Warriors #4: Darkness Awakens

Chapter 24

Swiftkit's POV

"Swiftkit? Swiftkit! Get your lazy tail out of that nest!"

I was very tempted to claw out the eyes of whoever had just woken me up, but I suppressed the urge and simply let out a yawn, not wanting to open my eyes yet. Keeping my eyes closed didn't get rid of the voice though.

"What are you waiting for? Leaf-bare? Get up!"

I let out a hiss and finally stood up in my nest. To my surprise, Goldenshine wasn't beside me, and Snowkit was standing in front of me, her blue eyes wide and eager.

How she is able to be so energetic this early, I will never know. The more Snowkit pestered me with her enthusiasm, the more annoyed I got. I hissed at her, "And what exactly gave you the burning desire to wake me up like this, you mouse-brain?"

Snowkit wasn't phased. To my annoyance, she only got more excited. "You're calling me a mouse-brain, mouse-brain?" Snowkit purred. "Our apprentice ceremony is today! Get with it!"

Suddenly, all of my grogginess and annoyance with Snowkit went away at that realization. I'm going to be an apprentice today! One step closer to becoming a warrior. And I'll finally get to show off what I've learned in the Dark Forest!

Speaking of the Dark Forest, things there had been fairly good, and to my luck, much more underwhelming than past encounters. I feel like I had truly learned so much from Ashfur and Tigerstar. They could actually be phenomenal mentors when they weren't frightening me out of my fur. I was so excited now that I would be able to actually make use of the head start they were giving me!

Now feeling as excited as Snowkit was, I suppressed a squeal and then followed her out of the nursery.

The sun was already high in the sky, and that sight made me feel all the more awake and ready to go. One of the first things I saw when I left the nursery was Goldenshine, already sitting down near the Highledge, probably waiting for the apprentice ceremony to start.

"It's about time!" She purred, touching her nose to mine. "I was the one who had to send Snowkit to come get you! I thought you were going to be in that nursery sleeping for a moon!"

I rolled my eyes but purred also, "Whatever. Thanks, I guess."

Goldenshine snorted and lightly pushed my head with one of her paws. "'Thanks, I guess'?" She meowed, purring with amusement. "Here's an idea: say that word for word to Firestar when he gives you your apprentice name."

As I let out a mrrow of laughter, Firestar's yowl sounded from the Highledge above Goldenshine and me. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Highledge!"

Snowkit, who was now beside me, let out another excited squeak and lightly nudged my shoulder. We exchanged an enthusiastic glance before looking behind us to watch all of the cats emerging and gathering under the Highledge to join us.

"How wild is this?" I heard Snowkit murmur as the cats of ThunderClan were beginning to find their places and settle down.

When Firestar seemed to think that every cat was assembled, he began speaking again. "Cats of ThunderClan, we are gathered here this sunhigh to witness one of the ceremonies that any leader is very proud to perform - the making of new apprentices."

Firestar's eyes then looked down to where Snowkit and I were sitting. My eyes widened as my gaze met Firestar's. He then went on, "Swiftkit and Snowkit have reached six moons of age, and are ready to become apprentices. Could the two of you please step forward?"

I took a deep breath as I saw Snowkit slowly begin to pad forward. I then followed closely behind. My heart was beating so quickly that I thought for sure that all of ThunderClan would hear it. I shivered with anticipation.