Ginger was pleased. Her tail was twitching with excitement at the thought of joining this clan.
We are her last hope. Maybe Lilystar will let her in. Riverpaw secretly hoped.
" Ginger," Lilystar began with a gleam in her eyes. Ginger turned her head towards the clan leader with hope filled eyes.
Lilystar's eyes narrowed at the young cat.
" Are you willing to come into this clan with your own warrior name?"
The questioned echoed around the camp as cats glanced at each other, sharing the gossip of the clan; they were talking about Ginger.
Riverpaw's heart stopped.
What would she say? Would she accept a new name, or request she keep her own?
It's been moons since a cat had joined RiverClan.
The Clan That Riverpaw has been named after were just as worked up about this as he was.
Riverpaw dug his claws into the ground.
Thinking about what she's going to say makes my heart race. I hope she makes a decision soon. I don't think anyone in RiverClan can handle the tension.
Ginger gazed at her brown paws thoughtfully.
Her green eyes then made contact with Lilystar's dark amber ones.
She then nodded her head. " I will gladly accept this new name, that is..." began the brown she-cat. She took a deep breath after that for extended drama. "...If you will take me in."
Lilystar purred, lifting a paw in the air.
Her actions confused the clan. Did she know this she-cat before today? Why is she purring? Did she just enjoy making new warriors?
Whatever the reason, she was acting like a Queen who was told she was about to have kits.
" Of course we will take you in!" Lilystar purred.
Does this have something to do with Hotpool? I remember Plumeheart telling me a story involving Hotpool and Lilystar...she was called Lilyfern back then. Riverpaw pondered with reminisce of his time in the nursery.
It hadn't been all too long ago, but it felt like ages since he had been there.
And I miss it terribly.
I guess it's good for the clan that I'm no longer in the nursery now....
Riverpaw had no more time to think.
Lilystar let out another yowl that cut off the gray tom's thoughts.
" Cats of RiverClan!" She yowled, tail twitching in anticipation.
Could it be that she was hoping the clan would be more accepting than she was thinking?
It was obvious she was nervous about letting this cat into the clan.
It hadn't been that long ago since she had gotten nine lives.
Of course only the medicine cat and cats closest to Lilystar knew how many lives she had left, but Riverpaw had his guesses that the recent attacks from WindClan had left her with less than nine of her original lives.
When did laws suddenly become nothing? I would have thought the clans would have stuck to their original rules. Guess...things changed.
Riverpaw paws felt light as Lilystar continued on with the ceremony.
" Ginger," She began with a stern look. " You realize that if you betray RiverClan we have the right to chase after you and take you down, right? You promise you're joining RiverClan to help the clan and not to hurt it?" She asked, blinking her emerald eyes at the She-cat.
She was awaiting an answer from the brown she-cat.
The tension around the camp was rising as each cat peered at Ginger. They awaited an answer as much as Lilystar and Riverpaw were.
The brown she-cat lowered herself in fright.
" I would never. I am not a cat with that kind of ambition, Lilystar. I truly wish to come to RiverClan to raise my kits. I know I abandoned Hotpool in the past, and I'm sorry, but I am here now. I wish to spend even more time with Hotpool, and I hope to do something with my life for once instead of...being lazy." The she-cat proposed.
Lilystar purred. It seems her answer was good enough for her.
" Good. Ginger, are you ready to receive your warrior name? You won't be able to do any real warrior duties until your kits are born; I also think it would be best if we put you up to a test. I would like to see how you handle the duties of this clan. You will basically be trained as an apprentice." Lilystar informed her.
Ginger nodded, her pelt quivering in what appears to be excitement.
" Yes, Lilystar. I'll do anything to prove myself." She looked down at her paws.
She must be remembering something. Riverpaw pondered as he slammed his paw on the ground. I wish this ceremony would move onwards!
Lilystar dipped her head in acceptance. " Then shall we move on from this, Ginger?" The cream she-cat teases.
Ginger nodded, " Yes please!"
Lilystar's green eyes were alight with amusement as she continued the long lasting ceremony.
" I, Lilystar of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this outsider that I have decided to take in. She has decided to join the Clan, and by doing so I will test her in the ways of the warrior code to see if she has what it takes to be a true warrior of this Clan." The Clan leader begun.
" Ginger, do you promise to prove your worth to this clan?" Lilystar wondered to the spice-named She-cat.
Ginger nodded.
" Yes, I do!" She meowed as she took a hesitant paw step forward.
" Then from this moment on, Ginger, you will be known as Gingerbreeze. We welcome you as a new member of this clan, and we hope you settle in this clan well." Lilystar meowed as she flicked her tail.
The newly named Gingerbreeze dipped her head, eyes shinning.
She immediately went to touch noses with Hotpool instead of the usual ceremony with Lilystar.
Lilystar was the only one whose expression didn't show surprise at the female's reaction.
No cat told her she had, so she didn't. But...she's here now. That's something.
Riverpaw padded over to Gingerbreeze's side.
She was still in the process of nuzzling her ex mate. Were they ex's or were they still mates?
Riverpaw did not know. He was just guessing.
" Do you need direction back to the nursery?" Hotpool purred.
Gingerbreeze breaths out a sigh.
Her eyes were filled with slight amusement at the tom's antics.
Ugh, I don't understand this romance thing they have. It makes me feel like I'm coming down with White-cough. Ugh. Riverpaw thought, his face screwing up.
" Me? Needing directing? Nah! It's you who needed the directions when we met."
The female sighed.
" I remember that day," she added.
Hotpool chuckled.
Riverpaw had no idea what those two cats were going on about.
" It was a special day," Hotpool admitted.
Riverpaw's muzzle curled in disgust.
Affection. He didn't really think it was all that great. He would rather have his throat clawed out by a ShadowClan medicine cat.
He just found it that inefficient.
" Well, I better...uh...go." Gingerbreeze meowed awkwardly, taking a paw step backwards.
" Oh. A-am I pushing things too far? I'm sorry. Would you like to see your kits?" Hotpool questions, quickly putting his tail around her own.
Gingerbreeze's eyes glittered with excitement.
She had forgotten that Hotpool was making a move on her already, and dipped her head as a response.
" Follow me! I'm sure we can find our kits around here somewhere. You remember your two beautiful daughters don't you?" Hotpool queered her.
Gingerbreeze shoved Hotpool with her shoulders, playfully before responding to him.
Lilystar dismissed the clan during that little playful talk.
Why am I even watching this anymore? I need to get back to mentor. Iceclaw might want to check the borders again, since we didn't really get to complete that job.
Iceclaw, Sharktooth, and Shrewjaw padded back into the camp.
Riverpaw's heart sighed with relief.
Iceclaw wasn't dead after all.
Riverpaw ran over to his mentor and gazed over her body, looking for any sign that she needed to go into the medicine cat's den.
She had a spot near her shoulder where the fur had been pulled through. It was very pinkish, but there was no blood spots on her flank or her shoulder.
Riverpaw sighed with relief.
His mentor murrowed with laughter. " You didn't think I could handle some mangy mutt?" She purred at him.
" Not that. It's just...I would have thought that dog...being as big as it was would have torn out more than just chunks of fur. I'm glad you're okay though." He purred as Shrewjaw and Sharktooth ran into the nursery to see their mates.
Riverpaw sighed.
" So are we going to go back out again, or...?" Riverpaw questions his mentor with embarrassment.
He didn't mean to look as if he thought his mentor couldn't handle herself.
He was just so worried.
If this is what RiverClan life is like outside the nursery, then I am not so sure if I'll even be a RiverClan warrior by the time I'm old enough.
———————-
Authors note: Is chapter three a little slower than chapter two?
Anyways comment, vote, give me some names for some of the characters.
I think I'll introduce the tabby female in a later chapter, once you get to know some of the characters.
Just to let you know Iceclaw, Sharktooth, Hotpool, and some of the other cats are major characters in this story, so keep your eyes on them. They might be important later. And there might be a story on two of the mentioned, so yeah.
Anyways I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you think.
Are there any spelling errors? Let me know if there's anything I can do to improve this story. 😋😋😋😄😄😁😁😁😁😆😆😆😆😆