Warriors: A New Beginning #1: The Beginning

Chapter 21

"Wavepelt! Wake up!"

"Who is it?" Wavepelt half expected it to be Flamefur. He had been like her shadow for a few days now, always wanting to hunt with her or share prey. She didn't mind it, though she often wondered Why?

"Open your eyes! It's important!"

"Okay..." Wavepelt finally opened her eyes and her face lit up. "Wheatpaw!" She sprang up and nuzzled her sister.

"Mintleaf says I'm cured from greencough!" Wheatpaw announced proudly. "Now I can finally become a warrior!"

"That's great! Did you tell Sunfur yet?" Wavepelt asked.

Wheatpaw shook her head. "You were the first one I told. By the way...I don't think I know your warrior name. What is it?"

"Wavepelt," meowed Wavepelt. "And Flamepaw and Tussledpaw are now Flamefur and Tussledstorm."

"Cool!" Wheatpaw purred. "I'm going to go beg Sunfur to do my final assessment. Bye!"

"Bye!" Wavepelt watched her sister leave the warriors den. She was happy that Wheatpaw would become a warrior at last.

"Hey Wavepelt!" Flamefur greeted her. He was sitting in his nest, the sunlight through the brambles making his ginger pelt look on fire. "I think it's the Gathering tonight! If Reedstar let's us come, then it'll be our first Gathering as warriors!"

"Yeah!" Wavepelt wondered if Pinepaw had been made a warrior. And Ironpaw. She already knew that Stonestep had been made a warrior.

"Wavepelt!" Flamefur's meow roused her from her thoughts.

"What?" Wavepelt asked.

"Was that Wheatpaw I saw a few minutes ago?"

"Oh, yeah!" Wavepelt nodded. "She's finally cured from greencough. I bet she's begging Sunfur to do her final assessment right now."

"Hey, you two!" Barkstripe called. The tabby had poked his head inside the den. "I think that you have better things to do than sitting in your nests!"

"Of course..." Wavepelt said. "We're coming."

She yawned and sat up, then stood and left the den.

Outside, Wheatpaw was happily trotting out of camp, Sunfur by her side. To do her final assessment, Wavepelt guessed.

Tussledstorm was hauling in something to the camp. Wavepelt ran up to see.

"What is that?" she wondered. It was like a cat's pelt, except it was rolled up and it was more colorful.

"That's a Twoleg blanket," Silverpaw explained. He had padded up as well. "What are you doing with it, Tussledstorm?"

"It's not the blanked I'm interested in." Tussledstorm's voice was muffled. "I found it to carry...this!" She let go of the blanked and it unfolded to reveal a pile of shiny things each about the size of Wavepelt's paw.

"Why are thesse so interesting?" Wavepelt asked. "It's Twoleg stuff."

Silverpaw sniffed the shiny things. "I know what these are! Twolegs put them around their paws. I think they call them 'bracelets'."

Bracelets. What an interesting name. Twolegs are weird, Wavepelt thought. Why would they put things on their paws?

"I thought the kits might like these," Tussledstorm explained.

At that moment Ashkit and Smokekit scurried outside, and Whitekit was trudging behind.

"There's a new cat in the nursery!" Smokekit squeaked.