Chapter 3
The night passed shockingly fast for Rusty. They got back well past moonhigh and no one was awake save for a guard which lionheart quickly explained things to. Graypaw, sparing no time, led him to the apprentice den. Inside were several other cats all curled up in their respective nests. When Rusty made his nest next to Graypaw, the apprentice merely snorted and turned his back.
Rusty awoke to sharp claws digging into his sore back. Hissing he scrambled up to see Graypaw smirking. "About time you woke up kittypet. Did you forget that Bluestar wanted you awake before the clan? Would hate for somebody to think that you were a intruder."
Rusty laid his ears back in embarrassment. That was right.
He quickly began licking stray strands of fur that were sticking out. Glancing towards the other three sleeping apprentices he nodded. "Who are they?"
"Well, I think they're apprentices," Graypaw meowed dryly. He laughed at Rusty's flat look. "Sheesh, it was a joke kittypet."
Rusty resisted the urge to lash out. It wasn't hard to figure out how much the word kittypet was meant to be demeaning. He figured it was only fair since he didn't even have a apprentice name yet.
After Graypaw got over his humor he nodded towards the apprentices in order. "This one right here is Ravenpaw. He's rather skittish, but he's a loyal friend, and rather smart. And those over there are Sandpaw and Dustpaw."
"Do they have mentors?" Rusty asked wide eyed.
"Of course they do," Graypaw growled out. Without waiting for Rusty he headed towards the entrance. The orange kitten hurried to finish his grooming before following him.
"I suppose I'd better give you a tour," Graypaw sighed. "It'll make things easier when Bluestar sticks you with me later."
"I'm sorry," Rusty meowed. He remembered Graypaw's exclamation when Bluestar offered him a place in the clan.
"Sorry for what? Joining the clan?" Graypaw meowed. He turned to face Rusty. "Listen, you joined ThunderClan, we are a noble and strong clan. You don't apologize unless you have really screwed up something or you disrespect an older cat. It's considered weak."
Rusty nodded, almost saying he was sorry again. Maybe the stories he had heard about these cats when he was a kit weren't so crazy. The camp was quiet as Graypaw began showing everything there was in the clearing.
"So who is your mentor?" Rusty asked bounding after Graypaw past the elder den.
"Tigerclaw," Graypaw answered.
Rusty thought of the large tom and nodded slowly. "He seems strong."
"He's one of the strongest warriors in all the clans," Graypaw stated proudly, his chest puffing out.
Rusty at least had an idea of where Graypaw got his mannerisms. He remembered Tigerclaw's fierce attitude and aggressive behavior.
It was early enough that almost no cats were up, the only exception was a pretty tortoise-shell sitting in front of a fern shaded corner. "This over here is Spottedleaf. She's the Clan's medicine cat. She heals those who are injured in battles, and tends to the sick."
"Spottedleaf," Graypaw said kindly as they approached.
"Good morning," The she-cat purred. Her eyes looked over Rusty. "Who is this?"
"My name is Rusty," The ginger tom cut in before Graypaw could state anything. From the short time he had known him, Rusty had the feeling he would say something like-
"Ah, a kittypet."
Rusty felt his ear flick in annoyance as Spottedleaf spoke. "I was a house cat. I'm joining your clan now."
Purring again she looked out across the camp. "Of course… Graypaw, you had better hurry up your tour. It looks like Bluestar is up and rather impatient." Both kittens turned to see the ThunderClan leader sitting at the base of Highrock, watching them. Without a word Graypaw began padding over while Rusty glanced back at Spottedleaf.
"It was nice meeting you."
Spottedleaf gave him a once-over before nodding. "Good luck Rusty."
Grinning, Rusty ran to join Graypaw. Spottedleaf seemed nice, far nicer than any of the clan cats he had come across so far. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he first assumed. He came to a stop in front of Bluestar. The gray she-cat let her tail drape across her paws as she looked down at both of them. "I see you took up the mantle of showing Rusty around Graypaw?"
"I figured you would have me do it." Graypaw meowed respectively.
With an amused purr Bluestar eyed the apprentice. "Well, regardless, At least you had him up early like I wanted." She turned to Rusty. "I expect you rested well?"
"I did, thank you," Rusty said.
"Good," She murmured. Looking up she calmly gazed around the clearing. "Rusty I want you to stay here at the base of Highrock with me until the clan wakes. And Graypaw, I believe your mentor wanted you to go on a border patrol with him, since you seemed so eager to leave camp last night." She nodded towards a small group of cats gathering at the gorse entrance of the camp. Rusty recognized one of the cats, the dark tabby, Tigerclaw, but not the others. They gave him confused looks as well.
Graypaw groaned, but ran to join them, walking next to Tigerclaw out of the camp.
Dutifully, Rusty moved over to the base of Highrock while Bluestar disappeared into an hollow on the side. Lichen draped across the entrance, giving it privacy. Rusty could only conclude that it was Bluestar's personal den. She came out a moment later and settled herself nicely on top of Highrock.
Time wore on and the sun rose into the sky. The clan awoke and Rusty was soon almost overwhelmed with the livelihood that was the camp. Cat's were constantly coming and going, sometimes adding prey to a pitiful pile near the center of the camp. Rusty remembered Graypaw calling it the fresh-kill pile.
His mouth watered as he watched as cats at random came up and grabbed food from the pile. His stomach growled reminding him that he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. He remained where he was though. This had to be some sort of test. It was almost as if Bluestar had a knack for setting them up for him.
Eventually the group of cats that had left that morning returned. Graypaw trotted over to the fresh-kill pile and proudly dropped a rather skinny thrush into the pile before selecting a mouse for himself.
Another group left right after, including a tom with a ginger-tipped tail, and the apprentice Ravenpaw. They headed out the gorse tunnel and vanished.
More time passed as the sun rose higher in the sky. Every now and then cat's would give him a curious look, smelling his foreign scent but a quick glance up at Bluestar had them moving along.
Rusty's stomach clenched again, and he let out a silent growl, determined to prove himself.
Bluestar finally spoke up from above, looking down. "Discipline is a skill that every warrior desires to master. Again, you are not what I expected kittypet." Before he could respond, she looked up and yowled. "Let all those cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting."
Immediately cats came trotting forward, emerging like liquid shadows to converge at the base of Highrock - giving him a wide berth - and looking up expectantly. Rusty spied Graypaw's thick gray fur among the throng of cat's sitting next to a white tom. Behind them the other two apprentices were looking at him with barely controlled curiosity.
Bluestar was patient for all cats to gather before speaking. "ThunderClan… We need more warriors. Never before has our fights with other Clans been so fierce. If ThunderClan is to survive we must be strong! I have found a cat who is willing to join us, he will become an apprentice alongside the others."
Around murmurs started up.
"Is that who she's talking about?"
"What clan is he from? I've never seen him before."
"What's that around his neck?"
"It's a kittypet!"
The voice who shouted that was a pale tabby cat standing up. He sneered at Rusty and looked up at Bluestar. "Bluestar, none of us believe that ThunderClan has fallen so low as to accept one of his kind. Once a kittypet, always a kittypet. We need strong, wildborn warriors to fight for ThunderClan. What will he do? Keep after the elders? Train him to be a medicine cat? He will just be a detriment to the Clan."
Rusty sucked in a breath - no one had talked to Bluestar like that before without a verbal backlash. But Bluestar had fallen quiet on Highrock, her eyes narrowed, and tail flicking side to side.
When no response came from the leader, the murmuring grew.
"He even has a collar, a marking of the Twolegs, it's jingling will scare away prey, and worse yet, may bring Twolegs into our territory." The tabby continued to jeer. It was obvious that Bluestar's lack of response had emboldened him.
Lionheart who had been sitting a small ways away spoke up. "He did catch prey Longtail."
Rusty's heart soared at the toms words, but the tabby scoffed. "Any cat can get lucky. In a fight, his bell will alert our enemies, if the stench of Twolegs doesn't!" Cat's yowled in agreement and Rusty looked back at Bluestar. The ThunderClan leader was looking back. Judging him.
"If ThunderClan is to survive we must be strong!"
With a hiss Rusty turned and leaped forward, straight towards the tabby.
Longtail was completely unprepared. Rusty's attack made him stagger, and lose his footing. Rusty was livid, desperate to prove both to himself, and the clan that he deserved to be there. He dug his claws in deep, teeth digging in as well, trying to hurt. There was no circling or preamble, just two cats locked together in furious, ferocious, fighting. Other cats yowled and backed up, trying not get caught up in the hissing ball of claws and teeth.
The desperation Rusty felt at the very beginning, changed into delight. A strange exhilaration. His heart thudding in his chest, blood pounding, and cats wailing with excitement around him.
Suddenly Rusty's collar cinched up, choking him. Longtail had grabbed ahold of it, intending to use whatever advantage he could. He pulled and the pressure on Rusty's throat grew. He began panicking, less intent on scratching the tom into a pulp rather than freeing himself. Longtail hissed between his teeth and yanked backwards. With a hard retch, Rusty fought back, trying to pull away from Longtail, realizing that Longtail would hold no reserves in actually killing him.
A harsh snap filled the air and Rusty could suddenly breathe!
Blinking the spots out of his vision, Rusty turned to face Longtail, noting his broken collar hanging limply from the toms mouth. They both were sporting wounds from the fight. A stinging cut throbbed above Rusty's eye while Longtail's left ear had a small tear. A few drops of blood hit the dusty ground.
Rusty glanced up at Bluestar as she watched them with an impassive gaze. There was no sign that she was about to step in and stop the fight.
Rusty ducked as Longtail launched towards him, the warrior scoring a bloody scratch along his shoulder. He quickly backed up. He could feel how angry Longtail was now. It was almost palpable in the air.
With teeth bared, Longtail whipped around, his namesake slashing behind him, like an angry snake. "Fight me kittypet!" He snarled.
Infuriated by the name, Rusty hissed and charged. They tumbled back into another fight. This time, Rusty was feeling uneasy. It was obvious that Longtail had more experience than him. He had only been able to score those hits because he caught him off guard. Now it felt like for one hit he dealt to Longtail, he received two in return. If he was going to get the upper hand, he would have to do something else.
His eyes settled on the torn ear, and his mind spun, quickly coming up with a strategy.
He instantly began fighting to free himself, no longer interested in trading blows. Longtail sensing this, tried his best to end up on top so as to pin him.
Another strike hit Rusty, but he ignored it. He struggled, twisting until he finally broke free. Without turning Rusty ran. Cats around cried out in surprise or to mock him, but all he focused on was the fact that Longtail was chasing him.
Good, he needed that for his plan to work.
He ran straight for Highrock. Up top, he could see Bluestar's eyes widen with surprise. Praying that his plan would work, Rusty jumped up and landed against the stone face. Using his momentum he pushed off, turning to ram straight into a surprised Longtail.
With the element of surprise again on his side, Rusty took advantage, clamping down on the injured ear. He heard Longtail screech in pain, but only bit down harder. They went down into a pile Longtail, clawing and biting trying to free himself, while Rusty snarled back.
A hard shove came against his stomach and Rusty suddenly had a mouthful of blood. He spat, looking up to see Longtail panting, his ear which before had a small nick in it, now sported a very deep vee, blood dripping heavily from it.
Before they could launch at each other again, Bluestar leapt between them effortlessly. She took the collar discarded to the side and set it down in front of Rusty. With an air of importance she looked up. "The newcomer has lost his collar fighting for honor. StarClan has spoken its approval. He is no longer a pet of a Twoleg and is allowed to join ThunderClan as an apprentice."
With a small breath, Rusty nodded graciously. He looked towards the sea of cats with no fear, but instead a well of pride in his chest. At that moment the sun which had vanished behind some clouds came streaming back through. A shaft of sunlight landed on him illuminating his blazing, bright, orange pelt till it glowed. There was no disagreement from the cats. He had proved himself to be a worthy opponent.
Bluestar stepped up to him, an odd look on her face. She moved forward, touching his ear with her nose. "Are you really what we need?" She murmured so quietly that Rusty almost didn't hear it. Her eyes alit with some unknown knowledge and she stiffened for a split second. She spun around to the Clan and announced. "From this day forward, until he earns his warrior name, this apprentice will be called… Firepaw, in honor of his flame-colored coat and blazing fighting spirit! May he serve this Clan well!"
She moved back with the others and Rusty noticed the collar still there. Turning he kicked grass and ground over it as if burying dirt.
The cats broke up into groups after that, talking excitedly. Rusty watched as Longtail glared at him before limping towards the fern shaded corner that belonged to Spottedleaf.
"So I guess I'd better call you Firepaw now."
Rusty turned to see Graypaw, a smile plastered on the gray apprentice's face. That's right, his name was Firepaw! It made a thrill of pride bloom in his chest. He licked a paw and attempted to clean the cut above his eye.
Graypaw stepped closer with purr of amusement. "I'm not going to lie that was a good fight. Longtail is a warrior, although a young one. You even gave him a scar to spoil his good looks!"
"Thanks Graypaw," Firepaw replied. "I wasn't completely injury free either though." He was still trying to clean the cuts as other cats came forward, meowing their welcome. Firepaw closed his eyes for a second letting the feeling of acceptance wash over him.
He heard Graypaw snort. "Enjoying the attention? I would, especially with a good name like that."
Agreeing, Firepaw noticed Longtail pad out of Spottedleaf's den, cobwebs covering his cut ear. He came to a stop next to a powerful gray tabby. The two hissed something to each other and glared in Firepaw's direction.
Graypaw noted where Firepaw was looking and hissed. "That's Darkstripe. No doubt he's none too pleased about Bluestar allowing you into the Clan."
Firepaw nodded slowly. There was a lot of cats and he couldn't expect all of them to just be fine with him joining. It made him even more determined to prove that he was worthy of what Bluestar had given him.
It startled Firepaw when he suddenly felt a small tugging sensation. He glanced around quickly, thinking that it was someone, but there was no cats close. The feeling was strange, coming from the very center of his chest. Confused, he tried to ignore it and enjoy the patch of sunlight he was sitting in.