Apprentice worries by WyldClaw

Plot: all kits are excited about becoming apprentices. Some of them have extra worries. What about Whitekit? Silverstream? This centers on Silverstream, Millie's kits and Whitewing when they were a few moons away from becoming apprentices.

Notes: AAAAAA is a break in-between the cats. The part with Briarkit and her brothers takes place during sunrise when Birchfall, Brambleclaw, Brackenfur, Hazeltail, Hollyleaf, and Lionblaze are on their journey to find Sol but before Honeyfern dies. I own Wavefur. Notes: I wish I owned Warriors because then I would not have made Molepaw die. Enjoy!

Whitewing:

The late greenleaf sun was shining through the trees in the ThunderClan camp, dappling the fallen leaves on the ground in sunlight. Frostfur, a pure white soft furred she cat with blue eyes sat outside the elder's den. It was days like this that she felt younger than her true age of sixty-two moons.

She noticed her small white furred granddaughter Whitekit pad over to her, a fat squirrel in her mouth. The kit put the fresh kill on the ground. " Hello my darling. Is that for me?"

She nodded. " Uh huh. Shrewkit an' Spiderkit already gave Longtail a mouse earlier." Where is Longtail?"

Frostfur flicked her tail to the inside of the den. " Sleeping."

"That's what Spiderkit an' Shrewkit are doing. I tried to take a nap but I couldn't."

Frostfur motioned to the squirrel. "Would you like to share?"

The kitten nodded and the two she cats shared the fresh kill. "Can I ask you something?" The young cat asked after she'd cleaned the blood off her chest fur and whiskers.

She smiled at the little kit. "What's the matter dear?"

"Well" she shuffled her paws. "You know how i become an apprentice in a few moons" Frostfur nodded. "I kinda don't want to become one"

Frostfur beckoned to Whitekit to sit down next to her. "Why not? You get to aid ThunderClan and hunt and learn how to fight"

"I know" she shuffled her paws "It's just that i'm nervous about what the other clans will say about me"

"Ahh." Frostfur understood. Whitekit was worried about her kittypet roots. "It's quite all right to be nervous about becoming an apprentice but i can see why you're worried. Have you talked to Brightheart about this?"

"Uh-huh" the white kit mewed. "She said that i shouldn't be nervous because Cloudtail'll claw their ears off"

Both Frostfur and Whitekit laughed. Her dad, Cloudtail was known for his sharp tongue and he was protective about his past. "I can picture him doing just that," Frostfur told her. "There is no shame in that. You will just have to work hard to prove yourself to them."

Frostfur purred. "I remember when Cloudtail first came. Many cats believed him too soft for clan life but he proved them wrong"

"Didn't my great uncle used to be a kittypet?" Whitekit asked. She tried to imagine Firestar as a kittypet, eating food from twolegs but couldn't picture it

"That's right". Frostfur's eyes twinkled. "Firestar had to prove himself very hard to make his Clanmates trust him. Even Sandstorm teased him restlessly"

"But she's his mate" Whitekit pointed out

"She stopped teasing him after he saved her life in a battle"

"Didn't mother have to work extra hard after the dogs attacked?" Whitekit whispered. She felt bad for Brightheart. The she cat only had one eye and one ear after a pack of dogs had attacked her when she was an apprentice. Brightheart's best friend Swiftpaw had been killed in the attack.

"I sure did" Brightheart mewed. Whitekit looked up and saw her mother coming over to them. "Cloudtail helped me learn how to fight"

"And you softened his temper" Frostfur added as Brightheart blushed.

"Mother…."

"I must say you two make a wonderful pair of mates" her daughter's good eye twinkled. "So you see, dear, although you have kittypet blood, I know that you will grow up to be a fine ThunderClan warrior" Frostfur licked the little cat's cheek.

"Thanks, grandma Frostfur. You're one of the wisest cats I know"

Frostfur and Brightheart smiled at Whitekit's innocence. "I came to tell you that Sandstorm's kits opened their eyes. Would you like to see them?" Brightheart turned to her daughter.

"Of course! Bye grandma Frostfur."

"I'll meet you there" Frostfur told them.

She watched as Brightheart and Whitekit went across the clearing to the nursery. She sighed happily. It seemed like yesterday when her kits were becoming apprentices themselves. She thought of them with great pride. Cinderpelt found her calling as a medicine cat after her accident and loved it. Brackenfur was a strong young warrior whereas Thornclaw was named a warrior before the brutal BloodClan battle. Sweet, Brightheart remained strong even after that horrible attack. She got up and stretched. '"Look at them now" she purred. "They were such wonderful kits and now they are amazing warriors"

Longtail poked his head out of the elder's den. "You say something, Frostfur?"

"Oh, sorry to disturb your nap Longtail. " she mewed as he came out of the den. "I was just thinking about how much my kits have grown"

He chuckled. "They sure have. ThunderClan is lucky to have such dedicated warriors as Thornclaw Brackenfur and Brightheart. Your daughter is a wonderful medicine cat."

She purred at the comment. "I know. I remember how scared Brackenfur was after her accident. "

Longtail nodded. He recalled how concerned the golden brown tabby was after Cinderpelt had injured her leg. But after she had decided to become Yellowfang's apprentice, he decided to be the best warrior he could for both of them. "But he relaxed after he saw that she was happy helping out Yellowfang"

"I'm sure somewhere in StarClan Yellowfang is looking down on her with pride" the white she cat voiced her opinion.

"Would you like to come to see sandstorm's kits with me? I can describe them to you"

She did not want the tom to feel left out because of his blindness. "That sounds fine," he agreed. "I could use some exercise". Frostfur carefully guided him with her tail as they headed over to the nursery herself. New kits in the clan were always wonderful to see,

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Silverstream:

Oakheart padded into the RiverClan camp, his mouth full of fish he just caught. It was a fine Greenleaf day and the river around the camp was swarming with fish. He gave a nod to Mistypaw who was going out on a patrol with her mentor Wavefur, a gray tom with white splotches, Crookedstar and Stonepaw. He gave them a flick of his tail to say to hello. His heart felt a stab of pride at seeing his kits-they looked so much like Bluestar.

"Nice catch" Wavefur called out to the red tom. "Did the fish swim up and scream to be caught?" he joked. Wavefur was a calm cat who was friendly enough but vicious in battle

Oakheart nodded, a twinkle in his eye, as he walked up to the camp. He placed the fish in the fresh kill pile, which was a decent size. He went outside the warriors' den and began grooming himself

'I haven't realized how much Mistypaw and Stonepaw have grown in only five moons' he thought as he sighed. 'I wish I could tell them who their real mother is but I can't. I wonder if Bluefur has seen them at Gatherings or on patrols. Great StarClan I miss her so much. It really-'

""Whatcha doing Oakheart?" a light voice came from behind him, interrupting his thoughts. He jumped and then turned around to see his niece, Silverkit as well as her foster mother Sunfish's daughter Vixenkit

"Scare me out of my pelt, why don't you?" he grinned. "How my favorite little niece?"

"But she's your only niece." Vixenkit told him as she pressed his pelt against sliverkit's coat.

"I know, Vixenkit." he smiled. "What have you two been up to today?

"Sunfish showed us how to swim and fish." Silverkit had a look of satisfaction. Sunfish was her foster mother- she raised her since her real mother Willowbreeze, along with littermates Willowkit and Minnowkit died due to greencough. "Grasskit caught three minnows"

"Good for him" Oakheart said.

"And she show us how to sneak up on enemies" Vixenkit added. "Silverkit got me once or twice but I managed to pin her a few times" her eyes sparkled.

"Only because you're younger than me," she pouted.

"By a few days" was the reply.

"Would you like to show me? I can give you some pointers," Oakheart asked. The two kits agreed. They crouched down low and sprang up and pinned a drifting pile of moss.

"Well done you two," a musical voice said. A light colored she cat padded up to them. "Your fathers will be very impressed"

""Sunfish!" Vixenkit and Silverkit announced as they bounced over to the queen.

"Did you see that? Did you see my crouch?" the black she cat bounced.

"Yes, I did dear" she purred.

"I'm gonna surprise Grasskit!" Vixenkit announced.

"Won't he be shocked" Sunfish licked her daughter. "I think he's taking a nap in the nursery. Just make sure you don't scare him too much- he's still tired after that swimming lesson,"

"Okay mom. Bye Silverkit, bye Oakheart "the black pelted cat said. "See you later"

"Okay" Silverkit agreed.

They watched as the young tom went inside the nursery. There was a slight yowl of surprise. "That kit is going to be a pawful when she's an apprentice." Oakheart commented.

"Don't I know it" Sunfish replied.

The word apprentice brought up a question that had been swimming around in Silverkit's mind for a while. "Oakheart, Sunfish can I ask you something," she said as they sat down.

"What's up?"

She let out a sigh. "I know that my apprentice ceremony isn't for a few moons but, can you tell crookedstar that I don't want to be treated special?

"You're worried that Crookedstar will give you special treatment because you're his kit right?" Oakheart guessed.

"That's right" she looked at her paws.

"Silverkit, sweetheart, you don't have to worry about that" Sunfish pointed out.

"I don't?"

Oakheart shook his head. "Nope, cause even though your crookedstar's daughter, his duty as a clan leader comes before his duties as a father. You'll just have to work harder. "

She looked down at her paws for a few heartbeats. "I also don't wanna be pitied or bullied cause of you know…." The older warriors looked at each other. Ever since she had found out Willowbreeze had died and that she was part WindClan, Silverkit had been a little off.

Sunfish patted the kit's head. "Dear Silverkit. No one is going to bully or pity you. You don't need to fret"

She looked up at the light Pelted she cat. "Why not?"

"For two reasons." Oakheart explained. "One-your father would claw the pelt of any cat who would bully or hurt you". She giggled- it was true next to his clan she meant everything to him. "Reason number two: Crookedstar loved Willowbreeze so much he would do anything for her. He rescued her both from a heron and from twolegs," Sunfish added. "Love knows no boundaries"

"Wow!" the she kit's eyes widened. "But she was half WindClan"

"She didn't spend much time there "Oakheart corrected. "Reedfeather – fallowtail's former mate- came into the camp one day and demanded that willowbreeze & Graypool go with him to WindClan. Fallowtail didn't want to destroy the peace so she let him take them. I remember their yowls and cries well they weren't happy to leave. But a few moons later Hailstar led a patrol and stole them back. "

"Wh-what h-happened" Silverkit yawned.

Sunfish took up the story. "They were extremely happy to be back home. They said that even though their father's Clan treated them well they really missed RiverClan. They worked extremely hard during their apprenticeship. And it was during that time that Willowbreeze and Crookedstar became close. Crookedstar was very heartbroken when she passed. That is why he dotes on you. "

"Can't he get herbs from Mudfur to heal his heart?"

"I wish, little one. But nothing but time can heal a broken heart" Oakheart sighed.

"I d-didn't know Willowbreeze worked that hard. I'm going to work hard to be an apprentice and then a warrior that Crook-Crookedstar can be proud of" she stated.

Sunfish smiled, "that's my girl- well sort of. Now why don't you get some sleep? You look worn out" she licked Silverkit's cheek.

"Okay. Nighty-night. Sleep tight –"

"Dream of yummy fat fish tonight" the two older warriors finished the old rhyme. She followed Sunfish to the nursery.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Bumblekit, Briarkit and Blossomkit:

It was a warm leaf bare day in ThunderClan and Millie was outside the nursery with a very pregnant Whitewing. They were watching Millie's kits play. Daisy had taken Toadkit and Rosekit over to hear some stories from Mousefur and Longtail.

"Good job, Bumblekit" Mille told her son, who was practicing the hunter's crouch on a ball of moss. "You're doing very well"

He beamed at his mother. "Thanks"

"You both are doing great" Whitewing commented on Briarkit and Blossomkit. They were practicing pouncing on one another

"Thanks whitewing." Briarkit purred.

"We wanna be able to surprise Graystripe when he comes back from patrol." Blossomkit added

Whitewing gave them a smile. "Why don't you practice your skills on Foxpaw when he comes over with some fresh kill?"

"That's a great idea," Blossomkit told her.

"Yeah. We can pretend he's a ShadowClan invader. He'll never know what hit him," Briarkit told her siblings who agreed.

"Okay here he comes." Millie told them. "Hide behind me and I'll let you know when"

Her kits giggled as they hid just as Foxpaw came into sight. The reddish brown tom was carrying a squirrel the size of Blossomkit. "Here you go," he said through the rabbit's fur as he laid it in front of them but it sounded like '''re foo go,"

"Did you catch that?" Whitewing looked at Birchfall's little brother and Squirelflight's apprentice

He shuffled his paws. "Yeah it ran away but then squirelflight and i chased after it. It nearly ran up the Sky Oak. Where are you little ones Mille"

"Here we are!" Blossomkit leapt from behind her mother's fur followed by her brothers and tackled Foxpaw. The young tom jumped aside.

Bumblekit gave a little cry that sound like his father's yowl as he pounced on the apprentice. "Gotcha!"

Briarkit winked at her littermates as she and Blossomkit used their hunting crouch and pounced on Foxpaw as well through the mass of kits Foxpaw gave Whitewing a look. "What did I do?"

She let out a chuckle. "Nothing Foxpaw. They wanted to practice their pouncing skills on some cat."

"Oh. Okay, you win" he laughed as Millie's kits got off of him and went over to their mother. "Wow. You guys are good." He got to his paws with dirt and leaves stuck to his fur. Privately Millie thought he looked a bit like his father Dustpelt at that moment.

He pawed the ball of moss that Bumblekit had been playing with earlier and rolled it to the edge of the nursery. "So, are you excited to be apprentices in a few moons?"

"It's that soon?" Bumblekit asked his mother.

Millie's green eyes twinkled as she looked over at her only son. "Yes, Bumblekit. Soon you'll be learning how to hunt and fight. "

"But what if we don't wanna be apprentices?" Blossomkit mewed.

Millie licked her daughter's cheek. "Why wouldn't you want to be an apprentice, sweetheart?"

"C-c-cause the other Clans will make fun of us for our heritage" she muttered. Bumblekit and Briarkit nodded.

Foxpaw gave her a warm smile. "No they won't. You are a part of ThunderClan and Graystripe will claw-" He stopped as squirelflight called his name out. "Whoops." the apprentice chuckled. "I think my mentor is looking for me. See you around."

"Bye Foxpaw!" the little kits told him.

"Tell Icepaw that I said hello" Whitewing added. The young tom nodded as he left them.

"What was Foxpaw gonna say?" Bumblekit asked his mother.

Millie purred. "I think he was about to say that Graystripe would claw anyone's ear off if they made fun of you."

"Would father really do that?" Briarkit pondered.

Whitewing chuckled and Millie's children looked up at her. "I'm positive he would." She winced in pain.

Millie looked over at her Clanmate. "Are you okay?"

The white cat sighed. "Yes, Millie. I am. These little ones are a handful' she looked down at her swollen belly. She looked down at the dark brown she-kit, the pale gray tom and tortishell and white she cat. "Anyways "continued, "You three shouldn't be ashamed of being half kittypet. Your mother has become quite the ThunderClan warrior"

"But-" Bumblekit interjected. "She wasn't born in the clan"

Briarkit batted her brother's ear with a sheathed paw. "Mouse brain! Look at Daisy and Berrynose and Hazeltail and Mousewhisker. They were from the horseplace but now they're a part of the clan."

Whitewing nodded. "And my own father Cloudtail was a born a kittypet so I know what you are going through. I had the same doubts about my future apprenticeship when I was your age. " She lowered her voice. "Do you want to know a secret that Brackenfur taught me?

Blossomkit, Briarkit, and Bumblekit purred. "Yeah!"

"One day when I was an apprentice, I wasn't having the best day and I felt like I was a failure. My mentor Brackenfur, who is Brightheart's older brother, told me a few things I will never forget. He told me that it doesn't matter whether you are a rouge, kittypet, or Clan cat, what matters the most is the spirit and heart you put into your training. Also you remember the skills that your parents taught you. Brightheart passed on her motherly instincts as well as her determination and Cloudtail gave me his tracking abilities and white pelt"

The kits were in awe. "Wow. That's amazing"

"Brackenfur is a wise cat," Blossomkit said.

"I'm not as wise as Firestar or Graystripe" they looked up and saw him in front of them. The golden brown tom twitched his whiskers in amusement as he padded up to Whitewing. "How's my favorite pregnant niece doing"?

"I'm your only pregnant niece.," she pointed out. "Unless Thornclaw fathered kits I don't know about"

"Of course my brother didn't father any kits" He smiled as he sat down and nudged the squirrel to them, the two queens and three kits immediately dug in to the fresh kill. "I overheard you talking."

Briarkit looked up at the older warrior, bits of squirrel on her whiskers. "Did you mean it? What you told Whitewing?"

"Every word of it, you remind me of Cinderheart when she was a kit, Briarkit. She was the most curious out of all her siblings. She even asked Sorreltail which specific star in Silverpelt was her aunt Cinderpelt" he recalled the memory with a chuckle.

There was silence while the current residents of the nursery finished the squirrel. Blossomkit gave a huge yawn. "Brackenfur, what was Graystripe like when you were his apprentice?"

Bumblekit looked excited. "Yeah, can you tell us? Millie told us what he was like when she met him but I wanna know what he was like before."

"Please?" Briarkit meowed.

"Well, since I already did patrol and hunted, I suppose I could tell you a few stories…" he looked over at the queens.

" Yeah!" The three kits' eyes gleamed with excitement as they huddled close together.

"Okay, it was back in the old forest." He began. "I had just been given Graystripe as a mentor while my sister Cinderpelt, StarClan bless her soul, received Firestar, who was a new warrior named Fireheart as her mentor. My mother Frostfur has suggested him as a mentor to the old leader Bluestar since he had saved us, Thornclaw and Brightheart from ShadowClan..."

The end.

Author's notes: how did you like it? I hope I didn't make the cats too out of character.