I put up this chapter again because (The horror!) I left in a (he/she) thing. Eep!
Limping out of her den, Icestar gazed at her suffering clan. The attack had only killed Rabbitfoot, but countless others were injured. Fawnpelt needed a helper, and Blazeheart was doing her best to collect herbs and berries, but she often found the wrong ones.
She dragged herself to Large Stone, looking up at Silverpelt and the moon. It had been one day since the attack, and they had brought the dead rouges to the outside of camp today. Only a few were unhurt: Sunfang, Paleflower, Blackwing, and Venomfang had gotten away wish only scratches, nicks, and bruises, others hadn't been so lucky, in her case, she broke a long bone, but could still walk.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Large Stone for a Clan meeting!" she yowled. Various cats dragged themselves outside, bewildered by Icestar's call.
"We have prevailed through the rouge fight, hurt, battled, and in Rabbitfoot's case, dead. There is one ceremony I must do in light of the deaths. Snowbird, step forward." Snowbird's eyes were vacant, and she padded to Large Stone. "Spirits of StarClan, you know every cat by name. I ask you to take away the name from the cat you see before you, for it no longer stands for what she is. By my authority as Clan leader, and with the approval of our warrior ancestors, I give this cat a new name. From this moment she will be known as Duskheart, for she has lost everything, and the time for her heart to thrive is over." Icestar rested her muzzle on Duskheart's head, and the warrior licked her leader's shoulder respectfully.
The new Duskheart walked down to the others, surprised and happy, and various warriors congratulated her on her new name, and comforted her.
"I have been in the nursery for so long, we need to make some new Warriors." Foxpaw and Bushpaw looked at each other, happy and excited. They would finally be made warriors! "Foxpaw, step forward. I Icestar, leader of ScarClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Foxpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" she asked, joy prickling at her eyes.
"I do!" replied Foxpaw.
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Foxpaw, from this moment you will be known as Foxtail. StarClan honors your courage and your spirit, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ScarClan." Resting her muzzle on Foxtail's head, Foxtail licked Icestar's shoulder and ran to sit by the warriors.
"Bushpaw, step forward." Bushpaw did, and she trembled and walked to Large Stone. "I Icestar, leader of ScarClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Bushpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do!" she replied firmly.
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Bushpaw, from this moment you will be known as Bushpelt. StarClan honors your courage and your enthusiasm, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ScarClan." Icestar placed her muzzle on Bushpelt's head, and the new warrior licked her leader's shoulder. When she was about to pull away, Icestar whispered, "Your brother would have wanted to be here."
"Two other apprentices need to be made warriors. They fought well in this battle, risking their lives for others. Wolfpaw and Shadowpaw, step forward." The two trembling apprentices did so, smiling. "Wolfpaw!" Icestar commanded. "I Icestar, leader of ScarClan, 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 commend himto you as a warrior in his turn. Wolfpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
Wolfpaw stated, "I do."
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Wolfpaw, from this moment you will be known as Wolftooth. StarClan honors your courage and your strength and we welcome you as a full warrior of ScarClan." Wolfpaw licked Icestar's shoulder after she rested her muzzle on him.
"Shadowpaw, step forward. I Icestar, leader of ScarClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Shadowpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do," Shadowpaw bounced in place.
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Shadowpaw, from this moment you will be known as Shadowfeather. StarClan honors your courage and your spunk, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ScarClan." Shadowfeather's eyes glinted with joy, and she licked Icestar's shoulder after the leader rested her muzzle on the warrior's head.
"Shadowfeather! Wolftooth! Bushpelt! Foxtail! Shadowfeather! Wolftooth! Bushpelt! Foxtail!" The clan chanted. The new warriors basked in the glow of their hard-earned work, joyous and happy.
"Now, it seems, we don't have any apprentices, though we have quite a few kits who are six moons old. Rosekit, step forward." The kit scrambled to her leader, bewildered, but content. "From this day forward, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be called Rosepaw.
"Blazeheart, you are a wise and young warrior. Your strength and determination has helped us many times. May you pass down your skills to this young apprentice." Blazeheart touched noses with Rosepaw, and they went back to sit with their clan.
"Frostkit, step forward. From this day forward, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be called Frostpaw.
"Sunfang, you have proved yourself in this battle. You have great strength and are ready for your first apprentice. May you pass down your skills to this young apprentice." Sunfang and Frostpaw touched noses.
Icestar called up another kit. "Tigerkit, step forward. From this day forward, until he/ has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be called Tigerpaw.
"Lionclaw, you are a wise and skillful warrior. I trust you and you are ready for another apprentice. May you pass down your skills to this young apprentice." Touching noses, Lionclaw and Tigerkit smiled and left to join their friends.
"Goldenkit wishes to take a different path. Instead of becoming a warrior, she wishes to be a medicine cat. From this day forward, until she has earned her medicine cat name, this apprentice will be called Goldenpaw.
" Fawnpelt, you have been asking for a helper. You are kind and gentle. May you pass down all your skills to this young apprentice." Goldenpaw and her new mentor touched noses and walked down Large Stone.
Stillkit looked up, waiting to be called upon. He knew he would be. Calling him, Icestar asked, "Stillkit, do you truly wish to become an apprentice right now? You have just recovered from Greencough, and you are still weak. Are you ready for the training and work to become a warrior? You can wait, it's okay."
Stillkit looked at his leader, before nodding and squeaking a, "Yes!"
"Very well. From this day forward, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be called Stillpaw.
"Mooncloud, you are gentle and patient. You will help Stillpaw well and take your time. May you pass down your skills to this young apprentice." Mooncloud gently touched noses with the vibrant apprentice.
"We still have more apprentices to dish out. Snowkit, come here. From this day forward, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be called Snowpaw.
"Paleflower, you haven't had an apprentice for a while. I know you will train Snowpaw well in the ways of fighting, but teach him how to stop, too. Teach him your skills and forethought." Paleflower and Snowpaw touched noses. They seemed like such a different pair, but they would soon be friends.
"Sweetkit! Come here. From this day forward, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be called Sweetpaw.
"Shadowfeather, you may be young, but you are wise. You are vibrant and skillful. Pass down your skills to this young apprentice, train her well." Shadowfeather and Sweetkit touched noses.
"Thunderkit, step forward, please. From this day forward, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be called Thunderpaw.
"Blackwing, you are strong and ready for another apprentice. You did a wonderful job with Wolftooth. May you pass down your skills to this young apprentice." Blackwing and Thunderpaw touched noses, though they did it quickly, and no one noticed their similarities.
"And one last kit. Lightningkit, step forward. From this day forward, until she has earned (his/her) warrior name, this apprentice will be called Lightningpaw.
"I will mentor Lightningpaw. That is all. The new warriors must sit silent vigil tonight, and anyone may share tongues with Rabbitfoot tonight."
"Lightningpaw! Thunderpaw! Sweetpaw! Snowpaw! Stillpaw! Tigerpaw! Goldenpaw! Frostpaw! Rosepaw!" the clan chanted. The new apprentices padded to the apprentices' den, and the warriors went to their den.
There. I have a bit of writer's block, so I'm having a chatroom with all the kitties!
Aneis