CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
"Okay, now let's see how much your fishing skills have paid off," Minnowstar meowed after they had stopped by a creek.
Reedpaw studied the creek carefully. Today was to be his final assessment. By the end of today, he would finally become a warrior. But that was only if he could actually pass the final test Minnowstar had in mind.
On top of it, Reedpaw had finally stood up against his sisters. Willowpaw, Hollypaw and Larchpaw were more than surprised when he had finally stood up to them. Willowpaw especially had felt his wrath and now knew what it was like to be on the receiving end.
Redkit, Dawnkit and Firekit had also become apprentices over the last couple of days. Ashfang was now Redpaw's mentor, Eagleclaw was Firepaw's mentor, and last but certainly not least, Dawnpaw was Pebblepelt's apprentice. The Clan was thriving now as Foampelt had moved into the nursery, expecting Mintwhisker's kits.
Now, Reedpaw was busy crouching over the creek to make sure his shadow wasn't showing. One thing he had learned was to keep himself from being seen by the fish. And as he watched the creek, Reedpaw narrowed his eyes and suddenly reached out with his paw. His unsheathed claws hooked out a silvery fish which he proceeded to kill the second it landed on the ground.
"Well done!" Minnowstar purred in approval. She was ready to say something else when her ears pricked forward in alarm. Reedpaw tilted his head to one side until he saw what Minnowstar was looking at.
A cat, who looked close to his age, was limping away from the stream that fed into the lake. Reedpaw realized with a start that this cat had the lithe shape of a WindClan warrior. He glanced at Minnowstar warily, wondering what she would do to this cat.
"Who are you?" Minnowstar demanded after making her way towards the limping cat. Reedpaw bounded after her until stopping just a few fox-lengths in front of the strange looking cat, whose pelt was covered in wounds. He was startled by the look of grief shadowing her eyes as she looked at Minnowstar in alarm.
"Are you going to kill me?" she asked fearfully. Minnowstar came to a halt and stared at the young cat in disbelief. Reedpaw realized with a start that this cat was around his age. She was young, with eyes that told him she had suffered from something terrible.
"Of course not," Minnowstar replied, her voice soft and reassuring. "We are not heartless cowards who attack those who are injured." Minnowstar paused as the she-cat sighed in relief, her shoulders sagging as she looked at Minnowstar warily. "What happened to you? Who are you?"
"My name is Sprucepaw," the apprentice replied, her voice quivering with exhaustion. "I-I was running from my own Clan because I tried stopping a battle. Icestar wanted to take over ShadowClan, and he banished me because I warned them."
Minnowstar's eyes widened in shock at her accusation. Reedpaw suspected there was more going on than Sprucepaw was letting on. But at least she had told them most of the truth, just judging by the terrified look in her eyes.
"Icestar has always acted rashly," Minnowstar growled under her breath, so that only Reedpaw could hear. "Sprucepaw, your wounds need to be tended to. Follow us; for now you are welcomed to stay in our camp."
Reedpaw only stared at Minnowstar in disbelief at that. How could she trust this strange cat so easily?
This won't go over well with the others, he thought after picking up the fish he'd caught earlier. Sprucepaw's shoulders sagged in relief as she limped after them.
The reeds began to rustle as Minnowstar, Reedpaw and Sprucepaw arrived in RiverClan's camp. Reedpaw wasn't surprised when all eyes fell on Sprucepaw, who looked just as uneasy as the cats staring at her. Minnowstar flicked her tail across Reedpaw's ears as he dropped his fish on the fresh-kill pile.
Blizzardwind and Scarletpaw emerged from the medicine cat's den when they heard the commotion. The two medicine cats only looked at Minnowstar with unease, knowing full well that on any normal occasion, she wouldn't bring in a stranger to the camp.
"Minnowstar, please tell me there's a good reason why you've brought a WindClan cat into camp?" Mintwhisker demanded, sounding more annoyed than ever. The RiverClan deputy at least had more sense than Minnowstar. Reedpaw was still wondering the same thing himself.
"She was gravely injured, by her own Clan," Minnowstar replied, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Blizzardwind, you know what to do."
Mintwhisker looked like he was ready to argue some more when he thought better of it. His eyes narrowed with annoyance as he lashed his tail and stalked back towards the nursery. Reedpaw shot his leader an anxious look as he wondered if the ceremony would go on. He didn't even know if he had passed his assessment or not.
"I don't know what she's thinking, trusting some strange cat," Hollypaw hissed under her breath as she joined her brother. "What if she's just a spy waiting to gain our trust?"
"Well, she's putting on a good show if that's the case," Reedpaw scoffed.
She was attacked by her own leader, he reminded himself. I doubt she would make something like that up... unless she did it on purpose.
"We were supposed to be warriors today!" Willowpaw growled irritably. "This cat is ruining everything."
Reedpaw only rolled his eyes at Willowpaw's reaction. Leave it to her to think of the worst reasons behind a stranger's appearance. Reedpaw suspected Sprucepaw wasn't telling the entire truth. He had a feeling that if the Clan had accepted Sprucepaw, than WindClan would turn against them.
He padded over to the medicine cat's den where Minnowstar was sitting alongside Scarletpaw. The dark ginger she-cat's eyes were narrowed as Blizzardwind addressed a poultice to Sprucepaw's wounds. She was wincing at every touch of his paws, almost as if bracing herself for an attack that wouldn't happen.
"These wounds are deep," the medicine cat muttered after wrapping cobwebs over her now cleaned out wounds. "But they should heal if you give it time and patience."
"Blizzardwind, can you give us some alone time?" Minnowstar suddenly asked, giving Reedpaw a strange look.
Blizzardwind simply nodded and guided an annoyed Scarletpaw out of the den. Reedpaw suspected she was only annoyed at the fact that Blizzardwind hadn't trusted her with healing Sprucepaw. She'd been his apprentice for quite a long time, and it was only a matter of time before she received her full medicine cat name.
"It's my fault," Sprucepaw whispered as the two of them pressed closer. "I let her die..."
Reedpaw stiffened at that, wondering just what she meant by those words. Something terrible really had happened to her. And everyone was just accusing her of spying on RiverClan. He suddenly felt sick with himself as he understood there was more going on than anyone realized.
"Sprucepaw, can you tell me in a more detailed way what happened?" Minnowstar asked, keeping her voice calm as she studied Sprucepaw warily.
"I overheard Icestar telling Rowantail that they were ready to attack ShadowClan," Sprucepaw explained as she struggled to keep her own voice steady. "And when I heard that news, I realized this was more than just an attack on ShadowClan... so I went over to their territory on my own-"
"Don't you now how mousebrained that is?" Reedpaw scoffed, only to feel Minnowstar cuff him over the ears.
"-and thought I could warn them of what they were planning. No Clan deserves to be totally wiped out, even if they have done bad things in the past," she finished, shooting Reedpaw a glare. Minnowstar was looking at Sprucepaw thoughtfully, and then looked at Reedpaw.
"No normal apprentice would act that way," she mused. "At least as far as I know."
Sprucepaw flinched after she had used the term 'normal'. Reedpaw suspected this cat was anything but normal. He kept his mouth shut though. Arguing clearly wasn't a good idea, especially since Minnowstar was acting so strange.
"Minnowstar, why are you asking such weird questions?" he finally asked.
"Because many moons ago, we received a prophecy," Minnowstar replied after flicking her tail across his ears. "We received the prophecy around the same time you were born... and I suspect Sprucepaw was born around the same time."
"I was born during leafbare," Sprucepaw meowed in a matter-of-fact tone. "My father died before mother gave birth to me." Minnowstar nodded at that, and suddenly her expression turned serious.
"Reedpaw, Sprucepaw, the two of you are important to the Clans," she told them. "And I suspect there are others who are just like you. Others who have walked among the stars, but now live among us."
Reedpaw tilted his head to one side as a sudden chill swept through him. He felt as if he'd heard those words once before. Long ago back when he had lived in the nursery with his sisters. But the memory was from so long ago that he could hardly remember.
"But why us? What makes us so special?" he demanded, letting the fur along his neck bristle with unease. He didn't want to be anyone special. He just wanted to live a normal life and become a warrior someday, maybe even overcome Willowpaw and prove that he was useful.
"Because that is StarClan's will," Minnowstar replied. "The two of you were fated to meet, and I can only hope that the others will meet soon as well."
Sprucepaw exchanged a look with Reedpaw, and the apprentice only wrinkled his nose in annoyance. The last thing he wanted was to help this cat.
Once Sprucepaw was settled down and had relaxed enough, Minnowstar announced that she would hold a warrior ceremony for Reedpaw and his sisters, despite the chaos she just started. He could see that the Clan was divided by her decision to let Sprucepaw stay.
What if Icestar uses this as an excuse to attack us? he wondered. We're strong enough to defend the camp, but will it be enough?
"Reedpaw, do you promise to defend and protect this Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Minnowstar's question left a heavy weight on his shoulders as Reedpaw locked gazes with her. The entire Clan was gathered to watch the ceremony, all eyes fixed on their leader with curiosity and annoyance.
"I do," he replied, struggling to keep his voice steady.
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Reedpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Reedriver. StarClan honors you for your courage and bravery, and we welcome you as a full member of our Clan."
Reedriver... Why would she name me that?
Minnowstar went on to give his sisters their warrior names. Hollypaw was now known as Hollycloud, Larchpaw was now known as Larchwing, and Willowpaw was now known as Willowsong. All three sisters looked as if they were ready to burst with pride as the Clan cheered their names.
"Minnowstar, before we end this meeting, perhaps you want to explain to everyone why there's a WindClan cat in the medicine cat's den," Mintwhisker suggested, his whiskers twitching in annoyance as Minnowstar glared at him.
Murmurs began to rise among the crowd of cats. Normally Mintwhisker didn't challenge Minnowstar in her decisions. Reedriver's ears flattened as he wondered if Mintwhisker was still angry with her. Then he realized that the deputy was merely more curious than anything else.
"She was gravely injured by her own leader, Icestar," Minnowstar explained after taking a deep breath. Reedriver didn't miss the gasps of surprise that followed. "She claims that he wanted to take over ShadowClan's territory, and she paid the price for warning them ahead of time."
"I knew that Icestar was a bit fishbrained, but this is going too far," Willowsong hissed under her breath.
"Since when did you care how others behaved?" Reedriver retorted.
"Since it involves all of the Clans!" she snapped hotly. "I care more about the Clans than you'll ever know."
The look in her eyes told Reedriver that she was speaking honestly. He shook his head and wondered why she wasn't the one in the prophecy. Willowsong was so much stronger than him, and braver. What his mentor had said about his bravery and courage were all lies.
He was terrified of what would happen if Icestar decided to attack the Clan. Meanwhile, Willowsong would likely jump in and defend the Clan without hesitation.
"So, that means Icestar is likely going to plan an attack against us," Mintwhisker meowed after giving it some thought. "We should be preparing the apprentices, and keep an eye on the borders. If Russetstar is pushed into leaving his territory, he might try and claim ours."
I doubt Russetstar would want to live next to water, Reedriver thought. More than likely, he'll try and take ThunderClan's territory.
Minnowstar nodded in agreement, and soon the two had begun discussing plans for the future. While they were doing that, Reedriver decided to hold his warrior's vigil as the rest of his sisters did the same. Even if the Clan was in a state of chaos, they still had to hold tradition. He just hoped that Icestar didn't decide to attack tonight. Otherwise he was completely unprepared for the battle that lay ahead.
