"Lightkit, wake up!" A black she-cat lifted her head from her paws, her ice blue eyes looking questioningly at a brown tom. The tom looked exasperated, "You can't tell me you forgot what day it was!" Lightkit sat up and licked her one white paw in thought. "Today we're becoming apprentices!" He hissed. "Okay, keep your fur on Talonkit." She mewed playfully. Getting to her paws, she followed him to where their mother's were sitting. Rowanclaw purred as Lightkit blinked excitedly at her. Lightkit let out a mrrrooww of laughter as Talonkit struggled away from his mother as she tried to make a little tuff of hair on the top of his head stay down.
He let out a playful growl and leaped at her. She squeaked in surprise and dashed around Rowanclaw, keeping just out of reach of his outstretched paws. "That's enough," Rowanclaw mewed sternly as she started licking the dirt off of Lightkit's fur.
Lightkit trembled with excitement as she tried to squirm away from Rowanclaw's tongue. Blackstar padded out of his den, fur gleaming in the sun. With a gigantic leap he landed with grace onto the high-branch. "Cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather around the High-branch for a clan meeting!" He yowled the ancient words. Rowanclaw let go of Lightkit. Talonkit jumped to Lightkit's side, excitement coursing through him like a fish through water.
"We are gathered here today to give to kits their apprentice names." Blackstar meowed loudly. At a beckon with his tail, Lightkit and Talonkit padded up. Lightkit wanted to bounce up there but made herself stop just in time. "Talonkit, please step forward." Talonkit bounced forward eagerly, while Blackstar's whiskers twitched in amusement and a mrrrooww of laughter came from the crowd of cats.
"Talonkit, from this day forward until you earn your warrior name you will be known as Talonpaw. Rowanclaw, now that you're returning to your warrior duties I would like for you to mentor Talonpaw, teach him everything you know." Rowanclaw dipped her head and padded up to touch noses with Talonpaw. "Lightkit please step forward." Blackstar mewed with slight hesitation. Lightkit heard a growl growing in Rowanclaw's throat that made Talonpaw's ears prick in surprise. Blackstar glared at Rowanclaw, then at Lightkit. Lightkit shrank down low at his furious glare. What had I done wrong? I just want to be a warrior… She thought. Warriors were muttering uneasily behind her. She heard Toadkit ask what was going on. "Clan dismissed." Blackstar hissed. Lightkit's eyes widened with shock. Rowanclaw hissed and ran after Blackstar as he went into his den.
Talonpaw ran over to her and gave her ear a quick lick. "Why does he hate me so much?" Lightkit mewed in confusion. A tawny colored she-cat padded up to her. "It's not you sweets; it's just that you…" Her voice trailed away. Looking down at her, Tawnypelt let out a sigh. "Follow me." She mewed and nudged Lightkit towards the camp entrance. Lightkit followed her slowly, sadness dragging at her paws.
Finding a patch of moss, Tawnypelt curled up, letting Lightkit snuggle in beside her. They sat there quietly for a while, with Lightkit watching butterflies come and go. At Tawnypelt's sigh she looked up. "Around maybe four to five seasons ago there was a leader named Tigerstar…you've heard of him, haven't you?" Lightkit nodded in reply. "Well as you already know, he wanted to lead the whole forest, and he couldn't do that with Firestar and Tallstar there, because they wouldn't join. So he brought in Bloodclan from the city. Long story short that was what caused Tigerstar's death, and let me tell you it was a brutal death. Bloodclan had a leader named Scourge. He took away all of Tigerstar's nine lives with just a swipe of his claws." Tawnypelt mewed.
Lightkit looked at her with interest flashing in her eyes. "Scourge was a small, black tom…with one white front paw." She mewed as Lightkit looked down at her white paw. "He had a purple collar that was studded with teeth… dog teeth, cat teeth... and his claws were enforced with dog teeth. He took one of Firestar's nine lives, but Firestar was the one who won, can you guess why?" Lightkit looked up at the she-cat questioningly. "Because scourge didn't believe in Starclan so he didn't have nine lives."
Lightkit looked away from the tawny she-cat, sadness sparking from her pelt. "So he thinks I'll be like Scourge just because I look like him." She hissed in disbelief. Tawnypelt sighed, "Yes, sadly." Tawnypelt pushed herself to her paws. "Come on, we got to get back to camp." Lightkit shrugged, "What's the point if nobody likes me." Tawnypelt looked at her, "Now how do you think that would have made Talonpaw feel if he just heard you?" She mewed caringly.
Feeling guilty, Lightkit pushed herself to her paws, following Tawnypelt back to the camp entrance. Rowanclaw was pacing back in forth while Blackstar stood in front of her and all the cats in the clan were staring at them in the shadows of the camp walls. Talonpaw was staring, scared at them, while pressing his pelt to Tallpoppy's. "That is unfair!" Rowanclaw finally hissed at Blackstar, anger sparking from every hair on her pelt. "She deserves to be an apprentice just as much as HE does!" "At least he is a clanborn cat and not a rogue from the Twolegplace!" Blackstar hissed back. Rowanclaw let out a warning growl, lowering herself closer to the ground.
Lightkit's eyes widened in dismay. Disbelief flashed in every Shadowclan cat's eyes. Rowanclaw glared at him. "Then I don't want to be part of this clan anymore!" Blackstar stared in disbelief at Rowanclaw as she walked over to Lightkit and ushered her back out of camp. She heard Talonpaw yowl in alarm as they left. All Lightkit wanted to do was curl up in the nursery with Talonpaw and the warmth of love feeling the air, but instead she was now a rogue in an enemy territory.
