Warriors: Lurking Darkness

Chapter 2

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the high branch for a meeting!" Fallenkit hears Daisystar's voice call from inside the nursery.

"It's finally time for you two to become apprentices!" Fawnbriar meows, looking happier than Fallenkit has ever seen her.

She's just happy she gets to be a warrior again. Fallenkit thinks grumpily.

"Let's go, you two follow me. Behave, especially you, Fallenkit," Fawnbriar meows. Fallenkit lets out a sigh as she begins to follow her mother out of the nursery. Once the kit notices all of the cats that are crowded in the clearing, she is filled with anxiety.

I'm going to have to step forward in front of all of these cats?! Fallenkit thinks, sitting down with their mother beside Stonekit.

"Today, two young kits have reached the age of six moons, and are ready to become apprentices," Daisystar announces.

"Fallenkit, 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 Fallenpaw. Your mentor will be Plumnose. I hope Plumnose will pass down all she knows on to you." Daisystar says, her half-blind gaze looking down at the black apprentice, but then it shifts over to a dark gray-furred warrior. "Plumnose, you are ready to take on your first apprentice. You have received excellent training from Fawnbriar, and you have shown yourself to be a skilled and brave warrior. You will be the mentor of Fallenpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."

Fallenpaw slowly pads over to the intimidating warrior.

"Come here," Plumnose meows softly. Feeling more encouraged, Fallenpaw picks up her pace and touches noses with the young warrior. The clan cheers. "Fallenpaw! Fallenpaw!"

Then, Daisystar's gaze shifts right over to Stonekit.

"Stonekit, you have also reached the age of six moons, and it is also time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Stonepaw. Your mentor will be Sootwhisker. I hope Sootwhisker will pass down all he knows on to you," Daisystar says, her gaze shifting over to Sootwhisker. "Sootwhisker, you are ready to take on your first apprentice. You have received excellent training from Graycloud and you have shown yourself to be a loyal and kind-hearted warrior. You will be the mentor of Stonepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."

Fallenpaw watches as her brother pads over to the warrior, touching noses with him. "Stonepaw! Stonepaw!" The clan cheers.

"The clan meeting is now dismissed," Daisystar meows, leaping down from the high branch.

"I can't wait to get to know you," Plumnose meows happily. "Your mother was my mentor you know!"

"I heard," Fallenpaw responds. "You're not mean like Fawnbriar though, right?" She then asks.

"She's mean to you?" Plumnose asks with concern.

"Yeah, and I have no idea why. It's like she hates me for existing," Fallenpaw shares, looking down at the ground that is still wet from the previous night's rain.

"I will get strict with your training, but I promise I won't be mean to you. Strictness is not me being mean, it's just me trying to make sure you become the best warrior you can be, got it?" Plumnose asks. "I'm just letting you know beforehand."

"Okay, I got it," Fallenpaw meows.

She's nice, but she looks an awful lot like a cat I saw in my dreams. Pineshade, I think? She's his spitting image. I wonder if she descended from him. Fallenpaw thinks.

Fallenpaw has been having dreams of what she later figured out were events that have happened in ShadowClan's recent past. She found out after hearing a story Lilydawn told all of the kits about the journey to find a herb to cure an illness, which she had dreamed about before. She doesn't know if these dreams are helping her, harming her, or have any meaning at all, though. She is afraid to tell anyone about her dreams, especially to Fawnbriar or anyone who would tell her such as Stonepaw. So, she has kept them to herself. Even though she really wanted to talk to another cat about the dream she had about a cat named Fallenstar.

"How about Sootwhisker and I will show you and Stonepaw around ShadowClan territory?" Plumnose suggests.

"Yes!" Stonepaw cheers. "I can't wait to see everything!"

You already saw everything, you frogbrain. Fallenpaw thinks. Did you forget the times Fawnbriar would take us to see Venom?

"Okay, let's go," Sootwhisker meows, beginning to lead the way out of camp.

Sootwhisker is Plumnose's father. Plumnose is a very young cat, she became a warrior a few moons ago. Before I was born, of course. Fallenpaw thinks. I'm surprised Daisystar gave her an apprentice already. Oh wow, I sound like an elder or something.

"You're going to love seeing everything in ShadowClan's territory," Plumnose tells Fallenpaw.

"Okay," Fallenpaw just responds.

Can she stop acting like I'm a moon old? Fallenpaw thinks.