Read the next chapter if you want to know what the Clan looks like!
Featherkit stumbled around the clearing, playfully swatting at Silverkit, happy to play outside. Though there were no kits other than them, it was getting cramped in the nursery. Whitesong rushed towards them. "You're a mess! It's almost time for you to become apprentices!" She rapidly licked Silverkit's fur, and Lionstrike padded over and started licking Featherkit's fur. "Our kits will have amazing mentors and become amazing warriors. We've nothing to worry." "You're right," Whitesong purred. "They have a strong father," Lionstrike smiled. "And a beautiful mother." Featherkit's fur fluffed up. "Stop licking me and saying all that sappy stuff!" She mewed. Suddenly Brightstar's call ran through the camp. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the highledge for a Clan meeting." The Clan gathered around. "Featherkit and Silverkit have reached the age of six moons. It is time for them to become apprentices." Featherkit didn't hear what Brightstar was saying, other than "Your mentors shall be Robinsong and Wolftooth." Featherpaw touched noses with Robinsong as Silverpaw did the same with Wolftooth. "Training starts tomorrow morning," Robinsong purred. "Get some sleep." Brightstar interrupted by saying, "Clan dismissed." "Hey!" Dapplepaw mewed. "I'll make you two a nest." His words were muffled by feathers. "Brightstar told me specifically to gather feathers for you!" He held his chin high. It had already turned to moonrise. Featherpaw padded over to the fresh-kill pile, which was well stocked, even for newleaf. She grabbed a plump shrew and dropped it a few tail-lengths away. "Hey, Silverpaw! Come over here!" Silverpaw turned around a smiled, suppressing a mrrow of amusement. She hopped over. "Thornclaw just tried to go in the apprentices' den again. Mousepaw pelted him with acorns!" She pointed her tail towards the young warrior who had been made one only a moon ago. His fur was fluffed up to twice its size, and he was heading to Grayleaf's den. "Is Mousepaw that strong?" "Yes," Silverpaw purred. "You have a thing for him, don't you?" Featherpaw teased. "You like Dapplepaw!" Silverpaw shot back, obviously embarrassed. "N-no!" Featherpaw denied, her tail sticking up like a stick. "He just wanted to m-make sure we were c-comfortable!" "Besides," Lionstrike mewed, sneaking up on them. "You're too young to need mates, or want one." Whitesong padded up, too, and mewed, "and wasn't it around their age that you started liking me?" Lionstrike purred, and they both walked away, twining tails. The two apprentices rolled their eyes, finished the shrew, and padded away to the apprentices' den together. | "Wake up!" Robinsong mewed. "You and Silverpaw are coming explore the borders. "Good!" Silverpaw sighed. "No apprentice chores!" "Not yet," Wolftooth padded up. "But you'll have to do them soon. A lot of them." "Why?" Silverpaw tilted her head. "There are 6 apprentices." "Well, Breezewhisper doesn't count and Rosepaw just passed her final assessment yesterday." "Shouldn't she be a warrior now?" Wolftooth flicked his tail. "It was cloudy today and yesterday. Robinsong persuaded Brightstar to make her a warrior when it is a clear day, in case of rain." Robinsong twitched her whiskers. "I was doing what's best for my kit." Rosepaw padded up. "I think what's best for me is letting me become a warrior." Brightstar nodded, hearing their conversation. "I think so too." Rosepaw's eyes brightened. She gasped. "Does that mean I'm becoming a warrior?" Her tail flicked back and forth excitedly. Brightstar twitched her whiskers. "Why not?" She mewed, padding away to the Highledge. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the highledge for a Clan meeting!" Wolftooth and Robinsong glanced at each other, then padded away to sit under the highledge. "Rosepaw, step forward." The apprentice stepped forward, her eyes shining. "Rosepaw has trained well in the ways of the warrior code. StarClan, you have watched over her in her apprenticeship. I commend her to you as a warrior in return. Rosepaw, from this day on, your name will be Rosebloom." "Rosebloom! Rosebloom! Rosebloom!" The Clan chanted her name. Robinsong chanted the loudest. "I have some more news." Jaywing nodded. "Jaywing has worked hard and served her Clan well. Rosebloom was her last apprentice, and she trained her well. I call upon my warrior ancestors to accept her as an elder." "Jaywing, Jaywing, Jaywing!" The Clan chanted her name as well, accepting her as an elder. "Clan dismissed." Thornscar padded over to Jaywing. "You are an amazing mother. I hope you do well as an elder. When there are no more apprentices, I will gladly do their chores to care for you." He mewed solemnly. Jaywing purred. "I love you too." Featherpaw padded over to Robingsong and Wolftooth, calling Silverpaw over. "Can we go look at the borders now?" "Yes." Robinsong's voice cracked. "What?" Silverpaw mewed. "I'm so proud of my kit." She purred. "Okay. Let's go." | "Wow! Our territory is huge!" "It is. Do you see the lake?" Silverpaw gazed through the trees. "Yes! Can we go? Please?" "After we see the boundaries." Silverpaw started ahead, but Wolftooth stopped her. "Do you smell that?" "Yuck!" Featherpaw mewed. "That marshy, smelly scent is ShadowClan." "I'm glad I'm not in ShadowClan!" Featherpaw exclaimed. "Good. They train with their claws and they eat frogs and lizards." Silverpaw stuck out her tounge. "We're very lucky to be in ThunderClan," Robinsong mewed. Suddenly a strong reek of ShadowClan and ThunderClan hit them. On the other side of the smell, there were small green Twoleg nests. "This is the border." "Wait." Wolftooth mewed. He turned left and started walking. "ShadowClan scent on our side of the border." He growled. "Oh, no!" Silverpaw exclaimed, padding forward. "Look!" Wolftooth slid out his claws. There were black feathers scattered everywhere. "And they hunted. Those mangy brutes have no respect for the warrior code!" He yowled. "Let's go back and report to Brightstar." They padded away. "Hey!" Called a voice from behind them. They turned around to see a gray tabby tom standing. "Stormblaze." Wolftooth muttered. "He's from ShadowClan." Robinsong let out a hiss. "What are you doing on ThunderClan territory?" Stormblaze flicked his tail. "Is there something you're going to do about it-" His taunting mew was cut off by Wolftooth leaping towards him. Another cat, much smaller, came and attacked, along with two others. Silverpaw hissed and leaped towards the smallest cat. Robinsong lashed her tail and the other two cats started attacking. "You're outnumbered!" Stormblaze yowled. Featherpaw had been hiding in the bushes. One of the cats attacking Robinsong stopped. "Let's finish them off." She hissed. The fighting stopped. "No." Stormblaze mewed. "Let's go. These cats don't deserve it." He turned around from walking away. "Kittypets." Featherpaw yowled and leaped at him from the bushes. He fell over, surprised. Featherpaw started raking her claws across the soft part of his belly. He kicked with his hind legs and pushed her off, slamming her into a tree. The fighting started again. "Silverpaw, Featherpaw, run!" Robinsong yowled. "Go get Brightstar." Featherpaw looked at Silverpaw and nodded. angling her ears towards the camp. "Run as fast as you can," She mewed. "Act like we're kits racing!" Silverpaw's eyes brightened, then she started off. Featherpaw ran ahead. Their pelts brushed, and soon they got to the camp. "Brightstar!" Featherpaw called. "ShadowClan is attacking! We need a few warriors!" Brightstar's eyes darkened. "Ambergaze, Lionstrike, Leopardflame!" She called. "Near the ShadowClan border. Follow me!" Silverpaw mewed. "No," Brightstar called. "They know how to get there. But hurry!" Silverpaw and Featherpaw stayed in camp. "Let me treat your wounds," Grayleaf mewed. "Breezewhisper, I'll need cobweb and juniper berries. Their wounds aren't serious." Breezewhisper rushed into the medicine den, and quickly came out, holding two small berries and a wad of cobweb. He placed some on the ground and started adding some to Silverpaw's scratches. "I have some claw marks on my belly," Featherpaw mewed. "But other than me being winded, I think I'm good." Grayleaf nodded. "I don't see anything. I'll give you juniper berries for the shock, and you will go rest in the apprentices' den. Eat when you wake up." Featherpaw nodded. "Get me if it starts hurting." "I will," Featherpaw promised. "Done!" Grayleaf mewed. She stood up. "Why did you fight anyways?" "It was unexpected. I didn't want to just sit there." Silverpaw confessed. "You have no battle training. It was a mouse-brained idea." "Sorry." Featherpaw mewed. "Sorry." Silverpaw huffed. Suddenly a cat burst into camp. Leopardflame. Her eyes were wide. "Ambergaze is dead!" | Brightstar leaped onto the highledge. "Let all cats gather beneath the highledge!" Most of the Clan was already gathered. "Of course, it is time for me to choose a new deputy. Berrytail, step forward." The senior warrior padded forward, his green eyes shining. "Will you be my deputy?" "I will." "Berrytail! Berrytail! Berrytail!" The Clan chanted for the leader's mate and deputy. "Leafpaw now does not have a mentor. Crowdust, you know the ways of a warrior and the warrior code. I expect you to pass down all you know to this apprentice." Crowdust and Leafpaw touched noses. "Clan dismissed." Suddenly, Robinsong, Wolftooth, and Lionstrike rushed in, carrying Ambergaze's corpse. They set him down in the center of the camp. Goldenfoot, her belly swollen with kits, rushed out of the nursery as fast as possible. "Oh, Ambergaze!" She cried for her dead mate. "I'm sorry." Brightstar rested her tail on the queen's shoulder. "I know how it feels to loose a mate." Her eyes focused into something in the sky, and Berrytail bristled. "How dare you!" He snarled. Brightstar stared at him. "What do you mean?" She lashed her tail, though her face was calm. "You lied!" "I did not lie." "You said you loved me!" Berrytail unsheathed his claws. "But you only love your dead mate! Who isn't even here. Who you'll never see again!" Brightstar's eyes turned from calm to raging. "So you are saying I cannot love anybody except you? That's what you're saying?" "No-" "You're selfish!" Brightstar yowled. She went to her den, and right by the entrance, she yowled, "And I will see him again!" Then she disappeared into her den. Berrytail, enraged, called out. "Deercloud, Thornscar, Crowdust, Leafpaw, hunting patrol. Now. And don't even think about going to the ShadowClan border." He snarled the last words. As they padded out, he followed, going to the lake, claws unsheathed. The Clan stood in shock in silence. Finally, Leafpaw mewed, "What just happened?" "I don't know." Crowdust answered. "I wonder how long it'll take for them to make up." Robinsong shook her head. "If they ever." She padded away to the medicine den. Featherpaw could hear Grayleaf's voice as she treated Robinsong's wounds. Lionstrike, Leopardflame, and Wolftooth followed into the medicine den. Featherpaw padded in. "Robinsong?" She mewed. "Yes?" "When are we going to look at the borders again?" "When our wounds heal and ShadowClan is delt with." She flicked her tail. "It won't be long, I promise. I remember when I was an apprentice and I was so excited to see the borders." "Okay, thank you!" "Go get some rest. You deserve it," Robinsong purred. Featherpaw padded to the apprentices' den. | Featherpaw woke up to a drop of water splashing her nose. It was raining. She walked towards Brightstar's den. "She's not in there." She turned around to see Grayleaf. "Not since dawn, anyway." "Oh." "What do you need?" "The apprentice's den is leaking again. I guess I should go talk to Berrytail." "Most likely." Featherpaw walked away. She looked at the apprentice's den. Thornscar, Deercloud, and Wolftooth were already there. "Somebody must have told Berrytail already," Featherpaw said to herself." "What did you say?" Silverpaw was padding up to her. "Oh, nothing. Just that I was glad somebody was fixing the apprentice's den." Silverpaw looked skeptical. "What?" "Nothing." Silverpaw glared. "What did I do?" Featherpaw spat. Silverpaw shook her head and walked away. "Fine then!" Featherpaw yowled. "I don't care anyways!" Featherpaw walked to the fresh-kill pile. "Fox dung!" She snarled. "It's all soaked!" She went over to her den again and groaned.
