Shellfur stood outside, unsure of what to do when Dewmist called, "We need a hunting patrol! Silverboulder, you may lead the patrol. Please choose three other cats to go with you."
She bounded over to Silverboulder. "Can I come?" she asked, not knowing what else to do.
"Sure," agreed Silverboulder. He headed for the apprentices' den to call for his apprentice, Salmonpaw.
Shellfur waited as Silverboulder added the last cat to the patrol: Berryseed.
"Okay, let's go catch some prey!" Silverboulder dashed to the entrance of the camp with the others right behind him.
When they were in the forest, they once again split up. This time, however, Silverboulder insisted that he should hunt with his apprentice since he wanted to teach Salmonpaw some new skills.
Shellfur padded away from the others quietly so she wouldn't scare away any prey. She lifted her nose to the air and sniffed. The scent of a mouse drifted to her. She looked around and saw a brown mouse a few tail lengths away nibbling on a nut in its tiny paws. She crouched down low, swaying her haunches back and forth, and pounced, claws unsheathed. The mouse spotted her in mid-air, dropped the nut, and attempted to scurry away. It was too late. Shellfur landed on the mouse and nipped it on the back of its neck, ending its life for her Clan.
She buried her prey and continued on for more. When she was done, she had caught an additional mouse, and a vole. Not bad, she told herself.
Shellfur brought her prey and met up with the rest of the patrol. They headed back to the camp with their prey in their jaws, walking proudly. As they dropped the prey in the fresh kill pile, Eaglestar came out from her den and padded over to Salmonpaw.
"Salmonpaw, you and Puddlepaw have been an apprentices for many moons. I think it's about time you two had your final test," announced Eaglestar.
"Yes!" exclaimed Salmonpaw. An excited grin spread across his face.
"Now, go tell Puddlepaw while I let your mentors know. I know you just back from hunting, but I think you can catch some more prey still, don't you think?" meowed Eaglestar.
"Of course!" cried Salmonpaw. "I'll tell Puddlepaw right now!" He dashed off towards the apprentices' den.
Eaglestar turned to the hunting patrol. "As for the rest of you, great job out there. Oh and did you heard about what I just told Salmonpaw, Silverboulder?"
"I did," replied Silverboulder. "And I'm glad to hear it."
"Very well," Eaglestar said. "I'll go tell Owleye." She went over to the warriors' den.
Shellfur blinked and then grasped a mouse in her jaws. She began to chew on its tender meat. When she had finished, she decided to take another catnap.
Hopefully this time I won't sleep for the rest of the day, she thought.
Right before she entered the warriors' den, Eaglestar bursted out with Owleye at her side. Silverboulder joined them along with Salmonpaw and Puddlepaw.
"Go out there and catch as much prey as you can find. Your mentors will be watching you two, so make sure to use all the skills you were taught by them," Eaglestar explained. "Good luck!"
The apprentices accompanied by their mentors left the camp.
Shellfur went into the warriors' den and curled up on her pile of moss. She dozed off peacefully with her tail relaxed at her side.
…
"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath Highrock for a Clan meeting!"
Shellfur groaned and stumbled out into the clearing. Eaglestar was perched on Highrock with cats gathering below her. She joined them, settling next to Tigerlily and Hailpaw.
"Today we have gathered to celebrate the coming of new warriors. These apprentices have trained hard to understand the meaning of the warrior code, and have been trained in the ways of battle. After many moons of hard work, they stand here today to become full warriors. Let's begin."
Eaglestar turned to Puddlepaw. "Puddlepaw, do you promise to defend the Clan at all costs? Even with your life?
"I do," promised Puddlepaw.
"Very well. Puddlepaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Puddlesplash. StarClan honors your strength and loyalty."
"Puddlesplash! Puddlesplash! Puddlesplash!" cheered the cats below.
Puddlesplash beamed and bowed to the crowd.
Eaglestar turned to face Salmonpaw. "Salmonpaw, do you promise to the defend the Clan at all costs? Even with your life?"
"I do," announced Salmonpaw.
"Very well. Salmonpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Salmonwhisker. StarClan honors your strength and bravery."
"Salmonwhisker! Salmonwhisker! Salmonwhisker!" cheered the crowd once again.
Salmonwhisker grinned.
Eaglestar waited until the cheers had quieted down before continuing. "You two must keep vigil for the night as all new warriors do."
She jumped off Highrock and headed for the fresh kill pile, obviously hungry.
Shellfur padded over to the two new warriors to congratulate them personally, who were surrounded by cats. After the mob of cats cleared, she moved in.
"Congratulations! Now we'll have to make some new beds in the warriors' den." She smiled.
"I know!" exclaimed Puddlesplash. "And I can't wait to start hunting without being bossed around by Owleye, not that she was a bad mentor or anything."
"Yep. It really is a pleasure," meowed Shellfur.
"Well, I got to go and, you know, make some room in my new den before Salmonwhisker takes the good spot," Puddlesplash declared.
Salmonwhisker glanced at her and shouted, "Race you there!" Both of them dashed towards the warriors' den. Salmonwhisker beat Puddlesplash by half a tail length. They started arguing over who cheated.
Shellfur sighed and looked around the clearing, realizing for the first time that Thornheart wasn't around. He hadn't been at the meeting either.
Why should I care? She asked herself. It was better without that snob.
She quickly took her last thought back. Recently, Thornheart hadn't been that bad. His 'little speech' was quite interesting, too. She remembered that moment when Eaglestar decided not to fight ShadowClan again, even when the whole Clan cheered her on. Even when Thornheart, a normally horrible cat at heart, coughed up a pretty decent speech telling her why she shouldn't give up. She could still hear the bravery and determination in his voice. Then the look on his face when his leader had given up. A look of shock and despair as his leader turned her back on the entire Clan. Although all he had done was try to talk some sense into Eaglestar, Shellfur found that it was more than that. To her, he was finally doing something good instead of terrorizing kits and hurting his Clanmates.
"Thornheart doing something good," she whispered to herself. "What a surprise."
But where was he now? It was possible that he was out hunting, but if so, then he was hunting solo because he was the only cat missing at the meeting. What if, because he was the only one who really cared now, he had gone off to get Raykit back himself? It was impossible, but yet, it seemed plausible. One cat against an entire Clan. Unless he had a plan, which seemed very unlikely for a cat like Thornheart, then he wouldn't make it.