After quickly finishing with Antpelt and Russetstorm, Willowpaw trotted out into the clearing and towards the trees. She was going to practise her back kick and everything Acornpaw had shown her the next day. She wasn't going to lose all the battle training Brownclaw had taught her. She was going to start training with him once more and be an even better fighter than she had before the punishment. As Willowpaw practised on the bark, Beetlejaw approached her. He watched silently at first, until Willowpaw finally realised he was there. She turned to him, almost ashamed. She didn't know if practising fighting moves was breaking the rules because nobody had told her but somehow, she still couldn't bring herself to meet Beetlejaw's gaze bravely. The last time they had talked, it had ended in a cold scolding. 
             "You need to put your weight more on your front paws and be more explosive," Beetlejaw told Willowpaw. Willowpaw took some time to process what he was saying. "Do it again." Hesitantly, Willowpaw crouched down. Beetlejaw nodded for her to proceed. Listening to Beetlejaw's advice, Willowpaw pushed her weight to the front and lashed out with her back legs in a quick movement. 
                "Good," praised Beetlejaw. Willowpaw felt her stomach churning with the praise. She hated that she was nervous around everybody but Acornpaw. But this was a big deal. Something she had dreamt of her whole life. For her father to teach her how to fight. Of course, most fathers did it for kits, when they were young, to get them ready for apprenticeship but this was better than nothing. 
               "Do you know how to do a belly rake?" asked Beetlejaw. 
               "A bit," Willowpaw uttered. 
                "Show me," demanded Beetlejaw in his deep voice. Willowpaw hesitated once more but then threw the move. 
                "Right this is what I want you to do...," Beetlejaw corrected Willowpaw. They trained the whole afternoon and by the end, Willowpaw had learnt three different moves and perfected the belly rake. As she and Beetlejaw rested, she couldn't help but beam brightly. She had trained with her father. Together. It had been fun. 
                "Next time, I'll show you an upright lock," Beetlejaw said, resting beside Willowpaw. Next time? Willowpaw was practically jumping up with joy when Gorsestar called a meeting and Mintspot appeared. 
                "Beetlejaw?" she said. "Are you coming?" Beetlejaw leapt up and without a backwards glance, trotting up to Mintspot's side. They ambled towards the small stump together. Willowpaw followed a moment later, scared of what Gorsestar was going to say. Was it something about her? About her punishment? Or maybe she was going to be banished? Willowpaw sat behind the crowd, nervously shifting on her butt. Acornpaw joined her, asking her what was wrong, she replied saying it was nothing. Gorsetar stood beaming on the rock and silence settled. 
                "I would like to call Dovepaw and Whitepaw up," Gorsestar announced. Dovepaw and Whitepaw, both stood up proudly, their fur well groomed. They padded away from their parents, Silentwhisper and Fernspring, their gaits proud and majestic. They joined Gorsestar and he turned to them, a beam on his face. 
               "I, Gorsestar, leader of WindClan, 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 to you as a warrior in his turn," announced Gorsestar. Willowpaw's eyes almost went wide. Whitepaw and Dovepaw were becoming warriors! That's why they had been so excited the day before. Willowpaw had never seen a warrior ceremony and she found herself paying her full attention. 
                "Whitepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" demanded Gorsestar in a loud voice. 
               "I do," replied Whitepaw in a clear voice. 
                "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Whitepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Whiteleap. StarClan honours your bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan," declared Gorsestar. Whiteleap stood straight and puffed out his chest. Then Gorsestar rested his muzzle on Whiteleap's head and Whiteleap licked his shoulder. Gorsestar turned to Dovepaw who was almost jumping with excitement, her eyes were bright. 
               "Dovepaw, I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand teh ways of your noble coed and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn," Gorsestar repeated once more but for Dovepaw. 
              "Do you, Dovepaw, promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" questioned Gorsestar, his eyes shining brightly. 
              "I do," Dovepaw answered in a loud and brave voice. Her tail was twitching and Willowpaw could tell that under her excitement and bravery, she was still nervous. 
               "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. From this moment on, you will be known as Dovecloud. StarClan honours your persistence and enthusiasm and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan," finished Gorsestar grandly. Dovecloud beamed and shot a look at her brother who grinned back. Then the Clan burst into cheers,  making Willowpaw jump. Acornpaw stood up and cheered the new names of the two new warriors as well. 
               "Dovecloud! Whiteleap! Dovecloud! Whiteleap!" chanted the Clan. They all gathered around the new warriors as they stepped down from the small stump, ready to greet them. Willowpaw smiled. Although they had not been very nice to her, she was happy for them. She really was. They were part of her Clan and seeing them proud and happy made her proud and happy. 
             "Come on Willowpaw!" grinned Acornpaw, bouncing towards the crowd. "Let's go congratulate them." Willowpaw bounded after Acornpaw, forgetting every mean thing Whiteleap and Dovecloud had ever said to her. As they finally reached them, Acornpaw congratulated them as old friends and they beamed back proudly at him. When Willowpaw reached them though, she found her tongue was stuck. She was glad for them. She really was. But she couldn't bring herself to say anything. 
            "Congratulations," blurted Willowpaw finally, forcing the words out. She felt ridiculous. She knew they were going to cast her away. Them turning into warriors didn't change their opinions about her. They still hated her. Whiteleap glared at her then turned around to talk to some other warriors. Willowpaw bowed her head and begun to turn away. 
             "Thank you," Dovecloud said. Willowpaw turned around, surprised. Dovecloud flashed Willowpaw a smile before turning to talk to her friends.