Sunlight woke Horsepaw up the next morning. Leaf-bare must be on the way, because of this chilly weather! She thought, shivering. She hated leaf-bare because her short orange and white pelt couldn't keep the cold out. She wished her pelt was like Whirlpaw's long, insulated pelt.

She stretched, yawning. Horsepaw stumbled out the den, careful not to step on Grindpaw. He went on the dawn patrols three days in a row, so it made since he was still sleeping at sunhigh.

All the apprentices except Grindpaw were at the fresh-kill pile: Whirlpaw, Cavepaw, Cloverpaw, Dustpaw, Gorgepaw, Rainpaw, Raccoonpaw, Amberpaw, Lizardpaw, and Acornpaw.

As usual, Racoonpaw was boasting. "I'm becoming a warrior today. Eagleeye said so. I think Lizardpaw will too, but I don't know." He looked questionably at his sister.

"Yeah." She answered, her eyes gleaming. "Birdtail said so too. She said I did very well on the hunting part of the assessment." She stuck her chest out with pride.

Raccoonpaw rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Lizardpaw." He shoved her slightly with his shoulder. The young she-cat pushed him back. Soon the two littermates got into a play fight.

"You're not kits anymore. Get up," Snakestrike snarled as he passed by, giving the two fighting apprentices an irritated flick of his tail.

They stopped immediately.

Whirlpaw and Horsepaw stifled a laugh.

Raccoonpaw rolled his eyes again. "He's not much older than us. He can't tell us off like that." Lizardpaw nodded in agreement.

Horsepaw looked at him. "Well, yeah, he kinda can. He's a warrior." She mouthed.

"No one was talking to you, Silentpaw." He retorted, his shoulder fur lifting up.

Horsepaw turned around. "Well, soon we can tell the future apprentices that!" She lightened the mood.

Racoonpaw smiled. "Yeah. We can!" His sour mood was forgotten.

It got silent again. Until Rainpaw said something no apprentice would dare to say out loud:

"Do you like being mute?"

The apprentices turned with wide eyes to Rainpaw, who was confused.

Horsepaw looked at her paws. When she was aware of the other 'paws looking at her, she looked up, and shook her head slowly. Everyone stared. Silence.

Horsepaw wanted to yowl to break the awkwardness, but luckily a few mentors came by and picked up their apprentices, and the remaining young cats padded away to change bedding, or look for ticks on the elders.

She breathed a sigh of relief. She felt a pelt brushing her, and turned to see Whirlpaw. "Was that true?" He meowed. "What you said about being mute?"

Without hesitating, Horsepaw nodded.

Whirlpaw trudged away, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here beneath the Big Rock for a clan meeting!" Stormstar's yowl broke the silence of camp life. WindClan cats flooded from dens and crowded the center of camp. Horsepaw felt squished as she sat by Frogclaw and Dustpaw. She was surprised when she felt a pang of jealousy as she saw Whirlpaw sit by Cloverpaw, their heads close together.

"I am proud to announce that WindClan will have two new warriors today!" Stormstar began, with a happy look at Raccoonpaw and Lizardpaw.

The two apprentices were grinning from ear to ear, their tails twitching nervously.

"Birdtail, is Lizardpaw ready to become a warrior of WindClan?" Stormstar asked the tortoiseshell she-cat.

Birdtail nodded formally. "Yes, Stormstar,"

"And Eagleeye, is Raccoonpaw ready to become a warrior?" Stormstar turned to the other mentor.

Eagleeye dipped his head respectfully. "Yes, Stormstar," He meowed.

Stormstar turned back to the apprentices. " I, Stormstar, leader of WindClan, 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 present them to you as a warrior in their turn.

"Lizardpaw, Raccoonpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Stormstar asked the apprentices.

The young she-cat swallowed nervously. "I do," and her brother puffed out his chest. "I do!" He exclaimed.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Lizardpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Lizardtail. StarClan honors your hunting skills and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan." He said. Lizardtail gently rested her muzzle on their leader's shoulder, and stepped back.

"And by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Raccoonpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Raccoonfur. StarClan honors your skills in battle and your resilience, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan." Stormstar repeated. Raccoonfur once again rested his muzzle on the leader's shoulder, and stepped back by his sister.

"Lizardtail! Raccoonfur! Lizardtail! Raccoonfur!"

The new warriors turned to see their clanmates shouting their new names in gratitude.

Once that was over, Stormstar had one more announcement: 

"And here are the cats going to the Gathering tonight."