Chappie 36. I believe this is the longest fanfic I've ever written. W00t!
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In the cold light of morning, Cinderstar seemed transparent as he stood atop the Highrock. His fur hung in limp gray wisps about his skeletal frame, his ribs standing out like dark tabby stripes from his pelt. His eyes were hollow, his gaze vacant. Brightpool, at his shoulder, was the picture of wellbeing. Her voice rang out strong and confident through the hollow.
"Would Sparrowpaw please step forward?" she meowed, her gaze raking the crowd. Icefang stared up at her with a disdainful look on her pale face. On either side of Icefang, Redpaw and Eaglepaw wore similar expressions of dislike.
The tortoiseshell medicine cat apprentice, her eyes shining with anticipation, lunged forward from the semicircle of gathered warriors. Her pelt was sleek and clean, newly washed. Though she too was thin, run ragged by the harsh winter, the excitement of the ceremony seemed to erase all hardship.
At the base of the Highrock, Shortwhisker was sitting with his tail wrapped primly around his gnarled paws. His wide green eyes watched sharply as his apprentice strode closer.
"Shortwhisker has informed me that it is time you received your full name. I believe your mentor would like to say a few words before it is bestowed upon you," mewed Brightpool, her whiskers curling.
Shortwhisker cleared his throat loudly and got to his feet. "Sparrowpaw has been a very diligent apprentice, working hard during this long seasons and the seasons before. We have faced many challenges this year, and her help has been invaluable to me. Though she is still young for a medicine cat, I have had to train her far more swiftly than I would have liked. Yet she has learned at the same pace, and I believe that she is ready to become a full medicine cat in her own right." His gravelly voice echoed against the snow-covered trees with an ominous clang.
"I'm sure that the whole Clan agrees with Shortwhisker's words," Brightpool added. "So without further delay. Sparrowpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Sparrowtail, full medicine cat of ThunderClan."
"Sparrowtail! Sparrowtail!" ThunderClan was claimed by raucous cheers as the warriors greeted the young she-cat by her new name.
"Is it unusual to have two full medicine cats at the same time?" Icefang questioned of Eaglepaw as they padded forward to congratulate the newly named Sparrowtail. Icefang felt a little ashamed that she had to ask anything of an apprentice, but she was honestly curious. Surely Brightpool wouldn't so far as to break the warrior code just so she could seem important by naming a new medicine cat. It seemed a little extreme.
"Not really," replied the golden tabby, walking beside Icefang with her tail in the air. "Most of the time it takes a while for a full medicine cat to select their apprentice, and by that time they're old and they usually die or retire before their apprentice is named. But occasionally the medicine cat apprentice finishes their training before their mentor is dead or ready to give it up. It's happened plenty of times before.
"Still, Sparrowpa-tail is pretty young to get her full name. What Shortwhisker said makes sense though. I think everything has sped up a little bit in the past few seasons."
The three she-cats made their way through the crowd to Sparrowtail's side. "Congratulations!" Icefang meowed cheerfully to the tortoiseshell she-cat. Sparrowtail turned to face her, her eyes bright.
"Thanks Icefang," she mewed, her voice thick with emotion. "I'm so excited! This must be what it feels like to become a warrior!"
"Maybe," Icefang murmured in reply. She couldn't imagine that. Surely becoming a full warrior felt a lot better than becoming a medicine cat. It was said that StarClan chose the path of each Clan cat – Icefang was glad she hadn't been chosen to become a medicine cat.
"Lucky furball, getting your name before me!" hissed Eaglepaw good-naturedly. "It's hardly fair, you being a medicine cat and all."
"Yeah, me too!" growled Redpaw, lashing her tail.
"Oh, shut it," Icefang snapped, whisking her tail past Redpaw's nose. "You're still a kit."
Redpaw let out a furious hiss and swatted at Icefang's tail, which she pulled swiftly out of the way before she could be injured.
"Psst!" Eaglepaw hissed suddenly, nudging Icefang's ribs. "Look at little miss Happypuddle on her perch. She looks like she just named sixteen of the finest warriors in history!" Eaglepaw's gold-striped tail flicked towards the Highrock, where Brightpool was sprawled in the weak sun, her eyes half-closed in pleasure.
"Hey, she's still your mentor isn't she?" Icefang growled. "Keep your voice down."
Eaglepaw's lips curled in a snarl. "I wish she wasn't my mentor. Count your lucky stars, Redpaw, and be good so you can stick with Icefang here. I'd give twenty mousetails to be your apprentice," Eaglepaw muttered. She lifted her nose in the air. "Happypuddle never takes me out of camp anymore. I just sit around picking ticks out of elders and fetching prey for her. It's like being a kittypet!" she spat. Seconds later Eaglepaw's eyes flashed to Icefang's face. "No offense, y'know."
"Right," growled Icefang, and she turned her back on the apprentice with a contemptuous snort. She thought she'd practically gotten past all the kittypet jibes. Eaglepaw hadn't meant her any offense, like she'd said, but every comment still managed to get under her pelt. It seemed like most of ThunderClan had put her past out of their minds. With the current lack of structure around the Clan, Icefang had managed to keep out of Mossfur's way for the most part, and he and Tansyleaf were the only ones who still went out of their ways to bother her. Tansyleaf was too absorbed in wasting time wasting time to waste her time with Icefang.
"Hey," chirped Redpaw as the trio walked away from the Highrock, leaving Sparrowtail with her mentor to prepare for some sort of medicine thing of their own. "Hey, isn't the Gathering tomorrow night?"
Icefang paused and glanced sideways at the apprentice, then the other way at Eaglepaw, who was looking up at the sky as if to check the position of the moon.
"I think so, yeah," Eaglepaw mewed, looking back at them. "I'd sort of forgotten what day it was."
"That's happened a lot this leafbare," Icefang growled and continued walking.
"Maybe I can go to the Gathering, hey Icefang?" Redpaw asked hopefully.
"I think that's up to… Happypuddle," said Icefang, using Eaglepaw's nickname for Brightpool with a satisfied chuckle.
"Maybe you could influence her decision," Redpaw suggested carefully, her voice high-pitched with eager anticipation. She'd been an apprentice for barely a quarter moon and already she was trying to squeeze favors out of her superiors. Smart kitty, Icefang purred to herself.
"It's not like Brightpool makes the smartest decisions anyway," Eaglepaw quipped. "She'll probably invite all the elders and the queens and have a party on the way. Maybe she won't even go at all, just hang out by Twolegplace stuffing her face with baby sparrows. Probably be more fun than sitting around here or listening to stuffy old cats talk about their problems."
"Look Eaglepaw, your fiery sarcasm is a bit unnecessary here," Icefang mewed, her whiskers twitching. She appreciated Eaglepaw's independent spirit, but sometimes she got a little carried away. Eaglepaw let out huff of frustration but kept quiet.
"Besides, the Gathering won't be much anyway," she murmured. Then she glanced at Redpaw and flashed an indulgent smile, "But it can't hurt to put in a good word for both of you."
"Really?" Eaglepaw mewed, her face lighting up.
Redpaw let out an excited squeal and danced around Icefang in a circle. "My first Gathering! Hooray!"
"Don't get too excited, you're probably too young anyway," Eaglepaw sniffed, her nose in the air.
Redpaw released a fierce growl and launched herself on Eaglepaw's shoulders, latching on with her small claws and hissing like a full grown warrior. "Take that back! I'm not too young!" yowled the red-furred apprentice.
Eaglepaw growled in returned and tried to shake her off.
Icefang looked around the clearing. No one was watching the two apprentices grappling with each other in the mud. Clanmates weren't supposed to fight, but Icefang didn't mind letting them get their energy out – after all, they didn't get much time outside of camp, given the lack of authority in the Clan currently.
Redpaw was tugging on Eaglepaw's ear while the older she-cat tried to rake her sheathed claws across her friend's side. Redpaw managed to avoid the blow while keeping her grip on Eaglepaw's shoulders, a difficult maneuver even for so small a cat. With a smug smile, Icefang stepped forward to give her apprentice a pointer.
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