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Havockit stared expectantly at the leader of the clan. Who would she choose? He held his breath as she held his gaze.
"And Havockit," she called, bringing him back to the present. "From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be Havocpaw." She glanced around the clearing, making sure the cat she wanted was present. "Longstripe, you are ready for an apprentice. You will be mentor to young Havocpaw. I hope you passed down your skill and fast learning to Havocpaw."
Havocpaw shook himself. Longstripe? He was the toughest warrior in the clan! He went to touch noses with the tom. "Teach me everything!" He begged.
Longstripe nodded. "I plan to." He said, as they stepped back to the ranks of warriors.
He stood beside Smallpaw. "We are apprentices at last!" He said softly.
Smallpaw nodded. "We are!" She purred. Her mentor was Morningblossom.
There were no other apprentices in the clan. Havocpaw closed his eyes, and pictured what it would be like to be an apprentice. He purred at the thought. "So, Longstripe? What are we doing first?"
Longstripe thought a moment. "Something important." Was all he said.
Would they be doing battle practice? Havocpaw perked up at the thought. He glanced at his mentor.
Longstripe led the way out of camp. "Come on," he called over his shoulder.
Havocpaw followed expectantly.
Longstripe stopped at a tree, then tore moss from it. "Now you try that." He instructed. "Put your claw under it and rip."
Havocpaw tilted his head. "How is this helping the clan?" He asked boredly, taking his claw and getting some moss off the tree.
"Its not, but your helping the elders." He said.
Havocpaw's heart sank. He would be helping elders! He sighed to himself, as he got off more moss.
When they got enough moss, they returned to camp. Longstripe showed him how to fix nests. Havocpaw sighed, as he scraped moss together. Dumb elders! He thought grudgingly. he glanced around for his mentor, but Longstripe had already left the den. He slapped moss together, then folded it into a messy nest.
"Careful," a cat snapped.
Havocpaw snapped his head up. He hadn't noticed the black cat in the back of the den. "Sorry," he apologized, glancing at his paws.
The she-cat shrug. "Its alright, young one." She murmured.
Now, he could hear her raspy breaths. She must be the oldest cat in the clan! He thought to himself.
The she-cat let out a sigh. "I feel like you should hear a story," she said softly. "Since you are putting in hard work!"
Havocpaw tilted his head, then walked over to her. "What story? Have I heard it before?" He asked.
The she-cat purred. "So eager." She said. She stopped to cough, then started again. "Its about me when I was an apprentice." She purred, she dived into her story. "I was eager just like you, but the first thing my mentor did was taught me how to tend to elders and I thought it was the dumbest job ever," she confessed, coughing again.
Havocpaw perked her ears. "Are you okay?" He asked, concerned. "Should I go fetch the medicine cat?"
The she-cat shook her head. "No honey will do my good now." She sighed.
Havocpaw stared at her. He tried to remember her name-but couldn't. Was it Redsplash? He stared at her. "You name Redsplash?"
The she-cat purred. "Why yes it is." She coughed. Redsplash purred. "I use to let the kits chase my tail, but I'm too old for that now." She remembered something, and Havocpaw was about to ask what when Longstripe ducked his head inside.
"You finished?" Longstripe asked.
Havocpaw nodded. "Yes," he said. "But first, can I bring Redsplash a fish?" He asked hopeful.
Longstripe nodded. "Of course," he purred, backing out of the den.
Havocpaw quickly walked out of the elders den, then walked to the fresh kill pile and grabbed a fish. He hurried back into the elders den, then dropped it at her paws. "Here." He panted.
Redsplash purred. "Thank you," she dipped her head to him. "But I'm afraid I'm too old to eat." She said, turning away from it.
Havocpaw looked worried. "Redsplash? You've got to eat!" He pleaded with her. "I'll come back to check on you," he once again left the den, then went to find Longstripe.
Longstripe had shown him the whole territory, now Havocpaw's eye lids were drooping. "I'm tired," he said, panting.
Longstripe glanced at him, sympathy showed in his eyes. "Come on then. Let's head back to camp."
Havocpaw nodded, following him. He thought of Redsplash, and wonderied if she had eaten. He couldn't wait to see her again! He sighed, as they headed back to camp. His paws were dragging the ground. His mentor promised they would practice hunting tomorrow. He sighed to himself as they reached camp. He went to his nest, then laid down.
Smallpaw was already inside, curled up, snoring softly.
Havocpaw purred, he closed his eyes to sleep, but his dreams were filled with darkness. He woke up to the sound of fighting cats. Did another clan invade? But when he looked around, he could see dark leafless trees. This place gaze him the creeps. He glanced around for a way out.
A yellow and white she-cat walked over to him. "Greetings, Havocpaw." She said softly.
Havocpaw glanced at her. "Who are you?" He asked, noticing the scars on her thin pelt. He watched her closely. "And how do you know me?" He asked, curiously.
The she-cat purred. "I'm Tansyclaw." She said. "And I have been watching you. You show potential." She said, staring him up and down.
Havocpaw took a step back. "You've been watching me?" He repeated. He glanced at his paws. "i haven't got to train yet, so how do you know I have potential?" He asked.
Tansyclaw smiled. "I just know." She purred resting her tail tip on his shoulder.
Havocpaw purred. He liked this she-cat!
"Wake up now," she whispered in his ear. "We start tomorrow." She circled around him, then she started to fade.
"We start?" Havocpaw repeated. "For what?" But it was too late, she was gone. He woke up scrabbling in his nest. Dawn light filtered in the den, and he got to his paws. He perked his ears when he heard voices.
"How can we tell him? He's so close to you as his mother." A she-cat spoke softly.
Another she-cat answered her. "We won't." She said. "He'll always think he was mine." She declared. "We can't let anyone know you broke the code," she whispered.
Havocpaw reconized his mother's voice, and the medicine cat's? He peeked out of the den.
"I've had bad omens about him," the medicine cat admitted. "But if he doesn't follow this dark path, he should be okay."
Havocpaw sighed, were they talking about him or someone else? He kept listening for any clues.
"I have seen what the stars had to say about him." The medicine cat went on. "I have seen his struggles." She confessed. "And I know what he's capable of," she meowed darkly.
The she-cat glanced at her. "He can learn to follow the right path, right?" She asked hopeful.
The medicine cat sighed. "If he doesn't walk with her." She said. The two she-cats padded away.
Havocpaw didn't understand what they were talking about. He went to the elders den. Redsplash was fast asleep, softly snoring. He noticed the half eaten fish at her paws. He sighed, then backed out of the den. Something was wrong! He felt a bit... odd. Like something was about to happen. He closed his eyes and sighed to himself. Something was about to happen, but he couldn't tell if it was good or bad. He shook himself, then he heard a chilling caterwaul.
"ShadowClan attack!"