I woke up later that day and saw that the warriors den was empty. I stretched and made my way out. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the high ledge for a clan meeting!" Bramblestar's familiar call summoned the remaining cats who were sleeping in the warm sun. I saw Tigerheart looking at me. When he saw me looking at him, he called me over with a flick of his tail. I purred as he licked my head, and waited for the meeting to start.
"Molepaw, Cherrypaw, step forward." Oh! I realized. It was their warrior ceremony! "Foxleap, is Cherrypaw ready to become a warrior?" Bramblestar asked the apprentices mentor. Foxleap nodded, his eyes glowing with pride. "I, Bramblestar, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn." Gazing down at Cherrypaw, he continued, "Cherrypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do." Cherrypaw's voice shook. "Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Cherrypaw, from this moment on you will be known as Cherryflower. Starclan honours your courage and your loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan." Taking a step forward, Bramblestar rested his muzzle on the top of Cherryflowers head, and she licked his shoulder in response.
Bramblestar then beckoned Molepaw forward. "Rosepetal, is Molepaw ready to become a warrior?" Rosepetal nodded as she watched Molepaw proudly. "Molepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?" Bramblestar repeated the same question to the nervous apprentice. "I do." said Molepaw excitedly.
"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Molepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Molewhisker. Starclan honours your courage and your loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan. Again he rested his muzzle on top of the excited warriors head, and Molewhisker licked it in return. "Cherryflower! Molewhisker! Cherryflower! Molewhisker!"
The clan cheered out the names of the new warriors, the loudest of all Poppyfrost and Berrynose. Both of them looked ready to burst with pride as they called out their kit's names. I turned away as the littermates went to stand vigil for the night. "Bramblestar, if I may say something." Everyone turned their heads round again as Crowfeather leaped up onto the high ledge. "Leafpool is expecting my kits again."
There was another loud applause as Daisy and Brightheart led Leafpool away to the nursery as they fussed over her. Crowfeather bounced down and happily followed the she cats into the nursery. "The meeting is over!" announced Bramblestar.
"Want to go hunting?" asked Tigerheart. "Sure!" We happily skipped out of camp until we arrived at the ancient oak. "Maybe we'll have kits someday." I leaned against him lovingly. "Maybe we will." I purred.
When we returned back to camp quite late, we had caught a squirrel and two plump mice. I dumped it on the fresh kill pile, before taking two voles for me and Tigerheart. We shared it in peace outside the warriors den, and then fell asleep cuddled up together...