's that all about? What did I do wrong?

Despite the brief moment of uncomfortableness, the Inspector continued. "Name?"

"River."

"Mother's name?"

"Soft Heart."

"Hmmm... Soft Heart, when I first chanced upon your burrow to offer well wishing, I seem to remember that you had two males and one female. Now the opposite is true."

"You must be mistaken sir," piped up a voice from behind River, and she turned to see Scratch, whose face seemed to pale under hundreds of watchful gazes. "I-I only mean... maybe you remembered wrong, it was a long time ago..."

"Kit, do not doubt my memory. I have visited every single new burrow since our Deliverance, seen every new kit that has come into existence, and I remember them all. For example, your mother was in a litter of four females."

Soft Heart suddenly looked pained.

"Your mother's mother was the only female between five males. Your mother's mother's' mother-" He paused. "There is probably no need to go back that far."

Scratch stepped back with a thoughtful expression.

Thoughts were more than River could muster at the moment. Things were going too fast.

"It does not matter now, does it? I will continue with the processing. Jump."

River jumped as high as she could, but she wasn't very good at it. She could jump from the ground to something high, but not the special straight-up jump with her back gracefully arched. She tried anyway. She looked up for approval or chastisement, but the Inspector was already moving on.

"Roll. Dip. Swipe. Jump. Flip."

River was behind at least one instruction, but she didn't want to skip anything. When she finally finished, panting, she started to walk over to all of the others, but was stopped.

"You forgot the appearance assessment," the Inspector called.

River hadn't forgotten. She was hoping that no one would remember. She wasn't blind- she had noticed the stares and heard the whispers. All of the other foxes looked different than her.

But there was no way to avoid it. She stood up straight, head up, poised perfectly still as the Inspector walked around her, as well as some of the more powerful members of the Council of Elders.

"The voting will now begin," the Inspector called, and River breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whether or not you are accepted, you will receive your adult name as a way to mark your age."

Daring was called up first. The Inspector made the first remarks.

"Daring is a fine example of foxkind. He has shown all qualities we must possess, and is physically brilliant. Strong Spirit has succeeded as a father, and Daring will now be known as Daring Spirit."

River swore that she saw his head grow larger with every word of praise.

The Council voted unanimously to accept Daring Spirit, and the next fox was called up after the Inspector agreed.

"Flare is very quick, and exhibits strong mental capabilities, although she lacks strength, she will make up for it in cunning. Bright Flame has succeeded as a mother, and Flare will now be known as Flare Flame."

"Objection," Flare Flame stated calmly.

"What name do you wish?"

"I do not wish any dishonor to my family's name or to my mother's legacy, but Flare Flame might cause impreciseness of speech as the sounds of the names are very similar and young foxes could easily mess them up. Instead, I wish to be known as Flare Light, as Light sounds a little like my mother's name, Bright."

"Objection accepted. You will now be known as Flare Light."

The Council of Elders and the Inspector approved her too.

All of the foxes before the siblings were accepted, although some changed their name. Dazzle was up next.

"Dazzle shows spirit and determination, as well as perceptiveness. Her physical tests were not the best, but her dedication made up for it. Soft Heart has succeeded as a mother, and Dazzle will now be known as Dazzle Heart."

River resisted cheering her sister's new name.

She was voted in also, and it moved on to Scratch.

"Scratch will be a formidable fighter someday, and shows independence and curiosity. Although his wild nature will be difficult, with time that might fade."

Scratch looked slightly disappointed.

"However, Russet Claw has succeeded as a father, and Scratch will now be known as Scratch Claw."

"Objection because Scratch Claw sounds stupid."

An assortment of gasps issued from the crowd, and River didn't even want to see the look on Soft Heart's face.

"You will need to provide a better reason. If you do not provide a satisfactory name, you will be Nameless."

"Better Nameless than Scratch Claw. But the real reason is because Scratch Claw is redundant, as what do claws do besides scratch?"

"We will postpone voting on this one until he has calmed down and is rational."

Scratch, or, River supposed, he didn't really have a name right now, had a look of fury on his face that faded into impassiveness. Others might have dismissed Scratch as naive or impulsive, but River knew Scratch better. His actions were always deliberate.

"River does not show the qualities all foxes should have. She almost completely failed the physical portion of the assessment, and the appearance test was laughable."

River's heart sunk. She hadn't failed out of foolishness, she just wasn't good enough.

"The reason for this is perfectly apparent. She may act like a fox, she may smell like a fox, she might even slightly resemble a fox, but that doesn't make her any less a cat."

"Excuse me, Inspector, what's a cat?" River asked, feeling very foolish.

"You did not even tell it, Soft Heart? Of course, this might all be an act, a way of sneaking the enemy right into the heart of our society."

"What do you mean?"

"Do I need to spell it out to you? You are a cat. Cats are not welcome here. The usual sentence for this treason is death."

"But she did not even do anything wrong," Soft Heart called. "Does it not bother you that you will be killing an innocent?"

"There are no innocents. She is a cat, by my tail's sake. Cats are nothing but instinct, the instinct to attack any innocent fox that wanders into their territory," the Inspector hissed.

"That's just stupid. River's not a cat! She's my sister!" her brother exclaimed loudly and forcefully.

"Your loyalty is impressive, but foolish. You, from henceforth, will be Nameless and an outcast. Leave this place. As for you, cat..."

"With all due respect, the cat has done nothing wrong. She has been adopted, to our knowledge, within the code, and has fit in to fox society so far," an unknown Council Member said.

"But what if it's a spy? It could lead all of it's friends right to us," another member replied.

"She has not, and how could she? I say, as long as she is loyal, she should be accepted."

"Very well. Although the Nameless has been banished, River may remain. I cannot say that Soft Heart has succeeded as a mother, but you may be known as River Heart." The last two words were sneered by the Inspector. "Now, your family may leave and begin the period of disgrace."

A beaten down Russet Claw and a disappointed Soft Heart were about to leave when a steady stream of cats started pouring into the chamber.

"Traitor," River Heart heard the Inspector hiss, then the battle began. 

A/N Hey look! Look! Look! Actual plot! I actually got somewhere in this book! Yay! I am way too excited! I should stop using exclamation points!

~Goldenfeather!