Silence gripped the camp. Forestpaw stared at Gorgestar's patrol in disbelief.
How could they alone have defeated ThunderClan?
Mossbranch was the first one to bound up to Gorgestar. "Really?" he asked, his voice eager like a kit.
"Of course," Gorgestar mewed, "We wouldn't come back if we hadn't." He twitched his ears.
"Tomorrow at dawn, the apprentices will train together while Galeblossom, Icepad, and Whispertail will take the dawn patrol," Echowing announced, "In the meantime, I want everyone to get some sleep. And I mean everyone." The ShadowClan deputy glanced at Gorgestar.
As everyone disappeared into their respective dens, Umberpaw and Windpaw caught up to Forestpaw.
"I'm sorry we couldn't hunt today," Windpaw meowed, "But do you want to train together at dawn?"
Forestpaw blinked. She slowly nodded and ducked into the apprentice den with Nightpaw following her.
As she settled into her nest, Forestpaw shivered. She closed her eyes, fluffing out her fur as a cool breeze buffeted the den.
Will ThunderClan attack again?
xxx
Forestpaw woke as an owl screeched. She opened her eyes, blinking as shafts of the early dawn sunlight hit her eyes.
Most of the apprentices were still asleep, although Toadpaw and Kestrelpaw's nest were empty. Their scent was still somewhat fresh.
Forestpaw stretched, careful not to wake Nightpaw as she stood up and arched her back. Opening her jaws in a big yawn, Forestpaw padded out of the den to see Galeblossom, Icepad, and Whispertail preparing to leave for the dawn patrol.
Mothbrook and Juniperlight appeared out of the warriors' den, chatting quietly, with Firebird behind them. Forestpaw bounded toward her mother.
"Hello," Firebird licked her daughter's face, "How are you today?"
"Good," Forestpaw whispered, "Can you tell Mothbrook that I'm going hunting?"
"I could come with you, as long as we're back for the apprentice training that Echowing arranged," Firebird responded. She glanced at the fresh-kill pile. "Besides, the fresh-kill pile is getting low."
"Okay!" Forestpaw purred. She waited for Firebird to tell Mothbrook where they were going, then trotted toward the camp entrance. As soon as they left the camp, Forestpaw relaxed, soothed by the scent of pine trees and water. She pricked her ears and opened her mouth to taste the air, soon catching the muddy scent of a frog. She had grown to like the taste of frogs, despite what she had first thought of the chewy texture. Forestpaw immediately began to track the frog, making sure her steps were even and light. She glanced up at the slim trees, trying to spot one that was suitable for climbing; a few sunrises ago, Mothbrook had taught her how to hunt using higher grounds.
"First, you need to learn how to climb trees," Mothbrook had said, "Unsheathe your claws like this, then try to leap as far as you can onto the tree." Mothbrook had jumped up a short tree, and looked down at her apprentice. "Now, try to find a branch or a chink in the bark to use as a pawhold to pull yourself up." She had scanned the tree she had climbed, quickly reaching out with a front paw to a sturdy-looking branch and pushed herself up. Mothbrook sat on the tree branch, looking down at Forestpaw. "Now you try!"
Forestpaw easily clawed her way to the branch her mentor was sitting on, balancing as best she could.
After that, Mothbrook had shown Forestpaw how to spot prey, then leap on top of them. "This way, you will have the element of surprise," she had mewed, "But make sure you pick a very low branch, so you don't hurt yourself jumping down."
Now, Forestpaw glanced at Firebird, who nodded in encouragement and sat down. Forestpaw saw a tree that had wide, low-hanging branches.
Perfect, she thought. She scrambled up, sticking out her tail for balance. After she had steadied herself on the lowest branch she could find, she scanned the land for the source of the muddy scent. Finally, she spotted the small green shape a few tree-lengths in front of her, lounging in the sun.
Steeling herself, Forestpaw bunched up her hind leg muscles, and jumped. She landed a little too short, and the frog let out a startled croak and leaped into the pond next to it. Forestpaw hissed in frustration, scoring the ground with her unsheathed claws.
"You did really well!" Firebird purred, bounding up to her kit.
"Not really," Forestpaw muttered. She caught a glimpse of the frog resurfacing from the pond and glared at it.
"There will be plenty of more chances to catch some prey," Firebird reassured her. She glanced up at the sky, which was getting lighter with every heartbeat. "Shall we head back?"
"Yes," Forestpaw meowed, trying to keep her annoyance out of her mew. She began to pad back to the camp, and Firebird retrieved a small mouse she had caught.
By the time they got back, Nightpaw, Umberpaw, and Windpaw were all outside of the apprentice den, looking awake and ready for battle training. Nightpaw raced toward Forestpaw, his eyes wide.
"Finally!" he mewed, "Now we can start training!"
Turtlemist, Aspenthorn, Juniperlight, and Mothbrook all trotted toward them, an amused look on their faces.
How can they be so calm when ThunderClan could try to take our territory again? Forestpaw thought. She flicked her tail irritably.
"Let's go," Juniperlight meowed. She bounded toward the exit of the camp, with the other mentors and apprentices right behind her.
"Where are Toadpaw and Kestrelpaw?" Forestpaw asked Nightpaw quietly.
"Kestrelpaw is doing his final assessment, and I think Toadpaw wanted to train alone with Skyclaw," Nightpaw responded.
"Oh." Forestpaw hadn't realized that Kestrelpaw was so close to becoming a warrior. It wasn't like Forestpaw would miss him in the apprentice den, but it wouldn't feel right to sleep without one of her denmates.
Once all of the cats got to a clearing, Juniperlight stopped and turned to the apprentices. "I want some cats to come over here, so we can mock a fight between ThunderClan and ShadowClan," she ordered.
Umberpaw and Nightpaw crossed over to where the mentors were standing, while Windpaw and Forestpaw hesitated uncertainly.
"When one of us says 'go', I want you all to attack each other, but make sure your claws are sheathed," Turtlemist meowed. Forestpaw took a shuddering breath and tensed her muscles.
"Go!"
Not wanting to attack her litter-mate, Forestpaw leaped on top of Umberpaw, pinning her down. Umberpaw tried to rake Forespaw's belly, but Forestpaw quickly dodged out of the way, still managing to keep Umberpaw pinned down. She swiped her sheathed paw across Umberpaw's ears, but she was pulled off by Nightpaw. Letting Windpaw handle Umberpaw, Forestpaw raced out of her litter-mate's sight, and before he could turn to see where she had gone she clawed at his side. He leaped out of the way just in time for Forestpaw's paws to catch nothing but air.
All of the apprentices continued to fight each other until Juniperlight stepped in. "Alright, you can stop now," she announced. Forestpaw leaped away from Umberpaw and retreated back to where Windpaw stood.
"That went well, although we all can tell you need to work on your techniques," Mothbrook observed, "You all will train individually with your mentors until sunhigh, then we take a break to eat, and then you fight each other again. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Mothbrook," Nightpaw and Umberpaw chorused. Windpaw and Forestpaw dipped their heads in acknowledgement.
After all of the apprentices had trained with their mentors individually, they headed back to camp to eat. Before taking anything, Forestpaw grabbed a frog into her mouth and headed to Mossbranch, who was dozing in his den. Not wanting to wake him up, she dropped the frog near his nest, then hurried to catch up with Nightpaw.
"How was it?" he asked, biting into a lizard he found from the fresh-kill pile. Forestpaw picked up a plump mouse and sat next to him.
"Fine," she responded quietly, "Mothbrook taught me a lot. She showed me lots of moves."
"Juniperlight only focused on one move, but I'm really good at it now!" Nightpaw meowed.
As Forestpaw was finishing her last bite, Kestrelpaw raced into the camp, his eyes alight with excitement. Following him more slowly, Kestrelpaw's mentor, Creekwing, appeared as well with Toadpaw and Skyclaw behind him. Creekwing immediately disappeared into the leader's den, presumably to report to Gorgestar how much prey Kestrelpaw caught.
Anticipating a meeting, Forestpaw finished her morsel and passed her tongue over her lips. She sat up and faced the Pinebranch. Nightpaw quickly finished and joined Forestpaw.
Gorgestar and Creekwing appeared out of the leader's den shortly after, and Gorgestar leaped on top of the Pinebranch.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Pinebranch for a Clan meeting!" he yowled. Mossbranch poked his head out of his den, then, more slowly padded toward the Pinbranch. Vinewatcher and Firebird trotted over and sat next to Forestpaw and Nightpaw, while Icepad and Cloverfur sat by the edge of the gathering cats.
Once every cat had settled into a comfortable position, Gorgestar began. "Today, we welcome a new warrior into ShadowClan. Kestrelpaw, step forward."
Kestrelpaw stood up and walked toward the Pinebranch. Forestpaw could tell that he was holding in his excitement.
"Creekwing, has your apprentice, Kestrelpaw, learned the skills of a warrior? Does he understand the importance of the warrior code?" Gorgestar asked.
"He has," Creekwing responded, dipping his head.
Gorgestar nodded, shifting his gaze toward the sky. "I, Gorgestar, leader of ShadowClan, 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 him as a warrior in his turn." Gorgestar looked down at Kestrelpaw. "Kestrelpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
Kestrelpaw's eyes were lit with determination as he spoke. "I do."
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Kestrelpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Kestrelswoop. StarClan honors your leadership and tenacity, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan." Gorgestar leaped down from the Pinebranch and rested his muzzle on Kestrelswoop's head, and the new warrior licked Gorgestar's shoulder.
"Kestrelswoop! Kestrelswoop!" the Clan cheered. Forestpaw noticed that Cloverfur was cheering the loudest, and guessed she was Kestrelswoop's mother.
"As is tradition, you will sit a silent vigil tonight and guard the camp," Gorgestar meowed, "And I believe that is all. Meeting dismissed." Gorgestar dipped his head to his Clan and disappeared into his den.
The Clan surged forward to congratulate Kestrelswoop, and excited mews bounced off of the camp.
"Well done, Kestrelswoop!"
"Good job!"
"I knew you could do it!"
Forestpaw closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She hoped now that there would be more warriors, ShadowClan would have a better chance at defeating ThunderClan.