Chapter 12
A day had passed since the group of eight returned to the Clans. Stormpaw wondered how the other rogues had been accepted to the Clans. She had thought of the way Gloria's eyes glowed when she mentioned the battles between Clans. The mountain cat seemed more interested in fighting than peace, which was what the rogues had been brought for.
She sighed and collapsed into her nest. Life wasn't going to get any easier. She needed to tell Firestar the truth sooner or later. Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw would find out soon as well. She was shocked that her denmates had not discovered the truth sooner.
With a shake of her head Stormpaw stalked out of the den. Her tail twitched from side to side anxiously as she padded across the clearing. Brackenfur, her mentor, was sharing tongues with Sorreltail once again. Stormpaw gave Brackenfur a nod before she slipped into the den of the Highrock. With Firestar as her supposed father she could do as she pleased, or so she thought.
The flame-colored leader was sitting with Graystripe. It looked as though they had been in some kind of argument. Graystripe's expression was filled with wariness as he looked at Stormpaw.
"Firestar...can I talk with you?" she asked when silence filled the den.
"Go organize the dawn patrol for me," Firestar ordered when Graystripe looked at her with interest. The long-haired deputy gave Firestar a strange look before slipping away. "Alright, what have you learned on your journey?"
Stormpaw swallowed before she mewed, "Ravenpaw is my father!"
Firestar's eyes widened in disbelief. Then he seemed to realize the similarities between the two. The only difference was that Stormpaw had silver fur etched within her black. Her eyes were a piercing green, the same eyes that her mother had.
"I don't understand...why wouldn't Ravenpaw tell us of your existence before?" He sounded more confused than ever.
"He didn't know that I was alive either." She said the last part bitterly. It tasted as though bile had risen into her throat. "She fled when she heard that the Twolegs were going to start taking away more cats. She didn't want me to be raised as a kittypet." She forgot to mention that the 'she' part was her mother, but Firestar seemed to understand.
"You are a Clan cat after all," he murmured.
No...my mother was a rogue, which makes me a rogue, she thought angrily.
Firestar's tail suddenly flicked to one side. A yowl of alarm sounded from outside his den. Stormpaw jumped to her paws, ready to spring into action.
"WindClan are attacking!" Brambleclaw's cry swept through the clearing.
Stormpaw ignored Firestar's shocked gasp and bounded out of the den.
Her heart hammered with anxiety as she searched for signs of Crowpaw or Shadow. Neither cats were around. Instead she felt the claws of a long-haired tabby rake down her spine. She wailed in surprise at the sudden pain that lashed through her.
The apprentice spun around to face her attacker. Shock rippled through Stormpaw when she saw how thin the tabby was.
She sank her teeth into the tabby's shoulder, giving her opponent no time for reaction. The tabby shrieked when a new wound was opened up.
All around them cats were fighting. Stormpaw felt panic rise within her when she realized the tabby had stopped moving. She released her grip and threw the cat with all her weight across the clearing. Though the cat was stunned he seemed to realize that he was free. He sprang out of camp before he could fight against another opponent.
Coward! The single word seemed to pour within her mind.
She spotted Snowpaw fighting alongside Squirrelpaw. The white-furred apprentice acted as though she had done this her whole life. Muscles rippled beneath her fur as she slashed her claws across the face of a tortoiseshell she-cat. Squirrelpaw had torn the ears off of a tawny colored tom.
"Retreat!" The single word was swept up by a yowl from behind. Stormpaw whirled around to see a mottled dark brown tom standing beside Graystripe, who was bleeding heavily from a shoulder wound. As if his words had been a cue the WindClan cats fled from their opponents. Stormpaw nipped at the hind legs of several cats as they passed her. "This isn't over," the mottled tom spat before he followed his Clanmates through the gorse tunnel.
Firestar rose to his paws after gasping for breath when the WindClan cats fled. Stormpaw's worry suddenly returned when she looked at how badly wounded he was. She glanced at Snowpaw to see that the young cat looked like she was barely scathed. Squirrelpaw appeared to be in the same condition, though blood was dripping from her right eye.
"Who's wounded?" Cinderpelt's question made every cat look at her before they all limped over. Leafpaw helped those who couldn't move.
The battle had been quick and deadly, but it was over. Stormpaw found herself alone once more.
"I think it's time two of our apprentices became warriors," Firestar meowed as he limped towards Cinderpelt.
"You lost a life," Cinderpelt murmured accusingly.
Stormpaw gasped when she heard that. The ginger tom merely shook his head as if nothing had happened.
"I have many more to lose. My Clanmates have only one," he replied with a shrug.
The medicine cat growled to herself before leading the wounded cats to her den.
"I will hold your warrior ceremony at dusk," Firestar meowed when he reached Stormpaw. Squirrelpaw had bounded over to her side, her green eyes burning like fire. "You will become a warrior as well, my daughter." He nuzzled her affectionately before limping back towards his den.
"Wow, warriors at last," Squirrelpaw breathed. "I wonder what my warrior name would be...I kind of like the name Squirreltalon."
"Squirrels don't have talons, it wouldn't make sense," Stormpaw replied with a purr. "Maybe Squirrelfur or Squirreltail."
Squirrelpaw looked at her bushy tail as if to prove her point.
The two continued chatting until dusk had arrived. Despite her injuries Stormpaw had moved on without much of a problem. Leafpaw had checked on her earlier to ensure that she was safe. When Stormpaw reassured the young cat Leafpaw fumed.
Stormpaw gazed up at the Highrock where most of the cats were gathered around. New cobwebs had been wrapped around open wounds, while she could see poultices where Cinderpelt and Leafpaw had placed them. At least these were cats would survive injuries that would have likely killed them in the mountain.
"I, Firestar, call upon my warrior ancestors so that they may look down upon these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Squirrelpaw, Stormpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your lives?" When he asked that question, a million answers buzzed within Stormpaw's mind.
She simply answered with an, "I do."
"I do," Squirrelpaw meowed.
"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior names. Squirrelpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Squirreltail. StarClan honors you for your courage and bravery, and we welcome you as a full member of ThunderClan."
Squirreltail seemed more shocked that Stormpaw's name suggestion had been taken. The dark ginger she-cat licked her father's shoulder respectfully. He than continued with Stormpaw.
"Stormpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Stormsong. StarClan honors you for your spirit and will to survive, and we welcome you as a full member of ThunderClan."
Stormsong's eyes glowed with happiness and pride as she licked her leader's shoulder. The name seemed to roll off of her tongue easily. Firestar looked at her with glowing green eyes before he returned to the base of the Highrock.
"Now you must sit vigil for the night," he meowed.
"Yeah, so we can get a peaceful night's sleep," Sootpelt added loudly.
Stormsong rolled her eyes before she joined Squirreltail by the camp's entrance.
I'm a warrior now, she thought gleefully. If you're out there, mother, I hope you're proud of me.
AN: Yay they finally got their warrior names! I wonder if Crowpaw and Shadow were welcomed in WindClan...you'll have to find out later though :P Don't ya just love it when I leave ya with more questions?