Firestar’s Quest

The rest of the Clan echoed her, Cherry yowling, “Sharpclaw!” at the top of her voice and bouncing up and down enthusiastically.

Firestar gave Patch the warrior name of Patchfoot, and Clover became Clovertail. When he turned to Hutch, he saw doubt and fear in the kittypet’s eyes, and was half-afraid that when he was asked to take the oath he would back out.

“Hutch, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?”

Hutch swallowed; his voice shook as he replied, “I do.”

“Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Hutch, from this moment you will be known as Shortwhisker. StarClan trusts you will give all your strength and wisdom to the building of this new Clan.”

As he spoke, he saw the doubt fade from Shortwhisker’s eyes, to be replaced by determination. Firestar knew he would be a fine warrior when he had learned to trust himself.

Finally he turned to Leaf. She had waited quietly, acknowledging each of her new Clanmates by their warrior names, and he was struck by the intentness in her eyes when he spoke to her. There was no hesitation as she meowed, “I do.”

“Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Leaf, from this moment you will be known as Leafdapple. StarClan trusts you will give all your intelligence and loyalty to the building of this new Clan.”

Leafdapple’s amber eyes glowed as Firestar rested his muzzle on her head.

When the Clan had finished calling Leafdapple by her new name, Firestar raised his tail to beckon Cherry and Boris.

Cherry dashed forward at once, eyes sparkling with eagerness, but Boris was hesitant, as if he realized more clearly than his sister what a massive step they were about to take.

“It’s time to add two new apprentices to the Clan,” Firestar mewed. “From this day forward,” he began, touching Cherry on the shoulder with his tail tip, “this apprentice will be known as Cherrypaw. Sharpclaw, you have much to teach an apprentice, so you will be her mentor.”

Cherrypaw’s head whipped around and she stared at Sharpclaw. “Does that mean I have to do what he says?”

“Yes, it does,” Sandstorm replied, an edge to her voice.

“Touch noses with him.”

Sharpclaw stepped forward; Cherrypaw stretched out her neck, gave him a quick dab on the nose, and moved back again.

“What if she doesn’t do what I tell her?” Sharpclaw asked, eyeing his new apprentice. “What do I do then?”

Sandstorm’s eyes sparkled. “Whatever you like.”

“Within reason,” Firestar added hastily, twitching his ears at his mate. “To start with, you’d better ask me or Sandstorm if you need to punish her. We’ll tell you what usually happens in our own Clan.”

Turning to Boris, who had been listening apprehensively, he touched the young tabby on his shoulder. “From this day forward, this apprentice will be known as Sparrowpaw.

Leafdapple, you will be his mentor and share your experience with him.”

The newly named Sparrowpaw stepped forward to touch noses with Leafdapple, but for a heartbeat the she-cat held back, her eyes troubled.

“I’m sorry, Firestar, but I don’t think I can do this,” she meowed. “I’m so new to living in a Clan. How can I train an apprentice properly?”

“Don’t worry,” he replied. “Sandstorm and I will help you.

For a while, every cat will be learning together.”

Relief shone in Leafdapple’s eyes, and she stepped forward to touch noses with Sparrowpaw. “I’ll do my best,” she promised him.

The rest of the Clan welcomed the two apprentices by calling their names, while Cherrypaw and Sparrowpaw listened with shining eyes.

“What about us?” Bounce sprang to his paws from where he sat beside his mother Clovertail. “Why can’t we be apprentices?”

“We want proper Clan names, too,” added his sister Tiny.

“You can’t be apprentices until you’re six moons old,” Firestar explained.

“But that’s ages away!” Rock complained, lashing his stumpy black tail.

Firestar exchanged a glance with Sandstorm, seeing amusement glimmering in her green eyes.

“All right,” he meowed, beckoning with his tail. “Come here. You can’t be apprentices yet, but you can have Clan names.”

The three kits dashed toward him, falling over their own paws in their eagerness. When they stood in front of him, quivering with excitement, Firestar touched each with his tail on the top of the head. “From now on, these kits will be known as Rockkit, Bouncekit, and Tinykit.”

“Rockkit! Bouncekit! Tinykit!” Leafdapple called, and the rest of the Clan echoed her with warm purrs of affection.

The three kits marched back to their mother, their tails high in the air.

“What about a Clan leader?” Sharpclaw asked. “You’re not going to stay here forever, are you?”

Firestar wondered if Sharpclaw was nurturing hopes of being SkyClan’s new leader. He was strong, he knew the area well, and he wasn’t afraid to take authority. But Firestar didn’t feel confident about deciding which cat should lead the new Clan—that was a job for their warrior ancestors, surely?