ELEMENTALS / warriors

Chapter 1

Clouds passed over the bright shining sun in the sky, casting shadows down on the woods. Bird chatter filled the forest, a cardinal taking flight with the soft flutter of its wings, soaring over EarthClan's home below. Cats exchanged conversations as they milled through camp, the morning just beginning on a quite beautiful day.

"Are you excited?"

A pretty gray she-cat blinked down at her kit, orange eyes vibrant across her rather dull pelt. Pale red points dashed across her body, her plumy tail curled around her side. Though, her most noticeable feature was the mark that showed an orange cluster of flowers sprouting from her tail and resting across her back, looking like sunflowers blooming in the summertime.

Below her, a navy blue kit smiled back, his colored paws shuffling beneath him as he rubbed against her chest fur. His rather odd blue eyes closed, the red irises looking like sparks of flames against a blue sky. He had lighter blue, dark purple, and dark green speckles lining his socks, muzzle, back, and tail, a purr rumbling from his throat as he nuzzled his mother.

His mother. This pretty gray molly wasn't actually his mother. Long ago, much longer than Houndkit could remember, his parents had died and he was taken under the wing of his foster mother, Grayblaze, Sagestar making sure that he was well taken care of. Sagestar had been the sister of his blood mother, who's name was still a mystery to him, as was his father's.

Trying to push those thoughts away, Houndkit pulled away from Grayblaze, his lips peeled back into a smile. "I am." Being the only kit in the nursery had its pros and cons. No annoying cats to deal with, but also not anyone to really play with. However, now that he was going to be an apprentice, all of that would change!

Grayblaze drew her tongue over his head, pushing down the small navy hairs that stuck up. He let his foster mother groom him, blue eyes shooting open when he heard Sagestar's familiar voice ring through the camp: "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Highden for a Clan meeting!" Pushing down the adrenaline that pumped through his veins, Houndkit ducked away from Grayblaze and bounded out of the nursery.

He was truly amazed at the wonders of EarthClan. His Clanmates were a wide variety of colors, ranging from black to blue to yellow. Every warrior held a mark somewhere on their body that represented their personality, but also the element of the Clan they were in. Yes, elements, meaning powers. Every cat had a power. Even Grayblaze did! Apparently, apprentices had "a revealance" sometime during their training and would be granted a nature-related ability. Houndkit had been told there were two other Clans, but their names had slipped his mind; he had other things to worry about, such as leaving his foster mother and moving into the apprentices' den.

Houndkit flattened his ears as he tried to avoid the gazes of his fellow Clanmates. His heart pumped against his ribcage, his jaws slightly cracking open as he stepped in front of the whole Clan. Sagestar was quite an eye-catching cat; an elegant blue striped she-cat with darker blue dapples across her body, the same type of eyes that Houndkit held. White socks stretched up her legs and surrounded her muzzle, dashes and speckles of white around her eyes. She had a five-pointed star embedded in her chest, stuck in the middle of a vibrant green mark that covered her neck and shoulders, representing her being the leader of EarthClan. She looked a lot like Houndkit in a way; he'd either gotten his blue fur from her or from his mother... he supposed he'd never know.

"Today is a very, very special day," she began, her voice loud and clear as she spoke. "We have a kit becoming an apprentice; one of the most important steps to becoming a noble warrior of EarthClan." She flicked her tail, blue eyes flickering down to the small tom. "Houndkit, step up."

Feeling a shudder pass through his body, he trembled a bit as he stepped up, the adrenaline whizzing away as he met the eyes of his aunt.

"Houndkit, you have reached the age of six moons and it's time for you to be apprenticed. From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Houndpaw. Your mentor will be Dawndapple. I hope she passes down everything she knows on to you." Sagestar flicked her tail, watching the regal she-cat pad up to Houndpaw. His eyes widened at the sight of her, a beautiful array of black and blues splattered across her pelt, splotches drenched over her back and under her belly, her amber eyes blazing against her bicolored fur.