Chapter Ten


The four youngest apprentices surrounded Gorgepaw and Gullypaw in the cool afternoon as the siblings arrived back in camp from their assessments. Their mentors, Glenberry and Ravinefall, went to Thunderstar's den while the pair began shamelessly relishing in their momentary fame among their friends.

"I'm so jealous!" Redpaw whined.

"It's not fair!" Flamepaw grumbled with an underlying purr.

"What do you think your name will be?" Asterpaw queried.

"I guess we'll just have to see." Gorgepaw purred. Gullypaw flicked Flamepaw's flank with her tail tip.

"You'll be joining us soon enough." she told him comfortingly, although a hint of arrogance clung to her words.

"Pfft, I still have forever!" he protested. Gullypaw batted his ear playfully.

"The elders said it's going to snow tonight." Asterpaw commented, looking wearily at the sky. Gorgepaw scoffed at her.

"What do they know?" he replied. The ginger and white apprentice sniffed deftly at him.

"More than you." Redpaw purred. Her sister licked her ear appreciatively.

"All cats of ValleyClan join beneath the Elm tree for a Clan meeting!" The sudden call made all six cats jump. Gorgepaw immediately made his way to the middle of the clearing. Gullypaw passed a warm, excited glance to all of them before following her brother. Duskpaw, Flamepaw, Asterpaw, and Redpaw also exchanged glances before making a line towards the assembling cats. Redpaw settled at the front of the cats, a fox-length away from the soon-to-be warriors. Asterpaw sat on one side of her and Flamepaw sat on the other. Duskpaw sat a few pawsteps away from them all.

A commotion sprung up behind them and most of the cats in the clearing turned to look. Four big, bouncing kits dashed from the nursery. The pretty mottled tabby Brindleflame followed close behind.

"Wait right there!" she commanded, and her kits slowed to a halt halfway across the clearing. Just behind the queen, Greenpath stepped out. Three small kits surrounded her legs. It was hard for Asterpaw to see them as Greenpath's siblings rather than her kits. But it was clear by her broad flanks that she was yet to have her kits.

"Why did I have to get up for this?" one of the little kits squeaked in complaint. It was the little dark tabby, Talonkit. He was already showing himself to be a pain in the tail.

"You should be excited! Someday it'll be us up there!" his sister peeped, her fuzzy tail waving in the air. They began to scuffle as Greenpath and Mistykit chose a spot in the clearing.

"Get over here." the gray tabby meowed in a sweet tone. Asterpaw didn't know how she had such patience for the stubborn kits. Freezekit spun skillfully out of her brother's clumsy grip and ran towards her older sister. Talonkit scrambled to his feet and followed.

No longer distracted, the cats turned back to the big tree towering above them. The leader sat patiently, awaiting their attention. He was in no hurry to silence his kin. Having all of their eyes, now, even the obnoxious kits, he stood on the low bough of the tree.

"Cats of ValleyClan, we are gathered today to introduce two fine young cats to our rank of warriors." he yowled. "Ravinefall. You are Gorgepaw's mentor. Is he ready to receive his warrior name?"

The dark tabby allowed a rare streak of pride to enter her voice as she responded, "Most definitely."

"Glenberry, you have mentored Gullypaw. Is she ready to receive the responsibilities of a warrior?"

"Of course she is." Unlike Ravinefall, she did nothing to disguise her feelings towards her apprentice. Thunderstar dipped his head and leaped from the Elm tree.

"Then I, Thunderstar, call upon my warriors ancestors to see these apprentices and give them your blessing to protect and defend their Clan with their lives." the leader took a breath, "Gorgepaw, do you promise to honor your ancestors, to follow the warrior code, and to care for your Clanmates weaker than you?"

For once, the bulky apprentice seemed humbled as he meowed, "I do."

"Gullypaw, do you promise to do the same?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Gorgepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Gorgeclaw. StarClan honors your strength and skill in battle. Gullypaw, from this moment you will be known as Gullydawn. Starclan honors your cleverness and stealth. We welcome you both as full warriors of ValleyClan." The leader bowed to the new warriors, his tail raised high. The siblings did the same as their clanmates began to cheer their names.

"Gorgeclaw! Gullydawn! Gorgeclaw! Gullydawn!" The chant rose in the voices of their friends and family. The cats pressed around them, purring congratulations. The mass of cats pushed Asterpaw back quickly, leaving her at the back. She wasn't upset though, purring as she watched her former den-mates. Suddenly she noticed that a few cats had already left. She noted two white cats as missing. She looked away from the majority of her clanmates. Two cats were headed towards the camp entrance: Strathfang and Calla spring. Something about the way the black tom stuck close to her side, his ears twitching, made him seem uneasy. Near the apprentices' den, Duckwing and Duskpaw sat side by side, talking. Asterpaw was just glad they could talk, again. She was afraid they had had a falling out.

"I'm sooo ready to be a warrior!" Redpaw whined beside her. Asterpaw's whiskers twitched.

"Who isn't? Every kit is ready to be an apprentice, every apprentice is ready to be a warrior-"

"Every warrior is ready to be an elder." A voice interrupted. The young cats purred as Runningwillow passed on his way towards the warriors' den.

"See?" Asterpaw asked. Redpaw just shook her head, turning and walking away.

"Good luck with the snow tonight." she yowled over her shoulder to the two new warriors. Asterpaw rolled her eyes and followed her, slipping into their den.


A sudden chill ran up Asterpaw's spine and she woke up, shivering. A biting cold lay just outside of the den walls, and with two less bodies to warm the den, the freezing wind lashed its merciless claws at her back. She curled up tighter, pressing herself against Redpaw, but she knew the sun would be up soon enough, and so would she need to be.

"Do you think it snowed on them?" Redpaw purred in a groggy morning voice. Asterpaw returned the warm greeting. Reluctantly, she uncurled and sat up, her maw stretching wide in a yawn. Redpaw followed suit, then Flamepaw after her. Duskpaw was nowhere to be found in the den.

"Is Duskpaw an owl or am I a hedgehog?" Asterpaw queried.

"She may be." Redpaw replied temperately, as she bowed, stretching.

"I don't understand what could be so important that she misses sleep." Flamepaw remarked. Sleep still blurred his eyes.

"If she can keep up her apprentice duties and do all of that, I envy her." Asterpaw said. She pressed out of the den.

As the elders had said, the clearing was covered in a layer of white powdery stuff. This must be snow, Asterpaw thought, having never seen it before. She stretched out a paw and carefully prodded it testily. It was bitingly cold, and she jerked her leg back and away from it.

"I have to walk all Leaf-bare in this stuff?" she grumbled to herself. Redpaw head-buted her back leg.

"I wanna see! Move out of the way." she growled. Asterpaw obeyed, reluctantly hopping from paw to paw over the snow, alternating paws at the edge of the clearing. "Whoa." her sister whispered. Asterpaw's whiskers twitched in amusement, although she had reacted the same way just a moment ago. Behind Redpaw, Flamepaw came out of the den, staring blindly at the white drifts.

"Great StarClan, look at Gullyp-er, Gullystorm and Gorgeclaw." Redpaw crowed. The trio hopped across the clearing to the powdery pair. Snow piled around them against their sides. A thinner layer dusted their fur, which they shook off best they could when the apprentices approached. A similar grimace masked their faces, and since they couldn't talk they sat there that way. "It must have been terrible to stay awake out here, in the cold. It was lovely warm in the den last night."

"It'll be twice as warm in the warriors' den for them, then." Thunderstar called across the clearing. He strode across, mindless of the snow, and touched his nose to both new warriors' ear. "Your vigil is over, you can rest, now."

"Th-thank you, Thunderstar." Gullystorm dipped her head, her teeth chattering. Gorgeclaw just dipped his head and they left for their new den.

As they entered, most of the warriors exited. Duskpaw and Duckwing snuck through the camp entrance. Duskpaw sat beside Asterpaw, blinking sleep from her eyes. Strathfang, Rivertail, and Callaspring left the medicine den. The black tom approached his brother and the apprentices.

"You know she can sleep in the warriors' den, now." Thunderstar murmured into his brother's ear. The shredded flesh twitched but otherwise, he ignored him.

"Redpaw, Asterpaw, and Duskpaw. Can you three check the elders for ticks and fleas? With the three of you, you can get it done in no time." the medicine cat meowed. Just then, Duskpaw's mentor, Elderpelt, walked by.

"I need Duskpaw for a hunting patrol this morning." He said in his gravely, uninterested voice. Asterpaw yawned. Just hearing him made her sleepy, again.

"Can't it wait?" Duckwing interjected, stopping on his way to the fresh-kill pile (not that you could actually see it under the snow). The older tom scowled at him.

"Just because you moon over my apprentice-"

"Elderpelt!" Thunderstar growled, stepping between the two. The surrounding cats seemed surprised he showed any authority against the older, likely wiser tom. "If you need to go on this patrol so badly, now, you can take Duckwing with you. More cats catch more prey." The tabby stared for a long moment at Thunderstar through slitted eyes. He said nothing, but flicked his tail, signalling the two to follow. They left the camp silently.

"Right." Strathfang said mutedly. "Flamepaw, you can help Asterpaw and Redpaw, then. Follow me, I have mouse bile in my den."


The apprentices had completed their task and left the elders' den when Ravinefall had asked them to hunt for the old cats. With the sudden cold and snowfall, most of the prey were hidden deep in their dens, and it took them nearly the rest of the day to find enough to satisfy the three cats' hunger.

"You'll never defeat me! I am the leader of RayClan!" As they entered the camp, they saw a familiar bunch of kits playing in the clearing. A small spot had been cleared of snow near the nursery for them to play. Creakkit, Ravenkit, Mistykit, and Freezekit were on one side and Talonkit, Stonekit, and Amberkit were on the other. Creakkit had been the one to call out.

"What's RayClan?" Redpaw asked, padding up to the assembly of kits. Creakkit turned to her, a wild light in his eyes, his fluffy fur sticking up everywhere.

"It's a Clan we made up! Everybody was sick of playing rogues and Clan cats and nobody wanted to be a dirty rogue, anyway, so we made up a rival Clan! Pretty cool right?" he purred. Redpaw purred back.

"Very clever." she meowed. Just then, Greenpath pressed through the Nursery entrance.

"Brrrrr!" her entire plump body shuttered with the chill. "It's much too cold. You kits will freeze if you stay out much longer. Come on-don't pout, Freezekit, I can see you shiver from here." With plaintive mews, the crowd of little cats filed into the nursery.

"It's much too crowded in here, now!" Creakkit complained loudly as he went. "And there's nothing to do."

Asterpaw glanced at Redpaw and she knew they had the same idea. Asterpaw stepped toward the barrier wall of the camp, grabbing some burrs carefully in her teeth from its assortment of plants. Redpaw stepped into the nursery, followed by Asterpaw, and finally Flamepaw. Inside, Brindleflame's kits scuffled all about the nursery, while Greenpath's young siblings sheltered in the safety of her body. The four restless little toms bounced from one wall to the other haphazardly. Occassionally, the expecting tabby queen batted irritatedly at them as they came to close for her liking.

"Hey, kits!" Redpaw meowed. Their attention shot momentarily at the ginger she-cat. "We've a game for you. We used to play it when we couldn't go outside." On that cue, Asterpaw reached up on her hind legs and began catching the burrs to the elder bush's branches. Flamepaw started to explain the game.

"Its really easy. Whoever can get the highest burr wins." He said. The bored kits seemed interested enough, and Creakkit bounded a short distance before leaping upwards, snagging a burr midway up the wall.

"It's harder than it looks!" He puffed, his small chest swelling as his breathing quickened. He batted the burr half-heartedly. "Someone else try!" Asterpaw's whiskers twitched and she took the burr back, hanging it somewhere new on the wall.