“You’re hiding something from me,” Fogpaw stated as she and Scorchplume came back from their evening stealth training session.
Her mentor looked over her shoulder and cocked a brow skeptically. “Oh, really? Whatever gave you that impression?”
“Well, first off,” said Fogpaw, “You’ve been weirdly quiet all day and, secondly, you’re talking extra fancy which means you’re putting effort into how you talk which probably means you’re being careful about what you say.”
Scorchplume laughed and said, “I’ve taught you too well.”
“So what are you hiding?” Fogpaw cried, jumping to come shoulder to shoulder with her.
“Nothing,” Scorchplume said with a dismissive wave of her tail.
“Nuh-uh!” Fogpaw insisted. “You just admitted you were being careful about what you say!”
“No I didn’t,” said Scorchplume in her performatively offended voice. “Those words never came out of my mouth.”
“But-! You basically said that!”
“Did not.”
“What are you hiding!?” Fogpaw groaned. She could tell that Scorchplume was being deliberately obtuse to avoid answering her question. Determined to get answers, she decided to start throwing out explanations and seeing what got the biggest reaction out of Scorch.
“Is it… bad news?”
“Mm.” Scorch didn’t even glance at her. It probably wasn’t that.
“Okay, it’s good news,” nodded Fogpaw.
“Who said that?”
Fogpaw growled in playful annoyance but otherwise ignored the comment. “Okay, good news, good news… Are you pregnant?”
Scorchplume spluttered and stopped walking immediately. “B-gh-What?!”
Fogpaw was startled by the intensity of her reaction. “Well, you’re mates with Yarrowshade now, I thought maybe-”
“First of all,” blustered Scorch, “we are not mates-” (“Oh, okay.”) “-and second of all, I can’t have kittens. I’ve been caught by the twolegs, remember?”
“Oh, yeahhh,” Fogpaw frowned. “Okay, so it’s not that.”
“It’s not anything, Fogpaw,” insisted Scorch, resuming the walk back to camp. “You should really just drop it.”
“But it’s clearly something or you wouldn’t be trying so hard to make me drop it.”
“Fine,” Scorch gave in, and for a split second Fogpaw’s stomach fluttered in triumph, “think what you want! But I’m telling you, there’s nothing important going on today.”
“Wait, so it’s an event?” Fogpaw gasped and Scorch laughed and rolled her eyes.
“You’re reading too much into things,” she said.
Just then, they crested the hill into camp and Goldenstar’s voice called out, “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Stoneperch for a Clan meeting!”
Fogpaw gasped again and her eyes snapped towards the Stoneperch where Goldenstar was smiling at them. Beneath it sat Slatepaw, her fur brushed up in excitement, and Fogpaw realized very suddenly what Scorch had been hiding. She looked back at her mentor and found a smug grin across her face.
“Well, we certainly don’t want to miss that, now do we?” she said.
“Oh my stars,” Fogpaw shouted, “I can’t believe it!”
“Volume,” winced Scorch and Fogpaw blushed shyly.
“Whoops. Sorry.”
“Fogpaw, come on!” called Slatepaw. Scorch gave her a shoulder shove and sent Fogpaw scrambling down to sit with her sister in the front of the crowd. A few of the cats gathering around chuckled and she couldn’t tell if they were laughing at her but she chose to believe they weren’t. These were her Clanmates, her friends. They wouldn’t do that.
“Can you believe it?” she asked Slatepaw.
“I know, right?” grinned her sister. “We’re going to be warriors!”
“Yeah,” Fogpaw’s smile fell a little bit. She had been thinking about that lately, about what she wanted to be in life, and she had been planning for this moment. She hoped that Slatepaw wouldn’t be upset by what she was going to do.
She didn’t have much time to dwell on it, however, as Goldenstar began the ceremony proper.
“Well, I think we all know why we’re gathered here today,” she said, smiling down at the apprentices. “Slatepaw and Fogpaw have trained long and hard and their mentors have both reported that they are more than ready to receive their warrior names.”
Behind them, trying to be quiet but not going unnoticed, someone said, “Careful, careful. You alright?”
“I’m fine,” grunted a voice that Fogpaw instantly recognized as Ghost’s. She whipped around to see Jagg guiding him down the slope into camp. He winced with every step, leaning heavily on her shoulder as they walked.
“Dad!” Fogpaw beamed, her tail shooting up to greet him and he gave a pained smile and nod.
“Focus,” whispered Slatepaw self-consciously, looking sidelong at her as she stayed focused on Goldenstar. Fogpaw laughed nervously and turned to sit upright like her sister. She would have to say hello to Ghost later.
Goldenstar, at least, didn’t seem upset and continued without issue. “Today, we honor you both and how far you’ve come. I, Goldenstar, leader of RisingClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two resilient apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn.”
She hopped down from the Stoneperch to join them in front of the crowd, her head raised nobly, and said, “Fogpaw, Slatepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?”
“I do,” they both said, exchanging an excited glance.
“Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Slatepaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Slateheart. StarClan honors your kindness and devotion to your Clan and we welcome you as a full warrior.”
Goldenstar stepped forward and rested her chin on Slateheart’s head and Slateheart licked her shoulder as the warriors cheered her name. Fogpaw joined them, hoping to cheer the loudest of all. Slateheart blushed and preened under the praise as she stood back, tail swishing demurely over her paws. Fogpaw opened her mouth to congratulate her sister but Goldenstar turned to face her and continued the ceremony.
“Fogpaw,” she said, “from this moment on, you shall be known as Fogstalker. StarClan honors your bravery and conviction and we welcome you as a full warrior of RisingClan.” Purring, she dipped to lick Goldenstar’s shoulder and the crowd cheered again. Floodstrike in particular calling out her new name with enthusiasm.
Fogstalker turned in a circle to see the crowd’s faces, to smile at her Clanmates. Scorchplume had a warm smile on her face that made her heart soar. Floodstrike, Barleybee, and Sparrowsway were all sitting side by side and Floodstrike grinned toothily as she looked at him. Near the back of the crowd, she could see Jagg and Ghost sitting together and Ghost was even smiling a little, although it looked almost like he was wincing.
She turned to smile at Slateheart and her sister smiled back and that was when she realized that someone very important was missing. She looked at an empty space near the front of the crowd and tried to imagine her mother sitting there and smiling too but she couldn’t get the shapes to stay in place or look right.
What did her mom look like again? Surely her face wasn’t exactly like Slatehearts, right? She frowned slightly and Slateheart seemed to realize what she was thinking, laying her tail over Fogstalker’s flank quietly.
“Well!” Goldenstar’s voice pulled their attention back up to the front, “I know you just got back from training so why don’t you both get something to eat, take a bit of time to talk with your loved ones, and then you’ll start your silent vigil.”
“Wait,” Fogstalker blurted. Goldenstar blinked in surprise.
“Fogpaw!” Slateheart hissed quietly, only catching herself after she had said it.
Fogstalker wasn’t deterred. “Goldenstar, I’ve been thinking and…” She glanced back over her shoulder at Scorchplume whose brow was furrowed uneasily. “I think I want to be a mediator. Like my mom.” The words felt right as she said them and she nodded confidently as she turned back to face Goldenstar.
“You’re sure?” Goldenstar asked. “You don’t have to make that decision now, you know.”
“I know,” Fogstalker nodded, standing straighter. “I’m sure. I want to help people like she did. I want to be a mediator.”
“Well, in that case,” said the leader, straightening her own posture, “Fogstalker, you have chosen to take up the duties of a mediator. Do you swear to stand apart from the rivalry between Clans and cats and to strive to resolve disputes peacefully, even at the cost of your life?”
Fogstalker took a deep breath and nodded. “I do.” The air was scintillating with magic and she could feel it prickling through her pelt.
“Then by the powers of StarClan,” said Goldenstar, “I place this responsibility on your shoulders and welcome you as a mediator of RisingClan.”
There was more cheering. Fogstalker couldn’t help but feel like this round of cheers was quieter. She looked around to find Scorchplume and Russetfrond both silent. Even Floodstrike was more subdued this time around. To her dismay, she realized that Slateheart wasn’t cheering either. She met her sister’s gaze in confusion and Slateheart looked away.
“With that, our meeting is adjourned,” said Goldenstar to the crowd. “You two get something to eat, I’ll come grab you when it’s time for your vigil.”
Goldenstar sighed slightly but nodded, beckoning him towards her den with a curl of her tail. As they left, the crowd moved to congratulate the sisters but Fogstalker couldn’t help but lean in to Slateheart.
“Hey,” she whispered, “what’s wrong? Why weren’t you cheering for me? Are you angry?”
“I don’t know,” Fogstalker shrugged, “I didn’t tell anybody, I was just thinking it.”
“But we’re sisters,” said Slateheart, turning to study her face. “You should have-”
“Congrats you cuties!” Ospreymask interrupted cheerily, butting her head up against Fogstalker’s shoulder, causing her to bristle in surprise. “Your warrior names are so beautiful! I love them!”
“Thank you,” demurred Slateheart, leaning in to touch noses with the pregnant warrior.
“Yeah…” Fogstalker hummed distractedly. She wasn’t done talking with Slateheart but, already, more people were swarming closer to try and get their attention, pulling them in different directions.
“Wow, a mediator!” Songdust said, “Your mother would be so proud, kiddo.”
“Yeah?” Fogstalker smiled a little as she turned to face the elder.
“Yeah,” nodded Songdust. “You’re gonna do amazing.”
Floodstrike stepped in to lay his tail over Fogstalker’s back. “You did it, Foggy. You managed to get a half decent warrior name.”
“Half decent!?” she exclaimed. “My name rules!”
“Agree to disagree,” Floodstrike said, winking to assure her it was a joke. She laughed and rubbed up against his chin.
“You two should hurry up and eat,” she heard Sparrowsway saying.
“Oh, right,” blushed Slateheart. “Thanks for reminding me.”
“Maybe we can share with dad!” Fogstalker gasped, turning to try and locate him through the crowd.
“I’ll grab you something,” said Barleybee, “go get settled.”
Fogstalker didn’t need to be told twice. She slipped through the crowd, smiling and nodding as people gave her passing congratulations, and eventually broke away from the throng and bounded the last few tail lengths to meet him.
“Dad!” she purred, moving to rub her cheeks against his “I’m so glad you came! How did you know it was happening?”
Ghost stiffened under her touch but managed to reciprocate after a moment. “Uh, Scorch told us to come.”
“Really?” Fogstalker’s chest swelled with excitement. “That’s amazing!”
“We wanted to be here for your big day,” Jagg smiled. “Congratulations, Fogstalker, a new name is a huge honor.”
Slateheart padded up to join them then, smiling softly. “Thanks for coming, dad.”
“Yeah,” Ghost cleared his throat awkwardly and shifted his weight with a wince. “Happy to be here.”
“You’re wincing a lot today,” Fogstalker observed. “Are you feeling alright?”
“He just has a bit of arthritis,” explained Jagg. “He’ll be okay.”
Slateheart frowned. “Oh, we-”
“We can have Oddstripe give you some herbs for that!” offered Fogstalker brightly. Slateheart lashed her tail once, gaze sinking.
“Thank you,” Jagg said, “both of you.” That made Slateheart smile a little and Fogstalker gave her a friendly nudge.
Shortly after, Barleybee brought some prey across camp for them to share. Fogstalker enjoyed the conversation and the food but it was hard not to think about how Slateheart was upset with her. As Ghost and Jagg bid them farewell, sent home with some juniper berries for his joints, and the Clan dispersed for the night, she approached her sister and tried again.
“Hey, can we talk about earlier?” she asked.
“We have to start our silent vigil,” Slateheart said evasively.
“Right, but we have a second before-”
“Fogstalker, it’s fine,” she said firmly, as if that ended the conversation. “Can we just forget it?”
Fogstalker frowned. “I… I guess, but-”
“Alright, girls,” Goldenstar said as she approached. “Are you ready for your vigil?”
“Yes,” said Slateheart and Fogstalker’s heart sank.
“Yeah, I guess,” she shrugged.
“Alright,” smiled Goldenstar, although she seemed a bit concerned. “You’ll have to stay silent until the sun touches the Stoneperch, or in the case of emergency. Got it?”
“Got it,” they both said.
“Good luck,” said Goldenstar. “Your vigil starts now.” She turned and headed back to her den and Fogstalker’s vision was drawn to where Scorchplume was waiting for her. She tilted her head curiously at her mentor as if to say, ‘why weren’t you cheering?’ and Scorch offered her a smile that was hard to read before slipping into the den.
Fogstalker sighed and began to pace in a wide circle around camp.
UPDATES:
- Fogpaw and Slatepaw graduate to warriors, taking the names Fogstalker and Slateheart respectively.
- Fogstalker requests to become a mediator.
