Description
Warriors have been trained in the ways of fighting and hunting in addition to the ways of the warrior code.[1] They are charged with the responsibility to feed and protect those cats who are elderly or unable to spend time out of camp.[1]
Warriors make up most of a Clan: each cat is, was, or will be a warrior (except medicine cats), unless they die before they become a warrior. (e.g. Swiftpaw,[2] Gorsepaw[3]) When a cat expects or nurses kits, they temporarily give up their warrior duties and become queens, but take them up again when their kits are apprenticed. Although, some cats would rather stay in the nursery as permanent queens to help other queens and the arrivals of new kits (such as Daisy and Ferncloud).[4]
Tasks
Warriors have the following tasks:
- Providing defense and security
- Providing food for the Clan in the form of fresh-kill[source?]
- Serving in offensive operations[source?]
- Mentor warrior apprentices[1]
Education
Kits are apprenticed at the age of six moons to a warrior,[6] and are made full warriors once their mentor is satisfied with their skills and knowledge, and after they pass an assessment,[9] and their leader is pleased with their training. During apprenticeship, the apprentice must pass several assessments - tasks their mentor gives them, usually hunting in a specific place, while the mentor follows them unseen to check how they are getting on.[10]
An apprenticeship usually lasts for six moons or more (Except for Graystripe and Firestar, who became warriors at nine moons, if an apprentice was away like Squirrelflight or broke a bone like Crookedstar the apprenticeship is longer), thus, warriors are older than 12 moons.[11] Cats become warrior apprentices after an apprentice ceremony, and full warriors after a warrior ceremony.
Mentors
A warrior who currently instructs an apprentice is called a mentor.[12] Before a warrior can become a deputy, they must mentor at least one apprentice.[5] This is not always true, as sometimes StarClan will send an omen to tell the leader or medicine cat who to choose, even if they have never been a mentor. For example, Leafpool had been given a dream of brambles with claws surrounding the ThunderClan camp to keep it safe, thus causing Firestar to choose Brambleclaw to be deputy when Graystripe was gone, although at the time he had not been a mentor yet, though was promised Berrynose when he came of age.[13] They will teach their apprentices the way of a warrior: how to hunt and fight, and the ways of the warrior code.
Special cases
Senior warriors
A senior warrior is a warrior who is older and more experienced than the others, but has not decided to become an elder yet,[14] and would rather serve their Clan as long as they can. Senior warriors are given respect, and are often asked for advice by the Clan leader. Senior warriors are also tasked with leading patrols, and filling in for the Clan deputy should they be unavailable, such as Adderfang filling in for Tawnyspots[15] or the ThunderClan senior warriors splitting up and doing Graystripe's duties when he was captured.
In the warriors' den, the senior warriors sleep towards the middle where it is warmest, while the younger warriors sleep towards the sides.[14] An example of a senior warrior is Whitestorm of ThunderClan, who was well respected by all his Clanmates.[16]
Daylight-warriors
The concept of "daylight-warriors" was introduced in SkyClan's Destiny. It denotes kittypets who sleep with their Twolegs in a Twoleg nest at night, but participate in a Clan's activities by day, like hunting and patrolling.[17] They can even train apprentices (an example of this would be Billystorm training Snookthorn[18] or Ebonyclaw training Hawkwing[19]), or become a medicine cat apprentice (as is the case of Frecklewish[20]). These warriors are generally scorned for being "half-kittypet" by their full-Clanmates.[21]
However, with SkyClan moving to The lake, the position of a daylight-warrior appears to have been rendered defunct.[22] Hawkwing's Journey has Harveymoon and Ebonyclaw decide to stay with their Twolegs,[23] while Macgyver and Frecklewish are seen in SkyClan's lake territory and are no longer mentioned as daylight warriors or kittypets.[24]