"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath Highledge for a clan meeting!” Cloudstar’s caterwaul rang out over the camp. Sandtail’s fur fluffed out and she hissed angrily.
“Does he not understand tha-?” She started to say, biting back the rest of her sentence.
“Understand what?” A scratchy voice asked from her bedding of moss a little ways from Sandtail.
“Never mind that, Orangepaw, we have to get you to that clan meeting!” Sandtail’s yellow eyes softened as she looked at Orangepaw. The poor little apprentice was in the medicine cat’s den for a horrific reason, and as Sandtail watched the little orange tabby heave herself to her paws a pang of guilt swept through her.
Orangepaw managed to get on her paws, grinning determinedly at Sandtail. Carefully stepping one paw in front of the next, she padded to Sandtail’s side.
“Be easy on yourself,” Sandtail meowed, quickly examining the little cat’s left eye, “We don’t need you getting hurt anymore than you already are.” As Orangepaw nodded, walking out onto the path out of the den, Sandtail looked over her wounds. She had clumps of fur and flesh missing on her flanks, her left eye was a huge gash and she held it tightly shut, she limped heavily on her right hind-leg, and had plenty of bite marks on her left fore-leg; but despite all her injuries, her tabby pelt still glowed. With a sigh Sandtail padded after Orangepaw, getting there just in time to help her from falling off the ledge-side.
At the base of Highledge the whole of Thunderclan was assembled. All eyes were pulled from where Cloudstar stood to look at Orangepaw. Feeling the eyes of the clan on her, Orangepaw’s pelt tingled uneasily. She looked at the ground, as not to catch any of the wide-eyed and horrified gazes from her clanmates. Beside her, Sandtail felt all their stares burning into Orangepaw. Her tail fluffing out to ten times its normal size, she turned towards the clan and hissed. The group of cats nearest to the medicine cat flinched, taking a few pawsteps backs. Sandtail growled something under her breath.
Rainfoot, who stood perched on a ledge a little farther down than Cloudstar, flicked her tail to Sandtail and Orangepaw, beckoning them to come sit with her. Sandtail, putting herself between Orangepaw and the alarmed stares of the clan, lead the way to where Rainfoot sat.
Orangepaw looked to each side of where she sat through her good eye. To her left sat Sandtail, glaring out at the clan below them, and to her right Rainfoot, her white chest puffed out proudly. Cloudstar raised his voice, “I, Cloudstar, leader of Thunderclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard and long to learn the ways of the warrior code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn.” He paused, looking down at Orangepaw with affection and sympathy glowing in his green eyes. “Orangepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend this clan at the cost of your life?”
Orangepaw turned around, staring wide-eyed at Cloudstar. She glanced from Cloudstar to Rainfoot and then to Sandtail. She looked back at Cloudstar in time to see him jump to the lower ledge next to her. In the background were the shocked gasps from the clan and rumble of uneasy mumbles. “Well, Orangepaw?” He asked, smiling at her surprised face.
“I-I” She cleared her throat and, with an encouraging brush of Rainfoot’s tail-tip on her shoulder, boldly declared, “I do!”
Cloudstar, still smiling, continued the ceremony, “Then by the power of Starclan, I give you your warrior name: Orangepaw, from this day forward you will be known as Scarclaw. Starclan honors your courage, determination, and nobility, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan.”
As Cloudstar finished, a rain of cheering fell upon Scarclaw. Her closest friends were yelling her new name to Starclan: “Scarclaw! Scarclaw! Scarclaw!” But there was the low static of uneasiness that disturbed her friend’s exclamations. Scarclaw’s pelt tingled, her good eye filling with held-back tears.