DISCLAIMER: I don't own Warriors, but I do own all of the cats mentioned in this story, with the exception of Brambleberry and Crookedstar in the Prologue.
"We're going to be apprentices today!" The little kit's light gray fur was fluffed up from all the excitement. Her icy-blue eyes gazed around the cramped nursery for a few moments, then landed on her sister, "Won't that be awesome, Brightkit?"
Her sister, Brightkit, only stared back at Icekit. It was obvious that the two were related, they both had gray fur, though Brightkit's was lighter than Icekit's fur. They even shared the same blue eyes. Unlike her sister, however, she remained calm. With a nod, she mewed, "Yeah, I'll get to learn all the herbs! Silvermist already said that I would be a good medicine cat. I already know some of the herbs, too. I think they use poppy seeds for…" She paused, trying to remember what she had already learned. A few moments passed as she tried to remember, then she mewed hesitantly, "Pain, right?"
Icekit sighed and rolled her eyes at her sister, "I don't know. I can't believe you want to be a medicine cat! They have such boring lives. Wouldn't you rather fight and hunt for your Clan instead? Besides, you're going to have to stay in a smelly den all day long." Why did Brightkit want to be a medicine cat? It didn't seem like they did any exciting things. They never participated in battles, and they didn't even hunt that often.
Brightkit was starting to get annoyed by Icekit, who had been bothering her about her choice for the past three days. "I don't have to fight to serve my Clan…" She mewed quietly, directing a glare at Icekit.
Just then one of the queens, Greenlily, spoke grumpily, "If you two are going to argue, go outside. You're disturbing my sleep…"
"Sorry!" Icekit yelped out an apology, then charged out of the nursery, Brightkit following close behind. Once outside of the nursery, she sat down and meowed, "Greenlily's been pretty grumpy lately."
Brightkit nodded, obviously agreeing with her. "I wonder when she's going to have her kits, too. Maybe sometime soon. Then there'll be more apprentices for the Clan…"
"Yeah, except, you won't be training with us," Icekit responded, almost sounding bitter as she spoke.
Brightkit, surprised, looked up at her, wondering if she had imagined the tone of bitterness in Icekit's voice. Icekit rarely got angry; in fact, she didn't even get angry when Fallenstar had punished them last moon for sneaking out of the camp. For a few moments, she stared at her sister in surprise. When Icekit didn't say anything, she remained quiet as well, enjoying the silence.
Time passed by slowly as Icekit impatiently waited for the naming ceremony. The kit glanced up at the sky, realizing that it was nearly night. The sky was painted with blood-red streaks, as the sun gradually disappeared behind the horizon. The sound of light pawsteps and the crunching of leaves alerted her of the return of a hunting patrol. The warriors on patrol quickly took their fresh-kill to the fresh-kill pile. They're finally back! Icekit thought to herself, her excitement growing. That means every cat is here… We can finally become apprentices! She ran back into the nursery, padding straight up to Brightkit, who was sitting next to. "Brightkit," She whispered, trying not to wake up Dawnsky. She glanced anxiously at the sleeping queen, then back at her sister, "Guess what? It's time! I think Fallenstar is going to have the ceremony right now…"
Brightkit nodded, then quickly mewed, "Okay, let's go…" She padded out of the nursery, then looked back, waiting for Icekit and their mother, Dawnsky.
Icekit followed her sister out of the nursery, almost bouncing in excitement. It was finally happening! They both were finally going to be apprentices! 6 moons had seemed like a long time to her. She padded into the clearing, just in time to see Fallenstar leap onto the High Branch. As the leader leaped onto the branch, Icekit couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy and admiration. She wanted to be like Fallenstar, well, with the exception of her attitude. I want to be leader one day… She thought. I know I would be a good leader…
"Icekit, move!" Brightkit's mew broke into her thoughts.
Icekit glanced over at Brightkit, dazed. "Huh?" She asked, then realized that she had stopped walking. "Oh, sorry! I'm coming!" She licked her fur self-consciously, then rushed over to her sister, becoming even more embarrassed when she heard Dawnsky laugh behind her.
She didn't have very much time to be embarrassed, however, as Fallenstar soon called everyone to the clearing for the ceremony. Icekit watched as the cats of the Clan emerged from their various dens and gathered in the camp clearing.
After a few moments of waiting, Fallenstar spoke from atop the branch, "We have gathered here today to make two kits apprentices…" She nodded at both Brightkit and Icekit, and the two moved forward. The leader sighed, as if she were bored, and she mewed, "I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this kit. She would like to become a warrior of RiverClan, but must first become an apprentice. Icekit, from this day forth, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Icepaw." She paused again, "Flashfoot, you will train Icepaw. You have learned well from your own mentor. I hope that his compassion and bravery will pass through you to your new apprentice."
Icepaw watched as Flashfoot, one of the younger warriors, stepped forward. Icepaw padded up to him and reached out to touch noses with him, only causing them to bump into each other. "Ow…" The new apprentice mewed, her nose throbbing slightly from the collision. Realizing that she had messed up, she quickly apologized to her new mentor, "Oh, um, sorry!" She reached over to touch noses with him again, except this time, she did it a lot more gently. After touching noses with her new mentor, she went to go sit with the other cats in the clearing. Looking up at the High Branch, she waited for Fallenstar to begin speaking again.
The leader completely ignored what had happened and began to speak again, "Brightkit will be the new medicine cat apprentice. She will be mentored by Silvermist, of course. From now on, she will be known as Brightpaw."
Icepaw watched as her sister touched noses with Silvermist, then sat down with the rest of the cats. Then, before she knew it, the Clan was cheering for them, "Icepaw! Brightpaw! Icepaw! Brightpaw!" Various cats came up to congratulate her, including the other three apprentices.
"Hey, Icepaw! You're going to be training with us now!" One of the cats, Flamepaw, mewed excitedly. "Won't that be awesome? We can do battle practice together now!"
A she-cat, Flowerpaw, nodded and mewed, "Congratulations. You're finally an apprentice!"
The last, Silentpaw, didn't say anything but nodded at her. Well… Icepaw thought. I guess they call him Silentpaw for a reason…
Just then, Brightpaw padded up to her and said, "Wow, so… 6 moons passed really quickly, didn't it? I can't believe we aren't kits anymore. We're apprentices."
Icepaw nodded at her sister, obviously not paying attention to anything that Brightpaw was saying. She didn't hear the warriors congratulating her or even her own mother's voice. Instead, she was staring in amazement at the sky. The night-sky was completely clear, with the exception of the moon. There were no clouds covering the sky, no stars of Silverpelt. Where are our warrior ancestors? She asked herself, feeling her excitement disappear. Why aren't they watching?
((A/N: Finally, here's Chapter 1. xD I hope I didn't mess the ceremonies up. XD))