After Blazesong made Moonpelt deputy, she found it much easier for her to sleep. She settled in to her nest, and by the time she woke up, the sun had already raised fully into the sky.
She jumped to her paws, fur bristling. This was no way for a leader to act! However, she forced her fur to lay flat when she realized the two other members of her clan were sleeping soundly beside her.
She scoffed at the warriors, forgetting for a moment that she, too, had slept in late. She proudly walked outside the sun, stretching in the amber sunshine.
As she watched the sun dance on the nearby shore, she found herself glancing around at the semicircle of trees, taking note of how good of a camp this was. She found herself counting the number of dens she could see, before finally coming to a tall owl’s den, with a large branch sticking out from it.
Blazesong got a determined look in her eye, and bounded over to the base of the tree. Carefully, and slowly, she began to climb.
She was almost to the branch when she heard Maplepaw cry out, “Blazestar! What are you doing!”
Blazesong was so startled she nearly lost her grip on the tree. “Maplepaw!” she hissed back. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
Maplepaw paced back and forth underneath the branch, clearly worried for her mentor. “Just—be careful, okay?”
Blazesong hoisted herself up onto the the wide branch, testing its weight. “Noted,” she muttered to her anxious apprentice. She realized that once she got up there, the branch wasn’t too bad. It was wide enough for easily two cats to sit on side-by-side, and at its height it was only about a fox-length off the ground. Settling in, she sat proudly, gazing out over all the camp.
Maplepaw’s fur began to lie flat, and she regained some of her characteristic attitude back. “So, uh, Blazestar. What exactly are you doing?”
“Calling a clan meeting.” She said, deciding as soon as she said it.
“A wha—“ Maplepaw began, but she was drowned out by Blazesong’s yowl. “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the highbranch for a Clan meeting!”
Maplepaw, perplexed, sat down underneath the branch, but Moonpelt did not show himself. After a moment, she yowled the call again, but the silver-blue tabby did not show himself. Rolling her eyes, she turned to Maplepaw. “Will you go get him, please?"
Maplepaw nodded, and bounded into the den. A moment later, she reappeared, with a bleary-eyed Moonpelt following slowly behind her. When he saw Blazesong up on the branch, his fur puffed out. “Blazesong!” he exclaimed. “What are you—“
“Clan meeting,” she explained brusquely. “Now, onto the first order of business. Uh,” she stumbled, unsure of what to say. “Moonpelt is now our medicine cat instead of our deputy. May StarClan see and approve my choice.” Moonpelt, ever proud, puffed out his chest. Maplepaw purred and entwined her tail with his. “Wow!” she heard her say. “Congrats!”
Moonpelt gave his chest a couple quick licks. “Thanks.”
“Anyway,” Blazesong continued, “We need, uh, a Clan name.” She shuffled her weight uncomfortably. “Does anyone…have any suggestions?”
Maplepaw jumped to her paws. “Oh! How about FierceClan! We can tell all those mangy nearby rogues to stay away! Or maybe, we could be called FightClan! Even tougher!”
Moonpelt jumped in. “Or maybe LoveClan?”
Maplepaw, taking no notice of Moonpelt, continued on. “DeathClan!” Moonpelt tried to dissuade her. “PeaceClan?”
“ClawClan!”
“StarClan? Wait…”
“PounceClan! ShredClan! WeHateRoguesClan!”
“BlazeClan?”
Maplepaw suddenly went silent. “That’s not too bad.”
Blazesong was humbled. “BlazeClan? I’m not sure if—“
Maplepaw shrugged. “I wouldn’t want a clan named after me, though. It seems conceited.”
Blazesong nodded an agreement. “Yes, I think so—“
“But,” Maplepaw continued, “you are the founder of the clan, so the name should have something to do with you.”
Their leader shrugged, waited for Maplepaw to inevitably interrupt again. Hopefully she didn’t suggest FireClan.
“FlameClan?” she suggested instead.
Blazesong didn’t mind that one, and she watched as Moonpelt mouthed the clan name to himself, almost as if he was tasting it. Maplepaw, on the other hand, was practicing her fighting moves, hissing “FlameClan!” under her breath.
“FlameClan,” Blazesong said to herself. It seemed to fit, indicative of the flame within each warrior’s heart to protect their home and their beliefs. Plus, it was cooler than FireClan.
“So we all agree, then? FlameClan?” she offered. Both cats below her nodded their agreement. “Then it is so,” she continued.”We will be known as Flameclan from now on.
“Yay!” Maplepaw yelled. “FlameClan! FlameClan!”
Even Moonpelt joined in the fun, yelling and cheering alongside her. Soon, Blazesong couldn’t help it either, and all three cats raised their voices to the morning sun to celebrate the creation of their new family—Flameclan.