"I did it!" cried Eelpaw running up to Heartstorm and Deerpaw who were talking under the shade of trees. "I did the assessment today! It wasn't too bad, I think I got extra points for climbing extra well and catching a squirrel while it was climbing. But I might have failed fighting... I think I did really bad.... What if I'm an apprentice forever! Oh no, what would Softrcry and Embergaze think?!" Heartstorm rolled his eyes in amusement but Deerpaw took Eelpaw seriously and looked aghast.
"You can't be an apprentice forever!" she exclaimed. "That's not possible! It can't be possible!"
"You're not going to be an apprentice forever," said Heartstorm. "Of course not, nobody is an apprentice forever."
"May all cats old enough to hunt fish in the river please gather," declared Thornstar, leaping up onto the High Rock. Heartstorm glanced at Eelpaw and Deerpaw excitedly and trotted to the front of the High Rock. Eelpaw and Deerpaw followed suite. Eelpaw was shivering with anticipation and worry.
"Don't worry," whispered Heartstorm. "You passed." Eelpaw wasn't listening. He kept shaking his head. Soon, everyone was gathered and Thornstar looked down on Eelpaw and Deerpaw.
"Eelpaw and Deerpaw, please step forward," called Thornstar. Eelpaw squeaked and leapt to his feet. Deerpaw, more calmly, padded up to the High Rock, passing Moorpelt who was wearing a similar expression he had when he was watching his kits becoming apprentices. Deerpaw and Eelpaw joined Thornstar at the High Rock. Heartstorm was almost quivering with happiness and joy. He couldn't wait for them to become warriors and they could go out on hunting and border patrols together, spend their time having fun together and joking around. He knew life as a warrior would be so much better with his two best friends. Silverdrop slipped in next to Heartstorm. He beamed at her, he couldn't contain his happiness.
"I, Thornstar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice, Deerpaw. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn," announced Thornstar grandly then turned to Deerpaw. "Deerpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Deerpaw took a deep breath, glancing down at Reedpelt who was smiling proudly.
"I do," she said loudly and bravely although her voice was slighlty quavering. Heartstorm could almost hear her heart racing and her mind thinking "I'm becoming a warrior, I'm becoming a warrior, I'm becoming a warrior".
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Deerpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Deerflame. StarClan honors your intelligence and patience, and we welcome you as a full warrior of RiverClan," Thornstar said. Heartstorm felt his heart leap and grinned up at Deerflame. Deerflame beamed happily and turned to Thornstar who rested his muzzle on her forehead. Deerflame licked Thornstar's shoulder then turned to Eelpaw and whispered excitedly in his ear. Eelpaw gulped, clearly nervous. Heartstorm glanced back and spotted Softcry and Embergaze, huddled together, looking up with pride at Eelpaw. He turned back to the High Rock and out of the corner of his eye he saw Beestripe straighten up, beaming happily for Eelpaw. Thornstar turned to Eelpaw and beckoned him nearer.
"I, Thornstar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on Eelpaw. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn," announced Thornstar and turned to face Eelpaw. "Eepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Eelpaw looked like he was about to burst. He nodded excitedly.
"I do!" he cried happily. Heartstorm gave out a small laugh.
"They by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Eelpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Eelfrost. StarClan honours your determination and perseverance and we welcome you as a full warrior of RiverClan," declared Thornstar. Eelfrost turned to the crowd, grinning happily, he looked down at Softcry and Embergaze who smiled proudly back at him. Thornstar padded to Eelfrost and rested his muzzle on Eelfrost's forehead then Eelfrost licked his shoulder. The Clan burst into cheers. Heartstorm leapt to his feet and raced to meet the new warriors, hollering their names as loudly as he could.
"Eelfrost! Deerflame! Eelfrost! Deerflame!" chanted all the RiverClan cats. Hearstorm reached Deerflame who was smiling happily, being circled by RiverClan. Everybody padded up to the new warriors, giving them their congratulations.
"Deerflame," Heartstorm said as finally the crowd parted.
"Hey Heartstorm," grinned Eelfrost. "My name's cooler than yours."
"As if!" exclaimed Heartstorm. "I could be Heartfrost."
"Imagine if I was Eelstorm," laughed Eelfrost. Deerflame rolled her eyes.
"No name is better than the other, alright?" she said fiercely.
"Chill," grinned Heartstorm. "Congratulations guys, we're going to be in the same den once again. I'll show you your nests. They're gigantic and warm!" Beestripe and Moorpelt padded up to Deerflame and Eelfrost and said their congratulations and exchanged a few words before padding off.
"Eelfrost," said Deerflame firmly. "Heartstorm can show us our nests but we need to set vigil, remember?" Eelfrost huffed.
"Yeah of course," he muttered. He exchanged a look with Heartstorm and they both burst out in laughter.
"Come on," said Heartstorm, leading them to the warrior's den. Deerflame didn't move. "Deerflame, you too."
"Oh alright," she relented and followed them, smiling slightly.
"It's so big!" exclaimed Eelfrost as he stepped into the warrior's den. Softcry trotted to Eelfrost's side.
"I'm so proud of you," she smiled. She nuzzled him and Eelfrost gave a small sigh but gave Softcry an affectionate lick on the cheek. Heartstorm showed Eelfrost and Deerflame to two empty nests. They tried it out and Eelfrost even tried to sleep in it, hoping Deerflame had forgotten about the vigil but sadly, she had not.
"Eelfrost, we should go outside now," she said firmly. "Come on, oh don't give me that face. You know very well we need to set vigil. Come on, get out!" Eelfrost huffed and grumpily got out of his nest. He glanced at Heartstorm who shrugged, happy he got to sleep in his nest. They both padded out, saying goodnight to Heartstorm and exchanging a few jokes. Heartstorm returned to his nest for some rest, feeling hapy for his best friends.
