MoonClan's ambitious story/(1): The First Four Leaders/2/22

### Chapter 22: Zebrapaw's Warrior Name

A quarter-moon later, Zebrapaw was just thinking about his mentor and cousin, Sandleap. Something dire was bothering him and he needed to tell her immediately.

His sister, Violetrain, came up to him with a mouse. "What are you thinking about?" she asked him jovially. "I was just thinking about Thymekit."

The tabby tom sighed. "I was just thinking about Sandleap and how she is expecting at the end of my apprenticehood. She was a great mentor like any other in the beginning but now she doesn't do much except teach me how to intimidate warriors."

Violetrain didn't look as jovial as before he told her the answer. Then she replied in a mentor-like way, "Well, cats don't usually choose when to expect kits. They just mate and wait." She smirked at her rhyme.

Zebrapaw stared at her for a moment before replying, "Okay, yeah, I know cats mate. But can't female mentors hold it off until their apprentices are warriors? I doubt it is *so* dire to do so." He blinked and continued, "How do you prevent it anyway?"

His sister just shrugged. "Well, to not mate at all, as you would have thought. Nutclaw and I are deciding to have kits after Thymekit becomes a warrior, otherwise he would get a different one for the time being I am expecting and nursing. So to not be expecting I will not mate with him, but we are still mates technically."

Zebrapaw nodded slowly. "Okay, I understood. But how come Sandleap and Nightnose didn't refrain from mating?"

Violetrain shrugged again. "Well, I wouldn't know since I'm not either one of them, and I don't really need to ask them. But most likely they wanted kits."

Zebrapaw groaned in exasperation, at his mentor and his sister's mentor. "At the wrong time, I am pretty sure. Most of my training for these past two moons was done with you."

His sister blinked. Then she replied, "Well, yep, it was. I wouldn't know what to do, though."

"I wonder why they don't change mentors if a cat is expecting," he said out loud. "I guess this is why Stonepaw is annoyed at Nightnose."

"Well, Nightnose is also annoyed with Stonepaw," Violetrain mewed with a glint in her voice, intending for a joke. "I once heard them arguing about Snowstar."

Zebrapaw's ears perked up. "Really? How?"

"Apparently Nightnose wanted Stonepaw to learn to respect elders, like him, and Stonepaw said she would only listen to Snowstar as he was the leader, but even then not completely. And then Nightnose went into an ugly argument with his apprentice about how disrespectful and rude she was, and Stonepaw said that Nightnose was worse than Fangstar." Violetrain answered with a curious expression, probably thinking about it.

"I wonder why Snowstar chose both of them together," Zebrapaw mewed with humor. "Their relationship is like a coyote and a wolf. And that's speaking something." He really did wonder about it as their chemistry wasn't good, even on their first day when Stonepaw complained about Nightnose being a tad bit weird. But then again, he knew it was Snowstar's first time doing an apprentice ceremony, so he wouldn't have good experience choosing mentors.

Violetrain chuckled. "I know. But just so you know, don't be too mad at Sandleap. She's still your mentor ever since six moons old, you know!" Then she straightened up and said, "Well, I'll go to the nursery now to see Thymekit."

Zebrapaw just nodded and she bounded into the nursery. Zebrapaw knew that since Sandleap was a queen, she'd be in the nursery. He tried to think of what he would say to her. He thought of it for some time until he decided to go to the nursery.

So he went to the nursery to see it very full, somehow. Zebrapaw was alarmed because he didn't think the nursery was ever this crowded.

Shadowclaw, Icemoon, Swanpaw, Mountainpaw, and Primrosepaw were all talking to the five queens, Flipsnow, Begoniaclaw, Applefall, Sandleap, and Redwater. Flipsnow and Redwater's apprentices were both there, and they were bragging to Mountainpaw about how good their mentors were. Zebrapaw remembered that Snowstar chose the queens who weren't nursing or expecting for Robinpaw and Soarpaw, but he doubted that the apprentices would still be in the nursery. *Maybe they are finished training so they went back to the nursery with their mentors,* he thought. He didn't expect the older apprentices to be here, though.

He noticed his sister (of which he expected her to be there) and Thymekit playing One Versus One Battle, and as usual, Nightnose was sitting next to Sandleap and joking with the apprentices. And Lilackit and Jumpkit were jumping around the nursery as usual, and playing with their mother and brother, Flipsnow and Mountainpaw. Mousekit was sleeping, but Petalkit was awake, but lying down.

Zebrapaw didn't like the volume in the nursery as he wanted the conversation to be private. Of course, everyone in the nursery saw him and greeted him. Icemoon looked excitedly at him. *Not her again,* Zebrapaw groaned internally as he didn't like her trying to woo him. Her siblings, Shadowclaw and Swanpaw were much better. Zebrapaw also realized Stonepaw wasn't here, as she usually liked to talk to Begoniaclaw. *It must also be because of the amount of cats in here,* he figured.

"Hey, Zebrapaw, do you want to play?" asked Lilackit bouncily.

"Yeah, we can play Two Versus One!" Thymekit said. "You can be on my team to make it equal against Violetrain!"

Violetrain chuckled and replied, "Well, that is true, since I am a warrior after all, and soon will be Zebrapaw!"

"You can also... talk with us," suggested Primrosepaw.

"We're talking about what the kits will be like!" Icemoon added joyfully.

"I hope they will be like me! Or Sandleap and Nightnose or Applefall and Fireclaw," Shadowclaw joked. Swanpaw and Mountainpaw both nodded eagerly.

*MoonClan cats really love the nursery,* he thought. *With the exception of me and Stonepaw,* he continued, since they weren't really interested in hanging out in the nursery a lot. He was only here because he needed to talk to his mentor, who would probably never mentor him again since he would most likely become a warrior before she gave birth and finished nursing her kits.

"Um, well, actually, I need to talk to Sandleap, my official mentor," Zebrapaw replied awkwardly. The cats in the nursery were just a little confused but they nodded. Nightnose was puzzled, but he nodded, too.

Sandleap stared at him in a way he couldn't tell what it was. "What do you need to talk about?"

Zebrapaw shifted his weight to one side. He wasn't too keen in talking in public as he thought it would offend other cats and cause them to jump into the conversation (like Icemoon, especially), so he whispered in reply, "Can we talk about this in private?"

Sandleap and Nightnose gave him a confused look. Sandleap replied, "Well, I am talking to the other cats right now, and it isn't desirable for me to leave the nursery as I am expecting, and soon going to give birth." Nightnose nodded.

"I understand, but I don't feel like talking with so many cats here," Zebrapaw whispered, feeling a little disappointed at her reply.

The cats who were talking to Sandleap were staring at him as they were wondering when he would finish talking to her.

Sandleap shrugged. "Maybe you can come back when the nursery is less full," she suggested politely.

Zebrapaw sighed a little. "Well, I don't think I can wait that long, so I will tell you right now." He paused for her reply, but she just shrugged back.

So Zebrapaw decided to ask the question that was bothering him for a while now, but he didn't want to ask it during chaos, such as Goldenlily's death. "Okay, how come you mated with Nightnose while I was still an apprentice? I think I will become a warrior before you are finished nursing."

He had said this in a quiet whisper so only Sandleap and Nightnose could hear it, but it seemed like the other cats had heard a gist of the words he uttered, as they stared at him with a really perplexed expression, as if they didn't understand why he would ask that.

Nightnose looked a little embarrassed, while Sandleap narrowed her eyes at him. The latter replied quietly, "It's not your business to know."

Zebrapaw sighed silently. "Okay, but I'm your apprentice, so I'd think that it's important info for me to know."

Violetrain looked at him as if she knew what he was talking about with Sandleap and she was wide-eyed, despite being at the other end of the nursery, although Zebrapaw knew that he had talked to her about it.

Sandleap sighed back a little louder than he did. "Yeah, but that is because cats mate," she replied politely. "I didn't really choose to be expecting, you know, but I had been feeling dizzy and Lilypool and Rainpaw told me that I was expecting."

Zebrapaw had no interest in waging a personal war with his mentor and cousin like his sister was doing with Nightnose, who was also his mentor's mate (which he thought was *very* weird. He knew Flameeye and Redwater's mentors were also mates *(and Sandleap's parents)*, but he was sure Petuniaheart and Snowstar didn't act as weird as their daughter and Nightnose did), so he just shrugged and said in a normal voice, "Fine, whatever, I'm probably not going to understand you because I'm not interested in mating."

He instinctively looked over at Icemoon and she gave him the reaction he expected from her: overwhelmingly shocked. But Shadowclaw and Mountainpaw also looked surprised, which he thought was weird, especially for the latter since he was very distantly related to Icemoon.

Nightnose and Applefall also looked surprised, but then they probably remembered Zebrapaw's nature as they became normal again, but still probably intimidated by him.

Sandleap shrugged. "Okay, well, then, anything else you want to say?"

Zebrapaw thought about it. Then he replied, "I had been wondering, do leaders change mentors if the mentor is expecting?"

Now everyone in the nursery looked surprised, as he said it in a normal tone. *Ugh, that is why I wanted to speak in private,* he thought with some frustration.

"I don't think MoonClan ever did, but maybe other Clans do," Sandleap replied in a mentor-like tone. "The reason why MoonClan doesn't change mentors is probably because they still want the apprentice to have a good relationship with the mentor and touch noses with them by warriorhood." Then she blinked with an epiphany of something. "See, I am still useful as a mentor, after all."

Zebrapaw flicked his tail with realization as well. "I see. Well, I just needed to clear up my doubts," he responded appreciatively. "Now I guess I'll leave."

The cats were still watching him leave as he thought about what to do next. He heard them talking about him to Sandleap as he was leaving, but he didn't care as he decided that he would have to go hunting by himself.

He told Snowstar and Sealbranch that he was leaving camp, and they nodded and told him to be safe and stay within a few tree-lengths of camp, which Zebrapaw agreed to do so, since he wasn't so rebellious like Stonepaw who told her elder Clanmate and mentor, Nightnose, that she would only listen to Snowstar but not completely.

So he decided to be a warrior and go into the forest by himself and tried to pad quietly to not scare off prey. He decided to go to Rabbit Residence because it was a good place to get plump rabbits, but he still remembered that fox that followed them back. He shuddered, hoping that wouldn't happen again.

So Zebrapaw went there carefully and cautiously, and remembered the queen Begoniaclaw who got chased out along this border. He hoped no other cat would run through the border, as he didn't know how to react to that.

He hid behind a bush since he was close to the border and didn't want to be seen by AdderClan cats, and waited for a rabbit. He saw one hopping into his view and coming closer to him. But then, he saw another cat on the other side of the border emerge into view. He had no idea who it was because he didn't have too much exposure with AdderClan unlike the much older cats like his mentor, but he just tried to ignore that cat.

The rabbit came closer to Zebrapaw, and he thought he could wait for it to be a little closer before he pounced, but then he noticed the AdderClan cat come closer to the border and to the rabbit. Zebrapaw feared what he was going to do, as he knew from his lessons with Sandleap that AdderClan didn't exactly follow the warrior code that much, as they usually liked to battle instead. And to battle, they usually crossed borders without spite. But Zebrapaw saw no other cats so he wondered if the cat was just going on border patrol by himself, as odd as it was to Zebrapaw.

Then he saw the cat lock eyes on the rabbit. The rabbit didn't seem to notice anything as its back was turned on the AdderClan cat and he was just padding quietly. The warrior looked like he was anticipating something. But then, to Zebrapaw's horror, the cat pounced onto the rabbit.

The rabbit had finally noticed and jumped out of the way and sprinted away at high speed. But so did the warrior after that rabbit.

*What in the Dark Forest!* Zebrapaw's thoughts exclaimed. He became hot as he had just witnessed this strange AdderClan cross the border. He had no idea what to do except stay inside the bush and watch. He wondered if he should tell Snowstar in case the AdderClan warrior was trying to harm MoonClan or something, but then the warrior stopped chasing after the rabbit as it had gotten away, and he looked frustrated.

"Ugh, and only if we had better prey in AdderClan as MoonClan does. I wish Fangstar would do another raid soon, we hadn't done so for moons," said the warrior out loud to himself. Zebrapaw blinked in shock. *So this warrior wants AdderClan to conquer Rabbit Residence or our forest?* he thought anxiously but at the same time indignantly. He never liked AdderClan and wondered why they were still standing tall. *Maybe it has to do with the awful leadership so far, like Adderstar and Fangstar's,* he figured, but he wished that the next leaders would be better. But he found that unlikely as the AdderClan cats also took after the leaders, so he figured these battles would go on and on. He heard stories of many Mountain Tribe cats who later became Clan cats who died in the battles before they could mate, which was why the Clans weren't that big as they would have been if they hadn't died and got to mate instead. *Until when,* he wondered, and wondered if there was a way that he could change it somehow.

The warrior started to go back over his own side of the border until he stopped for a reason Zebrapaw could not comprehend, and then he started sniffing the air.

"MoonClan cats?" the warrior said out loud in a perplexed and curious tone. Zebrapaw was about to gasp at the warrior's near-discovery of him until he remembered he would be caught immediately, so he thought quickly what he should do. The warrior was about to turn around to inspect the bush but then Zebrapaw pounced onto his back.

Zebrapaw realized the warrior was bigger than he was, but then he remembered that fox. *Maybe I can do with him what I did with the fox,* he figured and started clawing the back of the AdderClan warrior with claws unsheathed. The AdderClan warrior had obviously realized the existence of Zebrapaw by now, so he growled ferociously and tried to throw him off. But Zebrapaw still held firmly on and growled, "What are *you* doing on *MoonClan* territory! Just for a rabbit, you crossed? Are you that dumb or a *mouse-brain?!"*

The AdderClan warrior looked even more angrier with rage, and shook so hard that he threw Zebrapaw off. He was about to slash Zebrapaw's face until Zebrapaw quickly recovered and hopped right back up and away from his slash.

*"It's none of* your *business!"* the warrior growled in such a loud, angry tone that Zebrapaw thought the echo of his voice went to MoonClan, AdderClan and maybe even SnowClan's camps. He tried to pounce on the MoonClan apprentice again, but Zebrapaw's smaller, lighter and nimble body could easily dodge and he ran away quickly towards a boulder and leaped on it, trying to get a height advantage.

The warrior followed him and growled again, *"Do you even know WHO I AM?! DO YOU KNOW?!"* Zebrapaw and his sister, Stonepaw, weren't easily scared by these type of voices, even Peonyclaw's booming angry voice of discipline as they were used to it themselves, and even spoke that way sometimes. So Zebrapaw just hissed, "No, and I don't care if you're the deputy or the leader or a violent medicine cat! What matters the most is the warrior code!"

The AdderClan warrior snorted. "Don't tell me you're going to have Briarstar's attitude! You're not even from SnowClan!"

Zebrapaw heard stories about Briarstar and how strict she was with the warrior code and that she punished or even exiled the cats who made even the smallest mistakes, which was why she was mostly unfavorable throughout the Clan, even with her deputy, Honeywhisker, and medicine cats, Sparrowstem and Cloverheart. but her brother, Swiftclaw, her children, Crystalwing, Thundermoon and Gravelpaw (while he was still alive before he got killed by a fox) and another SnowClan cat, Blackwater, were consistently defending her actions, which made some other SnowClan cats do so, too, so she wasn't necessarily overthrown yet. He always wondered what was wrong with Briarstar, as her predecessor and founder of SnowClan, Snowstar, did no such thing like this, and wasn't even close to *her* behavior. She was strict, but strict as a normal leader would be. Zebrapaw thought Briarstar and Fangstar's behavior were similar as they both exiled cats for breaking the warrior code, and wondered if they were connected with each other as Snowstar and Adderstar were.

"Who cares about *her?* Do you even know *why* the warrior code *exists?!"* Zebrapaw snarled at the trespasser.

"So MoonClan cats like you will follow it and perish to it like mice," the warrior growled back. Zebrapaw was quite surprised, since Fangstar had exiled Begoniaclaw for mating outside of the Clan. He knew that was a major offense, but if AdderClan rejected parts of the warrior code and reinforced others, then how is mating outside of the Clan worse than raiding other Clans? He decided to ask, just to see what this AdderClan warrior had to say about it.

"Oh really? And why exile Begoniaclaw?" Zebrapaw snapped. The trespasser looked quite surprised at his question, but he quickly regained composure.

"And keep a traitor in the Clan? We'd rather give up our dignity than keep such a deceited warrior in our Clan!" he retaliated. *"Now, DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO I AM?!"* He went back to the booming, furious, loud voice soon enough.

Zebrapaw shrugged in feigning disinterest. "Like I said, *I don't care.* If you are AdderClan, you are automatically my enemy."

The warrior growled at the top of his lungs, *"I AM WINDWING OF ADDERCLAN!"* Now this caught Zebrapaw's attention. The cat who chased Begoniaclaw out. The warrior that his sister and his other three friends encountered. The one who exposed her crime to everyone, and told her to never return.

"Oh, so *you* are the one?" Zebrapaw said, shocked. "I am even more surprised that you did so. Because-" He was about to spill that Begoniaclaw joined MoonClan, but that would have probably not sat well with Fangstar, since he heard from this trespassing warrior that he wanted Fangstar to do another raid. *This information could commence another raid almost instantly,* Zebrapaw figured, since Begoniaclaw would already have split every last secret of AdderClan, and she would be the highest priority for hunting down. The one of the most important lessons that apprentices were taught, other than intimidating warriors and the warrior code and being willing to help another Clanmate even at their own expense, was to know exactly what to say to rival Clans, so that no dire secrets, especially weakness, could be taken advantage of by enemies, especially AdderClan.

Windwing looked at him curiously, wondering what he was going to say. "I don't think you understand AdderClan rules, kit. Might as well just kill you already and bury you."

"Oh *yeah?"* Zebrapaw challenged, still standing on top of the boulder. He narrowed his eyes, broadened his shoulders and stood in a pouncing position to look very menacing, which is what he learned from Sandleap. *"I am Zebrapaw, a cat you will never mess with and get away unscathed."*

The trespassing warrior blinked for a few moments before he started cackling like a true AdderClan warrior. *"ZebraPAW? I seriously overestimated you! A MERE APPRENTICE? FIGHTING WITH A FORMIDABLE FORCE LIKE ME?"*

Zebrapaw stopped for a moment, wondering if he spilt any important info about himself. Then he remembered that he looked much like a warrior, albeit a young warrior, but still one. So he decided to remedy this by hissing, "Oh, if you underestimate my skills, then you will see. *I am so close to being a warrior, and your skills can't match mine!"*

He pounced onto the back of the AdderClan warrior again, but this time he dodged and nearly slashed Zebrapaw's face until he dodged, too. Windwing growled and was about to jump on him, but Zebrapaw started running away quickly. He had speed on his side, being small and nimble, and without much age. He jumped onto another boulder, and did a mocking glance at Windwing.

The enemy warrior hissed in his usual loud voice, looking very frustrated that he couldn't reach Zebrapaw that easily. But then he stopped for a moment, seeming to have an idea. "Oh, might I say, even with your 'amazing' skills"—he said so in a mocking manner—"you will never be able to make a difference with your *stupid name!"* Then he proceeded to laugh maniacally as if to mock Zebrapaw even more with salt already in the wound.

It felt like as if a tree toppled over on Zebrapaw. He was absolutely stunned. *I shouldn't care what he says,* he tried to reassure himself, but it seemed as if Windwing had brought up a issue that Zebrapaw repressed for so long. As if the AdderClan warrior knew all along. *That I hate my name.*

It was a name that was given to him by Peonyclaw, after a word his grandmother's Twoleg had called striped horses. None of the cats, other than a few exceptional kittypets like Wendy, knew what his name means. At least not from the same Clan. Judging by Fangstar and Briarstar's rules, they probably weren't too keen about inviting kittypets in, anyway, so no one knew. His name would be used as a point of weakness by other Clans. His name wasn't a part of nature. His name, as ambiguous as it was, was not a cat word. His mysterious name was too silly for other cats outside of the Clan. He will never be taken seriously, either as a warrior or a deputy or a leader. Even before he became an apprentice, he always thought his name was weird and didn't make much sense. And right now, Windwing was trying to take advantage of it. Trying to bring him down. Trying to get him to lose his grip of reality. The enemy warrior was attempting to do this to him. The enemy warrior was almost succeeding.

Until he noticed the warrior scaling the rock, and about to get to him. Zebrapaw slashed his forehead deeply, making blood pour out. Windwing didn't fall down but he didn't continue either and was stunned for a moment. Zebrapaw didn't waste this very miniscule chance to teach him a good lesson. He pounced on his back again and tried to scratch the back of his neck. Fur and bare skin protected the neck, but Zebrapaw tried to sink his claws in. *If I am getting my claws dirty with blood, then it'd better be to show these waste of warrior cats what they actually* are! he thought furiously.

Windwing noticed, of course, and tried to boot him off again like he did last time. But Zebrapaw remembered the fox. *I don't repeat the same mistakes twice.* He slashed Windwing's ear and tried to swipe the back of his head. He didn't care if the AdderClan warrior died. But he remembered the warrior code. *You don't need to kill in order to win.*

So Zebrapaw did the best what he could do. He leaped off and tried to topple the enemy warrior down, to try and gain a better advantage in the fight. Windwing fell down, much to Zebrapaw's relief, and he raked his claws against Windwing's belly. Blood oozed out, and Zebrapaw hoped that he would finally give up. *"Now GET OFF MOONCLAN TERRITORY. NOW!"* Zebrapaw yowled in the most commanding and disciplining voice he could ever formulate, even more than his mother and sister usually did. He slashed his opponent's nose one more time before running a few fox-lengths away from him.

Windwing looked like he was going to do a rematch, but then he noticed another cat on AdderClan territory who was glaring at him, probably to come back. Zebrapaw's defeated opponent growled quietly, "I won't forget you, with your ridiculous name, especially. Don't think you will be free from AdderClan's wrath," and followed his Clanmate back.

Zebrapaw was really relieved, finally, that the stupid AdderClan cat left. But he simply couldn't forget what Windwing said about his stupid name. He could not think properly outside of camp, though, but he wondered why Peonyclaw gave him a name that was supposed to be only for Twolegs. It was like being called Kittypaw or Twolegpaw. Or even worse, Housepaw (he only knew what is was since Peonyclaw and his aunt, Flipsnow, told him that, too), since cats might know the former two, at least.

He wondered if he could change it to a better warrior name. Even if only Windwing had mocked his name, there were a lot of cats like Windwing who would try to do the same thing to him, especially when he was alone. He was obviously named Zebrapaw due to his black and white stripes, but he thought he could change it to something else that suited him. Like Whitestripe, since he was mainly white with black stripes.

He wondered what his Clanmates would say about his name-changing idea, however, especially his mother, the one who chose it for him, in honor of her mother's kittypet culture. He hadn't really discussed this with anyone before, not even Stonepaw or his parents, as he thought that it was the most private thing that it could be. His name, his identity.

He had no idea what to do, but he thought he should probably tell Violetrain or Sandleap about it first, as they usually understood him, and then Snowstar and Birchpaw and Primrosepaw, as they weren't so judgy, either. *Will they accept my decision, though?* he worried anxiously.

Zebrapaw managed to catch one rabbit before coming back to the camp, since he didn't want to come back empty-handed, of course. But he was still too awfully distracted to catch more, and he needed to sort out this issue once and for all.

#### After

Zebrapaw came back and saw Snowstar on Highrock, lost in thought as usual. The apprentice wondered what he was usually doing, but he figured since Shadowclaw became a warrior, he didn't have as much to do as if he had been a mentor. But also being a leader, Zebrapaw expected that he would be doing something more than just sitting on Highrock.

Snowstar nodded to him, and Zebrapaw nodded back. He put the hare in the prey pile, and remembered he needed to tell Snowstar about his encounter with Windwing.

"Uh, Snowstar, I need to tell you something urgently," he started. Snowstar's ears perked up, and wondered what the troubled apprentice had to say.

Zebrapaw proceeded to tell everything about the incident to the MoonClan leader, and Snowstar was nothing but shocked and appalled.

Stonepaw, Birchpaw, Mountainpaw, Primrosepaw, Shadowclaw, Petuniaheart and Peonyclaw all happened to be listening, too. Their expressions were the same as Snowstar's especially the most former four, who had encountered Windwing themselves while on their serendipitous patrol when they found Begoniaclaw. Zebrapaw had no idea what Stonepaw was doing with them, but it seemed like she just came out of the nursery to talk to Begoniaclaw. *Squeezing out more secrets, probably,* the apprentice figured.

All eight cats who heard Zebrapaw's story immediately started asking him questions about it, as they had done with the former four.

"Did you kill him?" Stonepaw asked, as was expected of Zebrapaw. *She's violent enough for AdderClan. But hopefully she is peaceful enough for MoonClan in normal times,* he thought.

"I think AdderClan might be planning a raid, too," Birchpaw said seriously, agreeing with what Zebrapaw had said about Windwing wanting Fangstar to raid MoonClan. Zebrapaw admired Birchpaw's seriousness about really serious situations, and his joking manner in light-hearted situations.

"Oh no! Did you get injured?" Mountainpaw gasped, since Windwing was probably a strong warrior after all. He was like Birchpaw's sidekick to Zebrapaw, always on his side. And Mountainpaw was really protective of his Clanmates, too. Not to mention they were cousins through their mothers, so they shared kittypet blood.

"Hopefully not. But... that is really bad!" Primrosepaw exclaimed with serious worry. She was born when Zebrapaw and his littermate became an apprentice, so she was much younger than him, but somehow he felt a close relationship with her, and pride for her becoming a warrior.

"Zebrapaw is strong, so I suppose he is perfectly fine, *and* he injured that stupid AdderClan warrior easily," Shadowclaw said, answering Stonepaw, Mountainpaw and Primrosepaw's questions all in a humorous manner. Zebrapaw wasn't sure if Shadowclaw joking in a serious situation was good, but right now, it made Zebrapaw's lips twitch into a smile, since Shadowclaw was indeed right. He was the best friend Zebrapaw always wanted, other than Birchpaw.

Petuniaheart didn't say anything, but she just nodded. Zebrapaw wondered what it was like to be the daughter and mate of two leaders, and a mother of a deputy, *and* the mother of his mentor, of which Petuniaheart had many titles to her name. He thought she might gain even more titles in the future, if more hardships came, that was. He figured her important family relationships was the reason why she was normally nonchalant about everything and wasn't easily brought down by hardships, either.

Finally, Peonyclaw looked furious at what her son told them. "If that's the case, then why are we still standing here? We need to do something *immediately!"* Her tone sounded commanding, as if she was the leader and not Snowstar. Zebrapaw knew her as a very strong mother, very strong mentor to Birchpaw, *and* a very strong and skilled warrior and good Clanmate in general, but she could be overwhelming sometimes, especially with Stonepaw and all that drama.

Snowstar just sighed. "Let's take this into consideration before we do anything. But I will tell everyone be on *even more* alert for AdderClan. If they're starting to cross borders now, we need to take drastic defensive measures."

Everyone agreed with Snowstar, since that was probably the best idea right now. Going and attacking AdderClan wasn't wise, especially in their current situation. He did an announcement for this piece of news, of which everyone who wasn't already there when Zebrapaw was telling the story was surprised at. The deputy, Sealbranch, was looking tense at this news and looked apologetically at him. Zebrapaw remembered that she was his father's apprentice and also his mentor's older littermate, but somehow, he could only see her as a deputy, of which he didn't know why. He figured it might have something to do with her age and maturity, and he didn't have that many interactions with her.

After this happened, Zebrapaw walked over to a grassy patch with a mouse. He saw Birchpaw, Mountainpaw, Primrosepaw, Shadowclaw, Peonyclaw and Snowstar were still here. Then he remembered what he was so worried about while hunting, other than the AdderClan warrior crossing the border. He wondered if Peonyclaw would like him saying this, but he didn't know what else to do. *Well, here goes nothing...*

"Um... Snowstar? I have a question..." he started sheepishly.

Snowstar looked confused. "Is it about Windwing?" he asked politely.

"Uh, not really, well, actually, sort of?" Zebrapaw stammered, struggling to form a clear sentence in his mind. Windwing had insulted him over his name after all.

The other cats there were also looking confused. Spottedpaw suddenly saw them and joined them.

"You see..." he started to continue, but he was still struggling. *Windwing insulted my name. Ugh, too embarrassing to say,* he thought shamefully.

Then he remembered Spottedpaw used to be Tina before joining the Clan. *She changed her name, too,* he remembered, and thought she might understand. "I want to change my name when I'm a warrior."

The black and white striped apprentice waited for any reaction, but he expected shock. And there was shock, especially from the one who gave him the name. Peonyclaw.

Stonepaw had also been eavesdropping while in the apprentice's den and was as shocked as their mother when she heard what he said. Everyone was surprised. Zebrapaw knew why, because cats needed a good reason to change their name. And Zebrapaw wasn't sure he had a good enough reason.

The first one to speak after several moments was Snowstar. "Why?" he asked in the same polite tone he had before.

*"What?!"* Stonepaw yowled. She had already joined the group by then. "What is your issue with 'Zebrapaw'?"

For the first time since seemingly forever, Peonyclaw agreed with her troublesome daughter. But it was over something that Zebrapaw wasn't sure it was good. "Yeah? I named you for your appearance, which was a word that my mother taught me. You can just be called 'Zebrafur' or something."

Shadowclaw just nodded. "I like the name 'Zebra' because it's unique, you know."

"But what if no one knows what that means like AdderClan? What if they think that it's a stupid name? And if I tell them that it means "striped horse" in Twoleg language, they'll laugh at me!" Zebrapaw wailed.

"Oh, are you afraid someone will mock you? I guess I can agree with that," started Spottedpaw understandingly. "If I were called Tinapaw, AdderClan will go to no end to try to use that against me."

Birchpaw just nodded in agreement with her, but didn't say anything. But Zebrapaw was still glad that two of them agreed with him.

Primrosepaw and Mountainpaw didn't speak yet, but they were still as surprised as the others. Snowstar looked like he were still thinking about what to say. Finally a little bit after Spottedpaw was finished speaking, he asked, "'Zebrapaw' is still okay, but I can understand, too. What name would you think fits you the most?"

Zebrapaw started thinking. He looked at Peonyclaw who still looked a bit hurt. He didn't want to hurt his parents, especially his mother, so he felt a twinge of guilt. "I can still be named after my appearance," he told Peonyclaw apologetically. "I can be named Whitestripe. Because I am mainly white with black stripes."

Birchpaw and Peonyclaw looked as if that name reminded them of something, oddly enough.

Primrosepaw's eyes lit up all of a sudden. "Oh! That suffix... is my father's... suffix!" she exclaimed in joy, and she smiled at Zebrapaw.

Zebrapaw smiled back. He hadn't thought about Maplestripe while thinking about his name, but Maplestripe also had stripes on his fur. It made him happy that Primrosepaw approved of the name, since it was after her father. Birchpaw nodded again. Zebrapaw noticed he didn't talk a lot in important moments, but only at the most important things, too.

Peonyclaw still looked like she was disappointed and hurt. "But that is only the suffix. What about the prefix?"

Zebrapaw and Primrosepaw's smiles faded. The former didn't know how to remedy that. "But I am still white like a zebra. It doesn't really matter, since my name is who I am, part of my warriorhood. I want it to be a name that everyone will remember." He looked around the Clan. "Besides, I don't think anyone else has 'White' as a prefix. So it will still be unique." He looked at Shadowclaw who still looked surprised.

Snowstar just nodded. "Okay, I will take it into consideration." He shot a slightly worried look towards Peonyclaw, but nodded at Zebrapaw again.

Stonepaw just glared at Zebrapaw as if he was stupid for even thinking about changing his name. Zebrapaw didn't want to hurt his sister, either, and he didn't like her being genuinely angry at him for anything, so he looked away from his sister and mother guiltily. But he looked at Birchpaw, Spottedpaw and Primrosepaw appreciatively. They were quick to accept his decision, but he figured the others would need time, especially Peonyclaw, Shadowclaw and Stonepaw.

He walked into the apprentice's den onto his moss bed, departing from the conversation. He had no heart to talk to them anymore, and so he fell into a deep sleep, trying to forget everything that had happened.

**This is a chapter subpage of MoonClan's ambitious story (1): The First Four Leaders.**

*← Previous Chapter: Chapter 21: Shadowclaw, Icemoon, Quailclaw, Robinpaw & SoarpawNext Chapter: Chapter 23: Important Decisions →*

*← Previous Part: Part 1: Little Birchkit's LifeNext Part: Part 3: Birchcreek's Selflessness →*