Woah, sorry if you saw this chapter the first time I uploaded it. It was real weird lookin. xD
Hope you enjoy this one~
"Come on, mom! I look fine!" A small kit squirmed away from the rasping tongue of a slender tortoiseshell she-cat, scampering to the other side of the nursery and immediately shaking out her light brown pelt. Her mother had been fussing over her fur for what felt like moons and she just wanted to run around the camp! Today was the day of her apprentice ceremony, but more importantly today was the day that she would go out and find, then form a bond with her guardian from StarClan. Quickly glancing back at her fur, she had to admit that it did look rather nice. Her pelt was similar to the animal of her namesake; the back of her fur was light brown dappled with white spots while her belly was a light cream.
Grey eyes full of love and pride gazed at the small kit for several moments before the older she-cat sighed in defeat. "All right, my little warrior, you win! But when your guardian decides to find a well-groomed cat to bond with instead of you, don't come crying to me!" The pretty she-cat gave her kit a playful smirk as the little brown she-cat rolled her eyes.
A small black ferret peeked out from a pile of moss next to the mother she-cat, "Poppyheart, I don't think that's quite how it works. Otherwise half these cats would never find their guardians!" Chuckling, the long animal wove herself between her master's legs and padded over to the smaller cat. "You look lovely, Fawnkit. Any more grooming and your fur will start falling out!" The little ferret shot her master a toothy grin and wriggled back over to the she-cat's side. Poppyheart sighed amiably and stood to her feet, gazing at her daughter once more, though this time there was a tiny glimmer of sadness in her grey eyes.
"Thanks, Aroa. I hope I find a guardian like you!" The little brown she-kit purred, puffing out her chest with pride. From deeper within the nursery a small sneeze could be heard, followed by a coughing fit. Soon a little tom kit with a dark gray and brown pelt that stuck up every which way was scampering over to Fawnkit's side, almost knocking her over.
"A-a-a-are you g-gonna go f-f-find-" he barely had mewed a few words before he was overcome with another coughing fit that shook his whole, tiny body. During that time two more kits had bounded up on either side of the first, both twice the size of their brother and nearly as large as Fawnkit.
The dark brown tom on his right placed a black-tipped paw on the little kit's back, (who was still struggling to catch his breath) and piped up, "What Feverkit is trying to say, is-"
"When are you gonna go find your guardian?" The white and grey spotted she-cat on the left of Feverkit mewed, blue eyes wide with excitement.
Poppyheart and her guardian exchanged an amused glance while Fawnkit beamed at her friends. "Flarestar will probably start my ceremony any minute and then when I'm officially an apprentice I'll get to go outside the camp!" Fawnkit directed her gaze out towards the entrance of the camp, nodding. The other kits' eyes grew wide, and Feverkit didn't even sneeze or cough. "Then I bet I'll find my guardian right away! And, and we'll be best friends! And help each other with everything!" The she-kit's eyes sparkled with excitement, which was mirrored in the other kits' as well. Feverkit, Mothkit, and Moosekit were like siblings to Fawnkit, though they had been born half a moon after her; it was exciting that she got to have her ceremony and find her guardian first, but part of her wished that they could have all been together.
The three younger kittens were all chattering excitedly while Fawnkit listed off several different animals that her guardian might be, when a loud voice sounded from outside. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the High Branch for a clan meeting!" All chatter stopped at once and the kittens looked around at each other excitedly and then all eyes rested on Fawnkit.
Suddenly Fawnkit felt an overwhelming rush of excitement, intermingled with waves of anxiety; it was finally time for her ceremony! Her paws felt clumsy and kit-like all of a sudden as she clambered out of the hollow tree and into the forest clearing that made up the camp. Cats and guardians of all shapes and sizes were already gathering beneath the massive branch that stretched out high above the center of the clearing; the branch itself came from the tree that made up Flarestar's den.
Off to the right the older apprentice's sat with their new guardians. The oldest looking apprentice had red-brown fur and hard, golden eyes; she sat straight and attentive, her strange colored shrew like a miniature statue on her shoulder. Fawnkit wasn't quite sure who the black tom was who looked like it was taking all of his energy not to snatch up his mouse guardian and take a nibble. Fawnkit knew the golden furred tom on the end, though; Sunpaw was almost always the one to bring fresh-kill in to the nursery since his mentor was Adderbite, the father of Moosekit, Feverkit, and Mothkit. The little tom looked like he was about to fall asleep, though, and Fawnkit couldn't see his guardian anywhere.
As the small she-cat walked through the crowd of her clanmates and their guardians, a new thought suddenly crossed her mind. What if my guardian doesn't like me?