Sparks of a Fire

Chapter 41

It was evening, and by now most of IceClan was settled down, sharing freshly caught prey, grooming each other and sharing the latest gossip. Patchkit and Dapplekit were parked directly in front of the elders den, listening to Mothflame, Echolight, and Glimmerwing talk about the days when they were warriors, young and strong.

Ripplepaw was sharing a mouse with her brother, Flamepaw, when she heard Dovestar's yowl from on top of the Highrock.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather underneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" Dovestar said loud and clear. Ripplepaw and Flamepaw nodded to each other and patted over to join the warriors and apprentices underneath of the Highrock.

At the IceClan leader's summoning meow, cats began emerging from their dens and trotted over to sit at the base of the Highrock to see what was happening.

Dovestar waited until every cat was gathered, then started to speak.

"The biggest honor a leader can do is to turn an apprentice, or two in this case, into warriors. Snowpaw, come forth." Snowpaw then went to the base of the Highrock to meet Dovestar. "I, Dovestar, leader of IceClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn." She then looked at Snowpaw, who raised her head. "Snowpaw," Dovestar continued, "do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan even at the cost of your life?"

"I do." Snowpaw replied. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Snowpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Snowfrost. StarClan honors your compassion and intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of IceClan." When she was done, Dovestar then rested her muzzle on Snowfrost's head, who then licked the leader's shoulder. "Snowfrost! Snowfrost! Snowfrost!" the whole Clan cheered. Blizzardpaw and Whitefang chanted the loudest.

After Snowfrost stepped back it was Blizzardpaw's turn to step forward. "I, Dovestar, leader of IceClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn." She then looked over at Blizzardpaw as she raised her head. "Blizzardpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan even at the cost of your life?" Dovestar said. "I do." Blizzardpaw replied with determination. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Blizzardpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Blizzardsky. StarClan honors your positivity and bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of IceClan." She then put her muzzle on Blizzardsky's head, who licked Dovestar's shoulder.

"Blizzardsky! Blizzardsky! Blizzardsky!" the Clan chanted Blizzardsky's new name.

The white-and-cream she-cat purred softly and patted over to sit beside her sister.

Once the noise had finally died down enough for Dovestar to speak, the dark gray she-cat leader yowled loudly to get her Clan's attention.

"As of tradition, Snowfrost and Blizzardsky will sit in silent vigil all night and guard the camp while the rest of us sleep. You are all dismissed." When Dovestar was finished a few cats went to the prey pile to get something to eat before going to sleep for the night.

As cats were heading toward their dens to sleep for the night, Ripplepaw saw Snowfrost and Blizzardsky being congratulated by their mentors, Frostglimmer and Walestripe respectively.

•••

The next morning Ripplepaw was awoken by a paw gently shaking her shoulder.

"Pssst. Hey, Ripplepaw wake up! Dovestar is calling a Clan meeting."