Unedited-there will be typos and grammar issues, apologies.

Rusty

Rusty followed Bluestar into the bramble tunnel. His flame colored fur brushed against the throne, pulling a few strands out. As they emerged, he gasped in awe at the clearing before him. All around, kits played in the bright sunlight while elders relaxed. Warriors shared tongues and chatted, while apprentices play-battled each other.

"Welcome to ThunderClan," Bluestar meowed, a hint of pride in her voice. The she-cat beckoned with her tail for Rusty to follow. Nervously, he took cautious paw steps into the camp. The cats had stopped their activities, staring at him intently. They arrived at the base of a tall boulder, and Bluestar leaped gracefully onto it.

Climbing onto the boulder, the leader yowled for attention. "Cats of ThunderClan," she began. "The battle for Sunningrocks will be finished soon, but that is not our most pressing issue. Rusty, the kittypet below me, is ThunderClan's newest apprentice." Rusty flinched, as waves of protest spread around him.

"This is mouse-brained, Bluestar!" One tom hissed from behind Rusty. He turned around, and saw a large cat with pale brown fur. "Kittypets can't do anything! He will just be an extra burden on us."

"Silence, Longtail!" Bluestar growled back. "He will become an apprentice and learn the Warrior Code with Sandpaw, Dustpaw, Spottedpaw, Ravenpaw, and Graypaw."

Longtail shuffled on his paws, his blue eyes fixated on Rusty. "If you're so brave, kittypet, come on, fight me." Rusty felt heat rising in the face. Baring his teeth, he crouched down, preparing to lunge.

"Stop this instant," Bluestar commanded. However, Rusty barely noticed her. His body was rigid, staring directly at the larger tom. Suddenly, Longtail leaped, his claws unsheathed. Rusty felt the tom's weigh on his shoulders, and rolled, pulling him off. When his back was turned, he felt something grab his collar. Helpless, Rusty pawed desperately, choking. Snap! In an instant, the collar broke, leaving Rusty gasping for air.

"It is a sigh from our ancestors,"Bluestar murmured. "Rusty, from this moment on, you shall be known as Firepaw. You will train as my apprentice."

Around half of the cats cheered. "Firepaw!"

Still panting, Firepaw walked towards where Bluestar had said to be the Apprentices' Den. Two cats were there, Graypaw, who he had seen before, and a tortoiseshell she-cat. "Hi, Firepaw, huh?" Graypaw exclaimed, bounding over and knocking Firepaw to the grass.

"Let...go," Firepaw struggled to mew, as the large apprentice leaped away. The tortoiseshell gave a small mrrow of laughter. As Firepaw got up, he met her warm amber eyes for a brief moment.

The she-cat trotted over, and laid down on the cool grass. "I'm Spottedpaw," she said. Firepaw couldn't help but stare at her. She was really quite pretty.

"Oh, um, I'm...uh, Firepaw." Firepaw stuttered, as he hastily looked away. Spottedpaw laughed again, the sound making him feel strange.

"I think everyone knows that, Firepaw," she answered, sniffing the ground in a bored manner.

"Graypaw, let's show Firepaw around the camp," Spottedpaw meowed, prodding a half asleep Graypaw.

Graypaw stirred, and got up clumsily. "Yeah, let's do that," he mumbled.

Spottedpaw

A few days later...

This can't be happening. Spottedpaw laid in her den, eating a piece of squirrel. Redtail had been killed, one of the most skilled warriors in the clan. At least Tigerclaw wasn't made deputy. Lionheart is a good cat.

Firepaw stuck his head into the den, interrupting her thoughts. "Runningwind wanted me to come get you. He is teaching me to hunt and wanted you along." Spottedpaw nodded, and quickly choked down her prey.

"Look, there's the little kittypet. Want to go home to mommy twoleg yet?" A voice taunted. Spottedpaw turned to see Sandpaw and Dustpaw in a corner, a smirk on their faces. Spottedpaw growled, and saw that Firepaw's ears had turned bright red.

"Come on, Firepaw. No use being violent with those two. They'll come around." Spottedpaw said encouragingly, as she padded out of camp with Runningwind and Firepaw. The flame colored tom looked quite depressed,as he stared at only the ground.

"Alright, Firepaw," Runningwind meowed. "The important thing is being downwind of your prey. You'll catch their scent, but they can't catch yours."

A lengthy amount of time later, Spottedpaw followed her mentor and Firepaw towards a rabbit. "Spottedpaw, why don't you show Firepaw how it's done?" Runningwind asked, a slight hint of exasperation in his voice.

Spottedpaw crawled, her belly low against the ground. She was silent, carefully aware of her surroundings. Then, as she got close enough, she lept onto the rabbit, killing it instantly.

"Exceptional work, Spottedpaw," Runningwind praised, and she felt her face flush with joy. Runningwindwas kind and patient, but praise only ca,e occasionally.

As they headed back, Spottedpaw noticed Firepaw looking very glum. "Hey, don't worry. It's only your first time trying. It took a quarter moon for me to catch my first mouse." She meowed, trying to cheer him up. Firepaw looked up, and smiled slightly.

"Thanks, Spottedpaw. You're a good friend." He murmured, and intertwined his orange tail with hers as they walked. "Who knows, maybe I'll catch something next time."

A/N

So, how was that? Please comment, vote, and follow! Thanks so much for reading :)