Warriors; Thin Ice

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Emberpaw shivered and blinked open her eyes. Outside of her nest, cats were gathering in a snow-covered clearing. She stood up and noticed that she had missed Darkstar calling a meeting; she had been so tired that she'd slept right through it. She crept from the apprentices' den and found a seat beside Birdpaw and Paleleaf. Both of them gave her a smile, and Emberpaw felt the stress that her Clanmates usually caused her disappear.

"It has come to my attention that at the Gathering, I nearly lost one of my lives," Darkstar meowed. "I'm sure you have all heard that Minnowstar is on the verge of starting a battle due to none of us giving him hunting grounds during Greenleaf, so I am leading a patrol to WindClan and ThunderClan to speak with them."

Yowls of disagreement rung out. Emberpaw noticed Sharpfang yowling the loudest, "If we had attacked them before, then they wouldn't be messing with us!"

"We should attack first!" Hawkflight hissed. His brother, Eaglewings, nodded in agreement.

Darkstar lashed his tail and waited for silence, but it didn't come. He stood up on the branch above his den and hissed, "Stop talking!"

The noise died away almost immediately. Emberpaw snickered, glad that she had kept her muzzle shut, because Darkstar's eyes were alive with anger.

"It is of the warrior code that the word of the leader shall not be questioned," he mewed. "You do not question me now, and you should not have questioned my word then."

Many cats bowed their heads in shame, including Paleleaf, whose soft voice had spoken out as well.

"Now, before I assemble the patrol, I want to recognize an apprentice whose actions might have saved one of my lives," Darkstar mewed. His eyes searched the crowd. "Blackpaw, come forward please."

The crowd parted for Emberpaw's brother. There was a look of shock in his eyes, and Emberpaw felt a purr rising in her throat. Her brother had just proved his loyalty to ShadowClan, but instead of feeling envious of his actions, she felt relief that he would have a normal life. Maybe he will even find a mate, she thought.

"Blackpaw, Maplefur tells me you have succeeded in your training, and although you will not be taking your assessment, you have already proved, more than most cats, that you are worthy of having a warrior name." Blackpaw's gasp of shock rang in the clearing, and Darkstar smiled briefly before his gaze returned to a more serious look. "I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard and proved his bravery. Blackpaw, you will now be recognized as a warrior. You are now known as Blackfeather. StarClan honors your bravery and skill in battle."

Emberpaw noticed an edge to his last words, but was immediately distracted when the Clan began to call out her brother's new name. "Blackfeather, Blackfeather!" She chanted it with them.

When the noise died down, and it took a while, Darkstar searched the clearing. "I want only a few warriors on this patrol, so we don't seem like a threat. But I also want a few cats waiting by the border once they remark it, in case any of the Clans don't want our company enough to attack us."

A few cats murmured and nodded in agreement with their leader. He dipped his head and then mewed, "Goldenshade, Nightpool, Adderstrike, and Emberpaw will come with me to ThunderClan and WindClan."

Emberpaw, surprised, rolled her eyes as a few heads turned her way. I am his apprentice, you know, she thought to herself. Although recently, she hadn't been training with him very much, he was her mentor. When she had become his apprentice, it had raised suspicions, but they didn't know about her power. She really didn't know much either, but she hoped that this expedition would clear up the rumors of her disloyalty and her heritage.