Firepaw crouched low to the ground as she slowly stalked a thrush sitting on a branch a few fox-lengths above her. The thrush was facing away from her not noticing that it was being hunted. She stopped underneath the branch and gathered her hutches. A heartbeat later Firepaw exploded from the ground catching the unexpecting bird from the branch. Landing on the ground, she quickly killed it with a clean bite to the neck. She gave thanks to StarClan before scrapping earth over her catch under a small holly bush. She had already caught a mouse before the thrush, so she decided to go for one more catch to add to her warrior assessment. Firepaw then sniffed the air to scent more prey. A warm breeze had picked up in the green-leaf air, and there was the slight scent of dry leaves. Leaf-fall isn't too far away, she thought. She looked around knowing her mentor, Cherrytail, was watching her every move, but the tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat was nowhere to be seen among the trees. For a heartbeat she though she spotted a gray-and-white cat from the corner of her eye, but when she turned her head to look it was gone. She pricked her ears when she heard the faint rustle of a mouse in the grass a fox-length away. She immediately dropped to a hunter's crouch and slowly stalked the mouse. Looking closer, she spotted the small creature nibbling on a seed. She pounced and quickly made the kill. Firepaw almost jumped when Cherrytail emerged from behind a tree. "That should do, Firepaw. Great job!"

Excitement tingled through her paws. "Did I pass the assessment?" Firepaw asked.

Cherrytail smiled but didn't give anything away. "That's for Leafstar to decide when I report your progress." She lightly flicked Firepaw's ear with her tail tip. "Let's gather your prey and head back to camp."

Firepaw nodded then remembered the cat she thought she saw while hunting. "Did you see a gray-and-white cat over there?" She pointed with her tail to the area she saw the strange cat.

Her mentor shook her head in confusion and sniffed the air. "No, and I don't smell anything. Are you sure you weren't just imagining it?"

"Maybe.. I'm not sure." Firepaw sighed. "It was only for a heartbeat."

Cherrytail gave her a friendly nudge. "Come on, mouse-brain. Let's get back to camp. It's been a long day." Firepaw smiled and picked up her mouse. They gathered the other prey, Firepaw carrying the two mice while Cherrytail carried the thrush, and padded back to the gorge. By the time they arrived the sun hovered above the horizon. Her sister, Featherpaw, greeted her as they entered camp. Her light brown-speckled white fur almost glowed in the setting sunlight.

"Hi Firepaw!" Featherpaw chirped. "You look like you did pretty well!"

Firepaw dropped her mice and smiled. "Two mice and a thrush." She flicked her tail toward Cherrytail, who had dropped the thrush in the fresh-kill pile and head toward the leader's den. "How much did you catch?"

"A young rabbit and a starling," Featherpaw replied proudly. "Rileypool says I'm the fastest cat in the Clan."

"After seeing you catch that rabbit, I believe that," Nightpaw meowed as he padded up to the two she-cats. "I only caught two voles."

"That's not too bad," Firepaw said.

Featherpaw nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I'm sure Waspwhisker thinks you passed." Suddenly Firepaw spotted Leafstar stepping out of her den with Cherrytail following. A wave of excitement washed over her as Leafstar leaped on top of the Rockpile.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a Clan meeting!" Most of the Clan were already sitting below the rock when she called. "Today I will be performing one of my favorite duties as Clan leader. Three apprentices have passed their warrior assessments, and now it is their time to finally become warriors. Nightpaw, Featherpaw, and Firepaw! Will you please step forward." Firepaw's legs shook as she stepped into the circle of cats. Her parents, Hawkwing and Pebbleshine, sat watching proudly from the edge of the circle. Leafstar then lifted her head toward the sky, which was already orange as the sun sank below the horizon. "I, Leafstar, leader of SkyClan, ask our ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have worked hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and now I will give them their warrior names in their turn." She turned to the three cats, "Firepaw, Nightpaw, Featherpaw, do you promise to uphold and obey the warrior code, and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

All three cats answered at the same time. "I do." Firepaw's voice shook slightly when she answered.

Leafstar turned to the Clan, "Then by the power of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Featherpaw, you will be known as Featherwing. Nightpaw, you will be known as Nightshade. Firepaw, you will be known as Fireclaw. StarClan honors you three for your loyalty and courage." She jumped down from the Rockpile and touched each cat's head with her nose.

The entire Clan started to chant their new warrior names. "Fireclaw! Featherwing! Nightshade!" Her mother was the loudest of them all. Fireclaw was fighting to stop herself from bouncing around like a kit and held her head high.

When the chanting died down, Pebbleshine and Hawkwing padded up to her and her sister. Her mother covered Fireclaw with loving licks. "Oh I'm so proud of you both! You're going to make magnificent warriors."

Fireclaw protested from her licks. "Mother, I'm a warrior now!" she chuckled. "I'm not a kit anymore."

"Nonsense! You both will always be my kits." Pebbleshine purred. Fireclaw and Featherwing rolled their eyes in amusement.

"Tonight you three will have to sit your warrior vigils and guard the camp." Hawkwing explained. "That means no talking. A warrior will dismiss you at dawn." The three fresh warriors nodded and padded up the trail on the gorge wall to the entrance to the camp. By then the sun had vanished, and the warriors of StarClan filled the sky. The daylight warriors, Macgyver, Ebonyclaw, and Harveymoon, padded past them as they headed back to their Twoleg dens for the night. The rest of the Clan vanished into their dens, and the camp fell silent.

~~~~~~

The sun rose as quickly as it had sank. The three new warriors were dismissed to their nests by Sharpclaw, the Clan deputy, when he emerged from the warriors' den. As they approached the warriors' den for the first time, Nightshade stopped the two she-cats. "Wait right here, Fireclaw. You look tired, so I'll make our nests." Before she could protest he disappeared into the den.

Featherwing smiles. "Thanks Nightshade!" She sits and curled her tail around her paws. She looks at Fireclaw with amused eyes, "You know he really likes you."

Fireclaw stares at her sister, "Nightshade? No way!"

Purring with amusement, "You know. He'd make a great mate."

She continues to look at Featherwing in disbelief, Fireclaw meows, "Even if he did, having a mate is the last thing on my mind." Turning away from her as she waited.

"You two should go hunting later." Featherwing meowed shouldering Fireclaw softly. "I'll be fine."

Before Fireclaw could speak, Nightshade steps out of the warriors' den with a few pieces of moss stuck to his fur. "All finished!" he meowed happily.

Fireclaw steps into the den to find three freshly made nests at the edge of the den. Nightshade walks in and points to the nest in the middle, "This one is yours, Fireclaw."

"Thanks, Nightshade." she said with a smile. He nods and lays in the nest to her left, and her sister takes the one to her right. She was too tired to stay awake any longer and closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

~~~~~~

Fireclaw found herself sitting by a huge lake, the stars reflecting clearly off the surface. In the distance she could see an island. She stared in amazement. Suddenly she heard a cat's voice next to her. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Fireclaw jumps and turns her head to see a large, sturdy, thick-furred, tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with a thick, fluffy, white tail, a white muzzle, a massive, scarred head, a broad face, ragged, scarred, matted fur, sharp, yellow teeth, and amber eyes sitting by her. "Am I dreaming? Are you from StarClan?" Fireclaw asked.

The she-cat smiled in amusement then looked out at the lake. "Yes, you are dreaming, but I came to tell you that I've been watching over you. You've done very well as an apprentice."

Fireclaw felt a surge of pride wash over her. "Really? I've worked really hard to help my Clan."

"I've seen that SkyClan has had trouble with rogues recently," the she-cat meowed.

Fireclaw nodded. "Yeah. They've been a real pain. Those filthy crow-food eaters!"

"I can help you," the she-cat said with a pur.

"How?" Fireclaw tipped her head in confusion. "Is that why you're here?"

The ragged she-cat nodded. "I can help improve your battle skills. Those rogues won't know what to do when you go into battle."

Fireclaw hopped to her paws in excitement. "Yes! When do we start?"

The she-cat looked up at the moon. "Not now. I must go." She then looked back at Fireclaw. "Don't tell your Clanmates about our meeting just yet." She then turned and started padding down the pebbly shore. The dream began to slowly fade into darkness.

"Wait!" Fireclaw called. "What's your name?"

The she-cat stopped and turned back before the dream faded. "I am Mapleshade."

Drawing by: Kittywarrior13579