Dawnpaw and her denmates had reached a stage of training that was very tough for all of them. They were practicing the hardest and the most complex battle and hunting moves. Even Crowpaw and Leafpaw, who usually got the hang of things quickly, did not understand and asked frequently for their mentors to repeat the instructions.

It was sun-high, and Dawnpaw was sharing a mouse with Lightningheart, her older brother, when Feathershine barged in with Firesong beside her.

"We're getting ready for your final assessment! It's tomorrow, so we are going to cover more hunting skills today." Feathershine exclaimed.

Dawnpaw shrugged at Lightningheart and got to her paws. Firesong ran to get Gingerpaw, and they headed out into the forest.

"In the assessment, you're going to first hunt by yourself, and then with another apprentice to cover all knowledge. Let's start." Firesong said, his fiery pelt smoothing as he dropped into a crouch.

They started by practicing the hunter's crouch and leaping, then stalking, then using their tails and paws to balance, then they climbed trees, and finally, Dawnpaw plopped down wearily, having finished practicing a particularly difficult move that involved leaping onto a tree trunk and to the side to confuse prey.

"Is that it?" she asked hopefully, her ears twitching.

"That was half of it," Feathershine shot her a glance. "Now we're doing partner hunting."

Firesong moved closer. "We'll demonstrate."

They both crept forward, and then Feathershine flicked her tail to the left. Firesong pulled away from her where she had directed him, crept in a circle, and then they both pounced forward at the same time. They demolished a leaf that was in between them.

"That's cool!" Gingerpaw mewed, impressed. She kneaded her paws in the sand eagerly. "I wanna try!"

Dawnpaw got up and padded to Gingerpaw's side.T he two sisters practiced moving together and giving the signal, but Dawnpaw was slightly impatient and leaped before Gingerpaw was in position, and that resulted in Gingerpaw leaping right on top of her. Dawnpaw sat up, shook Gingerpaw off of her, and spat sand out of her mouth.

"Alright, that'll be enough," Firesong mewed, his whiskers twitching.

"Don't laugh at me!" Dawnpaw mewed crossly.

"Go hunt," Feathershine directed, trying to keep a straight face.

Dawnpaw huffed, but she nodded and crept off.

By no time, Dawnpaw caught a vole, Gingerpaw caught a thrush, and then they had teamed up to catch a squirrel.

"You're done," Firesong mewed as he inspected their catches.

Dawnpaw purred, too tired to do anyrhing else, and she padded home with her sister.

*the next day*

"It's our final assessment!" Crowpaw squealed, leaning into her brother as they shared tongues outside the apprentices' den.

Dawnpaw rolled over on her back. "I'm so nervous!" she mewed, scraping her back along the grass and giving it a good rub.

Ashstar bounded out of her den eagerly, Riverstorm, Woodshadow, Firesong, Feathershine, Cloudpelt, Lemonheart, and Cedarstripe behind her.

"Uh oh.." Leafpaw stammered, pausing his licking. "It's time!"

Oakpaw trembled. "I just know I'm gonna fail!" he murmured.

Dawnpaw shook her head. "You're not going to fa-"

"Yes, he will."

All the apprentices turned around.

"You again!" Crowpaw exclaimed. "Go away, Needlepaw. We don't want you here!"

Needlepaw ignored her sister and instead focused on the mentors.

Dawnpaw laid her head on Crowpaw's shoulder for a moment and then stood up, giving her full attention to her mentor.

"Alright. For the first part, you will each hunt until dusk, getting as much prey as possible, and then for the second part, you will demonstrate your partner hunting skills. Your partners will be: Oakpaw and Gingerpaw, Needlepaw and Leafpaw, and lastly, Dawnpaw and Crowpaw. Alright. Dawnpaw will be proctored by Lemonheart, Needlepaw will be proctored by Cedarstripe, Feathershine will proctor Oakpaw, Cloudpelt will proctor Crowpaw, Firesong will proctor Leafpaw, and Gingerpaw will be proctored by Woodshadow. Everyone got it?" Riverstorm mewed in a rush.

The apprentices nodded, anticipation shining in their eyes.

"Alright, you can go."

Dawnpaw hurried to Lemonheart, and he led her out of camp.

"Here are the rules," he mewed, sitting down on a tree stump. "You have until dusk to catch as much prey as you can. Every piece will be counted, and 'I almost caught it' is not good enough. And you cannot ask any cat for help, nor eat the prey. I will be watching you, although you may not see me. Just do your best, okay?"

Dawnpaw nodded, digging her claws into the grass.

"You may begin."

Dawnpaw hurried forward, opening her mouth to taste the air. She caught the scent of a thrush and crept after it. There was the bird, tugging a worm out of the ground. Dawnpaw stalked closer, then leaped. The bird went limp and setting it aside, she dug a hole and dropped it in. She kicked dirt over it and turned around. She tracked scents around the forest, catching a couple of mice and a rabbit. When it was nearing dusk, she had gotten around eight pieces of prey, and was stalking a squirrel, setting her paws down very lightly. Suddenly the squirrel ran, and Dawnpaw hared after it and scored her claws across its neck. The sun sank beneath the trees and Dawnpaw looked around hopefully.

"Lemonheart? Is that it?" she voiced.

"Great job, Dawnpaw," mewed the ginger tom, emerging from behind a bush. "Go find Crowpaw and Cloudpelt, I'll take your prey back to camp."

It was dark as Dawnpaw ran across the forest, following Cloudpelt's scent. Finally she found the two.

"I'm here," she mewed, panting as she skidded to a halt.

Cloudpelt looked up. "Hi, Dawnpaw. Do you two know what to do?"

Crowpaw nodded, pressing her pelt against Dawnpaw's fur.

"You may begin."

They crept forward side-by-side. Nearly at the same time, they caught the scent of a rabbit, gnawing on some grass. Crowpaw flicked her tail like they had learned and Dawnpaw stalked to the side, pressing low to the ground. Crowpaw crouched, ready to leap. Once Dawnpaw stalked in a circle and reached her position, Crowpaw flicked her ears and they both leaped forward. Dawnpaw landed on the rabbit but Crowpaw pulled up a little short. Dawnpaw releseased the prey, and it fled right into Crowpaw's paws and the tuxedo she-cat bit it's neck.

Dawnpaw gave her a nod, her cheeks blushing slightly, but they dug a hole and kept going with no problem. They caught a sparrow and a vole when Cloudpelt emerged from a tree.

"You're done," he said briskly, his tail twitching.

"Did we do well?" the apprentices asked.

"I cannot say, not yet."

Dawnpaw exchanged an anxious look with Crowpaw, but they gathered up their prey and headed back to camp.

*the next day*

Dawnpaw and her denmates sat in the apprentices' den, Amberleaf and Leafshadow anxiously licking their fur. Dawnpaw's fur was full of knots so she squirmed, trying to get out of it. Finally, it was over, and Ashstar gave a loud call.

"All cats old enough to climb a tree gather for a Clan meeting!"

Needlepaw was curled up in her nest, her ears flattened to her head and her tail over her head as if she didn't want to hear it.

"We have gathered today for five new warriors!" Ashstar continued. "Hawkfeather and Treestorm, go get them."

A moment later, Treestorm came into the den, his eyes shining.

"Cmon," he whispered, and Dawnpaw followed her father, making sure she was right next to Crowpaw.

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

"I do!" Dawnpaw mewed with the rest of her denmates.

"In that case, Oakpaw, come forward. You have completed your warrior training and have earned your warrior name. From now on you will be known as Oakspots. The Clan honors your willingness and your determination and we welcome you as a full warrior of SilverClan."

Oakspots licked her shoulder and stood back, his eyes shining.

Dawnpaw purred for her brother as he padded back and Gingerpaw stepped forward.

"Gingerpaw, you have also completed your warrior training and from now on you will be known as Gingerleaf. The Clan honors your sense of humor and your skill in battle and we welcome you as a full member of SilverClan."

Gingerleaf licked Ashstar's shoulder and stepped back.

Dawnpaw hurried forward as Ashstar called her name. "Dawnpaw, you have completed your warrior training and earned your name. From now on you will be known as Dawnheart. The Clan honors your bravery and speed and we welcome you as a full warrior of SilverClan."

Dawnheart licked her leader's shoulder, her eyes shining at her new name. It was beautiful!

The ceremony continued. Leafpaw became Leafspring, and Crowpaw became Crowfoot. The tuxedo she-cat hurried over to Dawnpaw and they pressed their fur together as Mapleshade led the chant. "Oakspots! Gingerleaf! Dawnheart! Leafspring! Crowfoot!"

The five of them climbed up on boulders to take watch silently as the rest of the Clan dispersed, and Dawnheart had never felt happier.