Sweetpaw stood excited in the center of the chilly clearing. His mother, Brackentail, was grooming his fur vigorously in preparation for his warrior ceremony, set to begin any moment now.

"Thanks Brackentail," Sweetpaw meowed half-heartedly to his mother. "But I'm about to be a warrior, I can groom my pelt myself."

"How can I trust you to do that if you don't even remember your own mother's name!" His mother hissed back at him. "I'm Brackenpelt, not Brackentail."

"Sorry."

"It's fine Sweetpaw," Brackenpelt meowed softly. "I'm sorry for hissing at you. Now let me finish grooming you"

As Brackenpelt's tongue rasped across his fur, Sweetpaw saw Reedstar, the elderly RiverClan leader emerge from his den and march toward the elevated spot in the middle of the clearing.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a clan meeting!" Reedstar yowled the command. Most of the clan were already in the clearing, waiting for the ceremony to begin even before Reedstar's orders, but as a few more cats joined, Reedstar began speaking again. "Sweetpaw," His leader called, searching for Sweetpaw in the crowd, finally setting his eyes on him and beckoning him with his tail. "Come here. Sneezecloud, Has your apprentice, Sweetpaw, learned the skills necessary to become a RiverClan warrior and understood the importance of the warrior code?"

"Yes," Sneezecloud rose from the crowd and answered. "Sweetpaw would make a fine warrior and would serve our clan through it's hardest times."

"That's great to hear." Reedstar continued. "I, Reedstar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I command him to you, as a warrior in his turn." The leader paused for a moment and turned to Sweetpaw. "Sweetpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your own life?"

Sweetpaw took in a deep breath, there weren't many things he wanted more than being a warrior. "I do." He finally breathed.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I grant you your warrior name. Sweetpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Sweettooth. StarClan honors your determination and your skills in battle, and welcomes you as a full warrior of RiverClan!"

Reedstar landed his muzzle on top of Sweettooth's head and Sweettooth instinctively licked his leader's shoulder. My large tooth may seem funny, but it is really helpful during times like this when the fishing spots are frozen. As Sweettooth turned towards his clan he saw their happy faces, all cheering his name.

"Sweettooth! Sweettooth!"

Among the loudest yowls were these of his mother and father, Brackenpelt and Gorseclaw, but above all, Sweettooth heard the charming voice of Shellpaw, his denmate—former denmate now. Sweettooth's thoughts began to sour. He'd miss sleeping close to her and have her wake him up every dawn. He began to relax as he thought how she was no more than 2 moons younger than him. She'll soon move to the warrior's den, where they can be together again.

When the cheering calmed down Shellpaw rushed over to Sweettooth and gave him an affectionate lick on his cheek. "How does it feel to be a warrior?" the silver tabby asked him, pride showing in her amber gaze.

"I don't feel any different. The only thing is that I'll miss having you next to me in my den"

"Well, I'll try to not keep you waiting too long."

"I'll wait as long as it takes."

"Good luck in your vigil tonight," Shellpaw purred with amusement beginning to rise in her voice. "I'll come to see you at dawn, one last time for now."

Sweettooth touched his nose to hers, breathing in her scent before silently heading to the camp entrance, beginning his silent vigil and his warrior life.

Sweettooth was out hunting by himself, it was a cold day and fishing was still impossible. The hunting patrols of the day didn't bring back much prey, and not many warriors wanted to go out again, preferring to bask in the warmth of their clanmates. He's only been a warrior for a moon but Sweettooth felt as if he had to keep his clanmates healthy.

Sweettooth remembered the earlier part of the day while he was still in camp. He went over to the deputy, sitting close to the leader's den, where she was waiting for Willowshine to finish treating Reedstar. His old age is taking a real toll on his nine lives. It seems like he already lost six, could he be losing his seventh now? The half moon medicine cat gathering was only later tonight, so Willowshine shouldn't have any vision to tell him about, I hope he'll be alright.

"Hey Icepool," Sweettooth called the clan deputy. "May I go out hunting?"

"It's Icewing," The white she-cat corrected, not sounding harsh. "But sure hunt wherever you like."

"Thanks Icewing." Sweettooth meowed embarrassedly and left the camp.

Sweettooth was now close to the marshes near the WindClan border. I wouldn't mind being covered in mud right now, it would help keep my heat inside. Interrupting his thoughts was a shrill squeaking and he immediately spotted the scrawny mouse making it.

Sweettooth dropped into the hunting crouch and began stalking forward cautiously, after checking that the wind was blowing towards him. As Sweettooth got closer to the mouse, another mouse, as scrawny as the first one, joined the other and huddled close to him. Sweettooth was in awe of StarClan's blessing but didn't let it distract him.

Thanks to the cold weather, the mice were less able to feel the vibrations in the ground as Sweettooth stalked toward them, until he managed to get two tail-lengths away from the pair. Sweettooth wriggled his haunches into place and pounced, catching each mouse with a different forepaw. Sweettooth quickly killed the mice with less than a bite to their spine using the big sharp tooth that served as the origin for his warrior name.

Thanking StarClan and burying his prey, Sweettooth carried on, wanting to bring more prey than two scrawny mice. He kept following weak scent trails until he found one fresh, of a vole. Sweettooth followed the trail until he spotted the small animal, soon to be fresh-kill.

Sweettooth dropped into the hunter's crouch once again, and bagan stalking forward again. Sweettooth was good at hunting land prey but he missed the taste of fish and the different skills their hunting requires. Maybe I can stuff the mice with herbs to make them taste like fish.

Dismissing his thought, Sweettooth noticed he was close enough to the vole. Sweettooth prepared to pounce, and soon after, he had the vole, dead, under his big paw. The scrawny piece of prey was squashed beneath Sweettooth's weight, not requiring further action in order to kill it.

Sweettooth thanked StarClan and buried his prey as he heard a crunching sound of pawsteps. When he turned his gaze towards the source of the noise, Sweettooth saw a muddy shape he could make out to be a cat. The mud covered cat came from deeper inside RiverClan territory and headed towards the direction of Sweettooth, not noticing him with a shrew in his mouth. The wind carried the intruder's scent towards Sweettooth and he recognized the strong scent of catmint. He immediately knew this wasn't a RiverClan cat, it was an intruder. Sweettooth moved aside to where he can hide close to a nearby heather bush.

When the Intruder got close enough, Sweettooth lunged out of his hiding place, alerting the trespasser. The intruder instinctively reared up in defense but Sweettooth fought enough battles and play-fights to know this would happen, so when the opportunity presented itself, Sweettooth used the unsheathed claws of his forepaws to rake through his opponent, from his thin belly all the way up to his throat. The muddy catmint scented tom fell limply onto his back, and Sweettooth realized he had killed him.

I didn't mean to kill him! I only meant to give him a scratch!

Looking at the shrew that lay near the intruder's mouth, Sweettooth decided to bury it and follow the trail reeking of the sweet catmint scent, heading in the direction the cat was walking to.

Along the trail Sweettooth noticed traces of ThunderClan scent but they were weak, probably stale. Where the rich scent of catmint strengthened, Sweettooth noticed the ground was uneven. Sweettooth began to dig, uncovering a mouse and another shrew. Carrying the new pieces of prey back to the dead cat, and picking up the buried shrew from there as well, Sweettooth headed to where the rest of his prey was buried.

Uncovering all the fresh-kill he gathered and laying them side-by-side, Sweettooth noticed how poor his hunt was. He had caught three scrawny mice, two thin shrews, and one of the smallest voles he ever saw. None of these pieces can feed a cat, let alone six of them feeding an entire clan! They're not even as tasty as fish!.

At his last thought Sweettooth remembered his earlier idea, of stuffing the prey with herbs to change their tastes. But herbs won't fill bellies, I need something else. Glancing around, his gaze fell on the unmoving form of the cat he had killed before. I know what I must do now.

Sweettooth carried his fresh-kill over to where the mud covered corpse was lain, near the heather bush. Sweettooth unsheathed his claws and ran them delicately along the cat's flank in long straight lines, cutting more straight lines across them afterwards, marking different pieces he'll take from the cat's flesh. Carving out some of the shapes he made, Sweettooth took them over to the first mouse.

Sweettooth put one piece in the mouse's mouth and began moving its jaws in a chewing motion. When it was chewed well enough, Sweettooth used one claw to shove the mash into the mouse's stomach, while using his other forepaw to massage the mouse's throat, like he's seen Willowshine do to force herbs down unconscious patients' throats. Sweettooth put another piece of cat meat in the mouse's mouth and repeated the process, while chewing some of the pieces himself.

When the mouse looked plump enough, Sweettooth repeated the operation on the second mouse and on the vole. After finishing with them, Sweettooth moved over to the first shrew. As he began to stuff it in a similar fashion, Sweettooth noticed a hole in the shrew's throat leaking out some of the meat Sweettooth put in. Sweettooth took a wad of cobwebs from underneath the Heather bush, and plastered it onto the hole in the shrew's throat, stopping the leakage. The rest of his procedure went on without incidents and he was left with six very plump pieces of prey.

After burying the limp shape of a cat with its non-bloody flank facing upwards, That way foxes would be less likely to detect it, we don't want foxes eating the dead body, Sweettooth remembered his first idea and picked some strands of heather from the bush beside him.

Knowing its nectar is used to sweeten herb mixtures, Sweettooth figured it would give the land prey a more fishy taste. After crushing and chewing the heather flowers to secrete their nectar, Sweettooth poured it into the prey's mouth, one-by-one, and rubbed the leftover juice onto the prey's pelt, giving it a more oily, fish-like feel. Using the strong heather stems, Sweettooth tied the prey's jaws shut, in order to keep in the nectar and picked up all six pieces by their tail.

Carrying the plump prey all the way back to camp has been tough after a long day when Sweettooth still hadn't got the chance to eat. As he was reaching the camp, the sun began to set and thick rain clouds were quickly forming behind him. Poor Willowshine, it's going to rain for her on the way to the Moonpool. When Sweettooth finally entered camp after what seemed like moons, he was greeted by many surprised faces of his clanmates. As he headed for the fresh kill pile, his clan deputy, Leafpool, came to greet him along with their leader Reedstar.

"Wow, Sweettooth," The white she-cat meowed in excitement. "I knew you were a great land-hunter but how did you manage to find such plump prey?"

"If fook me a lof of fime fo hef all of fhih." Sweettooth answered through a mouth full of tails. He dropped his prey on the pile and continued. "Thanks for the compliment, Leafpool." He meowed while Leafpool's expression turned to disappointment, Why is she disappointed? I've brought back a lot of prey. "And I want to report something, when I hunted near the WindClan border, I caught a stale scent of ThunderClan."

"You've done a great job Sweettooth," His clan leader praised him, seeming different somehow. He lost that life from earlier, he only has two left. "Take yourself something to eat, we shall have a clan feast today."

Sweettooth felt a rush of pride for how his achievements have granted a clan feast, though he didn't want to take anything yet. Sweettooth padded over to the apprentice's den where he saw Shellpaw and her sister Mudpuddle sharing tongues. "Shellpaw," Sweettooth called out to the beautiful silver tabby. "Did you see what I brought in for the fresh-kill pile? Reedstar said we would be having a clan feast!"

"That's wonderful Sweettooth!" Shellpaw meowed with her soothing voice. "Mudpaw," Oh right, that's her name! Sweettooth thought as Shellpaw called to her sister. "Let's go to the fresh-kill pile and see what Sweettooth caught!" Shellpaw meowed excitedly as she reached Sweettooth and ran her tail across his flank, signaling him to come with her as well.

When they reached the quickly emptying fresh-kill pile, Shellpaw took a mouse from the top and sat down together with Mudpaw and Sweettooth to share it. As they finished their tasty mouse, Reedstar stood up.

"Most of you are already here but this is important." The RiverClan leader yowled. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a clan meeting!"

At his words, the cats huddled closer to the center of the clearing where their leader stood from where they were feasting. Sweettooth looked around and noticed Willowshine was missing. She must have left before I came back. I wonder what this is all about.

"Mudpaw, Shellpaw," Reedstar called the apprentices' names, beckoning them with his tail. "Come here, It's time. Gorseclaw, Jayclaw," The elderly leader searched for the mentors across the crowd while the two apprentices were marching towards him, exchanging excited glances. "Have your apprentices, Mudpaw and Shellpaw, learned the skills necessary to become a RiverClan warrior and understood the importance of the warrior code?"

"Mudpaw is ready to become a warrior." Gorseclaw, Sweettooth's father, reassured the clan leader.

"So is Shellpaw" Jayclaw added.

Reedstar nodded and continued the ceremony. "I, Reedstar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I command them to you, as warriors in their turn." The leader meowed sternly, lowering his gaze to look at Mudpaw. "Mudpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your own life?"

"I do." Mudpaw answered without much hesitation.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I grant you your warrior name. Mudpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Mudstripe. StarClan honors your courage and your honesty, and welcomes you as a full warrior of RiverClan". Reedstar rested his muzzle on Mudstripe's head and Mudstripe promptly licked his shoulder.

"Mudstripe! Mudstripe!" Sweettooth heard the entire clearing, him included, cheering for Shellpaw's sister.

As the yowling calmed down, Reedstar began to meow again, his gaze aimed directly at Shellpaw. "Shellpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your own life?"

"I do." Shellpaw meowed in the calm, pretty voice she always had.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I grant you your warrior name. Shellpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Shelldawn. StarClan honors your spirit and your warmth, and welcomes you as a full warrior of RiverClan". Reedstar rested his muzzle on Shelldawn's head and Shelldawn, clearly knowing what to do, licked the leader's shoulder.

Shelldawn, what a beautiful name. I will remember that name for as long as I am.