Okay, so there ended up being a tie between Ravenflight and Ravenfeather, so I've decided to go with Ravenflight since it just appeals to me a little more. I might use Ravenfeather in another fanfic if I ever get around to writing more stories.
Frostfur was lying down in the clearing when the rescue patrol returned, her head resting sadly on her paws. As soon as she spotted the returning cats, however, she rushed forward and nuzzled her kits.
"My kits!" she purred happily as all four crowded around her, even Cinderkit. She licked them all furiously, trying to comfort all four at once. As Firepaw padded into the camp, the white-furred queen glanced up at him. She didn't say anything, but the gratitude in her eyes spoke more than any words ever could.
Bluestar glanced fondly at Frostfur and her kits then walked over to Firepaw and gently touched her nose to his forehead. "Well done," she whispered so that only he could hear. "I'm so glad you're safe."
Firepaw flicked his ears in embarrassment, then tensed as Tigerclaw stalked up to them, glaring at Yellowfang. The old gray molly was hanging out at the back near the camp entrance, an air of uncertainty about her.
"Why have you brought the rogue back?" he growled.
"I thought we agreed that Yellowfang had nothing to do with stealing the kits or killing Spottedleaf," Firepaw snapped back, quickly losing his patience.
"We agreed that she hadn't killed Spottedleaf or stolen the kits," Longtail snarled. "Not that she didn't help her ShadowClan friends to do so."
"Without Yellowfang, we would never have rescued the kits," Sandpaw spat back. "I feel sorry for Dustpaw if this is how you turned out after being mentored by Darkstripe."
"Yellowfang was the one who realized who had taken the kits," Graypaw added. "She was hunting for them when we found her. It was her plan that allowed us to save them from ShadowClan and gave us a chance to defeat Brokenstar!"
The cats listened to the apprentices' words, astonished.
"They're right," Whitestorm meowed. "Yellowfang is a friend."
"I'm glad to hear it," Bluestar murmured, casting Firepaw a gentle look.
Frostfur's anxious meow sounded from the back of the crowd. "Is Brokenstar dead?"
"No, he escaped," Whitestorm told her. "But he will never lead ShadowClan again."
Frostfur let out a sigh of relief and went back to nuzzling her kits.
Whitestorm looked at Bluestar. "I promised ShadowClan we would leave them in peace until the next full moon," he explained. "They will need time to rebuild their Clan after Brokenstar's rule."
Bluestar nodded. "That is a wise and generous offer," she meowed approvingly.
The ThunderClan leader walked past Whitestorm and approached Yellowfang. The rest of the Clan looked on as Yellowfang lowered her eyes as Bluestar touched the gray queen's rough coat with her nose.
"Yellowfang, I wish you to replace Spottedleaf as ThunderClan's medicine cat," Bluestar meowed. "I'm sure you'll find all her supplies as she left them."
The other cats began murmuring to one another, excitedly flicking their tails. Firepaw was relieved to see that, despite their previous hostility, none of them seemed against the idea of Yellowfang taking Spottedleaf's place. Frostfur glanced between her fellow nursery queens for a few heartbeats before she slowly nodded her agreement.
Yellowfang dipped her head to the white molly before turning to address her new leader. "Thank you, Bluestar. ShadowClan is not the Clan I once knew. ThunderClan is my Clan now."
Bluestar nodded to her, then meowed, "There is one more ceremony I would like to perform tonight." She turned to Firepaw, Graypaw, Sandpaw, and Ravenpaw. "You four have shown great courage tonight. Whitestorm, did they fight well in the battle?"
"Like warriors," the great white warrior meowed solemnly.
Firepaw stiffened, and Sandpaw, Ravenpaw, and Graypaw stared at Bluestar with a mixture of shock and excitement on their faces. Was she really about to do what they thought she was doing?
She was! The ThunderClan leader lifted her head to the dark sky and fixed her eyes on Silverpelt's swath of stars. Her voice rang out, clear and measured in the hushed woods.
"I, Bluestar, leader of ThunderClan, 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." She looked down at the four apprentices, narrowing her eyes. "Firepaw, Sandpaw, Ravenpaw, and Graypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your lives?"
Firepaw glanced around the clearing for a moment at the cats who had become his family over the past few moons. Whitestorm was looking at Sandpaw proudly, while Willowpelt, Graypaw's mother, was gazing at her son with a similar expression of pride. Tigerclaw didn't look pleased or proud–he never did–but there was something about his expression that seemed slightly less hostile than normal. Then he looked back up at Bluestar. As their eyes met, intense warmth and affection that seemed to be reserved only for him flitted across her face.
"I do," he meowed, his voice ringing out steadily.
"I do," echoed the voices of Sandpaw, Ravenpaw, and Graypaw, their tails bristling with excitement.
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names," Bluestar meowed. "Graypaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Graystripe. StarClan honors your bravery and your strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."
She stepped forward and rested her muzzle on the gray warrior's head. Graystripe bent down to lick her shoulder respectfully, then straightened up again and padded over to join the other warriors.
"Sandpaw," Bluestar meowed, turning to the pale ginger molly next. "From this moment on, you will be known as Sandstorm. StarClan honors your courage and quick wit, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."
Just as she'd done with Graystripe, Bluestar stepped forward and rested her muzzle on Sandstorm's head. Sandstorm licked her shoulder respectfully, her body trembling from excitement before she turned and left to join Graystripe.
"Ravenpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Ravenflight," Bluestar meowed to Tigerclaw's apprentice. "StarClan honors your intelligence and your bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."
Once more, she rested her muzzle on Ravenflight's head and the black cat licked her shoulder before padding over to join his friends. Now it was Firepaw's turn.
Bluestar stood once more and looked at Firepaw for a long moment without speaking. As she gazed at him, several emotions flickered her face in rapid succession, fast enough that he couldn't be sure of what any of them were. Firepaw wondered what sort of attributes he had that were worthy of StarClan's honor. He wasn't an especially fantastic hunter or fighter, and all he'd really done was nearly get himself killed a few times. He was loyal to his Clan, but then again, wasn't everyone?
Did he even deserve this ceremony?
Maybe he didn't. After all, Dustpaw was older than him. If he'd been at the battle, he would probably be having his ceremony right now too.
But on the other hand...Dustpaw had refused to go with them while Firepaw had more or less helped organized the entire mission. He had gone in over his head on several occasions, but all had been for the sake of his Clan. Maybe he wasn't the strongest fighter or the fastest hunter, but he did his best with what he had, and maybe that was all that counted.
"Firepaw," Bluestar meowed finally, her voice ringing out loud and clear. "From this moment on, you will be known as Fireheart. StarClan honors your selflessness and your kindness, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." She rested her muzzle on Fireheart's head and murmured, "Fireheart, I am proud to have you as my warrior. Serve your Clan well, young one."
Fireheart's muscles were trembling, but he forced himself to bend his head and lick his mentor's shoulder. He purred hoarsely to show his thanks, then padded over to join the rest of the new warriors.
A murmur rose from the crowd, which quickly swelled into a single cry as the Clan cheered for the new warriors. "Fireheart! Sandstorm! Graystripe! Ravenflight!"
Then Fireheart heard Cinderkit give a squeal of excitement. "Yay! That means Fireheart can be my mentor now!"
He craned his neck and saw the tiny gray kitten chasing her tail in excitement. Bluestar was watching Cinderkit as well, an amused yet thoughtful expression on her face. Perhaps she was taking the young kit's words into consideration.
But Fireheart also noticed that not everyone joined in on congratulating the new warriors. Dustpaw was glaring at him, his eyes narrowed and a look of hatred, envy, and resentment twisting his features. He didn't even seem happy for Ravenflight, his own littermate. Fireheart watched as he stalked over to Tigerclaw, Longtail, and Darkstripe. All three of them had cheered the new warriors, but Fireheart had seen that it was only perfunctory.
"It is almost moonhigh," Bluestar announced. "In the tradition of our warrior ancestors, Fireheart, Sandstorm, Graystripe, and Ravenflight must sit vigil alone and guard the camp while the rest of us sleep."
The four named warriors nodded in acceptance.
Fireheart padded over to the center of the clearing and settled himself down next to Sandstorm as the rest of the Clan retired to their nests. She glanced over at him and blinked warmly at him but neither warrior said a word. He turned his gaze upward and stared at the vast expanse of stars lining the sky above his head. It was strange, he reflected, that all the training he'd endured for the past three moons had been for the sake of this single moment. The rabbit he'd caught on his first hunting assessment, battling for Sunningrocks on his second day as an apprentice, traveling to the Moonstone, fighting the rats and then helping battle against ShadowClan, and finally, helping ShadowClan rid themselves of a cruel and tyrannical leader. Even taking lessons from Spottedleaf and befriending Cinderkit, although they hadn't been part of his training, had played a part in aiding his growth from a pampered kittypet into a fully fledged warrior of ThunderClan.
Leaf-bare would be coming soon. In a moon or so, the air would be crisp and chilling to the bone. The trees, currently glowing with a variety of vibrant colors, would be covered in a thick layer of white snow, as would the rest of the forest.
Fireheart wondered what sort of changes the turning of the seasons would bring to his own life. Now that he was a warrior, what would he work towards next? Maybe he would mentor an apprentice of his own someday. Bluestar seemed to like the idea of him taking on Cinderkit someday, and Fireheart couldn't deny that he hoped he would be chosen to mentor her. Maybe he would find a mate and have kits together with her. Maybe he would even follow in Bluestar's footsteps and become the leader one day, although that seemed far from likely, and not just because Tigerclaw was next in line and would never allow a former kittypet to have any sort of power within the Clan. Anyway, he wasn't leader material.
A chilly breeze ruffled his fur, and Fireheart shivered involuntarily. Despite the bite of the cold against his pelt, the flame-colored warrior felt a rush of unbridled joy and anticipation.
Change is coming, indeed.
That concludes book one! I have plans to start Fire and Ice within the next few days. Fair warning: there will be a LOT happening in that book. Stay tuned!
I know a lot of you want Bluestar to tell Fireheart that she's his mother. Without giving too much away, I'll just say that the truth won't come out until the Forest of Secrets arc. One, because this is Fireheart and he's stupid, and two, I want to build a little more on their relationship and Fireheart's individual character before the big reveal.
Fair warning, Graystripe will get some pretty harsh treatment in the next book. This is due to a personal pet peeve of mine when it comes to the canon first series. I've always felt that the books let Graystripe get away with too much. In fact, they treat him as if he's done nothing wrong. I mean, did he ever apologize to Fireheart for treating him like shit while Fireheart was lying to help him cover his illicit relationship? Not from what I remember; as a matter of fact, I seem to remember that Fireheart was the one who ended up taking responsibility for the entire fight. Even though, you know, there's really no way you could twist it into being his fault while holding any sort of credibility. Who was the one breaking the warrior code? Graystripe. Who was the one who attacked his friend in the middle of the camp? Graystripe. Who was the one who neglected his apprentice? Graystripe. Who was the one who was always off with their RiverClan girlfriend and never around when Fireheart needed him? Graystripe.
This turned into more of a rant than I planned, but you get the point.
Anyway, thanks for reading!
-TheShadowedWarrior
Update: The new book is out!
