River (book)/Chapter 22

==Chapter description==
:During his warrior assessment, Flamepaw stalks towards a rabbit as he notes that Lilyheart and Squirrelflight must be somewhere nearby, watching his every move. Entering the mouth of the burrow tail-first, the apprentice went far enough inside the burrow to conceal himself from the rabbit's sight. As the rabbit enters the burrow, it catches Flamepaw's scent, but he makes a quick pounce and cleanly kills the rabbit. As he drags the rabbit out of the burrow, Lilyheart meets him with Squirrelflight catching up to the pair. Flamepaw's mentor praises him on his catch, while Squirrelflight purposefully observes that the black apprentice surely has a weird method of doing things. As his heart drops, the ThunderClan deputy turns to Lilyheart, stating that she thinks he passed while Lilyheart congratulates him. The pair of she-cats tell the apprentice to go back to camp while they carry the rabbit.
:Upon entering camp, Flamepaw shouts that he passed his assessment, prompting many cats to congratulate him and his hearty catch. The black apprentice catches sight of Sparkpelt, who ties his success back to the traits passed down from Firestar, silently infuriating Flamepaw as he believes that the endless nights of practicing is the reason for his success. Sparkpelt states that as the sun is setting then, they will have to hold his warrior ceremony the next day. 
:Bramblestar calls the ThunderClan camp's attention as Flamepaw begrudgingly allows Sparkpelt to neaten his pelt. Bramblestar conducts the warrior ceremony, first asking for Lilyheart's approval as well as Flamepaw's promise to uphold the warrior code. The ThunderClan leader honors Flamepaw's apparent patience and ingenuity in the hunt that made the ceremony happen. Bramblestar traces these characteristics back to Firestar and gives Flamepaw his new name of Flameheart in honor of Firestar's warrior name. Realizing of his overflowing hatred of his new name, Flameheart raises his tail, stating that he defies his name and that he will not be Flameheart. Cats gasp as Squirrelflight yowls at him because of his disrespect while Bramblestar merely asks what his name should be. Flamepaw replies that he wants a name that suits him, not some cat that he doesn't even look like but his Clan wants him to represent. Sparkpelt angrily tells Flamepaw that his actions are not appropriate, but Finchlight states that because he should've been made a warrior long ago, he should be given the chance to come up with his own name. 
:The whole Clan is left in havoc, so Bramblestar brings the camp back to peace as he compromises with Flamepaw. Although the leader acknowledges that Flamepaw's name could be more endearing to his appearance, he cannot ignore the astounding similarities the Clan sees between him and Firestar. Thus, Bramblestar gives Flamepaw the name of Nightheart, honoring his similarities in apperance to Larksong while honoring the similarities in behavior to Firestar.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Important events==
*Flamepaw passes his third warrior assessment and is given the name Flameheart, which he rejects, so he is given the name Nightheart.
===Ceremonies===
==Notes and references==
Category:River (book)
Category:A Starless Clan arc
Category:Chapter subpages