"C'mon slow poke! The ceremony is about the start!" hissed a small she-cat, barely six moons old, with silvery gray fur and excited amber eyes. She was practically leaping with her excitement as she waited for her brother, a black tom with bright yellow eyes, to get to the place where she waited.
"I'm coming!" he mewed huffily.
"Not fast enough," she meowed with a frown. "Come on! Or maybe Morningstar won't make us apprentices!" The little black kit hurried up at these words and they reached the area where the rest of their clan, ThunderClan, sat before their leader and deputy, Morningstar and Stormfur. Both looked serious but kind.
"I say these words before StarClan that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. The newest apprentices of ThunderClan are Mistypaw, formerly known as Mistykit, and Ashpaw, formerly known as Ashkit!" Morningstar meowed in her kind but serious voice. The golden she-cat looked at Oakfur, a large brown tabby tom, and said, "Oakfur will be Mistypaw's mentor, and is being trusted with teaching her all he knows." Oakfur nodded and stepped forward. Mistypaw jumped up and ran to touch noses with her new mentor. They did so and Mistypaw took a seat next to Oakfur, though he didn't look entirely thrilled about it.
"Moonfur will be Ashpaw's mentor and is trusted to teach him all he has learned," Morningstar continued. Ashpaw got to his feet and slowly walked, eyes on the ground, over to Moonfur. He reached her and, to his dismay, tripped and slammed his nose into Moonfur's then fell hard on the ground. There was a moment of awkward silence where a few cats stifled a laugh. Ashpaw got quickly to his feet and sat by Moonfur, looked extremely embarrassed.
"Don't worry, you'll do fine," Moonfur murmured to him in a low purr. Ashpaw smiled at her.
"Join me in welcoming our two newest apprentices!" Morningstar finished in a loud meow. Yowls of excitement and happiness issued from all the clan members. A chanting of "Ashpaw! Mistypaw! Ashpaw! Mistypaw!" began and Ashpaw soon regained his courage. His sister wandered over to him with the biggest grin he'd ever seen.
"We did it!" she yowled joyously.
"Yeah, I guess so. We still have to go through being apprentices," Ashpaw said.
"Don't be such a downer," Mistypaw teased her brother.
"Mistypaw, be kind to your brother," came their mother's voice from behind Mistypaw. She jumped about a foot in the air and turned around. Bramblenose was smiling at her kits and glowing with pride.
"Sorry, mother," mewed Mistypaw quietly.
Bramblenose licked Mistypaw's head affectionately. "Go and get some food. Then you can settle into the apprentice den!" she told them, turning and leaving them.
Mistypaw didn't hesitate in the least bit at running off towards the fresh-kill pile. Ashpaw waited a few moments, glancing up at Moonfur who was still beside him. "Go ahead, have fun. We can begin training tomorrow," she said kindly. Ashpaw smiled.
"Thank you, Moonfur," he purred, running off after Mistypaw who was eating a mouse. He grabbed a mouse as well and lay by her.
"You two are so lucky," came a quiet mew. Mistypaw and Ashpaw looked up to see Wildkit, a five moon old kit. He was extremely anxious about becoming an apprentice and got very upset when cats other than him were made them. "I still have to wait a whole moon!"
"Well, we had to wait just as long," Mistypaw meowed, returning to her food.
"I'm always left behind!" Wildkit cried in dismay, running off back towards the nursery.
Mistypaw and Ashpaw finished their meals quickly then ran off towards the apprentice den. They slipped in and looked around. Duskpaw, a grayish brown tom apprentice, was sitting in the corner with Rosepaw, a she-cat with an almost pink pelt. Both of them were older apprentices and probably would become warriors soon.
"Congratulations," Rosepaw purred.
"Yeah," Duskpaw meowed in agreement.
"Thanks!" Mistypaw purred, grateful for the praise. Ashpaw merely nodded, unsure what to do.
"You'd better get some rest, we usually leave at dawn," Rosepaw advised as Leopardpaw, a black and yellow spotted she-cat apprentice, entered.
"Oh, hello Mistypaw! Hello, Ashpaw!" she mewed in surprise. "I forgot you'd be in here tonight. I'm used to it being just Duskpaw, Rosepaw and myself."
"Understandable," Mistypaw meowed, lying down. Ashpaw followed suit. Leopardpaw lay on the opposite side, closer to Duskpaw and Rosepaw.
"Well, have a nice rest," Leopardpaw said cheerfully, putting her head down and closing her eyes. Rosepaw appeared to be asleep already, but Duskpaw had stood up.
"I'm going on the evening patrol," he explained, exiting the den. Mistypaw put her head on her paws and closed her eyes. Within moments, she was asleep. Ashpaw on the other hand, stayed up. He stared at the entrance, waiting for Duskpaw to return. At around midnight, Duskpaw returned. He seemed unaware that Ashpaw was watching him as he lay by Rosepaw and fell asleep. Ashpaw took one last fleeting look around before surrendering to sleep as well.
