CHAPTER SIX
"Mothpaw! Mothpaw!" A tiny paw was poking her side.
"What?" Mothpaw mewed irritably.
"Wake up! I have news!" Mothpaw opened her eyes. It was Splashkit, and his eyes were sparkling in excitement. "I'm going to be an apprentice right now!"
"That's great, but why did you have to wake me?" Mothpaw sat up and arched her back in a stretch. "I did the dawn patrol!"
"Sorry, Mothpaw." Splashkit looked hurt.
Mothpaw gave his head a lick. "That's alright, Splashkit. I'll be awake to see your apprentice ceremony."
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Tallstone for a Clan meeting!"
"It's time!" Splashkit charged out of the apprentice's den, and Mothpaw followed more slowly. She took her place in the crowd and waited for the ceremony to begin.
"Cats of LightningClan, six kits are ready to be apprenticed. Nightkit," he looked at the black kit, "until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Nightpaw. Floodfang," the tabby tom stepped forward. "you will mentor Nightpaw." Floodfang touched noses with his apprentice.
"Flowerkit," the tortoiseshell kit looked up, "until you receive your warrior name you shall be known as Flowerpaw. Blueleaf," the blue she-cat stared at Lionstar with gleaming green eyes, "you have not had an apprentice yet. You will mentor Flowerpaw." Mentor and apprentice touched noses.
"Sunkit," Lionstar meowed, "until you receive your warrior name you shall be known as Sunpaw. Waterclaw," the light brown tabby tom stood regally near the Tallstone, "your fist apprentice will be Sunpaw." After touching noses with his new apprentice, Waterclaw gazed at Mothpaw with something like hunger in his green eyes. She tried to ignore it, but she could feel his gaze burning into her fur.
"Brackenkit," the tortoiseshell kit stepped forward, "until you receive your warrior name you shall be known as Brackenpaw. Smokepelt," the smoky gray tom walked to Brackenpaw, "you shall mentor Brackenpaw."
"Scorchkit," Lionstar addressed the brown-red tom, "until you receive your warrior name you shall be known as Scorchpaw. Russetfang," Lionstar summoned the dark ginger tom, "you will mentor Scorchpaw."
"Splashkit," the excited brown-and-white tom looked at Lionstar, "until you receive your warrior name you shall be known as Splashpaw. Blizzardwing, you shall mentor Splashpaw."
"Nightpaw! Flowerpaw! Sunpaw! Brackenpaw! Scorchpaw! Splashpaw!"
"Also," Lionstar continued, "we have apprentices ready to be made warriors!"
Confused, the cats glanced around the clearing. Then Mothpaw spotted Willowpaw, Sparrowpaw, and Ashpaw on the Tallstone.
"I, Lionstar, leader of LightningClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Willowpaw, Sparrowpaw, Ashpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your lives?"
"I do," meowed Sparrowpaw; the ginger-speckled pale brown tom had clearly known he would be a warrior today.
"I do," his gray-and-white sister Ashpaw echoed.
"I do," their light brown tabby littermate Willowpaw mewed.
"Then, by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Sparrowpaw, your name shall be Sparrowflight. StarClan honors your determination and your fighting skills, and we welcome you as a full member of LightningClan." Lionstar touched his nose to Sparrowflight's head, and Sparrowflight licked his shoulder.
"Ashpaw, your name shall be Ashcloud. StarClan honors your kindness and your fairness, and we welcome you as a full member of LightningClan." The newly christened Ashcloud licked her leader's shoulder.
"Willowpaw, your name shall be Willowfern. StarClan honors your hunting skills and your loyalty, and we welcome you as a full member of LightningClan."
"Willowferm! Ashcloud! Sparrowflight!" Mothpaw cheered with the crowd of cats.
Lionstar hopped off the Tallstone and spoke with the new warriors. They took their positions by the camp entrance to sit vigil and guard the camp for the night. Mothpaw knew she should get some sleep, but her long nap left her with a lot of energy.
"Mothpaw!"
Mothpaw glanced around. Splashpaw and Blizzardwing were by the camp entrance.
"We're on the dusk patrol!" Blizzardwing called. "Get Pebblewhisker."
"Okay!" she mewed, padding over to the warrior's den. As they entered the forest, Mothpaw asked, "Where will we patrol?"
"The BreezeClan border," Blizzardwing answered.
They soon emerged from the forest. They remarked the border, then Blizzardwing quizzed her new apprentice.
"What do you smell?"
Splashpaw opened his jaws. "Mouse!"
"We're not hunting," Blizzardwing mewed. "What else can you smell?"
"LightningClan." Suddenly his eyes widened. "What's that smell?"
Pebblewhisker tasted the air. "Dog," he mewed, "but it's stale. A Twoleg was probably walking a dog here a day or two ago."
"Anything else?" Blizzardwing prompted.
Splashpaw sniffed again. "BreezeClan patrol coming!" he meowed in alarm.
Blizzardwing smelled the air. "It's just two cats," she mewed. "Maybe they're just night hunting. Anyway, we don't need to be too worried. We didn't cross the border."
Two BreezeClan cats appeared over a rise. As they got closer Mothpaw recognized Eagleclaw, the BreezeClan deputy. Another cat, a brown tom, was with him.
"Hello, Eagleclaw, Rabbitfur." Pebblewhisker dipped his head to the two cats. "Has Stormstar lost his ninth life?"
"Yes." Eagleclaw's eyes sparkled in sadness. "I am going to the Moonriver to receive my nine lives from StarClan."
"I will pass the news on to Lionstar. He was a great leader."
"Thank you. Now, we must be going," meowed Rabbitfur. The two cats padded off.
"Well, there's nothing more to see here. Let's get back to camp. Splashpaw looks like he's asleep on his paws!" meowed Pebblewhisker. Blizzardwing glanced at her apprentice and murmured agreement. By now Mothpaw was almost as tired as Splashpaw. She headed back to camp with the rest of the patrol. As she curled up in her nest she was dimly aware of Splashpaw asleep in the nest beside her. Then she fell fast asleep.
She opened her eyes and found herself in a pond. Alarm shot through her, and she immediately began to tread water to stay afloat among the duckweed. Mothpaw saw the bank, and relief swept over her as she paddled toward it. An odd smell hit her nose as she neared it—StreamClan, but laced with a scent that reminded her of the Thunderpath. Mothpaw reached the bank and struggled to find a clawhold on the slippery surface. Then a giant frog glared down at her.
"Can you help me?" Mothpaw gasped. The frog just laughed and struck at her face with its feet. It stung like a scratch, and Mothpaw lost her grip and fell into the water. As she sank deeper and deeper, all she could hear was the frog's chilling laugh. Blackness threatened to overwhelm her vision, and the last thing she saw was a cat's head, gray with glowing green eyes. Then all went dark , and she heard a voice.
"Beware the frog in the stream that will bring destruction to the whole forest. Only the moth in the meadow can save the Clans."
