A/N: I'll spare you the apologies. Just... you know, thanks for being here. I appreciate it. I know this chapter is probably riddled with flaws, but it exists, it's here, and more - better - chapters will soon follow! Love you guys 3

Chapter 11

The next few days, Stonepaw's sleep was plagued with nightmares. In some, the river caught fire and razed the forest to ash; in others, he would be fighting for his life against claws and fangs that he couldn't see—he could only smell Sorrelfeather's familiar scent as he struggled vainly against his littermate. The dark gray apprentice was dead on his paws, and wary of everything that moved.

Still, when he woke one foggy morning to hear that he and Mistypaw would be having their assessments, some of the life returned to his amber eyes.

"We need as many warriors as we can get to hold our territory through leaf-bare," Oakheart was explaining. "And it's long since been time for you two to become warriors." He glanced at Duskfall and Loudbelly. "I'll let you give them their assignments; as usual it will consist of two parts, a hunting assessment and a battle assessment. I will join you at sunhigh for the battle assessment in the beech copse."

"Yes, Oakheart," Duskfall dipped his head. He turned towards the sedge tunnel and motioned for them to follow with a flick of his tail. Stonepaw followed last, trying desperately to clear his mind and review everything Duskfall had taught him. Shiverfrost was sitting guard outside the camp, her pale amber eyes like the first rays of the rising sun.

"Good luck," she murmured. "I know you'll both do brilliantly."

Mistypaw let out a confident purr and paused to touch noses with their sister. Stonepaw bent down to lick her ear. "Thank you."

Loudbelly called for them, and the two apprentices hurried away into the fog. At the edge of the beech copse, Duskfall and Loudbelly turned to face them.

"Now," Duskfall began, sitting and curling his thick black tail neatly around his paws. "Like Oakheart said, this will be a two-part assessment. You will have until sunhigh to demonstrate your hunting skill. Stonepaw, I'd like for you to head straight for the river, then work your way back here."

"Mistypaw," Loudbelly added, "you'll head for the gorge and then to the river. Manage your time effectively, keeping in mind that you must be ready for the second half of your assessment by sunhigh."

Mistypaw nodded energetically as she shifted her weight from paw to paw. "Alright, can we go now?"

The two warriors exchanged an amused glance. "Yes," rumbled Duskfall. "You may begin. Don't forget—we'll be watching."

Stonepaw watched Mistypaw dive away into the mist, her fur blending in as it swallowed her up. He turned more slowly towards the river, letting out a deep breath as he set off. It's fortunate that I'll be at the river, he reasoned as he slipped between the sparse foliage. The mist will make it impossible for fish to see my shadow on the water and muffle any sounds from the forest. By the same token, he realized, it was advantageous for Mistypaw to take the grasslands, as her pelt would be practically invisible in the heavy fog. That doesn't mean it won't be a challenge.

When he reached the river, Stonepaw settled comfortably on the sandy bank, lifting one paw and pouring all of his focus into the dark water before him. A flash beneath the water's surface caught his eye, and with practiced ease Stonepaw flicked out his paw and snatched the fish out of the water. Two more followed, and aware of the barely-visible sun rising, Stonepaw decided to start working his way back. The thick fog began dissipating as he brought down his first mouse, and by the time he'd added a water vole to his catch it was mostly gone. Pleased with his progress, the darker gray apprentice gathered his fresh-kill and trotted briskly back to camp. He wasn't surprised to see Mistypaw's tail disappearing into the sedge tunnel just ahead of him.

"Hey," he caught up to her at the fresh-kill pile. Seeing her load of fresh-kill, he purred. "Great catch, Mistypaw."

"You too," she nudged his shoulder, her eyes bright. "Just wait until we get to our battle assessments, though. That's where I'm really going to shine."

Glancing at the sky, Stonepaw flicked his ears. "We should get going to the beech copse." Mistypaw nodded, and side-by-side the apprentices headed to the end of their assessments.

Oakheart, Loudbelly, and Duskfall were already in the training hollow, and their father's eyes lit up when he saw them approaching.

"Well done," he rumbled warmly. "I heard you both did brilliantly in your hunting tasks. We know for a fact RiverClan will be well-fed. But will they be safe?"

"Yes," Stonepaw answered instantly, a flicker of orange flame coming to his mind's eye. Whether I have a choice or not, I must keep them safe.

"Then show us." Oakheart beckoned Loudbelly forward. "Stonepaw, you will spar with Loudbelly. Begin whenever you're ready."

Duskfall and Mistypaw moved aside, leaving Loudbelly and Stonepaw in the center of the clearing. The brown warrior crouched low to the ground, curling his lips into a taunting sneer. "Show me what you've got, Stonepaw."

With a low growl, Stonepaw sank back onto his haunches, bunching his muscles and jumping towards his Clanmate with all of the strength he possessed. His eyes were locked on Loudbelly's shoulders, but he sailed straight over the brown warrior, landing easily behind him and taking advantage of his moment of surprise to land a couple of solid blows to his haunches. In battle, he would have lunged in to bite his hind leg, and the appreciative murmur Duskfall gave let Stonepaw know that his assessors knew what move he was displaying. Loudbelly whipped around quickly, spitting and cuffing Stonepaw around his ears. Stonepaw didn't have time to avoid the strikes. His ears ringing, the apprentice was forced to take up a defensive position. I can't take many more hits like those, Loudbelly has heavy paws…!

"Are you giving up, Stonekit?" Loudbelly taunted him, rearing back onto his hind legs. Instead of answering, Stonepaw surged upwards, slamming his head into Loudbelly's stomach and winding the warrior. When he refused to drop, Stonepaw wrapped his paws around the backs of his legs—again, in battle, with his claws unsheathed he would have raked them across the backs of Loudbelly's joints. Loudbelly couldn't keep his balance, toppling and leaving himself wide open. Stonepaw was over him in an instant, one wide paw on his throat.

"That was great!" Mistypaw jumped up, her eyes blazing. "I love the way you combined the headbutt and back-of-leg swipe! If that had been ThunderClan—or WindClan," she added their other neighboring Clan with a disgusted snort, "your opponent would be crawling back home."

Duskfall caught his apprentice's eye and offered a tiny dip of his head. The pride smoldering in his eyes was more than enough compliment for Stonepaw. His heart was nearly hammering out of his chest.

"Now," Oakheart raised his tail to draw their attention back to him. "Mistypaw and Duskfall." Stonepaw sat beside Loudbelly, eager to see how his sister would handle sparring with his mentor. Loudbelly gave the apprentice a hearty nudge.

"Good job, Stonepaw," he rumbled warmly. "But after seeing Mistypaw, you're going to be thanking StarClan you were sparring me instead of her!"

Stonepaw blinked curiously, turning his amber eyes to his sister as she stalked a slow circle around Duskfall. The black warrior only waited, and watched. His eyes narrowed, and Stonepaw knew his mentor was trying to guess at what her first move would be.

Like lightning, Mistypaw shot into action. Duskfall ducked under her first two swipes and bowled her over with an easy swat. Stonepaw wasn't fooled though; Mistypaw rolled fluidly, using Duskfall's momentum to spring back to her paws and right over his head. Unlike Stonepaw, she didn't bother going for his haunches. Using her slender shoulders and the speed she was still accumulating, Mistypaw slithered right beneath Duskfall as he spun to meet her, launching herself upward with all of her might and throwing the black warrior aside.

Impressive… Stonepaw realized he was holding his breath and forced his lungs to start working again. But on too large a cat that wouldn't have worked, she would have just been flattened. She's definitely showing Oakheart her adaptability, and how well she can use her opponents' strengths against them. He found he agreed with Loudbelly. While he had a definite size advantage over his sister, she was cunning and hard to predict. He would have had a much harder time pinning her down. But I'm certain I would have.

Duskfall never recovered his breath, and though he nearly gained the advantage numerous times, in the end Mistypaw kept him down.

"You did brilliantly," Stonepaw greeted his sister warmly as she trotted back to the edge of the hollow. "I never expected you to go right beneath him like that."

"Most cats don't," Mistypaw mewed smugly. "I'm glad it was Duskfall and not you, though—you would have caught on right away and smothered me!" They laughed quietly for a moment until Oakheart joined them.

"I'd say it's time we were getting back to camp," their father mused. "Crookedstar needs to prepare for a ceremony."

The restlessness of the past few days seemed moons away to Stonepaw as the sun began setting. He finished the fish he'd chosen out of the fresh-kill pile and swiped his tongue around his jaws.

"Are you excited?" Shiverfrost moved closer to her littermate, helping smooth his storm blue pelt.

"What kind of a question is that?" Sorrelfeather snorted from where he lay a tail-length away. "Just look at Mistypaw, she couldn't sit still if Brambleberry came down from StarClan and asked her to."

Mistypaw spat indignantly at their littermate, and Stonepaw let out an amused purr. "Of course," he finally answered his sister. "It will be nice to share a den again."

"I do feel bad for Silverpaw," Mistypaw sighed. The silver tabby had refused to speak with either of them after learning they'd been assessed that morning. "She'll be alone in the apprentices' den now…"

Shiverfrost's whiskers twitched. "Not for long," she flicked her tail towards the nursery. "Sedgenose's kits will be apprenticed before the first freeze. And you know she'll enjoy being the eldest apprentice."

Sorrelfeather snorted. "Poor kits." The red-furred warrior jumped to his paws. "It looks like its time."

Stonepaw stood at his brother's shoulder, unable to suppress the shiver that raced down his spine as the breeze whispered between them. "Fire." Stonepaw could nearly smell the smoke from the embers sparking between them. Can he hear the wind, too? Does he know what it is he's capable of? For a moment, their eyes met, ice blue and rich amber, and Stonepaw thought in that moment that he must know, and his claws sank into the soft ground beneath him.

"Let all cats old enough to swim gather here beneath the Great Willow, it is time for a ceremony!"

Sorrelfeather turned towards Crookedstar and moment was over, leaving Stonepaw shaken and uncertain. There's no way he could know, the blue-gray apprentice shook his head forcefully and joined Mistypaw at the center of the gathering Clan.

"There is no disguising our purpose this evening," Crookedstar rumbled proudly. "Following their littermates' display in battle only days ago, Stonepaw and Mistypaw have successfully completed their assessments, and with the approval of their mentors, will take their warrior names." He jumped down from the twisted roots to stand before the apprentices.

"I, Crookedstar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to learn your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn." He fixed his piercing green eyes on them. "Mistypaw, Stonepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Stonepaw growled instantly. He could feel Sorrelfeather's pale blue gaze on him.

Mistypaw nodded eagerly, "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Mistypaw, from this moment, you will be known as Mistypool. StarClan honors your spirit and honesty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of RiverClan." Crookedstar touched his nose to the top of her head, and the newly named warrior gave his shoulder a quick lick and padded aside to sit between Loudbelly and Shiverfrost.

"Stonepaw, from this moment, you will be known as Stonefoot. StarClan honors your courage and quick thinking, and we welcome you as a full warrior of RiverClan."

Stonefoot had to bow his head to lick Crookedstar's shoulder, and as soon as he took his position beside Mistypool the Clan erupted into cheers. Bluefur's voice was among the loudest; she weaved between her kits with a purr rattling in her chest.

"I'm so proud of you," she growled, "all of you."

"Don't forget about your vigil, though," Whiteclaw teased. "It's not going to get any warmer when the sun goes down!"

"I've got so much energy right now I could sit my vigil through a blizzard," Mistypool flexed her claws, her eyes like blue flames. "I won't even bother to wake you if we're attacked—I could defeat all of ThunderClan right now."

Sorrelfeather snorted at Stonefoot's shoulder. "As great as that sounds, it wouldn't be fair if you got them all to yourself." He gave Stonefoot a playful nudge, "Right, Stonefoot?"

Despite his unease, Stonefoot found his littermates' energy was contagious. He tilted his chin back and let out a satisfied growl, "Right."

Crookedstar brought an end to the Clan's cheerful banter with a raised paw. "The moon is rising, it is time their vigil began."

Stonefoot exchanged a glance with Mistypool, and the two newly named warriors moved to the center of the camp, their pelts nearly brushing as they sat facing the entrance. It was a quiet vigil, though the chill of the night put a fine frost over the sedge that surrounded the camp. With the first light of dawn breaking the dusky horizon, Stonefoot's flame ignited. Like the brilliant sunlight glittering off of every frozen bead of dew, his eyes shone with the strength of his resolve. Even if it is from my own brother, I will protect my Clan…!