"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" the usual summon drifted into the Warrior's den. When it reached Silvershine's ear, her ear twitched, as if trying to shoo away the disturbance to her sleep.
Her jaws stretched wide in a massive yawn, almost against her will. She got up and arched her back in a lazy stretch before slowly her eyes and looked to the den entrance. Warm sunlight was streaming into the den making Silvershine gasp.
"Is it sunhigh already?!" she cried. "I slept until sunhigh?! Why did no one wake me?! What about hunting patrols?!" She looked frantically around the den, but all the nests were empty. All the other cats had left already. With a snort of displeasure, Silvershine padded out of the den, wincing against the sun's bright rays. She shivered as she crossed the clearing; a cold wind was blowing over the moor.
"What's going on?" she sat beside Canyonleaf, wrapping her tail around her paws. "Why didn't anyone wake me sooner?"
"There was no reason to," Canyonleaf replied.
"Amberpelt hasn't allowed any hunting patrols to go out," Adderfang huffed. "Everyone's been confined to camp."
"Except the dawn patrol," Canyonleaf pointed out, "they just got back. Stormstar must've wanted everyone to be here for this."
"Wonder what this could be about," Silvershine muttered, although an aching pain in her heart told her it must be about the terrible events of the night before.
"I have heard quite a lot of talk around camp this morning about the battle last night," Stormstar began, "it did us good to teach a lesson to those who needed it. But don't get carried away. We are not at war with ThunderClan, at least I don't want to be. Hopefully this has taught them that they do not have a right to do as they please. I do not want any squabbles on the border unless someone has crossed them. That being said, I must know one thing. Be honest with this, if I hear different from Mudstar at the gathering, you'll all be pelt-less for Leafbare. Were any cats killed?"
"They shoulda been," Adderfang muttered, but other than that and a few other mumblings, no one spoke up.
"Good," Stormstar nodded approvingly.
"Why is he concerned with them?" Canyonleaf asked, almost sounding like her brother with the scorn in her meow.
"Sounds like he thinks there should be a really good reason to kill another cat," Silvershine said. "Something bigger than border skirmishes and stolen prey." That's why he wanted to be sure no one was missing from camp.
"Now that that's settled," Stormstar went on, "I have good news, after that battle, one of our apprentices has proved she has waited long enough to be a warrior."
Silvershine's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. Icepaw?! No! Not Icepaw! She can't be a warrior! We can't share the same den again! Things have just started to get better! I can't go back to the way it was! Not now, not ever!
"Blackpaw," Stormstar said before climbing down from the highrock to meet the black she-cat as she approached the base.
Silvershine exhaled so loudly, Canyonleaf looked at her strangely. Her ears hot with embarrassment, Silvershine hunched low, but Canyonleaf's brother hadn't heard.
"I, Stormstar, leader of WindClan call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice," Stormstar began the ceremony. "She has trained hard to learn the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as warriors in her turn. Blackpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do," Blackpaw nodded solemnly.
"Then by the power of StarClan, I give you your warrior name," Stormstar continued, "Blackpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Blackflower. StarClan acknowledges your loyalty and we welcome you as a warrior of WindClan." He rested his nose on Blackflower's head and Blackflower licked his shoulder.
"Blackflower! Blackflower!" the cats all cheered, gathering around to congratulate her, assuming that this was the end of the meeting.
Silvershine hung back, not wanting to remind the new warrior of her existence. Things had been uneventful between her and her enemies of the apprentice den. Without Icepaw always there, the effort to torment Silvershine fell apart. Silvershine hoped that Blackflower couldn't command the same respect as Icepaw and reassemble her clanmates against the rogue.
But I'm not a rogue, Silvershine thought, confidently. I'm half WindClan! It's in my blood! Everything they'd said before is a load of foxdung.
"Wow, a new warrior," the little mew beside Silvershine made her jump.
"Flavorkit!" Silvershine exclaimed, "where did you come from?"
"From my mommy," Flavorkit replied, "weren't you there?"
"That's not what I meant," Silvershine replied, dryly.
"There'll be another ceremony in two days!" Flavorkit exclaimed.
"Only two more days?!" Silvershine exclaimed. "Really?"
"Yep, the half moon," Flavorkit said. "We were born on a half moon and we'll be made apprentices on the half moon."
"Shame I won't get to mentor you," Blackflower's smug meow made Silvershine jump.
"Hi, Blackflower," Silvershine said, forcing her fur to lie flat. "C….co…congrat-"
"I don't need the praise of a rogue," Blackflower hissed.
"Didn't you get the message?" Silvershine spat back, "I'm at least half WindClan! I have a right to be here."
"You have about as much right to be here as the fresh-kill," Blackflower growled, "and that's cause you were dragged here by one of our warriors, just like they were!"
"I've more than earned my place in this Clan!" Silvershine snarled, her fur beginning to bristle.
"You've done nothing but cause trouble, and you know it's true!" Blackflower hissed.
Silvershine recoiled back, but still bristled. Does she know that battle was my fault too? Does she know about the last skirmish with ThunderClan being my fault? Does she really know what trouble I've caused?
Blackflower grinned smugly at Silvershine's lack of a reply.
"Saving my life wasn't trouble!" Flavorkit piped up.
"That's debatable," Blackflower growled, but the kit hadn't heard.
"I'll admit I've caused some problems," Silvershine said, "but to say I've done nothing but cause trouble it a bit extreme, extremely wrong!"
"Seems like Adderfang and Bitterclaw have abandoned our cause," Blackflower muttered, although she didn't seem to care if Silvershine heard or not.
Silvershine tilted her head in question, but refused to show interest in what her old enemy was talking about.
"Without anyone to keep on you, you've gotten a load of foxdung in that tiny rogue mind of yours," Blackflower went on.
Silvershine's claws shot out of the sheaths and tore into the ground, churning it in frustration. She drew her lips back in a furious snarl and her fur fluffed up to twice her size. She was so overcome with fury she couldn't even refute what Blackflower had said.
"And now you're going to try to fight me?" Blackflower said with mock surprise. "It's worse than I thought, you actually think you stand a chance against a real warrior."
"You've been a warrior for a whole of 10 heartbeats!" Silvershine spat. "I could rip you to shreds if I wanted to."
"I'd like to see you try," Blackflower taunted, narrowing her eyes. She did not even take up a defensive position, but simply sat there, tail wrapped around her paws. Her confidence made Silvershine fume all the more. "You'll get nowhere if your claws have dulled as much as your mind has."
Without even a second thought, Silvershine threw herself at the new warrior, claws outstretched to rake across Blackflower's muzzle. No sooner had she pounced that she felt herself crash to the ground with the weight of another cat on top of her. Claws pierced into her side as the apprentice sitting on her unsheathed her claws.
"You're slipping up, rogue," Icepaw hissed with a chilly venom in her tone that made Silvershine shudder.
"What's going on here?" Stormstar's voice made Silvershine jump and she looked around to see most of the Clan staring at her.
"Long story," Silvershine muttered. She coughed as Icepaw leapt off her, purposefully pushing down harder before her launch.
"I've got time," Stormstar sat down and wrapped his tail around his paws.
"Does it have to be here?" Silvershine got up and hunched her shoulders under the gaze of her Clanmates.
"Icepaw was only defending me," Blackflower said, "not that I couldn't take her."
"And why did you strike?" Stormstar asked Silvershine. His tone was scolding, but Silvershine was sure he knew she had been provoked.
"Blackflower was just being a mousebrain," Silvershine grumbled, her anger still seething. She heard Blackflower's annoyed growl, but ignored it.
"Would you care to be more specific?" Stormstar prompted.
"No," Silvershine replied simply. "I did overreact, and I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
"See that it doesn't," Stormstar said sternly. "That goes for all of you involved. You're all to blame, even you Icepaw."
"Yes, Stormstar," Icepaw said in such an agreeing tone that Silvershine blinked in shock. She almost sounded sincere, but Silvershine knew better.
"C'mon, we need to start training anyway," Frostfall said, stepping forward to stand behind Icepaw. "Sparrowheart, you said you were coming?"
"R…right!" Sparrowheart was suddenly at attention. "I'll go see if Dotpaw's ready."
With a heavy sigh, Silvershine padded off away from where the incident had happened. Somehow she didn't think getting out of it would be that easy.
"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Patchkit exclaimed, bounding to Silvershine's side with his littermates not far behind. "Real warrior instincts! You don't take that kind of foxdung from anyone!"
"Patchkit, I got in trouble," Silvershine said. "What I did was wrong."
"Was not," Patchkit said. "What you did was awesome! She disserved it anyway!"
"You heard what she said?" Silvershine asked. I wonder who else had heard? Maybe Icepaw and Blackflower will be busted before they start.
"Flavorkit told us," Sunkit said. "At least she said Blackflower was being mean. She didn't say exactly what she said."
"Well still, you can't claw the face off of anyone who says mean things," Silvershine scolded.
"Yea, that's what rogues do," Icepaw sneered as she walked past.
"I'm not a rogue," Silvershine snapped. "I have WindClan blood!"
"Only some," Icepaw said. "What's the rest?"
"RiverClan," Silvershine muttered, but wasn't so sure she wanted to speak it aloud. How would she explain knowing that anyway? Icepaw wouldn't believe her mother had actually spoken to her.
"I don't get what's so special about being Clanborn," Patchkit said.
"Me neither," Silvershine said, "but apparently it's important to WindClan."
"Well when I'm leader, that'll be the first thing to go," Patchkit said.
"Isn't it a little soon to be thinking about being leader?" Silvershine asked.
"It's never too soon!" Patchkit said. "Besides, Stormstar has so many lives, by the time he loses his last, I'll be deputy."
"I don't think he'll live that long," Sunkit said.
"You saying I won't become deputy?!" Patchkit snarled.
"For you to be deputy, Amberpelt would have to die," Flavorkit said.
"And nobody wants that," Silvershine said.
"Oh yea…." Patchkit was suddenly dejected.
"Silvershine!" Echobound called, coming over to join them with Orangepaw close behind, "wanna go on a hunting patrol? Redeye's leading one and asked me to ask you."
"Sure, I need to get out of camp," Silvershine said, "it's past Sunhigh and I haven't done anything."
"I know, right?" Echobound said. "I feel so useless, I've gotta do something."
"I'll see you guys later," Silvershine said to the kits.
"Like at our apprentice ceremony!" Patchkit called as Silvershine turned to leave.
"You think Stormstar will let me mentor one of them?" Silvershine asked. "How did you get to mentor Orangepaw?"
"Well, Rainfall had an apprentice before me," Echobound pointed out, "Stormstar might have thought he owed me a chance to be a mentor. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll make a great mentor. And all the kits like you. Stormstar would be mousebrained to not pick you."
"Yea, you're right," Silvershine said.