Chapter One: Apprenticed Anyway

"Kippaw? Hey, Kippaw, get up!"

"It's too early," a small chocolate-colored cat mumbled, burrowing deeper into his nest to escape his annoying denmates.

A light brown tom sighed.

"How do we get him up?" he asked. There was no reply.

He looked over at the older apprentices. In all, there were six cats in the small den. It was crowded, but they were doing their best to enlarge it.

A slim golden she-cat giggled suddenly.

"I know how!"

"Kippaw!" she yelled, "Thistlepaw is killing your sister!"

"Wouldn't…" Kippaw mumbled.

"You're going to miss Icykit and Sunkit's apprentice ceremony," a slightly chubby brown cat said.

"What's to miss?" asked Woodpaw, a fluffy brown and white she-cat, "We just get to watch poor Sunkit become Fallenpaw."

"It's not his fault he fell off a rock as a kit," Starpaw added, "His mother should know better than to change his name."

The young tom rubbed at his left eye, which was closed, and heavily scarred.

"If we go by that," he said softly, "I'd be Onepaw, someday One-eye."

Thistlepaw, a light brown tabby tom who never spoke, nodded in agreement. No doubt, his personal thought was that he would have ended up as Silentpaw or Mutepaw.

"Thistlepaw says it's not fair to do that to anyone," Woodpaw announced.

"Hazelstar's been trying to talk Clover out of it for moons," Leopardpaw said, "She won't be moved."

"Kittypets," Littlepaw grumbled.

"Hey!" Kippaw squeaked, sitting up. "I used to be a kittypet, and so did Woodpaw!"

"Its okay, Kippaw," the peace-loving Woodpaw mewed, "He didn't mean anything by it."

"He didn't need to say it, either," someone else growled.

The apprentices turned guiltily to face the silver warrior who had entered their den. He was known as Silverfur, Littlepaw's mentor.

"Sorry, Silverfur," Littlepaw apologized.

The warrior sighed.

"Hurry up and get your warrior name already, so someone else can yell at you."

Littlepaw looked down at his paws. Silverfur could be a very difficult mentor. Especially lately. Littlepaw wasn't sure why, but it seemed that ever since Silverfur's mate Mousetail had had kits, he had been incredibly moody.

"Now, come on," Silverfur continued, "Hazelstar is about to start the ceremony."

The six apprentices bundled out of the den, and once they got outside, they split up a bit, trying to find places in the midst of the older cats.

Once they were all seated, a reddish-brown tom leaped up onto the Highrock in the center of the clearing. This was Hazelstar, leader of FlameClan.

The FlameClan leader looked around at the group of cats. His gaze settled on two kits, both sitting close to a creamy-furred queen. Both were toms, but they were nearly complete opposites. One was white with blue-grey stripes, and sparkling blue eyes. The other was reddish-brown, with black stripes, and intense green eyes.

"Icykit," he said, "Sunkit. Come forward, please."

The white tabby kit, Icykit, scampered forward. Sunkit followed more slowly, one of his back legs dragging behind him. Sunkit had been injured several moons earlier, when he had been playing on the Highrock with several other kits, and had fallen off, and his leg had never healed.

"Icykit, Sunkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior names, you will be known as Icypaw and Fallenpaw."

Hazelstar paused, watching the young cats' reactions. He had not wanted to change Sunkit's name to Fallenpaw, but his mother, Clover, had insisted. Fallenpaw seemed indifferent, however, so he kept going.

"Icypaw, your mentor will be Breezeleaf. I hope she will pass down all she knows to you."

A slender black and white she-cat rose and padded up to the Highrock. She smiled at Icypaw, who grinned back at her.

"Breezeleaf, you are ready to take on an apprentice," Hazelstar said, "You have shown yourself to be brave and quick-thinking. You will be the mentor of Icypaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."

Hazelstar sighed, knowing he had omitted the part about Breezeleaf's former mentor. The truth was, Breezeleaf, like many of the other FlameClan cats, had had no real mentor. She had been raised in the brutal StoneClan, but had escaped several moons ago, with the help of FlameClan's deputy, Bigstorm.

Breezeleaf dipped her head respectfully.

"I will try, Hazelstar."

Hazelstar turned to Fallenpaw.

"I will mentor Fallenpaw," he said, "I will do my best to teach him everything I can."

"Icypaw!"

"Fallenpaw!"

As the cats cheered, Fallenpaw smiled grimly.

"No matter if I have a disability, and my father was banished from this Clan. I was still apprenticed anyway."

After the ceremony, Silverfur had to take his apprentice on patrol, but, first, he stopped by the nursery to see his mate, Mousetail. Mousetail was a small but very fierce caramel-colored she-cat, who had been a rogue before joining FlameClan. Silverfur's best friend, Bigstorm, thought she was annoying, but Silverfur didn't think so at all.

"Although she has some annoying habits," he muttered.

"Still grouchy? I'd think you'd get used to it."

"It's hard to get used to being the adopted father of three half-Clan kits, when you know their real father is alive, and only a piece of territory away."

"Silverjay agreed to this," Mousetail pointed out, "And so did you."

"It doesn't make it any better," Silverfur growled.

Mousetail's real mate, Silverjay, was the medicine cat of a rival Clan, TorrentClan. He had met Mousetail when she had gone there with Hazelstar, Bigstorm, and the FlameClan medicine cat, Fivefur. They had met in secret for several moons, and Silverfur had only found out after Mousetail had become pregnant with Silverjay's kits. He had been desperate to protect her, so he had agreed to keep the secret, and pretend the kits were his. But it was a dangerous secret for all of them.

"I'm going to meet him tonight," Mousetail announced, "It's been far too long. It's been almost four moons since we last met, and I need to talk to him."

"You see him at the Gatherings," Silverfur protested, "Isn't that enough for you?"

"It will never be enough," Mousetail growled. "You ought to know that when you're in love, you want to be with the cat you love all the time."