Chapter 28 Scolding and A Warrior Ceremony
"I'm completely appalled by you two, you're job was to protect the hunting party, but I find that my sons had to fight off a fox pack without your assistance!" Whitestar yowled enraged.
"Lightclaw and Stormpaw came out of nowhere and assisted the hunting party, we figured they didn't need our help; considering how strong their fighting skills are." Glowfur argued.
"Have you forgot that we fight like a clan, Glowfur?! It doesn't matter if they're you own clanmates or if they are slaves, your job as a warrior is to protect your clanmates, no matter what!" Whitestar hissed.
Shinefur and Glowfur flinched and flattened their ears in embarrassment. They knew Whitestar had a point and looking back at their actions, they realized that they screwed up. Lightclaw, Frozenpelt, Moonsong, Echoshine, and Cloudberry looked over at the two warriors, then at Whitestar and Daisypetal. Whitestar started to calm down and looked at Moonsong, Echoshine, and Frozenpelt.
"Frozenpelt, Moonsong, and Echoshine, how did you apprentices do?" he asked.
"They did very well, Whitestar. Each apprentice manage to catch enough prey for leafbare." Moonsong praised.
"I see, and Lightclaw, how did Stormpaw do on both his hunting and fighting strength?" Whitestar asked.
Lightclaw closed his eyes and tried hard to not glare at his father. He looked at his father calmly.
"Stormpaw did very well, his hunting skills were perfect and he barely had a scratch on him from fighting those foxes." Lightclaw praised.
Whitestar nodded and seemed pleased.
"You trained him to be a mighty warrior, Lightclaw." He meowed.
Lightclaw flicked his ear and nodded; this was the only few times he would be nice to his father. Whitestar looked down and was troubled by the events that had unfolded. He looked at Daisypetal.
"We won't be able to make it past leafbare if the hunting party didn't catch anything. Tomorrow, we will try again." Whitestar meowed.
Lightclaw, Frozenpelt, Moonsong, Echoshine, Cloudberry, and Daisypetal perked in surprise. Lightclaw and Frozenpelt look at each other, unsure if that was a good idea. Meanwhile, Echoshine, Moonsong, and Cloudberry looked at each other shocked. Moonsong stepped forward.
"That's not really necessary, Whitestar. Our apprentices caught a lot of prey and leafbare hasn't been too bad. Maybe we should try again next leafbare?" she suggested.
"Better yet, why have a hunting party at all? We can catch prey on our own." Lightclaw pointed out.
"We have hunting parties for a reason, Lightclaw." Daisypetal meowed sternly.
Lightclaw glared at her and looked like he was ready to attack. He unsheathed his claws and barred his teeth; the others looked at him worried.
"No, Moonsong is right. Maybe sending the first party out again tomorrow isn't a good idea. After how your apprentices caught so much prey, I'm convinced that we'll get through leafbare. It's time that your apprentices receive their warrior names." Whitestar announced.
"Thank you, Whitestar." Echoshine nodded.
"Now, I need to speak to Darkheart, Blackfur, Sunpelt, Leaftumble, Blossomsnow, and Tinydawn about their apprentices. Glowfur and Shinefur, we'll discuss your punishment later, now go." Whitestar meowed.
Echoshine, Moonsong, Cloudberry, Frozenpelt, and Lightclaw left the leader's den and scattered, Lightclaw looked around for Stormpaw and found him still grooming himself. When Stormpaw saw Lightclaw, he approached him.
"Hey Lightclaw, what did dad say?" he asked excited.
"Well, he said that you're ready to be a warrior. You better go and rest, it's going to be a long night." He said.
At night
Night had came and the clan had gathered for the warrior and naming ceremonies of the warrior and slave apprentices. Whitestar stood at the highrock and looked down at the apprentices and smiled.
"Cats of Lightclan, tonight we have four apprentices that are ready for their warrior names. Come forward." He announced.
Shimmerpaw, Glimmerpaw, Blizzardpaw, and Stormpaw stepped forward; each one was excited and overjoyed. Lightclaw was excited; he looked over and saw Frozenpelt, Echoshine, Moonsong, Shinefur, and Glowfur and each one had a warm smile. Lightclaw glared enraged at Shinefur and Glowfur, he wasn't ready to forgive Shinefur and he hated Glowfur. As far as he was concerned, Lightclaw didn't care if Shinefur was his adopted mother or not, she needed to be punished; though, he didn't know what Shinefur and Glowfur's punishment was. Lightclaw looked back at his father.
"I Whitestar, leader of Lightclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these four apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of the warrior code and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Shimmerpaw, Glimmerpaw, Blizzardpaw, and Stormpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code? To protect this clan, even at the cost of your life?." He meowed.
"I do." Shimmerpaw meowed.
"I do." Glimmerpaw meowed.
"I do." Blizzardpaw meowed.
"I do." Stormpaw meowed.
"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give your warrior names. Shimmerpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Shimmerwave. May Starclan honor you for your strength and agility and we welcome you as a full warrior of Lightclan. Glimmerpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Glimmerpelt. May Starclan honor you for your strength and bravery and we welcome you as a full warrior of Lightclan. Blizzardpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Blizzardpelt. May Starclan honor you for your courage and strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Lightclan. Stormpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Stormeyes. May Starclan honor you for your strength and bravery and we welcome you as a full warrior of Lightclan." Whitestar meowed.
"SHIMMERWAVE! GLIMMERPELT! BLIZZARDPELT! STORMEYES! SHIMMERWAVE! GLIMMERPELT! BLIZZARDPELT! STORMEYES!" the clan cheered.
Lightclaw cheered the loudest out of everyone, he was overjoyed to his former apprentice's new name. He looked over at Shinefur and she looked proud at her two sons. When the crowd quieted down, Lightclaw looked back and saw his father moving for Darkheart to stand on the highrock.
"Tonight we have six apprentices that are ready to receive their full names. Duskpaw, Shadowpaw, Nightpaw, Mistypaw, Applepaw, and Gingerpaw, please come forward." She meowed.
All six apprentices stepped forward; each one was excited and overjoyed.
"Duskpaw, Shadowpaw, Nightpaw, Mistypaw, Applepaw, and Gingerpaw, do you promise to follow the laws of Lightclan and to serve them until your last dying breath?" Darkheart asked.
"I do." Duskpaw meowed.
"I do." Shadowpaw meowed.
"I do." Nightpaw meowed.
"I do." Mistypaw meowed.
"I do." Applepaw meowed.
"I do." Gingerpaw meowed.
"Then by the powers of the Star Council, I give you your full names. Duskpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Duskstorm. In honor of your bravery and endurance and we welcome you as a full slave of Lightclan. Shadowpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Shadowstripe. In honor of your skill and loyalty and we welcome you as a full slave of Lightclan. Nightpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Nightcloud. In honor of your kindness and loyalty and we welcome you as a full slave of Lightclan. Mistypaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Mistyheart. In honor of your endurance and strength and we welcome you as a full slave of Lightclan. Applepaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Applelight. In honor of your kindness and strength and we welcome you as a full slave in Lightclan. Gingerpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Gingerpelt. In honor of your agility and bravery and we welcome you as a full slave of Lightclan." Darkheart meowed.
"DUSKSTORM! SHADOWSTRIPE! NIGHTCLOUD! MISTYHEART! APPLELIGHT! GINGERPELT! DUSKSTORM! SHADOWSTRIPE! NIGHTCLOUD! MISTYHEART! APPLELIGHT! GINGERPELT!" the slaves cheered.
A few warriors joined the cheer. Lightclaw and Stormeyes cheered the loudest and Lightclaw looked over and saw Dustfoot, Nettlespring, Sunpelt, and Berryspot looking overjoyed and cheering their kits on. Lightclaw smiled, then he looked over and saw Shimmerwave, Glimmerpelt, and Blizzardpelt whispering and snickering in each other's ears and were looking at the new slaves and Stormeyes with a snicker. Lightclaw was enraged, he knew that look and it wasn't long before they did something they would regret. Lightclaw would make sure to protect his former apprentice, Duskstorm, and Mistyheart; after all, who would've thought that Mistyheart was Shimmerwave and Glimmerpelt's sister. Lightclaw smirked at the thought, but remembered the conversation he had with Rivershimmer and realized that maybe telling them now was not a good idea.