"I, Hailstar, leader of Riverclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn", Hailstar began. I quickly glanced nervously around me, only to see everyone returning my gaze. "Heronpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code to protect and defend you clan, even at the cost of your life?"

I swallowed a lump that had wedged itself in my throat, and responded, "I do."

"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Heronpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Heronwing. Starclan honors your courage and optimism, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Riverclan."

I bent my head and respectfully licked Hailstar's shoulder as everyone called out, "Heronwing! Heronwing! Heronwing!"

I finally was allowed to retake my Warrior's Assessment after failing it on my first try. Granted, the water was really murky on the day of my first assessment, and I couldn't see anything.

Mistheart didn't seem too surprised that I had failed to pass on my first try. That was fine, it was still good to know that I had done better than Lion. That idiot failed his second try as well, and had to wait another moon to retake it a third time.

I bowed my head and humbly accepted the praise, looking around the crowd as they congratulated me. Even Mistheart had a small smile on his face, although whether that was from pride or relief, I do not know.

"Starclan above, it took you long enough. I thought I was going to be this family's only pride!" Springcloud exclaimed, her happy tail swishing back contradicting her teasing words.

"Pfft, please. As if you're this family's pride", I teased back, grinning from ear to ear.

"C'mon guys, play nice. I'm equally proud of all of you", Our mother, Rainflower, said, walking up to us, a wide grin also on her face. "But today is Heronwing's day. Congratulations, my little snowball." Riverflower gave me an affectionate lick on my forehead.

You may be proud of us all now, but soon you won't be so proud of Lion.

I excused myself from my family and shoved my way through the crowd of cats, all of whom were giving me encouraging words or smiling politely. I finally broke free of the mob and padded over to Mistheart, who still had a small smile on his face. "So? Are you proud?" I smiled.

"Oh please, I couldn't get rid of you fast enough", he said. I felt down, disappointed even, that I hadn't lived up to my mentor's expectations.

But then he broke out into a huge grin. "But I can't help but feel as though no matter how difficult you were to deal with, you'll still become a great warrior. Congratulations Heronwing." He butted his head against mine and padded over to his mate Streamtail.

Still grinning, I looked at the crowd around me, which was starting to disperse. I'm finally a full part of Riverclan, like all of the others. No more cleaning bedding or checking elder's for ticks.

But then my smiling stopped. Sat at the edge of the dispersing crowd, his head hung low, was Lion. His face was down, but just far enough as to where I could still see his eyes. And those eyes weren't eyes anymore. They were blazing orbs of white, fire licking the tips of his whispers. He lifted his head, and I saw his sickening smile. His mouth stretched too far, and his teeth gleamed too brightly. Then he slowly drew his tongue across his teeth, lingering for longer than he should have on his canines.

He opened his mouth and spoke, but it was weird. Lion was across the clearing, yet I heard him like he was right next to me. "You", he said, "And me."

I realized that I had been staring for quite some time, and quickly blinked.

But then, when I opened my eyes, Lion was gone. I looked around camp, but Lion was nowhere to be seen. He had disappeared in, quite literally, the blink of an eye.

Was I hallucinating?

It was possible, but I don't think that hallucinations can speak so clearly. Plus, it all seemed so... real.

Maybe it wasn't a hallucination...

But then what could it be? It just appeared in the middle of the day, and disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.

Was it a vision?

I've heard Finchcloud and Hailstar talking about her visions, and how they were like she entered another dimension of reality for a split second.

So maybe that's what it was. I should talk to Finchcloud.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and made my way in the direction of Finchcloud's den. I passed a few cats on my way there, all of whom congratulated me.

"Finchcloud?" I called into the medicine den.

"Come in!" I heard the she-cat call. I made my way into the den, wrinkling my nose at the pungent smell of herbs. Finchcloud was reaching into a crevice to grab something. "Just give me one second, Heronwing, I'm helping out Rosefrost with a thorn."

I nodded and sat down, drawing my paw over my nose to try to cancel out the smell of the herbs Finchcloud was using.

"Rest for the remainder of the day, and come to me tomorrow morning if it still bothers you", Finchcloud explained to Rosefrost. The latter gave her thanks and started heading out of the den, catching my eye and scowling as she passed me.

"Alright Heronwing, what's wrong? Thorn in your paw? Stomachache?"

"No, I wanted to ask you something", I explained.

Finchcloud seemed confused at my request, but also relieved. "Finally, I can take a break", She sighed loudly, and laid down to relax. "What's up?"

"I have a question about visions."

"Oh?" Finchcloud was evidently quite surprised.

"Yeah, I think I may have had one a few moments ago."

Finchcloud was even more surprised. "Could you explain it?"

"Well, after everyone congratulated me on becoming a warrior-"

"Congratulations by the way."

"-Thanks. But after that, the crowd started to disperse, and in the middle of it, I saw Lionpaw. He was staring at me with flaming eyes, and his smile was unnatural. Then he just disappeared into thin air."

"Were his eyes just intense, or were there actual flames coming out of his eyes?" Finchcloud asked, drawing a paw over her ears.

"Actual flames. They were reaching up to his whiskers."

"Then yes, this was a vision", I nodded my head in acknowledgement. "Did Lionpaw say anything to you?"

"Yes, he said, 'You. And me'", I explained.

"I see." Finchcloud took this moment to stand back up and walk over to her herbs, which I just now realized were scattered from tending to Rosefrost. "You all made a truce that there were to be no attacks on each other until you were all made warriors, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"And you mentioned to me that he threatened you when you were apprentices."

"Yes, I did", I responded, starting to understand where Finchcloud was heading.

"Then I think it probably has to do with that. Lionpaw realizes that you guys are going to both be warriors soon, and he's probably looking to back up his threat."

"Oh." Only now, after a few moons, did I truly realize the gravity of the situation. Lion wanted to kill me as soon as possible, and I didn't know whether he was concerned about if he killed me in secret or not.

"Heronwing, I think you may need to take someone with you when you go anywhere by yourself", she concluded, running her paws over a few herbs to separate them from the rest. "Otherwise, Lionpaw might try to attack you. And we can't be sure whether or not you'll be able to defeat him."

While I didn't like the idea of having a bodyguard, I understood the necessity. "Who would it be though?"

"Well", the blue-eyed cat began, "You have two choices. Either you can take a mate..."

"I don't have my eye on anyone, so..."

"Or you can ask another family member, like Riverflower or Springcloud", Finchcloud finished.

I nodded, closing my eyes, and thought about my options. If I had a choice, I would choose neither, but Lion was stronger than I was, even though he wasn't a warrior, and could easily kill me. And plus, Lion has Rose to help him out, so even if I were able to beat Lion, I'd still have Rose to defeat. I have no one in this clan, other than Finchcloud of course, although I feel that she isn't the best fighter.

I didn't want Riverflower to get caught up in this. If she were to find out why I needed her around so much, she may not want to be around me anymore, as she'll think that I'm overreacting, never believing that one of her kits could be so evil.

But Springcloud was no better. She would probably have a similar reaction, thinking that Lion and I were being idiots.

Which I guess is justified.

"Are there any other options?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not gonna follow you around all the time, and I know Hailstar won't either, so no, no other options", Finchcloud said.

"I really don't want to bring any family members into this though. They'll both probably dismiss anything if they found out why I always needed them with me."

"Then I guess that leaves your only other option, to find a mate."

"But-"

"No buts! I know you may not have anyone in mind right now, but find the she-cat you think is the prettiest in the clan, and spend some time with her. Get her to like you enough as to where she'll spend most of her time with you", Finchcloud explained. "And who knows, maybe by that point, you'll want to spend all of your time with each other, and you'll become mates!"

"But-"

"I said no buts!"

"No, Finchcloud let me finish."

Finchcloud sighed in defeat, "Ugh, fine. What?"

"Finchcloud, you're the prettiest cat in the clan."

The white and grey she-cat scoffed and flicked her tail dismissively. "I appreciate the compliment, Heronwing, but I'm too old for you. Plus, I'm a medicine cat. It would break the warrior code. I'm sure that once you really get to know another cat, you'll think otherwise."

"So I just have to give another cat a chance, basically?" That was just the tip of the iceberg of what I was risking. If I didn't fall in love with this cat, I risked either breaking their heart, or being trapped in a oneway relationship.

"Precisely."

"Okay. I think- I think I can do that. Thank you, Finchcloud."

"Of course, Heronwing. Let me know if you need anything else", Finchcloud finished. As I made my way out of the den, I heard her grumble to herself, "I really am getting old."

"You're not!" I called back in. I didn't hear a response from her, but I imagine it was somewhere along the lines of another scoff.

But now came the question of who, besides family and Finchcloud, was the prettiest she-cat in the clan?

Cats like Brambleleaf and Mouseclaw are both too old to be my mates, Brambleleaf is an elder, and Mouseclaw was a queen when I was born.

And Streamtail was Mistheart's mate, so that takes that option off the table.

That left Snowface and Stormstripe.

Easy decision.

Snowface was much prettier. Her gleaming white pelt and comforting blue eyes made her absolutely beautiful. She had a grace in her walk that made it seem as though she were flowing like the river.

She had also just became a warrior a few days after I was born, so she was the closest to my age.

Not me obsessing over a cat after I just said I didn't have my eye on anyone.

I searched the camp for Snowface, who I found stretched out on a flat stone, sunbathing. Her white pelt was a lot like mine, but hers shone more in the sun and didn't have a grey stripe. If she had that grey stripe, we could have been mistaken for twins.

Then I decided to take a quick look over at Stormstripe. She was digging into what looked like a pike, but was still surveying the camp. When she caught my eye, she smiled and gave me a friendly wave of her tail.

She's really nice though. Even if she isn't as pretty.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to start walking over to Snowface. Even though I wasn't really interested in any cat, I still felt nervous going up to Snowface. If I were looking for a mate, she would probably be my first choice.

Well, here goes nothing.

I lightly cleared my throat as I stood next to Snowface. I didn't get a response. Then I cleared it again, but louder. Still no response.

Ugh, fine, cruel world.

"Um, excuse me? Snowface?" I tentatively said.

Snowface opened her eyes and lifted her head halfway. "Oh, hello, Heronwing. Congratulations on receiving your warrior name."

"Uh, thanks", I fumbled, clearly flustered. Snowface rested her head back on the ground. "Um... uh..."

Snowface groaned and picked herself up, resting on her haunches. "C'mon, you can form words."

"Sorry, I normally don't have issues with this."

"That's okay", Snowface reassured, "What do you need?"

I swallowed the lump that had wedged itself in my throat. "Would you- uh- would you like to go hunting with me?"

Snowface didn't respond right away, which made me mentally smack myself.

Too straightforward, Heronwing! Should have gotten to know her first, then go forward with anythi-

"Sure", she responded.

I froze in surprise. "What?"

Snowface smiled politely. "I said sure, silly. I'll go hunting with you. When do you want to leave?"

"I- uh- um-"

"Don't be so flustered, I don't bite."

"Well, honestly, I didn't think I'd get this far, so I haven't really planned out anything..."

"How about we leave after I groom my fur? The underside is a bit unkempt from laying on the rock for so long."

"Uh yeah, that works", I confirmed, trying to regain my dignity whilst internally screaming.

"Great, I'll meet you at the entrance to camp in a few minutes", Snowface finished.

I nodded in response, and made my way straight to the entrance. I plopped myself down right next to the opening, and waited.

HOLY FOX-DUNG I JUST DID THAT!

AND SHE SAID YES!

THAT WAS SO HARD BUT SO EASY AT THE SAME TIME!

I didn't know why I was so excited. Just a few moments ago, I was talking with Finchcloud about how I wasn't interested in taking a mate.

I looked towards the medicine den, where I found Finchcloud sitting near the entrance. She was looking at me, a smirk on her face.

"Did you hear all...?" I mouthed, pointing to Snowface, who was still grooming.

Finchcloud nodded and mouthed something that looked like "Good luck."

I rolled my eyes a licked my chest fur, slightly embarrassed. When I lifted my head back up, Snowface was leaping down from the rock she had been on.

She strolled over to me, keeping her eyes fixed on me as she was walking.

"So?" She said when she reached me, flicking my flank with her tail. "Shall we?"

I nodded and let her lead the way as we exited the camp.

HueHueHueHue

I'm baaaaaaaaack

I didn't plan on Heronwing having a mate until I thought up this new book. Broski was gonna be single and NOT ready to mingle.

Well I mean I guess he's still technically not willing to mingle, but whatever.

But just over 2600 words for the first chapter is pretty solid.

My motivation for writing is returning, I think me being crazily bored might have helped that.

Let's see how this relationship between Snowface and Heronwing develops, shall we?

-Maple