❦ story ❦

"i wish i were more like them." wrenpaw bent her head closer to hemlockpaw as the two watched cardinalpaw and roanpaw chatter away like birds. it was late afternoon, and the four apprentices had just finished a border patrol and were taking their sweet time walking back to camp; elderpaw, to wrenpaw's silent delight, was stuck in camp helping peonylinger sort her herbs.

"what?"

"those two are just... such good cats." wrenpaw whisked her tail. "i mean, they're so nice and considerate, not brash like me. that's probably why they like each other... and they're not arrogant, or shy, or-"

"wait." hemlockpaw interrupted wrenpaw and stared at her. the intensity in his pale yellow eyes made the red she-cat inwardly flinch, and she had to try not to turn away. "who told you that shyness was a flaw?"

"wh- i don't know!" wrenpaw nearly spat out the words, flustered. "it's just- i mean, they're just... either i say things too quickly, or not at all. they-" wrenpaw jerked her head towards cardinalpaw and roanpaw- "aren't like that."

"so?" hemlockpaw flicked an ear and turned away, his gaze falling on wrenpaw's brother. "who cares if you're not like them? who says you have to be? you're being mouse-brained, comparing yourself to them."

"but..." wrenpaw cast a long look at the pair of cats in front of her. "i want to be."

hemlockpaw stared at wrenpaw for a moment, then scoffed. "really. cardinalpaw didn't use to be this open. did you think he was a bad cat then?"

"wh- no!" wrenpaw's shocked response garnered a smirk of satisfaction from the lilac tom.

"then why would you ever think that other cats have that low of an opinion of you? they act pretty nice around you too, so maybe you're just being cynical about yourself." the last part of the sentence was mumbled out.

"but he's got character development!" wrenpaw blurted out the words before she could stop herself. "what do i have that he doesn't? i'm not... special."

"be quiet, the lovebirds are gonna hear you." hemlockpaw nodded towards cardinalpaw and roanpaw, who had briefly turned to listen to the conversation.

the two walked in silence for a while.

"i like the way you sing."

what?

"at dawn in greenleaf," hemlockpaw murmured, his meow so low that wrenpaw wasn't sure if he could even hear himself, "you'll sneak out of camp when you think no one's watching, and listen to the birds sing. and you'll try to copy them."

"how do you-"

"when you turn your face to the daylight, your face looks like it's infused with rays of sunlight."

"and whenever you see bees, you don't run away like other cats do. you stand there and look at it fly around. and the bees won't sting you, either."

"every newleaf, you're the first to find new flowers, and you'll try to smell them and sneeze every time. but you keep doing it, over and over, and you sneeze over and over."

"and... whenever something upsets you, you fight it with your words. it doesn't matter if everyone else, even hornetstar, agrees with it. you'll still fight for what you believe." hemlockpaw's voice broke into a purr. "i don't have the courage to even talk to my own mentor."

"who would, in the face of palmfrond?" wrenpaw's reply was almost a whisper. "he's the grumpiest cat in the forest, besides maybe elderpaw."

hemlockpaw snorted with laughter. "don't let cardinalpaw hear that."

"don't worry." a smile played on wrenpaw's lips. "after teasing him about his crush on roanpaw? cardinalpaw would still claw his ears off for a couple of mousetails. blood means nothing without a real bond."

hemlockpaw started to speak, but wrenpaw raised a paw in a silencing gesture. "you've said enough," was all that came out of her mouth, but a small sparkle of gratitude shone in her saffron eyes.

***

"from this day forward, you shall be known as cardinalblaze. starclan honours your courage and your willpower, and we welcome you as a full warrior of deltaclan."

it had been three moons since the apprentices' patrol, and hornetstar had finally decided to grant firescar and squallbreeze's kits warrior names. roanpaw and hemlockpaw- now roanheart and hemlockdawn- had been granted theirs two moons ago, and since then, wrenpaw was all too impatient for hers.

the reddish-brown she-cat raised her head and chanted cardinalblaze's new name along with the other warriors. beside his mentor, elderpaw- no, elderfrost now- had happiness radiating from him for once as a joyful expression replaced his usual scowl. "cardinalblaze! cardinalblaze!"

cardinalblaze was grinning, his purrs too loud for him to speak. he gazed around with his head held high as his clanmates cheered, and his amber eyes shone proudly as he caught sight of finchwater's pale ginger pelt. beside her, two other cats sat: olivebranch, elderfrost's mentor, and blackthorn, who was wrenpaw's own. as wrenpaw watched, elderfrost arose from his position beside his brown tabby mentor and spoke unheard words with his brother. wrenpaw had no idea how cardinalblaze would react... but she figured that he wouldn't reject him just after his warrior ceremony.

now it was wrenpaw's turn. she tried her best to bury her anxiety as the black tom stood and padded forward. his yellow gaze met hers, and he nodded with a small, reassuring smile. wrenpaw's heart skipped a beat then; she'd never seen blackthorn smile.

"blackthorn, has your apprentice wrenpaw learned the skills of a warrior?" hornetstar's umber eyes pierced the black tom's, and his reply was immediate.

"she has."

blackthorn took two steps backward, and hornetstar turned to wrenpaw.

"wrenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"i... i do." The words came out as little more than a whisper, and wrenpaw stood up straighter as her leader gave her a slight nod.

"then by the powers of starclan, i give you your warrior name. from this moment on, you will be known as wrensong. starclan honours your integrity and your tenacity, and we welcome you as a full warrior of deltaclan."

relief and joy rolled over wrensong as hornetstar rested her muzzle over her head. behind her, the other warriors began to chant her new name.

"wrensong! wrensong!" the reddish-brown she-cat could hear the voices of her brothers and her friends over everyone else. lost for words, she gave hornetstar's shoulder a respectful lick before backing away to join them.

"you always underestimated yourself."

wrensong's freckled head turned to see blackthorn at her side.

"you always thought you needed other cats to validate your worth," blackthorn meowed. "but you didn't become a warrior because everyone around you showered you with praise, did you?"

"well..." wrensong thought back to the times she'd pondered whether or not her own merits... and the times she'd forgotten it all once somebody noticed her, told her good things about her.

"you had help, but because of the strength that others instilled in you, you were able to truly live up to your own potential. that merit goes to you, wrensong." blackthorn's whiskers twitched with amusement. "i'll be excited to see how you fare as a warrior, but i'm sure you'll do fine."

wrensong purred and pressed herself against her former mentor. "thanks for everything."

with that, wrensong gave blackthorn one more smile, then went to join her kin.

❦ winners ❦

first place: risen_phoenix with wrensong

second place: Varulven15 with wrencry

third place: ashpaw113 with wrenfreckle

❦ honorable mentions ❦

cvncelled with wrendaze

alulusa with wrenlight