Hi guys! Sorry about disappearing like that. School had me pretty busy…But now I'm back, so everything's cool again…Right?

Disclaimer: in a fake German accent I know nothing! back to normal I only own characters, some of whom belong the Emberpaw.

Chapter 4: Kits and Apprentices

Wolfpaw and Emberpaw exited the elders' den. Wolfpaw stretched her back and meowed, "That was pleasant. Let's go find out what Frostpaw has been –oof!" A small wad of white-striped black fur that barreled into her side broke off her sentence.

"Oops! Sorry, Wolfpaw! I didn't see you there!" the kit mewed.

Wolfpaw smiled down at her. "You mean you weren't looking where you were going, Solarkit." She playfully batted the kit.

Solarkit scuffled her paws in the dirt. "Well yeah…But I'm really glad I bumped into you anyway! Can you teach me how to be an apprentice?"

Emberpaw came up to stand beside Solarkit. "The first thing about being an apprentice is having patience. Don't worry, your day will come."

"But I don't want to wait that long! Can you tell me at least what to expect? Please?"

The sisters exchanged glances. Wolfpaw meowed, "No. You must wait. That's just the way it has to be. We have to go now. We'll talk later. I promise."

The kit sighed dramatically. "Okay, but you better not forget!" She bounced away.

Wolfpaw looked back at Emberpaw. "3-2-1 cue Snowdrift."

"Solarkit! You get back here right now!" the white queen called.

"Yes, mother," Solarkit mewed as she scrambled to her mother and her sister, Icekit.

Wolfpaw and Emberpaw chuckled to themselves as they approached the medicine cat's den. Frostpaw emerged and saw them coming over. She bounded over and nuzzled them. "You guys won't believe this, I'm going to go to Fire Mouth tonight!"

Fire Mouth is a cave set into the side of an inactive volcano. It served as the sacred place for StarClan.

"That's great!" they meowed to their sister.

"I'm really nervous, but really excited, too!"

"That's exactly how I felt on my first trip to Fire Mouth," Solarwind meowed as she came up beside Frostpaw. "You should rest up for the trip."

"Okay. I'll see you guys tomorrow," Frostpaw said, giving her sisters one last lick before going into the den.

Solarwind watched her go in before turning back to Wolfpaw and Emberpaw. "Don't worry about her. I'll be there to watch over her. You do realize that she won't be able to tell you anything that happens there, right?" They nodded. "Good. We'll see you tomorrow. Good night," she meowed and went into the den as well.

"I hope everything goes well for her," mewed Emberpaw.

Wolfpaw nudged her shoulder. "She'll be fine. Come on. I see Rockfire and Shadowfire. Let's see if we can do anything for them."

They padded over to their mentors. The warriors turned to the apprentices.

"How would you two like to go hunting?" Shadowfire meowed. The apprentices' eyes lit up as they meowed simultaneously, "Yes!"

Rockfire purred with laughter. "Then let's go!"

They padded into the forest. "What do you smell?" Rockfire asked.

Wolfpaw and Emberpaw opened their mouths to better catch the scents. "I smell…a mouse!" Wolfpaw whispered, quickly pinpointing where it was. She dropped into a crouch and slowly crept toward it. She paused. The mouse raised its head, but before it could run, she pounced on it.

"Well done!" Rockfire praised his apprentice. "Now cover it up. We'll come back later for it." As Wolfpaw did this, Shadowfire turned to his own apprentice.

"What do you smell?"

Emberpaw seemed thoughtful. "I smell…Twolegs!" she yowled suddenly. Three Twolegs came out from the bushes and ran toward the cats.

"Run!" Rockfire shouted, rather needlessly, seeing as how they already were doing so as fast as they could. But while Rockfire and Shadowfire turned and climbed up a tree, the two apprentices, in their terror, ran away from them and the camp.

"No!" Shadowfire yowled. "You'll get lost!" But it was too late. Wolfpaw and Emberpaw were too far away to turn back, and the Twolegs were chasing them anyway.

They kept running even after the Twolegs had stopped their pursuit. When they finally stopped, they were in an area they had never seen before. They looked around, confused.

"Where are we?" Wolfpaw mewed.

Emberpaw flicked her tail against Wolfpaw's side. "I don't know. But we'll find a way to get home!"

They wandered around for a while, but they couldn't find anything that looked familiar. The sun was starting to set. Unfamiliar shadows stretched out towards them. "Or maybe not tonight…" Emberpaw mewed quietly.

"Let's find a place to spend the night," Wolfpaw suggested.

They padded over to a low bush and crawled under it. It was a little warmer under it, and it was more sheltered than just sleeping under a tree. They curled up together. They were so tired from running that they promptly fell asleep.