Chapter 3

“Moonpaw! Leafpaw!”

Moonpaw poked her head out of her den at Berryheart’s yowl. Leafpaw pushed past her, racing across camp toward his mentor, and after a heartbeat’s pause Moonpaw followed. At first she had wondered if it was more training. But now, seeing the glow in Cindertail and Berryheart’s eyes, she knew it was more than that.

Our assessment!

“Ready to go?” Berryheart purred.

“Ready to prove you’re ready to be a warrior?” Cindertail added.

Leafpaw nodded eagerly. “I’m ready!” he yowled. “I’m ready to prove I’m a great hunter! I’m ready to prove I’ll get my warrior name today! I’m ready to—”

Berryheart flicked her tail over his ears as she meowed, “Okay, that’s enough for today. Let’s get on with your assessment.”

Moonpaw nodded solemnly. She had waited forever for this day, but somehow she couldn’t share her brother’s excitement. She understood how important this assessment was, how important it was to be a warrior. We have to prove we are ready to help our Clanmates, she thought, to protect them, to defend them. To help the weak, too. And we have to prove we’re strong and smart and brave enough.

Cindertail flicked her ears. “Let’s go!” She headed for the entrance. Moonpaw, Leafpaw, and Berryheart followed her. When the gray she-cat was only a whisker-length away from the thorn tunnel, a flash of black-and-white exploded from it and crashed into Cindertail. The two cats rolled for a moment, then stopped as the black-and-white she-cat leaped to her paws, her yellow eyes flashing with surprise.

“Hey, Lightningpaw!” Cindertail growled, scrambling to her paws and glaring at the apprentice. “Watch were you’re going! You scared me half to death when you came barging into camp like that!”

Lightningpaw dipped her head. “Sorry,” she mumbled around the fat thrush in her jaws. “I’m really sorry, Cindertail. I just came back from hunting, and I was really excited.”

Cindertail watched as the black-and-white apprentice padded off toward the fresh-kill pile. “Okay,” she meowed. “Let’s actually go now.” She pushed her way through the thorn tunnel before any cat could argue.

Moonpaw followed her mentor, her pelt tingling. This is it. This is the assessment! The four cats followed Cindertail into the forest until they came to a tree stump.

“Okay, Moonpaw, Leafpaw,” Cindertail meowed. “This is your assessment. You have until sunhigh to catch as much prey as you can. You will be going off alone in different directions. Berryheart and I will be watching you, but you won’t see us.”

Moonpaw’s stomach seemed to twist with nervousness as her mentor went on. “As I said, catch as much prey as you can to bring back to the Clan. Meet us back over here. Moonpaw, go toward the lake.” Moonpaw’s heart beat faster. “Leafpaw,” Cindertail finished, “you go deeper into the forest. Good luck to both of you!”

Moonpaw bounded toward the lake, excitement mingled with fear and determination fizzing beneath her pelt. I must not fall in this time, she told herself. This time, there is probably no Silverpaw to help me. She felt a pang of worry. Where is Silverpaw? I didn’t see her at the Gathering!

Moonpaw pushed the thought away. Concentrate. She halted and opened her mouth, letting the scents wash over her tongue.

Vole. And a blackbird. Which one should I go for? Moonpaw thought for a moment. A vole would be juicy, but a blackbird is bigger. I’ll go for the vole, since it’s tastier. Besides, it’s easier to catch.

Moonpaw dropped into a hunter’s crouch and crept forward. Before long, she spotted the vole snuffling around in the grass. She tensed as she realized it was heading toward a patch of chickweed. I’ll be doing a favor to Dawnberry, too, by not letting this sneaky creature eat her herbs!

Moonpaw waited as the vole edged toward her left. Don’t think too much. Cindertail’s words echoed in her mind. Just go for it with a nice, strong leap.

Strong and fast leap. And . . . now!

Moonpaw pushed off with her hind legs and landed on the vole with one fluid movement. She bent down and killed the creature with a sharp nip to its neck. “Thank you, StarClan, for this prey,” she murmured and she quickly dug a hole in a loose patch of earth and dropped her catch in. Covering it up again, Moonpaw padded toward the blackbird scent.

Excitement shot through her as she realized the blackbird was on the ground, distracted in cleaning its feathers. She dropped into a tight crouch, and, without hesitation, leaped, paws outstretched to grab the blackbird.

The small bird had no chance of escaping. It squirmed under Moonpaw’s firm grip, then immediately went limp as she killed it with a blow. Moonpaw hurried back to where she had buried vole and tucked the blackbird into the earth beside it.

Her ears twitched as she caught the scent of mouse. The prey are all out today! She dropped into a hunting crouch and crept forward. This mouse was running quite fast. It zoomed through the forest, and Moonpaw followed more slowly, trying not to alert her prey.

Moonpaw hesitated as the mouse ran straight into a line of bushes. This was the place she had fallen into the lake not long before. Pelt bristling with fear, she got to her paws and padded away, her mouth open to taste the air for more prey. Hopefully Cindertail didn’t see that, she prayed as she caught the scent of a squirrel nearby. I can’t use this precious time to fall into the lake again_!_

Moonpaw padded away from the lake, lifting her nose to the sky as she scented the air. WindClan scent flooded her nose. I must be close to the border. She twitched her ears, focusing on prey scents, and finally smelled squirrel and heard tiny paw steps in a bush not far from her.

Moonpaw dropped into a crouch again, making sure her tail was still and her body was low to the ground, and crept toward the bush. She shot forward, stretching her paws out as she leaped into the bush. Her claws sank into flesh and she heard a squeal. Moonpaw quickly bent down and killed it. The excitement from earlier returned as she slipped out of the bush and began padding back to where she had left her earlier catches.

Before she could reach it, Cindertail slid out of a bush. “You’ve done great!” her mentor purred. “Those catches were very neat. And you stopped chasing the mouse because you knew the lake was there, right? That shows you’re ready to be a warrior. You can learn from your mistakes so you won’t make it again.”

Moonpaw just nodded, trying to push her excitement down. This is serious. But it was rising too fast.

“Let’s get your vole and your blackbird,” Cindertail continued. “Then we’ll head back to camp and talk to Nightstar.”

 

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Highledge for a Clan meeting!”

Moonpaw leaped to her paws at Nightstar’s yowl. She and Leafpaw had been resting in a shady corner of camp, talking about their assessments.

“Berryheart said I did really well,” he had meowed. “I caught two mice in a row!”

Now as Moonpaw glanced at her brother, she realized he looked slightly nervous. “What if I mess up?” he whispered.

Moonpaw purred. “Of course you won’t. We just have to say, ‘I do’ and lick Nightstar’s shoulder.”

Leafpaw nodded. “What do you think your name will be?”

Moonpaw shrugged. “Why would I know? Well, we’ll find out really soon! Come on!” She bounded to the center of camp and sat down beside her mother, Flakeheart, and her father, Treasure, raising her head to look at her leader.

“We have gathered here for an important moment,” the young leader announced, “the making of two new warriors. Moonpaw, Leafpaw, come here.” She leaped off Highledge and beckoned to the two littermates with her fluffy tail.

Moonpaw and Leafpaw obeyed. Moonpaw’s heart was beating so fast that she thought every other cat could hear it.

“I, Nightstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn.” Nightstar turned to Moonpaw and Leafpaw. “Moonpaw, Leafpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?”

This is the moment I’ve been waiting for all my life. “I do,” Moonpaw replied sincerely.

“I do,” Leafpaw meowed, his eyes shining.

“Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Moonpaw, from this moment you will be known as Moonshine.” Nightstar’s green eyes sparkled. “StarClan honors your thoughtfulness and your determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan.”

Nightstar rested her muzzle on Moonshine’s forehead, and she licked her shoulder in response.

“Moonshine! Moonshine!”

Moonshine stepped back to let Leafpaw go, happiness glowing beneath her pelt. I’m finally a warrior!

“Leafpaw,” Nightstar continued, turning to face the tortoiseshell tom, “from this moment you will be known as Leafclaw. StarClan honors your courage and your loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior!” She rested her muzzle on the new warrior’s head, and he licked her shoulder respectfully.

“Leafclaw! Leafclaw!”

Moonshine cheered her brother’s name with her Clanmates. She glanced at her parents and saw the obvious glow of love and pride in their eyes.

Flakeheart pressed against her. “I’m so proud of both of you!” she breathed.

Treasure gazed at her proudly. “You’re not little anymore. You’re warriors.”

Leafclaw padded eagerly up to them. “I’m a warrior!”

Moonshine glanced up at the darkening sky. “Not exactly,” she pointed out. “We still have to sit vigil.”

Even as she and her brother settled in the middle of camp and prepared for their silent night, Moonshine felt a glow inside her she could not push down. I’m a warrior now. And I’ll do whatever I can to protect my Clanmates and my kin.