A/N: HI. Took me a whole week to finish this? Oh well...

You know, it was a whole week since I uploaded my last chapter, and how many reviews have I had since then? One. Oh wait, two. And yet many people have viewed it :(

Okay, enough about reviews.

Disclaimer: Seriously? Really? I have to go through this again? Oh, wait, I have to make up for last chapter. "I'm pretty sure everyone knows I don't own Warriors. And I don't. It belongs to Erin Hunter." There.

Chapter 5

Flamepaw opened his eyes slowly, not necessarily wanting to wake up. They hadn't exactly gotten home early from the Gathering the night before, and he was still tired. Even though it had been the middle of the night, Bramblestar had seemed to know that most cats would be up waiting for them to get back, so he had called a meeting. No cat had confessed crossing the WindClan border, but Squirrelflight had exchanged a glance with Jayfeather. At least, as much a glance as was possible—Jayfeather's sight hadn't changed.

As Flamepaw lay curled up in his nest, he suddenly remembered that he and Mosspaw would be traveling to the Moonpool that night. Suddenly excited, he jumped to his paws and stretched, yawning as he clawed the ground.

Jayfeather hadn't called him yet, so Flamepaw decided to grab a quick bite to eat. He padded over to the fresh-kill pile, selecting a vole. He sat right down where he was and paused a moment to savor the smell emanating off of it. Before he could take a bite though, Jayfeather trotted up.

"I'm going to the abandoned Twoleg nest, Flamepaw. Tell Bramblestar I went out collecting herbs, all right? Thanks." He turned and left before Flamepaw could protest or even ask to go with him.

Flamepaw stared after his mentor as he pushed his way through the thorn tunnel. Finally, after he'd been watching the entrance for a long time as he was expecting Jayfeather to come back, he leaned down and started to take his first bite of the vole. But once again, something interrupted him.

"Where's Jayfeather off to?"

Flamepaw growled under his breath, looking over his shoulder to see Blossomfall standing behind him, her tail held high and happily. Well she's certainly in a good mood, he thought, pushing away his anger and facing the she-cat.

"Jayfeather left to collect some herbs," he explained, glancing ruefully back at his vole. It looked so tantalizing, so—

"Shouldn't you be going with him?" Blossomfall asked, sounding like a stern mentor asking her apprentice if he ate the vole.

"I don't know. He just told me where he was going and left," Flamepaw meowed indignantly. Don't blame me! I would've gone if he'd asked, and now I just want to eat my vole!

Blossomfall rolled her eyes and sighed, looking back over at the thorn tunnel. "Well, when he gets back, tell him I'd like to be checked over, okay?"

"Sure!" Flamepaw purred in mock sincerity. "Mind telling me what you're getting checked for?" he meowed, trying not to sound impatient.

Blossomfall glared at him, wearing his patience down even more. "For kits," she meowed simply.

"Fine," Flamepaw sighed. He didn't bother asking her who the father was; frankly, he didn't care, and she probably wouldn't even tell him if he asked. So he turned back to his vole and finally was able to take a bite. Tastes like it was from yesterday, he thought to himself. Why didn't I pick a fresh one? Maybe because no cat has gone hunting yet. That's ridiculous! It's way past dawn!

Pushing away the toughness in the vole, he polished off half of it before a playful yowl distracted him. He was about to turn and see what was going on when he was bowled onto his side by a flash of blue and brown fur and pushed to the bottom of the fresh-kill pile. The little remnant of his vole had been trampled at the same time, leaving it basically uneatable. Bristling with rage, Flamepaw leaped to his paws to confront the cat that had ruined his meal.

On his paws, he saw Bluepaw and Birdpaw chasing Redpaw and Mosspaw teasingly in a large circle around the clearing. With a growl, he stalked over to the two she-cats, thoroughly ignoring his sister and the tom with her.

Planting himself directly in front of Bluepaw and Birdpaw, Flamepaw fixed them with a cold stare. "Do you have a reason for shoving me into the fresh-kill and destroying my meal?" he growled slowly.

Bluepaw tipped her head to one side, an amused expression written all over her face. "Aw, did we disturb your peaceful breakfast?" she purred, mocking him. The glint in her eyes was clearly daring him to take up her silent challenge. Flamepaw flexed his claws, not about to back down. He might be a medicine cat, but he knew battle skills as good as the next warrior, even though he'd never had any training. That was the only part of him that had warrior-likeness; the rest of him was fine with being a medicine cat—grateful, even.

Birdpaw moved up closer to her sister, a defiant look on her face. She was obviously expressing that if Flamepaw was going to fight, he'd be doing it against two cats, not one-on-one. Flamepaw rolled his eyes and arched his back, waiting for one of them to make the first move. No cat had bothered to teach him battle skills—since from the very time he had ever thought about it, he'd known he was destined to be a medicine cat—so he had made a few of his own. Now was the perfect time to test them out.

Mosspaw backed away, beckoning for Redpaw to follow her. Experience had taught her that Flamepaw could be close to dangerous when he was like this, and there was next to nothing that would stop him. A sudden burst of freezing water might make him stop, but it wasn't like any cat could control the weather.

"ThunderClan cats have bothered me for the last time today!" Flamepaw hissed, keeping his claws sheathed. Although he was yearning to wipe the smug look of both the she-cats' faces, he knew it would be a bad reputation to bear. "All I wanted was to eat my vole in peace, not be interrupted every time I try to take a bite," he continued, uncontrollable fury dripping out on his words. It was probably wrong to get so riled up about a frivolous thing like prey, but he couldn't control it. "And the last cats to bother me were you; you will both pay."

Bluepaw and Birdpaw glanced at each other, both hosting confused expressions. They were quickly replaced with defiant looks again, and they squared up for round one. Flamepaw bared his teeth confidently. One round should be enough to teach them a lesson.

Bluepaw arched her back, keeping her claws sheathed. They all knew the consequences of fighting with claws unsheathed in camp.

Signalling to Birdpaw with her tail, Bluepaw started circling around so she could get behind Flamepaw. Birdpaw stayed where she was, taunting Flamepaw with little scrapes and nips.

Flamepaw moved sideways so he was able to view both she-cats at the same time. Bluepaw tried moving around behind him again, but he whipped around and faced the two, now that they were side by side. Instead of waiting for one of them to pounce, he lunged at Bluepaw, butting her over with his head and instantly springing back. Bluepaw growled, trying to trip him as he leaped back, but she was too slow from the surprise of the attack.

Birdpaw advanced cautiously, padding forward slowly, all muscles on the alert in case Flamepaw struck out. At the last instant, she rushed forward, grappling Flamepaw and wrestling him to the ground. He yowled, shoving his back legs between the two of them and kicking as hard as he could. Even though his force had been quite strong, Birdpaw's grip was strong as well, and she barely released him. It gave him enough time to leap up once more, though.

Focusing once more on Bluepaw, who was back on her paws—all the while keeping an ear on Birdpaw—Flamepaw leaped into the air, aiming for Bluepaw's back. She saw this and moved forward, but Flamepaw had been expecting this. Landing on his front paws, he spun around as much as possible and leaped onto the surprised she-cat's back.

Bluepaw hissed, feeling the slight prick of his claws in her skin. She leapt into the air and twisted, trying to get him off, but somehow he managed to stay on top. Once she landed, he leaned to one side, making her lose her balance. He leaped off, barely escaping the roll she was about to do and spun around, battering her exposed belly with sheathed paws. Birdpaw yowled and bundled into him, paws outstretched, pushing him away from her sister.

Flamepaw turned on her, grabbing her by her scruff and dragging her in a circle. He let go of her and pushed Bluepaw back to her side, who had risen and was about to join in. She yowled, waving her paws wildly as she tried to hit a spot, any spot, on him, but it was all to no avail.

Birdpaw couldn't do anything to help. Every time she tried approaching, Flamepaw had turned and lashed out a paw, immediately turning back to his quarry. Finally, Bluepaw gave up. "Okay, okay! You win. I'm sorry."

Flamepaw let her get up, giving her a quick hiss before he stalked over to the medicine den. As he passed Mosspaw, who had watched the whole exchange with proud eyes, he noticed that about half of the Clan had gathered, Bramblestar, Squirrelflight, and Lionblaze included. Ignoring them, he entered the medicine den to groom out the ruffles in his pelt that the fight had inflicted.

Once he was done, he looked around for Jayfeather, before remembering that he had gone to get catmint, or as he had said, "collecting herbs". That also reminded him that he had to tell Bramblestar, so he got up and left the den.

Upon entering the clearing, he saw that Bluepaw and Birdpaw had rounded up the other apprentices expect Mosspaw and Redpaw. Seedpaw, Lilypaw, Amberpaw, Dewpaw, Snowpaw, Bluepaw, and Birdpaw. Seven apprentices, all lined up to fight him at the exact same time? It was obvious the two she-cats wanted a rematch, but he wasn't in the mood anymore. Time to do his duty as a medicine cat.

The apprentices had formed a force field near the entrance of camp, obviously thinking he was going to go out into the forest. As he passed them, he glanced at them, making sure surprise was the only thing registering on his face. "Shouldn't you be out battle training?" he asked innocently, trotting on up the rocks leading to Bramblestar's den. He heard a few hisses behind him, but he didn't look back as he stood in front of the entrance and called out.

"Come in," Bramblestar answered.

Flamepaw entered and was surprised to see not only Squirrelflight, who was usually with Bramblestar, but Mosspaw and Lionblaze as well. He dismissed them without another thought and turned to Bramblestar.

"Jayfeather told me to tell you he was going out looking for herbs, Bramblestar," Flamepaw meowed, suddenly stopping to think back. "Or was it a specific herb?" He couldn't very well say he had gone to collect catmint, even if it meant lying to Bramblestar. It wouldn't hurt him to not know.

"So he didn't say where he was going?" Bramblestar asked, with a glance at Squirrelflight, who was anxiously flexing her claws. Flamepaw had no idea why, and didn't intend to ask anytime soon.

"Nope. He's just gone collecting herbs."

"Okay," Bramblestar murmured. Lionblaze shook his head, seeming not worried about Jayfeather. After all, why would he be? Jayfeather was a medicine cat, and medicine cats did go out occasionally to collect herbs. On the other paw, it probably was weird that Flamepaw hadn't gone with Jayfeather and that his mentor had wanted him to tell Bramblestar he was going out. Jayfeather rarely ever told any cat where he was going.

Changing the subject, Lionblaze turned his gaze onto Flamepaw. "Those were some pretty good fighting moves out there, Flamepaw," he meowed, and Mosspaw nodded eagerly. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Flamepaw shrugged, confused. The moves had come naturally to him. "I don't know. I just knew them."

Squirrelflight and Lionblaze both looked confused. How could a medicine cat learn battle moves on his own? Flamepaw stifled a purr; it was pretty weird.

Mosspaw crept up to Flamepaw's side, leaning forward to whisper in Flamepaw's ear, "I think it's because of the prophecy. You've always been naturally able to fight, even when you were a kit. If we're going to have to fight beasts, you're going to need every battle skill you have."

Flamepaw glanced at her, surprised. He had never considered that, but it made complete sense. A glance at Bramblestar confirmed that he was thinking the same thing. Flamepaw shrugged again. He didn't want to make himself known to the Clans that he was destined to save them just yet.

Lionblaze shook his head, clearing his thoughtful gaze. "We'd better get hunting if we want to be back before sundown," he meowed, standing up and brushing past Flamepaw as he approached the entrance. Mosspaw stood up as well, pausing by Flamepaw's side.

"What's going on at sundown? Isn't sundown a long ways away?" she asked, pushing past Lionblaze to check the position of the sun. "It's just barely sunhigh."

"I'm making Lilypaw and Seedpaw warriors at sundown," Bramblestar explained, pausing before he added, "I think." The two sisters had a strange reputation for getting in trouble.

"Time passes quickly when you're hunting," Squirrelflight purred, standing up as well. "Mind if I come along?"

"Of course we mind, deputy," Lionblaze spat, baring his teeth. "It would be a tragedy if my apprentice messed up while you were watching."

Mosspaw suddenly pounced on Lionblaze's back, pricking him with her sharp claws. He staggered under the weight, nearly collapsing. "Okay, okay, Squirrelflight can come," he purred, shaking her off and flicking his tail. "Let's collect Amberpaw and Dovewing as well."

"Don't I get to come as well?" Bramblestar mewed, rushing forward to block the entrance. "If the deputy's going, then the leader should as well."

Flamepaw sighed, watching the full grown warriors act like kits. It was agonizing to see, and he just wanted to get away from it, so he stood up and pushed past them, bounding back down the rocks and coming to a halt in front of the apprentices once again. For some reason they had decided to wait for him. Flamepaw sighed, shaking his head. Bluepaw and Birdpaw just don't give up, do they?

Flamepaw heard the patrol coming down the rocks behind him, but he didn't move. Unsheathing his claws warningly, he advanced slowly, having to give Lilypaw a quick scratch on her nose when she wouldn't move. The tortoiseshell she-cat yowled, pawing her nose and glaring at Flamepaw as he padded past.

Bluepaw gaped at the eldest apprentice. "You didn't even fight back? What kind of warrior—apprentice—are you?"

Leaving the warriors to deal with the apprentices, Flamepaw rolled his eyes and trotted into the medicine den, making up his mind to see if he could tell which herb was what.

Upon entering, he padded straight to the herb store at the back, meowing a greeting to Briarlight. The she-cat was actually still sleeping, or maybe resting, in her nest. She raised her head and dragged herself effortlessly over to him. "Need anything?" she asked, motioning to the herb store.

"No, but you could help me," Flamepaw meowed, explaining what he was planning. Briarlight nodded, pulling herself forward enough to reach into the store.

Flamepaw watched her pull out a couple large leaves and lay them in front of him. "Okay. What are these and what are they for?" she meowed, leaning down to quickly sniff a leaf.

"Uh . . ." Flamepaw stared at the brown she-cat in confusion. Briarlight looked up at him and shook her head, as if to say, "What?"

"Those are beech leaves," Flamepaw meowed slowly. "They don't do anything."

"Then why does Jayfeather keep them in the herb store?" Briarlight asked pointedly.

"In case he needs to drag around a bunch of herbs. . . ."

"Right," Briarlight purred, gathering up the leaves and pushing them back into the store. Before she could pull out anything else, she glanced back over Flamepaw's shoulder. He followed her gaze to see Jayfeather standing behind them, an amused expression on his face and catmint in his jaws.

"Oh, hey, Jayfeather," Briarlight purred, sticking her head all the way into the store. Almost instantly she popped back out. "You should've seen Flamepaw fight earlier. He managed to beat both Bluepaw and Birdpaw all at once."

Flamepaw glanced at Briarlight. He hadn't realized she had been watching, too. Jayfeather padded forward to set down his catmint in front of the store, straightening back up. "Prophecy abilities?" he murmured quietly, so quiet that only Flamepaw could hear. A yowl from the clearing prevented Flamepaw from replying, and the two medicine cats left the den to see what was going on.

Flamepaw gasped, seeing Mosspaw leaning against Lionblaze as she limped into camp. The other cats from the patrol followed, all casting anxious and worried glances at the young apprentice. There was blood trailing behind Mosspaw, and her right forepaw was all red.

Jayfeather moved towards the two cats, trading places with Lionblaze. "What happened?" he asked quietly. Mosspaw gritted her teeth in pain, and Flamepaw clawed the ground, feeling helpless.

"Fox trap," Lionblaze meowed flatly.

"Get some cobwebs and horsetail ready, Flamepaw," Jayfeather directed, turning his full attention back to Mosspaw. Flamepaw raced back to the medicine den, barely stopping himself from crashing into Briarlight, who had been watching from the entrance.

"Sorry," he muttered, brushing past her to squeeze between the rocks into the herb store. Once inside, he wrapped plenty of cobwebs around his foreleg and tried to figure out which one was horsetail. Finally he grabbed what he assumed was horsetail and emerged back into the den area. Mosspaw had arrived with Jayfeather, and she collapsed on the ground.

Flamepaw set the horsetail down in front of Jayfeather, waiting for instructions. Briarlight watched from the edge of the den, her eyes filled with sympathy.

"Clean off Mosspaw's paw and make sure there's no dirt on it," Jayfeather meowed, leaning down to chew the horsetail into a paste. Flamepaw crouched in front of Mosspaw and started licking her paw, wincing at the salty taste.

After a few moments, Jayfeather nudged Flamepaw aside and applied the paste on her paw. When he was finished, he turned to Briarlight. "Poppy seeds?"

Briarlight was ready, stretching her paw forward for Mosspaw to lick the seeds off. Jayfeather watched, satisfied, and turned to Flamepaw. "Take her to your nest for some rest as she sleeps off the poppy seeds."

Flamepaw nodded, and guided his sister over to his nest. Within heartbeats, Mosspaw was asleep.

Flamepaw sat beside Jayfeather and Briarlight as the Clan started to gather in the clearing. Lilypaw and Seedpaw were about to become warriors, and there was nothing Flamepaw could do to stop it. Purring, he wondered why he wanted to stop two apprentices from becoming warriors. Probably because they were always looking down on the younger apprentices and would get even worse when they were warriors.

Mosspaw padded past the three cats, suddenly swarmed by the other apprentices, all asking how she was. They guided her over to an empty spot where they all sat down.

Whitewing and Birchfall sat down a little ways from Flamepaw, with Leafpool, Poppyfrost, Cinderheart, and Berrynose following. Lionblaze emerged just behind Cinderheart, abandoning the group to see Mosspaw.

Cloudtail led the two apprentices over to just below the Highledge. The she-cats' pelts had been groomed to perfection and were all glossy. Hazeltail followed just behind them with Sorreltail and Brackenfur trailing after. The proud mother and father sat down with Whitewing and the others, and Leafpool flicked her tail at Sorreltail's flank, silently congratulating her.

Once the Clan had gathered, Bramblestar leaped down the rocks from the Highledge to stand before Seedpaw and Lilypaw. Flamepaw felt a strange relief that the two apprentices weren't allowed the glamour of looking down at the Clan from up on the Highledge.

"Cloudtail, Hazeltail, are you satisfied that your apprentices are ready to become warriors?" Bramblestar asked, glancing at the two mentors. They both nodded, and Bramblestar turned back to the apprentices.

"I, Bramblestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Seedpaw and Lilypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Lilypaw and Seedpaw both raised their heads proudly and meowed, "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Seedpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Seedspeck. StarClan honors your courage and independence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Bramblestar rested his muzzle on Seedspeck's head, and she licked his shoulder.

Bramblestar turned to Lilypaw.

"Lilypaw, from now on you shall be known as Lilycloud. StarClan honors your determination and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." He did the same to Lilycloud, and she licked his shoulder as well.

"Seedspeck! Lilycloud! Seedspeck! Lilycloud!" ThunderClan chanted.

Flamepaw and the other apprentices chanted half-heartedly, not exactly happy that they were now warriors. At least Seedspeck and Lilycloud wouldn't be able to boss him around as much as they could the warrior apprentices.

As soon as the Clan stopped cheering, Bramblestar announced, "Lilycloud and Seedspeck must now sit vigil and guard the Clan." The two new warriors glanced at each other, excited beyond mention. Flamepaw sighed, brushing past them with a nod, and approached Mosspaw.

"Seedspeck and Lilycloud are going to be sitting vigil when we leave for the Moonpool," he commented aloud. Mosspaw nodded, flinching under the suspicious glares of the other apprentices.

"We'll find a way," she mumbled, turning to head into the apprentices' den. Flamepaw watched the other apprentices follow her, all wanting answers. Feeling a little guilty at not thinking before he spoke, he decided to take a nap before they left for the Moonpool.

A/N: Well, not many people told me which name they like better, so those are the results c_c

Please review! -big, sad puppy eyes- Even if to say yeah, it's great, or come on, that was awful! Although I'd prefer for everyone to keep their flames to themselves. It might destroy you, but honestly, if you've ever been flamed, then you'll know what I mean. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Watch for chapter 6! It might take a while; for the next half of the week I'll be busy. In that case, Happy New Year's! 2013...