Ch 1: Everything Has a Meaning
6 moons later
The morning sun shone through the opening to the camp clearing, engulfing the nursery cave with light. The light just happened to shine upon three siblings sleeping peacefully. Slowly but surely the three older kits awoke. Lightkit was the first to wake. She blinked open her eyelids, revealing scarlet eyes. She looked over at her siblings, they were slowly awakening as well. "Brownkit! Frostkit! Wake up!" Lightkit whispered, prodding her siblings in the flank. Brownkit was the second to awake, she blinked open her yellow eyes and said groggily "Lightkit, can't anyone get any sleep around here?" At this sound, Frostkit awoke too. He seemed angrier than Lightkit when he said "Yeah, on the day of our apprenticing we should be well rested." Lightkit nodded. "I'm just so excited! Do you think that I'll be able to become a normal warrior apprentice?" Lightkit asked. Her siblings stared at her. "Of course, you aren't blind are you? Duststar will probably assign a cat with a white coat as your mentor." Frostkit said. "I hope Duststar will mentor me. Or Rosefur. I like the both of them, and they like me." The kit continued. "Yeah, because you suck up to them so much." Lightkit muttered under her breath. "I heard that." Frostkit squealed. The kit then proceed to scare Lightkit by pouncing on her. This awoke their mother, Briarfrost.
Briarfrost looked really angry. "Brownkit! Frostkit! Lightkit! This is no way to act on the day of your apprentice ceremony, you are acting like kits! You should have to stay in the nursery." Their mother scolded. "Sorry mother." Lightkit mewed. "I was the one that woke them up, I'm just so excited to finally become an apprentice." Her mother nodded. "Of course, I remember the day I got apprenticed. It was to Duststar himself, well, back when he was a warrior." The kits gasped. "Yes, yes. Duststar thought I'd be future Deputy. He knew he was going to be future leader, it was only a matter of time before the Deputy back then, Cherryflight, was going to join StarClan, for she was rather elderly and Dustshine, that was his name back then, was going to be the next in line for deputy, or so we all thought." Briarfrost looked at her kits admiringly. "What happened then?" Brownkit asked. "Cherryflight did end up joining StarClan, and Owlstar chose Dustshine to become his Deputy. I was an older apprentice back then, close to my warrior ceremony." Lightkit looked at her mother in disbelief. "Why are you having kits then and not being the Deputy? Why was Rosefur picked?" Frostkit asked. "Well, it was a funny thing that happened. Dustshine found a new apprentice, Rosepaw, who would be just as good as a Deputy as I was. He trained her, only without the compassion that he trained me with. Rosepaw became Rosefur, and she was more accepting of the future Deputy role than I was. He trained the desire to have kits out of her, and he trained the desire into me. A few moons before you were born, he asked me to be his mate. I declined, having fallen in love with another cat." This was a shocking revelation to the three kits. Duststar could have been their father!
"Dustshine was rather angry with me for not choosing him as my mate, so he declined me the Deputy position and chose Rosefur instead." His mother concluded. "Then I had you three." She flicked her tail over at the three kits. Lightkit was still amazed that Duststar could possibly have been their father. "Who was our father?" Brownkit finally asked, her yellow eyes shining with curiosity. Their mother had on a look of shock, then revealed "He was a very good warrior. His name was… was… Eagletooth. He went to join StarClan the day you were born." Briarfrost looked as if she had gotten a huge burden off her chest.
Interupting the quartet of cats was Mousecloud, the Medicine Cat. She stared at Lightkit, as if she disliked her. Lightkit was scared of Mousecloud, she had no clue why. Mousecloud seemed like a nice cat and everything, but something about the she-cat just terrified her. "Hello, kits." Mousecloud greeted in a friendly tone. "Hello Mousecloud!" Frostkit and Brownkit chanted. Lightkit stayed silent. "Lightkit, why didn't you greet Mousecloud?" Briarfrost asked. "I dunno." Lightkit mumbled. She was so scared that Mousecloud was going to force her to live the half-life of a Medicine Cat. "Brownkit and Lightkit, can I talk with you alone?" Mousecloud asked. Frostkit dipped his head to Mousecloud and exited the nursery. Their mother, Briarfrost, also exited. "Both of you have helped me so well these past few moons." Mousecloud said. Lightkit was so nervous she was trembling. Sure she had helped out Mousecloud in her spare time, but that was because she was bored. She didn't want to become a Medicine Cat! "It has troubled me so much as to whom shall be the next Medicine Cat of ThunderClan. Lightkit, your pelt will make it difficult for you to hunt and you will be seen by warriors in battle." Lightkit's mouth dropped wide open. "I'm certain that doesn't matter." Lightkit commented. "We'll see. As with you Brownkit, you have been helping me more than Lightkit, but your condition isn't like hers. I went up to the Moon Pool to consult StarClan for advice on my pick. Their advice was to choose…" There was a moment of silence as Mousecloud paused her speech. "Brownkit." Lightkit was so certain that Mousecloud was going to pick her that she replied "What! Impossible! I don't want to be a Medicine…. Wait, what did you say?" She said, as she realized that Mousecloud hadn't said her name. "I said Brownkit. And now I realize that I have made the right choice." Mousecloud said. Brownkit's yellow eyes were aglow with excitement. "Thank you! Thank you so very much Mousecloud!" Lightkit was going to be a normal warrior apprentice! She was so excited that the rest of the day went by in a blur.
"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here beneath me!" Duststar's yowl was so great even cats outside the camp could hear it. One by one the cats of ThunderClan came walking into the meeting. Lightkit trotted after her mother and siblings, tail up and excitement pouring through her veins. "Today I have three kits that have reached their sixth moon and are ready to become apprentices. Lightkit, Brownkit, and Frostkit please step forwards." The three kits did so. "Mousecloud, it is your wish to take on an apprentice. The future Medicine Cat of ThunderClan will be Brownpaw!" Shocked murmers rose through the crowd. This has happened before, but a cat as different as Lightkit surely should be the next Medicine Cat. Lightkit looked around at the different cats talking about the surprise apprenticing. "Snowheart, you are experienced enough to have an apprentice. You shall be Lightpaw's mentor." Understanding rose through the Clan as the new apprentice and mentor touched noses. "Finally Frostkit, I shall be your mentor." Frostkit's eyes lit up and he bounded forwards like a rabbit, to touch noses with his new mentor. "The meeting is over." Duststar mewed, and proceeded to go to his den. The three new apprentices joined the apprentice's den, where they were so tired they fell asleep.