Chapter One: Apprenticeship
Two six-moon old kits pummeled each other to the ground. The first cat, a dark brown tom with amber eyes, got off his sister and offered her mercy. The other one, a pure white she-cat with blue eyes growled, "Never!" and pounced on top of him. They both went rolling and crashed into the side of the nursery, laughing. Another kit, on the opposite side of the den, blinked at them with his red eyes. He began to groom his shiny, black pelt, having nothing else to do.
Bloodkit didn't line to involve himself in play-fighting. He stayed off to the side most of the time. Most of the Clan thought of him as a bad omen, since he was born to a white-she cat with blue eyes, and he came out as a black kit with red eyes. No one trusted him, and he didn't have many friends. His brother and sister didn't hate him, but they kept out of his way usually.
He was the only one in the litter who knew that their real mother had died—their foster mother was a light brown tabby she-cat named Maplefang. She was already nursing her kits Dustkit and Oakkit, and when Dodwood, Bloodkit's mother, asked her to take care of his kits, she couldn't refuse. Maplefang had a very kind heart even though she had been an amazing warrior before she was a queen. Bloodkit never thought it important to tell Chesnuttkit and Snowkit about their mother, and he kept it to himself.
"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather near the Fallen Pine?" Soulstar's howl sounded through ShadowClan camp, and cats began to file into the main clearing, standing before a pine tree that had fallen to the ground. It had a branch sticking out from it, and Soulstar sat down on it. There was another, smaller branch for the Clan deputy, Iceheart, to sit on as well. Bloodkit padded slowly out into the clearing as his siblings dashed past him excitedly.
"It's a happy day for us all in ShadowClan," Soulstar began as soon as every cat had come. "We are going to honor three new apprentices, today. Chesnuttkit, if you would step forward?" The brown tom padded forward, and Bloodkit watched his brother stare at the leader determinedly. "From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Chesnuttpaw." Chesnuttpaw's eyes glowed with pride as the cats of the Clan chanted his new name. "Birdsong?" A blue-grey she-cat stepped out from the crowd. "You will be Chesnuttpaw's mentor. I hope I can trust you to pass on everything you know to him." Birdsong bent her head down to touch noses with her new apprentice, who smiled happily.
"Now, Snowkit?" The white she-cat scrambled to the space in front of her leader and sat still. "From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Snowpaw."
"Snowpaw! Snowpaw!" Yarrowpaw began to call her name, and the other cats joined in. Soulstar shushed them with a flick of his tail and continued.
"Pineleaf will be your mentor," Soulstar meowed. Looking majorly honored, Snowpaw's face lit up. Pineleaf came forward to touch noses with his new apprentice. Bloodkit knew that his sister must be extremely happy at the moment, because she always wanted to be a medicine cat. She always had a very kind heart, and loved to help others who needed it.
"And, finally, Bloodkit?" Soulstar meowed. The cheering automatically stopped, and the whole Clan seemed to be holding their breath. Bloodkit padded forward to stand before his leader. "Fro this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Bloodpaw." Only a few cats chanted his name—Dogwood, Chesnuttpaw, Snowpaw, and Sunpaw. Bloodpaw had expected it, so he didn't take it too hard. And yet, something still tugged at his heart. "It had been a while since I have had an apprentice,"—he glanced at Silvercrest, a silver tabby she-cat—"so I will be your mentor." There was a soft gasp from the Clan, and Bloodpaw tensed. Was this really happening?
Soulstar lowered his muzzle to touch noses with his new apprentice, and Bloodpaw returned the gesture. He tried hard to keep his eyes narrowed rather than too wide, not wanting to frighten anyone. His heart thudded, and he knew that his Clanmated must not be very happy with their leader at the moment.
"So we welcome all of our new apprentices!" Soulstar purred.
"Chesnuttpaw! Snowpaw!" The Clan began to call out their names, but Bloodpaw didn't hear his name except from one cat—Sunpaw.
Sorry that the chapter is so short! But I promise they'll get longer as the story goes on XD
