"From this day forward, you shall be known as Patchpaw." The cream colored she cat announced. She lay her nose atop the small tortoiseshell tom's head. "May you serve your clan well." She whispered and raised her head to look over the gathered crowd. She stood upon the large formable rock that cast a long shadow across the dip in the ground that these cats called home. She stood with the confident stature of a leader despite her small frame, common amongst WindClan cats. "And your mentor shall be Dustspider!" She announced. In the crowd, a medium sized dusty colored tom rose up from the tangle of cats. He easily lept on top of the rock and touched noses with his new apprentice. The whole clan rejoiced. Down below, in the shade of the rock, sat a small gray and cream spotted she-kit with brilliant blue eyes, the color of the moonstone as the elders would say who still remembered that ancient rock from the old territories. Next to her, sat her queen. She had fluffy white fur, uncommon to this territory, and large bright green eyes. She sat licking her tiny kit. "Ack! Hollyfrost stop! I'm almost an apprentice! I can clean my own pelt!" The small kit complained, she tried to scamper away, but Hollyfrost snatched her back, with a paw. "Dovekit!" She smiled "Hold still! You need to be clean for your ceremony!" Dovekit sat in defeat. She looked up to the meeting rock and met eyes with her best friend Patchpaw, who stood with his new mentor Dustspider. Lucky. She thought as Hollyfrost licked her pelt with consistent strokes. She looked up again as her other nursery mate, Pinekit was called up to the rock. Her blotchy black and white fur glimmering in the sunlight. Leafstar announced her new name as Pinepaw and her mentor, the well respected blueish gray furred warrior Bluestorm. The touched noses. At that moment, Dovekit perked up. She knew she was next, with no other kits old enough for apprenticeship left in the nursery. After what felt like seasons, she finally heard her name called by the cream colored leader. She strood across the clearing, trying to hold her head as high as her small body would allow her, tail held high up also. She tried not to twitch her whiskers or jump up in excitement as she approached the large formable rock. She cast a glance to the crowd where her father, Dusklight sat. He was small sized with dusky tabby fur. She smiled and turned back to the rock where her best friends sat waiting with their mentors and their leader. Dovekit stared at awe at the leader. Her light cream pelt shone a magnificent color in the early morning moor light. Her eyes, a light blue, reflected the sunlight, making them look like the sky itself. As she shifted position, her muscles rippled below her lean pelt. The satire of a leader. She beckoned with her tail for Dovekit to join them on the rock. Dovekit noded and tried hard to maintain her elegant posture in front of her leader as she hopped up on the rock. From up here, the young kit could see everything. The world was much bigger than she thought. Above the gorse walls surrounding camp was much more. Her breath was taken away when she saw the beautiful landscape. The sun crept over the lake turning it and the rivers of RiverClan to fire. Beyond that lay the hills of the moor that these cats called home. The light of the sun turned the grasses of the moor to a brilliant orange. She could see all the territories from up here. The rivers of RiverClan to the pine trees of ShadowClan and even the forest where ThunderClan stalked their prey through the undergrowth. Above her moor, Dovekit saw hawks graciously flitting through the clouds and agilely diving through the sky. Across the rolling hills, she could see rabbits munching grass close to her camp. Dovekit never wanted to leave. She quickly scaled the last leap and moved next to her leader. She quickly smiled to her friends then turned her full attention to the leader. "This young kit of WindClan has reached her sixth moon." She mewed, reciting the ceremonial words reserved for the making of new apprentices. She slowly swept her gaze across the whole gathering of the cats. "And she is ready to serve her clan with the title of apprentice. Dovekit." She looked at Dovekit. "From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name. You shall be known as Dovepaw." Dovepaw quivered with excitement. "And your mentor." The leader stood up tall upon the rock. "Shall be me. Leafstar, leader of WindClan." She looked down upon the shocked new apprentice and smiled. She leaned forward and touched her nose to Dovepaw's. Dovepaw stood still, clearly shocked. Her friends were too. Dovepaw snapped from her trance. "Th... Thank you... Leafstar.." She dipped her head and followed her friends and their mentors down the rock. Leafstar twitched her tail and walked to the center of the rock, head held high as the clan cats proudly yowled the names of their new apprentices. They moved to sit to the side of the clearing to listen to the rest of the meeting. Their parents came over to congratulate them. As the cheering died down, Leafstar began to speak."As you all know, the recent death of our deputy, Gorsebite, hit us hard and was highly uncalled for. At the claws of an uncanny ThunderClan warrior." Anger crept into Leafstar's voice. "We will seek revenge, but not today. WindClan needs to grow strong again. We took that first step today with new apprentices, but we need to take a larger step. Today I shall name our new deputy." She flicked the tip of her tail and swept her gaze across the cats. "I have thought long and hard about this decision and I have selected Bluestorm. May you serve your clan well." Leafstar nodded as a the large and formable, sleek blue furred tom stepped up from the crowd and scaled the rock. "That's my mentor!" Pinepaw breathed ecstatically into Dovepaw's ear. Leafstar and her new deputy touched noses as the clan cheered. "May StarClan light his path!" Leafstar yowled. The cheering soon died down and the crowd began to break up. Many cats crowded around Bluestorm chattering and congratulating him loudly. Dovepaw, Pinepaw, and Patchpaw stood off to one side of the clearing under the large meeting rock, sheltering from the harsh rays of the greenleaf sun which now hung high in the sky. The new apprentices excitedly talked about the adventures they would soon have together as apprentices. Leafstar soon broke from the group surrounding Bluestorm. They exchanged a curt goodbye and she strode over to Dovepaw's group. "Training starts tomorrow." She nodded to them. "Meet me and your mentors by the camp entrance. For the rest of the day, I will allow you bunch to get situated in the apprentices den." She nodded "and I would start soon too." She purred. She nodded her head and padded off. The apprentices bounded over to their new den, but hiding in the shadows of the medicine den next to the farthermost wall of the camp was an old light gray tabby she cat. She twitched her tail scowling as she returned into her den. "She could be the one" she breathed. "The prophesied cat."
AN: omg, sorry this chapter is SOOOO LONG! I just couldn't stop writing, sorry...
Well, anyway, hope you liked it! Chapter two comi ng soon! (I'll try to keep it shorter than this one, but I can't keep any promises ;) )
Please review and follow this story!
Thanks!,
TheCatWithTheMagicStick