Three Cheers for Three

[Yoko]

It was early evening. The night air was fresh and warm. So much cooler than the hot day, but no less lively. The Clan, her Clan, was a hub of business. Patrols were wandering in and out. The many Clan-members ate their meals whenever they could, in small clusters but never calm and peaceful, or all at once. The speckled leader longed for the day when there would be more room in this camp. The Clan looked squished in the small clearing, and she had a failing they felt the same way on their own territory. She glanced at the fresh-kill pile. It was so full now. But it would be gone by the end of the night. And when leaf-bare rolls around...

Specklestar!"

The long limbed leader turned to see the tall tabby gliding over. He looked well-groomed for a cat who had just finished a day-long assessment. Specklestar suspected he had taken a break on the way back to camp, probably made sure the entire group was clean. Sure enough, Twistedclaw and Lizardeye strode into camp, side by side, pelts spotless.

"Good Evening, Snaketail. The assessment went well I hope."

"It went splendidly! You won't find three more ready apprentices," he mewed, then dropped his voice to a whisper and leaned closer to Specklestar, "And if you ask me, you have another great warrior in the making as well."

He tilted his head towards Brightpaw, also just returning.

"Very well then, I'll call the Clan. Well done on your first apprentice, Snaketail," she mewed coolly.

The ShadowClan leader slunk coolly towards her Den and leapt up with ease. She gave the usual call.

"Let all cats old enough to hunt their own prey, gather now!"

Eclipsepaw entered last of the patrol. She knew she had done well, as all her kin had. But she was...tired. She had never been so tired before. What if she had felt this awful in battle. WOuld she be able...to give a proper fight? But that was impossible. In battle, none of her weariness had hit her. She had felt so excited, so happy.

She entered the dark clearing quietly. Her fur was well-groomed, because Snaketail had demanded she cleaned it. But her eyes were cloudy as ever. She didn't care much about being named a warrior anymore. She just wanted to go to battle.

[° i c y - -]

Great. Juust great. The trio of toms were just arriving, with their apprentices at their heels. Fogpatch was just arriving as well, with Brightpaw. Wait- Brightpaw? What was she doing with the older apprentices, right after coming from a warrior assessment? To his thoughts, only one possible answer. She was also in the assessment. Yet, she was younger than the others. So, would she be..? Nevermind.

The light brown tabby's head turned toward where the three headed off to; Specklestar's den. Must be interesting if the leader had to be involved. Perhaps the Warrior's den would be getting larger by nightfall? Oh, Great StarClan, it's already packed tightly in there. By a matter of moments, ShadowClan's young leader was calling the Clan together. It must have been a new warrior she was about to make. Or, three, for that matter.

Thistleheart's attention wavered from where he was located, a little bit away from the camp, perhaps a foxlength or two, to where the rest of the Clan was heading toward. With a small grunt, one out of anger, which was unusual, or one out of being tired, which also was not very likely. It was possibly a little noise of not wanting to be in sight of the psychopath trio, especially if Dawnstorm was there. Great StarClan, she did scare him, but in all honesty, she was his world. Well, all except for his brothers. But that is another story.

Fairly quickly, he padded in through the camp's enterance, his eyes gleaming with mock excitement. His gaze wandered over to his former mentor, who was pretty much by himself, and dashed over to him. "Hello Ripplefang. How is your apprentice doing?" The tabby gave a small, grin-like expression, though it faded quickly. Something seemed to be on the silver tabby's mind. Yet, what was it?

"Ah, Dapplepaw is doing well. I just need to take her out soon, perhaps try a few more hunting techniques," The older warrior replied, his blue gaze drifting toward where Specklestar was. "Any idea what's going on?" He added, obviously confused by it. "In my opinion, I believe Honeypaw, Eclipsepaw, and Emberpaw are going to become warriors," The younger tom replied, turning away from Ripplefang and back toward the ceremony that was about to take place.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Brightpaw held her head high as she padded into camp. She was exhausted, and her fur was completely caked in mud, but a smug and accomplished look made it obvious that she found it all worthwhile. It hadn't been her assessment and this wasn't going to be her ceremony, but she had participated and- dare she say- helped the three sisters with their test, and thus felt like she had somehow assisted them in becoming warriors. Not only that, but the day had proved valuable for learning from such older and more experienced apprentices, and she'd gained insight on what her own warrior assessment would be like when it was time for her to become a warrior. Added on to the fact that it was the Gathering tonight, and this was a good day.

As Specklestar called the meeting, Brightpaw let an exhausted sigh escape from her. Her job was done, now all she had to do was rest. It was unlikely that her mentor or any of the sisters' mentors would give her any more chores for the day, so she retreated to a corner of camp and set to cleaning all of the mud out of her fur. She wanted to go over and talk with some of the other apprentices about what the assessment had been like, but thought better of doing that while she looked like a frog that had been sitting in the swamp all day.




"Sounds like a Clan meeting," Paleflower lifted her head up from her nest, where she had previously been taking a resting nap. She glanced briefly around the crowded nursery, at her own daughters and then to the other two litters of kits, then slowly picked herself up. Bits of moss fell from her gray and white pelt, and she shook softly. "Let's go see what it's about." Either way, whether Tawnykit and Dusk-kit felt up to it or not, she wanted to watch the meeting. It seemed they were slowly starting to become their old selves again, although she could tell that something was still different, but it was time she concentrated on something other than that. Maybe it would even help her kits improve.

She pushed her way out of the nursery and sat close to the entrance, curling her tail around herself. She was aware that her fur looked a bit messy after just waking up, and she set to smoothing out a few of the gray strands of hair while she waited for the meeting to start.

[/justify]
((Okay, I'm lazy. Sandkit and Finchkit and possibly Whiteheart will come later, depends on who I have to roleplay them with for the meeting >> <<))

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

   

    Emberpaw was tired, sore, and aching from half a dozen different scrapes and bruises. She couldn't remember a single more demanding assessment in all of her moons as an apprentice, and she hoped that she never did one like it again as long as she lived. It had been challenging, and it had been long, and she had seriously wondered if her mentors had forgotten the purpose of it all at some point during the exercise.

    But at the end of it all, they had done well. And because of that, Emberpaw was pleased despite her aches and pains. She was going to become a warrior at long last, and she had done it by proving herself thoroughly. The she-cat couldn't think of a better way to do so, for all that it had been painful and difficult. It had also been a valuable and interesting experience, and the thrill of battle was exhilarating. She flexed her claws, and told herself that the next time she entered a battle, it would be as a full warrior.

    Right now, Emberpaw's pelt was smooth and neat, her white chest and paws cleaned of the dirt and grime that they had acquired during the battle. She had fought well, but a warrior ceremony was a proud event, and she intended to receive her new name looking her best. Her sisters too had cleaned their fur, and the small tortoiseshell wondered what their names would be, and what name she herself would receive. Well, there was no point in thinking about it now. Specklestar had already called the customary words; their promotion to warriorhood was imminent.

[Amber]

The journey back to camp had been probably one of the most painful times she could remember. No, wait, it was the most painful. But it was a good feeling of pain, if that was possible. She wasn't a masochist, but it felt so good to know what she and her kin had accomplished. Their mentors had really given it to them hard, and much skill was required. She was even surprised how well Brightpaw did.

Grinning she realized that their parents would be so proud. Honeypaw wished they could see their daughters now. Were they beaming down at them from StarClan? She hoped so. Had then seen what the three had just accomplished?

The golden dappled apprentice had wandered around camp to look for Heronstripe. When she didn't see him she felt disappointed, but not enough to mope around about it. She had something even better to look forward to. Giving her fur a good cleaning, she purred as she spotted Eclipsepaw. And as Specklestar came into view and calling out the Clan, the apprentice trotted to her sister, sitting beside her.


"I can't believe it. We made it." Honeypaw purred as she looked at Eclipsepaw, eyes shining wide. Her eyes searched for her mentor, wanting to thank him for everything. Maybe she could do that later. After her ceremony and whatnot all she wanted to do was sleep for a moon, if she wasn't needed for anything else.

[Yoko]

Eclipsepaw looked coolly over clearing. So many cats were attending their ceremony. It was surprising really, that so many could afford to attend when the patrols had doubled. She turned slowly to her sister."Yes we did," she mewed in a quiet rasp.

She was surprised to see someone approaching them already.

Dreampaw had just gotten back from cleaning out the nursery. His tabby fur was ruffled and he looked a little annoyed. Kits could be such a pain in the tail! Had he been like that a few moons ago? The flame colored tom smiled excitedly as he heard the Clan Meeting called. He could guess what it was for. Now if only...

His eyes scanned the clearing. They were back! But they looked awfully clean for cats who had been out in the rain and mud of the territory. He spotted Brightpaw. Well, they were mostly clean. He wanted to ask them all about the assessment, but none of them were really the talkative type.

I bet Honeypaw will tell me.

He came close to calling out for her, but Specklestar beat him to it. He'd have to wait until after. By then they would have their new warrior names. He wondered if they would even have time to talk, before their vigil.

Oh well, he could find Nightpaw at least. He searched for his littermate

Specklestar looked down calmly as she watched the Clan Gather before her. She was so very proud of them. Even those that were clearly....she squinted her eyes at certain cats. She cared for them too. They were her Clan. In any case, this was a time for celebration.

"Honeypaw, Emberpaw, and Eclipsepaw step forward," she commanded.

Once they stood before her, she gave a faint smile and continued the ceremony.

"I, Specklestarstar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices! They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Honeypaw, Emberpaw, and Eclipsepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Eclipsepaw walked beside Honeypaw. She could feel a strong pulse of excitement beneath her fur. Perhaps...this was still fairly exciting after all.

[hedgie]

Eugh.

Why couldn't he just be healthy?

It wasn't fair. He'd woken up this morning ready to train, when he'd nearly fallen over with another cough. Somehow, he'd stumbled over into the medicine cat's den, a scrap of gray and white passed out in a nest. He'd just now woken up, Specklstar's call bouncing around the den. A meeting? what?! Groggy and wobbly, he hobbled to the entrance of the den, to see Eclipsepaw and her sisters entering camp. So they were back? He hadn't even seen them gone, but they were back just the same. Slowly, because he would have fallen if he'd gone any faster, he wobbled towards them, tail held out for balance as he made his way on shaking legs. He was so close, almost close enough to get her attention, when Specklestar called them forward.

Oh, that was so not fair!

He hadn't even gotten to say hello!

"Seriously?!" He grumbled, lowering himself into a laying position near the back of the crowd. He rested his head on his paws to wait it out, determined to see this through. Through his half-closed eyes, he could see a pair of white-mittened paws, soon covered by a bushy ginger tail.

"Hello, Reedpaw." He croaked. "Where's your usual crowd?" He meant Nightpaw, of course, and Dreampaw..though it was obvious the two ginger cats didn't get along all that well.

The paws shuffled, claw tips raking the ground. "

"I don't know. They'll show up soon..Oh wait! I see Dreampaw. Nightpaw can't be far behind...She's usually right with one of us."

Flintpaw just nodded, silent out of respect. The ceremony had started, but his friend still chattered on, his voice a lively whisper. The gray-and-white tom wasn't surprised. His friend's trouble-making and rule-breaking tendencies had increased ten-fold since Nightpaw had become an apprentice...so it wasn't shocking to see his friend, who was more like a brother to him, blatantly breaking the rules.

Now was the time, eh?

A dark-gray and silver head poked itself out from wherever it's owner had been hiding, amber eyes lighting up as Specklestar gathered the cats of her Clan. Finally that empty nest beside him would have someone in it, a someone he hadn't seen too much of in a while. She'd been busy training. He'd been busy...being busy, and that was that. Now, though, they'd both be busy at the same time, doing the same kinds of things. No matter how much her sisters protested, he and Honeypaw were what they were. Not a single thing was going to change that. not one threat, not a single thorn buried in his nest could persuade him Even his brother's complaints and Flintpaw's good-natured warning could not make him change his mind.

"Oh please" His fire-colored sibling had muttered just a few days before. You're going t make a move and her sisters are going to kill you in your sleep. then they'll be banished or whatever and Flintpaw'll be mad because his new friend'll be gone..so he'll try and kill us. you're just going to send the whole Clan into ruin. might as well give up while your still ahead. Settle down with some she-cat who's siblings don;t have homicidal tendencies."

He had, of course, ignored Reedpaw's far-fetched warning...But Flintpaw had delivered a very similar message.

"It's not going to end well. You're just going to get us all in trouble including her, and you don't want that. Do you?"

They could gripe all they wanted. It wouldn't even leave a mark. He pushed his way forward through the crowd of cats, beaming the whole time. He could see her, and he hoped she could see him. Heronstripe...well, he didn't think anything else had made him so happy before this. The silver tabby tom sat himself down in the front, tail wrapping around his paws.

He couldn't keep still, his ears and whiskers twitching in excitement.

This ceremony couldn't go fast enough![/color]

[Amber]

Honeypaw purred at her sister's response. She was glad she would get the honor of having her warrior name at the same time as both her sisters. Though there was one cat who she wished could be right beside them. Their brother should be here. Canyonkit would have been an excellent warrior too, and the golden apprentice grinned as she thought of what it would have been like going through apprenticeship with him.

Her attention was caught by Dreampaw he seemed to be approaching. She wondered what he wanted, but before he was too close she heard Specklestar begin the Clan meeting. It was time for her to have a new den.

But there was one cat in particular this apprentice was looking for. Before she had the opportunity her name had been called, and her paws fell in stride beside Eclipsepaw. As she stepped forward she felt a pair of eyes on her and she instantly knew who they belonged to. Turning around for a brienf instant Honeypaw found the eyes. She smiled as she saw him, her fur twitching as she realized they would soon be sharing a den again. She had missed Heronstripes company, and with the training lately she had seen him barely at all.

Turning back to Specklestar, Honeypaw felt confident for a few short moments. "I do." she replied, her tail twitching in excitement.



Ignoring duties was probably one of her favorite things to do. Training was the only highlight of being an apprentice. Everything else was meaningless. Nightpaw had decided to spend the day with the friend she had hardly spent any time with lately. Thornpaw was being very cautious, like usual, and had not wanted to go out of camp without finishing his duties. Nightpaw had watched, and the two apprentices had gone out of camp when he was finished.

Nothing fun had really happened, Thornpaw not wanting to get in trouble by doing the things usually reserved for Dreampaw or Reedpaw. So they really just walked around the territory, Thornpaw actually being productive and catching a few lizards.

Hearing a ceremony taking place, Nightpaw searched for her more fun friends, as Thornpaw went to deposit his lizards in the fresh-kill pile. Not feeling like searching too hard in this pile of cats, Nightpaw just sat down in the outer circle.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,420,true]

[atrb=background,http://i742.photobucket.com/albums/xx67/Sporelett/Tables/Emberthroat2.png] Now that the moment of her ascension had arrived, Emberpaw could find no reason to be nervous or hesitant, nor even disoriented at the change that was about to occur. Instead she was simply excited, eager to be a full-ranking warrior and a cat who functioned under her own power. She was proud of herself for coming this far, and proud of her sisters for being here with her. Briefly she wondered if Canyonkit might be here too if it wasn't for Acornsquash, but she pushed the thought away. This day was for them, and them alone. Emberpaw sauntered confidently up to her leader when she was called, looking at Specklestar with a mixture of respect and ambition in her blue eyes. Any cat who called her disloyal would find themselves proved sorely wrong, but there was one thing that Emberpaw did know for a fact. One day, perhaps not soon, but one day when Specklestar's reign ended, it would be she who stepped up to replace her. This was a promise to herself that Emberpaw intended to keep, and that promise rang in her voice as she spoke the age-old words. "I do."

[Yoko]

Dreampaw finally spotted Nightpaw and trotted over, head high. He felt a rush of joy seeing that Reedpaw was not with her. The flame-colored tabby felt strange again. He was having a harder and harder time convincing himself that she was just his sister. He felt very protective of her still, perhaps more so these days. He was wondering if it was even normal. Smiling, he plopped down beside his dark sibling.

"And I suppose you didn't get many chores done today," he murmured in her ear.

Well, he was quite guilty of skipping out these days too, but even he wasn't so bold to leave camp while Scorchclaw was watching. He faced forward again, hearing Specklestar continue.

Specklestar turned her green gaze to each of the apprentices in turn. She had watched them learn and grow from kithood in this Clan. Of all the little stars of the Clan, these three burned the brightest. Now it was time to crown them with their names. Was she growing old? Certainly not, she had many moons ahead of her, StarClan willing. So she would be able to watch far beyond this single moment. She leapt from her den and stood first before Honeypaw.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name Honeypaw, from this moment on you will be known as Honeydapple. StarClan honors your bravery and your determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan."

She touched her nose to Honeydapple's head, awaited her customary lick on the shoulder. And she moved on to the smallest of the sisters.

"By the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name Emberpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Emberthroat. StarClan honors your intelligence and your diligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan."

She repeated the process once more, before moving on to the final she-cat.

"By the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name Eclipsepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Eclipseclaw. StarClan honors your strength and your devotion, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan."

Even as she touched her muzzle to Eclipseclaw's forehead, the chants were beginning. Once the ceremony was done, Specklestar nodded to the three siblings and left them to their congratulations.

Eclipseclaw? She purred deep in her throat. That was a good name, fitting. She was very still as Specklestar touched her muzzle to her brow. She then licked Specklestar's shoulder, the crowd's cheerful chants in her ears already. The leader began to fade back, and the crowd rushed in, mostly apprentices wanting to know about their assessment but Eclipseclaw knew there wasn't time. They would be ordered to sit silent vigil soon. She didn't care much for any cat's praise, but she felt pride rise up in her chest as she caught sight of Twistedclaw and his brothers. The small tabby nodded to her and looked away. That was strange. He seemed almost, embarrassed?

She turned around again, finally spotting Flintpaw.

Well? Isn't he going to congratulate me?

"Honeydapple! Emberthroat! Eclipseclaw!" he started to chant, not trying too hard. After all, he had to repeat it three times. Again, he was tempted to question them about the assessment, but he definitely wasn't leaving Nightpaw now that they were practically alone.

"We're gonna be up there, someday soon."