"I got you!" Cloudkit pounced on Rainkit. The previously sleeping kit wailed as he was disturbed and flipped onto his back by his younger brother.
"Get off me you fat fur ball!" Rainkit struggled to push the heavier kit off.
Cloudkit rolled off and onto the stone underpaw, "I'm not fat, you're just skinny and wimpy!"
"No I'm not…" Rainkit muttered.
"How are you supposed to be a good warrior if you don't even play moss ball with me and Silentkit?" Cloudkit asked with a pout. His frown turned into a sneer, "But then again you're always hanging around the medicine cat den with Icewhisker."
"I am not," Rainkit protested and swung a paw at his brother's head.
Cloudkit easily avoided it and sprang forward, pinning Rainkit under him, "I can see it now! On the battle field you'll be the most threatening thing there is! Look out rival clans, my brother will smack you with a beech leaf!"
"Stop it!" Rainkit hissed and wriggled out from under the black and white kit. Cloudkit continued his taunts and protests until a white tom with a ginger tail and ginger patch over his left eye padded over.
"That's enough, Cloudkit," the warrior warned. His voice softened, "Get up now, Rainkit, its fine now."
"I didn't need your help, Robinwing," Rainkit huffed as he stood and shook out his fur. "I'm going to go see Icewhisker now," the grey tabby hissed and stalked off towards the medicine cat den, limping.
"What's the matter with him?" Owlflight asked, joining Robinwing and Cloudkit.
"The poor kit complains of pain in his backside but there's nothing there. He hasn't sat on a thorn and his fur is perfectly fine," Robinwing dipped his head to the deputy.
"He sure acts like it…" Cloudkit grumbled under his breath.
Owlflight watched the kit hobble into Icewhisker's den, "Perhaps he still isn't used to hard stone underpaw."
"Perhaps…" Robinwing nodded, not fully agreed, "He's been grumpy ever since he turned four moons old."
"It could be the separation from Amberpaw. Rainkit is closer to Amberpaw than his own littermates," the long furred grey tom acknowledged. The deputy leaned in and whispered something Cloudkit didn't catch; the ginger and white tom seemed pleased with the thought and gave a dip of his head. "I'll speak with Adderstar." The deputy turned tail and trotted off towards a sloping hole in the ground, which was a tunnel leading to the leader's den. After calling out softly into the cave, Owlflight slipped into the dark tunnel.
Cloudkit sighed and clawed at the ground. He gazed across the nearly empty camp to see Darkpaw playing with Silentkit. It made the black and white kit a bit saddened to know both his brother had older friends and he only had them. Getting up and fluffing out his tail, Cloudkit trotted over to where the elders were sunning themselves on warm rocks. It was new leaf after all, and quite the warm day. A golden furred she-cat, Goldenfire, was chatting with the other elder by the name of Hollyberry, a black she-cat with bright green eyes and a rather pink nose. By now most of the cats that had been out were returning just before sunhigh.
"Good morning, Cloudkit," Hollyberry called out to him cheerfully.
He dipped his head, "Good morning Hollyberry; good morning to you too Goldenfire."
"Nice to know how respectful you young cats are," Goldenfire muttered, "We'll see how long that lasts."
"Don't be so sharp," Hollyberry prodded the other elder with a paw.
Goldenfire sniffed, "Says the one who got her name by running into a holly bush and trying to eat the berries on it."
Hollyberry purred and leaned down to whisper to Cloudkit, "Don't mind her. She's not usually so ill-tempered."
"Who are you calling ill-tempered?" Goldenfire gave a halfhearted snarl.
"Her hiss is worse than her bite," Hollyberry gave Cloudkit's head a lick.
The golden she-cat rolled onto her side to glare at Hollyberry, "Are you so sure? I was quite a threat when I was younger, and I'm sure I could still snap a few bones in my old age if I wanted to. Besides, I saved Sharpkit from that porcupine not too long ago. That kit thinks he's all that; he's so reckless and he can't pull his own weight when things go sour."
"He's only two moons old, I'm sure he'll even out by the time he has a mentor," Hollyberry mewed gently.
"Speaking of mentors," Goldenfire stretched out on her rock, "Isn't it time Cloudkit and his littermates get theirs?"
As if Goldenfire had spoken the future, Adderstar was climbing up to the highest point within StoneClan camp. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join me by the Great Boulder for a clan meeting!" Cloudkit bounded away from the elders with a quick goodbye to join Silentkit and Darkpaw. Rainkit and Icewhisker appeared from the medicine cat den and the other clan members crowded at the base of the Great Boulder, looking up at their leader; Owlflight perched on a rock higher than the rest of the clan but lower than Adderstar.
"As you are all aware of, StoneClan is rather low on apprentices," Adderstar began, piercing gaze sweeping across the assembled cats, "Larkfeather and Rabbitleap have been warriors for several long moons now and should be treated as full warriors now, not stuck on apprentice duties all the time. And so it with great honor I present new apprentices to StoneClan." Excited whispers came from the clan below and they fell silent as the leader raised his tail.
The dark tabby's eyes continued to scan the group until he found the kits he was looking for, "Cloudkit, Silentkit, and Rainkit." The three kits came forward, Silentkit and Rainkit more composed than Cloudkit, who stumbled and tripped over his own paws in excitement. "You've all reached six moons of age and are ready to become apprentices. From now until you earn your warrior names, you shall be known as Cloudpaw, Silentpaw, and Rainpaw. Silverheart, you have mentored several cats before and they all turned out to be brave warriors. I trust that you can raise Silentpaw just as well. Please pass on your attentiveness and skills to this apprentice."
A long, silky furred silver tom with soft blue eyes stepped forward to greet the white cat with a fluffy brown mane and tail, "Hello, Silentpaw. I'm sure we'll be a good team together!" Silentpaw seemed thrilled with the idea of Silverheart as his mentor and eagerly padded over; though he had to stretch his neck a bit to reach his new mentor's nose. The pair went to go sit in the front at the crowd's edge.
"Cloudpaw, your mentor will be Robinwing. Robinwing, you are old enough and experienced enough now to have your first apprentice. Teach him well and help him to learn patience and control." Adderstar looked pointedly at the white tom with ginger patches.
Almost reluctantly, the warrior padded forward to touch noses with the obnoxious apprentice. Softly, Robinwing grumbled, "Please try not to be a nuisance…" Cloudpaw broke into a grin and bounced cheerfully alongside Robinwing to sit beside Silentpaw and his mentor.
Now Rainpaw stood alone in front of Adderstar with the whole clan staring at him. He felt his pelt burning in embarrassment, not really enjoying the attention. "Mountainblaze, you will be Rainpaw's mentor," Adderstar stated after glancing briefly around the clearing. A pale brown tabby tom with glistening green eyes stepped forwards and Rainpaw did his best not to shrink into his pelt. The worst possible thing! Rainpaw wailed in his head but managed to put one paw in front of the other up to Mountainblaze. "Mountainblaze, you are a brave and ambitious warrior. Pass on your courage and intelligence to this apprentice."
The tabby warrior bent his head down for Rainpaw to easily touch their noses together. "I'm positive we'll have plenty of fun together," Mountainblaze purred. Rainpaw didn't reply but scampered off quickly to sit with his brothers. The warrior shrugged it off and went to join him.
"Cloudpaw! Silentpaw! Rainpaw!" The clan shouted the new names to the skies above. After the ceremony, the clan dispersed and most went to share tongues or grab a bite to eat.
"What's first?" Cloudpaw asked, hopping eagerly to his paws and gazing up at Robinwing expectantly.
"First," the ginger and white warrior stated, "We are going to help Icewhisker gather herbs." The sharp glare he gave Cloudpaw silenced any protests about to come out. Cloudpaw just gave a small sigh and trailed after Robinwing to the medicine cat den, "One day you'll realize how important Icewhisker and his herbs are to the clan."
"Come, Silentpaw, I will help you look for moss for you and your brothers' nests," Silverheart beckoned to the always quiet cat with his tail. Silentpaw bounded after him, and although he said nothing, excitement gleamed in his eyes.
"W-what about us?" Rainpaw asked almost timidly, looking up at Mountainblaze.
The pale tabby gave a soft purr, "Stop being so nervous, Rainpaw. We're going out to explore the territory. Come along!" Mountainblaze trotted out of the camp, leaving Rainpaw to follow reluctantly.
"Lucky him, I would've loved to explore the territory," Cloudpaw muttered to himself.
"I don't think I've ever seen an apprentice so unwilling to see what's beyond camp." A snowy white tom with ruby eyes and a scar over one eye muttered. Cloudpaw stopped to turn his head and listen to the warriors' conversation.
"Winterstorm is right," a black tom with purple eyes replied, "For once." He was mostly black furred, but he had white paws, a white face and chest and white tail tip.
"The awesome me is always right, Birdsong!" Winterstorm declared. "Are you going to finish that?" He added on, eying the half eaten mouse at the black and white tom's paws. Birdsong rolled his eyes and pushed the mouse to him.
A brown and white she-cat with a striped tail sat down with the two toms, "Did you see the way Rainpaw was acting….scared of Mountainblaze?"
"Oh calm down Sparrowstripe," Birdsong sighed, "I'm sure he's not scared of Mountainblaze. Perhaps he was just extremely nervous… But knowing that tom and his strange….ways of life…"
"Mountainblaze and I were as close as Amberpaw and Rainpaw. Mountainblaze would never do anything like that to a cat so young," Winterstorm growled around a mouthful of mouse.
"I wouldn't put it past him!" a brown tabby tom with golden eyes snarled as he walked by, tail and head struck high in the air.
"Go fall off a cliff, Larkfeather. You're just jealous Mountainblaze wasn't your mentor," Winterstorm smirked.
Larkfeather whipped around, fur bristling, anger sharp in his voice, "Mountainblaze is not the oblivious fool he pretends to be! He is a foxheart and not worth trusting! Sly as a snake and he skulks the shadows at night like no cat can see him! I've witnessed him sneaking out of the warrior's den several nights. And he always returns smelling like the flowers that grow near the SunClan border. But oddly enough…so did Rainpaw when he was still a kit."
"That is suspicious," Birdsong admitted. "But until we learn me, we cannot accuse our clanmate of anything. Even if it seems he is taking Rainpaw places or even possibly meeting a cat from SunClan…"
"That's why Rainpaw didn't want to go see the territory! He's obviously seen it before a long time ago with Mountainblaze! Done! Case closed!" Winterstorm declared, "Now come on, I want to go on a hunting patrol."
"I still worry for Rainpaw's safety around that tom. Mountainblaze is untrustworthy," Larkfeather snapped, still bristling. The tabby turned and noticed Cloudpaw, "Hey you! Hurry up and get along with helping Icewhisker!" Cloudpaw squeaked and turned tail, vanishing in the medicine cat den to join Robinwing and Icewhisker.
For the rest of the day, Cloudpaw felt a horrible feeling in his stomach. What was Larkfeather talking about? Surely Mountainblaze would be a great mentor for Rainpaw, right? His worry increased as the sun began to sink behind the distant mountain peaks and Rainpaw didn't return. Was StoneClan territory really so big that it took from sunhigh to nightfall to explore? Sighing, Cloudpaw ducked back into the apprentice's den and settled down in the soft nest Silentpaw and Silverheart had built. Despite the warm days, nights were always freezing in StoneClan, even in the middle of green leaf. Cloudpaw looked around the den and noticed Amberpaw was missing too. Perhaps there was a smaller camp elsewhere in the territory… Oh how Cloudpaw wished that to be the case. Even if Rainpaw was annoying and stuck up at times, Cloudpaw still missed him. And all through the night, even in his sleep, an uneasy feeling gnawed at Cloudpaw's stomach.
AN:/ Merrrpppp chapter 2 because I had no homework for once. To the guest who asked what the potential crossover could be; it could be a Hetalia: Axis Powers and Warriors crossover. Nekotalia is an Alternate Universe of Hetalia where everyone is a cat. The potential crossover comes in by me using their cat designs and personalities, just giving them warrior names and throwing in my own warrior OC's. Unless one seriously knows their Nekotalia, it'll be kind of hard to figure out which nation is which based off descriptions alone :P
So I go back and edit every chapter in which new names pop up or they get a rank change and add what country they are :P
Robinwing - England
Amberkit/Amberpaw - Mexico
Hollyberry - Ancient Greece
Goldenfire - Britannia
Sharpkit - Sealand
Larkfeather - South Italy/Romano
Rabbitleap - North Italy
Cloudkit/Cloudpaw - United States
Silentkit/Silentpaw - Canada
Rainkit/Rainpaw - Confederate States
Silverheart - France
Mountainblaze - Spain
Birdsong - Austria
Sparrowstripe - Hungary
Icewhisker - Scandinavia
