Chapter Text
Icepaw awoke in the apprentice den as per usual, stretching and blinking his eyes groggily. Today was a very special day—his warrior ceremony! Icepaw was finally getting his new name and was able to join Yewpelt, his best friend, in the warrior den! The past few moons without her have been awful, primarily because of Weaselpaw. Ugh!
Weaselpaw was a menace to Icepaw. Always pulling pranks, purposefully being unnecessarily rough during training, a stark contrast to when they were kits: always playing together, things like that (they weren’t littermates, but their mothers had kits less than a moon apart). Icepaw was thoroughly perplexed by his sudden change in demeanor when it first happened, about two moons after they were made apprentices, but he learned to accept it without question eventually.
Whilst Yewpelt was still an apprentice, she would stick up for Icepaw when Weaselpaw was being a total foxbrain. But now that she was gone, he was more annoying than ever. And the worst part of all was that Icepaw had to share his warrior ceremony with Weaselpaw. Weaselpaw, his worst enemy in all of MossClan! It just felt wrong.
But of course, Icepaw would have to shrug this off. No amount of begging to Heatherstar would cause her to change the ceremony. She was nothing if not stubborn and old-fashioned. And so he shrugged this off and padded out of the mossy den into the grotto MossClan was situated in and headed straight towards the freshkill pile after hearing his belly grumble angrily.
It was a sunny greenleaf day, light streaming through the entrance to the grotto, and to Icepaw’s happiness, Yewpelt was sitting there finishing up a conversation with Flamingtree, MossClan’s medicine cat. He trotted up to the freshkill pile and took a wood mouse before turning to eat it beside Yewpelt. Once Flamingtree was walking away Icepaw took the opportunity to catch up with her. “Morning.” He mewed a groggy greeting. “Hey, Icepaw! Are you so excited for your ceremony?” She grinned as Icepaw rolled his eyes and took a bite out of his mouse.
“I would be, if I wasn’t sharing it with you-know-who.” Icepaw hissed, which made Yewpelt snort a laugh. “Yeah, I’d be too. You gotta make the most of it, though: this is a big moment; own it! Ignore him, if you have to.” She nudged him playfully, causing a small grin to form on Icepaw’s muzzle.
Icepaw took another bite out of his mouse. “Sure, sure. Like it’s easy to ignore that.” He spoke, his words muffled around the mouthful of mouse. “Who’s to say he doesn’t pull a prank on me, or trip me or something?” He whined to Yewpelt childishly before they both break into laughter.
The pair continued their chatting until Icepaw finished his freshkill, which wasn’t long. “I have to get going—Cindershade wants to go hunting together one last time as mentor and apprentice.” Icepaw smiled softly. “He’s quite sentimental, if you couldn’t tell.” Yewpelt chuckled and nodded with understanding. “Honestly, I think that would be nice. Frostbee’s so old and had so many apprentices it felt like I was just another cat to him.” She paused, frowning. “Well, bye.” They exchanged goodbyes and Icepaw trotted out of camp and into the forest territory of MossClan.
Icepaw and Cindershade had agreed to meet up at a specific spot they would always go hunting at in the forest. It was in the heart—dense, thick foliage surrounding, a great spot for prey, marked by a large patch of red flowers that would stay their vibrant color all throughout the year. Once Icepaw reached the spot, he found Cindershade already waiting for him. “Ah, Icepaw. Finally becoming a warrior, such an exciting moment!” He mewed excitedly before his tone became wistful. “It’s truly been an honor to teach you everything I know. I’m going to miss hunting and training with you.”
Icepaw sighed before putting on a soft smile. He knew where this was going—Cindershade pulling him into a conversation reminiscing on everything ever—and he was going to do his best to avoid it. “It’s been… nice being trained by you as well. Let’s split up and hunt, right?” His smile grew nervously. And although Cindershade looked slightly hurt, he didn’t push the subject.
The pair came back with two squirrels, one responsible for the catch of one: a pretty successful hunting trip! Icepaw and Cindershade returned to camp with everyone assembled for the warrior ceremony and waiting for Icepaw to return. Mortified, he quickly dropped the squirrel into the freshkill pile before grudgingly sitting down beside Weaselpaw, who scooted away a little with his sly little grin still fully intact. Icepaw hated it.
“With Icepaw’s arrival, we are now ready to begin!” Heatherstar yowled with authority, before continuing. “We have two young toms who have proven they are loyal to MossClan and are capable of providing for their clanmates and securing our borders. These two are Weaselpaw and Icepaw.” Icepaw beamed with pride at the mention of his name.
“We shall start with Weaselpaw. Weaselpaw, do you promise to fight for your clan, even if it means you will fall?” Heatherstar asked, to which Weaselpaw, with his stupid fluffy fur, sly eyes, and large grin replied, “Without a doubt, Heatherstar.” His tone just dripping in self-righteousness, at least to Icepaw’s feelings.
Heatherstar nodded. “Then from this day forth, you will be known as Weaselear. MossClan honors your commitment to the code and your training, and is delighted to welcome you a full warrior.” Weaselear dipped his head and Icepaw had to try his best to stifle a laugh at how stupid he looked, although Icepaw would be doing the same thing in just a few moments.
Heatherstar then turned towards Icepaw. “Icepaw, do you promise to do the same?” She asked, looking a little annoyed. Icepaw nodded eagerly. “Absolutely, Heatherstar!” Weaselear snickered at Icepaw’s enthusiasm, causing a frown to spread across his face. Heatherstar ignored it, just like she always would when the pair would bicker (which was rather often). “Then from this moment on, you will be known as Iceglint. MossClan honors your abilities and your cunning mind.”
And Iceglint was officially a warrior.