Chapter 20 Warrior Ceremony
"LET ALL CATS OLD ENOUGH TO CATCH THEIR OWN PREY, GATHER HERE FOR A CLAN MEETING!" Whitestar yowled.
Lightpaw woke up, got up, and left the punishment den. Believe it or not, he would rather sleep in here than in the apprentice den. It's not that he wanted to sleep in there, but being in there with the faint smells of Brightshine and Wolffang didn't help; Lightpaw just couldn't sleep in there. He joined the clan and sat in the front. Up ahead was Ivypaw and Hawkpaw; sitting there and looked overjoyed. Today was were warrior ceremony, finally. It had been 6 moons since it was revealed that Ivypaw and Hawkpaw were in a relationship and their ceremonies were postponed, but now, today's the day. Lightpaw looked around; Leaftumble smiled to see his apprentice get his full name, but Crystalheart was not satisfied. Lightpaw was disgusted to see that Crystalheart sneered at the fact that her apprentice was getting her warrior name, hadn't she been through enough? Lightpaw looked up and saw Darkheart sitting next to his father; both cats smiling.
"Today we have an apprentice that is ready to receive her warrior name. Ivypaw come forward." Whitestar announced.
She stepped forward.
"I Whitestar, leader of Lightclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of the warrior code and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Ivypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code? To protect this clan, even at the cost of your life?" he yowled.
"I do." She meowed.
"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Ivypaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Ivypool. Starclan honors your intelligence and bravery and we welcome you as full warrior of Lightclan." Whitestar finished.
He stepped down and allowed Darkheart to come up.
"Today we have an apprentice that is ready to receive his full name. Hawkpaw, step forward." She announced.
Hawkpaw stepped forward.
"Hawkpaw, do you promise to follow the laws of Lightclan and to serve them until your last dying breath?" Darkheart asked.
"I do." He meowed.
"Then by the powers of the Star Council, I give you your full name. Hawkpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Hawkfrost. In honor of your patience and bravery and we welcome you as a slave of Lightclan." Darkheart finished.
"IVYPOOL! HAWKFROST! IVYPOOL! HAWKFROST!" the clan cheered.
As Lightpaw cheered, he wondered if Hawkfrost and Ivypool had meant it. Would they really follow the rules of Lightclan? Something told him they would be more of rebels than loyal warriors. The next morning, Lightpaw felt a tap on his head.
"Hey, wake up." A voice whispered.
Lightpaw opened his eye and saw Foxwhisker smiling at him.
"Today's your warrior assignment." He meowed.
Lightpaw was overjoyed. He got out of nest and followed Foxwhisker.
"So which part of the territory am I hunting in?" Lightpaw asked.
"Actually, your father has requested that we work on your fighting skills." Foxwhisker meowed.
"Fighting? Is that allowed?" Lightpaw asked surprised.
"Yeah, it's just most cats would rather do hunting assignments than fighting assignments." Foxwhisker assured.
Lightpaw nodded. As he and Foxwhisker walked past the entrance, Lightpaw saw Ivypool walking to the warrior's den. She looked tired and sleepy. Lightpaw assumed this would how he feel after his night vigil. He and Foxwhisker left the camp and headed to the training hollow. They reached it and Lightpaw instantly saw the tree he had scratched up during his battle training. Memories resurfaced and each one was him and Darkpaw. Saddened, Lightpaw's ears flattened and his head was down. Foxwhisker noticed this and stood in front of the tree and got into a battle crouch.
"Imagine me as someone you want dead. Look at me as if I was your worst enemy." He instructed.
Lightpaw looked at him confused, but then Foxwhisker changed. Somehow, Lightpaw could see Moon, then Brightshine, Wolffang, Daisypetal, Snaketooth, and then, Whitestar. Rage overwhelmed Lightpaw and he got into a battle crouch. He yowled and pounced at Whitestar; his claws unsheathed. Whitestar avoided the pounce, but when Lightpaw landed on his paws, he quickly leaped onto Whitestar and scratched his side. Lightpaw pinned him down with him clawing his sides and biting at his chest and throat. Whitestar kicked him off and was getting up, Lightpaw landed on the ground, but recovered and quickly pinned Whitestar again. This time, Lightpaw pinned him where he could only struggle, but couldn't break free. Lightpaw raised his paw in the air, but suddenly, Whitestar changed to Foxwhisker. Lightpaw had been blinded by grief, sadness, and rage to realize that he had been attacking Foxwhisker, not his father. Lightpaw felt terrible; he got off him and had no words to say to him. Foxwhisker got up, smiled a bit, then approached Lightpaw.
"Hey, it's okay. I'll tell your dad you passed." He comforted.
Lightpaw didn't say anything, he ran back to the camp; Foxwhisker followed him.
"Lightpaw! LIGHTPAW!" he called out.
Both cats returned to camp. Lightpaw stood in the middle of the clearing in shock. Foxwhisker walked in; he was bleeding and covered in scratches. Cloudberry ran up to him.
"Foxwhisker, what happened?!" she asked.
"I'm fine Cloudberry. It's my fault, I shouldn't have told him to do that." He assured her.
"Come on. Come into my den and you can tell me what happened." She meowed.
As they headed toward the medicine cat den, Daisypetal and Whitestar left the leader's den to see what was going on. They got a glimpse of Foxwhisker and were horrified. They looked at Lightpaw and Daisypetal ran up to him enraged.
"LIGHTPAW! What did you do this time?!" she yowled.
Whitestar stopped her before she could actually reach him. He shook his head.
"No Daisypetal, leave him be." Whitestar meowed.
She stared at him bewildered. Whitestar looked at his son for a moment, then headed to the medicine cat den.
"Whitestar, you can't give your son everything he wants." Daisypetal scolded.
"I'm not giving him what he wants, I'm trying to figure out what happened." Whitestar snapped.
They peaked into the den and saw Cloudberry applying herbs to Foxwhisker's wounds.
"Foxwhisker, what happened?" Whitestar asked.
"It's my fault, Whitestar. I shouldn't have told him to do that." He meowed.
"What do you mean?" Daisypetal asked.
"I asked Lightpaw to imagine me as a cat he'd want dead. He must've took my advice, I didn't even tell him to unsheathe his claws." Foxwhisker explained.
"I see, and how did he do?" Whitestar asked.
"Well, he beat me up, so he passed." Foxwhisker meowed.
Whitestar nodded and he and Daisypetal walked away. In the afternoon, Lightpaw was in the punishment den; laying down.
"LET ALL CATS OLD ENOUGH TO CATCH THEIR OWN PREY, GATHER HERE FOR A CLAN MEETING!" Whitestar yowled.
Lightpaw left the den immediately. He knew what the meeting was about; he was going to get his warrior name. Lightpaw ran to the crowd of cats and he unknowingly sat next to Foxwhisker. He looked at him; he was covered with scars and he smiled at Lightpaw. Before Lightpaw could say anything, Foxwhisker covered his mouth with his tail.
"Don't apologize Lightpaw, I forgive you." He meowed.
Lightpaw nodded and smiled; feeling a bit better after the incident. Lightpaw looked up and saw his father and Darkheart smiling at him.
"Today we have an apprentice that is ready to receive his warrior name. Lightpaw, come forward." Whitestar announced.
He stepped forward.
"I Whitestar, leader of Lightclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of the warrior code and I commend her to you as a warrior in his turn. Lightpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code? To protect this clan, even at the cost of your life?" he asked.
"I do." Lightpaw meowed.
"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Lightpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Lightclaw. Starclan honors your bravery and strength and we welcome you as a full warrior of Lightclan." Whitestar finished.
He smiled at his son warmly, but Lightclaw just glared at him. He could never forgive his father for what he had done, and that little stunt wouldn't help. Lightclaw looked around; cats either looked at him proud or scared. Lightclaw looked at Tinydawn and Blackfur; both cats were crying. Lightclaw knew this ceremony would've met Darkpaw would've gotten his full name. Lightclaw's ears were down and he was upset.
"LIGHTCLAW! LIGHTCLAW! LIGHTCLAW! LIGHTCLAW!" the slaves and a few warriors cheered.
Lightclaw's ears pricked with surprise, he was overjoyed. Lightclaw, he liked that name. After a few moments, Whitestar and Darkheart jumped down from the highrock and the clan started to scatter. Lightclaw approached Blackfur and Tinydawn; both cats smiled at him.
"Congratulations Lightclaw, we're so proud of you." Tinydawn meowed.
"Your mother would be too." Blackfur added.
Lightclaw nodded. Other slaves, the anti-slave cats, Brightshine, Wolffang, Cloudberry, Drakheart, and Whitestar surrounded Lightclaw; congratulating him.
"Congratulations Lightclaw, you're now a warrior!" Brightshine exclaimed.
Lightclaw just glared at her. He felt a tail on his shoulder. Lightclaw looked and saw Foxwhisker.
"You should probably get some rest, Lightclaw. You have your evening vigil." He meowed.
Lightclaw nodded and headed to the punishment den. The clan scattered to their normal duties.