Snowpaw stirred and looked at him, her eyes brighter than they normally would have been; because they were gleaming with unshed tears. When she spoke, her voice was thick. "Frozenheart? What do you want?"
He felt distinctly awkward as she rested her star-silver eyes on his scruffy pelt and gangling paws. "I saw you looked sad…" he said, trailing off feebly.
"Why were you watching me?"
"I thought—"
"Thought what?" When he didn't answer, fumbling for words, she sighed impatiently. "Look—I know you care for me and all, and maybe I do too, but I honestly meant what I said—I don't need you watching out for me all the time. You couldn't possibly know…" Her voice broke. "Just please—go."
He nodded curtly and quickly backed out, his chest tightening.
"Frozenheart—I need a word."
Lightstar had called him from over the Hightree. His heart sinking, he padded toward her.
"Is Snowpaw trained enough? All her battle skills well?"
Caught off guard, he meowed, "Er—yes, why?"
"We need to hold her warrior ceremony," meowed Lightstar solemnly. "We need all the warriors we can possibly get."
"When will you hold it?" he demanded, still half shocked from the recent events, and sad because he could no longer talk to her without drawing looks. She was, after all, not going to have the mentor-apprentice bond with him any longer…
"At sundown," she responded, whisking away. "Make sure she's ready."
He nodded and turned away. She would be angry if he intruded her den once more, so he called out to Lynxpaw. "Lynxpaw, go fetch Snowpaw, please."
The mottled tom shoved into the apprentices' den and yowled, "Snowpaw, your mentor needs you!"
He could faintly hear a snarl in reply, and sure enough, when she poked her head out, her eyes were narrow, angry slits.
"What do you want?" she growled, prowling up to him, her tail lashing angrily.
He scuffled the ground with his paws. "You're to have your warrior ceremony at sundown, alright?"
Her eyes flashed wide and sparkled eagerly. "Really?"
"Really," he said, trying to keep the bitterness out of his tone. "Go tidy up. And get a bit of rest. You'll be holding a vigil all night."
She nodded, all pretense of anger gone, and raced back into her den.
Once she had gone, Frozenheart raised his eyes to the stars. "Oh, StarClan," he sighed softly. "What will I do now?"
(*******************)
"Waterblaze, you must be ready to fight and kill."
"It wouldn't be kill, they're already dead," she countered, twitching her whiskers. "Anyway, since when have I been soft?"
"Alright, you have a point," Falconheart sighed, licking her ear swiftly. "Promise you'll be safe?"
"No safer than you," she said seriously. "I'm going to fight, and I don't want that to distract you in anyway at all. You need to keep your mind on the battle, not me, not my safety."
"But—"
"I won't accept anything else. Promise me, Falconheart."
Her amber eyes burned into his, and he looked away. "Fine."
"Good." She laid her paw onto his, and he rested his muzzle on her head. "We also need to look out for Lightstar. She's looking awful these days."
As if on cue, a loud, rasping cough broke out from the leader's den. Falconheart scrambled up. "I need to go check on her," he told his mate. "I'll be back later."
She nodded as he rushed off.
Falconheart poked his head into Lightstar's den. The marbled she cat was hacking and coughing, her frame rattling with each one.
"Are you okay?" he asked in alarm.
She shuddered, swallowing her last cough. "I'm fine," she snapped. "Don't worry."
"But I do worry, you're very sick—"
"And I'll get better," she said grimly, rising to her paws. "Get out of my den; I have a ceremony to perform."
He nodded respectfully and exited, noticing the Clan gathering in the clearing. News of Snowpaw's warrior ceremony had obviously spread. He settled next to Frozenheart, who was sitting near the back, looking very morose.
"Hello," he said hollowly as Falconheart sat down.
"Excited, are you?" Falconheart meowed. "What's up? You look terrible."
"Says you," he muttered. "I don't want to talk about it."
Falconheart decided not to push it, but the tom's desolate gaze worried him. "Okay, if you say so."
Dark, bloody red rays of the sun were dappling the camp. Lightstar leaped onto the Hightree, her claws scraping the branch.
She yowled to silence the murmur of the crowd, and they parted, allowing Snowpaw to pass through them. Her fur glowed a shade of crimson and shadow, different from the usual cloudy white. Her eyes glowed like two twin pairs of grey sun.
Lightstar took a pace forward, her silhouette intimidating, framed with bloody light."I, Lightstar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn."
She looked down at the trembling white she-cat, her blue eyes gleaming. "Snowpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?
Snowpaw spoke strongly, her voice barely shaking. "I do."
Lightstar flicked her tail. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Snowpaw, from this moment you will be known as Snowstorm. StarClan honors your spirit and diversity, and we welcome you as a full warrior of RiverClan."
That was a strange quality, Falconheart noticed. But it certainly fit the white-coated warrior. He yowled out, "Snowstorm! Snowstorm!"
Frozenheart was silent next to him, his eyes glued to his paws. When all the yowls died down, Lightstar said loudly, "Tonight, in honour of our warrior ancestors, you will be sitting vigil until dawn."
Snowstorm nodded and turned.
As Snowstorm stalked past toward the camp entrance, she threw Frozenheart a frosty glance. She muttered something icily as she went off, her tail lashing.
"Snowstorm, wait—" Frozenheart called after her.
She spat something back and disappeared into the shadows, her white tail vanishing into the dark.
This chapter was very hard to write, at least for me, because it shows that we're nearing the conclusion.
I'm also very sad today, so please excuse me if I refrain from writing for a bit, there may not be an update until around May 9th or so. Thanks.