After training all day and well into the night, and after some sleep, Stormheart got up well before sun-up, her eyes bleary with sleep, and woke Petalpaw. "Come on, we have to get some last minute training in, and then you can have a nap before your last assessment!" she whispered, her black tail quivering.

They padded out of the forest, which was still except for the fluttering of leaves. Some leaves had already fallen, and the trees were changing colors to red, yellow, and orange.

Stormheart watched wearily as Petalpaw aced her hunting, catching a squirrel and two voles.

"Okay, Petalpaw, I'm confident you'll pass your assessment," Stormheart sighed. "Now we can both get some sleep."

Petalpaw nodded, and started off towards camp, dragging her paws with exhaustion. "That sounds great!" she mewed wearily.

Once they got into camp, both mentor and apprentice collapsed into their nests, and slept until sunhigh.

*at sunhigh*

Stormheart woke from her dream, a little less tired than she was before. Petalpaw was sitting outside the apprentices den, grooming her fur. Stormheart was pleased to see that there was a light in her eyes and the grey she-cat was not too tired.

Stormheart could feel her flank shaking with excitement and nerves.

"What if I fail?" Petalpaw mewed, ceasing her grooming. "What if my warrior name is weird? What if the Clan kicks me out because I didn't do well enough?"

Stormheart shook her head comfortingly. "You'll do fine, Petalpaw! You trained so well! And it's ok to be nervous, just do your best! Now let's go, Ashstar is waiting for you. We'll assess you together."

"Are you sure?" Petalpaw meowed.

"Of course I'm sure - you have the best mentor in the clan!"

Petalpaw let out an amused purr. "That's true!"

Purring, the two she-cats padded towards the exit, where Ashstar was waiting for them.

"Ready?" Ashstar asked with a comforting smile.

Petalpaw took a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be," she mewed bravely.

Ashstar purred. "Great! Here are the rules: 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. We will be watching you, although you may not see us. Just do your best, okay?"

Petalpaw nodded nervously. "Can I start?" she mewed.

Ashstar nodded, and she and Stormheart turned simultaneously and padded into the brush. Craning her neck, Stormheart glimpsed Petalpaw tasting the air, worries wiped from her face. Suddenly, she slipped into a hunting crouch and stalked forward. Stormheart looked after her, and gave a silent screech of excitement as Petalpaw emerged with a rabbit, and immediately dug a hole, dropped the prey into it, and then kicked dirt over it.

Great! Stormheart thought, walking parallel to her apprentice, hyper-aware of Ashstar doing the same on the other side.

Petalpaw dashed off a moment later, then buried a fat mouse.

Stormheart silently congratulated her apprentice on the amazing catch.

Petalpaw put down her mouse and dug another hole.

The next piece of prey took a little longer for Petalpaw to catch. The she-cat watched as a sparrow hopped by, but she jumped too late and gave time for the sparrow to fly away.

"Fox dung!" the apprentice muttered, her dark grey tail lashing in disappointment

Stormheart sighed to herself, as she watched Petalpaw.

After that, Petalpaw put more effort into each pounce and quickly caught two smaller pieces of prey.

She dropped them near her buried mouse and muttered "These are too small, I need something else."

Her next catch shocked Stormheart. The apprentice had run after a fat squirrel and surprisingly let the rodent run away. Petalpaw then intercepted it as it hopped from one tree to another on a low branch.

As the apprentice trekked back to her buried prey as the sun had begun to set. She caught two smaller birds, and missed a vole. By now it was already a few minutes before dusk.

Stormheart emerged from the clearing holding Petalpaw's rabbit in her mouth. Ashstar came in from the other side.

"Okay, that is enough for today, Petalpaw, I'll help you carry your prey back home," she mewed, her eyes shining.

The three she-cats carried the prey together and reached the camp by dusk.

Ashstar smiled at Petalpaw "You have been trained very well! You have earned your warrior name."

Petalpaw jumped up and down with excitement.

The leader started to the rock and jumped onto it with grace and ease.

"Go on," Stormheart nudged the apprentice.

"All cats old enough to climb a tree, gather for a Clan meeting," Ashstar yowled. "I am happy to announce to you that we have five new warriors among our ranks!"

The Clan cats cheered with joy, Stormheart among them.

"Mistypaw, come up!"

The blue-furred she-cat camped up to the rock.

"Lightningheart, is Mistypaw ready to become a warrior?"

"Indeed she is, Ashstar." he reported, his yellow tail flicking.

"Well, then, my dear Mistypaw, you will now be known as Mistyflash to honor your speed and strength."

Mistyflash touched noses with her mother, gave a skip of delight, and stands off to the side.

"Blazepaw, come here."

The black and yellow tom scrambled up to her, beaming.

"Smallfoot?" Ashstar asked.

"He is ready to become a warrior, Ashstar."

"My dear Blazepaw, you will now be known as Blazefire. The Clan honors your sense of humor and intelligence."

Blazefire touched noses with his mother and ran to stand next to Mistyflash.

"Come on, Maplepaw, sweetie."

Maplepaw ran to Ashstar eagerly and waited for her name.

"Is Maplepaw ready, Riverstorm?"

"Ready and more," the blue tom answered proudly.

"Maplepaw, you will now be known as Mapleshade. The Clan honors your battle skills and your hunting prowess."

Mapleshade waved her dark amber tail and raced towards her littermates.

"Emberpaw, come here, dear."

The dark yellow tom ran over to her like lightning.

"Snowberry?"

"He is worthy of becoming a warrior, Ashstar."

"Well then, Emberpaw, you will now be known as Emberleaf. The Clan honors your skills and your speed."

Emberleaf waved his tail, touched noses with his mother, and ran off.

Finally, Ashstar beckoned Petalpaw to come forward, and a gasp swept through the Clan.

"Petalpaw, you have trained long and well for this moment. Although you started out as an kittypet, you are one of the most talented hunters I have seen."

Petalpaw beamed at these words.

"Petalpaw, you will now be known as Petalstripe!"

The Clan gave a large welcoming to the new warriors. Stormheart joined in, calling their names."Mistyflash! Blazefire! Mapleshade! Emberleaf! Petalstripe! Mistyflash! Blazefire! Mapleshade! Emberleaf! Petalstripe!"

Stormheart touched noses with Petalstripe, while Riverstorm did the same to Mapleshade. He murmured something, and Stormheart whispered, "Great job, I knew you could do it."

Petalstripe held her tail high. 

No longer was she the pampered kittypet that lived with Twolegs, but now she was a warrior with the skill and effort of a Clanborn cat. Stormheart though proudly, and purred as Petalstripe raced away to one of the boulders to keep watch. She turned away and pressed close to Riverstorm, and her wrapped his tail around her comfortingly. Stormheart gave a sigh of relief to be freed of the stressful duty.