eternal: primrose || warrior cats

chapter 3

viperpaw

~~~

THREE WEEKS HAD PASSED since RiverClan's attack on the camp. Everything had been at a standstill. Viperpaw hadn't gotten any new information about the Great Secret, and there had been no more attacks from RiverClan and WindClan. It seemed that Splashfoot was a great part of RiverClan, and after his death, they were struggling to get back onto their paws.

Good news for him, he supposed. RiverClan faltering meant one step closer to the end of the war. In fact, given their recent weakness, Ivorystar had collected her deputy, medicine cat, and senior warriors into her den to plan an attack of their own. Foxstorm, though quite young, was also invited to the meeting.

Snakepaw had bragged about that all afternoon.

For some reason, the entire ordeal had made Viperpaw a little frustrated, but there was no time to think about that now. Right now, he was preoccupied with the Warriors Assessment.

His ears twitched, senses alert, as he gave the air around him a careful sniff. With it came a scent of chill. Greenleaf was almost over, leaf-fall right around the corner.

That meant prey was beginning to dwindle. However, the food supply was still running well, so there was no excuse for him to not pass his assessment. He was very aware of Sandstrike's eyes pinned onto his pelt, watching his every move.

Viperpaw took a deep breath. He couldn't mess up now. Though he'd caught a mouse, he was sure one piece of prey wasn't enough, especially since he'd recently missed a catch of a vole.

The gray tom parted his jaws, tasting the air again. Frog. He'd never been a big fan of the slimy creature, but if he managed to catch it, it would be impressive.

Following the scent was the easy part. He found the pond the frog was at easily, watching the green creature hop here and there, and tensed his muscles, realizing that this would be much harder than anticipated. He crouched down, praying to StarClan that the frog wouldn't notice him as the prey's bouncing finally came to a stop. The frog seemed preoccupied with its own hunting, flicking its tongue out now and then to trap a fly, and that's when Viperpaw pounced.

He had to say, he surprised himself when his claws dug into the frog's body. Despite its skin slicked with water and slime, he refused to let go, pushing the prey deeper and deeper into the ground, until its struggling stopped. It was dead.

Proudly, Viperpaw brought the frog back with the mouse. Hopefully that made up for the vole.

And indeed it did, as Sandstrike soon appeared from the brambles, swishing his tail. "Congratulations, Viperpaw," he meowed, eyes flashing with pride. "You passed."

After a quick celebration in his own mind, Viperpaw dug up the mouse and brought the prey over to the clearing where Snakepaw and Foxstorm were waiting for them. At Snakepaw's paws sat two lizards and a pigeon.

"A pigeon?" Viperpaw gaped, staring at the winged creature. "How'd you manage that?"

Snakepaw shrugged. "I'm just lucky, I guess." Despite his modest words, a glint in his eyes told Viperpaw that he'd be bragging about the catch later tonight.

"Come on, you two," Foxstorm meowed, "let's go tell Ivorystar. I expect she'll plan your ceremony for this afternoon."

Snakepaw and Viperpaw exchanged excited looks as they grabbed their prey and hurried to camp. 

~~~

"LET ALL CATS OF SHADOWCLAN gather around the Clanrock for a Warrior Ceremony!" Ivorystar's voice rang clearly through the camp, and it wasn't long before a crowd of cats were piled beneath the Clanrock.

Ivorystar stood at the top. "I, Ivorystar, leader of ShadowClan, 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.

"Snakepaw, Viperpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Viperpaw and Snakepaw vowed.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Snakepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Snakestrike. Viperpaw, your new name will be Viperfoot. StarClan honors your bravery and determination, and we welcome you as full warriors of ShadowClan."

"Snakestrike! Viperfoot!"

Cheers rang out among their Clanmates, chanting their names. Snakestrike had straightened with a proud yet smug smile on his face, but Viperfoot couldn't help but duck his head, giving his chest fur a couple of embarrassed licks.

When Ivorystar dismissed the crowd, Snakestrike nudged Viperfoot. "What's wrong with you? Why do you look so glum?"

Viperfoot sighed, knowing his words would sound petty, but he said them anyway. "I don't know, I just feel like my name is a representation of my clumsiness, and that's not exactly my favorite trait."

Snakestrike blinked. "You're thinking too much into it," he insisted, "just enjoy the moment and be happy you became a warrior."

Viperfoot smiled, but looked away. Easy for him to say. Snakestrike's name represented all his positive traits. 

Frozenpaw was the first to greet them, bouncing up with an excited glint in her amber eyes. Snakestrike - if possible - straightened even more in an attempt to make himself look more impressive. And Viperfoot might've imagined it, but he was pretty sure his brother purposefully dropped his voice an octave when he spoke to the white-furred apprentice.

Congratulations passed, one by one, but neither Clearfrost or Mintpaw appeared. In fact, it seemed, both of them hadn't even joined the crowd, watching the ceremony from the entrance of the medicine den and returning into the cave immediately after it was over.

"Typical," Snakestrike snarled, shooting a glare at the medicine den. "Clearfrost never gives anyone but Mintpaw a second thought. She's such a foxheart."

Viperfoot's fur spiked in surprise, glancing around quickly to see if anyone heard. Nobody had, moving on to their own things. He turned back to his brother, eyes narrowed. "I don't know if that's fair."

"What do you mean? She's supposed to be like our mother, isn't she? Yet she never congratulates me - I mean us - for anything, even something as important as becoming warriors!" Snakestrike snapped.

Viperfoot shook his head. "That's just her personality. That doesn't mean she's foxhearted-"

"Yes it does," Snakestrike hissed. "Face it, Viperfoot, she's a horrible cat."

Viperfoot hardly ever disagreed with his brother, but this time seemed to be an exception. He felt a need to defend Clearfrost. Even if she hadn't been very caring to him in the past, she still took care of him as a kit.

"She's not horrible! She cares about the Clan very much, she patched you up after the battle, didn't she? She just pays Mintpaw extra attention because Mintpaw's becoming a medicine cat."

"That doesn't make it right," Snakestrike growled.

Viperfoot sighed. "I'm not saying it does, but that's the logic there. Why are you so upset, anyway? It's not like it's the first time Clearfrost has ignored us. You know how it's supposed to be, medicine cats aren't supposed to have kits as to not have a bias-"

"I know, but since she already has us, you don't think it's foxhearted for her to cast us to the side?" 

Viperfoot studied his brother. Though he'd love Clearfrost's praise, he'd gotten used to her lack of attention. He couldn't help but feel Snakestrike's anger rooted from the fact that every other cat in ShadowClan gave him special attention and praise other than the ragdoll. Well, and Mintpaw, but Snakestrike didn't care much for Mintpaw's opinion. 

"While I'd love her to pay more attention, I don't think it's fair to call her foxhearted."

Snakestrike growled. "Fine, whatever. Forget it."

And the brothers parted paths. That was their first argument, Viperfoot realized. He'd never stood against Snakestrike before, always compliant with whatever his littermate wanted. It was an interesting feeling, and he felt a small tingle of pride.