Warriors: Rising Storm #1: Robin's Call

Chapter 14

The sun had sunk behind the mountain by the time Shadepaw and Dawn reached the camp entrance. The scents of her clanmates were strong as she heard Poppystar yowl, "All cats old enough to fight their own battles gather below to hear my words!"

Shadepaw burst through the entrance, followed by Dawn. The cats gathered beneath Poppystar stared in surprise at Shadepaw and Dawn.

voices began to spread in the clearing, and Shadepaw heard a few clearly. "Who is that cat?"

"I thought Shadepaw left for good!"

"Poppystar wont like the interruption."

"Quiet!" Poppystar yowled above the clamor. "Shadepaw, who is this stranger you have brought within our camp walls?"

Shadepaw dipped her head, trying to stop her legs from shaking. "This is Dawn, she wishes to bring home something her camp has lost..." her words were drowned out as cats began to protest. She caught Eclipseheart's eye, but he quickly turned away.

Poppystar raised her tail for silence. When the cats' voices died down she meowed, "Go on."

"Eclipseheart betrayed the rogues that attacked us, how can we trust him?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"You wanted him to become a warrior," Rainflash pointed out.

Shadepaw acknowledged the comment with a flick of her ear. Unable to speak in front of the crowd anymore, she whispered to Dawn, "You should take over."

Dawn stepped forward. "Eclipse - excuse me - Eclipseheart was spying for my group. He told us your weaknesses, strengths, when to strike, how to strike, and much, much more."

Yowls of protest threatened to rise over Dawns voice.

"This no good mange-pelt deserves to be punished - for both of our sake," she finished strongly and sat back down, curling her tail neatly over her paws.

The yowls grew louder until no cat could possibly be hears above it. 

Poppystar raised her tail for silence once more. When she could be heard, she meowed, "I never did trust Eclipseheart, take him back with you, I expect him to have a very severe punishment."

 Eclipseheart stood up, his eyes flashing around the clearing wildly. "Poppystar, I'm loyal, very loyal, I promise you that!"

Poppystar stared down at him. "If you are loyal, go with your former campmate to your former home."

Dawn dipped her head. "Thank you for understanding, and I am deeply sorry about crossing your border."

Poppystar gave a brisk nod. "You may stay here til morning, but then I expect you to leave right away."

"Thank you."

The tortoiseshell leader turned back to the gathered cats. "Now, the real reason you are gathered is because three hardworking apprentices took their final assessments."

Cheers from the cats below greeted her words.

"Bramblepelt, is Dustpaw ready to become a full MountainClan warrior?"

Bramblepelt nodded. "He is."

Poppystar's warm gaze rested on Dustpaw. "I, leader of Mountainclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I commend him as a warrior in his turn. Dustpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Dustpaw replied, his voice steady.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Dustpaw from this moment forward you will be known as Dustbreeze. StarClan honors your enthusiasm and strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of MountainClan!"