"Laurelpaw! Laurelpaw!" Bearkit bounced around Laurelpaw, who was barely containing his excitement. The little brown tom-kit's fur was fluffed out in excitement. "Laurelpaw is about to become a warrior!"
Nearly all of WindClan was out by the moment. Elders poked their heads out of their den and the warriors who were back from patrol were staring at Laurelpaw in surprise. Bearkit zigzagged around Laurelpaw's legs joyfully, pawing his forelegs. "Laurelpawwww!" Bearkit squeaked. "I wanted to see you become a warrior!" The brown kit filled Laurelpaw with energy, and he felt like pride seemed to brim from his nose to tail.
A small wail sounded inside the nursery, and Whitewhisker poked her head out. "Bearkit!" She meowed. "Stop bothering Laurelpaw! Wingkit needed your attention right now!" "But Laurelpaw was about to become a warrior!" Bearkit squeaked excitedly. "Wingkit, why don't you come out and watch?"
A moment later the thick-furred, blue-eyed, and snow-white kit was outside behind Bearkit.
"Laurelpaw!" He cheered.
"From this moment on you will be known as Laurelleaf. StarClan honors your spirit and determination. We welcome you as a full moor runner of WindClan."
"Laurelleaf!" Windyfrost was the first one to cheer. His mentor raised her head to the sky.
"Laurelleaf!" More and more of the WindClan cats started chanting his name, and Laurelleaf felt like he was about to burst with pride. He became a warrior! Bearkit started bouncing again, and Wingkit followed Bearkit, his small white ears perked. "Laurelleaf!" Wind ruffled his brown fur, and Laurelleaf raised his head to the StarClan. His new warrior name echoed off into the blue sky.
—.—
"Laurelleaf, I want you to join Liondrop, Lynxivy, and Flowersight on a patrol of the ShadowClan border," Swiftrabbit meowed the next day. His thick white pelt shone under the sunlight, almost radiating authority. Muscles rippled underneath his shoulders, and Laurelleaf suddenly felt proud that WindClan had such a good deputy. Maybe his mood was so well that sunrise that he looked at everything with bursting positivity.
Laurelleaf slid from his den and looked around. He saw Lynxivy and Liondrop sharing a plump brown rabbit by the elders' den and bounded up to them. Flowersight followed from the behind, her spotted gray pelt shining under the bright sunlight. The strong aroma of heather tickled Laurelleaf's nose, and he raised his tail. Lynxivy shook out her fur and padded up to him. She whisked her tail over Liondrop's face. "Get up, you hungry furball," she meowed. Liondrop nearly sneezed into her fur, grumbled softly, and followed them outside for the patrol muttering about how Lynxivy never stops fussing everywhere about him. The patrol set out of camp.
The ground below his paws shook as a patrol of tunnelers emerged from a hole in front of Laurelleaf. Petalclaw, the leader of the patrol, waved her tail in greetings. Laurelleaf nodded and continued trotting. A bird fluttered in the sky and the cool wind was calm. Laurelleaf felt like running across the moorland, relishing the speed and wind on his fur. Liondrop stopped, sniffed the ground, and continued. Flowersight, with her usual strict attitude, ushered the golden tabby forward with a flick of her tail. Lynxivy followed by the back, keeping watch around the small patrol. Liondrop soon dropped back to mutter something in Lynxivy's ear, and she shooed him away good-naturedly.
They'll be mates someday, Laurelleaf thought, a flash of thought of getting a mate in his mind. They make it so obvious that even I'm starting to want a mate. He shrugged that thought away.
I just became a warrior! Mates are something for the future.
Soon they neared the ShadowClan border, the smell of the ash- stained Thunderpath and pine trees filling their noses. Lynxivy sneezed behind Laurelleaf, and he flicked his tail. "Let's mark our border," he meowed, fluffing out his pelt.
"Ugh," Liondrop sniffed. "Such strong ShadowClan scent." The patrol have finished marking their border, but ShadowClan scent seemed to flood into their noses. "Have they been over-marking? Showing us that they're strong? Honestly, they have done a bad job, then."
"Don't be rude," Lynxivy flicked her tail, her usual gentleness showing again. Laurelleaf saw Flowersight suppressing a mrrow of amusement despite her serious cover.
Laurelleaf sniffed the air and caught even more ShadowClan scent, and just knew that a patrol was coming their way. He whisked around, fur beginning to stand, hoping the ShadowClan patrol wouldn't get suspicious of what the WindClan patrol was doing so close to their border. The Thunderpath rumbled in the distance, and Laurelleaf could feel the pelts of his Clanmates brushing his as three pelts showed on the other side of the border.
A tiny rush of relief trickled into Laurelleaf's heart when he saw Silverpaw among the patrol, poking his nose around every bush and looking at the WindClan cats with no sign of hostility at all. The leader of his patrol, a dark gray tom, nodded to the WindClan cats. Though his gaze showed distrust and a faint streak of suspicion, the ShadowClan cats didn't seem hostile. Laurelleaf turned to his Clanmates and meowed, "Let's go." The three cats followed him away. They kept quiet as they walked through the deep grass and sent soil clouding.
—.—
Laurelleaf dragged a rabbit from the fresh-kill pile and sat in the moor runners' den. The sky was purple and orange, tinted with the beginning of twilight. The sky was cloudless, like usual, and a few warriors of StarClan shone in the sky. Laurelleaf realized that his paws were still stiff from the patrol and the vigil he sat after his warrior announcement. All he wanted to do now was to rest on his paws and sleep. He could hear the gentle rasping of tongues and the excited squeaks of Bearkit. Flowersight was next to him, her head on her paws, her eyes gazing into the camp outside. "Want to share?" Laurelleaf asked, and Flowersight gazed gratefully at him. "Sure, and thanks!" she meowed, and Laurelleaf felt a bubble of joy in his heart.
More moor runners later settled, including the senior warrior Swiftflight and Whitewhisker's mate Berryfur. The cats groomed each other, and the raspy feeling of his Clanmates' tongues on his pelt made Laurelleaf sleepy. It feels good to be a warrior, he thought dreamily. He liked the feeling of having more cats around him instead of nobody, like how it was in the apprentice's den. His heart felt less empty now that the warmth and safety of the warriors' den spread through him.
An image suddenly flashed in his mind. Manglethorn! He thought as the image suddenly clarified itself. He stiffened, keeping himself from disturbing the cats around him, and shook his head. He curled his tail around his paws and tried to clear his mind. I don't know why I keep thinking about him. Sometimes memories of a fierce green-eyed warrior still sears through his thoughts, which could always swallow his heart with hate. I will avenge my mother and father one day. Midgepelt was close to recovering, but that didn't stop Laurelleaf from worrying. A spiritual figure seemed to flash in Laurelleaf's mind, and he shook his head. Weird images are appearing in my mind those days. He shrugged and drifted off into incoming sleep.
—.—
"Please, not another dream!" Laurelleaf mewed as he snapped into a strange environment as soon as he closed his eyes. He blinked open to see an endlessly stretching forest with an open path of dirt in the middle. Pebble-stones lined he edge of the dirt path, and the sky was dark blue. StarClan warriors leaped and ran in the sky, forming the mythical Silverpelt. A tall mountain stood at the end of the path, and unknown shadows seemed to flicker in between the trees lining the path, whose bark seemed to emit light. Glowing mushrooms grew in between the grass of the forests, their luminous blue skin shining faint light into the cracks between the ground. The night breeze carried some dark green leaves flying, and Laurelleaf looked around in slight confusion.
Unlike his last dream, this place seemed much more peaceful. It wasn't empty, and it was filled with the usual, peaceful night sounds: the rhythmic chirping of crickets, the silent hooting of owls, and the tiny scuttle of prey. It seemed like a haven or dream meadow, and maybe even somewhere like StarClan's hunting grounds. A silver spirit seemed to flash in front of Laurelleaf's eyes, and he flinched. "Hello?" He called. Wind brushed the back of his ears and he looked behind him. A swirl of silver appeared, and Laurelleaf saw a beautiful silver tabby she-cat materialize in front of him.
Laurelleaf leapt back, startled by the sudden appearance of the she-cat. "Who are you?" He asked. The dirt below the cat's paws seemed to ripple with light. "My name is Brightspirit," the she-cat meowed. "And I am here to warn you." "Warn me?" Laurelleaf asked. "Of what?" He twitched uncomfortably, staring at Brightspirit with wide amber eyes. Who is she? Is she a StarClan spirit?
Brightspirit's gaze revealed nothing, but they seemed to turn dark and dangerous as she spoke. Her voice was low and quiet, which shot pangs of fear and suspicion into Laurelleaf's body. She stepped towards him, her fur rippling in starlight. "Before the mangled evil destroys the forest," she mewed. "The laurel and white feather will wrap peace among the Clans."