Warriors: The Lurking Darkness (Book Two)

Chapter Eight: My Destiny

CHAPTER 8

The small white she-cat gazed warmly at the white tom with brown paws and a striped tabby tail. They were smiling at each other and laughing. It absolutely warmed my heart.

Whitefang licked her cheek gently and then smiled over at Cherryheart who was grooming Gorsekit rapidly. It was her time to become an apprentice and she was beaming with pride. It was a nice distraction from Icepaw's sickness.

"I call a Clan meeting!" Russetstar yowled from the clearing and Whitefang and Dawnpool stood up, exiting the den and I hurried after them.

The whole Clan was gathered now and I took a spot next to Flowerwhisker and Whitefang.

"Gorsekit, step forward!" he yowled.

Cherryheart led Gorsekit out of the nursery and Shadeclaw walked beside Cherryheart. Gorsekit stood in front of Russetstar, looking up at him excitedly.

"Gorsekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Gorsepaw. Your mentor will be Blackfoot. I hope Blackfoot will pass down all he knows on to you," Russetstar mewed loudly and flicked his tail to bring up Blackfoot.

"Blackfoot, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Thistletail, and you have shown yourself to be loyal and fighting skills. You will be the mentor of Gorsepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Gorsepaw. And Cherryheart may now go back to warrior duties."

"Gorsepaw! Gorsepaw!" WindClan cheered loudly while Gorsepaw and Blackfoot touched noses.

I turned my head to look at Soulpaw who was giving Blackfoot a foul look. All because of Icepaw's mistake.

I hurried over to Soulpaw and tilted my head. "Do you know how Icepaw is doing?"

"She's getting better," he confirmed and then narrowed his eyes at me. "She's your sister, why don't you just visit her?"

My eyes flickered over to where Blackfoot and Gorsepaw were exiting camp. "Didn't Jaypaw say she looks up to you? It'll be hard to talk to her like Mothflower suggests if Blackfoot is her mentor," I commented, avoiding his question completely.

He eyed me suspiciously. "Well now she has someone else to look up to, her mentor. Blackfoot, although odd, is still a good warrior." His eyes flickered to behind me and a frown appeared on his face.

I followed his gaze to where Mousefang was slipping into the medicine den, then I looked back at my denmate. "Seems like he's going to visit Icepaw," I mewed, amused.

"Wildpaw!" Whitefang called from outside the nursery.

I pricked my ears and hurried over to my mentor. "Yes, Whitefang?"

Dawnpool was fat with kits and she smiled warmly at me while Whitefang looked down at me. "We're going on a patrol along the RiverClan border with Redstorm and Dawnstripe at sunhigh. It has been a while since we've patrolled that border. Get something to eat and get ready," he commanded and turned back to Dawnpool.

I nodded and padded away to the fresh-kill pile where I grabbed a rabbit. It was small but it'd fill me up for now.

Quickly, I ate the rabbit and looked up at the sun that was reaching the highest point in the sky. Dawnstripe and Redstorm were gathered at the entrance already.

"Hey!" I mewed and raced up to them excitedly. Dawnstripe was Reedstar's mate before he died and Redstorm was Mothflower's brother. And to my understanding they thought he was murdered by DarkClan cats but Dawnpool saved him. "I can't wait for this patrol!" I had done a lot of hunting and watching Whitefang care for Dawnpool. Their story went back a long ways to when Whitefang was still a RiverClan cat. That was the most impressive part of their relationship.