Disclaimer – I don't own Warriors.
Echostar tried his best to look strong as he entered the main part of the camp. He refused to allow his Clan to know that he was exhausted from his ceremony. The moment his scent was carried through the willows by the wind, all eyes turned to him.
"Echostorm-er... Echostar!" Mistpelt bounded towards him and Forestgaze. "How do you feel?"
"Fine, thanks," he rasped.
"How was the ceremony?" Minnowpaw, who had followed Mistpelt over, asked.
Before Echostar could reply, Forestgaze mewed, "He is not allowed to speak of the ceremony."
I'm not? he thought in sight dismay.
"Do you think that the StarClan cats and Bramblestar are going to come back?" Amberpaw meowed.
Echostar shook his head. "No. They're not." To his surprise, the tabby looked dissapointed.
As if to break the silence, Mistpelt said, "We've already established where the dens are. Yours is over there." She pointed to a hollowed out willow tree similar to Forestgaze's, except the hole was more than halfway up the tree. Just outside of the hollow was a large single tree limb. Perfect for addressing the Clan on, he thought.
He jumped slightly when Crookedtail asked, "Did you think of a name for our Clan yet?"
A sudden thought made him say, "Actually, I was thinking that all the cats that were chosen by StarClan could all agree on a name."
The tom nodded. "Very well."
Echostar quickly dismissed all the cats from the group except Amberpaw, Gingerpaw, Tallpaw, Birdpaw, and Speckledpaw. "Any ideas?"
"We could name the Clan after TreeClan," Amberpaw suggested.
Gingerpaw lept to her paws. "Absolutely not! No matter what, I am from LakeClan and refuse to be called a TreeClan cat of all things." This earned her a glare from Amberpaw.
Echostar rolled his eyes. "Very well, Gingerpaw."
After a few moments of silence, Speckledpaw yowled, "You all are completely mouse-brained! Think about it! Willow trees surround our camp. We might as well call it WillowClan!"
The leader purred. "Speckledpaw, that's brilliant."
"It is? Uh...I mean, thanks."
"Do we all agree on WillowClan?" Birdpaw mewed.
Tallpaw nodded, Speckledpaw muttered a "duh", Amberpaw twitched her tail, clearly agitated, but murmered her agreement, and Gingerpaw said, "Of course!".
"Good," Echostar stood. "I'll announce it to the others." On the Skybranch, he silently added.
"Let all cats gather together under the Skybranch for a Clan meeting!" he yowled after scrambling up the tree. He was ready to tell the newly founded WillowClan what they would be addressed as and then go to sleep, but there was a few more things he had to do.
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Birdpaw sat close to Tallpaw as they both looked up at their new leader. "Looks like this is it," she whispered.
"Yeah," he agreed. "We're home."
"After speaking with the other chosen cats, we have come to a decision on what to call our Clan," Echostar meow rang through the camp.
"More like I came to a decision," Speckledpaw, who was nearby, muttered.
The black-pawed tom held his head higher before saying, "We will be called WillowClan."
Quiets mews of agreement came from all of the other cats. Birdpaw pricked her ears when she realized she didn't hear Firestorm. "Is Firestorm here?" she asked Tallpaw.
She felt a small whoosh of air as he spun his head around looking for the queen. "I see her," he reported. "She doesn't look too happy, though."
"I don't blame her. She lost one of her kits."
"...All the apprentices come forward," Echostar's voice came back in louder and sparked the blue-gray she-cat's excitement. We must be having our warriors ceremonies! she thought and followed Tallpaw, sitting beside him once again when they stopped.
Birdpaw heard a soft thump as Echostar landed in front of the seven. He soon repeated the ancient words. "I, Echostar, leader of WillowClan, 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 commend them to you as a warrior in their turn."
The cat's paws were tingling with excitement and she heard Tallpaw's ragged, anxious, breaths.
"Amberpaw, Birdpaw, Gingerpaw, Speckledpaw, Minnowpaw, Blackpaw, and Tallpaw," each apprentice held their heads high at the mention of their name. "Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of you life?"
"I do," Amberpaw and Gingerpaw said at the same time.
Once everyone else had replied, Birdpaw held her head up and meowed loudly, "I do."
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. From this moment on, you all shall be known as Amberstorm, Birdsong, Gingerfur, Speckledpelt, Minnowstream, Blacktail, and Tallwhisker." StarClan honors you all for your bravery and loyalty and we welcome you as a full warrior of WillowClan."
Birdsong quickly waited her turn before approaching Echostar, who rested his muzzle on her head. She quickly licked his shoulder and back away.
"Birdsong! Tallwhisker! Amberstorm! Gingerfur! Speckledpelt! Minnowstream! Blacktail!" the others chorused. Birdsong swelled with pride. Finally! I made it! I'm a warrior!
When the noise had died down, Echostar spoke once again: "And now, seeing as it's moonhigh, it's time for me to name WillowClan's first deputy. I say these words before StarClan so that the spirits of our ancestors may see and approve my choice. Crookedtail will be the deputy."
"Thank you, Echostar," Birdsong heard her old mentor rasp. "I will give WillowClan my all as deputy, just as I did in MeadowClan as a warrior."
"I'm glad," the tom replied after more chanting died down. He added with a pur: "You all are dismissed. I'm positive the Clan will be protected tonight, seeing how many new warriors are holding their vigils. Remember, you all. You mustn't speak."
Birdsong quickly ran over to congratulate her mentor, but Echostar's words echoed through her head. You mustn't speak. Instead of verbally telling the tom how she felt, she pressed against his warm fur and then quickly went over to join her new Clan mates.
You have made it, a voice the warrior recognized as Bluestar's whispered through the trees. You have done what no one thought was possible. And for that, I hold you in the highest esteem. Until we meet again.
A/N: And now they're all warriors! Hope the names are alright. Tallwhisker's had to be the hardest.