Up Until Now: A Warrior Cat FanFic

Chapter Four*

Thistlepaw's POV

"Stop moving your tail so much," Dafttail mewed to me.

I was practicing my hunting crouch with Sunpaw and Thornpaw. I was still finding it difficult, even after being an apprentice for nearly five sunrises. Sunpaw and Thornpaw were doing just fine though, and I couldn't be more proud of them, but I still had to get this right!

"Here," Thornpaw offered, "keep your tail up in the air like me, but not so far up that the prey will see it. The key is to not overthink it, otherwise you'll just keep messing it up."

I nodded my head. "Think about it, but don't overthink it. Keep my tail up but not too far up. Got it."

I tried again, and this time, Dafttail purred. "Good job Thistlepaw! It's a much better improvement over what it was before."

"Why don't we practice stalking now? Now that they've all got acceptable hunting crouches?" Lionfur suggested.

Nettleclaw nodded her head, and everyone looked to Dafttail, who was in charge of this training session. Her amber eyes narrowed for a second, before nodding them. "Okay, let's see you three stalk."

Thornpaw went first, moving like a graceful cat, and I could see warmth in the three mentor's eyes for him. When he stepped on a twig, Thornpaw stopped and hissed at it. He must've realized he had five cats watching him, because he licked his back uncomfortably, glaring at us with daring blue eyes.

"That was good," Lionfur praised his apprentice, "just be careful to look where you're stepping. Sometimes focusing on the prey too much can be harmful."

I was listening to what the mentors were telling Thornpaw, to learn from his mistakes.

After training for a while longer, and perfecting my crouch and my stalking technique, we headed back to camp.

When we got back, Moonpaw, Ivypaw's brother, came running up to us. "Sunpaw, Thornpaw, and Thistlepaw, come sit with us apprentices! Hardstar just called a meeting!"

We looked to our mentors for permission, and I saw a humorous look pass between them, before Lionfur nodded his head. We went running after Moonpaw, who lead us near the apprentice den, where Snowpaw, Heatherpaw, and Ivypaw were sitting.

"Where's Owlpaw?" Sunpaw asked curiously. I gave her an odd look. Why would it matter?

"You'll find out soon enough," Snowpaw replied, her green eyes mischievous. I wondered what was going on.

"Cats of ThunderClan," Hardstar called out, "today is a fine day for ThunderClan, because naming warriors makes us stronger!"

Owlpaw was becoming a warrior! That's why he wasn't with us! For the first time, I noticed Owlpaw standing near Highrock, looking extremely nervous, but excited at the same time. His fur was completely clean, and I nodded my head to him. He stared back at me, his yellow eyes unblinking, and nodded back.

"Rainfur, do you believe Owlpaw is ready to become a warrior?"

"He passed his final assessment with flying colors," Rainfur replied, his blue eyes swarming with pride. I wondered if Dafttail would be this proud of me when I became a warrior.

"Then I, Hardstar, leader of ThunderClan call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Owlpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Owlpaw replied firmly."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Owlpaw, from this day on, you will be known as Owlheart. ThunderClan welcomes you as a full warrior." Hardstar then rested his muzzle on Owlheart's head, who in turn licked the leader's shoulder.

Everyone started to cheer for the newly named apprentice, us apprentices cheering the loudest. "Owlheart! Owlheart!" we caterwauled.

The newly made warrior made his way through the crowd, and back to us apprentices.

"Congratulations!" Moonpaw exclaimed. "You're now a warrior."

"Just remember, we knew you when you were an apprentice," Snowpaw teased.

"You're not going to forget about us, are you?" Sunpaw asked, sounding nervous.

Owlheart's yellow eyes met Sunpaw's green ones, and mewed softly, "Of course not."

I felt like backing away at that moment, it honestly felt as though I was intruding on a moment of privateness between Owlheart and Sunpaw.

"Maybe you could teach us some more battle moves and stuff," Thornpaw mewed loudly. "After all, you are a warrior. I daresay you know more about fighting than any of us."

Owlheart looked over at the black apprentice, and laughed, although it sounded a bit forced. "Of course I'll teach you all some fighting moves. But only if it's okay with your mentors."

"Owlheart!" Lionfur called, "remember, you have to keep vigil soon. It's getting dark outside."

Owlheart nodded his head to the golden deputy, and headed to the camp entrance, where he would be keeping vigil.

Thornpaw came stalking up to me, his bright blue eyes furious. "Who does Sunpaw think she is, mooning over Owlheart like that? She's barely an apprentice! I don't mind if she gets a mate, but she should be focusing more on becoming the best warrior possible right now."

I nodded my head, lost in thought to pay too much attention to my brother. One day I would be a warrior, and then what? Did I want to be leader, as Thornpaw? Or did I want to get a mate, like Sunpaw? What was my destiny supposed to be? I wasn't sure, but I hoped it would become clear to me. I didn't want to go through life not knowing what I wanted to do with it.

Edited as of 5/22/2015