"It smells like wolf. We must be careful." Tinypaw cautioned.

"I think it's blowing down from these hills." Crescentpaw spoke while craning her neck, looking toward some blue-black hilltop edges. They nearly blended in with the sunless sky above.

Some of the knolls were uneven or rocky. Barren and craggy, they looked uninviting to cats. Spindly thornbushes, prickle plants and bramble thickets grew in swathes across parts of the hummocks. A few ash trees grew in scattered clusters at the foot of the them.

Adjacent to the Moonpool, but much higher up, these knolls carried hilltop winds down the slope and toward the foothills. Above them, a flock of crows cawed, making their way over.

"I smell it too." Cheetah's gaze was worrisome, and she flattened her spotted black ears. The golden she-cat stilled beside them, as Crescentpaw gazed at the claw-tipped moon above.

"We only have a few minutes to wait." She turned her gaze on Cheetah, her tone flat and serious.

"I need you to climb a tall tree. The one that's growing sideways on the edge of that hill." She nodded at the rim of a far-off slope.

"Watch out for wolves, especially around those ridges. Yowl if you see any."

"I will! I'll yowl louder than a kittypet asking their twoleg for wet food!" Her tail waved.

Tinypaw looked amused at her regale. Cheetah turned away, grinning over her shoulder as she padded away. She was swallowed by the shadows lain upon the grove edges.

Crescentpaw had expected her to be upset, or even jealous.

Huh. She's fine with us having our warrior ceremonies without her. Cheetah hadn't even asked about getting her own 'paw name. She hadn't insisted to see the Moonpool either.

Surely Cheetah still wanted a mentor and a clan name. And yet she had encouraged them without mentioning her own problems. Crescentpaw purred.

In every way, Cheetah was revealing herself to be more competent as a potential Riverclan warrior. She hadn't complained a single time along the Moonpool journey.

"Although annoying, she's funny in a way." Her littermate nibbled at a grass seed stuck between her toes.

"Well, Crescentpaw. Go ahead and start. Say the words to give me my warrior name." Tinypaw walked over the lip of the Moonpool's edge, which was angled in a way that you had to walk up and over the swell to see it.

Crescentpaw followed her. I'm going to become a Riverclan warrior now.

She could finally prove herself as the adult cat that she was. She could have more allowances to make change within her clan. Within all the clans.

The she-cat was exhilarated when she saw the waterfall. Its top was lit with faint moonbeam, but Crescentpaw noticed that the water was still dark.

"A cloud is passing over the moon," Tinypaw reassured her before she could say something.

"By the time it moves it'll be Moonhigh, and the moon will shine in the reflection of the pool, I think..."

Is this right? One last prick of doubt wormed its way into her thoughts. Should we have waited for Riverclan's new leader to give us our names?

And how much would their clanmates say about them? Her stomach churned again. What if it gathers so much attention to us that they figure out we're missing our claws?

The thing was, Crescentpaw couldn't bear to not tell them. She refused to have her own warrior name in her head, while the rest of her clan kept calling her 'Crescentpaw.'

"Any day now." Tinypaw jerked her from her thoughts.

"Uh-sorry." The tabby apprentice lifted her plumed tail. She stepped closer to the pool's gently lapping waves, which were still dark and reflecting dimly lit stars.

It should light up any moment now. The wispy cloud that was covering the moon was slowly edging its way across.

"Warrior ancestors," she began, hoping she was doing it right.

"I, Crescentpaw, call for you to look down upon this apprentice. She..." For a second, Crescentpaw struggled to remember. "-has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a Warrior in her turn." She took a deep breath, looking over her shoulder to gaze at Tinypaw.

"Do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your own life?"

"Yes." Tinypaw said without hesitation. Her meow had a hint of impatience, even.

"Then by the powers and will of Starclan, I give you your warrior name." She studied Tinypaw closely.

Really, it was a choice between two or three names. But Crescentpaw felt like she knew the best one.

Tinypaw padded closer, head tilted and violet eyes shining.

"What is it?" she asked eagerly. The she-cat's rippling black pelt shone upon her shoulders. Her legs and flanks were shrouded in darkness.

"From this moment forth you shall be known as Tinyflame. Starclan honors your commitment and I welcome you as a full warrior of Riverclan."

Her littermate's eyes reflected the few twinkling stars above. They were wide even as they crinkled with delight.

"Thank you, Crescentpaw!" She cried. "That's a brilliant name." Tinyflame's tail lifted, and she looked extremely pleased. She purred and rubbed against her sister's flank.

"Alright, alright! Now do me." Crescentpaw laughed, impatient in her turn. She was careful not to take her eyes off of her surroundings,  though. She could still smell the dank wolf-scent on the wind.

It wasn't fresh per-say. The scent was musty and earthen, as if it had traveled a long way. It has to be from one of those slopes. Where else could it be coming from?

"I was worried you'd give me a weird warrior  name." Tinyflame smoothed her unkempt fur. "Something like Tinytail or Tinyfur, because I'm so small." Her velvety muzzle was crinkled into a sheepish grin.

"Ohh- I see." Crescentpaw smirked. "Scared I might have picked Tinytoes?"

"No!" Tinyflame burst out laughing. "I just wanted something pretty," she mewed breathlessly after her chuckles tapered off.

"Nobody thinks of me as a pretty she-cat, you know. I've just got a boring old black pelt... so thank you, Crescentpaw. "

Crescentpaw's tone grew critical.

"I think you're pretty!"

It was true. Her sister's 'boring black pelt' was shinier than trout scales. Her legs and tail joined the rest of her in a sleek, wiry transition.

"Thanks." Tinyflame's large violet eyes blinked appreciatively. "Now- let me see if I can think of the perfect name for you while I try to remember all those words to the ceremony."

"I just said them!" Crescentpaw giggled in good nature. Tinyflame waved her off with a paw.

"I know, I know! But nobody really listens to that part. They just want to get to their new name!" Her sister stuck out her tongue. Then Tinyflame swiveled on her haunches, so that she was looking down at the Moonpool.

"Warrior ancestors... I, Tinyflame, call upon you to look down upon this apprentice." Tinyflame's whiskers twitched as she recited the words.

Crescentpaw zoned out the rest until the part closest to her warrior name came.

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🐈‍⬛ Tinyflame🔥