Warriors - A New Tale

Chapter eleven

She woke up and yawned. Darkenedpaw and Smallpaw were still sleeping. "Calling all cats old enough to catch their own prey!" Gloomstar called suddenly. A meeting? So early in the morning? Nutpaw thought, even though she knew it wasn't that early. The sun had already risen. She poked the two apprentices. "Get up, furballs!" She meowed playfully. Only Smallpaw woke up. "Why?" He mewed tiredly. "Meeting, wake your brother up!" She said heading out of the den. Most cats had already gathered, but some were still coming. She took a seat next to Snowpaw. "I wonder what this is all about" she mewed to the white she-cat. "Yes, me too" she responded. Darkenedpaw sat next to Snowpaw and her and Nutpaw saw Smallpaw sit next to Flamepaw. I guess they're friends or something...
"Hello everyone," Gloomstar meowed. "We are gathered here to name two new warriors. Nutpaw's widened. Could this be the moment she was waiting for? "Nutpaw, please step forward" Gloomstar mewed, answering her question. She did so. "Do you promise to follow the warrior code, and defend your clan with your life?" He asked. "Of course!" Nutpaw meowed, excitement building inside of her. "Great. Then you shall now be known as Nuttree." The clan called her name. "Nuttree." She repeated to herself. "It's got a nice ring to it." Gloomstar chuckled. Nutpaw licked her leader's shoulder. She respected him a bit more now. She walked back into the crowd. "Darkenedpaw, step forward" Gloomstar meowed. He did. "Do you promise the same thing?" He asked the black tom. "Yes, I promise" he meowed with dignity. Nuttree was proud of him. Even if he wasn't really her brother, their relationship stayed the same. "Then you will be known as Darkenedfur. He tried to stay calm, but Nuttree could tell how happy he was. He gave a lick of respect, and he bounded back to Nuttree. Snowpaw licked his forehead. Nuttree purred. The cats were chanting both their names."Your vigil will begin at sunset" Gloomstar purred, dismissing everyone. Cats came up to them to congratulate them. First Snowpaw did. "I would never have expected you two to become warriors before me" She mewed. She looked at Darkenedfur, and then at Nuttree with a look in her eye. A look she would never expect from Snowpaw.

Nuttree and Darkenedfur sat in the darkness in silence. Suddenly, Darkenedfur poked Nuttree with his paw and gestured to the sky. Nuttree looked. The sun was rising. She felt excited. She never saw a sunrise before. She would have liked to say "this is amazing!" But she was determined to complete her vigil. She watched the sun in awe, seeing as it crawled up from the trees slowly and into the blue sky. Darkenedfur got up. "Our vigil is over. The sun is in the sky." Nuttree got up too. "We're warriors!"
They headed back to camp. Mudspeed and Orangepelt seemed to be waiting for them. "Nuttree" Mudspeed meowed. "I'm so proud of you. I'm going to miss being your mentor" Nuttree smiled and shifted her paws. "Thanks, Mudspeed. You were a great mentor" she mewed back. Orangepelt and Darkenedfur were talking too. "Wow, Darkenedfur! I remember your first time catching prey" he mewed happily. Darkenedfur purred. "It's been a pleasure being your apprentice, Orangepelt" he meowed respectfully. Orangepelt nodded. Suddenly Gloomstar came out of his den. "Oh, it's just you guys" he said while yawning. He stopped yawning and mewed. "Where's Stormclaw?" Nuttree shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?" Mudspeed gave her a look saying something like don't act smart. Nuttree lowered her head a bit. Gloomstar chuckled awkwardly. "I... don't know..."
But then Stormclaw walked out of the warrior's den. Gloomstar looked happy. "Oh! There you are, Stormclaw!" He mewed. "Uh huh" Stormclaw meowed back, a bit sarcastically. "Orangepelt, you and Mudspeed can go on morning patrol." Orangepelt glanced happily at Mudspeed, but Mudspeed didn't return his gaze. Orangepelt looked forward again, nodded and walked away, looking sad. Mudspeed sighed. "Yes, Stormclaw" he said, padding after Orangepelt. Then Darkenedfur yawned. "I'm so tired" he yawned. "I could sleep until leafbare." Nuttree dashed into the warrior's den. Darkenedfur followed. Nuttree circled around until she was comfortable. She looked around at the other warriors. "Hey there, Nuttree" Leaffall mewed. Sparrowwing was laying next to him. "Hi!" Nutpaw purred. "I can't believe me and Darkenedfur are warriors!" Sparrowwing chuckled. "You remind me of myself when I became a warrior!" She meowed. Darkenedfur purred. "Yeah. It's so overwhelming though." Leaffall nodded. "That's true, you two should get some sleep. Sparrowwing, want to go hunt?" Sparrowwing nodded and got up, licking his cheek. They headed out, and Nuttree realized Sparrowwing and Leaffall were mates! Then she got to thinking about her love life again. She was a warrior, and she could have a mate if she found someone. But she knew no one seemed to fancy her. She sighed, and slowly went to sleep.